DARU, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume:19 Issue: 2, 2011

Iran is growing fast in production of science and technology in the world. Based on experts'' opinion and reports of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), SCImago Journal and Country Rank, and Scopus it is concluded that the scientific field of Pharmacology Toxicology Pharmaceutics in Iran is growing very fast with great impact on the country science growth. Regarding various elements that have been involved in growth of sciences in Iran, focusing on quality of researches by the proposed methods in the present essay would be the key element of success in future.

Background and the purpose of the study: Partition coefficients (log D and log P) and molecular surface area (PSA) are potential predictors of the intestinal permeability of drugs. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate and compare these intestinal permeability indicators. Aqueous solubility data were obtained from literature or calculated using ACD/Labs and ALOGPS. Permeability data were predicted based on log P, log D at pH 6.0 (log D6.0), and PSA. Metoprolol's log P, log D6.0 and a PSA of <65 Å correctly predicted 55.9%, 50.8% and 54.2% of permeability classes, respectively. Labetalol's log P, log D6.0, and PSA correctly predicted 54.2%, 64.4% and 61% of permeability classes, respectively. Log D6.0 correlated well (81%) with Caco-2 permeability (Papp). Of the list of national essential medicines, 135 orally administered drugs were classified into biopharmaceutical classification system (BCS). Of these, 57 (42.2%), 28 (20.7%), 44 (32.6%), and 6 (4.4%) were class I, II, III and IV respectively. Log D6.0 showed better prediction capability than log P. Metoprolol as permeability internal standard was more conservative than labetalol.

Background and the purpose of the study: Mechanical properties of films prepared from aqueous dispersion and organic solutions of Eudragit RL were assessed and the effects of plasticizer type, concentration and curing were examined. Films were prepared from aqueous dispersion and solutions of Eudragit RL (isopropyl alcohol-water 9:1) containing 0, 10 or 20% (based on polymer weight) of PEG 400 or Triethyl Citrate (TEC) as plasticizer using casting method. Samples of films were stored in oven at 60ºC for 24 hrs (Cured). The stress-strain curve was obtained for each film using material testing machine and tensile strength, elastic modulus, %elongation and work of failure were calculated.Results and major The films with no plasticizer showed different mechanical properties depending on the vehicle used. Addition of 10% or 20% of plasticizer decreased the tensile strength and elastic modulus and increased %elongation and work of failure for all films. The effect of PEG400 on mechanical properties of Eudragit RL films was more pronounced. The differences in mechanical properties of the films due to vehicle decreased by addition of plasticizer and increase in its concentration. Curing process weakened the mechanical properties of the films with no plasticizer and for films with 10% plasticizer no considerable difference in mechanical properties was observed before and after curing. For those with 20% plasticizer only films prepared from aqueous dispersion showed remarkable difference in mechanical properties before and after curing. Results of this study suggest that the mechanical properties of the Eudragit RL films were affected by the vehicle, type of plasticizer and its concentration in the coating liquid.

Background and the purpose of the study: Budesonide is the drug of choice for treatment of active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to develop budesonide pellets based on a novel colon drug delivery system (CODES). Pellet cores containing lactulose or mannitol were prepared by extrusion/spheronization and coated with an acid soluble polymer (Eudragit E 100), hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) and an enteric coat (Eudragit FS30D) sequentially. In vitro drug release of coated pellets was studied using USP dissolution apparatus type II in buffers of pH 1.2 (2 hrs), pH of 7.4 (4 hrs) and pH of 6.8 containing 8% rat cecal contents (RCC) (18 hrs). The efficacy of the optimized formulation (containing 50% lactulose coated with Eudragit E (30% w/w) and Eudragit FS30D (12% w/w)) was evaluated against 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) - induced colitis in rats. The results of the kind of bacteria in vitro dissolution tests indicated absence of drug release in pHs of 1.2 and 7.4 and controlled release in buffer of pH 6.8 containing RCC. It was found that release rate was controlled by the type and amount of polysaccharide and the thickness of the acid soluble layer. The prepared formulation showed promising results in alleviating the conditions of experimental model of colitis. The results of this study suggest that pellets based on CODES technology could be useful for colonic delivery of budesonide.

Background and the purpose of the study: Because of its intense bitter taste and susceptibility to moisture Cefetamet Pivoxil (CPH) is presently available only in the form of tablet. The aim of this study was to develop taste masked CPH dry powder suspension. Methods employed for formulations were: a) Film coating of CPH using Eudragit E100 and subsequent adsorption on different carriers such as spray-dried lactose, sodium starch glycolate and spry-dried mannitol and b) Complexation of CPH with three different ion exchange resins viz; indion 234, amberlite IRP64 and amberlite IRP69. Taste evaluation as recognized by volunteers revealed that coating with eudragit E100 and subsequent adsorption on different carriers do not mask the bitter taste of the drug. Suspensions prepared using amberlite IRP64 and amberlite IRP69 were extremely palatable with no bitter after taste. They showed pseudoplastic flow behavior and were too viscous even after shearing for sufficient duration of time and exhibited poor pourability. The suspension made with indion 234 was palatable with slight or no bitter after taste. It demonstrated plastic flow with negligible thixotropy. It had moderate viscosity at rest and could be poured after a reasonable amount of shaking. CPH dry powder suspensions were very unstable under different conditions except under refrigeration. A 5% degradation of drug was occurred in reconstituted suspension in 4 days period when stored at room temperature. Dry powder suspension prepared with indion 234 with 5% overages was stable even after 4th day of reconstitution and palatable with slight or no bitter after taste

Background and the purpose of the study: Lamotrigine is a broad spectrum anticonvulsant drug widely used as mono- or adjunct- therapy in adults and children. The aim of this study was to develop controlled release liquid formulation of lamotrigine to improve bioavailability and compliance of pediatric and geriatric epileptic patients. Multiple (w/o/w) emulsion was prepared using one step emulsification technique. It was evaluated for entrapment efficiency (EE), morphology, zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index (PI), rheology, thermal property, in vitro drug release behavior and stability. In vivo studies in albino mice were carried out using maximal electroshock seizure (MES) test and strychnine induced seizure (SIS) pattern test and results were compared with marketed formulation. The EE of the formulations varied from 84.37% to 98.11%. The ZP and PI values of the prepared batches were in the range of +23.46 to +28.07 and 0.256 and 0.365, respectively. Microscopic observation clearly indicated the stability of the emulsions during the storage period. All batches exhibited controlled in vitro drug release up to 12 hrs. Batch C11 exhibited significantly longer duration of protection of seizure in mice against MES and exhibited comparable efficacy in SIS as compared to the marketed formulation.Major Multiple emulsion of lamotrigine compared to the marketed tablet showed plasma drug concentration within therapeutic range for longer time and comparable efficacy.

Background and the purpose of the study: Human fibroblast growth factor 20 (FGF20) is a 16.5 kDa protein containing 154 amino acid residues with reportedly poor thermal stability, and low stability, which are considered to be major factors that can limit its pharmacological applications. Thus, the aim of this study was to enhance the thermal stability and bioactivity of a therapeutic FGF20 by addition of sucrose or heparin as additives and also at different temperatures. A variety of biophysical techniques such as far-UV circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence and high resolution derivative UV absorption spectroscopy, were employed to characterize FGF20 and study the effects of heparin and sucrose on its thermal stability and bioactivity at pH 7.0. Results of this study suggest that human FGF20 is significantly unstable and induction of heat by increased temperatures results in aggregation and precipitation at pH 7.0. Great changes in the fluorescence intensity and shape were achieved by addition of heparin and sucrose at different temperatures compared to the control. From 10 °C to 60 °C, no significant changes were observed in far-UV CD spectrum compared to the control, but significant changes were observed by adding sucrose when these temperatures are above 45 °C. Upon addition of heparin and sucrose, the mitogenic activity increased significantly at all tested temperatures, and these changes may be related to the roles of heparin and sucrose on the structure and conformation of FGF20. Results of this study suggest that heparin and sucrose as additives seems to be sufficient to prevent thermal inactivation of FGF20 and also maintain its conformation stability and bioactivity.

Background and the purpose of the study: Gnidilatimonoein (Gn), a new diterpene ester from Daphne mucronata, possesses strong anti-metastasis and anti-tumor activities. In this study, its apoptosis and differentiation capabilities were evaluated by using the leukemia HL-60 cell line. Cell prolifaration inhibition was estimated by MTT assay. The occurrence of apoptosis was evaluated by EtBr/AO double staining technique, cell cycle analyses and detection of apoptotic cells by Annexin V-FITC and propodium iodide (PI). Differentiation of the cells was determined by NBT reduction assay and the expression of specific cell surface markers such as CD14 and CD11b, were analyzed by flow cytometry. The drug decreased the growth of the cells dose- and time- dependently and the IC50 was found to be 1.3 µM. Our data suggested that Gn induced both monocytic differentiation and apoptosis among HL-60 cells. In addition, cell cycle analyses showed an increase in G1 phase population by 24 hrs, which was gradually replaced by Sub-G1 cell population (apoptotic cells) by 72 hrs. Based on these data, the Gn-treated HL-60 cells displayed differentiation-dependent apoptosis. Thus, Gn might be a good candidate for differentiation therapy of leukemia, pending full biological evaluation of the compound among the wide array of leukemia cells.evaluation of the compound among the wide array of leukemia cells.

Background and the purpose of the study: Functional constipation is prevalent in children. Recently has been introduced as an effective and safe drug to treat chronic constipation. There are only a few clinical trials on comparison of PEG and liquid paraffin in childhood constipation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of PEG 3350 solution and liquid paraffin in the treatment of children with functional constipation in Sari Toba clinic during the period of 2008-2009. Children with a history of functional constipation were subjects of this study. One hundred and sixty children of 2-12 years old with functional constipation were randomized in two PEG and paraffin treatment groups. Patients received either 1.0-1.5 g/kg/day PEG 3350 or 1.0-1.5 ml/kg/day liquid paraffin for 4 months. Clinical efficacy was evaluated by stool and encopresis frequency/week and overall treatment success rate was compared in two groups.Results and major Compared with the baseline, defecation frequency/ week increased significantly and encopresis frequency meaningfully decreased in two groups during the period of the study. Patients using PEG 3350 had more success rate (mean: 95.3%±3.7) compared with the patients in paraffin group (mean: 87.2%±7.1) (p=0.087). Administration of PEG 3350 was associated with less adverse events than liquid paraffin. In conclusion in treatment of pediatric functional constipation, regarding clinical efficacy and safety, PEG 3350 were at least as effective as liquid paraffin and but less adverse drug events.

Background and the purpose of the study: Besides its hematopoietic effects, erythropoietin (EPO) by mobilization of iron and modulation of some inflammatory cytokines has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate these effects of erythropoietin and its impact on organ function in traumatized patients. Twenty-six ICU-admitted traumatized patients within 24 hrs after trauma were randomly assigned to the EPO (received EPO, 300 units/Kg/day) and Control (not received EPO) groups. The inflammatory biomarkers including Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin 1 (IL-1), Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and Nitrotyrosine were recorded at the admission, 3, 6 and 9 days thereafter. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores were also recorded. Among 12 patients (EPO group) TNF-α level at the day of 9 (P=0.046), and within EPO group at the days of 3 (P=0.026 ameliorate), 6 (P=0.016), and 9 (P=0.052) were significantly lowered. Level of IL-1 and PAI-1 decreased significantly at days of 3, 6 and 9 post intervention. Also there were significant differences between two groups in the SOFA score during three measured time intervals (the first, third and seventh days). From the results of this study it seems that injection of erythrocyte stimulating agent is well tolerated and inhibits the inflammatory response and oxidative stress following trauma.

Background and the purpose of the study: It has been well established that cholinergic pathway plays an important role in learning and memory processes. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of Morris water maze (MWM) training on spatial memory acquisition and expression of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in male rats. In this study, training trials of all groups of animals were conducted in the MWM task. Rats received one training session consisting of four trials per day which continued for another four consecutive days. Controls received visible platform MWM training. The escape latency, the traveled distance and swimming speed for each rat were recorded and used to evaluate the performance of the animal during training period. For evaluation of expression of VAChT protein levels, brain tissues from animals in each experiment were obtained immediately after the last trial on the related experimental day and processed for immunohistochemistry staining and western blotting analysis. There was a significant difference between animals subjected to one day training and those receiving four days of training in escape latency and travel distance. There were an apparent increase in VAChT immunoreactivity in the medial septal area (MSA) and CA1 region of the hippocampus in one day and four day trained animals compared with controls (visible group). Quantitative immunostaining analysis by optical density measurements in the CA1 region and evaluation of immunopositive neurons in medial septal area of brain sections confirmed qualitative findings. Assessment of VAChT protein level expression in hippocampus by western blotting evaluation showed the same pattern of immunohistochemistry results. Overall, results of this study reveal changes in cholinergic neuron activity in different stages of training in the MWM task. Data suggest that there is a significant level of cholinergic neuronal activity during early stages of the training especially in the hippocampus region that may contribute to the apparent increase in VAChT expression.