Effect of arsenic on paracetamol binding to bovine serum albumin using site specific probes.

Arsenic contamination in groundwater is a global health challenge. A large number of people worldwide are affected by arsenic poisoning. Paracetamol is a widely used analgesic-antipyretic drug. Effect of arsenic on paracetamol binding to protein has been investigated using two site specific probes and equilibrium dialysis method was used for the experiment. In absence of any site specific probes free concentration of paracetamol bound to bovine serum albumin increased from 3.95 ± 1.164% to 25.36 ± 1.164%. In presence of site-I specific probe warfarin sodium the % release of drug was steady at around 14%. But in presence of site-II specific probe an increment of free drug concen-tration was observed from 14.38 ± 1.164% to 54.72 ± 1.552%. Thus it can be assumed that the free concentration of paracetamol was increased to a greater extent in presence of arsenic and probably arsenic bound to site-II of BSA. Thus arsenic may displace paracetamol by binding with high affinity binding site, site-II in the BSA and probably arsenic has little effect to site-I.

Pattern and treatment of Gout in Bangladesh: a hospital based survey at Dhaka city, Bangladesh.

Gout is a common metabolic disorder which occurs due to excessive deposition of uric acid in different bone joints. Increasing life expectancy, life style change, changes in diet are causing an increased incidence of the disease nowadays. The present study was aimed to understand the pattern and treatment of gout in Bangladesh. 150 patients at four tertiary care hospitals in Dhaka city were surveyed. The findings of the present study suggests that both male and female are suffering from the disease and age seems to be related to the disease as 62% of gout patients were found over 50 years of age. Body weight may be a contributing factor of the disease. Most of the gout patients under the survey were suffering from high blood pressure (65.33%). Primary gout was found more prevalent in this investigation (70.66%) and viral hepatitis was found to be the most common cause of the disease (50%). The patients presented common sign and symptoms of gout.

Effect of arsenic on paracetamol binding to bovine serum albumin using site specific probes.

Arsenic contamination in groundwater is a global health challenge. A large number of people worldwide are affected by arsenic poisoning. Paracetamol is a widely used analgesic-antipyretic drug. Effect of arsenic on paracetamol binding to protein has been investigated using two site specific probes and equilibrium dialysis method was used for the experiment. In absence of any site specific probes free concentration of paracetamol bound to bovine serum albumin increased from 3.95 ± 1.164% to 25.36 ± 1.164%. In presence of site-I specific probe warfarin sodium the % release of drug was steady at around 14%. But in presence of site-II specific probe an increment of free drug concen-tration was observed from 14.38 ± 1.164% to 54.72 ± 1.552%. Thus it can be assumed that the free concentration of paracetamol was increased to a greater extent in presence of arsenic and probably arsenic bound to site-II of BSA. Thus arsenic may displace paracetamol by binding with high affinity binding site, site-II in the BSA and probably arsenic has little effect to site-I.

Enhancement of oral bioavailability and solid dispersion: A review.

Improving oral bioavailability of drugs those given as solid dosage forms remains a challenge for the formulation scientists due to solubility problems. Most of the newly invented chemical entities are poorly water soluble. As a result formulating them as oral solid dosage forms is a hurdle to the specialists. Many techniques have been exercised to improve oral bioavailability of drugs. Among several methods, solid dispersion has attracted attention of the researchers for previous 50 years. Different formulation strategies have been taken to prepare solid dispersions. It is evident that solid dispersions improve solubility of drug particles thus enhancing dissolution characteristics of drugs they increase the oral bioavailability. This review paper will focus on different aspects of solid dispersion preparation; their advantages, major challenges and preparation methods.

Hepatitis in Bangladesh: Pattern and treatment Options.

Hepatitis is common disease in Bangladesh. As a country of the Asia Pacific region Bangladesh is considered to be a high risk country for developing hepatitis A and B. This study represents the pattern and types of treatment of hepatitis in two tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh; Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and Dhaka Medical Collage Hospital. 140 patients were selected among whom 80 were male and 60 female. The patients were asked to fill up a questioner. Prescriptions of all the patients were reviewed and the duty doctors were consulted for further clarification of the cases. From the data obtained over a 3 month long survey it was found that hepatitis A, B and C are most common in this country. Most of the patients develop classical sign and symptoms of hepatitis; most commonly jaundice and weight loss. About 50% hepatitis cases contributed a viral cause. 42.86% patients undergo preventive treatment whereas 57.14% patients are treated with drugs. Lamivudine, Adefovir and Ribavirin were the commonly used drugs in viral hepatitis. The prevalence of different forms of hepatitis in Bangladesh is high. Bangladesh is at the high risk region of hepatitis A and B. Routine immunizations and community education regarding the diseases are highly warranted here

First step in the assessment of mechanical properties of pure API: production of tablet with minimum addition of excipient.

There are a number of challenges during tablet dosage form development like excipient selection, poor powder flow, poor tableting, lack of hardness, high friability, elevated disintegration time, low dissolution rate etc. Most of them are significantly influenced by the mechanical properties (like elasticity, plasticity, brittleness, powder compressibility, tensile strength, etc.) of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Assessment of these properties of the pure actives is not always easy. Absence of lubrication may induce a lot of friction, causing capping, lamination or sticking or in many cases, combination of them, damaging the test tablet when taken out. Different approaches were studied to overcome this problem and a solution was found by compaction of a tablet of Sodium Starch Glycolate-Magnesium Stearate in a ratio of 2.75:1 before compressing each tablet of pure API.

Formulation and comparison of in vitro release profile of hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymer based Naproxen matrix tablets.

The study was aimed to investigate the effect of polymer on the release profile of Naproxen from different percentages of HPMC 5cps and Kollidon SR based matrix systems. Different amount of HPMC and Kollidon SR were used to develop matrix builder in the four proposed formulations (F1-F4) for the study of release rate retardant effect at 25% and 35% of total weight of tablet matrix respectively. The tablets were prepared by direct compression method. The granules and tablets were evaluated for their physical properties and they did not show any significant variations and were found to have good physical integrity. The dissolution study of those proposed formulations were carried out in the simulated intestinal medium (pH 7.4) for 8 hours using USP paddle method with 50 rpm at 37±0.5⁰C. HPMC is hydrophilic and Kollidon SR is hydrophobic in nature. Statistically significant difference were found among the drug release profile from different percent of polymer and the release mechanisms were explored and explained with zero order, Higuchi and Korsmeyer equations. The release of Naproxen from F-1 and F-2 very closely followed Korsmeyer release kinetics where F-3 and F-4 best fitted with Higuchi model. The cumulative percent release of Naproxen was highest in F-2 containing 35% of HPMC. On the basis of results, it was found that the profile of F-1 formulation was the best among the four formulations. Between these two polymers, HPMC showed better percentage of release and Kollidon SR showed better release retardant effect.