ABSTRACT
The development of semisolid formulations, gels in particular, has raised the attention of scientists more and more over the last decades. Because of their biocompatibility, hydrophilic nature, and capacity of absorbing large quantities of water, hydrogels are still one of the most promising pharmaceutical formulations in the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of this study is to develop an optimal formulation capable of incorporating a water-poorly soluble active ingredient such as miconazole used in the treatment of fungal infections with Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis. A D-optimal design was applied to study the relationship between the formulation parameter and the gel characteristics. The independent parameters used in this study were the Carbopol 940 concentration (the polymer used to obtain the gel matrix), the sodium hydroxide amount, and the presence/absence of miconazole. Ten different dependent parameters (Y1-Y10) were evaluated (penetrometry, spreadability, viscosity, and tangential tension at 1 and 11 levels of speed whilst destructuring and during the reorganization of the gel matrix). The consistency of the gels ranged from 23.2 mm (GO2) to 29.6 mm (GM5). The least spreadable gel was GO7 (1384 mm2), whilst the gel that presented the best spreadability was GO1 (3525 mm2). The viscosity and the tangential stress at the selected levels (1 and 11) varied due to the different compositions of the proposed gels. The gels were also tested for drug content and antifungal activity. All determinations had satisfying results; the drug content was within limits accepted by Ph. Eur. 10 and all formulations containing miconazole exhibited antifungal activity. An optimal formulation with miconazole was attained, consisting of 0.84% Carbopol 940 and 0.32% sodium hydroxide.
ABSTRACT
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women represent a common bacteriological finding, with negligible recent and consistent research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the female population. We designed a retrospective study to observe the incidence of frequent uropathogens and their resistance rates to common antibiotics. We elaborated multicenter research in three different teaching hospitals in Romania, analyzing 13,081 urine samples, of which 1588 met the criteria of inclusion. Escherichia coli (58.37%) was the most frequent Gram-negative uropathogen, presenting high resistance rates to levofloxacin (R = 29.66%), amoxicillin-clavulanic ac. (R = 14.13%), and ceftazidime (R = 6.68%). We found good sensitivity to imipenem and meropenem (both 98.16%), amikacin (S = 96.0%), and fosfomycin (S = 90.39%). The second most prevalent uropathogen was Klebsiella (16.93%), with the highest resistance quota to amoxicillin-clavulanic ac. (R = 28.62%), levofloxacin and nitrofurantoin (both R = 15.61%), and ceftazidime (R = 15.24%), and good sensitivity to imipenem (S = 93.93%), meropenem (S = 91.91%), and amikacin (S = 88.47%). Enterococcus (13.35%) was the most encountered Gram-positive pathogen. It proved the highest resistance to levofloxacin (R = 32.07%), penicillin (R = 32.07%), and ampicillin (R = 14.62%) and good sensitivity to vancomycin (S = 91.98%), fosfomycin (S = 94.4%), and nitrofurantoin (S = 89.15%). Considering the lack of recent and consistent data on this topic, we find our survey a valuable starting research study in this area with high significance for an accurate clinical approach.
