SOLID AS SOLVENTâ€- NOVEL SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF NORFLOXACIN TABLETS USING PHENOL AS SOLVENT

Commonly used organic solvents for spectrophotometric analysis of water insoluble drugs include methanol, ethanol, chloroform, benzene, dichloromethane, dimethyl formamide, acetonitrile, ethyl acetate, toluene, carbon tetrachloride, acetone, hexane etc. The main drawbacks of organic solvents include high cost, toxicity and pollution. Organic solvents have innumerous adverse effects caused by single exposure like dermatitis, headache, drowsiness, nausea, eye irritation and long term exposure causes serious effects such as neurological disorders, chronic renal failure, liver damage, necrosis, mutagenesis disorder. They should be replaced by other eco-friendly alternative sources. The present investigation is an attempt to show that solids can also be wisely used to act as solvent precluding the use of organic solvents. In a separate study, author has attempted soxhelation using phenol as solvent. The vapours of boiling phenol got condensed in extraction chamber to effect the extraction of active constituents from powder of crude drugs. The main objective of the present study is to demonstrate the solvent action of solids. Solid excipients can nicely be employed as solubilizers in the development of pharmaceutical dosage forms in solution form of poorly soluble drugs (mixed solvency concept). Present study describes the application of solvent character of melted phenol (at 50-60°C) for spectroscopic estimation of norfloxacin tablets. Solubility of norfloxacin in distilled water is 0.88 mg/ml. More than 100 mg of nofloxacin dissolves in one gram of melted phenol (at 50-60°C). In the present investigation, melted phenol (at 50-60°C) was utilized to extract out (dissolve) the drug from powder of norfloxacin tablets. Distilled water was used for dilution purpose. Absorbances of standard solutions containing 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 µg/ml were noted at 324 nm against reagent blanks to obtain calibration curve. Proposed method is novel, economic, eco-friendly, rapid, free from toxicity of organic solvent, accurate and reproducible. Recovery studies and statistical data proved the accuracy, reproducibility and precision of the proposed method. The presence of tablet excipients and phenol did not interfere in the spectrophotometric estimation at 324 nm

Use of microconidia for testing the genetic purity of Neurospora stocks

Uninucleate microconidia have been used to check the purity of laboratory stocks of Neurospora. Stock cultures of N. crassa and N. intermedia become heterokaryotic due to spontaneous mutation

REITs and Idiosyncratic Risk

This study examines various determinants of idiosyncratic risk from the perspective of un-diversified REIT investors, managers holding options, other option holders, and arbitrageurs. Since real estate investment trusts (REITs) enjoy a unique organizational structure and tax status, the relevant determinants derived from the two-stage regression model are different from other industrial firms. Results suggest that efficiency, liquidity and earnings variability are the important determinants of idiosyncratic risk, whereas size and capital do not

Phenotypic lag in macroconidia of N. crassa his-3\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e transsformants and its implication in estimation of nuclear ratios

A majority of prototrophic macroconidia of two of the three histidine transformants of Neurospora crassa tested required histidine for germination. This condition led to an underestimation of the proportion of his-3+ macroconidia in the samples and wronged the estimation of ratio of his-3+/ his-3 nuclei by direct plating method. To correctly estimate nuclear ratio, a sample of colonies from histidine-supplemented plating medium was transferred to histidine drop-out slants and the proportion of auxotrophic and prototrophic colonies was determined from their growth response. The amino acid requirement by prototrophic macroconidia was not specific, was limited to colony formation and was not due to low endogenous content of amino acids

Germination and plating efficiency of Neurospora crassa microconidia

The plating efficiency of microconidia , estimated by the number of colonies formed on a sorbose-containing medium, is commonly taken as a measure of their germinability. It has generally been low. We report that when microconidia of mcm and pe; fl strains were spread on a dialysis membrane overlying sorbose medium, their germination was greater than 80%

The unit group of group algebra FqSL(2;Z3)F_qSL(2;Z_3)

Let \F_q be a finite field of characteristic $p$ having $q$ elements, where $q = p^k$ and $p\ge 5$. Let $SL(2,\Z_3)$ be the special linear group of $2\times2$ matrices with determinant $1$ over $\Z_3$. In this note we establish the structure of the unit group of \F_q SL(2,\Z_3)

Increase in germination and plating efficiency of Neurospora crassa microconidia by amino acid supplementation

A major difficulty that has limited the use of uninucleate microconidia in genetic research is their low and erratic germination. We found that the supplementation of sorbose plating medium by amino acids, notably aspartic acid and methionine, markedly improved germination and plating efficiency of microconidia of mcm and pe fl genotypes of N. crassa. The plating efficiency of mcm microconidia in amino acid supplemented medium was comparable to macroconidia

Dynamics of Team Teaching and Research in a Management School: Learning and Imperatives

This paper discusses the experience of team teaching to address the issues of integration of academic inputs by bringing multi-disciplinary perspective together and thereby enhance learning experience of participants. The paper delves on the process, events and outcome of team teaching by four faculty members at IIM Ahmedabad who collaborated in teaching, writing cases, and doing research for a period of more than three years. The experience has been summarized using the following dimensions: need for team-teaching, existing mechanisms and barriers, opportunities and potential, imperatives, fall-outs and challenges experienced in the process. The cohesion, trust and mutual respect are key imperatives. The other factors contributing to the success of team-teaching are strong felt need by the members for integration in programmes, complementary skills and experiences of team members, frequent programmes with integrated components that provided continuous opportunities for learning, co-location of the instructors, and off-site programmes that provided opportunities for close get-togethers. The autonomy granted by the institution to instructors and co-coordinators to design and execute learning opportunities was also instrumental in the success. In an environment where the rule of the game is individualism, forming teams creates fears of loss of importance and recognition. The experience shows that the competency of the members and the overall effectiveness of the tasks are strengthened if the team believes in “reciprocating interdependence”. This can be possible only if members allow themselves opportunities to experiment, improvise and review

DEVELOPMENT AND VLAIDATION OF SIMPLE UV-SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC METHOD OF QUANTIZATION OF DIAZEPAM IN BULK DRUG AND SOLID DOSAGE FORMULATION USING MIXED SOLVENCY CONCEPT

Objective: Commonly used organic solvents for spectrophotometric analysis of water insoluble drugs are methanol, ethanol, chloroform, benzene, toluene etc. The main drawbacks of organic solvents include high cost, toxicity, and pollution. Organic solvents have numerous adverse effects caused by single exposure like dermatitis, headache, drowsiness, nausea, eye irritation and long term exposure causes serious effects such as neurological disorder, chronic renal failure, and liver damage. They should be replaced by other ecofriendly alternative sources.Methods: The present study is an attempt to show that solid can also be used to act as solvent precluding the use of organic solvents. A simple, safe and sensitive method of spectrophotometric determination of diazepam obeyed beers law in the concentration range of 5-25 mcg/ml at 306 nm.Results: The results of analyses have been validated statistically for Linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD and LOQ. The results of validation parameters also indicated that proposed method was found to be accurate, precise, reproducible, sensitive, and suitable for routine quality control analysis for estimation of diazepam in bulk drug and solid dosage formulation.Conclusion: A rapid, simple, and non toxic UV spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination and quantification of diazepam. The present method also validated as per ICH guidelines for linearity, precision, accuracy

FDI Accounting in India and China: A Need for Harmonization

The objective of this paper is to initiate discussions on standardizing the method for measuring Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) across countries. It is important to use consistent method so that there is a faithful representation of a country\u27s investment climate and the information is relevant for the purpose of foreign investors. India and China measures Foreign Direct Investment (FDJ) using two different methods. India measures FDI on the basis of equity investments, whereas China includes certain items which do not strictly fall under the purview of FDI. Inclusion of items other than equity increases the reported FDI in China. It is presumed that overall higher reported FDI makes China appear more attractive than India. Our findings suggest that once adjustments for the definitionsare made, difference between the FDI in China and India decreases substantially