DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ORO-DISPERSIBLE TABLETS OF METFORMIN HYDROCHLORIDE USING CAJANUS CAJAN STARCH AS A NATURAL SUPERDISINTEGRANT

Objective: The aim of the research work was to explore the use of Cajanus cajan (Pigeon pea) polysaccharide as a superdisintegrant. The novel superdisintegrant has been evaluated for its action by incorporating it into orodispersible tablets of Metformin Hydrochloride. Methods: Cajanus cajan starch was extracted from its seeds and superdisintegrant was developed by microwave modification of the extract. Various characterization tests such as gelatinization temperature, water absorption index, pH, and viscosity were used to identify the microwave-modified polysaccharide. The orodispersible tablets were made using a direct compression process employing varying concentrations of modified Cajanus cajan starch. Prepared tablets were tested for several pre and post-compression parameters and compared with a well-established synthetic superdisintegrant, sodium starch glycolate. The stability studies were conducted on an optimized formulation. Results: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy study showed that the drug had no interactions with the microwave-modified Cajanus cajan starch. SEM confirmed that Cajanus cajan starch granules exhibited intact granular structure in oval shapes and smooth surfaces. After microwave modification, the Cajanus cajan starch component lost its granular structure, which further led to the generation of surface pores and internal channels, causing overall swelling responsible for superdisintegrant activity. The optimized formulation (ODF5) containing 15 % modified Cajanus cajan starch performed better in terms of wetting time (22.21 s), disintegration time (53.3 s), and in vitro drug release (92%), as compared to formulation prepared by synthetic superdisintegrant (ODF1). Conclusion: The present investigation concluded that modified Cajanus cajan starch has good potential as a superdisintegrant for formulating oro-dispersible tablets. Furthermore, modified Cajanus cajan starch is inexpensive, non-toxic and compatible in comparison with available synthetic superdisintegrants

Root coverage with buccal fat pad placed on restored cervical abrasion: Case report with three-year follow-up

A patient was reported with Class II gingival recession (GR) of 5 mm. After restoring abrasion with glass ionomer cement, a full-thickness flap was raised and using blunt dissection through the buccinator and loose surrounding fascia buccal fat pad (BFP) was exposed into the mouth. It was easily spread over the maxillary roots of 14, 15, and 16. It was secured and immobilized using sutures. Postoperatively, the patient did not report swelling or trismus. At 3-year postoperative, gingival margin was at cementoenamel junction, stable and healthy and did not show any recession. Thus, it can be concluded that BFP for covering GR is an excellent technique. It is simple surgical procedure with easy handling of the flap. It provides excellent color and texture match and can also be considered as an excellent procedure for increasing the width of attached gingiva

Small Tech, Big Impact: Agri-nanotechnology Journey to Optimize Crop Protection and Production for Sustainable Agriculture

The world's climate shifts rapidly, leading to increasingly severe and volatile weather, negatively impacting crop yields. To produce long-lasting crops, cutting-edge nanotechnology is applied to agriculture called agri-nanotechnology (ANT), a relatively fresh field of research. ANT aims to help agricultural systems meet the demands for sustainable food production. The inclusion of ANT could transform conventional farming practices by enabling the targeted delivery of biomolecules and the controlled liberation of agrochemicals. Increasing crop yields requires a vaster understanding of the interactions between plants and nanoparticles (NPs) to make them more resistant to environmental stresses and maximize their utilization. Furthermore, ANT is a well-known and highly praised tool that provides various solutions to build modern agricultural practices. In summation, ANT stands as a vanguard in harnessing nanoscale innovations to optimize crop protection and production in a sustainable way

Large Local Internal Stress in an Elastically Bent Molecular Crystal Revealed by Raman Shifts

The structural dynamics involved in the mechanical flexibility of molecular crystals are not well understood yet. Here, we report an elastically bending lipidated molecular crystal that shows systematic shifts in characteristic vibrational frequencies across the bent crystal region - revealing the nature of structural changes during bending and the local internal stress distribution. The elastic flexibility is rendered by intermolecular N-H∙∙∙O hydrogen-bonded chains along with strong yet flexible alkyl-chain hydrophobic interactions in this crystal structure. The blue shifts in the bond stretching modes (such as C=O and C-H modes) in the inner arc region and red shifts in the outer arc region of the bent crystals observed via micro-Raman mapping are counterintuitive to the bending models based on intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Correlating these shifts with the trends observed from high-pressure Raman studies on the crystal reveals the local stress difference between the inner arc and outer arc regions of the bent crystal to be ~2 GPa, more than an order of magnitude higher than the previously proposed value in elastically bending crystals. High local internal stress can have direct ramifications on the properties of molecular piezoelectric energy harvesters, actuators, semiconductors, and flexible optoelectronic materials

A laboratory investigation into the seismic velocities of methane gas hydrate-bearing sand

Remote seismic methods, which measure the compressional wave (P wave) velocity (Vp) and shear wave (S wave) velocity (Vs), can be used to assess the distribution and concentration of marine gas hydrates in situ. However, interpreting seismic data requires an understanding of the seismic properties of hydrate-bearing sediments, which has proved problematic because of difficulties in recovering intact hydrate-bearing sediment samples and in performing valid laboratory tests. Therefore a dedicated gas hydrate resonant column (GHRC) was developed to allow pressure and temperature conditions suitable for hydrate formation to be applied to a specimen with subsequent measurement of both Vp and Vs made at frequencies and strains relevant to marine seismic investigations. Thirteen sand specimens containing differing amounts of evenly dispersed hydrate were tested. The results show a bipartite relationship between velocities and hydrate pore saturation, with a marked transition between 3 and 5% hydrate pore saturation for both Vp and Vs. This suggests that methane hydrate initially cements sand grain contacts then infills the pore space. These results show in detail for the first time, using a resonant column, how hydrate cementation affects elastic wave properties in quartz sand. This information is valuable for validating theoretical models relating seismic wave propagation in marine sediments to hydrate pore saturation

A plasma cell differentiation quality control ablates B cell clones with biallelic Ig rearrangements and truncated Ig production

International audienceAberrantly rearranged immunoglobulin (Ig) alleles are frequent. They are usually considered sterile and innocuous as a result of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. However, alternative splicing can yield internally deleted proteins from such nonproductively V(D)J-rearranged loci. We show that nonsense codons from variable (V) Igκ exons promote exon-skipping and synthesis of V domain-less κ light chains (ΔV-κLCs). Unexpectedly, such ΔV-κLCs inhibit plasma cell (PC) differentiation. Accordingly, in wild-type mice, rearrangements encoding ΔV-κLCs are rare in PCs, but frequent in B cells. Likewise, enforcing expression of ΔV-κLCs impaired PC differentiation and antibody responses without disturbing germinal center reactions. In addition, PCs expressing ΔV-κLCs synthesize low levels of Ig and are mostly found among short-lived plasmablasts. ΔV-κLCs have intrinsic toxic effects in PCs unrelated to Ig assembly, but mediated by ER stress–associated apoptosis, making PCs producing ΔV-κLCs highly sensitive to proteasome inhibitors. Altogether, these findings demonstrate a quality control checkpoint blunting terminal PC differentiation by eliminating those cells expressing nonfunctionally rearranged Igκ alleles. This truncated Ig exclusion (TIE) checkpoint ablates PC clones with ΔV-κLCs production and exacerbated ER stress response. The TIE checkpoint thus mediates selection of long-lived PCs with limited ER stress supporting high Ig secretion, but with a cost in terms of antigen-independent narrowing of the repertoire