Ambient mass spectrometry technologies for the detection of falsified drugs

Increased globalization of the pharmaceutical market has facilitated the unobstructed and fast spread of poor-quality medicines. Poor-quality medicines include spurious/falsely-labeled/falsified/counterfeit drugs (those that are deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to content and/or origin), substandard drugs (legitimate drugs that do not meet their quality specifications), and degraded medicines (good quality pharmaceuticals that suffered from deterioration caused by improper storage or distribution). Consumption of poor-quality pharmaceuticals is likely to increase morbidity and mortality.Moreover, poor-quality drugs can also contribute to the development of resistance to anti-infective medicines and decrease the quality of health care received by patients. To assess the true prevalence of poor quality drugs, tiered technology approaches enabling the testing of drug samples collected at points of sale are required, thus ensuring public health standards. High throughput and high resolution ambient mass spectrometry techniques allow investigation of pharmaceuticals with minimal or no sample preparation, thus possessing capabilities to survey a large number of drug samples for their authenticity.Fil: Culzoni, Maria Julia. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Dwivedi, Prabha. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: Green, Michael D.. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention. National Center For Infectious Diseases. Division Of Parasitic Diseases; Estados UnidosFil: Newton, Paul. Mahosot Hospital; Laos. University of Oxford; Reino UnidoFil: Fernandez, Facundo. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados Unido

A Repeat Random Survey of the Prevalence of Falsified and Substandard Antimalarials in the Lao PDR: A Change for the Better.

In 2003, a stratified random sample survey was conducted in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) to study the availability and quality of antimalarials in the private sector. In 2012, this survey was repeated to allow a statistically valid analysis of change through time. The counterfeit detection device 3 (CD-3) was used to assess packaging quality in the field and HPLC and mass spectroscopy analysis chemical analysis performed. The availability of oral artesunate monotherapies had significantly decreased from 22.9% (22) of 96 outlets in southern Laos in 2003 to 4.8% (7) of 144 outlets in 2012 (P < 0.0001). All the samples collected in the 2012 survey contained the correct active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in contrast to the 21 (84%) falsified artesunate samples found in the 2003 survey. Although none of the medicines found in 2012 survey had evidence for falsification, 25.4% (37) of the samples were outside the 90-110% pharmacopeial limits of the label claim, suggesting that they were substandard or degraded. Results obtained from this survey show that patients are still exposed to poorly manufactured drugs or to ineffective medicines such as chloroquine. The quality of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) used in Laos needs to be monitored, since falsified ACTs would have devastating consequences in public health

Prevalence of substandard and falsified artemisinin-based combination antimalarial medicines on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.

INTRODUCTION: Poor-quality artemisinin-containing antimalarials (ACAs), including falsified and substandard formulations, pose serious health concerns in malaria endemic countries. They can harm patients, contribute to the rise in drug resistance and increase the public's mistrust of health systems. Systematic assessment of drug quality is needed to gain knowledge on the prevalence of the problem, to provide Ministries of Health with evidence on which local regulators can take action. METHODS: We used three sampling approaches to purchase 677 ACAs from 278 outlets on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea as follows: convenience survey using mystery client (n=16 outlets, 31 samples), full island-wide survey using mystery client (n=174 outlets, 368 samples) and randomised survey using an overt sampling approach (n=88 outlets, 278 samples). The stated active pharmaceutical ingredients (SAPIs) were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography and confirmed by mass spectrometry at three independent laboratories. RESULTS: Content analysis showed 91.0% of ACAs were of acceptable quality, 1.6% were substandard and 7.4% falsified. No degraded medicines were detected. The prevalence of medicines without the SAPIs was higher for ACAs purchased in the convenience survey compared with the estimates obtained using the full island-wide survey-mystery client and randomised-overt sampling approaches. Comparable results were obtained for full island survey-mystery client and randomised overt. However, the availability of purchased artesunate monotherapies differed substantially according to the sampling approach used (convenience, 45.2%; full island-wide survey-mystery client, 32.6%; random-overt sampling approach, 21.9%). Of concern is that 37.1% (n=62) of these were falsified. CONCLUSION: Falsified ACAs were found on Bioko Island, with the prevalence ranging between 6.1% and 16.1%, depending on the sampling method used. These findings underscore the vital need for national authorities to track the scale of ineffective medicines that jeopardise treatment of life-threatening diseases and value of a representative sampling approach to obtain/measure the true prevalence of poor-quality medicines

Quality of artemisinin-based combination formulations for malaria treatment: prevalence and risk factors for poor quality medicines in public facilities and private sector drug outlets in Enugu, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin-based combination therapies are recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as first-line treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria, yet medication must be of good quality for efficacious treatment. A recent meta-analysis reported 35% (796/2,296) of antimalarial drug samples from 21 Sub-Saharan African countries, purchased from outlets predominantly using convenience sampling, failed chemical content analysis. We used three sampling strategies to purchase artemisinin-containing antimalarials (ACAs) in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria, and compared the resulting quality estimates. METHODS: ACAs were purchased using three sampling approaches--convenience, mystery clients and overt, within a defined area and sampling frame in Enugu metropolis. The active pharmaceutical ingredients were assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography and confirmed by mass spectrometry at three independent laboratories. Results were expressed as percentage of APIs stated on the packaging and used to categorise each sample as acceptable quality, substandard, degraded, or falsified. RESULTS: Content analysis of 3024 samples purchased from 421 outlets using convenience (n=200), mystery (n=1,919) and overt (n=905) approaches, showed overall 90.8% ACAs to be of acceptable quality, 6.8% substandard, 1.3% degraded and 1.2% falsified. Convenience sampling yielded a significantly higher prevalence of poor quality ACAs, but was not evident by the mystery and overt sampling strategies both of which yielded results that were comparable between each other. Artesunate (n=135; 4 falsified) and dihydroartemisinin (n=14) monotherapy tablets, not recommended by WHO, were also identified. CONCLUSION: Randomised sampling identified fewer falsified ACAs than previously reported by convenience approaches. Our findings emphasise the need for specific consideration to be given to sampling frame and sampling approach if representative information on drug quality is to be obtained

Calidad de las interacciones en una propuesta para enseñanza de la física en aula virtual y utilizando un Laboratorio Remoto

In this work the design, use and evaluation of a proposal for the teaching or physics in a virtual classroom using a real remote access laboratory through the internet is described. It is a new proposal based on a constructivist conception of socio-cultural orientation of teaching that incorporates new technology in its informative and communicative modality/approach. In agreement with this position that underlies the pedagogical proposal, its evaluation is done bearing in mind that the quality of an online training is measured by the quality of the interaction that teachers and students have during it. From this analysis, it can be concluded how valuable it is the possibility of incorporating the remote laboratory as a didactic resource for the learning of physics and which technical and didactic aspects need to be taken into account to do so.En este trabajo se describe el diseño, utilización y evaluación de una propuesta para la enseñanza de la física en aula virtual utilizando un laboratorio real de acceso remoto a través de Internet. Es una propuesta novedosa basada en una concepción constructivista de orientación socio cultural de la enseñanza que incorpora las nuevas tecnologías en su modalidad informativa y comunicativa. En consonancia con esta posición que subyace a la propuesta pedagógica, su evaluación se realiza considerando que la calidad de una propuesta formativa en línea se mide por la calidad de las interacciones que docentes y alumnos mantienen durante la misma. A partir de este análisis se puede concluir la posibilidad valiosa de incorporar al laboratorio remoto como recurso didáctico para el aprendizaje de la física y que aspectos técnicos y didácticos son necesarios tener en cuenta para ello

Calidad de las interacciones en propuestas de aprendizaje colaborativo de la Física mediadas por tecnologías en carreras de Ingeniería. Estudio de Caso: Facultad de Ingeniería Química de la Universidad Nacional del Litoral

Tesis de MaestríaDirector: Hugo Alberto Kofman Maestría en Procesos Educativos Mediados por Tecnologías. Centro de Estudios Avanzados. Universidad Nacional de CórdobaFecha de Defensa. 13 de marzo de 201

Evaluación del diseño didáctico de una propuesta para el aprendizaje de la física utilizando un laboratorio remoto desde un aula virtual

La enseñanza de la física en modalidad a distancia requiere resolver el problema de la experimentación. Si bien existen numerosos aportes sobre la utilización de simulaciones computacionales en este sentido, éstas no suplen la experiencia real. Los laboratorios reales de acceso remoto por internet pueden constituirse en una herramienta válida para hacer realidad una práctica experimental a distancia. Sin embargo la tecnología necesita de propuestas didácticas que puedan posibilitar la interacción entre estudiantes, contenidos y docentes con el objetivo de construir saberes en un ambiente colaborativo de trabajo. Evaluar esas propuestas educativas requiere de metodologías específicas acordes con los fundamentos pedagógicos que las sustentan. Se presenta en este trabajo una propuesta para enseñanza de la física usando un laboratorio remoto y la evaluación de su diseño didáctico

High-throughput quantitation of bovine milk proteins and discrimination of commercial milk types by external cavity-quantum cascade laser spectroscopy and chemometrics

Analysis of bovine milk proteins is crucial in many food and non-food industrial applications, nevertheless labour-intensive wet-chemical, low-throughput methods are still routinely used. In this work, external cavity-quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) mid-infrared spectroscopy is employed as a rapid method for protein analysis of commercial bovine milk. Combined analysis of the amide I and II bands enabled quantitation of individual proteins (casein, β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin) and total protein content. IR spectra of spiked and diluted milk samples were employed for calibration of the target analytes in the presence of a complex matrix by partial least squares (PLS) regression modelling. A sample set of different milk types (pasteurized; differently processed extended shelf life, ESL; ultra-high temperature, UHT) was analysed, and results agreed well with reference methods. Quantitation of temperature sensitive proteins enables detailed distinction between milk types experiencing different heat loads during processing, and discrimination between diverse bovine milk types is successfully demonstrated.Fil: Montemurro, Milagros. Vienna University of Technology; Austria. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Desarrollo Analítico y Quimiometría; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Schwaighofer, Andreas. Vienna University of Technology; AustriaFil: Schmidt, Anatol. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences; AustriaFil: Culzoni, Maria Julia. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Desarrollo Analítico y Quimiometría; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mayer, Helmut K.. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences; AustriaFil: Lendl, Bernhard. Vienna University of Technology; Austri

Novel Polyoxometalate- Ionic Liquid with Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties. Feasibility of Its Implementation As a Multifunctional Thin Coating

The synthesis of hybrid materials, combining the properties of organic and inorganic components, results in composites with unique physical and chemical features. Polyoxometalates (POMs), i.e. inorganic anionic molecular metal oxides, are considered as promising future metallodrugs due to their antiviral, antitumoral and antibacterial activities. The combination of bulky organic cations with POMs results in composite ionic liquids (IL; melting point below 100°C) which combine the unique properties of both components. Pioneering studies have used composites of alkylammonium cations and POM anions for multifunctional water purification to remove toxic heavy materials, organic aromatics and microbes and for the inhibition of bio-corrosion on metal and stone surfaces due to coating formation.Fil: Enderle, Ana Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Litoral; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Streb, C.. Universitat Ulm; AlemaniaFil: Bollini, Mariela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias "Elizabeth Jares Erijman"; ArgentinaFil: Culzoni, Maria Julia. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Departamento de Química. Cátedra de Química Analítica; ArgentinaFil: Mitchell, S. G.. Universidad de Zaragoza; EspañaFil: Franco Castillo, I.. Universidad de Zaragoza; España2019 AIChE Annual MeetingOrlandoEstados UnidosAmerican Institute of Chemical Engineer

The teaching and learning process in mathematics for engineering during isolation by covid 19

En este trabajo se realiza una valoración del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje durante el aislamiento por Covid 19 en el área de Matemática correspondiente a las carreras de Ingeniería en la Facultad Regional Rafaela de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Se brinda una discusión en base a diferentes investigaciones y propuestas llevadas a cabo en otras universidades del país y de Latinoamérica como consecuencia de la pandemia. A partir de allí, se establecen coincidencias y diferencias en esta problemática, desde múltiples miradas en los distintos contextos donde irrumpió un proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje virtual mediado por tecnologías. Para efectuar este trabajo, además del análisis de las diferentes situaciones en distintas casas de estudio de nivel superior, se tomó como referencia las opiniones de docentes y alumnos que formaron parte de este proceso formativo en línea a través de una encuesta con un formulario. Asimismo, se complementó el trabajo con entrevistas a docentes que impartieron sus clases en las materias analizadas.In this work, an assessment of the teaching and learning process during isolation by Covid 19 is carried out in the area of Mathematics corresponding to engineering at the Rafaela Regional Faculty of the National Technological University. A discussion is provided based on different investigations and proposals carried out in other universities in the country and in Latin America as a result of the pandemic. From there, coincidences and differences are established on this problem, from diverse perspectives in the different contexts where a process of virtual teaching and learning mediated by technologies was implemented. To do this work, in addition to the analysis of the diverse situations in different higher-level study houses, the opinions of teachers and students who were part of this online training process were taken as a reference by means of a survey with a form. Likewise, the work was complemented with interviews with teachers who taught their classes in the subjects analyzed.Facultad de Informátic