Natural and synthetic smart polymers in drug targeting: A smart approach

Among various polymers, smart polymers have taken much importance in drug delivery systems due to their targeting ability. This review mainly describes the expansion of biodegradable polymers in pharmaceuticals drug delivery that provides mechanism of targeting from both physiological and pathological point of view. Thus, smart polymers due to various actions and responsive drug delivery get more importance in era of novel techniques especially in nanotechnology by formulation of nanoparticles. This progress descends into two categories: i) open loop system that is also known as externally regulated or pulsatile systems, ii) closed loop system that is actually self-regulated systems. External triggers like ultrasonic, magnetic, electric, light and chemical or biochemical agents involved in release of open loop or pulstile drug delivery system whereas self-regulated systems are the systems where controlled variable is detected due to which the system output is adjusted consequently. Several approaches like thermal response, pH-sensitive drug or polymers action, enzyme-substrate reactions are applied for achieving targeted drug delivery systems. The release rate can also be controlled by selection of natural and synthetic nature of smart polymers on the basis of their feedback mechanism. Keywords: Biodegradable, Closed Loop, Open Loop, Novel, Natural, Synthetic and Smart Polymers

Synthesis, characterization of flavone, isoflavone, and 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-3-carboxylate and density functional theory studies

We describe the oxidation of flavanones by employing phenyliodonium diacetate to form the flavone (15), isoflavone (8) and 2,3-dihydrobenzofurane (18) in this study. The oxidative method was found to be regioselective and dependent on the substitution pattern present on the two aromatic rings of the starting flavanone. The structures of products obtained were fully characterized by using IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and Mass spectrometry. X-ray crystallography further confirms the structures of flavones and isoflavone. The density field theory calculations have also been performed to get more insight about the structures, electronic and spectroscopic properties of synthetic flavonoid derivatives. The geometrical parameters such as bond lengths and angels showed a good correlation with the values obtained through X-ray crystallography. Moreover, the theoretically simulated vibrational and UV-vis spectral values are in agreement with the experimental results

Preparation and characterization of pH-responsive ionic crosslinked microparticles of mercaptopurine to target ulcerative colitis

International audienceThe objective of this study was the preparation of ionically crosslinked 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) monohydrate microparticles through preparing polyelectrolyte complexes of drug and polymers. Polymers such as chitosan, casein, and carrageenan were used to prepare crosslinked microparticles, and sodium tripolyphosphate was used as crosslinker. Microparticles were characterized for their flow behavior, compressibility, percentage yield, micromeritic, and entrapment efficiency. Scanning electron microscopy was conducted to understand the surface morphology of the microparticles, and the result was correlated with the swelling index and percentage drug release. Mathematical modeling of drug release in order to determine the drug release kinetics was also determined to understand the mechanism involving the release of 6-mercaptopurine from the microparticles. The ionic crosslinked microparticles were in the range of 664 mu m-798 mu m particle size having good flow and compressibility properties with percentage yield were found to be from 77.5% to 87.5% in range. The entrapment efficiency for the formulations were found to be from 63.5% to 83.5%, with MCP-5 gave maximum entrapment efficiency of 83.5%. In vitro swelling and drug release studies were in accordance with the polymer properties following zero-order model with super-case transport II

Comparative analysis of buffalo and cow milk for quality characteristics and β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity in non-infected animals

In Pakistan, milk quality control standards are yet to be established. The prime objective of this study was to develop the standard referencevalues for the milk pH, its somatic cell count (SCC), electric conductivity (EC) and NAGase i.e., milk enzyme in the noninfected milk of localbuffalo breed i.e., Nilli-Ravi also known as Black-gold of Pakistan and cows i.e., Sahiwal and other crossbred cows kept locally mostly formilch purpose. A total of 30 animals with lactation number 1-5 (in early lactation of two months) from each breed group were selectedfor milk samples. Samples were then tested for mastitis through Surf Field Mastitis test and microbiological culturing. Reference valueswere determined using negative samples. Fore-mentioned parameters were analyzed for collected Milk samples. The values for NAGaseand SCC were the most eminent in the crossbred cow’s milk i.e., (56.07±2.33 U/mL) & (178645.83±2324.0/mL) respectively. EC value(5.7±0.04) was strikingly high in Sahiwal cow’s milk. Milk of Nilli-Ravi was found superior in quality, based on its lower values of SSC,EC and NAGase. Mean values of each parameter were also compared among different quarters and found to be statistically similar. Inconclusion, milk of Nilli-Ravi was found superior in quality and current findings can be used to provide base line information for NAGaseand other components of milk quality and udder health for above mentioned dairy types

Comparative analysis of buffalo and cow milk for quality characteristics and β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity in non-infected animals

In Pakistan, milk quality control standards are yet to be established. The prime objective of this study was to develop the standard referencevalues for the milk pH, its somatic cell count (SCC), electric conductivity (EC) and NAGase i.e., milk enzyme in the noninfected milk of localbuffalo breed i.e., Nilli-Ravi also known as Black-gold of Pakistan and cows i.e., Sahiwal and other crossbred cows kept locally mostly formilch purpose. A total of 30 animals with lactation number 1-5 (in early lactation of two months) from each breed group were selectedfor milk samples. Samples were then tested for mastitis through Surf Field Mastitis test and microbiological culturing. Reference valueswere determined using negative samples. Fore-mentioned parameters were analyzed for collected Milk samples. The values for NAGaseand SCC were the most eminent in the crossbred cow’s milk i.e., (56.07±2.33 U/mL) & (178645.83±2324.0/mL) respectively. EC value(5.7±0.04) was strikingly high in Sahiwal cow’s milk. Milk of Nilli-Ravi was found superior in quality, based on its lower values of SSC,EC and NAGase. Mean values of each parameter were also compared among different quarters and found to be statistically similar. Inconclusion, milk of Nilli-Ravi was found superior in quality and current findings can be used to provide base line information for NAGaseand other components of milk quality and udder health for above mentioned dairy types

Types of Hospital Waste and Waste Generation Rate in Different Hospitals of Faisalabad City, Pakistan

Hospital waste has been one of the major problems in underdeveloped and developing countries in recent times. The present study is an attempt to analyze hospital waste generation of Faisalabad city. Forty four hospitals were selected out of which five were public, two were semi-government, six were trust and thirty one were private hospitals with a minimum capacity of ten beds. It was very difficult to acquire exact data related to the waste generated by hospitals as these health care centers were not following the international standards to handle waste generation. The primary data were collected through questionnaire, formal and informal meetings, interviews with the hospital staff and through personal observations. The secondary data were collected from the office of the Executive District Officer Health and Environment Protection | department, Faisalabad. Data analysis showed that about 7646 kg/day waste was generated by these hospitals out of which 6529 kg (85.40%) was non-infectious and 1117 kg (14.60%) was infectious waste. The government hospitals’ waste generation rate was 1.51 kg/bed/day, semi government 1.49 kg/bed/day, trust hospitals rate was 1.29 kg/bed/day and private hospitals 0.99 kg/bed/day. The overall waste generation rate of the hospitals of the study area was 1.28 kg/bed/day. It was recommended that the hospital staff must be trained to handle hospital waste so that the garbage should not create problems to human health

Facile and Green Synthesis of Saturated Cyclic Amines

Single-nitrogen containing saturated cyclic amines are an important part of both natural and synthetic bioactive compounds. A number of methodologies have been developed for the synthesis of aziridines, azetidines, pyrrolidines, piperidines, azepanes and azocanes. This review highlights some facile and green synthetic routes for the synthesis of unsubstituted, multisubstituted and highly functionalized saturated cyclic amines including one-pot, microwave assisted, metal-free, solvent-free and in aqueous media

Geospatial Analysis of Urbanization and its Impact on Land Use Changes in Sargodha, Pakistan

The focus of this study is on the application of GIS and remote sensing on urbanization and its impact on land use changes in Sargodha from 1992-2015. Sargodha has witnessed rapid urbanization and due to urban expansion many changes have been detected in the land use of Sargodha. For this study, census data, multi-temporal city maps and multi spectral satellite images are used. Landsat TM 1992 and ETM+ 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 Landsat 8 are classified using supervised classified method (MLC) to produce land use maps. The classification accuracy has been assessed by calculating kappa index of agreement and ground control points were also collected to verify the results. The results indicate that, over the past 24 years there is a growing trend in urban land use while the agricultural land and all other categories are showing a declining trend since 1992. The total increase in urban land use is 25380.8 hectares and it has increased in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 at the rate of 2.2%, 4.1%, 9.2% and 17.4% respectively. This rapid urbanization resulted into loss of agricultural land. While the overall change observed in agricultural land, water area and bare land is -11008.5, -38926.5 and 9492.7 hectares respectively

Geospatial Analysis of Urbanization and its Impact on Land Use Changes in Sargodha, Pakistan

The focus of this study is on the application of GIS and remote sensing on urbanization and its impact on land use changes in Sargodha from 1992-2015. Sargodha has witnessed rapid urbanization and due to urban expansion many changes have been detected in the land use of Sargodha. For this study, census data, multi-temporal city maps and multi spectral satellite images are used. Landsat TM 1992 and ETM+ 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 Landsat 8 are classified using supervised classified method (MLC) to produce land use maps. The classification accuracy has been assessed by calculating kappa index of agreement and ground control points were also collected to verify the results. The results indicate that, over the past 24 years there is a growing trend in urban land use while the agricultural land and all other categories are showing a declining trend since 1992. The total increase in urban land use is 25380.8 hectares and it has increased in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 at the rate of 2.2%, 4.1%, 9.2% and 17.4% respectively. This rapid urbanization resulted into loss of agricultural land. While the overall change observed in agricultural land, water area and bare land is -11008.5, -38926.5 and 9492.7 hectares respectively