Microfabricated potentiometric sensor based on a carbon nanotube transducer layer for selective Bosentan determination

In this work, a solid-state electrochemical sensor relying on potentiometric transduction was constructed and optimized to detect Bosentan (BOS) in its pharmaceutical dosage form and human plasma. BOS is useful in pulmonary hypertension management as a nonselective endothelin receptor antagonist. A printed circuit board has been constructed and used as a substrate for microfabricated Cu electrodes. In comparison to a microfabricated control (Cu/ISM) electrode, the sensor potential signal drift was enhanced, and the response time was reduced by using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as an ion-to-electron transducer layer. According to IUPAC requirements, the suggested BOS sensors have been electrochemically characterized, and the linear dynamic range is (1.0 × 10−8 to 1.0 × 10−5) M with a limit of detection of 6.28 × 10−9 M and 6.12 × 10−9 M for MWCNT-based sensor (Cu/CNT-NC/ISM) and control sensor (Cu/ISM), respectively. The described sensors have been used successfully to selectively determine BOS in dosage form and human plasma without any pre-treatment steps

Universal procedures for spectrophotometric determination of anticoccidial drugs; application to multi-ingredient veterinary formulation and computational investigations for multivariate analysis

Simple, accurate, and eco-friendly spectrophotometric procedures were proposed and implemented for simultaneous determination of anticoccidial drugs from three different classes namely, amprolium hydrochloride (AMP), sulfaquinoxaline sodium (SQX) and diaveridine hydrochloride (DVD). Dual wavelength in ratio spectra procedure was proposed where the difference in amplitudes (ΔP) in the ratio spectra at 264 nm and 301.9 nm (ΔP264&301.9 nm) corresponded to AMP with mean percentage recovery 100.00±0.923%, while (ΔP250.9&279 nm) and (ΔP218&243.5 nm) corresponded to SQX and DVD with mean percentage recoveries 99.31±1.083 and 100.64±1.219%, respectively. The dual wavelength in ratio spectra procedure was validated according to the ICH guidelines and accuracy, precision and repeatability were found to be within the acceptable limit. Multivariate chemometric approaches, namely, partial least-squares (PLS-2) and principal component regression (PCR) were also proposed with mean percentage recoveries 99.31±0.769, 98.91±1.192 and 99.04±1.245% for AMP, SQX and DVD, respectively, in PLS-2 and 99.63±1.005, 99.11±1.272 and 98.93±1.338% for AMP, SQX and DVD, respectively, in PCR. These procedures were successfully applied to the multi-ingredient veterinary formulation with mean percentage recoveries 100.75±1.238, 99.29±0.875 and 99.34±0.745% for AMP, SQX and DVD, respectively, in dual wavelength in ratio spectra procedure and 101.03±1.261, 101.48±0.984 and 101.10±1.339% for AMP, SQX and DVD, respectively, in PLS-2 and 100.22±1.204, 101.10±0.546 and 100.91±0.677% for AMP, SQX and DVD, respectively, in PCR

Age and frailty are independently associated with increased COVID-19 mortality and increased care needs in survivors: results of an international multi-centre study

Introduction: Increased mortality has been demonstrated in older adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the effect of frailty has been unclear. Methods: This multi-centre cohort study involved patients aged 18 years and older hospitalised with COVID-19, using routinely collected data. We used Cox regression analysis to assess the impact of age, frailty and delirium on the risk of inpatient mortality, adjusting for sex, illness severity, inflammation and co-morbidities. We used ordinal logistic regression analysis to assess the impact of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and delirium on risk of increased care requirements on discharge, adjusting for the same variables. Results: Data from 5,711 patients from 55 hospitals in 12 countries were included (median age 74, interquartile range [IQR] 54–83; 55.2% male). The risk of death increased independently with increasing age (>80 versus 18–49: hazard ratio [HR] 3.57, confidence interval [CI] 2.54–5.02), frailty (CFS 8 versus 1–3: HR 3.03, CI 2.29–4.00) inflammation, renal disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer, but not delirium. Age, frailty (CFS 7 versus 1–3: odds ratio 7.00, CI 5.27–9.32), delirium, dementia and mental health diagnoses were all associated with increased risk of higher care needs on discharge. The likelihood of adverse outcomes increased across all grades of CFS from 4 to 9. Conclusion: Age and frailty are independently associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19. Risk of increased care needs was also increased in survivors of COVID-19 with frailty or older age.</p