ROLE OF POLYMERS IN DRUG DELIVERY

This review focus on the role of polymers used in pharmaceutical drug delivery of therapeutic agents. The polymers are used as carriers for delivery of drug at target site. Biodegradable polymers are widely used in delivery of drugs at specific site of the body because they can be degraded at constant rate of drug release. Natural polymers are also used for drug delivery at predetermined rates. The release mechanism of the drug from these polymers is by Degradation, Diffusion and Swelling. For controlled drug delivery of the therapeutic agents, they are used in pharmaceutical industry as binders, as film coating to mask the unpleasant taste, to enhance the drug stability and to modify the release characteristics of the drug. Key words: Natural and synthetic polymers, drug delivery, mechanism, application

PRODUCTION AND OPTIMIZATION OF CHOLESTEROL OXIDASE FROM RHODOCOCCUS SPECIES

Objective: Optimization of conditions for cholesterol oxidase production by the microorganism isolated from urban compost and dairy soil samples.Methods: Isolates were obtained on the basis of their capability of growing on isolation medium A and B and their cholesterol oxidase (CHO) production was estimated. CHO production was optimized by the optimization of temperature, pH, carbon sources, and organic and inorganic nitrogen sources.Results: 3 isolates out of 22 were found to secrete extracellular CHO as detected by cholesterol oxidase indicator plate A and were designated as cholesterol oxidase producing isolate 1, 2 and 3 (COP 1, COP 2 and COP 3). Results showed that the strain COP 2 belonging to the genus Rhodococcus sp. based on morphological, cultural and biochemical characteristics recorded highest cholesterol oxidase activity. Optimum temperature and pH for CHO activity were found to be 35 °C and 7.5 respectively. Steroidal substrate cholesterol produced a significant increase in CHO level (0.502 IU/ml). Organic and inorganic nitrogen sources were supplemented in combinations leads to increase in CHO production as compared to individual components. (NH4)2HPO4 and yeast extract supported the highest enzyme production (0.574 IU/ml).Conclusion: The isolate COP 2 produced significant levels of cholesterol oxidase extracellularly in optimized medium as compared to cell bound CHO, and can be easily produced on an industrial scale.Â

VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE PRACTICES: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL AND NON- FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Investor sentiments have been affected adversely time to time by various corporate scams like Stock Market scam, the CRB Public Deposit Scam, Bofor scam, Urea scam, Ketan Parikh Scam, Satyam scam, UTI Scam and The Enron Fiasco, WorldCom, Adelphia and no end to these, in spite of a strong regulatory framework. Corporate governance has become considerable point of attention to curb these fraudulent practices, where corporate reporting practices play a vital role. This paper has attempted to examine the extent of disclosure of financial and non -financial information. The Study was based on firms listed on S&P CNX Nifty. The final sample consisted Annual Reports of 50 companies which were studied a period of five years, that is 2011-2016. The study concluded that most of the firms were having a practice of disclosing financial information, but non-financial information was disclosed by few firms. Key words - Corporate governance, disclosure, financial information and non-financial informatio

A Study on Text Based Steganography Using Email Platform and Color Mapping

Steganography is the art of hiding of a message within another so that presence of hidden message is indistinguishable. The key concept behind steganography is that message to be transmitted is not detectable to the casual eye. This is also the advantage of steganography over cryptography. Modern digital steganography uses text, images, audio, video etc. as a cover medium. This paper presents a mechanism of storing the secret message using forward email platform and color mapping table. Various experiments have been conducted and the results are analyzed in this paper

Ultrasonic transformation of antibiotic molecules into a selective chemotherapeutic nanodrug

Ultrasound-based engineering of carrier-free nanodrugs by supramolecular self-assembly has recently emerged as an innovative and environmentally friendly synthetic approach. By applying high-frequency sound waves (490 kHz) in aqueous solutions, the transformation of small chemotherapeutic and antibiotic drug molecules into carrier-free nanodrugs with anticancer and antimicrobial activities was recently achieved. The transformation of the antibiotic drug molecules, i.e., doxycycline, into stable nanodrugs (similar to 130 nm) with selective anticancer activity was achieved without requiring organic solvents, chemical agents, or surfactants. The obtained nanodrug exhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cytotoxicity on human breast cancer (MDA-MB 231 cells) but a negligible antiproliferative effect on healthy fibroblast cells. Imaging by super-resolution microscopy (STORM) provided insights into the intracellular trafficking and endosomal escape of the nanodrugs. Overall, these findings suggest that small antibiotic drugs can be transformed into chemotherapeutic nanodrugs with high selectivity against cancer cells

Synthesis of bio-functional nanoparticles from sono-responsive amino acids using high frequency ultrasound

A simple, one-pot high frequency ultrasonication (490 kHz) methodology to convert hydrophobic and amphipathic amino acids into nanostructures was investigated. The approach involved the oxidative coupling of aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine and tryptophan) in aqueous solutions to form high molecular weight dimers and oligomers. The role of cavitation bubble surface and ultrasonic power to trigger the out-of-equilibrium self-assembly of dimers and trimers to spherical and uniform nanostructures with controlled size has been discussed. The synthesized particles exhibited fluorescence in blue, green and red spectral regions and a strong antioxidant activity

Sonosynthesis of nanobiotics with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties

Transforming small-molecule antibiotics into carrier-free nanoantibiotics represents an opportunity for developing new multifunctional therapeutic agents. In this study, we demonstrate that acoustic cavitation produced by high-frequency ultrasound transforms the antibiotic doxycycline into carrier-free nanobiotics. Upon sonication for 1 h at 10-15 W cm(-3), doxycycline molecules underwent hydroxylation and dimerization processes to ulti-mately self-assemble into nanoparticles of ~100-200 nm in size. Micrometer sized particles can be also obtained by increasing the acoustic power to 20 W cm(-3). The nanodrugs exhibited antioxidant properties, along with antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive (S. aureus) and Gram-negative (E. coli) bacterial strains. Our results highlight the feasibility of the ultrasound-based approach for engineering drug molecules into a nanosized formulation with controlled and multiple bio-functionalities

Sonocrystallization of Lactose from Whey

Whey is a by-product obtained from the cheese-making industry. This by-product is the primary source of high-value products such as whey protein concentrates and lactose. The partial removal of water from the whey is the first step in the recovery of lactose. Then, lactose in the concentrated whey is forced to crystallize through a cooling stage. This conventional process of crystallization is very slow up to 72 h accompanied by the generation of a mixture of lactose types (α, β, and amorphous) and low yield of lactose. These issues have been addressed through the seeding of lactose, the antisolvent crystallization, and more recently, by the crystallization of lactose assisted with low-frequency power ultrasound. Sonocrystallization is known to have a number of specific features that include the enhancement of the primary and secondary nucleation, as well as the development of smaller crystals with more uniform sizes and higher purity. Nowadays, there are a number of studies that provide relevant information on the effects of ultrasound on lactose crystallization, although some of these effects are still not fully understood. This book chapter discusses the current knowledge on lactose sonocrystallization and describes the basic principles of lactose crystallization and sonocrystallization

The transdermal delivery of therapeutic cannabinoids

Recently, several studies have indicated an increased interest in the scientific community regarding the application of Cannabis sativa plants, and their extracts, for medicinal purposes. This plant of enormous medicinal potential has been legalised in an increasing number of countries globally. Due to the recent changes in therapeutic and recreational legislation, cannabis and cannabinoids are now frequently permitted for use in clinical settings. However, with their highly lipophilic features and very low aqueous solubility, cannabinoids are prone to degradation, specifically in solution, as they are light-, temperature-, and auto-oxidation-sensitive. Thus, plant-derived cannabinoids have been developed for oral, nasal-inhalation, intranasal, mucosal (sublingual and buccal), transcutaneous (transdermal), local (topical), and parenteral deliveries. Among these administrations routes, topical and transdermal products usually have a higher bioavailability rate with a prolonged steady-state plasma concentration. Additionally, these administrations have the potential to eliminate the psychotropic impacts of the drug by its diffusion into a nonreactive, dead stratum corneum. This modality avoids oral administration and, thus, the first-pass metabolism, leading to constant cannabinoid plasma levels. This review article investigates the practicality of delivering therapeutic cannabinoids via skin in accordance with existing literature

Health monitoring of refugees in reception centres for asylum seekers: Decentralized surveillance network for the analysis of routine medical data

Refugees and asylum seekers living in reception centres tend to be not adequately included in population-based studies, routine medical data and official statistics. As part of the research project ‘Health and primary-care sentinel surveillance in reception- and accommodation-centres for asylum-seekers in Germany’ (PriCare), a health-monitoring approach was developed for the secondary use of routine medical data from on-site outpatient clinics in reception centres. To this end, a software application (Refugee Care Manager, RefCare©) for the digitisation and harmonisation of medical records was designed and implemented in reception centres in three German federal states. The approach of distributed computing in a surveillance network allows for the decentralised, harmonised analysis of the routine medical data stored in RefCare© in a manner that fully complies with data protection regulations and circumvents the need for centralised data storage. RefCare© provides an integrated surveillance feature that enables analyses of 64 indicators on population, morbidity, healthcare processes and quality of care to be undertaken across multiple facilities. This article describes the conceptual and practical approach and the technical procedures put in place to do so, and provides examples of the results that have been gained so far