FORMULATION AND STABILITY EVALUATION OF KETOPROFEN LOADED VIRGIN COCONUT OIL BASED CREAMY EMULSION

Objective: To formulate and optimize a topical formulation; a virgin coconut oil (VCO) based Ketoprofen loaded creamy emulsion containing Tween 80® as the surfactant and to evaluate the stability of samples. Methods: In preformulatory studies optimization of the formulae was done using ternary phase diagrams with water titration method and emulsions were formulated using two methods; spontaneous emulsification and homogenization. Their stability was analyzed under visual observation to optimize the best formulae for Ketoprofen incorporated creamy emulsion. 2.5% w/w Ketoprofen topical formulations are available in the market. Results: Centrifugation provided more comparable data than visual observation. Phase separation was the main instability condition observed in unstable emulsions. Composition 23.60% VCO: 29.53% Tween 80®: 45.87% water was identified as the best optimized formulae in both with and without Ketoprofen formulations and all the samples with different Ketoprofen concentrations were stable for 14 days under centrifugation and visual observation stability studies. Conclusion: Homogenization was more effective in stable emulsion formation than spontaneous emulsification in VCO, Tween 80®,water emulsion. The best optimized formula was 23.60% VCO: 29.53% Tween 80®: 45.87% water

Kinetic Transition in Amyloid Assembly as a Screening Assay for Oligomer-Selective Dyes

Assembly of amyloid fibrils and small globular oligomers is associated with a significant number of human disorders that include Alzheimer’s disease, senile systemic amyloidosis, and type II diabetes. Recent findings implicate small amyloid oligomers as the dominant aggregate species mediating the toxic effects in these disorders. However, validation of this hypothesis has been hampered by the dearth of experimental techniques to detect, quantify, and discriminate oligomeric intermediates from late-stage fibrils, in vitro and in vivo. We have shown that the onset of significant oligomer formation is associated with a transition in thioflavin T kinetics from sigmoidal to biphasic kinetics. Here we showed that this transition can be exploited for screening fluorophores for preferential responses to oligomer over fibril formation. This assay identified crystal violet as a strongly selective oligomer-indicator dye for lysozyme. Simultaneous recordings of amyloid kinetics with thioflavin T and crystal violet enabled us to separate the combined signals into their underlying oligomeric and fibrillar components. We provided further evidence that this screening assay could be extended to amyloid-β peptides under physiological conditions. Identification of oligomer-selective dyes not only holds the promise of biomedical applications but provides new approaches for unraveling the mechanisms underlying oligomer versus fibril formation in amyloid assembly

COMPARATIVE IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF METFORMIN HCl AND PARACETAMOL TABLETS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE IN KANDY DISTRICT, SRI LANKA

Objective: Availability of numerous brands of tablets with price variations compared to their generic drugs in the current drug market places health practitioners, pharmacists and patients in a dilemma of generic substitution. In such background, this study was aimed to compare the in-vitro efficacy of some of the low priced generic tablets with their brands commonly available in Sri Lanka.Methods: A survey of the prices of commonly used tablets and capsules available at pharmacies in Kandy area in Sri Lanka was carried out. Based on the results of the survey, frequently used two tablets; Metformin HCl (one locally manufactured generic (M1) and 3 brands M2-M4) and Paracetamol (one locally manufactured generic (P1) and two brands P2-P3) were selected for the study. All the products were examined visually for their organoleptic properties and tested for uniformity of weight, disintegration time, assay value, dissolution rate, hardness or crushing strength and friability. Pertinent official guidelines were followed throughout all the tests.Results: The results of aesthetic assessment showed no sign of defects and all the tested tablets complied with the official standards for the above parameters. Despite some minor differences in tablet hardness and disintegration time profiles, other in-vitro characteristics of the tested brands; Paracetamol and Metformin HCl and their locally manufactured generics appears to be similar and not significantly different from each other.Conclusion: According to in-vitro official quality control tests, all the generics and brands of the respective drugs tested could be regarded as equally effective.Â