Critical appraisal of loteprednol ointment, gel, and suspension in the treatment of postoperative inflammation and pain following ocular and corneal transplant surgery

Amir Pirouzian,1,2 E Randy Craven1,21Department of Ophthalmology, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USAPurpose: To review comprehensively the available peer-reviewed published articles in the literature on loteprednol suspension, gel, and ointment in the treatment of ocular inflammation and pain following ocular surgery.Methods: We conducted a PubMed literature search review of all published articles on keywords associated with loteprednol etabonate and ocular surgery.Results: A total of 59 peer-reviewed articles were found in the literature. The focus of the majority of the articles was on the safety and efficacy of loteprednol etabonate 0.5% in post-operative control of inflammation and pain following cataract surgery. There were only three articles with a remote association between loteprednol etabonate and keratoplasty.Conclusion: Lotemax® ointment may also have potential as a first-line anti-inflammatory agent of choice in postoperative settings of strabismus and penetrating glaucoma, and following low-risk penetrating keratoplasty procedures.Keywords: loteprednol, inflammation, pain, keratoplasty, surgery, ey

Application of simplex lattice mixture design for optimization of sucrose-free milk chocolate produced in a ball mill

The aim of this study was to define optimal conditions by using Simplex lattice mixture design for the for- mulation of sucrose-free chocolate produced in a ball mill. Milk chocolate mass were made using three different polyols including maltitol, xylitol and isomalt along with Stevia as high potency sweetener. The influences of polyols mixtures as sucrose substitutes on rheological properties and main physical quality parameters were investigated. According to the results, the fitted models demonstrated a high coefficient of determination (≥93%). The optimization of the variables illustrated that utilizing 11.16% w/w maltitol, 8.9% w/w xylitol and 12.93% w/w isomalt produced the optimum milk chocolate with the highest desirability (1.00) without un- wanted variations in the rheological and quality characteristics. Also the optimum formulation was produced to validate the optimum model. The sensory analysis of the optimized formulation satisfied the consumer demand

Effects of polyols on the quality characteristics of sucrose-free milk chocolate produced in a ball mill

Sucrose-free milk chocolates containing different types of bulk (isomalt, xylitol and maltitol) and high intensity (Stevia) sweeteners were produced by using a ball mill. The main quality characteristics of the formulated chocolates were evaluated and compared with those of the conventional sample containing sucrose. The Casson model was the best fitting model for the rheological data. Casson viscosity and Casson yield stress were significantly affected by the type of bulking agent in chocolates formulated with xylitol (p < 0.05). However xylitol notably improved the overall acceptability according to the sensory analysis results. Chocolates containing the sucrose replacers demonstrated lower Tonset values and higher enthalpy than the control sample. Sucrose-free chocolates illustrated a higher degree of particle agglomeration. Bulk sweeteners meanwhile seem to have high potential for milk chocolate production with low calorie values by using the ball mill technique. Industrial applications: the production of sucrose-free chocolates with conventional methods requires a lot of time and energy. Recently, using alternative methods for chocolate production has been raising interest in many small industries. This study proposed a ball mill method for the preparation of sucrose-free milk chocolates with physiochemical properties almost ranging in the standard limit defined for chocolate. Although using the ball mill method presents a more cost-effective technique for chocolate production and provides shorter processing times for small chocolate industries, it seems to be less efficient in evaporating moisture than the conventional processing. Challenges are still ahead for upgrading this alternative technique to be efficient in evaporating more moisture during operation ending in a high quality product