Advanced Technologies for Oral Controlled Release: Cyclodextrins for oral controlled release

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are used in oral pharmaceutical formulations, by means of inclusion complexes formation, with the following advantages for the drugs: (1) solubility, dissolution rate, stability and bioavailability enhancement; (2) to modify the drug release site and/or time profile; and (3) to reduce or prevent gastrointestinal side effects and unpleasant smell or taste, to prevent drug-drug or drug-additive interactions, or even to convert oil and liquid drugs into microcrystalline or amorphous powders. A more recent trend focuses on the use of CDs as nanocarriers, a strategy that aims to design versatile delivery systems that can encapsulate drugs with better physicochemical properties for oral delivery. Thus, the aim of this work was to review the applications of the CDs and their hydrophilic derivatives on the solubility enhancement of poorly water soluble drugs in order to increase their dissolution rate and get immediate release, as well as their ability to control (to prolong or to delay) the release of drugs from solid dosage forms, either as complexes with the hydrophilic (e.g. as osmotic pumps) and/ or hydrophobic CDs. New controlled delivery systems based on nanotechonology carriers (nanoparticles and conjugates) have also been reviewed

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Not AvailableQuantification of nitrate losses is important for devising measures to ensure sustainability of soil fertility and groundwater resources and for the development of crop nutrient management protocols. Hence, in the present study a simple model for assessing concentration of nitrate in water percolating out of the flooded rice (Oryza Sativa) fields is presented. The model considers all the important nitrogen (N) transformation processes that take place in flooded rice fields such as urea hydrolysis, volatilization, nitrification, mineralization, immobilization, denitrification, crop uptake and leaching. It is based on coupling of soil water and N-balance models. The coupled model also accounts for weather, and timings and amounts of water and fertilizer applications. All the N-transformations except plant uptake and leaching are considered to follow first-order kinetics. A heuristic procedure is developed for selection of the rate constants of the transformation processes for different soil and environmental conditions. The model is evaluated by comparing simulation results with published data of three field experiments conducted at two locations namely G.B. Pant University Farm, Pantnagar, UP and IARI Research Farm, New Delhi of India, respectively. The simulation results show that urea hydrolysis is completed within 7 days of fertilizer application. It was also observed that the volatilization loss of N varies from 25 to 33% of the applied fertilizer and 75% of the total volatilization loss occurs within 7 days of urea application. The modeled leaching losses from the field experiments varied from 20 to 30% of the applied N. The N-uptake by the crop increased immediately after the application of fertilizer and decreased at 60 days after transplanting. The model is sufficiently general to be used in a wide range of conditions for quantification of nutrient losses by leaching and developing water and fertilizer management strategies for rice in irrigated areas. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableIn large canal irrigation project areas, integrated management of surface and groundwater resources can improve water use efficiencies and agricultural productivity and also control water logging. Such integrated management requires an estimation of spatial distribution of recharge and ground water flow in the underlying aquifer. Recharge occurs both as percolation losses from fields and seepage losses from the water distribution network. Percolation losses are influenced by weather, soil properties, land use, and canal water and groundwater use. Seepage losses depend on the conditions of flow in the water distribution system. In large irrigation project areas all the factors influencing the recharge of groundwater vary spatially. In this study, a geographical information systems (GIS) is used to map the spatial distribution of recharge which then serves as input to a regional groundwater flow model for simulating the behavior of the underlying aquifer. The basis is that the project area can be divided into a set of basic simulation units (BSUs) that are homogenous with respect to the conditions that influence the recharge processes. A daily field soil water balance model and a simple canal flow model are used to estimate the percolation and seepage losses, respectively. The combination of models and GIS can be used as an integrated decision support system to assess the groundwater resources and derive strategies for integrated management of canal and groundwater resources in the project area. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableAgriculture is the main non-point polluter of groundwater in irrigated areas as fertilizers and other agrochemicals are the main contaminants in the water that drains out of the root zone to recharge the aquifer. Nitrates from fertilizers, dissolved in percolation losses from rice fields, are the source of pollution considered. The concentration of nitrates in the percolated water depends on the distributed field water and nitrogen balances over the area. Its concentration in the groundwater depends on the total recharge, pollution loading, groundwater flow and solute transport within the aquifer. The development and application of a GIS based decision support framework that integrates field scale models of these processes for assessment of non-point-source pollution of groundwater in canal irrigation project areas is presented. The GIS is used for representing the spatial variations in input data over the area and map the output of the recharge and nitrogen balance models. The latter are used to provide the spatially distributed recharge and pollutant load inputs to the distributed groundwater flow and transport models, respectively. Alternate strategies for water and fertilizer use can be evaluated using this framework to ensure long-term sustainability of productive agriculture in large irrigation projects. The development and application of the framework is illustrated by taking a case study of a large canal irrigation system in India. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Not Availabl

Integrated Water Resource Development Plan for Sustainable Management of Mayurakshi Watershed, India using Remote Sensing and GIS

Integrated watershed management requires a host of inter-related information to be generated and studied in relation to each other. Remote sensing technique provides valuable and up-to-date spatial information on natural resources and physical terrain parameters. Geographical Information System (GIS) with its capability of integration and analysis of spatial, aspatial, multi-layered information obtained in a wide variety of formats both from remote sensing and other conventional sources has proved to be an effective tool in planning for watershed development. In this study, area and locale specific watershed development plans were generated for Mayurakshi watershed, India using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Adopting Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) guidelines, decision rules were framed. Using the overlay and decision tree concepts water resource development plan was generated. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-1C), Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS-III) satellite data along with other field and collateral data on lithology, soil, slope, well inventory, fracture have been utilized for generating land use/land cover and hydro geomorphology of the study area, which are an essential prerequisites for water resources planning and development. Spatial data integration and analyses are carried out in GIS environment

Assessment of surface and sub-surface waterlogged areas in irrigation command areas of Bihar state using remote sensing and GIS

Satellite remote sensing coupled with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) offers an excellent alternative to conventional mapping techniques in monitoring and mapping of surface and sub-surface waterlogged areas. In the present study, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon surface waterlogged areas were delineated in all the 132 irrigation command areas of the Bihar State, India using Indian Remote Sensing (IRS-1D) Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor (LISS-III) data acquired during the period 2002-2003. Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used primarily to delineate surface waterlogged areas. Perennial waterlogged and seasonal waterlogged areas were identified for the study area by integrating the waterlogged areas derived for both the pre- and post-monsoon seasons under GIS environment. Results show that the total surface waterlogged area in Bihar is 628 x 10(3) ha, which is 10.57% of command area (5939 x 10(3) ha) and spread over 132 command areas. Perennial surface inundation covers 2.95% of the waterlogged area in all the command areas. Maximum waterlogged area is observed in Gandak command (212 x 10(3) ha) followed by Eastern Kosi irrigation scheme (116 x 10(3) ha) and Sone modernization scheme (82 x 10(3) ha), respectively. Further, waterlogged areas induced by rise in groundwater level were also assessed spatially under GIS environment using the ground water level data pertaining to pre- and post-monsoon seasons of the year 2002-2003 which were spread all over the study area. The analysis of pre- and post-monsoon groundwater levels indicates that the area under non-critical category during pre-monsoon period was reduced from 4287 x 10(3) ha (72.72% of command) to 1391 x 10(3) ha (23.42%) in the post-monsoon. Area under most critical category during post-monsoon period increased from 0.083 x 10(3) ha of command area in pre-monsoon period to 50 x 10(3) ha. The study demonstrates utility of integration of remote sensing and GIS techniques for assessment of waterlogged areas particularly in regions where waterlogging conditions occur both due to excessive irrigation and accumulation of rain and floodwaters. (C) 200

Effect of Auxiliary Substances on Complexation Efficiency and Intrinsic Dissolution Rate of Gemfibrozil–β-CD Complexes

The studies reported in this work are aimed to elucidate the ternary inclusion complex formation of gemfibrozil (GFZ), a poorly water-soluble drug, with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with the aid of auxiliary substances like different grades of povidone(s) (viz. PVP K-29/32, PVP K-40, Plasdone S-630, and Polyplasdone XL), organic base (viz. triethanolamine), and metal ion (viz. MgCl2·6H2O), by investigating their interactions in solution and solid state. Phase solubility studies were carried out to evaluate the solubilizing power of β-cyclodextrin, in association with various auxiliary substances, to determine the apparent stability constant (KC) and complexation efficiency (CE) of complexes. Improvement in KC values for ternary complexes clearly proves the benefit of the addition of auxiliary substances to promote CE. Of all the approaches used, the use of polymer Plasdone S-630 was found to be the most promising approach in terms of optimum CE and KC. GFZ–β-CD (1:1) binary and ternary systems were prepared by kneading and lyophilization methods. The ternary systems clearly signified superiority over binary systems in terms of CE, solubility, KC, and reduction in the formulation bulk. Optimized ternary system of GFZ–β-CD–Plasdone S-630 prepared by using lyophilization method indicated a significant improvement in intrinsic dissolution rate when compared with ternary kneaded system. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance were carried out to characterize the binary and optimized ternary complex. The results suggested the formation of new solid phases, eliciting strong evidences of ternary inclusion complex formation between GFZ, β-CD, and Plasdone S-630, particularly for lyophilized products