DEVELOPMENT OPTIMIZATION AND EVALUATION OF EFFERVESCENT TABLETS OF CHLORPHENIRAMINE MALEATE USING BOX BEHNKEN DESIGN

Objective: The objective of present study was to develop effervescent tablets of Chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) for the treatment of dysphasia.Methods: Effervescent tablets were prepared by direct compression method and were optimized using box behnken design. Amount to sodium bicarbonate (X1), amount of tartaric acid (X2) and amount of fumaric acid (X3) were selected as independent variables, whereas disintegration time (Y1), amount of carbon dioxide (Y2) and drug release in 5 minutes (Y3) were selected as dependent variables. All the batches were also evaluated for general post compression evaluation of tablet such as-weight variation, thickness, friability and hardness. From the results of design batches, best batch was selected and evaluated for in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rabbit model.Results: The disintegration time ranged from 103.33 ± 0.24 sec to 157.00 ± 0.75 sec while amount of carbon dioxide ranged from 0.26±0.014 g to 2.03±0.056 g in all the design batches. From the results of design batches, batch B4 was selected as optimized batch due to higher amount of released carbon dioxide and faster drug release as compared to other batches. Batch B4 was showing higher AUC and Cmax while lower tmax as compared to drug suspension while performing in vivo study of optimized batch in rabbit model.Conclusion: The study concluded that the combination of sodium bicarbonate, tartaric acid and fumaric acid approach for development of effervescent tablet aids to achieve faster disintegration and faster drug release property for CPM.Â

Smart Walking System based on Artificial Intelligence

This paper shows the smart walking stick based on ultrasonic sensors and Arduino for outwardly debilitated individuals. There are roughly 37 million individuals over the globe who are visually impaired as indicated by the World Health Organization. Individuals with visual inabilities are regularly subjected to outer help which can be given by people, trained dogs, or electronic gadgets as supportive networks for basic assistance. Thus, this played as the motivation to develop a smart cane white stick to survive these restrictions which includes ultrasonic sensors at particular positions to the stick that gave data about nature to the client by initiating the signal sound and vibrations. We proposed minimal effort and light weight framework structured with micro controller that processes signal and alerts the visually impaired person over any obstacle, water or dark areas through beeping sounds or vibrations. The system comprises of obstacle and moisture detection sensors for process of receiving, processing and sending signals to the alarm system which finally alerts the user for prompt action. The system was designed, programmed using Java language and tried for exactness by the visually impaired. Our gadget can recognize obstacle inside the separation of around 2m from the client

Rationalized Approach for Formulation and Optimization of Ebastine Microemulsion Using Design Expert for Solubility Enhancement

Ebastine is available as an oral antihistamine formula for allergic disorders such as tablets and syrup. Oral ebastine causes unfavorable effects on heart like QT prolongation, severe gastric distress, decreased tear production, resulting in dryness of the ocular surface, which exacerbates ocular discomfort and increasing susceptibility of eye to irritation. To avoid systemic side effects and ocular discomfort, topical ocular therapy could prove to be superior to systemic therapy in treating ocular allergies. Hence, topical formulation was developed to achieve onsite exposure of ebastine for ocular allergies. Moreover, conjunctiva is more accessible to hydrophilic molecules than lipophilic molecules. This creates challenge for a lipophilic molecule such as ebastine for topical ocular development. Successful dissolution of ebastine in o/w microemulsion allows its use in more convenient soluble form. Initially, solubility of drug in various oils, surfactant and cosurfactant was determined, followed by pseudo-ternary phase diagram to find microemulsion area. The D-optimal mixture design was employed for optimization of formulation. The optimized microemulsion formulation was characterized for its transparency, drug content, droplet size, zeta potential, viscosity, isotonicity, osmolarity and surface tension etc. The optimum physicochemical properties were observed to be eye-fitting. Carboxy methyl cellulose and sodium hyaluronate were used as gelling agents at different concentrations to increase residential time at the site of action. In vitro drug release study revealed that ebastine release from microemulsion gel in a sustained manner up to 24 hrs. for the purpose of providing prolonged therapy for ocular allergy. Hence, prepared microemulsion had great potential as an alternative to customary oral formulations of poorly soluble drug. Keywords:  Ebastine, Microemulsion, D-optimal mixture design, Solubilit

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Frontline Health Care Physicians

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Such sudden infectious outbreaks take a toll on the psychological health of our brave frontline health care physicians. Frontline health care physicians become vulnerable to psychological problems like depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia. Long working hours, increased patient load, and risk of spread of contagion to family members are a few of the major contributing factors. Such factors, coupled with chronic stress and emotional exhaustion predispose doctors to experience burnout which has also been reported to increase the risk of mental morbidities. Early counselling, pandemic preparedness, self-care efforts, and stress management can help to cope in these adverse times. Various online portals have also been developed as an intervention strategy in mitigating the negative impact of this pandemic. The purpose of this viewpoint is to highlight the need to address such issues in physicians, find possible root causes, and suggest relevant measures to curb the incidence of these problems

RP-HPLC Estimation of Venlafaxine Hydrochloride in Tablet Dosage Forms

A simple, specific, accurate, and precise reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the estimation of venlafaxine hydrochloride in tablet dosage forms. A Phenomenex Gemini C-18, 5 μm column having 250 × 4.6 mm i.d. in isocratic mode, with mobile phase containing methanol: 0.05 M potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate (70:30, v/v; pH 6.2) was used. The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min and effluents were monitored at 226 nm. Carbamazepine was used as an internal standard. The retention time of venlafaxine hydrochloride and carbamazepine were 3.7 min and 5.3 min, respectively. The method was validated for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of quantification, limit of detection, robustness and solution stability. Limit of detection and limit of quantification for estimation of venlafaxine hydrochloride were found to be 100 ng/ml and 300 ng/ml, respectively. Recoveries of venlafaxine hydrochloride in tablet formulations were found to be in the range of 99.02-101.68%. Proposed method was successfully applied for the quantitative determination of venlafaxine hydrochloride in tablet dosage forms

Understanding arsenic toxicity: Implications for environmental exposure and human health

Arsenic is a trace element and a metalloid which is prominently known as an environmental hazard. At present, rising health apprehensions are linked to emanating from a wide array of industrial, chemical, residential, agricultural, and technological sources, leading to extensive pollution of water, soil, and air ecosystems including flora, fauna and humans. It poses significant harm to biological organisms upon acute and chronic exposure. In this review, we delve into the reported experimental data that elaborates on arsenic as a toxicant, with particular emphasis on its occurrence, metabolism and diverse molecular mechanisms involved. It also includes the major molecular mechanisms leading to systemic toxicity with special emphasis on shedding light on the intricate ways it disrupts the nervous system