Journal of Pharmacy (JOP)
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In vitro kinetics characterisation of polymeric nanoparticles for anticancer therapy
Get PDFWorld Health Organization (WHO) predicts that cancer incidence will increase in the future, thus research involving anticancer agents such as nanoparticles has gained significant importance. Nanoparticles can be made from various materials, but the focus on polymeric chitosan and/or carrageenan-based nanoparticles is significant. Research on these materials investigates dynamic parameters of in vitro drug release, stability under working conditions and stability under storage conditions (in vitro kinetics characterisations). Here, a literature review is conducted to provide in-depth insights on research methodology trends, drawbacks, suitability, suggestions for improvements and findings related to polymeric carrageenan and/or chitosan nanoparticles for anticancer therapy. Journal articles involving nanoparticles made from chitosan and/or carrageenan containing anticancer agents published between 2017 and 2022 were acquired through Google Scholar search using relevant keywords. Generally, the methods used to investigate drug release kinetics of nanoparticles can be categorised into dialysis membrane, sample and separate or direct measurement methods. Studies on the response of physiochemical characteristics towards changes in environment do not vary highly and are generalisable. Stability studies primarily measure the physicochemical changes of nanoparticles as a response measurement towards storage conditions. Both drug release selectivity and physicochemical characteristics response in different pH environments were found to be predictable via the ionisation of polymers and drugs used in different pH. The size of the nanoparticles formed during polyelectrolyte complexation process was found to be at its minimum at a balanced pH, possibly due to increased polymer-polymer attraction. The methods used for in vitro kinetics studies were generalised, and suggestions to address potential sources of errors were given in the current review. The selectivity of drug release and changes in physicochemical characteristics of the nanoparticles in different pH environments were found to largely coincide with the principles of ionisation of nanoparticle constituent
Assessment of Methods to Measure Adherence of Antidepressants: A Systematic Review
Get PDFAdherence towards antidepressant agents is a vital element in effectively managing depression. Non-adherence of antidepressants can lead to a recurrence of depressive symptoms and decreased treatment effectiveness. Adherence is assessed using various types of measures. This study aims to evaluate the different methods used to assess the adherence towards antidepressants on adults with depression. This systematic review adhered to the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA statement. PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus are searching from 2013 to 2023 for articles that studied or reported on antidepressant adherence measures in adults with depression. Two authors conducted independent screenings of the articles against the eligibility criteria, examining titles, abstracts, and full-texts. The risk of bias for all included studies were assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklists. Information from all the selected articles was extracted using a predefined table. 15 studies met the eligibility criteria. When measuring adherence towards antidepressant at initiation and/or implementation phase, self-report methods such as Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity, while Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ by Svarstad et al.), Morisky Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MAQ), and Brief Adherence Rating Scale (BARS) showed good validity, and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS), Morisky Green Levine Adherence (MGLA), Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire (BMQ by Horne et al.) and Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10) showed good reliability. This study found a diverse range of methods to measure adherence towards antidepressant in adults. Self-report assessments, particularly in primary care and psychiatric settings, emerged as the most practical tools followed by clinician-rating scale, pharmacy refill data, adherence scale, pill count, and average serum level. No single measure with consistently shown strong reliability and validity across different adherence stages, highlighting the need for a combined approach
Preparation, Characterisation and Bioactivity Evaluation of Curcumin-Loaded Poly (Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid) Nanoparticles
Get PDFBackground: One of the main challenges with curcumin is its hydrophobic nature, which limits its solubility and bioavailability. This issue can be addressed by using poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs). The small size and large surface area of these NPs significantly enhance drug delivery systems by improving the solubility and bioavailability of the drug. Objective: This project focuses on the preparation, characterization, and bioactivity evaluation of curcumin loaded in PLGA NPs, intended for the delivery of curcumin extracted from Curcuma xanthorrhiza, commonly known as ‘temulawak’ or ‘Java turmeric’. Methodology: Curcumin was extracted and stored at 4?C for testing. PLGA-curcumin NPs were synthesized using the single emulsion method. Nanoparticle morphology was analyzed using SEM, while particle size and zeta potential were measured with a Zetasizer. Entrapment efficiency and drug loading capacity were calculated. In vitro release studies in phosphate buffer were conducted using UV-visible spectrophotometry. The cytotoxicity of the curcumin-loaded NPs was tested on MCF-7 breast cancer cells using the MTT assay. Statistical analyses were performed using Minitab 14, and Microsoft Excel was used for graphical representations, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The mean particle size of the curcumin NPs was 498.9 nm ± 597.4 nm. The entrapment efficiency and drug loading capacity were 50% and 5%, respectively. The average zeta potential was recorded as -28.7 mV ± 6.19 mV. The in vitro release study did not produce significant results as low concentrations of curcumin were detected. However, the bioactivity of the curcumin-loaded PLGA NPs demonstrated lower cell viability compared to the curcumin extract, suggesting that the PLGA formulation is more effective at inducing cancer cell death. This indicates its potential as a more efficient therapeutic option in cancer treatment. Conclusion: The single emulsion method managed to produce nano-sized particles with good zeta potential and bioactivity on MCF-7 cells. However, further study needs to be done to produce better formulation which can increase entrapment efficiency, drug loading capacity and also in vitro release profile
Layer-By-Layer Coating of Sesame Oil in Alginate-Chitosan Beads for Enteric Coating and Sustained Release
Get PDFIntroduction: Medical uses of alginate-chitosan beads have been growing widely in recent years due to their varied applications in pharmaceutical and biomedical technology. Moreover, a variety of research have used drug encapsulation in the alginate-chitosan matrix to facilitate the enteric coating and sustained release of therapeutic molecules. Sesame oil has various medical applications as it contains a significant amount of lignans, which enhance its antioxidant function and anti-inflammatory effects for external or internal medical uses. In addition, it has contributed to the treatment of several inflammatory bowel diseases. Layer-by-layer assembly provides an effective coating for drugs, improving the oil instability in the gastric media, preventing drug leakage, and elongating the release time for sesame oil. This study aims to encapsulate sesame oil in alginate-chitosan beads and to optimize the formulation for enteric coating.
Method: Consuming sesame oil directly will not enable gastrointestinal tract to obtain the desired quantity of active ingredients in the oil due to the early degradation of oil. Therefore, the beads were prepared by using the external gelation method with layer-by-layer technique to provide multicoated layers. To illustrate, the usage of layer-by-layer assembly for the encapsulated alginate-sesame oil beads was accomplished by alginate and chitosan polysaccharides. A stability test was held to ensure the formulation stability during the study. In addition, the beads were characterized for particle size, roundness, and in-vitro drug release in different simulated buffers.
Results: This study revealed that the layer-by-layer approach is a viable method to obtain a sesame oil alginate-chitosan bead formulation for enteric coating and sustained release. Formulation coated layer-by-layer provided a successful pass of the stomach system whereas 68% of cumulative drug release occurred in the intestine within 5 h. To illustrate, during 135 min uncoated beads showed a cumulative drug release of 65% while the same percentage was achieved in 255 min for coated beads.
Conclusion: Sesame oil alginate-chitosan beads could be introduced as a promising carrier for encapsulating essential oils with favourable features
Updates on Behavioural Interventions for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews
Get PDFIn Malaysia, tobacco smoking is considered to be one of the leading causes of early and preventable mortality. The ‘Clinical Practice Guidelines on Treatment of Tobacco Use Disorder 2016’ is utilised to provide safe and effective smoking cessation services for smokers to quit successfully. Since the launch of the 2016 CPG, there have been several new pieces of evidence regarding behavioural interventions for tobacco smoking cessation with various outcomes. Therefore, the guidelines are expected to be updated to assist healthcare providers in helping smokers quit smoking. This study aims to review the evidence from 2016 onwards for behavioural interventions in smoking cessation reported from published systematic reviews, and to update the CPG on tobacco use disorder by conducting a systematic review of systematic reviews methodology. The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Scopus databases were used to conduct a comprehensive literature search. Two reviewers performed the screening and study selection, with disagreements resolved by consensus or the involvement of another reviewer. Quality assessment and data extraction are performed by one reviewer and checked by another. AMSTAR-2 tool was used to perform the risk of bias assessment. A narrative synthesis of the data extracted was provided. The searches resulted in a total of 276 articles and out of these, 23 systematic reviews were included. The included studies incorporated various smoking cessation interventions. Smokers of all ages and a small proportion of recent quitters are involved. They may be from the general or the special population. 14 reviews were rated as high quality, 2 were moderate, 4 were low and 3 were critically low by the AMSTAR-2 tool. The analysis found that counselling sessions, online interventions, self-help materials and motivational interviewing may increase cessation rates in the long term, if not, short term. Counselling sessions demonstrate the strongest evidence of benefit in smokers trying to quit. Findings that can be added to the updated CPG include app-based, incentives, feedback on spirometry results, exercise and behavioural interventions for people living with HIV and AIDS, COPD patients, and underprivileged older smokers
Biological Monitoring of Iodine Content in Human Breast Milk over Six Months Postpartum: A Case Study
Get PDFIodine deficiency was commonly reported in infants and partly attributable to low breast milk iodine content. The role of iodine is crucial in preventing brain damage and hypothyroidism in infants. It is important to monitor the concentration of iodine in breast milk of postpartum mothers. This study aimed to validate an analytical method to determine iodine concentration in human breast milk for biomonitoring purposes. Expressed breast milk samples were collected several times a day throughout six months postpartum from a healthy lactating mother. Samples were prepared with nitric acid digestion and analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry. Data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel 2016 for assessment of validation parameters and longitudinal concentration of iodine. The method validation parameters showed that linearity of calibration graph was 0.9987, limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.218 µg/L and 0.661 µg/L, respectively. A recovery of 100.3% showed good accuracy, whereas inter-day and intra-day repeatability were 5.91% and 3.60%, respectively. The median iodine concentration was the highest in the first month (160.0 µg/L), then dropped to lower than recommended level (110 µg/L) from the second until six months postpartum (range: 31.9 - 98.7 µg/L). Fluctuation in median iodine concentration occurred over six months postpartum but circadian rhythm was observed to be consistent with “V” shaped curve pattern indicating higher concentration was exhibited in the morning and at night compared to evening. The analytical method was robust, accurate and reliable for measuring iodine concentration in human milk and applicable for biomonitoring. Deficiency in breast milk iodine content was observed in the second until six months postpartum. Iodine concentration in breast milk exhibited consistent circadian variation over six months postpartum
Avocado Fruit and Leaf Bioactive Phytochemicals and Cosmeceutical Applications: A Scoping Review
No full textThe cosmeceutical industry has been blooming over the years, necessitating a demand for safe and effective options. Fruit bioactive compounds are reported as safe for human health and broadly effective alternatives with less adverse effects. Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a tropical fruit rich in phytonutrients and lipid-soluble bioactive compounds. These compounds have been reported to have various potential health benefits, including improving skin health. This scoping review investigated the bioactive compounds of avocados that were reported to confer beneficial activities on the skin. Published data between August 1982 till February 2022 were extracted from Ovid Medline, Scopus, Pubmed, SciFinder and Web of Science. A total of 307 published articles were identified using the search terms, of which 31 full articles were reviewed and appraised in this synthesis. This comprehensive scoping review examined the cosmeceutical activities of bioactive phytochemicals found in avocado (Persea americana Mill.) outlining their mechanisms of action. The review highlighted the antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, anti-tyrosinase, and anti-aging properties of avocado extracts. Acetone extracts, especially from seeds, showed the highest antioxidant capacity and were also effective in antimicrobial activities. Methanol extracts demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, bioactive compounds from avocados were found to enhance wound healing and anti-aging effects, such as increasing collagen production and improving skin hydration and elasticity. This scoping review provides a comprehensive collection of evidence and critically appraises recent literature on bioactive compounds of Avocado and extraction solvents and potential cosmeceutical applications
Physicians’ Perception on Prescribing Potentially Inappropriate Medications for Older Patients: A Qualitative Study from Malaysia
Get PDFIntroduction: Many quantitative studies reported that potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) is quite prevalent among older adult patients. However, the issue is less explored qualitatively from the perspective of physicians. Objective: To qualitatively explore hospital physicians’ perception regarding PIMs, associated factors and the possible interventions to control this phenomenon. Method: A qualitative study using individual semi-structured and in-depth interview research method was constructed on 15 physicians serving in a Malaysian hospital. The purposive sampling technique was used at the beginning followed by the snowball sampling process. Results: It was found that the physicians have inadequate knowledge about PIM and the published PIM criteria . Several factors were perceived as barriers of appropriate prescribing. Firstly, physicians’ lack of knowledge and training in geriatric medicine as well as lack of time. Secondly, some of the physicians were skeptical about the applicability of PIM criteria in daily practice due to limited alternative medications. Lastly, complexity of the cases due to multimorbidity, polypharmacy and patient’s poor knowledge about their medications. The proposed interventions to optimize prescribing for older patients were education (for patients and physicians), optimization of healthcare workforce and activation of deprescribing. Conclusions: Prescribing for older patients is a complex process that is affected by numerous patient-related and doctor-related factors. Improvement strategies should target the patient, physicians and the work environment activating a joined-up working between the physician and other healthcare providers
PVA-PEG Hydrogel Incorporated with Cellulose Nanofibril of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches and Antibacterial Agent Curcumin
Get PDFIntroduction: The compelling characteristics of hydrogel films, resembling biological tissues, have sparked significant interest for their use in wound healing dressings.
Materials and methods: Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and antibacterial agent of curcumin was incorporated into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel prepared via few cycles of freeze-thaw methods. The CNFs were extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) using alkaline-deep eutectic solvent (alkaline-DES) assisting with ultrasonication. The inclusion of CNFs and curcumin were optimized by varying their concentrations and moisture retention content (MRC) was determined as a response.
Results: The PVA-PEG/CNF-curcumin hydrogel achieved a 44.84% MRC via an optimal hydrogel composition comprising 6% (v/w) CNF and 5% (v/w) curcumin. Other physio-chemical properties of the developed hydrogel such as swelling behaviours, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), hydrogel porosity, chemical structural, and antimicrobial resistance were determined as well to observe the effect of incorporating of CNFs and curcumin. The optimized PVA-PEG/CNF-curcumin hydrogel formulation demonstrated a swelling capacity of 26.44%, enhanced porosity of 48%, and a WVTR of 76.73 g/m²h, showed its potential as a promising dressing material with improved characteristics. The PVA-PEG/CNFs-curcumin hydrogel was observed to have high moisture retention content and demonstrated good resistance to gram-positive bacteria (B. subtilis) and lower resistance to gram-negative bacteria (E. coli).
Conclusion: In conclusion, the incorporation of CNFs and curcumin into PVA-PEG hydrogel demonstrated promising characteristics, highlighting its potential as an effective and versatile wound healing dressing with notable antimicrobial properties
A comparative study: Impact of screen time on sleep quality among university students and school children
Get PDFIntroduction: Screen time has been found to affect sleep quality negatively. Despite numerous studies proving that poor sleep quality and excessive screen time is prevalent among school children and university students, a comparative study on both age groups is yet to be explored extensively so far. This study focused more on school-aged children and university students, as they are often associated with sleep deprivation. The main objectives are to assess the association between screen time and sleep quality among schoolchildren and university students and to compare the effects of screen time on sleep quality between both age groups. Method: This study was conducted in Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, IIUM Kuantan, and six primary schools around Kuantan involving 100 undergraduate pharmacy students and 100 primary schoolchildren aged 10 to 12 years old. The participants were assessed using a self-administered online questionnaire consisting of demographic background, electronic device use, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The result was analysed using SPSS 23.0 software— descriptive analysis and Chi-Square test to determine the association between duration of screen time and sleep quality. Results: The mean duration of screen time among the participants is 5.5 hours (± 0.102). 56.5% participants have poor sleep quality. The PSQI score for UG students is significantly higher (mean score 6.7 ± 2.741) compared to children (mean score 5.54 ± 2.812) respectively (p value=0.001). The duration of screen time is weakly related to sleep quality. However, respondents with excessive screen time of more than 12 hours have a higher mean PSQI score. Conclusion: The findings revealed that majority respondents have poor sleep quality, independent of screen time. Further research with larger sample size is suggested for clearer comprehensive results