Pharmacy

Staphylococcus aureus was recognized as a major cause of nosocomial infections worldwide and a variety of skin infections which require therapeutic approaches. During the last five decades, Staphylococcus aureus clones that resist methicillin (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA) disseminated and caused medical and public health problem worldwide 250 clinical isolates collected from Omdurman, Khartoum and Soba hospitals from different sources (blood, urine, pus, diabetic sepsis swab and tip of the catheter), cultured and isolated in pure culture and subjected to microscopical examination by the Gram reaction and biochemical tests to identify them as pure Staphylococcus aureus, then subjected to sensitivity tests by disc diffusion method against commonly used antibiotics in order to determine the sensitivity and resistance patterns against penicillin, co-amoxyclav, oxacillin, fusidic acid ,cefuroxime,vancomycin, cotrimoxazole, rifampicin, gentamicin, clindamycin, meropenem and chloramphenicol. 110 of the pure clinical isolates were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which were mannitol non-fermenters and resistant to number of antibiotics and the prevalence of it may increase the emergence of glycopeptide (vancomycin and teicoplanin) resistant strains. The study revealed there were many antibiotics effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and can be used by the clinicians as therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of infections caused by these strains.

Abrus precatorius Linn. (Fabaceae) is a climbing shrub widely distributed in most of the districts of the country in hedges and among bushes on open lands. The objective of this work is to evaluate and compare anthelmintic activity of ethanolic extract of red seeds of Abrus precatorius. Earth worms were used for anthelmintic activity. Albendazole was used as standard drug. Time required for paralysis and death of animals were noted for each sample.

Liposomes are an important colloidal carrier system for controlled drug delivery. However some highly hydrophilic small molecules are difficult to entrap into liposomes and store stably, resulting in poor encapsulation efficiency and fast leakage. In present study, Docetaxel was used as a model drug that was loaded into chitosan nanoparticles and the encapsulated into liposomes by ethanol injection method (EIM). The vesicular systems were characterized for particle size, zeta potential, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and evaluated for encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release. The Lip-Np was composed of Hydrogenated Soya phosphatidylcholine, Cholesterol, EPG and Chitosan with average diameter of 207.8nm and zeta potential of +21.7mv. The entrapment efficiency was above 90% in Chitosan coated (Lip-Np). The release rate of docetaxel from Chitosan coated Lip-Np was more than 90% after 72h.

Two simple and sensitive extractive spectrophotometric methods (Method A and Method B) have been developed for the determination of Escitalopram in bulk and pharmaceutical preparation which are based on the formation of coloured complex of the drug with dyes namely bromothymol blue (BTB) and methyl orange (MO). The ion pair complexes formed was quantitatively extracted into chloroform under the experimental conditions. All the variables have been optimized and the concentration measurements are reproducible with a relative standard deviation of 1.98 and the recoveries are 99-100.7%.

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health science with chemical science and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. Tamil Nadu is one of the well-developed States in terms of industrial development. Tamil Nadu is the fifth-largest pharmaceutical producing State in the country and accounts for 10% of the national production of pharmaceutical products in the country and nearly 487 pharma and biotech companies are housed in the State. It provides innovative, quality and affordable health care solution to masses. In this short review author provides some of the glimpses of the pharmacy profession in Tamil Nadu.

Dexmedetomidine is an alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist with sedative, anxiolytic and analgesic properties.1 This article reviews the use of dexmedetomidine in pediatric patients and its use in critical care. We will focus on the clinical experience of the drug in children and its role in sedation in Pediatric intensive care unit and for procedural sedation. 

A simple high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of dorzolamide hydrochloride and timolol maleate in eye drops formulation is presented. The HPLC separation was undertaken on a Eurospher 100 C-18 25*4.6 (5µm) column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution,(15:3:82 v/v). System suitability was assessed through measurement of factors affecting column efficiency i.e. peak symmetry, capacity factor and resolution. Analytes concentrations were calculated utilizing peak area and peak height. The linearity range (r value > 0.99) was 120-480 µg/ml and 360-1440 µg/ml for timolol maleate and dorzolamide hydrochloride respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for timolol maleate were 5.95µg/ml and 18.03µg/ml. The corresponding values for dorzolamide hydrochloride were 25.18µg/ml and 76.31µg/ml.

Schistosomiasis mansoni is among the neglected diseases that occur in Brazil, being endemic in 76 countries and territories spread across Africa, Asia and the Americas. The granulomatous process in schistosomiasis is dependent on CD4 + and requires recruitment and accumulation of inflammatory cells at the site of eggs deposition. Schistosomal fibrosis is the result of a granulomatous reaction developed in response to antigens released by eggs of Schistosoma mansoni that are retained in the portal veins of smaller caliber. Manipulation of the interaction between B7 antigen molecules presenting cells (APC) and T cell receptors CD28/CTLA4 modulate and, in some circumstances, even block the immunological response in vivo. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: a) to evaluate treatment with monoclonal mice anti-CD28 (PV-1 cell line hybridoma), b) to evaluate the contribution of the synthesis and release of IL-4 and IL-5 when correlated with IgE and IgG1 levels and granuloma and fibrosis formation during schistosomiasis. Our results suggest that treatment with anti-CD28, on day 64 post-infection, favored a decrease in IL-4 and IL-5 production and decreased levels of IgG1 and IgE expression, as well as a reduction in the collagen deposition resulting from fibrosis.

A simple, precise and accurate kinetic spectrophotometric method has been developed for determination of tranexamic acid. The method was based on a kinetic investigation of the coupling reaction between tranexamic acid and ascorbic acid after heating to form a purple-pink colored complex. The reaction was followed up spectrophotometrically by measuring the increase in absorbance at 530nm & 390nm as a function of time. The initial rate, rate constant, fixed time and fixed absorption time methods were adopted for constructing the calibration curves and examined for their suitability for the assay of tranexamic acid in pure and capsules forms.

This study is planned to determine the knowledge of personal protective equipment use of senior paramedic students before graduation during COVID-19 pandemic. The research is a descriptive study. The universe of the study consisted of 180 senior paramedic students studying at three universities in Izmir. When evaluating the study data, descriptive findings were expressed as percentage, mean, standard deviation and median. 38.1% of the students are between 18-20 years old, 50.0% are between 21-23 years old and 11.9% are 23 years old and above. 58.3% of the students participating in the study are females and 41.7% are males. In the study, 74.4% of paramedic students stated that healthcare personnel working in ambulance or patient transport vehicles should use medical masks, gowns, gloves and eye protection while transporting suspected COVID-19- (SARS-CoV-2) patients to the health institution. 78.5% of the students answered that an N95/FFP2 mask should be used while intervening and taking samples in a patient suspected o having COVID-19. As a result, it was found that during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the knowledge of personal protective equipment use of senior paramedic students before graduation is sufficient in some cases and not clear and sufficient in some cases. It is recommended that students should be given effective training on the use of PPE during the intervention of the patient with COVID-19 before graduation. It is known that the use of personal protective equipment is preventive in the transmission of the virus. There are studies supporting that the contact of healthcare professionals with patients with covid-19 increases their anxiety. In our study, it was thought that it would be helpful to determine whether paramedic students, who will be in the risk group to come into contact with covid-19 patients in the prehospital area, have sufficient knowledge about the use of personal protective equipment. In this direction, it is thought that it will contribute to the content of the training on the use of personal protective equipment during the covid-19 pandemic process.