Introduction: Methadone hydrochloride (MDN) is an effective pharmacological substitution treatment for opioids dependence, adopted in different countries as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programmes. However, MDN can exacerbate the addiction problem if it is abused and injected intravenously, and the frequent visits to the MMT centres can reduce patient compliance. The overall aim of this study is to develop a novel extended-release capsule of MDN using the sol-gel silica (SGS) technique that has the potential to counteract medication-tampering techniques and associated health risks and reduce the frequent visits to MMT centres. Methods: For MDN recrystallisation, a closed container method (CCM) and hot-stage method (HSM) were conducted, and MDN crystals were characterised using the polarised light microscope (PLM). MDN crystal thickness was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal microscopy (CM) to establish a relationship between MDN crystals thickness and their birefringence colours using the Michel-Levy Birefringence Colour Chart. The experimental series was continued to produce novel silica-based MDN formulations A and B capsules by adding MDN powder at the end and beginning of the SGS process, respectively. The silica-based MDN formulations were characterised by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), SEM, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), PLM and mean grey value (MGV) analyses. The in vitro release studies (n=3) for the silica-based MDN formulations and pure MDN capsules were conducted in a phosphate buffer solution (pH= 7.2) for 7 days. Stability studies were conducted for 1 month by keeping the silica-based MDN capsules under 25°C and 57% RH. Results: The optimal method to produce large numbers of MDN crystals was the CCM, and MDN crystals were characterised as diamond shaped with an intrinsic angle of 62o. The SEM surpassed the CM in measuring MDN crystal thickness, and Mann-Whitney U Test showed statistically significant differences between SEM and confocal thickness measurements (U= 1283, p < 0.05) as the SEM exhibited thinner diamond crystals (6.62 ± 2.9 µm) than the CM measurements (9.6 ± 4.6µm). According to the Michel-Levey birefringence colour chart (using the SEM mean thickness of MDN crystals and their retardation value of 428 nm), most of MDN crystals demonstrated a yellow colour. The FT-IR, SEM, DSC, MGV and PLM analyses of both silica-based MDN formulations revealed that MDN was successfully incorporated inside the silica network producing amorphous material (with no appearance of the melting peak of pure MDN at 233.4°C) with evidence of no physical or chemical interaction between sol-gel silica and MDN. However, the TGA analysis revealed a significantly greater amount of MDN was loaded inside the silica-based MDN formulation B compared to A (t = 2.80, p = 0.009, n=6), as 28.3 ± 0.6 mg of MDN was loaded in the former while 25.6 ± 0.7 mg in the latter. In addition, the silica-based MDN formulation B released 10% more MDN after 7 days than formulation A, and both formulations were stable when stored for 1 month under 57% RH and 25°C. Conclusion: The novel combined use of SEM and PLM techniques shows a potential for the identification of MDN in forensic science as it established a range of birefringence colours of MDN crystals. Moreover, the new silica-based MDN formulation B can help to deter MDN abuse and increase patient adherence to MMT due to its potential to sustain MDN release and reduce the frequent visits to MDN treatment centres.
Simple, rapid and sensitive spectrophotometric method was proposed for the analysis of metoclopramide hydrochloride (MPH) in pure form as well as in pharmaceutical tablets. The method is based on the diazotization reaction of MPH with sodium nitrite in hydrochloric acid medium to form diazonium salt, which is coupled with 1-naphthol in sodium hydroxide medium to form azo dye, showing absorption maxima at 550 nm. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration range of 0.4 – 18 µg mL-1 of MPH with detection limit 0.5448 µg mL-1. The molar absorptivity and Sandell’s sensitivity are 3.4969 × 104 L mol-1 cm-1 and 0.0101 µg cm-2, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of MPH in pharmaceutical tablets with
... Show More
Background: Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) is a term refers to the overarching group of conditions to which autism spectrum disorder (ASD) belongs .
Objective: This study was designed to determine the existing behavior of children with autism in dental sitting, the behavior improvements in recall dental visits and evaluate the improvement in oral hygiene with using specific visual pedagogy chart.
Type of the study: Cross-sectional study.
Methods: Forty children of both genders, ages ranged from 4 – 6 years having primary teeth only were selected whose medical history included a diagnosis
... Show More
Background: A major difference between the treatment of the skin lesions and the odontogenic and non-odontogenic sinuses. We aimed to analyze a substantial number of consecutive causes in order to clinical suspicion in the differential diagnoses may be correctly weighted. Materials and methods: The material of this research consisted of 40 patients. A complete history is collected from the patients with the duration and the site of the sinus present, the patient was examined for factors of the fistulas and sinuses and its associations, and patient having any concomitant lesions, a medical consultation done for opinion and management. Clinical examination with facial fistulas and sinuses was mandatory to avoid any mistakes that may occur. A
... Show MoreThe ceramic compound Mg1-xSixAl2O4 (x= 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) was prepared from nano powder of Al2O3 and MgO doped with Nano powder of SiO2 at different molar ratios. The specimens were prepared by standard chemical solid reaction technique and sintered at 1450 oC. Structure of the specimens was analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The X-ray patterns of the specimens showed the formation of pure simple cubic spinel structure MgAl2O4 phase with space group of ̅ . The average grain size and surface topology were studied by atomic force microscopy. The results showed that the average grain size was about 73-90 nm. The DC electrical properties of the specimen were measured. The apparent density was found to increase and the porosity a
... Show More
This study was done to evaluate a new technique to determine the presence of methamphetamine in the hair using nano bentonite-based adsorbent as the filler of extraction column. The state of the art of this study was based on the presence of silica in the nano bentonite that was assumed can interact with methamphetamine. The hair used was treated using methanol to extract the presence of methamphetamine, then it was continued by sonicating the hair sample. Qualitative analysis using Marquish reagent was performed to confirm the presence of methamphetamine in the isolate.The hair sample that has been taken in a different period confirmed that this current developing method can be used to analyzed methamphetamine. This m
... Show More
(2)
(2)
Abstract Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a group of clinical and biological abnormalities included risk of insulin resistance , disorders in glucose metabolism , abdominal obesity and abnormal lipid profile these features confer a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases . Anyway, the co-occurrence of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome potentiates the cardiovascular risk associated with each of the two conditions. The present study aimed to determine a relationship between prolactin level in type -2- diabetic Iraqi women and metabolic syndrome, as well to find a relationship between prolactin level and other studied biochemical markers. seventy menopausal diabetic women with metabolic syndrome with age in range (45-50) years were enrolled i
... Show MoreRA is a complex chronic disease, primarily affects the lining of the synovial joints and can cause progressive disability, premature death, and socioeconomic burdens. The clinical manifestations of symmetrical joint involvement include arthralgia, swelling, redness, and even limiting the range of motion. The pathogenesis is not known therefore the study included Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of systemic inflammatory diseases that characterized by a progressive disabling course. The study included patients suffering from RA and as healthy controls. immunological and genetic factor were evaluated in each subject by using serum level of cytokine and genetic factor. The etiopathology of the disease is not well known for this reason the study
... Show More
(5)
5-Fluorouracil is one of the commonly used chemotherapy drugs in anticancer therapy; unfortunately treatment with 5-FU by solely has many drawbacks low lipophilicity, low permeability, low molecular weight, and its relatively poor plasma protein binding; also a brief half-life therefore frequent administration is required to maintain the optimal therapeutic plasma level which in addition to its poor selectivity, drug resistance and limited penetration to cancer cells; leads to increased incidence of side-effects to healthy cells/tissues and low response rates. In order to minimize these drawbacks; 5-FU was chemically conjugated with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) in a mutual prodrug moiety (S-(9H-purin-6-yl) 3-(
... Show More
(7)
(3)
The purpose of this study was to measure serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP7), Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), Growth Hormone (GH), Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and insulin in acromegaly patients and healthy controls. The acromegaly group had 60 patients, while the population group had 30 people who had never had acromegaly before. The concentration of IGFBP7, IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin were determined. The results of the present study indicate that IGFBP7 level in the acromegaly group was significantly lower (1.690.07 ng/mL vs. 2.740.12 ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.001). IGF-1, GH, IL-6, and insulin concentrations were also significantly higher in acromegaly patients. The diagnostic accuracy (2.194) was exce
... Show More
(9)
(5)