A Selective Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Quantitation of Ethylene and Diethylene Glycol in Paediatric Syrups.

Ethylene Glycol (EG) and diethylene Glycol (DEG) are two contaminants known to cause various human health problems. These glycols might be present in drug syrups that are based on glycerol, sorbitol, or polyethylene glycol. In late 2022, several batches of cough, antipyretics, and antihistamine syrups were reported to contain toxic levels of EG and DEG in multiple countries; this incident concerned the World Health Organization (WHO). From an analytical perspective, several methods of glycols analysis in pharmaceuticals have been reported in the literature, with the majority being dedicated to raw material analysis. This study aims to develop a selective method capable of evaluating a wide range of paediatric syrups in order to assess the safety of commercially available paediatric syrups currently distributed in the local market. This research introduces a method for determining glycols utilizing gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), which offers significantly higher selectivity than conventional single quadrupole gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The developed method meets the current International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines for validation. The absence of any interfering peaks in both the unspiked sample of promethazine syrup and the reference standard solutions proved the method's selectivity. Furthermore, 2,2,2-trichloroethanol was used as an internal standard, and a new GC-MS/MS method was developed to analyze it. The calibration curves for EG and DEG were linear within the selected concentration range of 1-10 µg/mL. The detection limit for both EG and DEG was 400 ng/mL, while the quantification limit was 1 µg/mL. Recovery values for both EG and DEG met the accuracy acceptance criterion. Thus, the developed method proved to be efficient and accurate for determining EG and DEG levels in suspected contaminated syrups.

Brain Targeting of Quetiapine Fumarate via Intranasal Delivery of Loaded Lipospheres: Fabrication, In-Vitro Evaluation, Optimization, and In-Vivo Assessment.

A liposphere system for intranasal delivery of quetiapine fumarate (QTF) was created to assess the potential for enhanced drug delivery. We investigated the effects of particle size, entrapment effectiveness, poly dispersibility index, and pluronic incorporation percentage on these variables. The optimal formula was examined using a TEM, and investigations into DSC, XRD, and FTIR were made. Optimized liposphere formulation in vitro dissolution investigation with a mean diameter of 294.4 ± 18.2 nm revealed about 80% drug release in 6 h. The intranasal injection of QTF-loaded lipospheres showed a shorter Tmax compared to that of intranasal and oral suspension, per the findings of an in vivo tissue distribution investigation in Wistar mice. Lipospheres were able to achieve higher drug transport efficiency (DTE %) and direct nose-to-brain drug transfer (DTP %). A potentially effective method for delivering QTF to specific brain regions is the liposphere system.

Factors Affecting Pharmacy Students' Decision to Study in Pharmacy Colleges in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire-Based Analysis.

(1) Background: Many factors may play a role in deciding to opt for pharmacy as a major. However, no previous studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia to explore these factors. This study aims to identify the potential factors that prompted students to join the pharmacy program. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed among undergraduate pharmacy students in Saudi Arabia, addressing areas such as reasons that encourage them to choose pharmacy as a major, and students' socio-demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study variables, and a simple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the potential factors. (3) Results: A total of 491 students completed the questionnaire. Around 40% of them had chosen to study pharmacy as their first choice. Only gender, current GPA, and reasons related to the pharmacy field were found to have a statistically significant association with students selecting pharmacy as their first choice. (4) Conclusions: This study shows that pharmacy students have a future-oriented outlook and selected pharmacy as their first choice because it will develop them professionally, financially, and intellectually. Educating high school students about the characteristic of pharmacy would help attract more talented students to the pharmacy carrier.