Synthesis and in vitro characterization of chlorpheneramine-laden liposomes for topical applications.

This study was aimed at synthesizing liposomes for the topical delivery of chlorpheneramine maleate using three-level factorial design. Each experiment consisted of a varying proportion of cholesterol, lecithin and a permeation enhancer mixture of Tween80 and polyethylene glycol (PEG1000), and resultant liposomes were extensively characterized. The drug release study was conducted at 6.0 pH, 37±1ºC temperature and 100 rpm rotation speed utilizing a cellophane membrane pouch in a USP type II dissolution apparatus. Among formulations, L5 was considered as the optimal formulation because of high drug loading (99.05%), 87.71% drug release within 4 hours, high drug loading and the optimized formulation was found to be stable during stability testing. This high drug loading and release was achieved at low level of cholesterol and lecithin (0.1: 0.3g) and high level of permeation enhancer mixture (0.2g) as revealed by the surface plots. The drug release from the optimized formulation followed Fickian diffusion as revealed by Korsmeyers-Peppas kinetic model. In summary, combination of PEG1000 and Tween80 with lecithin and cholesterol can be successfully used to develop liposomes that efficiently incorporated chlorpheneramine. This formulation therefore has the potential to be used as a topical anti-allergic product.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study From Pakistan.

Background: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly increased the rate of mortality and morbidity worldwide due to its rapid transmission rate. The mental health status of individuals could have a negative impact attributed to this global situation. Therefore, this study was intended to explore the symptoms of depression and anxiety among healthcare workers (HCWs) of Pakistan during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken by administering a web-based questionnaire between May and June 2020. Two tools, including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), were employed to measure anxiety and depression symptoms among HCWs. The data analyses were carried out using descriptive statistics, Man Whitney, and Kruskal Wallis tests. Results: Of 1094 HCWs who participated in this online survey, 742 (67.8%) were physicians, followed by nurses (n = 277, 25.3%) and pharmacists (n = 75, 6.9%). The survey respondents had a median depression and anxiety score of 5.00 (7.00-3.00) and 8.00 (11.00-5.00), respectively. A considerable number of HCWs (82.2%) utilized online psychological resources to deal with their psychological distress. Female HCWs, nurses, frontline HCWs, and HCWs aged 30-49 years were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety (p < 0.05). Conclusion: During the recent ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, there is a mild level of symptoms of depression and anxiety among HCWs. Our findings call for urgent psychological interventions for vulnerable groups of Pakistani HCWs.

Applying response surface methodology to optimize nimesulide permeation from topical formulation.

Nimesulide is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that acts through selective inhibition of COX-2 enzyme. Poor bioavailability of this drug may leads to local toxicity at the site of aggregation and hinders reaching desired therapeutic effects. This study aimed at formulating and optimizing topically applied lotions of nimesulide using an experimental design approach, namely response surface methodology. The formulated lotions were evaluated for pH, viscosity, spreadability, homogeneity and in vitro permeation studies through rabbit skin using Franz diffusion cells. Data were fitted to linear, quadratic and cubic models and best fit model was selected to investigate the influence of permeation enhancers, namely propylene glycol and polyethylene glycol on percutaneous absorption of nimesulide from lotion formulations. The best fit quadratic model explained that the enhancer combination at equal levels significantly increased the flux and permeability coefficient. The model was validated by comparing the permeation profile of optimized formulations' predicted and experimental response values, thus, endorsing the prognostic ability of response surface methodology.