Hybrid Hosts Based on Sodium Alginate and Porous Clay Heterostructures for Drug Encapsulation.

In this study, some hybrid materials based on sodium alginate (NaAlg) and porous clay heterostructures (PCHs) were investigated as new hosts for 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) encapsulation. The hybrid hosts were prepared by ionotropic gelation technique using different concentrations of PCHs (1, 3, and 10 wt%) in order to identify the optimal parameters for encapsulation and drug release. The obtained hybrid materials were characterized using FTIR Spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-Vis spectrometry to investigate the interactions of the raw materials involved in the preparation of hybrid hosts, the influence of PCHs concentrations on drug encapsulation efficiency and drug release profile. All the results show that the synthesized hybrid materials were able to load a high amount of 5-FU, the encapsulation efficiency and the release profile being influenced by the concentrations of PCHs.

HIV and AIDS, among knowledge, responsibility and ignorance; a study on medical students at the end of their first universitary year.

Despite the global effort to control the spread of HIV and AIDS, the number of HIV-infected people continues to increase worldwide. The failure of present prevention strategies, which rely principally on the modification of behavioral practices that put individuals at risk of getting the infection, and the lack of effective anti-HIV drugs have given an impetus to the search for a better way in the prevention and control of the epidemic. It was observed and scientifically documented that efforts related to prevention have to be adapted, constantly monitored and readapted in relation to results from periodical surveys. They also have to be well sustained over a sufficiently long period of time (years). Under these assumptions, in order to evaluate the knowledge and perception/attitudes of the students in the University of Medicine, we developed a questionnaire that we presented for completion, for example, to medical students at the end of their first year of study. The gathered data conducted us to the assumption that information regarding HIV transmission is not yet internalized in order to determine specific practices, and attitudes are more related to perceptions and beliefs than to facts. An active, responsible, adult day to day responsibility could increase the protection against HIV transmission. A limitation of our study was represented by the reduced number of participants (96) and the lack of correlation between attitudes and knowledge, between students in different years of study and over time. It is our intention to continue this research and provide more complete data in the nearest future.