Spectrophotometric and chromatographic determination of omeprazole in pharmaceutical formulations.

The purpose of this study was to determine the stability of the pH sensitive drug, omeprazole, within different solid oral pharmaceutical formulations and to determine whether the addition of antacid and surfactant agents, at varying concentrations, influenced drug stability and release. Spectrophotometric and chromatographic techniques were used for evaluation purposes, giving good results concerning linearity, precision and specificity within the range of concentrations used in this study. However, the results show that the degradation products of omeprazole interfere with spectrophotometric evaluation, making this technique insufficiently selective for omeprazole. On the other hand, liquid chromotography proved to be more sensitive, accurate and precise. Additionally, in an attempt to improve the administration form of the drug, an extemporaneous suspension was designed, which after evaluation proved to be a satisfactory administration vehicle. The best formulation of omeprazole studied is: omeprazole: 0.5%; corn starch 34.2%; aluminum hydroxide 26%; magnesium hydroxide 13%; simple syrup 24.8%; SDS 1%.

Levels of heavy metals and metalloids in critically endangered Iberian lynx and other wild carnivores from Southern Spain.

The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is the most endangered felid in the world with a wild population which probably stands at less than 200 individuals inhabiting two areas in Southern Spain (Doñana and Sierra Morena) that are known to have been contaminated by heavy metals and metalloids due to a long history of mining activities. This contamination may pose a threat to long term conservation efforts and hence, the concentrations of seven elements (As, Se, Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb, Hg) were determined in the liver, muscle and bone of 9 lynx, as well as 17 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 11 Egyptian mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon), 4 common genets (Genetta genetta) and 1 Eurasian badger (Meles meles). The mean concentrations found were below the threshold levels indicative of chronic intoxication in all the species studied. In general, genet and red fox were species with the highest concentrations of several elements in Doñana, whilst Iberian lynx had the lowest levels of most of them. Lynx from Sierra Morena had significantly higher concentrations of bone Pb (2.05 microg/g d.w.) than those from Doñana (0.13 microg/g d.w.), probably due to the mineralised underlying geology and/or the abandoned mine workings in Sierra Morena. Egyptian mongoose presented liver concentrations of Hg up to 9.7 microg/g d.w. A strong relationship between Hg and Se levels was found in liver and muscle samples of all the studied species, especially in mongoose. In conclusion, levels of the studied elements do not appear to represent a significant threat for the lynx or for the other carnivores studied. However, given the critical status of the Iberian lynx, a continuous monitoring scheme remains necessary.

Development of carbonyl iron/ethylcellulose core/shell nanoparticles for biomedical applications.

A reproducible method for the preparation of mixed colloidal nanoparticles, consisting of a magnetic carbonyl iron nucleus and a biocompatible ethylcellulose latex shell, is described in this article. The heterogeneous structure of the particles can confer them both the possibility of being used as drug delivery systems and the responsiveness to external magnetic fields, allowing a selective guidance of drug molecules to specific target tissues without a concurrent increase in its level in healthy tissues. The preparation method is based on an emulsion solvent evaporation process. A complete physicochemical characterization of the composite particles was carried out, and this preliminary investigation showed that the surface behavior of the core/shell particles is similar to that of bare ethylcellulose particles. This was confirmed, in particular, by zeta potential determinations as a function of pH and ionic strength. This fact points to the ethylcellulose shell efficiently coating carbonyl iron, and leading to composite particles which, from the electrokinetic point of view, are almost indistinguishable from latex. The thermodynamic analysis agrees with the electrokinetic one in suggesting that the coverage has been complete, since the components of the surface free energy of mixed particles coincide almost exactly with those corresponding to the cellulose-based pseudolatex. Moreover, the hydrophilic nature of carbonyl iron is modified and the particles become hydrophobic, just like the latex, when they are covered by ethylcellulose. The magnetic behaviors of the carbonyl iron and composite particles were also checked, and the similarities between both types of particles were demonstrated, except that the polymeric shell reduces the magnetization of the sample.

Organoclay particles as reinforcing agents in polysaccharide films.

In this work an investigation is described on the use of organically modified montmorillonite clay particles as stabilizers of bioplastic films based on xylan. With the aim of facilitating the incorporation of the nanoparticles to the films, the former were treated with a non-ionic surfactant, inulin. In order to evaluate the possible role of electrostatic interactions in the formation of montmorillonite/xylan complexes, an exhaustive electrokinetic characterization of the modified montmorillonite was carried out. Because montmorillonite has been modified by adsorption of the cationic surfactant DSDMAC, the electrophoretic mobility of montmorillonite in the absence of inulin is positive in a wide range of concentration of NaCl and CaCl(2). On the contrary, addition of KBr provokes a charge inversion when the salt concentration is around 0.05 M, suggesting adsorption of Br(-) ions. In the presence of inulin, the positive electrophoretic mobility decreases with the concentration of this surfactant, and this can be explained by assuming that inulin adsorption is accompanied by simultaneous DSDMAC desorption, eventually producing charge inversion, particularly in the presence of bromide ions. A thorough characterization of the wettability of the xylan films demonstrated that it is dominated by acid-base interactions and that incorporation of inulin-coated montmorillonite leads to a considerable reduction of the hydrophilic character of the films.

Preparation, characterization, and in vitro release of new transdermal methimazole as alternative to oral delivery.

Our objective has been the development and study of the stability of transdermal methimazole formulae as alternative to oral administration. Preparation of F-127 and PLO Pluronic gel (Pluronic lecitin organogel) are described, as well as their characteristics from transmission electron microscopy. The possible structural and rheological changes to both transdermal forms were studied in terms of composition, temperature and time. The trial period was from 24 hr to 3 months after preparation. Furthermore, identical tests were carried out on formulae conserved for 1 year after production to check their integrity. Studies of release in vitro were carried out showing that the selected excipients do not pose an obstacle to the cession of methimazole, even though the PLO samples were made more slowly.

Ectoparasites of the endangered Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus and sympatric wild and domestic carnivores in Spain.

Ectoparasites can cause important skin disorders in animals and can also transmit pathogens. The Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus has been stated to be the most endangered felid in the world and such vector-borne pathogens may threaten its survival. We surveyed 98 wild carnivores (26 Iberian lynxes, 34 red foxes Vulpes vulpes, 24 Egyptian mongooses Herpestes ichneumon, 11 common genets Genetta genetta, two Eurasian badgers Meles meles, one polecat Mustela putorius) and 75 domestic but free-ranging carnivores (46 cats Felis catus, 29 dogs Canis familiaris) from June 2004 to June 2006 in the two areas where the last lynx metapopulations survive: Sierra Morena and Doñana (Andalusia, southern Spain). A total of 65% of lynxes were parasitized (50% by ticks, 19% by fleas, 4% by lice, 31% by hippoboscid flies), as were 75% of foxes (58%, 60%, 0%, 19%), 71% of mongooses (50%, 4%, 46%, 0%), 54% of genets (18%, 36%, 0%, 0%), 30% of cats (22%, 14%, 0%, 2%), and 7% of dogs (surveyed only for ticks). Both badgers presented ticks, fleas and lice. Five species of ixodid ticks (Rhipicephalus pusillus Gil Collado, Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantzev and Matikashvili, Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus), Ixodes hexagonus Leach and Ixodes ventalloi Gil Collado; and Hyalomma sp.), four species of fleas (Ctenocephalides canis Curtis, Pulex irritans Linnaeus, Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale), Xenopsylla cunicularis Smit), three species of chewing lice (Felicola (Felicola) inequalis (Piaget), Trichodectes (Trichodectes) melis (Fabricius), and Felicola (Lorisicola) isidoroi Pérez and Palma), and one species of hippoboscid fly (Hippobosca longipennis (Fabricius)) were found. We did not detect any cases of mange. Hippobosca longipennis is a new record for Spanish wildlife, and all the flea species are new records for the Iberian lynx. Fleas were more frequent on lynxes and foxes in winter than in spring. Rhipicephalus spp. were more frequent on cats in spring than in any other season. These and other epidemiological findings are discussed with respect to the conservation of the Iberian lynx.