Dengue is a viral acute febrile illness, currently considered one of the most important arbovirosis worldwide in terms of morbidity, mortality and economic impact. Various theories have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of severe forms of dengue, involving among other factors, features related to the virus, such as the presence of more virulent strains and/or strains with increased replicative capacity. A crucial point at this time is the discovery of a new viral type, dengue 5, from nonhuman primates in Malaysia-Borneo, which could result in greater difficulties for control and vaccine production (currently in efficacy tests). Once the circulation of this viral type has been demonstrated in the human population, the high risk of infection will have extreme or controversial public health implications. Therefore, a worldwide program to combat dengue should include an urgent need to implement continuous vector elimination, community education and prevention and control of the disease. Only then, we will be aiming to reduce the morbidity and transmission risk of dengue, while new technological and effective alternatives come about.
The aim of the present research was to prepare and evaluate a gastroretentive drug delivery system for metformin HCl, using synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers. The floating approach was applied for preparing gastroretentive tablets (GRT) and these tablets were manufactured by the direct compression method. The drug delivery system comprises of synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers such as polyethylene oxide and Carboxymethyl ethyl cellulose (CMEC) as release-retarding polymers. GRT were evaluated for physico-chemical properties like weight variation, hardness, assay friability, in vitro floating behaviour, swelling studies, in vitro dissolution studies and rate order kinetics. Based upon the drug release and floating properties, two formulations (MP04 & MC03) were selected as optimized formulations. The optimized formulations MP04 and MC03 followed zero order rate kinetics, with non-Fickian diffusion and first order rate kinetics with erosion mechanism, respectively. The optimized formulation was characterised with FTIR studies and it was observed that there was no interaction between the drug and polymers.
The aim of the present investigation was to formulate thermally sintered floating tablets of propranolol HCl, and to study the effect of sintering conditions on drug release, as well as their in vitro buoyancy properties. A hydrophilic polymer, polyethylene oxide, was selected as a sintered polymer to retard the drug release. The formulations were prepared by a direct compression method and were evaluated by in vitro dissolution studies. The results showed that sintering temperature and time of exposure greatly influenced the buoyancy, as well as the dissolution properties. As the sintering temperature and time of exposure increased, floating lag time was found to be decreased, total floating time was increased and drug release was retarded. An optimized sintered formulation (sintering temperature 50 degrees C and time of exposure 4 h) was selected, based on their drug retarding properties. The optimized formulation was characterized with FTIR and DSC studies and no interaction was found between the drug and the polymer used.