Articles

About Authors: Rinki Verma,
Research fellow,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005

Abstract
Cancer is caused by damage of genes which control the growth and division of cells. Detection/diagnose/treatment is possible by confirming the growth of the cells and treated by rectifying the damaging mechanism of the genes or by stopping the blood supply to the cells or by destroying it. Conventional detection method of the cancer is not more efficient than nanotechnogical detection method. Nano Particles (NP) being of a few of nano meters size and the cells being of the size of few microns, NP can enter inside the cells and can access the DNA molecules/Genes and therefore, there is a possibility that the defect in the genes can be detected. The conventional treatment is less sensitive than the nanotechnology methods, certain NP can be designed to absorb preferentially certain wave length of radiation and if they enters in the cancerous cells, they will burn them So, Nanotechnology can be used to create therapeutic agents that target specific cells and deliver toxin to kill them.

About Authors: Manoj Kumar Jadia1*, Dr. U. L. Narayan2
1. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
Indira Gandhi institute of Pharmaceautical Sciences,
IRC village, Bhubaneswar, Odhisa, India
2. Principal, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
Indira Gandhi institute of Pharmaceautical Sciences,
IRC village, Bhubaneswar, Odhisa, India

Abstract
The two methods are described for the simultaneous determination of Paracetamol and Etodolac in binary mixture. The first method was based on UV-spectrophotometric determination of both of the drugs, using simultaneous equation method. It involves absorbance measurement at 256.0 nm (λmax of Paracetamol) and 226.0 nm (λmax of Etodolac) in methanol; linearity was obtained in the range of 5 – 25 μg.mL-1 for both the drugs. The second method was based on HPLC separation of the two drugs in reverse phase mode using Promosil C18 column. Linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 30-70μg.mL-1 for Paracetamol and 20-60 μg.mL-1 for Etodolac. The LOD and LOQ value of UV-Spectrophotometric determination was found to be 167.43 ng mL-1, 507.37 ng mL-1  and for HPLC determination was found to be 1653.12 ng mL-1, 5009.48 ng mL-1.Both these methods have beensuccessively applied to pharmaceutical formulation and were validated according to ICH guidelines.

About Authors: Sharath Babu
M.Pharm, Mallareddy Institute of Pharmacy

Liver Enzymes
Four separate liver enzymes are included on most routine laboratory tests. They are-aspartate aminotransferase (AST or SGOT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT or SGPT), which are known together as transaminases; and alkaline phosphatase (AP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), which are known together as cholestatic liver enzymes. Elevations of these enzymes can indicate the presence of liver disease.

About Authors: Aswini K. Reddy, Swetha Yasa, Srivally Challa, Masoom. md
Mallareddy Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT
Both solid- and liquid-phase combinatorial chemistry have emerged as powerful tools for identifying pharmacologically active compounds and optimizing the biological activity of a lead compound. Complementary high-throughput in vitro assays are essential for compound evaluation. Cell-based assays that use optical endpoints permit investigation of a wide variety of functional properties of these compounds including specific intracellular biochemical pathways, protein-protein interactions, and the subcellular localization of targets. Integration of combinatorial chemistry with contemporary pharmacology now represents an important factor in drug discovery and development.

This is an exceptionally exciting time in the field of pharmacology. The environment for the identification of new therapeutic targets and agents that interact with these targets has rapidly changed with the application of genetic tools and genomics. Extrapolation from the genomic sequencing of lower organisms suggests that there will be a 10-fold increase in the number of potential human therapeutic targets in the next several years with the completion of the Human Genome Project (Drews, 1996). This is leading to a fundamental transformation in pharmacology; no longer is there a dearth of molecular targets for small molecules. Rather, the emphasis is now on validating whether or not the targets are appropriate for therapeutic intervention, on generating large arrays of compounds that represent diverse portions of “chemical space”, and developing methods to quickly assess the credentials of small molecules as target disrupters. We believe many of the tools and reagents that are being developed to facilitate this scientific activity will emerge as vital for future academic pharmacological research. Perhaps most important will be the exploitation of combinatorial chemistry libraries, which are becoming widely available. Although we cannot comprehensively review this broad topic here, the goal of this brief commentary is to portray some of the strategies and potentials of combinatorial chemistry libraries as they relate to pharmacological studies.

About Authors: Shoeib Afroz Mohammad,
M.Pharm (Pharmacology),
Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy, Kakatiya University

Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1087

BACKGROUND:
By the 1930s, scientists had isolated and determined the structure of the steroid hormones and found that high doses of androgens, estrogens or progesterone inhibited ovulation. The first oral-contraceptive formulations marketed in the United States, in 1960 and1961, contained 2 to 5 times as much estrogen and 5 to 10 times as much progestin as the oral contraceptives now in use. Since introduced in May of 1960, these pills have provided reliable contracep¬tion for millions of woman throughout the world.They were given in a regimen consisting of 21 active tablets containing estrogen and progestin followed by 7 days of placebo tablets (21/7 regimen). The 7 days of placebo was designed for menses to occur during that time. The use of these high-dose formulations was linked to increased risks of ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, and pulmonary embolism in healthy young women. The estrogen and progestin were reduced rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s because of concern about safety and because the reduction of the doses did not reduce the contraceptive effectiveness.The reductions in the dose of estrogen are believed to have decreased the risk of venous thrombosis. The combination estrogen–progestin oral contraceptives that are now on the market contain estrogen at doses ranging from 20 to 50 μg of ethinyl estradiol or, uncommonly, mestranol. Currently there are over 70 different brands on the market. 1

About Authors: Dipak Kumar Dash
M.Pharm (Pharmaceutics)
Himalayan Pharmacy Institute
East Sikkim, Majhitar

Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1086

Introduction
Hazard is a term associated with a substance that is likelihood to cause an injury in a given environment or situation. Industrial hazard may be defined as any condition produced by industries that may cause injury or death to personnel or loss of product or property.    Safety in simple terms means freedom from the occurrence of risk or injury or loss. Industrial safety refers to the protection of workers from the danger of industrial accidents.

About Authors: Kushwaha Anjali*
Department of Pharmaceutics, Institute of pharmacy,
Bundelkhand university, Jhansi (U.P.), India

Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1085

Abstract
Solid dispersions is an efficient means of improving the dissolution rate and hence the bioavailability of a range of poorly soluble drugs. This article reviews the various types of solid dispersion, preparation techniques for solid dispersion and compiles some of the recent technologies. Some of the practical aspects to be considered for the preparation of solid dispersions, such as selection of carrier and methods of physicochemical characterization, along with nature of drugs in solid dispersions are also discussed. Finally, limited commercialization of solid dispersions and recent revival has been considered.

About Authors: Deepti Maithani *, Vikas Jain
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shobhit University, Meerut

Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1084

Introduction
From the ancient time it has been the endeavor of the physician and the apothecary to provide patients with the best possible forms of medicine, for recovery from disease faster and completely within minimum adverse effects. Paul Ehrlich in1902 initiated the era of targeted delivery,who proposed drug delivery to be as magic bullet. An ideal drug delivery system is that fulfils the objective of spatial placement and temporal delivery resulting maximized therapeutic effect and least toxicity. With the progress in time and growth of science and technology, the dosage forms have evolved from simple mixtures and pills, to highly sophisticated technology intensive systems, which are known as novel drug delivery systems (NDDS). (1) A different approaches have materialized into various forms of NDDS such as microemulsions, multiple emulsions, liposomes, niosomes, micospheres, pharmacosomes, virosomes, dendrimers, etc.. Most often the problems associated with these delivery systems are their stability and predictability in biological systems which reduce their clinical potential, although each one is associated with its own strong points. Nanotechnology is a rapidly expanding field today. According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative (U.S) nanotechnology is broadly defined as the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. (2) . Most often the problems associated with these delivery systems are their stability and predictability in biological systems which reduce their clinical potential, although each one is associated with its own strong points.

About Authors: Sahil Sharma

Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1083

Introduction
One hundred years ago Scottish chemist Andrew Norman Meldrum synthesized a substance [1] that later obtained his name. To date Meldrum’s acid is one of the most useful reagents in the synthesis of heterocycles. In contrast to the great popularity of Meldrum’s acid, its discoverer remains almost unknown for the majority of chemists.
Andrew Norman Meldrum [2] was born on 19th March, 1876, in a small burgh, Alloa, Scotland. In 1899 he received his B.Sc. with ?rst-class honors (chemistry) from the University of Aberdeen, where he worked as a research assistant with Francis Robert Japp [3].  
In his ?rst independent publication [1], he studied the reaction between acetone and malonic acid and, following the suggestion of Prof. Japp, employed a mixture of acetic anhydride and sulfuric acid as condensing agent. From elemental analysis data, in conjunction with previous results and the acidic properties of the ?nal compound, he formulated the structure of the product to be β-lactone of β-hydroxyisopropylmalonic acid 1 (Scheme 1).