Investigation of the release test method for the topical application of pharmaceutical preparations: release test of cataplasm including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs using artificial sweat

A simple procedure for determining the in vitro release profile of a cataplasm for use in a quality control procedure has been developed. Since the disk assembly in the USP for patch dosage forms was unsuited for use in a release test due to penetration of the dissolution medium into the cataplasm from the screw part of the device and the cataplasm swelled, new holders were designed. In the new holder, a cataplasm is held in position by sandwiching it between a stainless-steel O-ring and a silicon O-ring on the stainless steel board, 2 acrylic boards hold the O-rings and the stainless steal board, and the entire assembly is placed at the bottom of the dissolution vessel. The release profile was determined using the "Paddle over Disk" method in USP26. Furthermore, in order to prevent the swelling of the cataplasm, artificial sweat was used as the dissolution medium. The release profiles of the nine marketed brands of cataplasm containing indomethacin, ketoprofen, and flurbiprofen, respectively, were determined over a 12-h period. By adjusting the ion concentration and volume of the media, and the release surface-area of the cataplasm exposed to each medium, the procedure was found to be reproducible for in vitro release characterization of nine marketed brands. This shows that this technique can be used as a quality control tool for assuring product uniformity.     

Doppler-free resonant Raman auger spectroscopy of Ne+ 2s2p(5)3p excited states

Using very high resolution achieved by the Doppler-free resonant Raman Auger technique, we have resolved the lowest terms of the series of inner-valence excitations 2s2p(5)((1,3)P)np 2S, 2P, and 2D in Ne+. The measured Auger anisotropic parameters and branching ratios help to establish the assignments of these levels. The measured lifetime widths are in reasonable agreements with ab initio calculations available in the literature.     

0.85-PW, 33-fs Ti:sapphire laser

We have successfully produced a laser pulse with a peak power of 0.85 PW for a pulse duration of 33 fs in a four-stage Ti:sapphire amplifier chain based on chirped-pulse amplification. To our knowledge this result represents the highest peak power pulses yet produced in any Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplification system.     

Vortex phase diagram in rotating two-component Bose-Einstein condensates

We investigate the structure of vortex states in rotating two-component Bose-Einstein condensates with equal intracomponent but varying intercomponent-coupling constants. A phase diagram in the intercomponent-coupling versus rotation-frequency plane reveals rich equilibrium structures of vortex states. As the ratio of intercomponent to intracomponent couplings increases, the interlocked vortex lattices undergo phase transitions from triangular to square, to double-core lattices, and eventually develop interwoven "serpentine" vortex sheets with each component made up of chains of singly quantized vortices.     

Doppler effect in resonant photoemission from SF6: correlation between Doppler profile and Auger emission anisotropy

Fragmentation of the SF6 molecule upon F 1s excitation has been studied by resonant photoemission. The F atomiclike Auger line exhibits the characteristic Doppler profile that depends on the direction of the photoelectron momentum relative to the polarization vector of the radiation as well as on the photon energy. The measured Doppler profiles are analyzed by the model simulation that takes account of the anisotropy of the Auger emission in the molecular frame. The Auger anisotropy extracted from the data decreases with an increase in the F-SF5 internuclear distance.     

Supercontinuum generation using Raman fiber laser

Using a phosphosilicate-doped continuous-wave Raman fiber laser, a 350-m single-mode fiber, and a 50% feedback fiber Bragg grating at 1483.4 nm, we obtained a high-efficiency ultra-broadband (1434–1527 nm) supercontinuum (SC) centered at 1483.4 nm with an average output power of 2.1 W, a spectral intensity of 22.3 mWnm^-1, and a nonlinear conversion efficiency of 94%. Increasing the fiber length in the Raman cavity to 1840 m gave simultaneous SC centered at 1483.4 nm and 1239 nm. An average power of 2.3 W in the bandwidth of 1434–1544 nm and 0.2 W in the bandwidth of 1224–1257 nm is obtained. The temperature dependence of the SC was also investigated.PACS 42.55.Wd; 42.81.-i; 42.65.-k; 42.65.ReThis revised version was published in August 2003 with corrections to the affiliation of Mr. Taniguchi.     

Transient temperature profile in the gain medium of CW- and end-pumped passively Q-switched microchip laser

The transient temperature profile in CW- and end-pumped passively Q-switched (PQS) microchip laser is investigated qualitatively by treating the population inversion (thereby the thermal load) as the sawtooth function of the time. The numerical results reveal not only the dynamics of thermal buildup, but also the dependence of the quasi-steady-state temperature rise and the repetitively oscillatory amplitude on the incident pump power and the pulse repetition rate of PQS laser. The abruptly ascending branch of the repetitive temperature oscillation is synchronized with the pulsing stage of PQS laser. As the result, the abrupt temperature transition during the pulsing stage would introduce the fluctuation into the PQS pulse parameters (pulse energy, pulse width, and peak power) via temperature-dependent stimulated emission and thermal lensing effect.     

Interaction of cesium with charged oxide under UV irradiation imaged by photoemission electron microscopy

We report the first observation of electron transfer from charged SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) by ion-implantation via internal photoemission from Si by photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) for the purpose of the microscopic control of promotion of catalyst by electron transfer from oxide support. The contrast of the PEEM image varies with the amount and kind of the implanted ion and the deposition of Cs through the formation of electrical double layer consisting of Cs⁺ and trapped electrons at trapping centers created by the implantation. It is then firmly established that oxide charging can be microscopically tuned by ion-implantation.     

Upconversion luminescence in Er-doped germanate-oxyfluoride and tellurium-germanate-oxyfluoride transparent glass-ceramics

Upconversion luminescence has been studied for Er³⁺ in a germanate-oxyfluoride and a tellurium-germanate-oxyfluoride transparent glass-ceramic using 800 nm excitation. Significantly increased upconversion luminescence was observed from transparent glass-ceramics compared with that from their corresponding as-prepared glasses. In addition to a strong green emission centered at 545 nm from ⁴S_3/2 state and a weaker red emission centered at 662 nm from ⁴F_9/2 state generally seen from Er³⁺-doped glasses, a violet emission centered at 410 nm from ²H_9/2 state and a near-ultra-violet emission centered at 379 nm from ⁴G_11/2 state were also observed from transparent glass-ceramics. The upconversion luminescence of Er³⁺ ions in transparent glass-ceramics revealed sharp Stark-splitting peaks generally seen in a crystal host. The increased upconversion efficiency is attributed to the decreased effective phonon energy and the increased energy transfer between excited ions when Er³⁺ ions were incorporated into the precipitated β-PbF₂ nanocrystals.