Effect of method of preparation and process variables on controlled release of insoluble drug from chitosan microspheres

An inexpensive and simple method was adopted for the preparation of chitosan microspheres, crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA), for the controlled release of an insoluble drug‐ibuprofen, which is a commonly used NSAID (non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug). The chitosan microspheres were prepared by different methods and varying the process conditions such as rate of stirring, concentration of crosslinking agent, and drug:polymer ratio in order to optimize these process variables on microsphere size, size distribution, degree of swelling, drug entrapment efficiency, and release rates. The absence of any chemical interaction between drug, polymer, and the crosslinking agent was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) techniques. The microspheres were characterized by optical microscopy, which indicated that the particles were in the size range of 30–200 µm and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies revealed a smooth surface and spherical shape of microspheres. The microsphere size/size distributions were increased with the decreased stirring rates as well as GA concentration in the suspension medium. Decreasing the concentration of crosslinker increased the swelling ratio whereas extended crosslinking exhibited lowered entrapment efficiency. The in vitro drug release was controlled and extended up to 10 hr. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studies ono-hydroxyacetophenone-2-furoylhydrazone complexes of some 3d-bivalent metal ions

Summary Complexes ofo-hydroxyacetophenone-2-furoylhydrazone, H₂L, of the types M(H₂L)C1₂ · nH₂O [Mn = Co^II, n=0; Ni^II, n=2]; Cu(HL)Cl, M(HL)₂ [M = V^IVO, Co^II, Ni^II or Cu^II] and M(L)(H₂O)_n [M = Co^II or Ni^II, n=2; M = Cu^II, n=0] have been prepared and characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility, visible, e.s.r. and i.r. spectral studies. The different modes of ligand chelation and the stereochemistry around the metal ions are discussed.     

Effect of structure on thermal behaviour of epoxy resins

The paper deals with the curing behaviour of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) using three novel multifunctional aromatic amines having phosphine oxide and amide-acid linkages. The amines were prepared by reacting tris(3-aminophenyl)phosphine oxide (TAP) with 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid anhydride (P)/4,4^′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic acid anhydride (F)/3,3^′,4,4^′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (B). Amide-acid linkage in these amines is converted to thermally stable imide linkage during curing reaction. Curing temperatures of DGEBA were higher with phosphorylated amines than the conventional amine 4,4^′-diamino diphenyl sulphone (D). A decrease in initial decomposition temperature and higher char yields were observed when phosphorus containing amide-acid amines were used as curing agents for DGEBA.     

Studies on 2,6-diacetylpyridine bis(2-furoylhydrazone) complexes of bivalent 3d-metal ions

Summary The chelating behaviour of neutral and deprotonated 2,6-diacetyl-pyridine bis(2-furoylhydrazone), H₂dapf, has been investigated in some new complexes of oxovanadium(IV), manganese(II), cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II). The hydrazone reacts with the metal salts to yield complexes of two types; the addition compounds [VO(H₂dapf)]SO₄, [M(H₂dapf)Cl]Cl and the deprotonated complexes [M(dapf)H₂O] [M=manganese(II), cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) or zinc(II)] in neutral and alkaline media, respectively. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility, electronic, i.r. and e.s.r. studies and their stereochemistries are discussed.     

Conformational behavior of some hydroxamic acids

The conformational preferences of a few hydroxamic acids are investigated by the density functional B3LYP/6-311++G**//B3LYP16-31G* and semiempirical AM1 and PM3 methods in this work. It is found that both semiempirical methods give satisfactory results in comparison with sophisticated DFT and ab initio calculations, except for the activation barriers, which are overestimated. Of the two semiempirical methods, while the PM3 method gives better results for relative stabilities, AM1 geometries are in slightly better agreement with the experiments. The keto forms are found to be most stable and the reaction pathways for the interconversion between the keto and enol forms have been deduced. The effect of solvation on the reaction has also been investigated, as has the effect of methyl substitution at the carbon and nitrogen atoms. All the investigated acids exhibit N-acid behavior.     

2-Acetylfuran-2-furoylhydrazone complexes of some 3d-metal ions

Summary 2-Acetylfuran-2-furoylhydrazone (1), [HL] reacts with metal ions to yield the complexes of two types, compounds [VO(HL)SO₄] and M(HL)₂Cl₂ [M = Co^II, Ni^II or Cu^II] and compounds M(L)₂(H₂O)₂ [M = Co^II, Ni^II or Cu^II], depending on the pH of the medium. These complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility, visible, e.s.r. and i.r. spectral studies. Square pyramidal geometry for [VO(HL)SO₄] and octahedral geometry for the remaining complexes are proposed. Part of this work was presented at the Second EUCHEM Conference on Electronic Structures of Transition Metal Complexes, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland, 1985.     

Preparation and characterization of a bis thiourea sodium iodide (BTSI)

A semi-organic nonlinear optical single crystal of bis thiourea sodium iodide (BTSI) has been successfully grown from aqueous solution using the slow evaporation solvent technique (SEST) at room temperature. Obtained crystals using the SEST method were characterized by using different characterization techniques. Structural studies of the grown crystals have been carried out by single-crystal XRD to confirm the crystal system and functional groups by FT-IR spectroscopy. Single-crystal XRD reveals orthorhombic structure of semi-organic BTSI single crystals and its unit cell parameters. Metal complex coordination of the single crystal is studied by FT-IR spectroscopy. The optical absorption study revealed excellent optical transparency of BTSI crystal in the entire visible region with a sharp lower cutoff wavelength 298 nm. The energy band gap of BTSI is found to be 4.16 eV. Thermal stability and thermal decomposition of BTSI single crystals were investigated by TGA–DTA and DSC analysis. The surface appearance of BTSI crystals by scanning electron microscopy reveals the formation of layer growth pattern. The structural perfection and growth features of the grown crystal were analyzed by wet chemical etching studies. The above studies reveal the effect of incorporation of sodium iodide into the lattice of thiourea crystals. The as-grown BTSI single crystals can be used as a potential candidate for NLO material as well as in electronic and optoelectronic devices.     

Phase-space analysis of fragments formed in heavy-ion collisions

We study the effect of momentum-dependent interactions and a broader Gaussian on multifragmentation. We also look into the details of the fragment structure for a broader Gaussian and momentum-dependent interactions. We find that nucleons forming the fragments belong to the same region of the phase space.     

A new flavanone glycoside from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clausena pentaphylla</Emphasis>

From the ethyl acetate extract of the roots of Clausena pentaphylla, a flavanone glycoside, 5,7-dihydroxy3',4'-dimethoxyflavanone 6-C-[α-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 6)]-β-glucopyranoside (1), was isolated. The isolated compound was characterized by UV, IR, and NMR (¹H, ¹³C) studies.