Formulation of Topical Dosage Forms Containing Synthetic and Natural Anti-Inflammatory Agents for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is of major interest because of their fewer side effects compared to oral therapy. The purpose of this study was to prepare different types of topical formulations (ointments and gels) containing synthetic and natural anti-inflammatory agents with different excipients (e.g.,: surfactants, gel-forming) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The combination of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), diclofenac sodium, a topical analgesic agent methyl salicylate, and a lyophilized extract of Calendula officinalis with antioxidant effect were used in our formulations. The aim was to select the appropriate excipients and dosage form for the formulation in order to enhance the diffusion of active substances and to certify the antioxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects of these formulations. To characterize the physicochemical properties of the formulations, rheological studies, and texture profile analysis were carried out. Membrane diffusion and permeability studies were performed with Franz-diffusion method. The therapeutic properties of the formulations have been proven by an antioxidant assay and a randomized prospective study that was carried out on 115 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The results showed that the treatment with the gel containing diclofenac sodium, methyl salicylate, and lyophilized Calendula officinalis as active ingredients, 2-propenoic acid homopolymer (Synthalen K) as gel-forming excipient, distilled water, triethanolamine, and glycerol had a beneficial analgesic and local anti-inflammatory effect.     

On the Strong Ellipticity of the Anisotropic Linearly Elastic Materials

In this paper we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for strong ellipticity in several classes of anisotropic linearly elastic materials. Our results cover all classes in the rhombic system (nine elasticities), four classes of the tetragonal system (six elasticities) and all classes in the cubic system (three elasticities). As a special case we recover necessary and sufficient conditions for strong ellipticity in transversely isotropic materials. The central result shows that for the rhombic system strong ellipticity restricts some appropriate combinations of elasticities to take values inside a domain whose boundary is the third order algebraic surface defined by x ²+y ²+z ²−2xyz−1=0 situated in the cube , , . For more symmetric situations, the general analysis restricts combinations of elasticities to range inside either a plane domain (for four classes in the tetragonal system) or in an one-dimensional interval (for the hexagonal systems, transverse isotropy and cubic system). The proof involves only the basic statement of the strong ellipticity condition.      

Systematic investigation and in vitro biocompatibility studies on mesoporous europium doped hydroxyapatite

This paper reports the systematic investigation of europium doped hydroxyapatite (Eu:HAp). A set of complementary techniques, namely Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique were used towards attaining a detailed understanding of Eu:HAp. The XPS analysis confirmed the substitution of Ca ions by Eu ions in the Eu:HAp samples. Secondly, Eu:HAp and pure HAp present type IV isotherms with a hysteresis loop at a relative pressure (P/P₀) between 0.4 and 1.0, indicating the presence of mesopores. Finally, the in vitro biological effects of Eu:HAp nanoparticles were evaluated by focusing on the F-actin filament pattern and heat shock proteins (Hsp) expression in HEK293 human kidney cell line. Fluorescence microscopy studies of the actin protein revealed no changes of the immunolabelling profile in the renal cells cultured in the presence of Eu:HAp nanoparticles. Hsp60, Hsp70 and Hsp90 expressions measured by Western blot analysis were not affected after 24 and 48 hours exposure. Taken together, these results confirmed the lack of toxicity and the biocompatibility of the Eu:HAp nanoparticles. Consequently, the possibility of using these nanoparticles for medical purposes without affecting the renal function can be envisaged.      

Extraction and HPLC determination of the ascorbic acid content of three indigenous spice plants

Three sample preparation methods (wet grinding followed by centrifugation, ultrasonic-assisted extraction and microwave-assisted solvent extraction) for extracting ascorbic acid (AA) from parsley, dill and celery were evaluated. AA was extracted into 8% aqueous solutions of acetic acid, metaphosphoric acid and trichloroacetic acid, respectively. An efficient and precise high-performance liquid chromatography method was used for detecting AA. The best extraction technique was ultrasonic-assisted extraction, and acetic acid was the best extractant. A new and original pulse microwave-extraction procedure for AA extraction was also developed. Ascorbate from the plant extracts obtained was quantified and the linearity, precision, recovery, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were studied. LOD and LOQ were 0.2 and 0.22 mg/L for the established method, respectively. The mean recovery ranged from 90.7 to 102.3% with higher variation in the case of celery. Parsley contains the highest amount of ascorbic acid (264 mg AA/100 g of fresh plant), followed by dill (121 mg AA/100 g of fresh plant) and celery (103 mg AA/100 g of fresh plant).     

A new photoluminescent silica aerogel based on N-hydroxysuccinimide–Tb(III) complex

The paper describes the preparation of a new photoluminescent silica aerogel by embedding a new Tb(III) complex in a silica matrix by using N-hydroxysuccinimide as ligand. The Tb(III) complex prepared at a metal to ligand ratio of 1:3 (mol%) exhibits strong photoluminescence as a result of specific radiative transitions within the Tb(III) cation with the most intense peak located at 543 nm due to ⁵D₄ → ⁷F₅ transition. The synthesized complex was doped in the silica matrix through a catalyzed sol–gel process. After ageing in ethanol, the alcogel was dried under supercritical regime by exchanging the ethanol with liquid carbon dioxide followed by supercritical evaporation. The leaching of the free complex from the alcogel during ageing and solvent exchange phases was found to be minimal most likely due to the interactions between chemical groups of complex with those specific to silica matrix. The obtained regular shaped monolithic aerogel preserved the remarkable photoluminescent properties and also improved the thermal stability of the free complex. Both, the free complex and doped aerogel were characterized through thermal analysis, FT-IR, powder X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. For comparison purposes, an undoped silica aerogel was also prepared and investigated through FT-IR, BET analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. The excellent photoluminescent properties might recommend the prepared aerogel for applications in optoelectronic devices where photonic conversion materials are required.     

Vortices and pinning effects for the Ginzburg‐Landau model in multiply connected domains

We consider the two‐dimensional Ginzburg‐Landau model with magnetic field for a superconductor with a multiply connected cross section. We study energy minimizers in the London limit as the Ginzburg‐Landau parameter κ = 1/? → ∞ to determine the number and asymptotic location of vortices. We show that the holes act as pinning sites, acquiring nonzero winding for bounded fields and attracting all vortices away from the interior for fields up to a critical value h_ex = O(|1n?|). At the critical level the pinning effect breaks down, and vortices appear in the interior of the superconductor at locations that we identify explicitly in terms of the solutions of an elliptic boundary value problem. The method involves sharp upper and lower energy estimates, and a careful analysis of the limiting problem that captures the interaction between the vortices and the holes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Existence of Positive Solutions to Semipositone Singular Dirichlet Boundary Value Problems

The paper presents the conditions which guarantee that for some positive value of μ there are positive solutions of the differential equation （Ф（x＇））＇＋μQ（t, x, x＇） = 0 satisfying the Dirichlet boundary conditions x（0） = x（T） = 0. Here Q is a continuous function on the set [0, T] × （0, ∞） ~ （R ／ {0}） of the semipositone type and Q is singular at the value zero of its phase variables.     

Topology of “white stars” in the relativistic fragmentation of light nuclei

Experimental observations of the multifragmentation of relativistic light nuclei by means of emulsions are surveyed. Events that belong to the type of “white stars” and in which the dissociation of relativistic nuclei is not accompanied by the production of mesons and target-nucleus fragments are considered. An almost complete suppression of the binary splitting of nuclei to fragments of charge in excess of two, Z > 2, is a feature peculiar to charge topology in the dissociation of Ne, Mg, Si, and S nuclei. An increase in the degree of nuclear fragmentation manifests itself in the growth of the multiplicity of singly and doubly charged fragments (Z = 1, 2) as the charge of the unexcited fragmenting-nucleus part (which is the main part) decreases. Features of the production of systems formed by extremely light nuclei α, d, and t are studied in the dissociation of the stable isotopes of Li, Be, B, C, N, and O to charged fragments. Manifestations of ³He clustering can be observed in “white stars” in the dissociation of neutron-deficient isotopes of Be, B, C, and N.