Predictive Evaluation of Pharmaceutical Properties of Ulinastatin-Containing Vaginal Suppositories as a Hospital Preparation by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Two Novel Lytic Bacteriophages for the Biocontrol of Escherichia coli in Uterine Infections: In Vitro and Ex Vivo Preliminary Studies in Veterinary Medicine

E. coli is one of the etiological agents responsible for pyometra in female dogs, with conventional treatment involving ovariohysterectomy. Here, we report the isolation and full characterization of two novel lytic phages, viz. vB_EcoM_Uniso11 (ph0011) and vB_EcoM_Uniso21 (ph0021). Both phages belong to the order Caudovirales and present myovirus-like morphotypes, with phage ph0011 being classified as Myoviridae genus Asteriusvirus and phage ph0021 being classified as Myoviridae genus Tequatrovirus, based on their complete genome sequences. The 348,288 bp phage ph0011 and 165,222 bp phage ph0021 genomes do not encode toxins, integrases or antimicrobial resistance genes neither depolymerases related sequences. Both phages were shown to be effective against at least twelve E. coli clinical isolates in in vitro antibacterial activity assays. Based on their features, both phages have potential for controlling pyometra infections caused by E. coli. Phage ph0011 (reduction of 4.24 log CFU/mL) was more effective than phage ph0021 (reduction of 1.90 log CFU/mL) after 12 h of incubation at MOI 1000. As a cocktail, the two phages were highly effective in reducing the bacterial load (reduction of 5.57 log CFU/mL) at MOI 100, after 12 h of treatment. Both phages were structurally and functionally stabilized in vaginal egg formulations.

Stability of Paracetamol Instant Jelly for Reconstitution: Impact of Packaging, Temperature and Humidity

The stability of the medicinal product is a major concern in the pharmaceutical industry and health authorities, whose goal is to guarantee that drugs are delivered to patients without loss of therapeutic properties. This study aims to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions and packaging on the stability of paracetamol instant jelly sachets based on both chemical and physical stability. The paracetamol instant jelly was packaged in plastic sachets (packaging 1) and sealed aluminium bags in screw-capped amber glass bottles (packaging 2), which were stored in real-time and accelerated stability chambers for 3 months. Samples were taken out from the chambers and were characterised for appearance, moisture content, texture, viscosity, in vitro drug release, paracetamol content, and 4-aminophenol level at different time points. The real-time storage condition at a lower temperature maintained the stability of the paracetamol instant jelly, while the accelerated condition led to a significant change in the formulation properties. In addition, the proper packaging of paracetamol instant jelly maintained the paracetamol’s stability, regardless of environmental conditions, for three months. The results show that the environmental conditions and packaging play a significant role in maintaining paracetamol instant jelly stability.

[Advances in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Process Management -From Physical Pharmaceutics to Automatic Pharmaceutical Production]

Since entering graduate school 43 years ago, I have been studying physical pharmaceutics with a focus on the effects of environmental factors on pharmaceutical properties of solid oral dosage forms during the manufacturing process. I have reported on changes in the characteristics of pharmaceutical products during manufacturing processes, such as grinding, mixing, granulation, and tableting owing to complicated phenomena based on chemical reactions or the crystalline polymorphic transitions of bulk drugs and excipients. To develop modern pharmaceutical manufacturing processes based on process analysis technology (PAT) as a next generation good manufacturing practice, real-time monitoring was introduced in these processes using a non-destructive analytical method, such as the near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Many case studies related to the mixing, granulation, tableting, and coating processes involving PAT have been reported. In those studies, I focused on clarifying the physical and chemical mechanism through "design space" representation. Additionally, non-destructive analytical methods, including X-ray computed tomography, audible acoustic emission, Raman spectroscopy, terahertz spectroscopy, and infrared thermal imaging analysis were applied as novel candidate analytical methods to the pharmaceutical process to monitor critical quality attributes. To achieve this purpose in various pharmaceutical dosage forms, I have been attempting the assembly of a modern manufacturing process managed through a "design space" paradigm involving in-line monitoring using novel analytical methods, multivariate analyses, and feed-back systems.