Electrochemical studies of nevirapine, an anti-HIV drug, and its assay in tablets and biological samples

The electrochemical oxidation of nevirapine, an anti-HIV drug, at a glassy carbon electrode has been studied by voltammetric techniques. Nevirapine showed one well defined irreversible oxidation peak with a potential of 0.749 V in phosphate buffer at pH 10. The effects of different electrolytes, pH and scan rate on the electrochemical behaviour of nevira¬pine were examined to determine the optimum reaction conditions. The oxidation peak current was found to vary linearly with the concentration of nevirapine in the range of 5.0 – 350 µM. The limit of detection and limit of quantification values were calculated and found to be 1.026 µM and 3.420 µM, respectively. The low relative standard deviation values of inter-day and intra-day assays highlighted the good reproducibility of the proposed m¬ethod for assay of nevirapine. Further, a sensitive and accurate differential pulse voltammetric method was developed for the determination of nevirapine concentrations in pharma¬ceutical formulations

Therapeutic evaluation of grain based functional food formulation in a geriatric animal model

This study investigates the effect of wholesome grain based functional food formulation, on clinical and biochemical parameters in 24-30 months old Wistar albino geriatric rats, corresponding to human age 60-75 years. Animals were randomly divided into five, groups. Experimental diets were compared to the basal rat diet (Group I). Four food, formulation were-wheat based (Group II), finger millet based (Group III), wheat based, diet + fenugreek seed powder (Group IV), finger millet based diet + fenugreek powder, (Group V). These five types of diets were fed to the experimental rats for 6 weeks. Hematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated. The results showed that, feed intake was influenced by the type of feed. Diets supplemented with, fenugreek (Group IV) caused a significant increase in serum hemoglobin. The total serum protein values were significantly highest in Group III. Total serum albumin was found to be lower in Group I and highest in Group II. The concentration of BUN was highest in Group I and the lowest in control diet. Serum cholesterol and glucose were significantly reduced in Group IV. Several hematological and serum mineral values were influenced by the type of diet. The type of diet did not influence the organs weight. A moderate hypoglycemic and hypercholesterolemic effect was observed in composite mix fed rats. This study clearly justifies the recommendation to use wholesome grain based functional foods for geriatric population

Unzipped carbon nanotubes: analytical and binding applications of semisynthetic phlebotropic flavonoid, diosmin

Present study describes the utility of unzipped carbon nanotubes as electrochemical sensing platform for the determination of diosmin in pharmaceutical formulations and for the investigation of its binding to human serum albumin.</p

Polydiacetylene Capacitive Artificial Nose

Polydiacetylenes are a class of conjugated polymers exhibiting unique color and fluorescence properties and employed as useful sensing vehicles. Here we demonstrate for the first time that the dielectric properties of polydiacetylenes can be exploited for vapor sensing. Specifically, electrodes coated with polydiacetylenes, embedded within a porous polyvinyl­pyrrolidone (PVP) matrix, exhibit significant capacitance transformations upon exposure to different vapors. The capacitive response of the polydiacetylene/PVP films depended upon both the structures of the diacetylene monomer and the extent of ultraviolet irradiation (i.e., polymerization), underscoring a unique sensing mechanism affected by conjugation, structure, and dielectric properties of the polydiacetylene/polymer matrix. Importantly, the variability of polydiacetylene structures allows vapor identification through an array-based pattern recognition (i.e., artificial nose). This study opens new avenues for applications of polydiacetylene systems, particularly pointing to their dielectric properties as powerful sensing determinants