Mixed Aqueous Surfactants Solution for Rapid Oil Extraction from Palm Kernel Seed

Adverse effects associated with the use of hexane or other similar organic extraction solvents for extracting oil from oilseeds have been a drive for alternative less toxic oil extracting solvents. This research focuses on oil extraction from grinded palm kernel using solution of mixed aqueous polyoxythylene (23) lauryl ether (BRIJ-35) and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) surfactants and sodium chloride (NaCl) as the electrolyte. Grinded Biomass was agitated in the solution of the mixed surfactant, allowing the extracted oil to be liberated from the seeds as separate phase from the aqueous phase. The effect of SDS concentration, NaCl concentration, contact time and liquid/seed ratio on oil yield was studied. The extracted oil was subjected to Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscope (FT-IR) characterization to determine the functional groups present in the oil. At optimum conditions for the mixed aqueous surfactant extraction (0.2379 wt.% SDS, 0.5995 wt.% BRIJ-35, 0.3wt.% NaCl, 10 ml/g liquid/solid ratio, 25 min contact time at 25oC), an optimum 78% oil yield was obtained. In contrast, at 50oC for 24hr, an optimum of 81% and 82% oil yield were obtained respectively when hexane and petroleum ether were used as oil extracting solvents. Addition of BRIJ-35 and NaCl to the SDS solution improved the oil yield. Oil extracted using mixed aqueous surfactants, petroleum ether and hexane have the same functional groups indicating the surfactant does not affect the quality of the oil extracted.

Solubilization and thermodynamic properties of simvastatin in various micellar solutions of different non-ionic surfactants: Computational modeling and solubilization capacity

The aim of this work was to solubilize simvastatin (SIM) using different micellar solutions of various non-ionic surfactants such as Tween-80 (T80), Tween-20 (T20), Myrj-52 (M52), Myrj-59 (M59), Brij-35 (B35) and Brij-58 (B58). The solubility of SIM in water (H2O) and different micellar concentrations of T80, T20, M52, M59, B35 and B58 was determined at temperatures T = 300.2 K to 320.2 K under atmospheric pressure p = 0.1 MPa using saturation shake flask method. The experimental solubility data of SIM was regressed using van’t Hoff and Apelblat models. The solubility of SIM (mole fraction) was recorded highest in M59 (1.54 x 10−2) followed by M52 (6.56 x 10−3), B58 (5.52 x 10−3), B35 (3.97 x 10−3), T80 (1.68 x 10−3), T20 (1.16 x 10−3) [the concentration of surfactants was 20 mM in H2O in all cases] and H2O (1.94 x 10−6) at T = 320.2 K. The same results were also recorded at each temperature and each micellar concentration of T80, T20, M52, M59, B35 and B58. “Apparent thermodynamic analysis” showed endothermic and entropy-driven dissolution/solubilization of SIM in H2O and various micellar solutions of T80, T20, M52, M59, B35 and B58.

An eco-friendly micellar HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of triamterene and xipamide in active pharmaceutical ingredients and marketed tablet dosage form

In the last few years, the use of surfactants as mobile phase additives in reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) has been steadily developing and improving. Surfactants modify the polarity of the stationary phase which in turn decreases the amount of organic solvent required for elution of the analytes rendering the methodologies linked to them greener and more eco-friendly. Brij-35 is a fatty alcohol ethoxylates non ionic surfactant, which is less widely used as mobile phase additive. Brij-35 can decrease stationary phase polarity while remaining neutral. In this research, Brij-35 was studied in the separation and determination of marketed antihypertensive combination therapy composed of triamterene (TRM) and xipamide (XIP). TRM and XIP are diuretics used for treatment of essential hypertension and associated edema conditions. Chromatographic separation was achieved on RP-C18 column (Kinetix®, 5 µm, 15 cm × 4.6 mm) at flow rate 1 mL min−1 and UV-detection at 254 nm. Isocratic elution was performed using mobile phase composed of 0.1 M Brij-35: methanol (MeOH) (60:40, v/v). The analytes were well separated and quantified within linearity ranges of 5–50 µg mL−1 for both drugs in short retention time (2.6 and 5.3 min. for TRM and XIP, respectively). Since claiming greenness is not enough, Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) was used to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over the previously reported methods. GAPI is a new metric for evaluation of the ecological impact of analytical procedures. The proposed method was validated according to ICH guidelines and applied successfully for simultaneous determination of the drugs in their co-formulated tablets.

Response Surface Methodology for Optimization of Process Variables of Atorvastatin Suspension Preparation by Microprecipitation Method Using Desirability Function

Background : Atorvastatin (AT), as a synthetic lipid-lowering agent, is a highly crystalline substance having poor solubility and low bioavailability. The objective of the present research was to improve the microprecipitation method of AT suspension preparation. Methods: Microprecipitation parameters were improved using Box-Behnken experimental design method. The suspension was formulated with Brij 35 (stabilizer agent) using methanol as solvent and water as non-solvent, respectively. DSC, XRD, FTIR studies were performed for characterization of the microcrystals. With the aim of evaluating the effect of independent variables, the amounts of organic solvent (X1), emulsifier concentration (X2), stirring rate (X3), and volume of aqueous solvent (X4) on dependent variables, drug content (DC,) particle size (PS), drug released after 5 minutes (Q5), Gibbs free energy change (ΔG°tr), crystal yield (CY) and saturated solubility (Ss), a full factorial was used. Results: The results of DSC, XRD, and FTIR showed that there was not any interaction between AT and Brij 35. This research demonstrated a reduction in crystallinity in agglomerates. The microcrystals showed that micromeritics characteristics were significantly improved compared to pure AT. The content of drug and yield crystal was in the limit of 42.58-110.24% and 58.33-98.18% in all formulations, respectively. It was shown that the prepared microcrystals had a higher rate of release compared to the untreated AT powder (P< 0.05). Size reduction of AT is needed for improving the solubility. Solubility and drug release rates of At was enhanced with the microprecipitation method. Conclusion: The results showed that microcrystals significantly increased AT dissolution rate.