Pharmacy, the continuously expanding field of science

Originating from the traditional herbal formulations, nowadays, Pharmacy covers all the disciplines focusing on the behavior of complex pharmaceutical forms, drug-releasing systems, and active compounds in the human body. Masters of pharmaceutical sciences must know the basics of pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutical technology, biotechnology, biology, physiology, pharmacology, and toxicology.

Issues of pharmaceutical specialist admission to work

A study was carried out to identify differences in training of resident physicians in the specialties: Management and Economics of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy and under the specialist’s program Pharmacy and to explore the possibilities of granting pharmacy workers the right to transit from one specialty to another without compulsory completion of residency. The urgency of this article is associated with a large number of issues that are being faced by pharmacists who transit from one specialty to another.An analysis of the age and occupational structure of pharmacists improving their qualifications (2300 people) was conducted in the Irkutsk region and the Trans-Baikal Territory. The results of the study showed that it seems like a good idea not to associate the transition from one specialty to another with the obligatory completion of residency, but to provide an admission to work as a pharmacist-technologist after initial accreditation, taking into account the specifics of the work of pharmaceutical specialists in pharmacies, the need to ensure the interchangeability of workers and reduce staff turnover without falling off in quality of work.

Utilization of Pharmaceutical Technology Methods for the Development of Innovative Porous Metasilicate Pellets with a Very High Specific Surface Area for Chemical Warfare Agents Detection

Pharmaceutical technology offers various dosage forms that can be applied interdisciplinary. One of them are spherical pellets which could be utilized as a carrier in emerging second-generation detection tubes. This detection system requires carriers with high specific surface area (SSA), which should allow better adsorption of toxic substances and detection reagents. In this study, a magnesium aluminometasilicate with high SSA was utilized along with various concentrations of volatile substances (menthol, camphor and ammonium bicarbonate) to increase further the carrier SSA after their sublimation. The samples were evaluated in terms of physicochemical parameters, their morphology was assessed by scanning electron microscopy, and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method was utilized to measure SSA. The samples were then impregnated with a detection reagent o-phenylenediamine-pyronine and tested with diphosgene. Only samples prepared using menthol or camphor were found to show red fluorescence under the UV light in addition to the eye-visible red-violet color. This allowed the detection of diphosgene/phosgene at a concentration of only 0.1 mg/m3 in the air for samples M20.0 and C20.0 with their SSA higher than 115 m2/g, thus exceeding the sensitivity of the first-generation DT-12 detection tube.

“Success Depends on Your Backbone”—About the Use of Polymers as Essential Materials Forming Orodispersible Films

Polymers constitute a group of materials having a wide-ranging impact on modern pharmaceutical technology. Polymeric components provide the foundation for the advancement of novel drug delivery platforms, inter alia orodispersible films. Orodispersible films are thin, polymeric scraps intended to dissolve quickly when put on the tongue, allowing them to be easily swallowed without the necessity of drinking water, thus eliminating the risk of choking, which is of great importance in the case of pediatric and geriatric patients. Polymers are essential excipients in designing orodispersible films, as they constitute the backbone of these drug dosage form. The type of polymer is of significant importance in obtaining the formulation of the desired quality. The polymers employed to produce orodispersible films must meet particular requirements due to their oral administration and have to provide adequate surface texture, film thickness, mechanical attributes, tensile and folding strength as well as relevant disintegration time and drug release to obtain the final product characterized by optimal pharmaceutical features. A variety of natural and synthetic polymers currently utilized in manufacturing of orodispersible films might be used alone or in a blend. The goal of the present manuscript was to present a review about polymers utilized in designing oral-dissolving films.

The Pharmaceutical Technology Approach on Imaging Innovations from Italian Research

Many modern therapeutic approaches are based on precise diagnostic evidence, where imaging procedures play an essential role. To date, in the diagnostic field, a plethora of agents have been investigated to increase the selectivity and sensitivity of diagnosis. However, the most common drawbacks of conventional imaging agents reside in their non-specificity, short imaging time, instability, and toxicity. Moreover, routinely used diagnostic agents have low molecular weights and consequently a rapid clearance and renal excretion, and this represents a limitation if long-lasting imaging analyses are to be conducted. Thus, the development of new agents for in vivo diagnostics requires not only a deep knowledge of the physical principles of the imaging techniques and of the physiopathological aspects of the disease but also of the relative pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical requirements. In this scenario, skills in pharmaceutical technology have become highly indispensable in order to respond to these needs. This review specifically aims to collect examples of newly developed diagnostic agents connoting the importance of an appropriate formulation study for the realization of effective products. Within the context of pharmaceutical technology research in Italy, several groups have developed and patented promising agents for fluorescence and radioactive imaging, the most relevant of which are described hereafter.