Se investigó la solubilidad de sulfadiazina (SD), sulfamerazina (SMR) y sulfametazina (SMT) en mezclas codisolventes de octanol + metanol a 278,15 K, 298,15 y 313,15 K. En todos los casos, la solubilidad más baja de cada fármaco se obtuvo en octanol puro a 278,15 K. La solubilidad máxima depende de la polaridad del fármaco, por lo que SMR y SMT alcanzaron su máxima solubilidad en mezclas cosolventes ricas en metanol. Las funciones termodinámicas de solución se calcularon a partir de los datos experimentales de solubilidad, utilizando las ecuaciones de van’t Hoff y Gibbs, siguiendo el enfoque propuesto por Krug et al. La entalpía de la solución es positiva en todos los casos, lo cual es una indicación del proceso endotérmico con un marcado favorecimiento entrópico. La solubilidad teórica y la concentración letal media se calcularon utilizando el modelo de Abraham.

Background: Solubility is one of the most important parameters in the research and development processes of the pharmaceutical industry. In this context, cosolubility is one of the most used strategies to improve the solubility of poorly soluble drugs, besides allowing to identify some factors involved in the dissolution process. The aim of this research is to evaluate the solubility of sulfamethazine in acetotinitrile + 1-propanol cosolvent mixtures at 9 temperatures (278.15, 283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, and 318.15 K); a drug used in human and veterinary therapy and two solvents of great chemical–pharmaceutical interest. Methods: The determination was carried out by the shaking flask method and the drug was quantified by UV/Vis spectrophotometry. Results: The solubility of sulfamethazine increases from pure 1-propanol (solvent in which it reaches its lowest solubility at 278.15 K) to pure acetonitrile (solvent in which it reaches its maximum solubility at 318.15 K), behaving in a logarithmic-linear fashion. Conclusions: The increase in solubility is related to the acid/base character of the cosolvent mixtures and not to the solubility parameter of the mixtures. The dissolution process is endothermic and favored by the solution entropy, and also shows a strong entropic compensation.

Tetracycline is a first-line antibiotic used to treat various infections. Given its widespread use in human and veterinary medicine, it is a potentially hazardous emerging contaminant. This study aimed to perform a thermodynamic and preferential solvation analysis of tetracycline in 1,4-dioxane and water cosolvent mixtures. Equilibrium solubility was determined via UV/vis spectrophotometry using the shaking-flask method at temperatures ranging from T/K = 278.15 to T/K = 313.15. Apparent thermodynamic functions were calculated using van’t Hoff and Gibbs equations. Preferential solvation was evaluated using inverse Kirkwood-Buff integrals (IKBI). The results show that solubility increases with temperature and 1,4-dioxane concentration increases. The process is endothermic throughout the system; however, the enthalpy-entropy compensation analysis demonstrates an entropy-driven mechanism for drug transfer from more polar to less polar solvent systems. IKBI analysis confirmed preferential solvation by 1,4-dioxane in all cosolvent mixtures, peaking at a mole fraction of 0.55. 1,4-Dioxane increases solubility by mitigating the large solvent-excluded volume effect characteristic of pure water. This relieves the entropic penalty associated with cavity creation for the bulky drug molecule, while simultaneously promoting favorable specific interactions where tetracycline acts as a Lewis acid toward 1,4-dioxane oxygen atoms.

Tetracycline (TTC) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that has become an emerging contaminant due to its widespread use in human and veterinary medicine. The limited physicochemical data on its solid–liquid equilibrium hinders the development of pharmaceutical formulations and the modeling of its environmental fate. This study aimed to perform a thermodynamic analysis of TTC solubility in ten pure organic solvents between 278.15 and 313.15 K. Solubility was quantified using UV/Vis spectrophotometry and the shaking-flask method. The solid phases at equilibrium were analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy. The apparent standard thermodynamic functions of the solution were calculated using the Gibbs–van’t Hoff–Krug model. The effect of the solvent was evaluated using the KAT-LSER multiparametric model. The results showed that solubility increased with temperature in all studied solvents, reaching its maximum value in N,N-dimethylformamide ($x_2=0.0431$ at 313.15 K) and its minimum in cyclohexane ($x_2$ = $0.00000161$ at 278.15 K), decreasing in alcohols as the aliphatic chain lengthens or becomes branched. We conclude that dissolution is an endothermic process (${\Delta }_{\mathrm{soln}}{H}^{\circ }>0$), favored primarily by enthalpy in polar media, and governed by the dipolarity/polarizability (${\pi }^{*}$) of the solvent.

Background: Quality is an essential property for consumer satisfaction and has become a crucial factor in the food sector to access global markets. Therefore, quality management and assurance systems are essential to guarantee traceability and continuous improvement of processes. The cocoa industry is no stranger to this, so the Department of Huila has adopted strategies since 2015 to execute fermentation and grain drying processes jointly in collection centers or processing plants. The global cocoa production chain has focused on the production and processing phases. However, post-harvest, as an intermediate phase, has been neglected, being a critical stage to guarantee the final quality, generating low standardization during processing with economic repercussions. Due to this, an instrument adapted and directly related to the conditions of these installations to diagnose, evaluate, and develop continuous improvement processes was not evidenced. Objectives: the design of a tool for the inspection and evaluation of sanitary requirements adapted to the cocoa processing plants of the department of Huila with applicability at the national and international levels was proposed to carry out a diagnosis and monitoring to establish a quality assurance system under the hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) approach. Methods: Within the research framework, the GHYCAL methodology was followed, addressing seven phases: Scientific surveillance, establishing a baseline, preliminary development, validation, consolidation and approval, application, and reliability estimation. Results: The sanitary requirements inspection list was validated with 50 criteria and a Likert-type scale. It was subjected to a Delphi session with experts, finding that its application and evaluation through Cronbach's alpha results in high reliability (α>0.90). Conclusions: The feasibility of the evaluation list to be used in cacao processing plants was guaranteed, and, with it, establish basic guidelines for improving grain quality through an assurance system managed from it.

El cacao es un fruto de alto valor en la industria alimentaria mundial gracias a su calidad nutricional, funcional y sensorial. En 2024, la Organización Internacional del Cacao reportó a Colombia entre los principales países productores de grano seco con características de calidad fina y de aroma, y estableció que el 80 % del cacao exportado obtuvo esta clasificación, a pesar de que en el pasado se habían logrado porcentajes de 95 %. Esto muestra desafíos importantes para conservar las cualidades a largo plazo que han sido relacionadas principalmente con el manejo poscosecha. En Colombia, departamentos como Huila han sido pioneros en la implementación de centrales de beneficio del grano, donde operaciones como la fermentación, el secado y el almacenamiento se realizan de manera comunitaria, buscando mantener una calidad uniforme. Sin embargo, este esfuerzo demanda un ajuste sobre las operaciones ejecutadas. En este contexto, los sistemas de calidad juegan un papel clave, ya que mediante la trazabilidad garantizan la inocuidad y consistencia del producto final. Estos sistemas permiten estandarizar procesos, optimizar recursos y cumplir con normativas internacionales, aspectos fundamentales para posicionar el cacao colombiano en mercados de alto valor. Este manual ilustrado tiene el propósito de servir como una guía práctica y accesible para productores, técnicos y operarios de las centrales de beneficio de cacao. Su enfoque didáctico facilita la comprensión y aplicación de los principios de calidad en cada etapa del proceso, desde la recepción del grano hasta su almacenamiento. La correcta implementación de este sistema contribuye significativamente a mejorar la calidad del cacao nacional, lo cual genera valor agregado y fortalece la competitividad del sector en el comercio internacional.