Background: The aim of the present study was to formulate and optimize the self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) of nevirapine (NVP) by use of 2 ² factorial designs to enhance the oral absorption of NVP by improving its solubility, dissolution rate, and diffusion profile. SEDDS are the isotropic mixtures of oil, surfactant, co-surfactant and drug that form oil in water microemulsion when introduced into the aqueous phase under gentle agitation. Materials and Methods: Solubility of NVP in different oils, surfactants, and co-surfactants was determined for the screening of excipients. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed by the aqueous titration method, and formulations were developed based on the optimum excipient combinations with the help of data obtained through the maximum micro emulsion region containing combinations of oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant. The formulations of SEDDS were optimized by 2 ² factorial designs. Results: The optimum formulation of SEDDS contains 32.5% oleic acid, 44.16% tween 20, and 11.9% polyethylene glycol 600 as oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant respectively. The SEDDS was evaluated for the following drug content, self-emulsification time, rheological properties, zeta potential, in vitro diffusion studies, thermodynamic stability studies, and in vitro dissolution studies. An increase in dissolution was achieved by SEDDS compared to pure form of NVP. Conclusion: Overall, this study suggests that the dissolution and oral bioavailability of NVP could be improved by SEDDS technology.

A new, simple and accurate liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of rosuvastatin (ROS) and metformin (MET) in human plasma was developed. The assay procedure involved simple protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Following precipitation, fraction of supernatant was decanted and evaporated under gentle stream of nitrogen at 40΀C. The residue was reconstituted in mobile phase and injected. The chromatographic separation was achieved with Thermo Hypurity C18 column (50 mm Χ 4.6 mm, 5 μ) using a mobile phase composition containing 0.1% v/v formic acid in water and acetonitrile (30:70, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The total run time was 3.5 min. The method showed good linearity in the range 0.5-200 ng/mL for ROS and 2-2000 ng/mL for MET with correlation coefficient (r) >0.9994 for both the analytes. The intra and inter-day precision values for ROS and MET met the acceptance criteria as per regulatory guidelines. The battery of stability studies viz., bench-top, freeze-thaw and long term stability were performed. The developed method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study.

A matrix-dispersion-type transdermal drug delivery system of flurbiprofen was designed and developed using different concentrations and grades of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC). Formulations were selected on the basis of their drug release content and release pattern. These were evaluated for in vitro dissolution characteristics using a Cygnus sandwich-patch holder. The release followed Higuchi kinetics, as its coefficient of correlation (r = 0.977-0.990; p < 0.001) predominates over the other release kinetics. In vivo evaluation was carried out on healthy rabbits, following the balanced incomplete block design. The in vitro dissolution rate constant and pharmacokinetic parameters were evaluated statistically by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A significant difference was found between the test products (p < 0.01), but not within the test products (p > 0.05).

Disorders of anxiety vary in severity to a wide extent, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) persists as the fourth most common form of mental illness and is reported to be associated with memory impairment, necessitating effective means of treatment. To study the effect of curcumin on OCD. The present study includes the determination of effect of curcumin at 5 and 10 mg/kg in quinpirole (0.5 mg/kg) -induced model of OCD, memory retention and brain monoamine levels in rats. A significant improvement from the obsessive-compulsive symptoms induced by quinpirole was observed in curcumin treated rats; curcumin showed a protective effect on memory task. An increase in serotonin levels and a decrease in the dopamine levels were observed in curcumin treated rats. Curcumin treatment had shown a protective effect in OCD with considerable influence on brain monoamine levels, thus providing an evidence for the predictive and construct validity of the model.