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Falsified medicines and healthcare supplements provide a major risk to public health and thus early identification is critical. Although a host of analytical approaches have been used to date, they are limited, as they require extensive sample preparation, are semiquantitative and/or are inaccessible to low-and middle-income countries. Therefore, for the first time we report a simple total analysis system which can rapidly and accurately detect falsified medicines and healthcare supplements. We fabricated a poly-lactic acid (PLA) pestle and mortar and using a commercial 3D printer, then made carbon black/PLA (CB/PLA) electrodes in the base of the mortar using a 3D printing pen to make an electrochemical cell. The pestle and mortar were able to crush and grind the tablets into a fine powder to the same consistency as a standard laboratory pestle and mortar. Using 2 melatonin tablets to characterise the device, the 3D printed pestle and mortar was able to detect the concentration of melatonin in the presence of insoluble excipients. The calibration plot showed a linear response from 37.5 to 300 µg/mL, where the limit of detection was 7 µg/mL. Electrochemical treatment was able to regenerate the CB/PLA working electrode allowing for repeated use of the device. In a blinded study, the device was able to accurately determine falsified melatonin tablets with recovery percentages between 101 and 105 %. This was comparable to HPLC. Overall, these findings highlight that our 3D printed electrochemical pestle and mortar is an accessible and effective total analysis system that can have the ability to identify falsified medicines and healthcare supplements in remote locations.

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Today, monotherapy is the most common pharmacological treatment option for patients suffering from overactive bladder (OAB). Recent reports have indicated potential benefits of combination therapy, using a muscarinic antagonist and a β3‐adrenoceptor agonist. This may be of particular interest for therapy‐resistant patients with OAB and concomitant cystitis. The objective of the current study was to assess how combination therapy affects bladder parameters in health and cystitis and if the efficacy of the drugs can be linked to altered release of nitric oxide (NO). Rats were pretreated with either a combination of the muscarinic antagonist tolterodine and β3‐selective adrenoceptor agonist mirabegron or saline for 10 days. Forty‐eight hours prior to assessing micturition parameters in a metabolic cage, the rats were intraperitoneally injected with cyclophosphamide, causing cystitis, or saline. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for NO content. Bladder contractile properties were assessed in an organ bath setup. Induction of cystitis led to bladder overactivity. Combination therapy normalized bladder parameters. Both induction of cystitis and drug treatment increased the release of NO. The innate contractile properties of the bladder were unaffected by combination therapy. This study demonstrates positive effects of combination drug therapy on symptoms of OAB, possibly indicating it to be a good option for treatment of OAB during concomitant cystitis. It remains to be determined if increased release of NO is crucial for successful pharmacological treatment of bladder overactivity during cystitis.

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) is among the most common of parasitic infections, affecting vulnerable populations in tropical/subtropical areas globally. In endemic countries, children, a high-risk population, require treatment and preventive interventions. Mebendazole, a WHO-recommended medicine, originally formulated as a tablet that was often crushed for administration to young children unable to swallow it, was reformulated as a chewable tablet. Acceptability is a key aspect for treatment effectiveness in pediatrics. Herein, we used a validated data-driven approach to investigate the acceptability of the 500-mg mebendazole chewable tablet in children aged 2 to 4 years in Peru. Observer-reported outcomes were collected for 182 medicine intakes. Acceptability was scored using the acceptability reference framework: a three-dimensional map juxtaposing “positively accepted” and “negatively accepted” profiles. Results found that the 500-mg mebendazole chewable tablet was classified as “positively accepted” in children aged 2 to 4 years. Acceptability increased with age and some acceptability issue remain for the younger children. Nevertheless, this formulation was considerably better accepted than the conventional tablets regardless of treatment in young children. This chewable formulation appears to be an appropriate alternative to the hard tablet of mebendazole for treatment of STH and preventive interventions in children aged 2 to 4 years.