Absorption of a drug through the oral route involves its dissolution from the formulation into gastric and/ or intestinal fluids followed by its permeation through gastrointestinal cell membranes and finally into the systemic circulation. Oral solid dosage forms are one of the most commonly used formulation types having multiple benefits over other formulations/routes. However, the challenge for a pharmaceutical scientist lies in the fact that dissolution of a drug from an oral solid formulation (a key factor in drug absorption) is dependent on the aqueous solubility of the drug. Therefore, a drug with poor aqueous solubility would exhibit dissolution rate limited absorption and similarly a drug possessing poor membrane permeability undergo permeation rate limited absorption. A drug is highly soluble when highest dose of drug is soluble in ≤250 ml of water over a pH range of 1 to 7.5 and a drug is highly permeable when extent of absorption in humans is to be ≥90% of an administered dose [1] . It has been investigated that most of new chemical entities currently being discovered and intended to be used as a solid dosage form should produce an efficient and reproducible plasma concentration after oral administration. However, most of them tend to have poor water solubility, which limits the therapeutic efficacy of that drug. Moreover, poor solubility results in increased dose and frequent administration leading to higher incidences of side-effects [2][3][4][5][6] . Hence, pharmaceutical research has emphasised on elevating the oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs by improving their solubility, dissolution rate and membrane permeability. Solubility is an important determinant in drug liberation and hence drug absorption, which plays a key role in oral bioavailability of formulations. The dissolution rate of a drug directly depends upon its solubility. Most of the new drugs have poor water solubility; thereby pose a difficulty in formulating into drug delivery systems. Therefore, solubility enhancement of poorly water soluble drugs is one of the necessary preformulation steps in the pharmaceutical product development research. Solid dispersion is a unique and promising approach for enhancing the dissolution characteristics and oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. The present review highlights portrayal of solid dispersions, its types including eutectic mixtures and solid solutions, method of preparation and also the useful carriers for the preparation of solid dispersions. Furthermore, the wide research conducted hitherto on solid dispersions for enhancing solubility of different efficacious drugs, challenges encountered in the development of solid dispersions and recent advancements to overcome its pitfalls have also been elaborated.

The present study emphasized on the use of solid dispersion technology to triumph over the drawbacks associated with the highly effective antihypertensive drug telmisartan using different polymers (poloxamer 188 and locust bean gum) and methods (modified solvent evaporation and lyophilization). It is based on the comparison between selected polymers and methods for enhancing solubility through particle size reduction. The results showed different profiles for particle size, solubility, and dissolution of formulated amorphous systems depicting the great influence of polymer/method used. The resulting amorphous solid dispersions were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and particle size analysis. The optimized solid dispersion (TEL 19) prepared with modified locust bean gum using lyophilization technique showed reduced particle size of 184.5 ± 3.7 nm and utmost solubility of 702 ± 5.47 μg/mL in water, which is quite high as compared to the pure drug (≤1 μg/mL). This study showed that the appropriate selection of carrier may lead to the development of solid dispersion formulation with desired solubility and dissolution profiles. The optimized dispersion was later formulated into fast-dissolving tablets, and further optimization was done to obtain the tablets with desired properties.

SETTING: Nobel Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Biratnagar, Nepal.OBJECTIVE: To determine the pattern of antimicrobial resistance and hospital exit outcomes in neonates with suspected sepsis in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).DESIGN: This hospital-based cohort study was conducted to follow patients from January to December 2019. All identified cases of suspected sepsis were enlisted from hospital records.RESULTS: Sepsis was suspected in 177 (88%) of the 200 cases admitted in the NICU; 52 (29%) were culture-positive. Pseudomonas was the predominant organism isolated (n = 40; 78%), followed by coagulase negative staphylococcus (n = 12, 23%). Nine (17%) of the 52 isolates were resistant to the Access and Watch group of antibiotics, including some resistance to Reserve group drugs such as imipenem and linezolid. Most treated cases (n = 170, 96%) improved, although 7 (4%) left against medical advice.CONCLUSION: Most of the pathogens were resistant to WHO Access and Watch antibiotics and occasional resistance was observed to Reserve group drugs. Most sepsis was caused by Gram-negative bacilli. Improving turnaround times for antibiotic sensitivity testing using point-of-care testing, and a greater yield of culture-positive results are needed to enhance the management of neonatal sepsis.

: Nanotechnology in association with the herbal medicine can lead to enhanced therapeutic and diminished adverse effects of medication. In turn, it can lead to synergistic effects of administered compound overcoming its demerits. Now-a-days, the trend of herbal compounds to treat even a small illness is gaining momentum. Gone are the days when the ineffectiveness of a compound was impossible to be dealt with. Nevertheless, in this competitive era of science and innovative technology, it has become possible to maximize the usefulness of ineffective yet potent herbal compounds. The demand of herbal compounds is getting amplified because of their ability to treat myriad of diseases including COVID-19, showing less side effects. The merger of nanotechnology with traditional medicine augments the potential of herbal drugs for devastating dangerous and chronic diseases like cancer. In this review article, we have tried to assimilate the complete information regarding the use of different nanocarriers to overcome the drawbacks of herbal compounds. In addition, all the recent advancements in the herbal field as well as the future exploration to be emphasized have been discussed.

: The year 2020 was the most challenging period for all due to the havoc caused by the outbreak of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Scientists and researchers all around the world have endeavored every possible approach to find solutions in context to therapeutics and vaccines to control the spread of this life-threatening virus. The acceleration instigated by the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 and its mutated strains has leveraged the use of numerous platform technologies for the development of vaccines against this unfathomable disease. Vaccines could play an important role in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 and reducing the ongoing health crisis. Various innovative platforms like proteins, nucleic acids, viruses, and viral vectors have been exploited to fabricate vaccines depicting almost 90% of efficacy like BNT162b2, AZD1222, Ad5-nCoV, etc. Some of these vaccines are multipotent and have shown potent activity against newly emerged malicious strains of SARS-CoV-2 like B.1.351andB.1.1.7. In this review article, we have gathered key findings from various sources of recently popularized vaccine candidates which will provide an overview of potential vaccine candidates against this virus and will help the researchers to investigate possible ways to annihilate this menace and design new moieties.