Purpose: To formulate and evaluate chitosan acetate films designed for transdermal delivery of propranolol hydrochloride. Methods: Chitosan acetate was chemically modified with acetaldehyde and the solution was prepared with 1 % acetic acid, in which was dissolved propranolol hydrochloride, was cast as films in Petri dish and characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The films were evaluated for permeability, swelling, and in vitro drug release. Results: Drug content of propranolol hydrochloride in the films ranged from 0.9 to 1.4 mg/cm 2 . Swelling was 570 % for chitosan acetate and 180 % for chitosan while drug release through chitosan acetate higher than through chitosan. Permeability coefficient was 6.12 x 10 -4 and 0.97 x 10 -4 g.cm 2 / day for chitosan acetate and chitosan, respectively. FTIR and DSC results indicated that there was no chemical interaction between the drug and the polymers used. NMR spectra showed the appearance of specific peaks for acetate group. Differences between chitosan acetate and chitosan were significant (p < 0.05) with regard to permeability, swelling and in vitro drug release. Conclusion: The films prepared using the synthesised chitosan acetate exhibited superior physicochemical and drug release characteristics to those of chitosan. The results also indicate chitosan acetate films may be suitable for delivering propranolol hydrochloride via the transdermal route which offers some advantages over other routes.

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Sonawane et al.: Epididymal Toxicity Associated with Vincristine Vincristine, a major player in front line combination chemotherapy of cancer reduces testosterone levels contributing to reproductive toxicity. Much is known about testicular toxicity of vincristine as compared to its effect on epididymis; hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the epididymal toxicity associated with vincristine treatment, which also contributes to the overall reproductive toxicity associated with vincristine. Vincristine was intraperitoneally injected to adult male Wistar rats of proven fertility with a dose of 40 mg/kg/day dissolved in 0.5 ml of physiological saline for 30 days. The epididymal weight was found to be unaltered after treatment whereas sperm count was reduced signifi cantly. Signifi cant changes were noted in ion concentrations of cauda and caput of epididymis with changes in protein profi le of the tissue, sperm and luminal protein from cauda and caput region, which plays a signifi cant role in sperm maturation and sperm transport. Infertility associated with vincristine could be attributed to its effects on various epididymal proteins involved in sperm protection and various stages of sperm development such as cytoplasmic extrusion and membrane stabilization, which had contributed to the abnormal sperm count and impaired function.