Background: The study was aimed to prepare and evaluate tamoxifen loaded controlled release liposomes to reduce the side effects of tamoxifen during cancer treatment.  Methods: Different tamoxifen loaded liposomes were prepared by modified ether injection (MEIM) and thin film hydration method (TFHM) under prescribed conditions. The prepared liposomes were characterized by using optical microscopy, evaluating encapsulation efficiency, in-vitro and ex-vivo diffusion studies by using dialysis membrane and chicken intestinal sac respectively. Results: The data revealed that all of the liposomes were spherical in shape and stable under three physical conditions i.e. 4, 25 and 37 ± 2°C temperatures and 60 ±5% relative humidity. Additionally most of the liposomes followed zero order and class II release kinetics. It was also observed that with the increase of phospholipids and cholesterol, entrapment efficiency of liposome vesicles increased thus giving a controlled release drug delivery system but further increase reduced this efficiency at a certain level. Conclusion: The formulated control release liposomes might be a good drug delivery system for target oriented drug delivery with minimum side effects of tamoxifen during cancer treatment.

Development of generic drug product by pharmaceutical industry is a scientific and technical approach which is totally different from developing a reference or innovator product. Most of the developing countries focus on developing the generic drug products because huge amount of investment is required for innovation and to develop reference product. The generic medicine has to be bioequivalent to the innovator drug and ensure the same biological effect with proper safety and efficacy. Nowadays, the pharmaceutical industries focus on the development of generic product as this does not require that much time and cost compared to the innovator company. But development of generic product is also difficult as it contains the same therapeutic efficacy as innovator. The development approach is based on the target market, i.e. US market, EU market. If a manufacturer targets the US market, then all excipients should be USP grade, analysis should be conducted by USP method or in-house method and stability studies as well. Prior and during the development of generic drug product API selection, dosage form selection, reference product selection and characterization, formulation development, analytical method development, tech transfer or submission batch are prime concern. Then again, bioequivalence study, drug registration procedure and commercialization of the generic product considering regulatory guidance of respective regulatory agencies and the approaches taken by the regulatory agencies for the development of registration of generic medicines are also crucial as well for the development of generic drug product. The aim of this study was to review the entire stage of a generic drug development by a generic pharmaceutical company.

Repaglinide is a commonly used antidiabetic drug to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, it does not always support a suitable dose regimen due to its low bioavailability and half-life. The purpose of this study was to develop and analyze repaglinide loaded control release liposomes to provide suitable dosage form to treat diabetes. Repaglinide loaded liposomes were prepared by modified ether injection method. According to the USP-II paddle method, in vitro dissolution studies of liposomes were performed for 8 hours in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The stability study was executed according to ICH guidelines under three different environmental conditions for 14 days. Additionally, the presence and size of liposomal vesicles was confirmed by microscopic observation. The formulations containing phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol at a molar ratio of 1:0.4 revealed the highest drug entrapment efficiency of 73.1% with an optimum stirring rate of 300 RPM. The pegylated liposomes (PEG400/1500) prolonged the drug loading capacity for the formulations compared to non-pegylated liposomes. On the contrary, the addition of nigella oil caused a decrease in entrapment efficiencies of the liposomes. Most of the formulations followed zero order kinetic model and supper class II release mechanism. In vitro dissolution showed controlled release pattern of the liposomes and maximum drug release after 8 hours was 92.64%. Additionally, all the liposomal formulations were found to be more stable at refrigeration temperature (5 ± 2ºC) where pegylated liposomes were most stable over 14 days at three different environmental conditions. Visual observation under an optical microscope, the vesicular structure of liposomes was confirmed. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 22(1): 89-96, 2023 (June)

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Stress during tertiary educational period has significant negative effect on the performance of a student. Mental distress is increasing among students and is one of the important public health concerns. This study was carried out to investigate the socio demographic characteristics of students, level of their stress feeling, and status of mental health and to find out the co-relation of different factors associated with the level of stress feelings. A cross sectional study was conducted among the students of the Department of Pharmacy of UAP. A total of 504 students (181 male students and 323 female students) participated in this study. Feeling of severe stress was almost equal to both sexes. But, moderate level of stress was more associated with female students (N = 253, F = 78.33%) and overall female students were more stressful than male. Thought towards future career ranked one among many reasons of stress in students (59.67% for male students and 37.46% for female students). In terms of academic achievements, feeling of stress was higher in female students compared to male students (34.98% for female students vs. 15.47% for male students). Other factors such as unrealistic expectations, family relationship and affairs, socio economic condition, being of too busy also significantly participate in the development of stress in young mind. Mental health status was estimated by considering some facts such as state of shock due to unwanted life events, lacking of expression of emotions, reduced feeling of pleasure, unusual thinking, fear of any specific objects, short term memory loss, self identity disorder and lack of self confidence. We co-related different risk factors like age, gender, socioeconomic condition, unrealistic thought patter to different levels of stress feeling.