The aims of this study were to develop proliposome powders containing isoniazid (INH) in a dry powder aerosol form. INH-proliposome powders were prepared by a spray drying method. Proliposome physicochemical properties were determined using cascade impactor, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The toxicity of proliposomes to respiratory-associated cell lines and its potential to provoke immunological responses from alveolar macrophages (AM) were determined. Free INH and INH-proliposome bioactivities were tested in vitro and in AM infected with Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis). Aerosolization properties of INH-proliposome powders at 60 L/min, the powders showed mass median aerodynamic diameters of 2.99–4.92 μm, with fine particle fractions (aerosolized particles less than 4.4 μm) of 15–35%. Encapsulation of INH was 18–30%. Proliposome formulations containing INH to mannitol ratios of 4:6 and 6:4 exhibited the greatest overlapping peak between the drug and mannitol. INH-proliposomes were evidently nontoxic to respiratory-associated cells, and did not activate AM to produce inflammatory mediators—including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and nitric oxide—at a toxic level. The efficacy of INH-proliposome against AM infected with M. bovis was significantly higher than that of free INH (p < 0.05). INH-proliposomes are potential candidates for an alternative tuberculosis treatment.

The octanol/water solubility ratio (So/Sw) was found to be highly correlated with the octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow) of 82 pharmaceutically and environmentally relevant compounds. The solubility ratio gives comparable estimates to that of the group contribution (log P(calcd)) method for estimating the partition coefficient of the compounds used in this study.

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A spectrophotometric technique was used to determine the acidity constants of 4-dedimethylamino sancycline (Col-3), a new antitumor drug. The apparent pKa values of Col-3 in 0.5% methanol aqueous media at approximately 25 degrees C with a constant ionic strength of 0.2 were calculated manually and graphically to be 5.64 +/- 0.17 (pKa1) and 8.35 +/- 0.07 (pKa2). In addition, the computer program SQUAD was used to confirm Col-3 pKa values. The pKa values obtained by SQUAD were pKa1 5.63 +/- 0.14 and pKa2 8.39 +/- 0.04. These results are in agreement with the tetracycline-like structure of Col-3.

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The stability of andrographolide in powdered Andrographis Herb--the aerial part of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees (Acanthaceae)--was determined using a heat-accelerated experiment to reveal a second-order kinetics of degradation. The fast decomposition was observed regardless of the method of analysis. The rate constant of the decomposition of andrographolide at 25 degrees C ( K(25)( degrees C)), predicted from the Arrhenius plot, was 6.58 x 10 (-6) d (-1).