This multicenter study aimed to investigate prescribing patterns of drugs at different levels of health care delivery in university-affiliated outpatient clinics located in eight cities in the South and Midwest of Brazil. All prescriptions collected were analyzed for various items, including WHO prescribing indicators. A total of 2,411 prescriptions were analyzed, and 469 drugs were identified. The number of drugs prescribed per encounter, the frequency of polypharmacy, and the percentage of encounters with at least one injection or antibiotic prescribed were higher in centers providing primary health care services, compared to those where this type of care is not provided. Most drugs (86.1%) were prescribed by generic name. In centers with primary health care services, drug availability was higher, drugs included in the National and Municipal Lists of Essential Medicines were more frequently prescribed, and patients were given more instructions. However, warnings and non-pharmacological measures were less frequently recommended. This study reveals trends in drug prescribing at different levels of health care delivery in university-affiliated outpatient clinics and indicates possible areas for improvement in prescribing practices.Keywords: Medicines/rational use. Medicines/prescription. Health Care/quality indicators. Pharmacy/ community services.Este estudo multicêntrico teve como objetivo investigar o padrão de prescrição de medicamentos para pacientes ambulatoriais atendidos em serviços de saúde vinculados a universidades com diferentes níveis de atenção, em oito cidades do sul e centro-oeste do Brasil. As prescrições coletadas foram submetidas à análise de diversos itens, incluindo os indicadores de prescrição propostos pela OMS. No total, 2.411 prescrições foram analisadas e 469 medicamentos foram identificados. O número de medicamentos prescritos por consulta, a frequência de polifarmácia e a porcentagem de consultas com pelo menos um medicamento injetável ou um antimicrobiano prescrito foram maiores em centros de saúde que ofereciam cuidados de atenção básica, em comparação com aqueles que não dispunham desse tipo de atendimento. A maioria dos medicamentos foi prescrita pelo nome genérico (86,1%). Em unidades com cuidados de atenção básica, a acessibilidade foi maior, a prescrição de medicamentos presentes nas Listas Nacional e Municipais de Medicamentos Essenciais foi mais frequente e instruções foram fornecidas aos pacientes mais comumente. Entretanto, advertências e medidas não farmacológicas foram indicadas com menor frequência. Este estudo revela tendências de prescrição de medicamentos em serviços de

Thymoquinone is a natural product, the main constituent ofNigella sativaseeds, which exhibits anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. Among several existing molecules capable of forming an inclusion compound structure, cyclodextrins are applied in the pharmaceutical industry either to increase solubility of hydrophobic molecules or to protect molecules from inactivation or degradation.β-Cyclodextrin is currently the most common cyclodextrin in pharmaceutical formulations and probably the best studied in humans. In order to study the properties of inclusion compounds based on cyclodextrins and thymoquinone Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Ultraviolet-Visible, Positron Annihilation Lifetime (PAL) Spectroscopies and calorimetric studies by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) were used. The obtained results indicate the formation of a 1 : 1 inclusion compound between cyclodextrin and thymoquinone. PALS and DSC measurements also provided evidence of the inclusion compound's activity.

No abstract

Fluoxetine (Flx), an important active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for the treatment of depression, is commercially available as a racemic hydrochloride salt. Interestingly, the spontaneous resolution of RS-Flx occurred upon salt formation with oxalic acid (H2Oxa). Single crystals of Flx hydrogen-oxalate salt (Flx HOxa) have been obtained by slow evaporation from solution. They have been examined by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, chiral chromatography, thermal analysis, and equilibrium solubility, revealing that Flx HOxa salt crystallizes as a racemic conglomerate. In the salt structure, the Flx+··· HOxa– ionic pairs assemble in 21-helical chains in the Sohncke space group P21 and Z’ = 1, through N+H···O– H-bonds. Additional cationic homochiral chains are formed in the crystals through noncovalent interactions between helicoidal motifs. It was shown that Flx HOxa conglomerates are as thermally stable as the hydrochloride salt of Flx, confirmed by thermal analysis. The identification of Flx HOxa salt conglomerates is a crucial step for the further chiral resolution process for the API and is also a novel multicomponent crystal with promising properties for a new drug formulation.

This study sets out a scheme for a controlled release delivery system using SBA-16 as a carrier matrix and Rutin as a drug (Rutin-SBA-16). Physicochemical characterizations were performed to confirm the structure of the SBA-16 for post-synthesis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The presence of Rutin-SBA-16 was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms at 77 K. The dissolution kinetics was evaluated by the Zero Order, First Order and Higuchi models, and Rutin quantification was carried out by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The best impregnation time, which was 8 hours, adsorbing 284 μg Rutin per mg of silica, and the maximum degree of dissolution occurred in a period of 20-25 h. The release kinetics of the Rutin was called Higuchi, and showed high linearity, with a correlation coefficient (R 2) of 0.999 compared with 0.905 and 0.980 of the zero order and first order models respectively. The study shows the benefits of Rutin-SBA-16 as a drug delivery system.