pH, introduction & importance

 

pH

Introduction

PH, quantitative measure of the acidity or basicity of aqueous or other liquid solutions. A pH scale is a tool for measuring acids and bases. The scale ranges from 0-14. Litmus paper is an indicator used to tell if a substance is an acid or a base. The colour of the paper matches up with the numbers on the pH scale to indicate what kind of substance is being tested. A solution with a pH less than 7 is considered acidic; a solution with a pH greater than 7 is considered basic, or alkaline.

Quantitatively, a universal indicator is used to determine the acid strength and base strength, which works by showing different colours at different concentrations of the hydrogen ions in the solution. Most commonly, the value of pH of bases and acids is used to determine their quantitative strength.

pH Definition

pH is defined as the negative logarithm of H⁺ ion concentration. Hence the meaning of the name pH is justified as the power of hydrogen.

The pH scale is logarithmic and shows the solution’s concentration of hydrogen ions inversely. More specifically, the pH of the solution is the negative logarithm to the base 10 of its hydrogen ion concentration in moles per litre.

The pH scale is logarithmic and inversely indicates the activity of hydrogen ions in the solution

where [H⁺] is the equilibrium molar concentration (mol/L) of H⁺ in the solution. At 25 °C (77°F), solutions with a pH less than 7 are acidic, and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic. Solutions with a pH of 7 at 25 °C are neutral (i.e. have the same concentration of H⁺ ions as OH⁻ ions, i.e. the same as pure water).

The Importance of pH

 

The concept of pH and pH measurement plays a crucial role in our overall well-being. Doctors and scientists universally agree on this as well. The pH level or the possible hydrogen level in one’s body is determined by the type of food and drink one consumes. It thus becomes vital for us to help our body create and maintain a healthy pH ratio of 70:30, that is, alkaline to acid. Most diseases, illnesses, and harmful bacteria can thrive in over-acidic environments. Unbalanced pH levels usually result from the pH being too acidic.

MBBS VS PHARMACY: CAN PHARMACY WIN?????????

 Deciding between pursuing a pharmacy course or an MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) degree is a personal choice that depends on your interests, career goals, and individual circumstances. Both fields offer unique opportunities and have their own advantages. Here are some factors to consider when comparing a pharmacy course to an MBBS degree:

1. Duration of Study: In general, a pharmacy course is shorter in duration compared to an MBBS degree. A pharmacy course typically takes four to five years to complete, while an MBBS degree requires a minimum of five and a half years, including an internship.

2. Focus and Specialization: Pharmacy courses primarily focus on the study of medications, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacy practice. Pharmacists play a vital role in medication management, patient counseling, and drug information services. On the other hand, an MBBS degree provides comprehensive medical education, enabling individuals to become medical doctors and practice medicine, diagnose and treat patients, and perform surgeries.

3. Career Opportunities: Both pharmacy and MBBS offer diverse career opportunities. With a pharmacy degree, you can work as a community pharmacist, hospital pharmacist, pharmaceutical industry professional, clinical researcher, or pursue careers in academia, regulatory affairs, or healthcare consulting. With an MBBS degree, you can work as a general practitioner, specialize in various medical specialties through postgraduate training, work in hospitals, clinics, research institutions, or choose to pursue higher education and become a specialist or surgeon.

4. Patient Interaction: Both pharmacists and medical doctors have patient interaction but in different capacities. Pharmacists typically interact with patients regarding medication counseling, optimizing therapy, and ensuring patient safety. Medical doctors have more extensive patient interactions, involving diagnosing illnesses, providing treatment plans, and managing patient care.

5. Work-Life Balance: Work-life balance may vary between pharmacy and medical professions. Pharmacy careers often offer more regular working hours and predictable schedules, while medical doctors, especially in certain specialties and settings, may experience long and irregular working hours, including being on-call.

6. Personal Interests: Consider your personal interests, strengths, and passion for either field. Pharmacy may be more appealing if you have a keen interest in the science of medications, drug development, and patient care, while an MBBS degree may be the right choice if you have a strong desire to practice medicine, perform surgeries, and have a comprehensive understanding of human health.

Ultimately, the decision between pursuing a pharmacy course or an MBBS degree depends on your individual aspirations, interests, and long-term career goals. It is advisable to research both fields, speak to professionals working in these areas, and consider factors such as your aptitude, preferences, and future prospects before making a decision.

Determining whether pharmacy or MBBS is better depends on your personal interests, career goals, and individual circumstances. Both fields have their own merits and offer unique opportunities. Here are some points to consider when comparing pharmacy and MBBS:

1. Interest and Passion: Consider your interests and passion for the field of healthcare. If you have a strong inclination towards the science of medications, drug development, and patient care, pharmacy may be a better fit. On the other hand, if you have a deep desire to practice medicine, diagnose and treat patients, and have a comprehensive understanding of human health, MBBS might be the right choice.

2. Duration and Time Commitment: Pharmacy courses are typically shorter in duration compared to an MBBS degree. A pharmacy course usually takes four to five years, while an MBBS degree requires a minimum of five and a half years, including an internship. If you prefer a relatively shorter duration of study, pharmacy may be more suitable.

3. Career Opportunities and Specialization: Both pharmacy and MBBS offer diverse career opportunities. With a pharmacy degree, you can work as a pharmacist in various settings such as community pharmacies, hospitals, research organizations, or pharmaceutical industries. With an MBBS degree, you can become a medical doctor and pursue a wide range of medical specialties through postgraduate training, work in hospitals, clinics, research institutions, or even establish your own practice. MBBS offers a broader scope of medical practice and specialization options.

4. Patient Interaction and Scope of Practice: Consider the level of patient interaction and the scope of practice that aligns with your preferences. Pharmacists have significant patient interaction when it comes to medication counseling, optimizing therapy, and ensuring patient safety. However, medical doctors have a more comprehensive role in diagnosing illnesses, formulating treatment plans, and providing overall patient care.

5. Work-Life Balance: Work-life balance can differ between pharmacy and MBBS professions. Pharmacy careers often offer more regular working hours and predictable schedules, allowing for better work-life balance. In contrast, medical doctors, especially in certain specialties and settings, may experience long and irregular working hours, including being on-call. Consider your priorities and lifestyle preferences when evaluating work-life balance.

6. Future Prospects and Job Market: Assess the job market and future prospects for both pharmacy and MBBS in your desired location. Research the demand for healthcare professionals in each field, growth trends, and potential opportunities. Keep in mind that factors such as geographical location, local healthcare systems, and specific market conditions may influence the availability of job opportunities.

Ultimately, the decision between pharmacy and MBBS depends on your interests, aspirations, and long-term career goals. It's important to thoroughly research both fields, consider your aptitude and passion, and seek advice from professionals in the respective fields to make an informed decision.

SOME COMMON TOPIC IN PHARMACY

 Pharmacy is a vast field that encompasses various topics and areas of study. Here is a list of some key topics in pharmacy:

1. Pharmacology: The study of how drugs interact with the body, including their mechanisms of action, therapeutic uses, side effects, and interactions.

2. Pharmaceutical Chemistry: The study of the chemical properties and synthesis of drugs, including drug design, molecular modeling, and structure-activity relationships.

3. Pharmaceutics: The science of dosage form design and drug delivery systems, including the development and formulation of pharmaceutical products.

4. Pharmacokinetics: The study of how drugs are absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated by the body, including factors that affect drug concentrations in different tissues.

5. Pharmacodynamics: The study of how drugs produce their effects on the body, including the relationship between drug concentration and therapeutic response.

6. Pharmaceutical Analysis: The analytical techniques and methods used to determine the identity, purity, and quality of drugs and pharmaceutical products.

7. Clinical Pharmacy: The practice of pharmacy in healthcare settings, involving direct patient care, medication management, and collaboration with healthcare teams.

8. Pharmacotherapy: The use of drugs to treat diseases and conditions, including drug selection, dosing, monitoring, and therapeutic drug monitoring.

9. Pharmacy Practice: The practical aspects of pharmacy, including dispensing medications, patient counseling, medication therapy management, and adherence promotion.

10. Regulatory Affairs: The study of regulations and laws governing the development, approval, manufacturing, and distribution of pharmaceutical products.

11. Pharmaceutical Technology: The application of technology in pharmaceutical manufacturing and drug delivery systems, including innovations in formulation, drug release, and controlled release systems.

12. Pharmacy Management: The principles and practices of managing pharmacy operations, including inventory control, financial management, and quality assurance.

13. Pharmaceutical Marketing and Sales: The strategies and techniques used in promoting and selling pharmaceutical products, including market research, advertising, and sales management.

14. Pharmacy Ethics and Law: The ethical and legal considerations in pharmacy practice, including patient confidentiality, professional responsibility, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

15. Pharmaceutical Education and Research: The study and advancement of pharmacy education, research methodologies, and evidence-based practice.

These are just a few examples of the broad range of topics covered in pharmacy. The field continues to evolve as new drugs, technologies, and healthcare practices emerge, making it an exciting and dynamic area of study and practice.

PHARMACEUTICAL AIDS : aA FULL NOTE FOR STUDENTS

 PHARMACEUTICAL AIDS.

·       Oragnoleptic character—Oragnoleptic character mainly based on the sensory organs. Oragnoleptic character involves color, odor, taste, flavor etc.

·       Pharmaceutical aids: - The substances which are essentially used in manufacturing or compounding of various pharmaceutical dosages form is called as pharmaceutical aids. It helps in masking the unpleasant odor, taste, and flavour of any dosages form and made to more elegant during the dosages administration.

·       Drugs are the preparation which contains the active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients (coloring, flavouring, sweetening agents, preservatives etc). Excipients are also known as the pharmaceutical aids.

·       Pharmaceutical aid or excipients shown no or little pharmaceutical effect but it play an important role to modifying the drugs dosages form (tablets, capsule, syrups, emulsion, solution etc). Example of pharmaceutical aids contains— coloring agents, sweetening agents, emulsifying agent, suspending agents, flavouring agents, diluents, lubricants etc.

·       Importance/Application of pharmaceutical aids—

 

·       It helps in masking the unpleasant odor, taste, and color etc.

·       It insures safe, efficiency, reproducible, and convenient manner of drug delivery.

·       Pharmaceutical aids increase the shelf life of the drugs.

·       It protects the chemical changes and microbial action of main API, they include antibacterial agents and antioxidants.

·       Due to involvement of the pharmaceutical aids we design the different form of shape, size of the dosages form.

·       It is overcomes the patients inconvenience and helps in manufacturing, to design attractive dosages form.

·       Ideal characteristics of the pharmaceutical aids—

 

·       It does not change chemical nature of the drugs.

·       It is does not cause any toxic effects.

·       Masking the unpleasant color, odor, and taste.

·       During administration it does not cause any allergic reactions.

·       Overcomes the patient inconvenience.

·       It prevents the microbial activity or contamination in the pharmaceutical products.

·       It improves the shelf life of the products.

·       It works on low concentration.

·       Cheap and easily available

Pharmaceutical aids, also known as pharmaceutical excipients or inactive ingredients, are substances other than the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) that are included in a pharmaceutical formulation. They serve various functions in pharmaceutical products, contributing to their stability, bioavailability, appearance, taste, and ease of administration. Here are some key points about pharmaceutical aids:

1. Function: Pharmaceutical aids perform several roles in pharmaceutical formulations, including:

   a. Enhancing Stability: They can protect the active ingredient from degradation due to factors such as light, moisture, or pH changes.

   

   b. Improving Solubility and Bioavailability: Some aids can enhance the solubility and dissolution rate of poorly soluble drugs, thereby improving their bioavailability.

   

   c. Aiding in Formulation and Manufacturing: Pharmaceutical aids can help in the formulation process, ensuring uniform mixing, flowability, and ease of tableting or capsule filling.

   

   d. Providing Color, Flavor, and Appearance: They are often used to enhance the product's aesthetic appeal, taste, or odor, making it more acceptable to patients.

   

   e. Ensuring Drug Delivery: Certain aids can control the release or delivery of the active ingredient in the body, allowing for sustained or targeted drug action.

   

2. Types of Pharmaceutical Aids: There is a wide range of pharmaceutical aids available, and their selection depends on the specific formulation requirements. Common types of pharmaceutical aids include:

   

   a. Fillers and Diluents: These aids provide bulk to formulations, ensuring accurate dosing and facilitating tablet or capsule formation.

   

   b. Binders and Adhesives: They help in tablet compression by providing cohesion and ensuring the tablet's integrity.

   

   c. Disintegrants: Disintegrants promote the breakup of tablets or capsules in the gastrointestinal tract, facilitating drug release and absorption.

   

   d. Lubricants and Glidants: These aids prevent sticking of formulations to the equipment during manufacturing and improve tablet flowability.

   

   e. Preservatives: Preservatives are added to prevent microbial growth and ensure product shelf-life.

   

   f. Coatings and Film Formers: Coatings provide protection, taste masking, or modified release properties to tablets or capsules.

   

   g. Flavors, Sweeteners, and Colors: These aids improve the taste, appearance, and palatability of oral formulations.

   

3. Safety and Regulatory Considerations: Pharmaceutical aids undergo rigorous safety testing and regulatory evaluation. They should be safe for consumption, compatible with the active ingredient, and not interfere with its therapeutic effects. Regulatory authorities, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), establish guidelines and specifications for pharmaceutical aids to ensure their quality, purity, and appropriate use.

Pharmaceutical aids play a crucial role in the formulation, stability, and administration of pharmaceutical products. They contribute to the overall quality, effectiveness, and patient acceptability of medications, ensuring that they can be safely and effectively used for therapeutic purposes.

 

·       Coloring agent

 

·       Colorants or coloring agents are mainly used to improve the distinctive appearance of pharmaceutical dosages form, which are helps in the identification during manufacturing and increase the patient acceptance towards the pharmaceutical dosages form.

·       In pediatric and geriatrics coloring agents play a major role and attract the consumer by providing the aesthetic appearance to dosages form.

·       Classification of coloring agents—

 

·       On the basis their origin it is divided into two parts—

o   Synthetic—Tartrazine, Azorubine, brilliant blue, erythrosine.

o   Natural—Animal—carmine,      tyrian purple.                                                Plants—Annatto, caramel, lycopene Mineral—malachite, cinnabar, aragonite.

·       On the basis of their solubility it is divided into two categories—

·       Colorant dyes (soluble in the medium) —Indigo carmine, brilliant blue, caramel.

·       Pigments (insoluble in the medium) — Cadmium pigment, chromium pigment, cobalt pigment.

·       Uses/Applications of coloring agents—

 

·       Coloring agent provide the suitable color to formulation and helps in the identification.

·       Increase the consumer acceptance.

 

§  Flavouring agents

 

·       Flavourants or flavouring agents are mainly used for masking the unpleasant or unacceptable odor from formulation and provide more pleasant taste or flavour.

·       There are four basic taste sensations are salty, sweet, bitter, and sour. Flavour added to drug solutions can make a medicine more acceptable to take especially if the drug has an unpleasant taste. In the pediatrics dosages form flavour play a key role for administration of the drugs.

·       Flavouring agents are more sensitive against the heat (thermolabile nature) so it cannot be added prior to an operation involving heat, they

are often mixed with the granules as an alcohol solution. In market many coating tablet are present for masking the flavour.

·       Classification of flavouring agents—

 

·       It is classify into two categories—

·       Natural    flavouring    agents—Citrus    fruit (lemon,     orange),          spice (cinnamon, peppermint, ginger, onion), fruits (apple, banana).

·       Synthetic             flavouring            agents—Benzaldehyde,    cinnamic aldehyde,coumarin,ethyl methyl ketone.

·       Uses/Applications of flavouring agents—

 

·       Masking the unpleasant taste or flavour and provide suitable flavour.

·       Increase the consumer acceptance.

§  Sweetening agents

 

·       Sweetening agents or sweeteners are mainly used for masking the undesirable or bitter taste of any drug formulation and increase the patient acceptance towards pharmaceutical dosages form. In pediatric dosages form it is widely used because children prefer more the sweetening drugs.

·       In Homeopathic medication, small sugar pills are used during the drug delivery. Recently it is widely used in the Ayurvedic medicine also.

·       Sugar is the most widely used sweetening agent, due to its viscosity nature it also used as preservative for liquid preparation.

·       Classification of sweetening agents—

 

·       It is divided into two categories—

·       Natural    sweetening    agent—Glucose,    fructose,           sucrose,                     dextrose, sorbitol.

·       Artificial coloring agent—sucralose, aspartame, saccharin.

 

·       Uses/Applications of sweetening agents—

 

·       Sweetening agent masking the undesirable or bitter taste.

·       Increase the consumer acceptance.

 

 

 

§  Presevative

 

·       Preservative are the chemical agent which prevents the product contamination or product decomposition by the action of any contaminant (environmental or biological). Preservative commonly add in the pharmaceutical and various food products for enhancing their stability and shelf life. Phenolic compounds like sodium benzoate are highly used as preservative during the manufacturing.

·       Classification of preservative—

 

·       On the basis of mechanism of action it is divided into three categories—

o   Antimicrobial agents—that agent which prevents the contamination (gram positive and gram negative) and degradation by microbes is called as antimicrobial agents. These agents are active in low concentration.Example- phenolic compounds, parabens,                              propylene glycol,BHT,BHA.

§  On the basis of their activity it is further divided into two parts.

·       Microbiostatic—that inhibits the growth and multiplication of the microbes.

·       Microbiocidal—that agent direct kills the microbes.

o   Antioxidants agents—those agents which prevents the products oxidation or degradation in the presence of molecular oxygen. Generally API is more reactive towards the oxygen, so antioxidants are mix with the product and overcome the product reactivity.

§  Example— ascorbic acid, citric acid, tocoferols, BHA, BHT.

o   Chelating agents—those agents which form the cyclic compounds or complexes with the pharmaceutical ingredients and prevent the degradation of pharmaceutical formulation

§  Example—EDTA, polyphosphates.

·       On the basis of sources it is divided into two parts—

·       Natural preservatives—vinegar, honey, castor oil, salt, sugar.

·       Synthetic preservatives—sodium benzoate, BHA,BHT.

 

·       Uses/Application of preservatives—

 

·       Preservative enhance the stability and shelf life of the products, so it maintain the product activity for long time.

·       It prevents the product by any microbial contamination increase their resistance power against the microbial growth.

·       Many    environmental     factors    effect    the products                               property,              for overcoming this activity preservative are also used.

·       It also mixes with the food preparation for prevention their oxidation.