GPAT 360

Pharmaceutical Analysis is one of the interesting subjects in Pharmacy. Knowing how the analysis of compounds is carried out and what actually happens at molecular levels is really interesting.  The answers of questions like 'what happens at molecular levels?', 'What exactly happens when a compound is exposed to various radiations/chemicals during analysis?' are given in the principles of every analytical tool.  Mainly, we need to focus on the principles of analytical methods while preparing for GPAT. Important points you need to focus on while preparing for Pharmaceutical Analysis: (Click on the following topics to read article) 1. Principles (In detail), Instrumentation (parts of the instruments and their role) and applications of -- Ultraviolet (UV-Visible) Spectroscopy Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy Mass spectrometry Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Fluorimetry and Flame Photometry Potentiometry, Conductometry and Polarography X-ray Diffracti

Microencapsulation Microencapsulation is the process by which tiny liquid droplets or solid particles are suspended or coated with a continuous film of polymeric material. Product known as: microcapsules Size : micrometer to millimeter (<1mm) Mononuclear microcapsule Parts of microcapsules: 1. Intrinsic part (inner): Core: contains active ingredient. 2. Extrinsic part (outer): Shell: comprises polymeric material. The shell protects the core from external atmospheres. Core material exists in the form of either a solid, liquid and gas. Core materials --> solutions, suspensions, emulsions. Core material and shell materials should be compatible with each other. Morphology of microcapsules: Mononuclear microcapsules: contain the shell around core. polynuclear microcapsules: contain many cores within a shell. Matrix microcapsules: core material is evenly distributed inside shell material. i.e. API (drug, core) is dispersed in shell (polymer). p

GPAT BOOKS Often students ask about the books for GPAT preparation. There are several books available for each subject in pharmacy and also as a compilation of all the subjects. Books for only MCQ practices are also available. But before you use such MCQ books, try to understand fundamental concepts, clear your doubts. I would like to differentiate such books into general reference books and books for GPAT preparation. In my previous article on GPAT preparation tips  list of reference books for respective subjects is given. Here in this article I will suggest some GPAT books. All the books out there are full of information and numerous MCQs. But it is a wise choice to select a single or two books to avoid information overload and frustration. ¶The most widely used book for GPAT preparation is GPAT: A Companion by Nazma N. Inamdar and Milind P. Wagh (Career Publications). ¶Why GPAT: A Companion by Inamdar and Wagh is popular among GPAT aspirants? - A simple answer

1. Capsule number and their approximate capacity in mg and ml No.  : mg  : ml 000 : 950 : 1.37  00  : 650 : 0.95    0  : 450 : 0.68    1  : 300 : 0.50    2  : 250 : 0.37    3  : 200 : 0.30    4  : 150 : 0.21    5  : 100 : 0.13 ¶  Remember that  000 is the largest capsule size while 5 is the smallest size . 2. Sucrose based diluents 1. DiPac : 97% sucrose + 3% modified dextrose 2. Nutab : 95% sucrose + 4% invert sugar 3. Sugar tab : 90-93% sucrose + 7-10% invert sugar 3. Proportions (of respective oil) required for a primary emulsion                              ( Oil: water: gum) Fixed oils     --  4 : 2 : 1 Mineral oils --  3 : 2 : 1 Volatile oils --  2 : 2 : 1 Oleoresins   --  1 : 2 : 1 4. How to remember the names of Span and Tween surfactants? Tweens are known as Polysorbates or polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acids . Spans are known as Sorbitan esters. Generally used Tweens and Spans have grades such as 20, 4

1. What is Draves test? Draves test is used for measuring the efficacy of wetting agent. Procedure: In this test, 5 gm cotton skein is attached to a 3 gm hook, which is tied by means of a thread to a weight. The skein is placed into a cylinder containing the surfactant solution to be tested and is held submerged by the hook and the thread is attached to the weight.  As soon as most of the air is displaced by the liquid, the skein sinks to the bottom. The shorter the sinking time, the better the wetting agent. The gray cotton skein used for this purpose contains natural waxes and oil that make it hydrophobic and wetting is not instantaneous, hence the test measures the rate of wetting . 2. General terms of solubility phenomenon There are four general terms used to define solubility of system viz. Cosolvency, solubilization, complexation and hydrotrophy. a) Cosolvency : It is the phenomenon of increasing the solubility of weak electrolytes and non-polar molecules by addition o

To read the article on formulation of hard  gelatin capsule and soft gelatin capsule<-----click he re. I) Physicochemical properties of the gelatin. The two most important physicochemical properties of the gelatin  a) bloom strength & b) viscosity are considered while preparing capsule shells. a) Bloom strength: It is an empirical gel strength measure. It is a molecular weight of gelatin which gives an indication of firmness of the gel. i.e. internal cross linking or cohesive strength among the molecules. It is measured in bloom gelometer. It determines the weight in grams required to depress a standard plunger (diameter 0.5 inches) at a fixed distance (4mm deep) into 6.66% w/w gel held at 10°C for 17 hrs . The bloom strengths in the range of 150-280 gram are considered suitable for manufacturing of capsule shells. b) Viscosity: Viscosity of the gelatin solution is a critical factor in order to maintain the proper thickness of gelatin shells. It i

Parenteral formulations and Quality control tests In previous article on parenterals (Parenteral I) we have seen some of the basic concepts. In this article, additives used in parenteral preparations, types of formulations and quality control tests are given shortly. To view previous article on basics of parenteral preparations <<---click here. In previous GPAT exams, questions on the antioxidant examples, organism used for LAL test, pyrogen test, osmolarity, isotonicity were asked. FORMULATION OF PARENTERALS Parenteral formulations include water, co-solvents and several additives. In previous article on basics of parenterals, we have seen first two components i.e. solvents (aqueous and non-aqueous). In this point, we are going to see some of the important additives/excipients used in the parenteral formulations. Additives/ Excipients   ¶ Local anesthetics : Benzyl alcohol & Procaine HCl ¶Antioxidants : These prevent oxidation of active ingredient(s