Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

Development Of The Medication Non-Adherence Scale (Mnas) And The Medication Non-Persistence Scale (Mnps), Amod Sudhir Athavale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Novel Delivery Systems For Iron Replenishment, Naresh Modepalli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Iron is an integral part of hemoglobin and essential for the production of red blood cells. Iron deficiency and the resulting anemia are major nutritional deficiency disorders. The majority of patient populations suffering from iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are women of child bearing age and children of all ages. Iron deficiency is a complication of various other chronic conditions. Oral iron salts or colloidal parenteral iron formulations are treatment options for iron replenishment since several decades, but they are associated with severe side effects along with other patient noncompliance issues. Transdermal delivery of iron could be a potential alternative to …

Evaluation Of Dual-Activity Opioid-Npff Ligands For Antinociception, Jason N. Teng

Honors Theses

Opioids have become a staple in the medical world as an analgesic used to treat acute and chronic pain. However, there are many issues associated with the frequent use of opioids including tolerance, constipation, and opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Fortunately, recent discoveries of neuropeptide FF (NPFF) antagonists, have led to the understanding that tolerance and hyperalgesia caused by opioids can be greatly reduced. This discovery eventually led to the creation of dual ligands with both opioid agonist and NPFF antagonist activity. These dual ligands have been shown to prevent tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia while maintain analgesic qualities in mice. However, these studies …

Student Involvement And Satisfaction With And Through The School Of Pharmacy, Katherine Bruchman

Honors Theses

Pharmacy students are often defined by their tests scores and grade point averages with too few people willing to acknowledge students' feelings of satisfaction and involvement that may or may not be related to their performance in school. A desire to increase students' test scores often surpasses the desire to increase their satisfaction despite satisfaction being directly related to student success. This cross-sectional study therefore serves to determine how Students of Pharmacy are spending their time both in and out of the School of Pharmacy and whom they're choosing to spend it with, in hopes of identifying contributing factors to …

Immunization Perception And Education, Katie Day

Honors Theses

With vaccination rates in the United States falling, there is now a growing need for immunization education. This study aimed to survey a large group of students to determine the most beneficial method of educating the public and to evaluate the locations that individuals are more likely to receive vaccinations. The survey highlights the increasing demand for physicians and pharmacists to improve immunization education to prevent individuals from dying each year due to vaccine preventable diseases.

Transdermal Iontophoretic Delivery Of Lipophilic Drugs, Abhishek Juluri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Iontophoresis is one of the most widely studied active technique for enhancing transdermal delivery of drugs. However, its ability to enhance the delivery of highly lipophilic compounds is poor due to lack of any charge and poor water solubility of molecules. Propofol, a sedative and anesthetic drug was chosen as a one of the model lipophilic drug in this study. Initially, feasibility of delivery of propofol phosphate, a water soluble prodrug of propofol, via transdermal route using iontophoresis in combination with chemical permeation enhancers was investigated. Cathodal iontophoresis in combination with 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulphate synergistically enhanced the flux of …

Lipid & Surfactant Based Systems For Improved Delivery Of Poorly Soluble Apis, Sri Satyasai Nagendra Babu Punyamurthula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A large number of pharmaceutical compounds belong to class II and IV of biopharmaceutical classification of drug (BCS). Class II compounds are limited by their poor aqueous solubility, while class IV compounds suffer from poor solubility and permeability. This translates to poor absorption and low plasma levels post oral administration. Lipids comprise of fatty acids and their derivatives and are considered a biocompatible option for drug delivery. In the studies discussed in following chapters, lipid based drug delivery systems (LBDDS) have been utilized in improving the handling, ease of formulation, solubility and bioavailability of three compounds. In the first study, …

Protein-Ligand Interaction Studies And Identification Of New Drug-Like Hits As Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators, Pankaj Pandey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) belong to the family of class A GPCRs. The CB1 receptor is predominately found in the central nervous system and regulates various neuromodulatory and physiological processes while CB2 receptors are found in peripheral tissues, particularly in the immune system tissues. This dissertation reports several projects including: (1) an examination of the putative binding modes of Cannabis-derived ligands with CB1 and CB2 receptors, (2) the identification of novel CB1 inverse agonists, and (3) the identification of allosteric site(s) in the CB2 receptor and screening of new CB2 allosteric modulators (AMs).

Chapter 1 describes background information …

Versatility Of Hot-Melt Extrusion For Dosage Form Design, Sultan Mohammad Alshehri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, Hot Melt Extrusion (HME) has attracted the attention of pharmaceutical companies and scientists as a technique for manufacturing a variety of dosage forms. In this research, HME was applied in different ways to achieve different goals, such as solubility enhancement, taste masking, solid state stability enhancement, and sustained release formulations for oral drug delivery, using one model drug, mefenamic acid. For solubility enhancement and taste masking formulations, Eudragit EPO was blended with MA in different ratios (20, 25, 30, and 40% of drug loads) and processed by a hot melt extruder to produce a solid dispersion system. FT-IR analysis …

Influence Of Novel Techniques On Solubility, Mechanical Properties And Permeability Via Hot Melt Extrusion Technology, Eman A. Ashour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hot melt extrusion (HME) was evaluated as a continuous processing technology for the manufacture of solid dispersions. The aim of the current research project was to study the effect of pressurized carbon dioxide (P-CO2) on the physico-mechanical properties of three different grades of cellulose polymers, Klucel™ ELF, EF and LF hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) resulting from hot melt extrusion techniques, and to assess the plasticization effect of P-CO2 on the tested polymers. The physico-mechanical properties as well as the tablet characteristics of the extrudates with and without injection of P-CO2 and with non-extruded polymers were examined. P-CO2 acted as plasticizer for Klucel™ …

Design, Synthesis, And Biological Evaluation Of Sigma Receptors (Σrs) Ligands As Potential Pharmacotherapy For Cancer And Drug Addiction, Walid Alsharif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sigma receptors are a well-defined unique class of receptors and are highly expressed in the central nervous system and also widely distributed in peripheral organs and tissues. There are two subtypes of sigma receptors: sigma-1 and sigma-2. These receptors are thought to be associated with functions and disorders such as inflammation, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and drug abuse. The sigma-1 receptor has been demonstrated to be involved in acute and chronic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine toxicities. However, the role of sigma-2 receptors is less clear due to the lack of availability of detailed protein structural information and truly …

Impact Of Refill Synchronization On Medication Adherence For Chronic Diseases, Divya Verma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the impact of medication synchronization (med sync) on medication adherence for three drug classes under the CMS Star Rating system i.e. oral diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-post study design was employed using pharmacy prescription fill data from various independent community pharmacies located in different regions of Mississippi. Using Proportion of Days Covered (PDC), medication adherence before and after the med sync was calculated. Total study period of one year for each patient including six months of pre-period and post-period was used for the analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated. …

Predictors Of Use Of Hydroxyurea And Its Impact On Clinical And Economic Outcomes Among Children With Sickle Cell Disease, Manasi Datar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and predictors of use of hydroxyurea (HU) and its impact on clinical and economic outcomes in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) enrolled in Medicaid. Methods: A cohort of patients with SCD was identified in 2006 using ICD-9-CM codes from Medicaid claims from 40 US states. Patients who filled three prescriptions of HU in within 6 months in 2007 were identified as HU users. HU users were then matched with non-users and the impact of HU use on the presence of crises and economic outcomes including presence of …

Evaluation Of Purkinje Neurons And Endocannabinoid Receptors As A Potential Target Of Alcoholism Using Japanese Medaka (Oryzias Latipes) As An Animal Model, J. Ford Franklin

Honors Theses

Purkinje cells (PK) are neurons with large cell bodies found in the central nervous system and are mostly distributed in the cerebellar region of the hindbrain. Several novel markers for PK cells have been developed and are used for characterization of neurobehavioral disorders. The present study was aimed to identify endocannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) as a potential marker of PK cells and evaluate them as a molecular target of alcohol and cerebellar functions using Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) as an animal model. Previously, we have observed that medaka genome consist three CB receptor paralogs; two of them (cnr1a and cnr1b) …

Discovery Of Resistance-Reversing Agents In Antibiotic Resistant Strains Of Escherichia Coli And Klebsiella Pneumoniae From Natural Product Libraries, Andrew B. Watkins

Honors Theses

Objective: The objective of this exploratory research is to discover compounds, particularly from natural products, that inhibit ESBL, KPC, and NDM-1 mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in the Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Methods: This objective will be accomplished utilizing a high-volume bioassay testing natural product samples from the National Center for Natural Products Research. This assay tests samples against 6 different strains of bacteria known to express β-lactamases in the presence and absence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of the test antibiotic. By structuring the assay in this way, differentiation may be made between the inherent antibacterial activity of …

Research News: 2014, University Of Mississippi. School Of Pharmacy

Research News: Grants and Publications (2000-2014)

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Solubility Enhancement And Precipitation Inhibition Of Poorly Water Soluble Compounds Utilizing Hot Melt Extrusion Technology, Jiannan Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soluplus® (SOL), a graft amorphous copolymer, composed of polyethylene glycol, vinyl acetate and vinylcaprolactam in a ratio of 13: 30: 57, was utilized to prepare solid dispersions containing felodipine (FEL) or ketoconazole (KTZ) using hot-melt extrusion technology. The melting point depression approach was utilized to determine the miscibility and solubility of the model compounds within Soluplus® , of which felodipine demonstrated higher solubility when compared to ketoconazole (14% vs 4.3% w/w) at room temperature (298K). Moreover, the solubility parameters of FEL, KTZ and SOL were calculated as 21.76, 26.51 and 21.64, respectively.

Polarized light microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), …

Solubility Enhancement Via Melt Extrusion: Drug-Polymer Solubility, Physicochemical Characterization And Quality By Design, Ketaki Patwardhan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many new drugs developed face oral delivery challenges and absorption due to poor biopharmaceutical properties. Formation of solid dispersions is a very widely applied technique for solubility enhancement of water insoluble drugs. In order to form stable solid dispersions it is important to select appropriate excipients that will maintain the drug in its amorphous form for an extended period of time. Selection of appropriate excipients is critical during the development of stable amorphous solid dispersions. The solubility parameter concept has been explored for theoretically identifying the excipients that will be suitable based on the structure of the active. In this …

Customer Tolerance In Community Pharmacy, Philip Everett Schwab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Customers can have an existing relationship with a service provider where they are not satisfied with the services they receive, yet they continue to patronize the service provider. Why does this happen? Why do these customers remain as patrons of service providers that do not meet expectations and that leave these customers with low satisfaction. This dissertation presents the concept of tolerance to explain the retention of customers who are not satisfied with a service provider. Specifically, this dissertation examined the concept of customer tolerance in community pharmacy. Tolerance is an important concept for consideration because regardless of good intentions …

Dereplication And Prioritization Of Natural Product Extracts For Antifungal Drug Discovery, Kara Fowler

Honors Theses

The prevalence of opportunistic fungal infections in hospital settings are at alarming rates. Through technological advances in natural product research, plants have become a useful source for antifungal drug discovery. More samples can be screened at once, fractionated in less time, and biologically tested at smaller quantities. However, isolating antifungal compounds from these plant extracts and determining their specific chemical makeup can still take up a significant amount of time. Therefore, this thesis presents a prioritization technique to prevent the need to isolate every compound within an active fraction. With the guidance of literature research on the genus and species …

Mississippi Pharmacists' Knowledge And Attitudes About Pharmacy Compounding Safety And Regulation, Kimberly Allen

Honors Theses

Introduction: Pharmacy compounding, which is defined by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a practice in which a licensed pharmacist combines, mixes, or alters ingredients in response to a prescription to create a medication tailored to the medical needs of an individual patient,1 has gained recent attention at both national and state levels. Outbreaks of adverse events associated with pharmacy compounding have led to many proposed and enacted changes in how to appropriately and best regulate traditional compounding pharmacies and those that act as manufacturers. Given such recent controversies and potential confusion as to exactly how compounding is regulated, …

Reproductive And Multigenerational Effects Of Dietary Benzo[A]Pyrene Exposure In Zebrafish, Mallory White

Honors Theses

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that is a known carcinogen that also acts as an endocrine disruptor. Multigenerational impacts of PAH exposure are suggested in human cohort studies. To investigate mechanisms and developmental phenotypes associated with a dietary BaP exposure, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were used. We hypothesized that BaP exposure would cause: 1) phenotypic malformations in the gonad that would affect reproductive success; 2) developmental deformities in the offspring that would lead to decreased survival and ability to reproduce without additional BaP exposure; and 3) changes in gene expression that would be conserved across generations and related …

Pharmacists' Preparedness For Acute Medical Emergencies, James W. Parrett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose/Objectives: This project studied how prepared community pharmacists are to respond to acute medical emergencies, as well as their perceived efficacy in addressing these situations. Specifically, it considered what training pharmacists have for responding to medical emergencies, what emergency medical equipment pharmacies have on-hand, the frequency that medical emergencies occur within pharmacies, and the types of emergencies encountered. It also measured self and collective efficacy of pharmacists in responding to medical emergencies within their pharmacy to determine if differences in self-efficacy or collective efficacy exist. Methods: This study utilized a cross-sectional, non-experimental, descriptive design via a self-administered, Internet-based survey distributed …

Management Of Breast Cancer In The Medicaid Population, Rohan Mahabaleshwarkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second most comcancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women. The current project examined some key issues important for effective breast cancer management in the Medicaid population. Medicaid is one the largest healthcare insurance systems in the US providing coverage to more than 60 million low-income individuals. As a part of this project, three studies were conducted. The first study determined the healthcare burden associated with breast cancer in the form of healthcare use (inpatient, outpatient, and emergency room [ER] visits) and costs associated with the condition in the Medicaid population. Significant healthcare …

Cranberry Metabolites With Urinary Anti-Adhesion Activity, Christina M. Coleman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The fruit of the American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton, Ericaceae) is a comfood and a top selling dietary supplement in the U.S. Cranberry juice is traditionally used for the prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs), many of which are caused by P-fimbriated Escherichia coli. Human urine produced after cranberry juice consumption can prevent E. coli adhesion, but the urinary metabolites responsible for this activity are currently not known. High-molecular weight components of cranberry juice, specifically proanthocyanidin oligomers (PACs), are currently believed to be responsible for the ability of cranberry juice to prevent UTIs. Cranberry PACs can prevent the adherence of …

Structure, Synthesis And Biological Activity Of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins From Karlodinium Sp. And Exploration Of Microbial Derived Natural Products, Amanda Leigh Waters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work features natural products isolated from both the marine and microbial environments. Part I focuses on the elucidation of toxins from harmful algal blooms (HAB). The HAB dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum produces a harmful suite of molecules identified as the karlotoxins (KmTx) that have been implicated in massive fish kills pan-globally. Nine new karlotoxin congeners were isolated from various Karlodinium blooms around the world and utilizing the structure of KmTx2 were characterized using overlaid 2D NMR techniques. Due to the contrasting conformational differences between KmTx and the closely related amphidinols, the absolute configuration of KmTx was further evaluated by extensive …

Intranasal Delivery Of Therapeutics Targeted To Csf And Brain, Prashanth Manda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blood-brain barrier and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier limit the systemic delivery of therapeutics to the brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) respectively. Therapeutic agents targeting CNS are currently being administered by invasive routes which are not patient compliant and do not allow frequent administration. Intranasal delivery of therapeutics to target CSF and brain is a noninvasive route of administration which is patient compliant and allows frequent administration. In the current study, the plausibility of delivering ziconotide and cefotaxime to CSF and brain respectively via intranasal pathway using barrier modulating agents like chitosan was investigated. The ability of chitosan to enhance the permeation …

Secondary Metabolite Production By An Endophytic Bacillus Sp. From Platanus Occidentalis, Michael C. James

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Endophytes are bacterial and fungal microbes that live inside of plant tissue without causing disease. Endophytes have applications in many industries including the pharmaceutical and food industries as producers of natural products. This potential was demonstrated by investigating the natural product production from a Bacillus amyloliquefaciens endophyte of Platanus occidentalis using a combination of MALDI-IMS, LC-MS, MS-MS, and NMR methods, by purifying nicotianamine from soy flour, and by reviewing natural product inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The secondary metabolite production of the endophytic B. amyloliquefaciens was investigated under a variety of fermentation conditions. It was discovered that the …

Roles And Regulations For Pharmacists In State-Level Disaster Relief Efforts, Rachel Lowe

Honors Theses

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine what expanded roles have been identified for pharmacists by the states in disaster relief efforts, what regulations currently exist for pharmacists in disaster relief efforts in each state, and whether or not disaster relief and public health training should be added to the pharmacy school curriculum. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to survey fifty-three boards of pharmacy via email and Qualtrics Survey Software. Results: Analysis of the survey results showed that most states lack a disaster preparedness plan and expanded roles for pharmacists in disaster relief efforts, and most …

The Potential Success Of The F.D.A.'S New Paradigm Based On Community Pharmacists' Opinons, Anna Blair Brown

Honors Theses

For the past 40 years the F. D. A. (Food and Drug Administration) has considered creating a third class of drugs in the United States of America that would be a pharmacist-only class which could only be sold with the approval of a pharmacist. Several things have inhibited its creation, the main one being the Durham-Humphrey Amendment which states that there are only two classes of drugs: prescription and over-the-counter. This has culminated into the development of the F.D.A.'s new paradigm, which is an expansion of the over-the-counter class of drugs to create and O.T.C.+ category. Community Pharmacists were interviewed …