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American Journal of Pharmaceutical... Feb 2017To implement active-learning strategies to engage students in learning, applying, and teaching legal and substance abuse topics. Medication Safety course student...
To implement active-learning strategies to engage students in learning, applying, and teaching legal and substance abuse topics. Medication Safety course student groups created films on a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) using a movie genre and presented them in film festival format. Pharmacogenomics course student groups taught ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) topics through presentation of short stories about comic book characters with genetic mutations. Students in the Drugs of Abuse course composed and performed dances depicting the mechanism of action of a drug in an in-class rave dance format. Course evaluations revealed student engagement with subject material and enjoyment of the creative applications, critical thinking, and collaborative aspects of the activities. Students performed well on examination questions and graded assignments. These active-learning strategies facilitated students' abilities to learn, apply, and teach material in medication safety, pharmacogenomics, and substance abuse courses.
Topics: Curriculum; Education, Pharmacy; Educational Measurement; Humans; Legislation, Pharmacy; Patient Safety; Pharmacogenetics; Problem-Based Learning; Students, Pharmacy; Substance-Related Disorders; Thinking
PubMed: 28289294
DOI: 10.5688/ajpe8114 -
Neuropharmacology Jan 2014A major development in drug addiction research in recent years has been the discovery that immune signaling within the central nervous system contributes significantly... (Review)
Review
A major development in drug addiction research in recent years has been the discovery that immune signaling within the central nervous system contributes significantly to mesolimbic dopamine reward signaling induced by drugs of abuse, and hence is involved in the presentation of reward behaviors. Additionally, in the case of opioids, these hypotheses have advanced through to the discovery of the novel site of opioid action at the innate immune pattern recognition receptor Toll-like receptor 4 as the necessary triggering event that engages this reward facilitating central immune signaling. Thus, the hypothesis of major proinflammatory contributions to drug abuse was born. This review will examine these key discoveries, but also address several key lingering questions of how central immune signaling is able to contribute in this fashion to the pharmacodynamics of drugs of abuse. It is hoped that by combining the collective wisdom of neuroscience, immunology and pharmacology, into Neuroimmunopharmacology, we may more fully understanding the neuronal and immune complexities of how drugs of abuse, such as opioids, create their rewarding and addiction states. Such discoveries will point us in the direction such that one day soon we might successfully intervene to successfully treat drug addiction. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'NIDA 40th Anniversary Issue'.
Topics: Allergy and Immunology; Animals; Biomedical Research; Humans; Neuropharmacology; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 23764149
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.05.039 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2020The palhinine family of alkaloids were first reported in 2010, which feature an intriguing isotwistane carbon cage and a nine-membered azonane ring. It is noteworthy... (Review)
Review
The palhinine family of alkaloids were first reported in 2010, which feature an intriguing isotwistane carbon cage and a nine-membered azonane ring. It is noteworthy that the tetracyclic 5/6/6/9 skeleton was unprecedented in alkaloids before their seminal discovery. Over the past decade, extensive synthetic efforts stemming from seven research groups have resulted in two racemic total syntheses to date. This review article takes the opportunity to survey these efforts and achievements so as to promote further research towards the asymmetric total synthesis of palhinine alkaloids.
Topics: Alkaloids; Biological Products; Carbon; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Cyclization; Drug Design; Lycopodium; Molecular Structure; Stereoisomerism
PubMed: 32937904
DOI: 10.3390/molecules25184211 -
Revue Scientifique Et Technique... Dec 1995"Primum non nocere' must be the first quality of veterinary immunological medicinal products. Throughout the manufacturing process, stage by stage, various ingredients... (Review)
Review
"Primum non nocere' must be the first quality of veterinary immunological medicinal products. Throughout the manufacturing process, stage by stage, various ingredients and/or operations could be responsible for safety problems observed when the product is administered. During the preliminary stages, various ingredients--e.g. master seed strains (virus, bacteria or parasite), cell substrates (cell-lines or primary cells) and substances of animal origin--could be contaminated by extraneous agents. These represent the most important risks. During the process--i.e. preliminary stages, microorganism growth, downstream processing (harvest, purification, concentration, inactivation, etc.), formulation, filling, freeze-drying and finally packaging--environmental conditions (working areas, equipment, etc.) might also be defective and responsible for product contamination. The author examines all aspects of risks and their assessments through consideration of "good manufacturing practice' based on quality assurance and quality control systems.
Topics: Animals; Biological Products; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Drug Industry; Drug Packaging; Quality Control; Risk Assessment; Veterinary Medicine
PubMed: 8639962
DOI: 10.20506/rst.14.4.889 -
Neuropsychopharmacology : Official... May 2018
Topics: History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Neuropharmacology; Psychopharmacology; Substance-Related Disorders; United States
PubMed: 29670248
DOI: 10.1038/npp.2018.4 -
Postepy Higieny I Medycyny... Jan 2016Plants have been exploited as a source of medicinal substances for years. Nowadays, achievements of modern science, including molecular biotechnology, allow their huge... (Review)
Review
Plants have been exploited as a source of medicinal substances for years. Nowadays, achievements of modern science, including molecular biotechnology, allow their huge potential to be utilized. They have become a promising platform for the production of valuable compounds such as biopharmaceuticals. Among the various plant systems used for this purpose, hairy root cultures are also applied for the production of recombinant proteins and secondary metabolites. For this purpose plant cells of selected species are genetically transformed using different strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes carrying the desired genes. The next steps of this process include stable and efficient expression of these genes. Hairy root cultures exhibit a number of features which make them attractive compared to various pro- and eukaryotic cell systems including other plant models. Their main advantages are: relatively low production costs, ease of scale-up, production of compounds typical for eukaryotic cells with post-translational modifications, biological safety, and in many cases there is no need for complex purification techniques of the final product. Several compounds that are successfully obtained using this production strategy are valuable pharmaceuticals. This group includes selected cytokines, vaccine antigens and antibodies.
Topics: Biopharmaceutics; Cells, Cultured; Phytotherapy; Plant Roots; Plants, Medicinal
PubMed: 26864059
DOI: 10.5604/17322693.1192186 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2017Cortex Moutan (CM), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, is commonly used for treating various diseases in China and other eastern Asian countries. Recorded in... (Review)
Review
Cortex Moutan (CM), a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, is commonly used for treating various diseases in China and other eastern Asian countries. Recorded in Pharmacopeias of several countries, CM is now drawing increasing attention and under extensive studies in various fields. Phytochemical studies indicate that CM contains many valuable secondary metabolites, such as monoterpene glycosides and phenols. Ample evidence from pharmacological researches suggest that CM has a wide spectrum of activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, cardiovascular protective, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective effects. Moreover, various analytical methods were established for the quality evaluation and safety control of CM. This review synopsizes updated information concerning the origins, phytochemistry, pharmacology, analytical method and safety of CM, aiming to provide favorable references for modern CM research and application. In conclusion, continuing pharmacological investigations concerning CM should be conducted to unravel its pharmacological mechanisms. Further researches are necessary to obtain comprehensive and applicable analytical approach for quality evaluation and establish harmonized criteria of CM.
Topics: Chromatography, Liquid; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Ethnopharmacology; Humans; Mass Spectrometry; Paeonia; Phytochemicals
PubMed: 28590441
DOI: 10.3390/molecules22060946 -
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience 2006Drug transporters are membrane proteins present in various tissues such as the lymphocytes, intestine, liver, kidney, testis, placenta, and central nervous system. These... (Review)
Review
Drug transporters are membrane proteins present in various tissues such as the lymphocytes, intestine, liver, kidney, testis, placenta, and central nervous system. These transporters play a significant role in drug absorption and distribution to organic systems, particularly if the organs are protected by blood-organ barriers, such as the blood-brain barrier or the maternal-fetal barrier. In contrast to neurotransmitters and receptor-coupled transporters or other modes of interneuronal transmission, drug transporters are not directly involved in specific neuronal functions, but provide global protection to the central nervous system. The lack of capillary fenestration, the low pinocytic activity and the tight junctions between brain capillary and choroid plexus endothelial cells represent further gatekeepers limiting the entrance of endogenous and exogenous compounds into the central nervous system. Drug transport is a result of the concerted action of efflux and influx pumps (transporters) located both in the basolateral and apical membranes of brain capillary and choroid plexus endothelial cells. By regulating efflux and influx of endogenous or exogenous substances, the blood-brain barrier and, to a lesser extent the blood-cerebrospinal barrier in the ventricles, represents the main interface between the central nervous system and the blood, i.e., the rest of the body. As drug distribution to organs is dependent on the affinity of a substrate for a specific transport system, membrane transporter proteins are increasingly recognized as a key determinant of drug disposition. Many drug transporters are members of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily or the solute-linked carrier (SLC) class. The multidrug resistance protein MDR1 (ABCB1), also called P-glycoprotein, the multidrug resistance-associated proteins MRP1 (ABCC1) and MRP2 (ABCC2), and the breast cancer-resistance protein BCRP (ABCG2) are ATP-dependent efflux transporters expressed in the blood-brain barrier They belong to the superfamily of ABC transporters, which export drugs from the intracellular to the extracellular milieu. Members of the SLC class of solute carriers include, for example, organic ion transporting peptides, organic cation transporters, and organic ion transporters. They are ATP-independent polypeptides principally expressed at the basolateral membrane of brain capillary and choroid plexus endothelial cells that also mediate drug transport through central nervous system barriers.
Topics: Animals; Blood-Brain Barrier; Central Nervous System Agents; Drug Design; Humans; Membrane Transport Proteins; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Protein 2; Pharmacology; Polymorphism, Genetic
PubMed: 17117613
DOI: 10.31887/DCNS.2006.8.3/fgirardin -
Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews Jan 2021Optimizing synthetic nanocarriers is like searching for a needle in a haystack. How to find the most suitable carrier for intracellular delivery of a specified... (Review)
Review
Optimizing synthetic nanocarriers is like searching for a needle in a haystack. How to find the most suitable carrier for intracellular delivery of a specified macromolecular nanoagent for a given disease target location? Here, we review different synthetic 'chemical evolution' strategies that have been pursued. Libraries of nanocarriers have been generated either by unbiased combinatorial chemistry or by variation and novel combination of known functional delivery elements. As in natural evolution, definition of nanocarriers as sequences, as barcode or design principle, may fuel chemical evolution. Screening in appropriate test system may not only provide delivery candidates, but also a refined understanding of cellular delivery including novel, unpredictable mechanisms. Combined with rational design and computational algorithms, candidates can be further optimized in subsequent evolution cycles into nanocarriers with improved safety and efficacy. Optimization of nanocarriers differs for various cargos, as illustrated for plasmid DNA, siRNA, mRNA, proteins, or genome-editing nucleases.
Topics: Algorithms; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Computational Chemistry; Drug Carriers; Evolution, Chemical; Macromolecular Substances; Nanoparticles; Nucleic Acids; Polymers; Proteins
PubMed: 32246984
DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2020.03.005 -
Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica 2013Lipophilicity is a physicochemical property of crucial importance in medicinal chemistry. On the molecular level it encodes information on the network of inter- and... (Review)
Review
Lipophilicity is a physicochemical property of crucial importance in medicinal chemistry. On the molecular level it encodes information on the network of inter- and intramolecular forces affecting drug transport through lipid structures as well as drug's interactions with the target protein. In result, on the organism level, lipophilicity is an important factor defining pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a drug substance. Thus, it is a meaningful parameter that found innumerable applications in drug development, Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSARs) and Quantitative Structure-Pharmacokinetic Relationships (QSPkRs) analyses. This report reviews the importance of lipophilicity on each step of the presence of a medicinal substance in the organism and describes progress in experimental methods of its determination. It has been documented that the retention of a compound in reversed-phase liquid chromatography is governed by its lipophilicity and shows significant correlation with n-octanol/water partition coefficient. Hence, reversed phase chromatography may provide relevant information about the compounds' property. Elaboration of biomimetic stationary phases provides better insight into biological partition processes. Nowadays, there is an urgent need for both precise and quick procedures for quantification of molecular lipophilicity.
Topics: Animals; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Chromatography, Reverse-Phase; Drug Design; Humans; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; Lipids; Models, Chemical; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Pharmacokinetics; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; Solvents; Water
PubMed: 23610954
DOI: No ID Found