Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Computing and Engineering and Dept. of Chemistry. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2006. / "A dissertation in engineering and chemistry." Advisor: Bryan R. Becker. Typescript. Vita. Description based on contents viewed Jan. 26, 2007; title from "catalog record" of the print edition. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-130). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2002. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Objective: Medication safety is always having great concern in healthcare. Giving oral medication through enteral feeding tubes is not uncommon and is a well-known area that prone to error happening. These errors may lead to inadequate treatment or adverse drug reaction resulting in unnecessary health care cost and wastage of public health resources. This systematic review aims to identify contributing factors on medication errors associated with administration of oral medication via enteral feeding tubes. With better understanding of the factors, improvement measures applicable to Hong Kong situations will be suggested. Methods: Pubmed, Medline and Embase databases were searched up to February 2014 by using relevant keywords. Prospective studies with researcher analyzing the drug administration process to observe the occurrence of errors and evaluate the contributing factors and case reports on medical error with review of the place of errors and their potential root causes were considered to be potential relevant literature. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included and evaluated in this review. Studies were excluded based on the exclusion criteria. Results and Discussion: An initial search of medical literature by searching engines identified 682 references. After appraisal for inclusion, 11 of them were included in this systematic review. For the findings, lack of knowledge, lack of the presence or the awareness of protocol, environmental factors, inter-disciplinary communication among healthcare professionals and the ability of inadvertent connection of both IV catheter and enteral feeding system had been identified to be key contributing factors to drug administration error. Taken account with the findings, measures to improve the existing local practice through educational reinforcement, establishing guideline and inter-disciplinary communication were suggested. Conclusion: With consideration of the local situation in Hong Kong and the findings identified in this review, suggestions of improvement measures on different aspects have been made in this review. Involvement of government policy, institutional management and the collaboration of multi-disciplinary healthcare professional are essential for the success of these improvement measures. Besides, this review also revealed the lack of research on medication safety issue concerning feeding tube, further research in this area is required. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2007. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. / Committee Chair: Prausnitz, Mark R.; Committee Member: Allen, Mark; Committee Member: Edelhauser, Henry; Committee Member: Geroski, Dayle; Committee Member: Nickerson, John; Committee Member: Sambanis, Athanassios.

Purpose: This thesis aimed to gain a better understanding of the effects of salts in modifying in vitro phase behaviour of lecithin and cholesterol solid implants and to obtain further information on in vitro protein release and stability. Methods: Raman spectroscopy and partial least squares regression (PLSR) were used to investigate lecithin-cholesterol molecular interactions as a function of method of preparation. Lipid-salt interactions were studied by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy using principal component analysis (PCA). In vitro release of bovine serum albumin (BSA), a model protein, from lecithin and lecithin:cholesterol implants comprising 10 and 30% NaCl and CaCl₂ were performed. Size exclusion (SE) HPLC was used for quantitative and qualitative analysis of the released BSA. On hydration, changes in phase behaviour and implant morphology were studied by ATR spectroscopy and light microscopy. SE-HPLC, ATR and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to evaluate the structure of unreleased BSA. Protein adsorption on lipid films was studied by flow through ATR spectroscopy. Increased amide II peak area upon recirculation of BSA in salt solutions over hydrated lecithin and lecithin:cholesterol films cast on ZnSe prisms was used to quantify the deposition of BSA onto the lipid surfaces. Results: Shifts in the Raman spectra suggested the lecithin headgroup may be involved in lecithin-cholesterol interactions. Greater R� and root mean square error of cross validation in the calibration curves of physical mixing and heating (120�C) methods reflected poor mixing in these preparations. The mean absolute residue and mean Mahalanobis distance values from the physical mixing and granulation methods indicated their spectral similarity and comparable level of lecithin-cholesterol interactions. Calcium exhibited stronger affinity for phospholipids than sodium and it induced headgroup hydration and reorganisation upon binding. PCA of ATR spectra was sensitive to cholesterol addition, calcium binding and method of preparation whilst PCA of Raman spectra only differentiated the presence of cholesterol. In vitro release of BSA from implants produced from wet granulation mixtures of lecithin and lecithin:cholesterol in the absence of salt showed retention of a high monomer content and the release profiles were similar to the literature. Cholesterol increased the swelling, induced phase transformation of lecithin and, subsequently, reduced the BSA release. Salts only slightly modified the BSA release from the lecithin implants. In contrast, for lecithin:cholesterol matrices salts greatly enhanced implant swelling, induced the formation of hydrated lecithin of heterogeneous size and inhibited the in vitro BSA release. Analyses of the protein showed increased aggregation of BSA with a high retention of native structure while retained within the swollen matrices. ATR spectra suggested that salts promoted protein adsorption onto hydrated lecithin surfaces and the effects depend on salt types (NaCl > CaCl₂) and concentration (0.1 M > 1.0 M) but not on lecithin:cholesterol surfaces. Conclusion: PLSR and PCA can be used to investigate molecular interactions in the solid lipid matrices. In lecithin:cholesterol implants, salts modified the phase behaviour of lecithin which resulted in enhanced swelling, formation of hydrated lecithin of altered morphology and inhibition of in vitro BSA release.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, 2008. / "August, 2008." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 12/9/2009) Advisor, Stephanie T. Lopina; Committee members, Amy Milsted, Daniel B. Sheffer, Daniel Ely; Department Chair, Daniel B. Sheffer; Dean of the College, George K. Haritos; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Controlled drug delivery devices provide numerous advantages such as reduced side effects, higher therapeutic efficiency and improved patient compliance. Biodegradable polymer has become the most important material for controlled drug delivery device because of the excellent biocompatibility and tunable physicochemical properties. Biodegradable polymeric drug delivery devices are usually processed into various types of micro-particles due to the ease of fabrication and administration. However, controlling the drug release kinetics of these microparticles is still a challenge. One important reason is that drug release kinetics is significantly influenced by the microstructure of drug delivery devices, which is difficult to control. 　Microfluidic method is a group of technologies involved in the manipulation of fluids using channels in the scale of micrometers. Microfluidic method is particularly useful in controlling the structure of micro-droplets and generating homogeneous droplets. Therefore, microfluidics suggests great potential in controlling microstructures of drug delivery devices and drug release kinetics. 　In this study, biodegradable polymer based controlled drug delivery devices were fabricated using microfluidic method. Various types of microstructures were developed such as microspheres, core-shell microspheres, hollow microspheres and hydrogel microspheres. The results showed that microstructures were well controlled by fluid flow rates and geometries of capillary microfluidic devices. Both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs could be delivered by choosing drug delivery devices with suitable microstructures. 　Drug release kinetics of biodegradable polymeric microspheres has been studies a lot, yet complete understanding is still to be achieved. The diameter is an important factor which contributes to the drug release kinetics. However, the influence of diameter has not been systemically studied because monodisperse microspheres are difficult to obtain. Using microfluidic method, monodisperse PLGA microspheres with different diameters were fabricated to study the influence of diameter on drug release kinetics. It was found that diameter only influence the duration of the first phase (lag phase) in drug release process and smaller microspheres exhibited shorter lag phase. The relatively faster expansion of smaller microspheres was found to be responsible for the size effect by monitoring physicochemical changes during drug release. 　Rifampicin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, was encapsulated by PLGA microspheres and PLGA-alginate core-shell microspheres. The long-term antimicrobial effects of drug loaded microspheres were investigated by drug release test and antimicrobial test against Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that drug delivery devices could provide antimicrobial effect for more than one month. These drug delivery devices show potential in applications of controlled drug delivery and long-term antimicrobial therapy. 　In conclusion, drug delivery devices with different microstructures were fabricated using microfluidic method. The diameter of PLGA microspheres only influence the first phase of drug release profile (lag phase) and smaller microspheres exhibited shorter lag phase. The size effect is due to the relatively faster expansion rate of smaller microspheres. Rifampicin loaded PLGA microspheres and PLGA-alginate core-shell microspheres could provide sustained release of rifampicin for more than one month. The released rifampicin was able to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. The controlled drug delivery devices presented showed great potential in long-term antimicrobial applications. / published_or_final_version / Orthopaedics and Traumatology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Purpose: This thesis aimed to gain a better understanding of the effects of salts in modifying in vitro phase behaviour of lecithin and cholesterol solid implants and to obtain further information on in vitro protein release and stability. Methods: Raman spectroscopy and partial least squares regression (PLSR) were used to investigate lecithin-cholesterol molecular interactions as a function of method of preparation. Lipid-salt interactions were studied by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy using principal component analysis (PCA). In vitro release of bovine serum albumin (BSA), a model protein, from lecithin and lecithin:cholesterol implants comprising 10 and 30% NaCl and CaCl₂ were performed. Size exclusion (SE) HPLC was used for quantitative and qualitative analysis of the released BSA. On hydration, changes in phase behaviour and implant morphology were studied by ATR spectroscopy and light microscopy. SE-HPLC, ATR and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to evaluate the structure of unreleased BSA. Protein adsorption on lipid films was studied by flow through ATR spectroscopy. Increased amide II peak area upon recirculation of BSA in salt solutions over hydrated lecithin and lecithin:cholesterol films cast on ZnSe prisms was used to quantify the deposition of BSA onto the lipid surfaces. Results: Shifts in the Raman spectra suggested the lecithin headgroup may be involved in lecithin-cholesterol interactions. Greater R� and root mean square error of cross validation in the calibration curves of physical mixing and heating (120�C) methods reflected poor mixing in these preparations. The mean absolute residue and mean Mahalanobis distance values from the physical mixing and granulation methods indicated their spectral similarity and comparable level of lecithin-cholesterol interactions. Calcium exhibited stronger affinity for phospholipids than sodium and it induced headgroup hydration and reorganisation upon binding. PCA of ATR spectra was sensitive to cholesterol addition, calcium binding and method of preparation whilst PCA of Raman spectra only differentiated the presence of cholesterol. In vitro release of BSA from implants produced from wet granulation mixtures of lecithin and lecithin:cholesterol in the absence of salt showed retention of a high monomer content and the release profiles were similar to the literature. Cholesterol increased the swelling, induced phase transformation of lecithin and, subsequently, reduced the BSA release. Salts only slightly modified the BSA release from the lecithin implants. In contrast, for lecithin:cholesterol matrices salts greatly enhanced implant swelling, induced the formation of hydrated lecithin of heterogeneous size and inhibited the in vitro BSA release. Analyses of the protein showed increased aggregation of BSA with a high retention of native structure while retained within the swollen matrices. ATR spectra suggested that salts promoted protein adsorption onto hydrated lecithin surfaces and the effects depend on salt types (NaCl > CaCl₂) and concentration (0.1 M > 1.0 M) but not on lecithin:cholesterol surfaces. Conclusion: PLSR and PCA can be used to investigate molecular interactions in the solid lipid matrices. In lecithin:cholesterol implants, salts modified the phase behaviour of lecithin which resulted in enhanced swelling, formation of hydrated lecithin of altered morphology and inhibition of in vitro BSA release.