O cloridrato de ranitidina, um antagonista dos receptores H2 da histamina, foi determinado em comprimidos e injetáveis por espectrofotometria no ultravioleta, a 313nm, e por espectrofotometria no visível, a 615nm, utilizando o cloridrato da hidrazona da 3-metil-2-benzotiazolinona (MBTH) a 0,35% em HCl 0,M e cloreto férrico a 0,40% em HCl 0,1M, como reagentes de cor. Na espectrofotometria no ultravioleta a lei de Beer foi obedecida no intervalo de concentração de 5,0 a 18,0 µg/mL. Quatro amostras comerciais foram analisadas. Os coeficientes de variação foram 0,36% e 0,71% para comprimidos, e 0,51% e 0,24% para injetáveis. A média de recuperação foi 99,88%. Na espectrofotometria no visível a lei de Beer foi obedecida no intervalo de concentração de 1,44 a 5,76 µg/mL. Os coeficientes de variação foram 0,72% e 0,59% para comprimidos, e 0,53% e 0,61% para injetáveis. A média de recuperação foi 99,39%. Os resultados foram comparados estatisticamente e foram compatíveis para as amostras que se encontravam em bom estado de conservação. / Ranitidine hydrochloride, a histamine H2-receptor antagonist, was determined in tablets and injections by ultraviolet spectrophotometry at 313nm , and visible spectrophotometry using as color reagent 0,35% 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrochloride in HCl 0,1M and 0,40% ferric chloride in HCl 0,1M. In ultraviolet spectrophotometry, Beer\'s law was obeyed in the range of concentration from 5,0 to 18,0 µg/mL. Four commercially available were analyzed. The coefficients of variation were 0,36% and 0,71% for tablets, and 0,51% and 0,24% for injections. The recovery average was 99,88%. In visible spectrophotometry, Beer\'s law was obeyed in the range of concentration from 1,44 to 5,76 µg/mL. The coefficients of variation were 0,72% and 0,59% for tablets, and 0,53% and 0,61% for injections. The recovery average was 99,39%. The results obtained by using the two methods were statistically compared and were compatible when samples were kept in good conditions of storage.

O cloridrato de ranitidina, um antagonista dos receptores H2 da histamina, foi determinado em comprimidos e injetáveis por espectrofotometria no ultravioleta, a 313nm, e por espectrofotometria no visível, a 615nm, utilizando o cloridrato da hidrazona da 3-metil-2-benzotiazolinona (MBTH) a 0,35% em HCl 0,M e cloreto férrico a 0,40% em HCl 0,1M, como reagentes de cor. Na espectrofotometria no ultravioleta a lei de Beer foi obedecida no intervalo de concentração de 5,0 a 18,0 µg/mL. Quatro amostras comerciais foram analisadas. Os coeficientes de variação foram 0,36% e 0,71% para comprimidos, e 0,51% e 0,24% para injetáveis. A média de recuperação foi 99,88%. Na espectrofotometria no visível a lei de Beer foi obedecida no intervalo de concentração de 1,44 a 5,76 µg/mL. Os coeficientes de variação foram 0,72% e 0,59% para comprimidos, e 0,53% e 0,61% para injetáveis. A média de recuperação foi 99,39%. Os resultados foram comparados estatisticamente e foram compatíveis para as amostras que se encontravam em bom estado de conservação. / Ranitidine hydrochloride, a histamine H2-receptor antagonist, was determined in tablets and injections by ultraviolet spectrophotometry at 313nm , and visible spectrophotometry using as color reagent 0,35% 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrochloride in HCl 0,1M and 0,40% ferric chloride in HCl 0,1M. In ultraviolet spectrophotometry, Beer\'s law was obeyed in the range of concentration from 5,0 to 18,0 µg/mL. Four commercially available were analyzed. The coefficients of variation were 0,36% and 0,71% for tablets, and 0,51% and 0,24% for injections. The recovery average was 99,88%. In visible spectrophotometry, Beer\'s law was obeyed in the range of concentration from 1,44 to 5,76 µg/mL. The coefficients of variation were 0,72% and 0,59% for tablets, and 0,53% and 0,61% for injections. The recovery average was 99,39%. The results obtained by using the two methods were statistically compared and were compatible when samples were kept in good conditions of storage.

In the last decade, prescription of anticonvulsants for treatment of low back pain (LBP) increased 4-fold. Among them, topiramate has frequent side effects and a mechanism of action that is not fully understood. The authors describe a 65-year-old woman with dependence on topiramate prescribed for chronic LBP and discuss how she was successfully weaned off topiramate using duloxetine. A significant agonistic effect by topiramate on α-2 adrenergic receptors in the brain likely accounts for the symptoms of withdrawal that were seen. We attribute the resolution of her topiramate withdrawal symptoms to reduced norepinephrine (NE) release, a known effect of duloxetine administration.

Le développement d’un médicament pour une cible thérapeutique donnée passe par plusieurs étapes qui se résument en une étape de criblage, une phase préclinique et plusieurs phases cliniques. Ces étapes permettent de sélectionner une substance active et de démontrer son efficacité thérapeutique et sa sécurité toxicologique. Ces deux critères définissent la qualité du médicament qui, une fois démontrée, doit être garantie pendant toute sa durée de validité. La qualité est évaluée au moyen d’études de stabilité qui sont réalisées d’abord sur la matière première de la substance active au cours de la phase de pré-développement du médicament, ensuite sur le produit fini. La stabilité intrinsèque de la substance active concerne à la fois ses propriétés chimiques et ses propriétés physiques qui sont liées à la nature de la substance. L’étude de stabilité repose d’abord sur la caractérisation de ces propriétés, et ensuite sur l’étude de la sensibilité de la substance à l’égard des facteurs environnementaux pouvant modifier les propriétés intrinsèques de la substance. L’approche adoptée dans ce travail repose d’une part sur l’évaluation de la stabilité chimique c’est à dire de la réactivité chimique des substances à usage pharmaceutique au travers des études de pureté chimique et des études de dégradation forcée de ces substances en solution, et d’autre part, sur l’évaluation de la stabilité physique. Dans ce cadre, l’étude du polymorphisme cristallin revêt une grande importance, tout comme l’aptitude à la formation d’hydrates ou de solvates. Cette étude, basée sur la thermodynamique, consiste pour l’essentiel à construire un diagramme de phases pression-température permettant de définir les domaines de stabilité relative des différentes formes cristallines. Cinq substances actives, existant à l’état solide et entrant dans la composition de médicaments administrés par voie orale, ont été étudiées dans le cadre de ce travail. L’analyse chimique du tienoxolol, présentant un effet anti-hypertenseur, a montré qu’il est très sensible à l’hydrolyse et à l’oxydation. Sept produits de dégradation ont été identifiés pour ce produit dont un schéma probable de fragmentation a été établi. Des diagrammes de phases pression-température ont été construits pour le bicalutamide et le finastéride, médicaments du cancer de prostate, en utilisant une approche topologique basée simplement sur les données disponibles dans la littérature. Cette étude a montré que la relation thermodynamique (énantiotropie ou monotropie) entre les formes cristallines sous conditions ordinaires peut être modifiée en fonction de la température et de la pression. Ce résultat est important pour la production des médicaments car il montre comment une telle information peut être obtenue par des mesures simples et accessibles aux laboratoires de recherche industrielle, sans que ces derniers soient contraints d’expérimenter sous pression. La méthode topologique de construction de diagramme de phases a été validée ensuite en la comparant à une méthode expérimentale consistant à suivre, par analyse thermique, des transitions de phases en fonction de la pression. La méthode expérimentale a été appliquée à deux composés, la benzocaine, anesthésique local, et le chlorhydrate de cystéamine, médicament utilisé pour les cystinoses. Les deux formes étudiées de benzocaine présentent une relation énantiotrope qui se transforme en relation monotrope à haute pression. Une nouvelle forme cristalline (forme III) du chlorhydrate de cystéamine a été découverte au cours de ce travail. La relation thermodynamique entre cette forme III et la forme I est énantiotrope dans tout le domaine de température et de pression. De plus, le chlorhydrate de cystéamine, classé hygroscopique, a fait l’objet d’une étude quantitative de sa sensibilité à l’eau, montrant qu’il devient déliquescent sans formation préalable d’hydrate (...) / The development of a drug for a given therapeutic target requires several steps, which can be summarized by drug screening, a preclinical phase and a number of clinical phases. These steps allow the selection of an active substance and a verification of its therapeutic efficacy and toxicological safety. The latter two criteria define the quality of the drug, which once demonstrated, must be guaranteed throughout its shelf life. Quality is assessed through stability studies that are carried out with the raw material of the active substance (preformulation phase) and with the final product. The intrinsic stability of the active substance depends on its chemical and physical properties and their characterization is the core of the stability studies, which in addition consists of sensitivity studies of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for environmental factors that can modify the intrinsic properties of the substance. The approach presented in this work is based on the one hand on the assessment of the chemical stability, i.e. the reactivity of APIs through chemical purity studies and forced degradation in solution, and on the other hand on the assessment of the physical stability. For the latter, crystalline polymorphism is of great importance, as is the ability of the API to form hydrates or solvates. The study of crystalline polymorphism is based on the construction of pressure-temperature phase diagrams in accordance with thermodynamic requirements leading to the stability condition domains of the different crystalline forms. The stability behavior of five APIs used or meant for oral applications has been studied as part of this work. The chemical analysis of tienoxolol, an antihypertensive drug, has demonstrated its sensitivity for hydrolysis and oxidation. Seven degradation products were identified and patterns of fragmentation have been established. Pressure-temperature phase diagrams have been constructed for bicalutamide and finasteride, drugs against prostate cancer, using a topological approach based on data available in the literature. The study demonstrates that the thermodynamic relationship (enantiotropy or monotropy) between crystalline forms under ordinary conditions can change depending on the pressure. This is important for drug development as it demonstrates how stability information can be obtained by standard laboratory measurements accessible to industrial research laboratories without the necessity to carry out experiments under pressure. The topological approach for the construction of phase diagrams has subsequently been validated by measuring transition temperatures as a function of pressure. Experiments have been carried out with benzocaine, a local anesthetic, and with cysteamine hydrochloride, a drug used against cystinosis. Two crystalline forms were observed in the case of benzocaine. They exhibit an enantiotropic relationship that becomes monotropic at high pressure. For cysteamine hydrochloride, a new crystalline form (form III) was discovered. The thermodynamic relationship between the new form III and the known form I is enantiotropic for the entire temperature and pressure range. Cysteamine hydrochloride’s sensitivity to water has been studied, as it is hygroscopic. It has been demonstrated that it becomes deliquescent in the presence of water and no trace of a hydrate has been found. Finally, a study combining thermal and chromatographic methods showed that, under the effect of temperature, cysteamine hydrochloride turns into cystamine in the solid as well as in the liquid state, The latter is known to be an important impurity of cysteamine hydrochloride. In conclusion, the approach developed in this work allowed to characterize the stability properties of a number of APIs and to determine the factors that may change these properties and influence the intrinsic stability (...)