Private purpose trusts: a reform proposal

Argues for the introduction of statutory reform to enable valid private purpose trusts to be created by those wishing to make testamentary gifts for non-charitable purposes, with no human beneficiary. Examines the rationale employed in cases where the validity of a private purpose trust has been upheld despite the absence of a human beneficiary. Considers the approaches adopted by five offshore jurisdictions when introducing purpose trust legislation. Identifies key features to be included in any new purpose trust legislation introduced in the UK.

Characterization of chitin–metal silicates as binding superdisintegrants

When chitin is used in pharmaceutical formulations, processing of chitin with metal silicates is advantageous, from both an industrial and pharmaceutical perspective, compared to processing using silicon dioxide. Unlike the use of acidic and basic reagents for the industrial preparation of chitin-silica particles, coprecipitation of metal silicates is dependent upon a simple replacement reaction between sodium silicate and metal chlorides. When coprecipitated onto chitin particles, aluminum, magnesium, or calcium silicates result in nonhygroscopic, highly compactable/disintegrable compacts. Disintegration and hardness parameters for coprocessed chitin compacts were investigated and found to be independent of the particle size. Capillary action appears to be the major contributor to both water uptake and the driving force for disintegration of compacts. The good compaction and compression properties shown by the chitin-metal silicates were found to be strongly dependent upon the type of metal silicate coprecipitated onto chitin. In addition, the inherent binding and disintegration abilities of chitin-metal silicates are useful in pharmaceutical applications when poorly compressible and/or highly nonpolar drugs need to be formulated. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 98:4887-4901, 2009.