Thermal analysis of prednicarbate and characterization of thermal decomposition product

In the present work, the thermal behavior of prednicarbate was studied using DSC and TG/DTG. The solid product remaining at the first decomposition step of the drug was isolated by TG, in air and N(2) atmospheres and was characterized using LC-MS/MS, NMR, and IR spectroscopy. It was found that the product at the first thermal decomposition step of prednicarbate corresponds to the elimination of the carbonate group bonding to C(17), and a consequent formation of double bond between C(17) and C(16). Structure elucidation of this degradation product by spectral data has been discussed in detail.

Thermal analysis and compatibility studies of prednicarbate with excipients used in semi solid pharmaceutical form

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry/derivative thermogravimetry (TG/DTG) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) techniques were used to investigate the compatibility between prednicarbate and several excipients commonly used in semi solid pharmaceutical form. The thermoanalytical studies of 1:1 (m/m) drug/excipient physical mixtures showed that the beginning of the first thermal decomposition stage of the prednicarbate (T (onset) value) was decreased in the presence of stearyl alcohol and glyceryl stearate compared to the drug alone. For the binary mixture of drug/sodium pirrolidone carboxilate the first thermal decomposition stage was not changed, however the DTG peak temperature (T (peak DTG)) decreased. The comparison of the IR spectra of the drug, the physical mixtures and of the thermally treated samples confirmed the thermal decomposition of prednicarbate. By the comparison of the thermal profiles of 1:1 prednicarbate:excipients mixtures (methylparaben, propylparaben, carbomer 940, acrylate crosspolymer, lactic acid, light liquid paraffin, isopropyl palmitate, myristyl lactate and cetyl alcohol) no interaction was observed.

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND THERMAL ANALYSIS OF 1:1 AND 2:3 LANTHANIDE(III) CITRATES

The synthesis and characterization of lanthanide(III) citrates with stoichiometries 1:1 and 2:3; [LnL center dot xH(2)O] and [Ln(2)(LH)(3)center dot 2H(2)O], Ln=La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm and Eu are reported. L stands for (C6O7H5)(3-) and LH for (C6O7H6)(2-). Infrared absorption spectra of both series evidence coordination of carboxylate groups through symmetric bridges or chelation. X-ray powder patterns show the amorphous character of [LnL center dot xH(2)O]. The compounds [Ln(2)LH(3)center dot 2H(2)O] are crystalline and isomorphous. Emission spectra of Eu compounds suggest C-2v symmetry for the coordination polyhedron of [LnL center dot xH(2)O] and C-4v for [Ln(2)(LH)(3)center dot 2H(2)O]. Thermal analyses (TG-DTG-DTA) were carried out for both series. The thermal analysis patterns of the two series are quite different and both fit in a 4-step model of thermal decomposition, with lanthanide oxides as final products.

Thermal analysis of biodegradable microparticles containing ciprofloxacin hydrochloride obtained by spray drying technique

Thermal analysis has been extensively used to obtain information about drug-polymer interactions and to perform pre-formulation studies of pharmaceutical dosage forms. In this work, biodegradable microparticles of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) containing ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CP) in various drug:polymer ratios were obtained by spray drying. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the spray drying process on the drug-polymer interactions and on the stability of microparticles using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The results showed that the high levels of encapsulation efficiency were dependant on drug:polymer ratio. DSC and TG/DTG analyses showed that for physical mixtures of the microparticles components the thermal profiles were different from those signals obtained with the pure substances. Thermal analysis data disclosed that physical interaction between CP and PLGA in high temperatures had occurred. The DSC and TG profiles for drug-loaded microparticles were very similar to the physical mixtures of components and it was possible to characterize the thermal properties of microparticles according to drug content. These data indicated that the spray dryer technique does not affect the physicochemical properties of the microparticles. In addition, the results are in agreement with IR data analysis demonstrating that no significant chemical interaction occurs between CP and PLGA in both physical mixtures and microparticles. In conclusion, we have found that the spray drying procedure used in this work can be a secure methodology to produce CP-loaded microparticles. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Probing the dependence of the properties of cellulose acetates and their films on the degree of biopolymer substitution: use of solvatochromic indicators and thermal analysis

Although cellulose acetates, CAs, are extensively employed there is scant information about the systematic dependence of their properties on their degree of substitution, DS; this is the subject of the present work. Nine CAs samples, DS from 0.83 to 3.0 were synthesized; their films were prepared. The following solvatochromic probes have been employed in order to determine the empirical polarity, E (T)(33); ""acidity, alpha""; ""basicity, beta"", and ""dipolarity/polarizability, pi*"" of the casted films: 2,6-dichloro-4-(2,4,6-triphenyl-pyridinium-1-yl) phenolate, WB; 4-nitroaniline; 4-nitroanisole; 4-nitro-N,N-dimethylaniline; 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenyl-pyridinium-1-yl)phenolate, RB. Additionally, two systems, ethanol plus ethyl acetate (EtOH-EtAc), and cellulose plus cellulose triacetate, CTA, were employed as models for CAs of different DS. Regarding the model systems, the following was observed: (i) For EtOH-EtAc, the dependence of all solvatochromic parameters on the ""equivalent-DS"" of the binary mixture was non-linear because of preferential solvation; (ii) The dependence of E (T)(33) on equivalent DS of the cellulose-CTA films is linear, but the slope is smaller than that of the corresponding plot for CAs. This is attributed to the more efficient hydrogen bonding in the model system, a conclusion corroborated by IR measurements. The dependence of solvatochromic parameters of CAs on their DS is described by the simple equations; a consequence of the substitution of the OH by the ester group. The thermal properties of bulk CAs samples were investigated by DSC and TGA; their dependence on DS is described by simple equations. The relevance of these data to the processing and applications of CAs is briefly discussed.

Load Adapted Solar Thermal Combisystems - Optical Analysis and Systems Optimization

In a northern European climate a typical solar combisystem for a single family house normally saves between 10 and 30 % of the auxiliary energy needed for space heating and domestic water heating. It is considered uneconomical to dimension systems for higher energy savings. Overheating problems may also occur. One way of avoiding these problems is to use a collector that is designed so that it has a low optical efficiency in summer, when the solar elevation is high and the load is small, and a high optical efficiency in early spring and late fall when the solar elevation is low and the load is large.The study investigates the possibilities to design the system and, in particular, the collector optics, in order to match the system performance with the yearly variations of the heating load and the solar irradiation. It seems possible to design practically viable load adapted collectors, and to use them for whole roofs ( 40 m2) without causing more overheating stress on the system than with a standard 10 m2 system. The load adapted collectors collect roughly as much energy per unit area as flat plate collectors, but they may be produced at a lower cost due to lower material costs. There is an additional potential for a cost reduction since it is possible to design the load adapted collector for low stagnation temperatures making it possible to use less expensive materials. One and the same collector design is suitable for a wide range of system sizes and roof inclinations. The report contains descriptions of optimized collector designs, properties of realistic collectors, and results of calculations of system output, stagnation performance and cost performance. Appropriate computer tools for optical analysis, optimization of collectors in systems and a very fast simulation model have been developed.

Thermal analysis of chitosan based networks

In this work two kinds of material were studied: chitosan cross-linked with glutaraldehyde and in a blend with PEO. The resulting products as well as chitosan and PEO raw materials, were analyzed by TG/DTG, DSC and DMTA to determinate the in?uence of cross-linking and PEO addition on thermal properties of the resulting materials. It was observed by thermogravimetry that the water-polymer interaction will be different for the cross-linked material compared to the blend, according to the specific site availability. The in?uence of such modifications (cross-linking and PEO addition), on chitosan thermal stability was also studied. The DSC results showed a good agreement with the TG/DTG results, reinforcing the interpretation given for TG/DTG results. DMTA results indicate that glass transition temperature is around 50 degrees C for the polymer under study. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal analysis of biodegradable microparticles containing ciprofloxacin hydrochloride obtained by spray drying technique

Thermal analysis has been extensively used to obtain information about drug-polymer interactions and to perform pre-formulation studies of pharmaceutical dosage forms. In this work, biodegradable microparticles of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) containing ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CP) in various drug:polymer ratios were obtained by spray drying. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the spray drying process on the drug-polymer interactions and on the stability of microparticles using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The results showed that the high levels of encapsulation efficiency were dependant on drug:polymer ratio. DSC and TG/DTG analyses showed that for physical mixtures of the microparticles components the thermal profiles were different from those signals obtained with the pure substances. Thermal analysis data disclosed that physical interaction between CP and PLGA in high temperatures had occurred. The DSC and TG profiles for drug-loaded microparticles were very similar to the physical mixtures of components and it was possible to characterize the thermal properties of microparticles according to drug content. These data indicated that the spray dryer technique does not affect the physicochemical properties of the microparticles. In addition, the results are in agreement with IR data analysis demonstrating that no significant chemical interaction occurs between CP and PLGA in both physical mixtures and microparticles. In conclusion, we have found that the spray drying procedure used in this work can be a secure methodology to produce CP-loaded microparticles. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal analysis as a screening technique for the characterization of babassu flour and its solid fractions after acid and enzymatic hydrolysis

The babassu (Orbignya phalerata) is a native tree found in northern Brazil. Extracts of the babassu coconut have been widely used in industry. Babassu flour has about 60% starch, thus, besides nourishment it can be used as an alternative biofuel source. However, the properties of this starch lack of study and understanding. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the thermal behavior of raw babassu flour and its solid hydrolyzed fraction. The analyses were carried out using SHIMADZU DSC and TG thermic analyzers. The results demonstrated a reduction in thermal stability of the solid hydrolyzed fraction compared to raw matter. The kinetic parameters were investigated using non-isothermal methods and the parameters obtained for its decomposition process were an E(a) of 166.86 kJ mol(-1) and a frequency factor (beta) of 6.283 x 1014 min(-1); this was determined to be a first order reaction (n = 1). (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal analysis of an enriched flame incinerator for aqueous residues

The use of oxygen to enrich the combustion air can be an attractive technique to increase capacity of an incinerator originally designed to operate with air, If incinerator parameters such as operation temperature, turbulence level and residence time are fixed for a certain fuel supply rate, it is possible to increase the residue consumption rate using enriched air. This paper presents the thermal analysis for operation with enriched air of an aqueous residue experimental incinerator. The auxiliary fuel was diesel oil. The theoretical results showed that there is a considerable increase in the incineration ratio up to approximately 50% of O-2 in the oxidiser. The tendency was confirmed experimentally. Thermal analysis was demonstrated to be an important tool to predict possible incinerator capacity increase. (C) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Transient stability analysis of electric energy systems via a fuzzy ART-ARTMAP neural network

This work presents a methodology to analyze transient stability (first oscillation) of electric energy systems, using a neural network based on ART architecture (adaptive resonance theory), named fuzzy ART-ARTMAP neural network for real time applications. The security margin is used as a stability analysis criterion, considering three-phase short circuit faults with a transmission line outage. The neural network operation consists of two fundamental phases: the training and the analysis. The training phase needs a great quantity of processing for the realization, while the analysis phase is effectuated almost without computation effort. This is, therefore the principal purpose to use neural networks for solving complex problems that need fast solutions, as the applications in real time. The ART neural networks have as primordial characteristics the plasticity and the stability, which are essential qualities to the training execution and to an efficient analysis. The fuzzy ART-ARTMAP neural network is proposed seeking a superior performance, in terms of precision and speed, when compared to conventional ARTMAP, and much more when compared to the neural networks that use the training by backpropagation algorithm, which is a benchmark in neural network area. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity analysis by neural networks applied to power systems transient stability

This work presents a procedure for transient stability analysis and preventive control of electric power systems, which is formulated by a multilayer feedforward neural network. The neural network training is realized by using the back-propagation algorithm with fuzzy controller and adaptation of the inclination and translation parameters of the nonlinear function. These procedures provide a faster convergence and more precise results, if compared to the traditional back-propagation algorithm. The adaptation of the training rate is effectuated by using the information of the global error and global error variation. After finishing the training, the neural network is capable of estimating the security margin and the sensitivity analysis. Considering this information, it is possible to develop a method for the realization of the security correction (preventive control) for levels considered appropriate to the system, based on generation reallocation and load shedding. An application for a multimachine power system is presented to illustrate the proposed methodology. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative Analysis of Objective Distortion Measures for Speech Signals Degraded by Noise

Speech signals degraded by additive noise can affects different applications in telecommunication. The noise may degrades the intelligibility of the speech signals and its waveforms as well. In some applications such as speech coding, both intelligibility and waveform quality are important but only intelligibility has been focused lastly. So, modern speech quality measurement techniques such as PESQ (Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality) have been used and classical distortion measurement techniques such as Cepstral Distance are becoming unused. In this paper it is shown that some classical distortion measures are still important in applications where speech corrupted by additive noise has to be evaluated.

Sensitivity analysis for transient stability studies

The paper presents a method for security control of electric power systems effected by generation reallocation, determined by sensitivity analysis and optimisation. The model is developed considering the dynamic aspects of the network (transient stability). Security control methodology is developed using sensitivity analysis of the security margin in relation to the mechanical power of synchronous machines in the system. The power reallocated to each machine is determined by means of linear programming. To illustrate the proposed methodology, an example is presented which considers a multimachine system composed of 10 synchronous machines, 45 buses, and 72 transmission lines, based on the configuration of a southern Brazilian system.

Neural network based on adaptive resonance theory with continuous training for multi-configuration transient stability analysis of electric power systems

This work presents a methodology to analyze electric power systems transient stability for first swing using a neural network based on adaptive resonance theory (ART) architecture, called Euclidean ARTMAP neural network. The ART architectures present plasticity and stability characteristics, which are very important for the training and to execute the analysis in a fast way. The Euclidean ARTMAP version provides more accurate and faster solutions, when compared to the fuzzy ARTMAP configuration. Three steps are necessary for the network working, training, analysis and continuous training. The training step requires much effort (processing) while the analysis is effectuated almost without computational effort. The proposed network allows approaching several topologies of the electric system at the same time; therefore it is an alternative for real time transient stability of electric power systems. To illustrate the proposed neural network an application is presented for a multi-machine electric power systems composed of 10 synchronous machines, 45 buses and 73 transmission lines. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.