title: On the Thermal Stability of the Diethylcarbamazine-Fortified Table Salt Used in the Control of Lymphatic Filariasis.
abstract: Diethylcarbamazine, administered as a water-soluble citrate salt, has been used for more than 50 years as the first-line drug in the treatment of lymphatic filariasis. Mass drug administration programs have been successful in reducing microfilaremia and providing important collateral deworming benefits. One of these initiatives is based on the addition of diethylcarbamazine citrate to table salt. The fortified salt retaining the efficacy of the drug in reducing microfilaremia, but there is little information about its behavior above room temperature. In this study, the thermal stability of diethylcarbamazine, as a free base and a citrate salt, was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry under different conditions. Diethylcarbamazine does not release hazardous degradation substances above its melting point. It was also confirmed that this drug is stable at normal cooking temperatures, even when dry heat cooking methods, such as baking or grilling, are considered. However, if the drug is formulated as a salt, as in the case of the citrate, special attention needs to be given to the degradation substances of the counter ion.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, C. P. 6030, Fortaleza, Ceará 60455-970, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sara B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Honorato
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, C.P. 369, São Carlos, São Paulo 13560-970, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cecília C P
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, C. P. 6030, Fortaleza, Ceará 60455-970, Brazil; Department of Pharmacy, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará 60430-370, Brazil.
authors.forename: Yara S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: FioCruz-Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto de Tecnologia em Fármacos-FarManguinhos, Rua Sizenando Nabuco, 100, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21041-250, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jorge S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Mendonça
authors.affiliation: FioCruz-Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto de Tecnologia em Fármacos-FarManguinhos, Rua Sizenando Nabuco, 100, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21041-250, Brazil.
authors.forename: Nubia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boechat
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, C.P. 369, São Carlos, São Paulo 13560-970, Brazil.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellena
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, C. P. 6030, Fortaleza, Ceará 60455-970, Brazil. Electronic address: ayala@fisica.ufc.br.
authors.forename: Alejandro P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ayala
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003296:Cooking; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004355:Drug Stability; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005369:Filaricides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D013818:Thermogravimetry
chemical_list: D005369:Filaricides; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine
keywords: Raman spectroscopy; infrared spectroscopy; salts/salt selection; solid state; thermal analysis