title: Fatty acid microemulsion for the treatment of neonatal conjunctivitis: quantification, characterisation and evaluation of antimicrobial activity.
abstract: Fatty acids (FAs) are used by many organisms as defence mechanism against virulent bacteria. The high safety profile and broad spectrum of activity make them potential alternatives to currently used topical antibiotics for the treatment of eye infections in neonates. The current study utilised a Design of Experiment approach to optimise the quantification of five fatty acids namely; lauric acid, tridecanoic acid, myristoleic acid, palmitoleic acid and α-linolenic acid. The significance of the influence of the experimental parameters such as volume of catalyst, volume of n-hexane, incubation temperature, incubation time and the number of extraction steps on derivatisation was established by statistical screening with a factorial approach. Derivatisation was confirmed using attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR) and 1H NMR spectrum. A gas chromatographic method (GC-FID) was developed and validated according to ICH guidelines for the identification and quantification of fatty acids. The results were found to be linear over the concentration range studied with coefficient of variation greater than 0.99 and high recovery values and low intra-day and inter-day variation values for all FAs. Then, different α-linolenic acid-based microemulsions (MEs) were prepared using Tween 80 as surfactant, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) as co surfactant and water as aqueous phase. The developed GC method was used to quantify the FA content in ME formulations. The results indicated that the developed GC method is very effective to quantify the FA content in the ME formulations. The antimicrobial efficacy of FA-based MEs were tested against Staphylococcus aureus. It was concluded that the FA-based MEs have strong antimicrobial effect against S. aureus.
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery, Delivery and Patient Care (DDDPC) Theme, School of Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University London, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK.
authors.forename: Ummara
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Butt
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery, Delivery and Patient Care (DDDPC) Theme, School of Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University London, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK. a.elshaer@kingston.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Amr
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: ElShaer
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 2EE, UK.
authors.forename: Lori A S
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery, Delivery and Patient Care (DDDPC) Theme, School of Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University London, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK.
authors.forename: Athina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaidemenou
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery, Delivery and Patient Care (DDDPC) Theme, School of Pharmacy and Chemistry, Kingston University London, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK.|School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Raid G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Alany
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D001880:Boranes / Q000737:chemistry; D002712:Chlorides / Q000737:chemistry; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000188:drug therapy; D004655:Emulsions; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D011136:Polysorbates / Q000737:chemistry; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001880:Boranes; D002712:Chlorides; D004655:Emulsions; D005227:Fatty Acids; D011136:Polysorbates; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C000595213:polyethylene glycol 400; C092267:boron trichloride; D000432:Methanol
keywords: Design of experiment (DoE); FAME preparation; Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME); Fatty acids; GC-FID; Gas chromatography; Method development; Validation characteristics