My thesis

In June 2007 I had finished my postgraduate program at School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology. Here is the abstract of my thesis:

ABSTRACT

ACYCLOVIR FLOATING TABLET:
FORMULATION AND IN VITRO EVALUATION

MARWATI
NIM: 20705001


Acyclovir is an antiviral agent widely used for the treatment of herpes simplex and varizella zoster. It is soluble only at acidic pH (pKa 2,27) and has a limited absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Acyclovir is absorbed only in the upper part of the small intestine (duodenum and jejunum). Its elimination half life is about 2.9 hours and its oral bioavailability is low, 20% in average. Due to those behavior the recommended oral dosage of acyclovir immediate release is 200 or 400 mg every 5-6 hours.

The floating gastroretentive drug delivery system can be retained in the stomach and assists in improving delivery of drugs that have a limited absorption in the gastrointestinal regions. This system helps in continuously releasing drugs before it reaches the absorption region, over prolonged time period. Thus it will increase the oral bioavailability and decrease the dosage frequency. The aim of this study was to develop a floating, gastroretentive tablet of acyclovir.

The acyclovir floating tablet was made using wet granulation method. Three kinds of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) K-grade namely K4M, K15M and K100M alone or in combination was used as controlled release and floating agent, while sodium bicarbonate was incorporated as gas-generating agent to minimize the floating lag time.

The floating tablet was evaluated for floating behavior and in vitro dissolution profile. The floating behavior was carried out in 50 ml of 0.1 N hydrochloric acid. The in vitro dissolution was carried according to USP 28 requirement for acyclovir immediate release tablet, for 12 hours.

All formulation tested possessed floating lag time less than one minute and remained
floatable throughout the dissolution studies. The best formulation was chosen based on the highest value of similarity factor (f2) compared to acyclovir zero order release profile and the highest value of cummulative percentage of acyclovir released after 12 hours. The linearity of dissolution profile was also be considered. The best formulation obtained from this research contained 400 mg acyclovir, 60 mg HPMC K4M, 50 mg sodium bicarbonate, 2% w/w talc and 0.5% w/w magnesium stearate in each tablet. This formulation released 85,35 (+/-) 0,62 % of acyclovir in 12 hours, while the floating lag time was less than one minute and the tablet remained floatable throughout the dissolution studies. The release kinetics of acyclovir from the floating system formulated in this study close to the Hixson-Crowel Model.

Keywords: acyclovir, floating tablet, in vitro dissolution

When the End’s Come

It was in November 2007. My daughter, Lia, (after having dinner) was studying in her room when her handphone rang. I could’t hear clearly what she was talking about with her friend. I just found she was very sad after that. ‘Mommy, this afternoon, I and Wisnu sat side by side at the course class, he still talked about manything. But this time (about 9 pm) he just laid there, in his house, breathless. He got accident this evening, his motorcycle was hit by a truck, he passed away at about 7 pm…’. Wisnu, was her schoolmate, I never saw him before. Bad and sad news often made me speechless for a while, and sometimes shocked me too. The news Lia told me made me sad too. 17 years old boy seemed too young to die. Just like my children, Wisnu set up to school early in the morning. All of the day my children had activities out there, we couldn’t guard them all day long. In the evening, my children one by one came home. When the it began to dark I phoned them to check their position. When they all had come home, I felt complete. I was not Wisnu’s mother but I could feel the very lost feeling that his mother felt right now. Just like me, she might be say good bye to his son at the fence in the morning, but in the evening only his breathless body came. I was too scare to imagine the situation. After speechless for a moment, I said to Lia ’See honey, once again, when the end will come is always a mystery for us. We do believe there is a life after death, at that time all of we have to represent the journey of life we had, and God will score us. So, always do good things and never forget God who always keep us in his arms. Go sholat now, say thanks He still give us chances to prepare our after death future life, and pray that He will be merciful to Wisnu too’. It’s almost a year later, as I write this I pray that Wisnu’s mother have more strength to continue her life without her loving son, Wisnu.

The Power of Pray

I do believe in the power of pray. When I was about 20-21, I adored a cute, smart boy in my campuss. We were not in the same program, but we often meet in many activities in campuss. For 3 years I declared him as my idol (read :in Indonesian as #gébétan’#). 3 years passed, I began to be tired with this relationship. I adored him so much but he treated me as a junior or just a friend, When I told my sister about this, she advised me to do ‘shalat istikharah’ that was to pray and ask God to lead me to a best choice. I did ‘shalat istikharah’ for a week. A few days after that, my idol treated me nicer, and we become closer. But that only happened a week. The next week he seemed to be lost in the very bottom of the earth. Surprisingly I accidentally met Herlan (my husband to be, was my school friend in junior and high school and also in the same campuss at ITB) in many occasions. We had many good times together. One day I had to buy book at Palasari, and I need a friend to accompany me. One second after that Herlan came over and escorted me to Palasari. Another day in Jakarta I was afraid to return alone to Bandung by the last train (at 7pm), but at the last minutes before the train set up, there he came, surprised to see me at Gambir train station. He had visited his sister and wanted to return to Bandung by the last train too. He accompanied and escorted me to my rent house. In many occasions he seemed to be my savior. At that moment I thought that God didn’t answer my pray for I missed my idol. And still I don’t realize that He was sending me the best choice I asked. When I and Herlan became closer and started to plan our life together, I do realized that God answer my pray. Do you believe in the power of pray?

My Daughter in Love

This story happened in 2001. My daughter Lia was 11, and his brother, Akbar, was 8. One noon, we were having lunch.
Lia : Bar, what will you do if you meet the girl you like so much?
Akbar: Nothing…
Lia : Nothing?
Akbar: Yeaa nothing, maybe look at her, that’s all
Lia : My god, look at her? I just can’t do that. Every time I meet the boy
I like so much, I can’t face him…
Akbar: Why not?
Lia : I just can’t.
Akbar: Does he make you scare?
Lia : No, not like that
Akbar: So why? If you can’t, so don’t face him
Lia : I want to face him but….
Akbar: I don’t understand you, mommy do you understand her?
Mommy:…(speechless, but smiled….)….

Lebaran Angpaw

Lebaran had always been a wonderful moment for me since I was a kid. So many kinds of food, so many family and relatives to be visited, and so many angpaw (money as a gift) that would be received. At lebaran day all of my big family gathered in my granny’s house. Mom and my aunt cooked so many kinds of food. We shoke hand and forgive everyone’s fault. As a kid, I and my cousins got the angpaw from the adults. Such tradition is still exist now. In every lebaran day my children got the angpaw from their grannies, uncles and aunties. I said to my children use the money efficiently or save it in the bank. Sometimes they shopped toys, shoes or books with the angpaw. The rest of the angpaw was saved in the bank. I showed to Lia and Akbar that I had used the angpaw to add their saving at the bank. As a kindergarten kid Salman didn’t know this yet. When his granny visited us and asked him what the angpaw for, he replied, ‘ I bought two small power ranger robots and mommy kept the rest of the angpaw. She used it all to buy the rice, vegetables and tofu. So would you please give me another angpaw, granny, I want to buy new robot…’. My mother in law looked at me and smiled widely. I was very ashamed but speechless…….

I Don’t Want to be Grown up

This story happened about seven years ago. I visited my parents in Solo, so it was time to meet my younger sister’s family too. Anik, my younger sister, had been married and had 3 sons. Her oldest son, Ian, was on the second grade of primary school. He was too skinny. Anik told me for Ian many kinds of food did not appetizing. She had tried many kinds of food and appetizer, but it didn’t help. ‘Do tell him something that increase his appetite..’, Anik begged me. I promised her I would try. One afternoon, Ian was playing with my son, Akbar. I joined them. ‘Ian have I told you story of a man that never growing taller? He was shorter than a table’s leg as long as his life…’ Ian and Akbar started to pay attention to my words. ‘Why, auntie?’ Ian asked. ‘Because really it was the stomach that play important job. The stomach acted just like a pump. When it was filled it will pump our body to grow taller and bigger. The short man I told you had very flat stomach, it never been filled enough so the pump didn’t work and he stayed short, never taller and bigger. Do you know how to fill the stomach?’. Akbar shouted, ‘I know mom, with food and milk’. ‘It’s true honey, what kind of food do you like Ian?’, I asked him. ‘I don’t like rice, I don’t like porridge, I don’t like noodles, I like choco milk, I like candy, I don’t like banana, I don’t like oranges, I like ice cream….what else?’…He looked like thinking. ‘Come here Ian, let me see your stomach. Hmm… it’s very flat, let me see closer, hmm I know it had been filled with choco milk, ice cream…but it still too flat. Stand here, you know that Akbar is one year younger than you, but you are now as tall as Akbar. You should be taller than him. Try to fill your stomach with more and many kind of food, honey, you’ll see you’ll grow taller and bigger. I heard that you want to be a basketball player, didn’t you? You’ll be a great basket ball player when you’re taller than your daddy. You want to grow up, taller and bigger, don’t you? So try to eat many kind of food more, honey…OK?’. He said slowly, ‘OK auntie, but……’. ‘But what Ian?’ I asked him. ‘Auntie I think I really don’t want to grow up. When I grow up and taller than my daddy I know daddy gonna be older. He’s old now and I don’t want daddy to be older to soon, die to soon’. His answer for a while amaze me, but then make me smile and laugh. Eddy, Ian’s daddy, age about 34 has hair that almost white of grey. Maybe it was some kind of heredity for his brother’s hair had full of grey too in his mid 30. His daddy’s grey made Ian didn’t want to grow up. You see, sometimes we can not imagine what is in the mind of little children. Today, Ian is in t 3 rd grade of junior high school. He is healthy, taller than his daddy, and has a big appetite. His daddy’s hair had been painted in dark brown too.

Ask him yourself, Mom

My teen ager son, Akbar, is almost 14. He is at the second grade of junior high school (Indonesian: SMP). He likes the organizational activity (now he is the deputy of chief of OSIS SMP Negeri 5 Bandung). He likes music, he is a melody guitar player in his band (named Riverside). Everyone said he has good looking. And when I meet the parents of his friends, they said that Akbar is very popular among the girls. At home he is a relatively nice and good tempered boy. Sometimes he becomes very lazy and very annoying when he starts to disturb his little brother. That’s Akbar. His daddy sometimes wants to check the messages in his handphone, but has failed, to open the message was needed a password that only Akbar knows. ‘Everyone said he has a girl friend. Who is she? As his mother you should investigate, teen ager shouldn’t be in love seriously…’ I smiled, I believe it wont’ be. I know his activity, his friends, his girl friends, but I don’t know who is his girl friend really. I asked Lia who is Akbar girl friend now. She said’ “You don’t know Mom?’ . I said, ‘ I know Akbar’s girl friends but I don’t know his really girl friend now. He ever told you, didn’t he? Tell me honey…’ Lia smiled mysteriously, ‘Ask him yourself, Mom….’. Another day I asked Salman, Akbar’s little brother. He said, ‘You don’t know his girl friend, Mom?’ . ‘I don’t, tell me dear…’ . As his sister he said (after silent for a while), ‘Ask him yourself, Mom..’. I asked Salman, ‘You don’t know her, do you?’. ‘I know her Mom, Mas Akbar told me before. Ask him, I’m sure he will tell you..’ Well, that are my children. As Mom, I got lesson today. It’s good to ask him myself. Investigate via another person without asking him first just show that I don’t believe to him. I do believe to Akbar. I will ask who is his girl friend now. I will tell him not to make the love story as the very important thing of his life right now. I will tell him someday monkey love is good to be remembered but it is not the only one thing that can fill the teen ager life.

The Unforgettable Mr. Salam

Mr. Salam was a teacher at SD Negeri Percobaan, Surabaya. He was Lia’s teacher at grade 6. My daughter, Lia, was very fond and respect to him. For me he was almost an ideal teacher too. He could be friend to his students and also could be a father. He gave so many homeworks but he also spent his spare time to correct the homeworks seriously. He insisted the children to learn and understand the topics he’d explained but he also made himself as a bank of solution for all of the students’s question. Mr. Salam was Lia’s favourite teacher. Our family moved to Bandung as Lia graduated from SD Negeri Percobaan Surabaya. She entered SMP Negeri 5 Bandung and then SMA Negeri 3 Bandung. She still in touch with her friends in Surabaya and Mr. Salam. About 3 years ago when the teachers of SD Negeri Percobaan Surabaya were visiting Bandung for a vacation, Mr. Salam phoned Lia too. Unfortunately Lia couldn’t meet her teachers for they were going to return to Surabaya already. And a few months ago, Lia sobbed after receiving a short message from Gita, her friend in Surabaya. ‘Mommy, we missed Mr. Salam. He passed away yesterday. Mr. Salam had been sick for a month, but Gita didn’t know the disease…’. The news shocked me too. I took the handphone and made a contact with Mrs. Umi, Lia’s teacher in Surabaya. Mrs. Umi said Mr. Salam got myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease characterized by weakness and marked fatigability of skeletal muscle. Maybe the treatment was too late for him. ‘Listen honey, the end of life is always a mystery, and good people often pass away soon. If you love and respect Mr. Salam you have to make his dream come true. He dreamt his students become fair leaders in every field and their knowledge always give solution in every problem. You have to study hard, honey…..’. Still sobbing, Lia nodded.