Publications by authors named "Keith R Brain"

In probing enhancement of the transdermal delivery of the anti-psychotic drug haloperidol, five prodrugs (ethanoate, propanoate, butanoate, octanoate and decanoate) were synthesised and their relative rates of hydrolysis determined in the presence of porcine liver esterase (PLE), a model for cutaneous esterases. (1)H NMR, MS and elemental analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of each prodrug in high purity, and each was found to hydrolyse in the presence of PLE with the hydrolytic rate reaching a maximum with haloperidol octanoate (C8) at 2.31 +/- 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this work was to produce a thin, flexible and diffusion able molecularly imprinted polymeric matrix with good template accessibility. Membranes were prepared using a non-covalent molecular imprinting approach and their physical characteristics and binding capabilities investigated. Two materials were used, a poly(tri-ethyleneglycol dimethyacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer containing 14% cross-linker and a monomer (g) to porogen (ml) ratio of 1:0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ethyl (HE), propyl (HP), butyl (HB), octyl (HO) and decyl (HD) O-acyl esters of haloperidol (HA) were evaluated for permeation across full-thickness human and guinea pig skin. The inclusion of 0.5mgmL(-1) cetrimide as a receptor phase solubilising agent did not significantly alter the barrier properties of the membranes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Molecular imprinting is a generic technology that allows for the introduction of sites of specific molecular affinity into otherwise homogeneous polymeric matrices. Commonly this technique has been shown to be effective when targeting small molecules of molecular weight <1500, while extending the technique to larger molecules such as proteins has proven difficult. A number of key inherent problems in protein imprinting have been identified, including permanent entrapment, poor mass transfer, denaturation, and heterogeneity in binding pocket affinity, which have been addressed using a variety of approaches.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An atrazine (ATR) molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared using a non-covalent strategy. The affinity and selectivity of the polymer was initially evaluated under non-equilibrium conditions and the polymer was shown to possess good template selectivity. The selectivity of the polymer was further investigated under equilibrium conditions and over a range of concentrations using Scatchard plots and Hill plots and by assessing distribution coefficients and normalised selectivity values.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF