Review of National and International Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries.

To compare the different philosophies, emphases and processes of national and international accreditation paths available to pharmacy programs in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. To identify engagement of GCC pharmacy programs with International Pharmacy Accreditation or Certification (IPAC) and the outcome advantages of IPAC compared to other national accreditation standards. National quality standards across the GCC countries are similarly structured but in different stages of development.

An investigation of the ionophoric characteristics of destruxin A.

Destruxin A, a cyclohexadepsipeptide related to the enniatins and beauvericin, exhibits ionophoric properties. Calcium ion mobilization across liposomal membrane barriers, for example, has been demonstrated using the calcium ion-sensitive dyes Arsenazo III and Fura-2. Initial molecular mechanics/molecular dynamics calculations indicate the potential for destruxin A to form a coordination complex with calcium in which the divalent cation is bound at the center of a sandwich formed by two molecules of destruxin A.