1000 words Health Promotion in the Workplace Essay

1000 words Health Promotion in the Workplace - Essay Example Legislations are the rules that the government creates and imposes them on all health care organizations (Ashcroft, 2007). The state does this to ensure that health care givers treat patients using the safest methods. Legislations also help to protect the rights of both patients and health care givers. Ethical issues, on the other hand, are standards that help to determine actions that may be accepted by the society (Scriven, 2010). Ethical considerations help to emphasize and complement legislations. This means that health promoters use ethics whether there are legislations or not. This is because both ethics and legislations support one another when they exist, and when one is absent, the other is applicable (Seedhouse, 2009). For example, when an individual is suffering from type 2 diabetes, ethical considerations require health care givers to maintain the confidentiality of the disease between them and patients. Legislation on the other hand prevents individuals from compelling others to inform when they are suffering from illnesses such as type 2 diabetes. State legislations help to safeguard patients from being discriminated against and from being provided with poor services in health care centres. For example, the â€Å"Equality Act of 2010† protects diabetes victims from being shown prejudice at the workplace (Kronenfeld, 2012). This rule requires employers to give diabetes patients equal employment opportunities like others who do not suffer from the illness. Legislations also enable diabetes patients to enjoy the freedom of autonomy by requiring health providers to maintain the confidentiality of patient’s information. Health care givers are not supposed to expose the diabetes condition of a patient without the consent of that recipient (Ham, 2009). Health care givers also have the right to maintain the confidentiality of their condition when they suffer

Adult Group Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Adult Group Learning - Essay Example style commonly prevail among the learners are the discussion methods in which they try to discuss the topics with their friends and try grasp as much as possible. Thus learning can take place independently and also it can happen in groups. Adult learning also happens independently and in groups. Adults have more intellectual abilities than the children and can learn the topics independently using some resources like internet, library resources etc. But some adults prefer group learning. They feel that working with a group is more beneficial to their learning than listening in class. This paper briefly explains adult group learning. McKeachie found significant relationships between attitude change and changes in perception of the group norms (Gibb, n. d, p.256). Moreover, Brewer et al (2003) have mentioned that the opportunity to work in small informal groups provides an avenue to interact with peers, fulfilling the needs of some adult learners with a high affiliation motive (Brewer et al, 2003) The attitude of the adults towards group learning is extremely positive. Man is a social animal. It is difficult for a person to live in this society without having the assistance from others. Same way, there are limitations for a person to learn things independently. While learning in groups adults will attain more enthusiasm and positive attitude towards their learning compared to learning independently. Moreover, face to face contact with groups tended to retain beliefs even after these beliefs shown to be without foundation (Gibb, n. d, p.256). It is a fact that all the people like the company of peers for everything. While working, playing, studying, people always like the company of others who are similar in their ages. Same way while learning also adults like the company of adults. It is difficult for an adult to learn in the company of younger people as young people might tease him or harass him. On the other hand he will be more comfortable in the company of

Financing Health Care In The US Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financing Health Care In The US - Term Paper Example Health insurance can actually be availed through an employed individual’s employer or through the employers of either the spouse or parents’, as applicable. Health insurance can also be purchased individually depending on one’s capacity or financial status, and the required scope and contents of health insurance coverage. The problem is eminently evident for those Americans who are unemployed and could not afford to purchase health insurance coverages. Further, those who are employed also opt to drop insurance coverages because of two reasons as proffered by Siegel, Mead and Burke (2008), to wit: (1) the number of employers offering health insurance benefits to their personnel (including beneficiaries) have significantly declined; and (2) those employers who offer health insurance benefits have opted to require increasing amounts of employee participation in premium payments, which are deemed by employees as virtually unaffordable. With increasing number of peopl e who opt to waive availment of health insurance coverages, more unemployed and employed people without health coverages opt to tap the government’s health packages for Medicare and Medicaid, thereby increasing the need for more financial resources to support and sustain the expenditures for this sector. Components of Health Care Sector Expenditures The paper written by Seshamani, Lambrew and Antos (2008), one of the most significant revelations was that the increasing cost in health care expenditure is accounted for by tax subsidies shouldered by the federal government from the health insurance premiums and related costs declared by employers. As indicated, the cost of tax exemptions from contributions made by employers and employees are... A more structured and plausible approach was recommended by Flier, who suggested that accurate and effective reforms could only provide the needed solution to the health care dilemma when the root causes are truly identified. In his article, the root causes were identified as: the unjust employer-based tax advantaged system, restrictions and overregulated health insurance market, and the presence of both Medicare and Medicaid programs. In this regard, Flier recommended the following: a restructuring of the tax shelter system; to encourage increased players in the delivery of both health care and insurance to decrease the exorbitant health care costs; and to evaluate and closely review the possibility of reforming both Medicare and Medicaid programs in terms of the kind and quality of expenditures, as well as closer screening of the beneficiaries to determine alternative options for cost reduction and the use of cost effective interventions, in the long run. The objective of the essay to proffer relevant and critical issues pertinent to financing and the delivery of health care services in the U.S. was hereby accomplished through provision of the current status of health care in the U.S. prior and by determining the significant components in health care expenditures that are the real culprits of the health care dilemma.  The proposed measures to reform the health care system in the US using strategies and plans should encompass policies and regulations that have the ultimate welfare of the population in mind.

My Opinion on Different Issues of Today (From a Democratic Point of Personal Statement

My Opinion on Different Issues of Today (From a Democratic Point of View) - Personal Statement Example Their role is to serve the common citizens, and thus they must readily accept to be taxed so that ordinary citizens do not suffer from the changing economy. Politicians should not pass any law or policy that reduces the status of our country and makes the citizens dig dipper into their savings. Increased taxes make employment stressful as it makes people earn less from their jobs. But this is what the government needs so that it can be able to manipulate the electorate. One would logically think that the money realised from increased taxation would enable the government to employ more people; however, in reality, employees work less and spend less as the government legally keeps small chunks of the employees’ hard earned money. This makes the economy to decline, even though the government gets richer with each cent they get from the citizens. The government is only concerned with the big bucks it gets from large corporations, and when it increases the tax rates, small business es are driven off the markets as every penny they earn is collected by the government. The small businesses entrepreneurs opt to wind up their business instead of giving everything to the government. The super rich individuals would be left to operate the majority of the businesses as they do not have any problem with the government taking a little more of their money through tax. They can also be able to employ many professionals who would ensure that they do not feel the effects of the increased taxation. Despite the increased taxation, everything becomes more expensive, and services and consumable products no longer move from the shelves in shops and supermarkets. The citizens opt to economize their money and they adopt healthy eating lifestyles. They also reduce their standards of living, and business owners and entrepreneurs opt to fire people. This is very good for the economy as the available resources can last longer in the country. The government increasingly invests and sp ends a lot of money in job creation to enable its citizens, especially the young generation, to get jobs after graduation from college. With increased taxation, the government clearly wants people to get unspecialized jobs as it already employed enough citizens. The rest should be contented in being fed and clothed by welfare programs and getting assistance from their relatives and friends. It is funny though that everybody goes to school to get a job, but the government does not see sense in more people working and uses all the resources and machinery to make people idle. Majority of people support the government in all its functions and would readily accept to pay additional taxes as they are patriotic. The revenue collection agencies of the government would have to be abolished as nobody would try to evade paying tax. Instead of increasing tax, the government should introduce tax rebates to the poor and tax the rich people more as poor people do not get to use the country’ s resources equally with the rich people. It is ironical that the rich people get tax cuts instead of getting heavily taxed; they have the money and they mostly control the economy and they have a lot of say in its appreciation and depreciation. The low earners should only enjoy the benefits because they are the ones who do most of the work in

Mule Killers Essay Example for Free

Mule Killers Essay â€Å"Mule Killers†, 2004 by Lydia Peele is the gripping story of love and the difficulties around it. It deals with issues such as fatherhood, friendship and marriage, including the conflicts surrounding these. Lydia Peele presents the story of a father telling his son, who is the narrator, an anecdote from his early life. The anecdote is an unhappy love story of the narrator’s father’s love life, and the relationship to the narrator’s grandfather. In a story with its roots in rural America, a much deeper story appears. This is a story of love, hope and the decisions of life. It is the story of the struggles and difficulties that are a part of life. The story, set in the countryside of the USA, presents a group of interesting characters with strong personalities, that each have their way of participating to the story. It is especially the father and the grandfather that have great significance to the Lydia Peele’s short story. The grandfather is presented as a man who is afraid of letting go of his usual surroundings and habits. This is seen on line 77-78, page 4. The grandfather tells the father: †You’re gonna see a future I can’t even stretch my mind around. Not any of it. I can’t even begin to imagine†. The fact that he has such difficulties imagining the future, points towards the conclusion that he would rather live in the present. He would rather live his old fashioned life and not worry about the future. The grandfather’s way of thinking seems old fashioned and generally conservative. When his son explains how he accidentally impregnated a young woman, without having any intentions of marrying her, the conservatism shines through. The grandfather replies on line 86-87, page 4â€Å"This is wrong†¦You got no choice but to take care of it. This is wrong†. The two different worlds of son and father clash, and the true differences are shown. Even though father and son look upon the world with different points of view, the son still has massive respect for his old man. His father is actually his role model, which is also shown throughout the text: â€Å"My father has his father’s height, and he carries it apologetically†(line 7, page 2). The word â€Å"apolegitacally† points towards the fact that the son is aware of the superiority that his father possesses. The son has difficulties living up to his father and his way of life. He wants to possess his father’s ability to show no emotion and how to be â€Å"a real man†. He hides the feelings that strong men traditionally do not feel: He is trying hard to keep certain things inside his chest: things like fear, sadness, and uncertainty†. (line 7-9, page2). This could very likely be a typical trend of the time and environment that the story takes place in. The final main character in the anecdote is the narrator, who is the son to the young man with love problems in the short story. The son is a first person narrator, so the point of view is limited to him. His main function is to tell the story. An actual presentation of his personality is not included. As stated earlier, the setting has great importance for the personalities of the main characters in the story. The setting is in Nashville, just before industrialization modernized the farming life with tractors. The father in the story carries typical traits of a farmer dedicated to old norms, such as no illegitimate children. A possible explanation of this could be that the state of Tennessee is located in the Bible belt, which is known as a highly religious area. There are also other elements of the setting that point out the religious beliefs that the two main characters have: â€Å"At church she always sits with the same girl† (line 14), page 2. The use of the adverb â€Å"always† proves that the son and father attend church on a regular basis. Whilst reading â€Å"Mule Killers† several obvious themes jump out on the page. The main theme seen in the short story is the generational difference between father and son. As stated earlier, the father tries to hold on to his old norms and principals, whereas the son believes in a modern way of life. The difference is illustrated when the son decides not to marry the girl whom he impregnated. The father regards this as uncaring and irresponsible. The views of the son seem to relate to the modern world of today. It becomes more and more ordinary to have a baby outside of marriage without the intentions of helping the mother nurture the child. A specific example is seen in MTV’s â€Å"Teenage Mom† television program where several teenage girls give birth. The program also shows the way the father typically tends to leave the mother after birth. If this had happened in the time where the â€Å"Mule Killers† takes place or prior to it, it would have had major consequences for the father of the child. One can therefore conclude that the times constantly change and some people will always be â€Å"caught† in the past, which in this case is the father. This could also be a possible message of the story. The message could be that norms change throughout history, but not all people follow the change. Regardless of this, it is still important to respect the people who have a hard time dealing with the future. Lydia Peele manages to take the reader on a journey of love and the relationship between the narrator’s father and grandfather. She also shows the reader the different norms and beliefs that the two generations have, and the clashes than can rise to the surface due to this. She also presents the stereotypical religious middle class farmer at this time. This is done by using a small farmer town located in the Bible belt as a setting. The short story is a touching and mind bobbling tale portraying the relationship between two sets of father and son. It tells the tale of the relationship between the narrator’s father and grandfather. The relationship between the narrator’s father and grandfather is presented as a relationship built on a general respect for the elderly. The narrator’s father respects the grandfather since he listens to what he says, and obeys the rules that the grandfather upholds. It is also the tale of how the setting, which is the farmer community in the US during the industrialization, has a major importance for the outcome of the story. The highly religious setting is represented in the Narrator’s grandfather’s point of view regarding childbirth. All in all the short story shows the difficulties surrounding love and how to deal with it in a sensible matter.

Wet Granulation Advantages And Disadvantages Biology Essay

Wet Granulation Advantages And Disadvantages Biology Essay In this lab three different sets of tablets were produced i.e soft, medium and hard using different processes which mainly included i.e Direct Compression Vs Wet Massing ,different excipients which included (Lactose Vs Calcium Phosphate) and different binders which included (PVP Vs Klucel). Once all the tablets were produced by the above mentioned varying processes, excipients and binders they were studied and compared to see how they would influence a range of tablet testing parameters such as uniformity of weight, friability, crushing strength disintegration time. Introduction: A tablet is perhaps the oldest and the most common pharmaceutical dosage form. Its popularity is due to its convince in the administration of the drug without the help or supervision of a health care practitioner, thus providing patients freedom and a very cost effective means of providing a reproducible medication. A tablet seldom consists of only the active ingredient. In fact , a tablet represents a mixture of one or more active ingredients with a number of inactive ingredients or excipients. There are many reasons for formulating a tablet product with excipients, ranging from management of small dosage amounts of active ingredients to esthetic resons of colour and shape of a product. However, the most fundamental and critical objective of a tablet product is to provide/deliver the active ingredient accurately and reproducibly. Therefore, from this perspective, a tablet is now commonly considered as a drug delivery device (Ahmed, 2000). However all tablets are made by compressing a particulate solid between two punches in a die of a tablet press. For an active ingredient to be transformed into tablets of satisfactory quality , the formulation must have three essential attributes. First, the formulation must flow into the die space of the tablet press sufficiently rapidly and in a reproductible manner Second, the particles in the formulation must cohere when subject to a compressing force, and that coherence should remain after the compressive has been removed. Third after the compression event is complete, it must be possible for the tablet to be removed from the press without damage to either the tablet or the press. Very few active ingredients possess all three of these essentials and some posses none of them. Hence some preliminary treatment is almost invariably necessary. Methods of Tablet Manufactures: There are three main methods of tablet manufacture designed to confer the above mentioned essential attributes to a tablet formulation. Wet granulation and direct compression are the most important, with dry granulation (also termed as precompression or slugging) used in some circumstances. Fig shows the processes of wet granulation and direct compression broken down into their constituent stages. The relative simplicity of the direct compression process is immediately apparent. Ease of removal of the tablet from the press is, in theory at least, readily achieved. Friction occurs between the tablet and the die and punches of the press, which can be overcome by including a lubricant in the formulation. Hence every formulation, irrespective of the method of manufacture, will include a lubricant . This will usually be a metallic salt of a fatty acid such as magnesium stearate. The two other prerequisites-flow and cohesion-can only be achieved by more elaborate technique and are in fact the reasons why wet dry granulation processes were devised. As part of its complexity, wet granulation involves the addition of a liquid (usually water), followed by its removal, normally by evaporation. In addition to the energy requirements of this drying process, the presence of water might bring about hydrolysis of the active ingredients, which will be exacerbated at the elevated temperatures used for drying. If a major component of the formulation such as the diluents were to possess the necessary degree of fluidity and compressibility, granulation would be unnecessary. This is the basis of direct compression method of tablet manufacture. Wet Granulation: Advantages and Disadvantages: The wet granulation process is the traditional method of manufacture and is frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry. Expertise in wet granulation is widely available, as in the required equipment. The process improves flow and cohesion reduces dust and cross contamination and permits the handling of powder blends without loss of homogeneity. Though it has been practiced for many years and therefore may be perceived as an old fashioned process., it must be borne in mind that the wet franulation process has itself undergone a transformation in recent decades. High-speed mixer-granulators, fluidized bed granulation and drying and an ever increasing use of automation have served to make wet granulation a much more efficient and economic process than it once was( Marinelli, 2009). Nevertheless, the wet granulation process still retains many inherent disadvantages. Problems include choice and method of addition of the binder and the effect of drying time and temperature on drug stability and its distribution within the solid mass. Direct Compression Process: Advantages and Disadvantages The most striking feature of the direct compression process is its simplicity and hence economy. Less equipment is required and the number of stages in the process, each of which will require validation, is greatly reduced. There are also lower labour costs, reduced processing time and lower power consumption. On top of that since direct compression is a dry procedure therefore there would be no need for a drying stage. Thus, exposure to water and the elevated temperatures needed to remove that water are avoided, resulting in a decreased risk of deterioration of the active ingredient. A further advantage of DC is that tablets disintegrate into their primary particles rather than granular aggregates. The resultant increase in surface area available for dissolution should result in faster drug release. On the other hand talking about disadvantages, the primary limitation on the use of direct compression is that it depends on the fluidity and compressibility of tablet diluents. Therefor e it cannot be used for low potency, high dose active ingredients, where the inclusion of sufficient diluents in the formulation to permit direct compression would lead to unacceptably large tablets. Thus, active ingredients such as paracetamol and aspirin do not tend themselves to the DC process. However, as stated earlier, such ingredients are often available in pregranulated form (Holm, 2009) Thus considering the different ways to produce tablet it is also important to mention here that there has also been an increased emphasis in developing tablets that provide controlled disintegration/release process of the active ingredient.. These tablets are hence known by different names such as slow,extended, controlled, sustained or delayed release tablets to reflect their drug release characteristics. These modified drug release products provide further convenience to patients by reduced frequency of drug administration, thus increasing the chance of compliance as well. However for establishing the quality of a tablet product, the fundamentals remain the same i.e to ascertain that the product delivers the intended active ingredient in an accurate and reproducible manner. Therefore, tablet testing can be broadly divided into three aspects or categories: Confirmation of the nature of the active ingredient and the product ( Identity, quantity, impurities, integrity etc) Establishing pharmaceutical availability of the active moiety both in vitro and in vivo in humans and if required also in animals. Establishing stability profiles to achieve shelf life. Testing of nature of the tablet products: As a consequence one seeks to establish whether the tablets are within specifications, for example the nature of the active ingredients (identification) expected amount (assay) purity (related compounds) and uniformity of the amount of drug from tablet to tablet (uniformity of dosage units). Commonly these testing procedures are described in pharmacopeias under a specific name. In addition to these tests some other tests such as friability, hardness, disintegration etc are also conducted and will be described as below Uniformity of Dosage Units (B.P Pharmacopoeial Tests) This test is conducted to establish consistency in the content of active ingredient from tablet to tablet. There are generally two approaches taken in establishing this: weight variation or content uniformity. If the active ingredient represents not less than 50% weight of the tablet and greater than 50 mg, then one may establish uniformity of dosage units using the weight variation method. A sample of 10 tablets are weighed individually and results of these weighing are recorded. In the case of the content uniformity approach, a sample of 10 tablets are individually analyzed using the analytical method described under the assay procedure. It is mandatory to use content uniformity for tablets with less than 50 mg of active ingredient and/ or representing less than 50% total mass of the tablets. The content uniformity approach is preferred over the weight variation approach as it more precisely reflects the variation of the active ingredient from tablet to tablet. The required specifi cation for this test is that uniformity of dosage unit should be within a range of 85%-115% with a relative standard deviation of less than or equal to 6% (Holm, 2009) Friability ( Non B.P Pharmacopoeial Test) This test is intended to determine, under defined conditions, the friability of uncoated tablets, the phenomenon whereby tablet surfaces are damaged and/or show evidence of lamination or breakage when subjected to mechanical shock or attrition. Commercially available apparatuses known as friabilators are used for the test. Basically, it consists of a drum with diameter between 283mm and 291mm and having width of 36 mm-40 mm, made of transparent plastic material The drum is attached to the horizontal axis of a device that rotates at 25_1 rpm. The tablets are tumbled at each turn of the drum by a curve projection with an inside radius of 75.5 mm-85.5mm that extends from middle of the drum to outer wall. Thus, at each turn, the tablets roll or slide and fall onto the drum wall or onto each other. Usually, a sample of 10 tablets are tested at a time, unless tablet weight is 0.65 g or less, where 20 tablets are tested. After 100 turns, the tablet samples are evaluated by weighing. If the reduction in the total mass of the tablets is more than 1%, the tablets fail the friability test. Generally, the test is done once. If cracked, cleaved, or broken tablets are obvious, then the sample also fails the test (Marinelli, 2009). Hardness Testing ( Non B.P Pharmacopoeial Test) A tablet requires a certain amount of mechanical strength to withstand the shocks of handling in its manufacturing, packing, shipping, and dispensing. As discussed before, hardness and friability are most common measures used to evaluate tablet strength. The need for testing hardness or crushing strength, in addition to friability, may be explained with an analogy that friability determines how fragile a tablet is. If a tablet is more fragile than expected, then the friability test will detect its substandard quality. However, on the other hand, if the tablets are more robust than desired, a friability test would not detect this deficiency. It is the tablet hardness test that will detect the deficiency (Holm, 2009) Disintegration Test (B.P Pharmacopoeial Tests) A disintegration test is a test to establish how fast a tablet disintegrates into aggregates and/or finer particles. The test assumes that if product disintegrates within a short period of time, such as within 5 min, then the drug would be released as expected and one should not anticipate a problem in the quality of a drug product. Although this test is in use for some products in pharmacopeias, its use is generally diminishing in favor of drug dissolution testing (Holm, 2009) Materials Methods: Please refer to the Pharmaceutics Handbook for MPharm Year2 4.0 ) Results Discussion: A fundamental quality attribute for all pharmaceutical preparations is the requirement for a constant dose of drug between individual tablets. In practice, small variations between individual preparations are accepted and the limits for this variation are defined as standards in pharmacopoeias. For tablets, uniformity of dose or dose variation is tested in two separate tests: uniformity of weight and uniformity of active ingredient. These either reflect indirectly or measure directly the amount of drug substance in the tablet. Uniformity of active ingredient: The uniformity of active ingredient is carried out by ensuring a constant dose of drug between individual tablets. Traditionally, dose variation between tablets is tested in two separate tests; 1- Weight uniformity 2- Content uniformity If the drug forms greater part of the tablet, any variation in the tablet weight obviously indicates a variation in the active ingredient. (Weight uniformity test) If the drug is potent (USP specifies 50 mg of the active ingredient or less), the excipients form the greater part of the tablet weight and the correlation between the tablet weight and amount of the active ingredient can be poor, in this case another test (Content uniformity) must be performed (Holm, 2009) In this lab report the weight uniformity test was carried out (which is one of BP requirements) and the following results were obtained. The below table also shows the maximum and minimum percentage error. Table 4.1: Shows the calculated values for CV% along with maximum and minimum % error for various tablets produced by different processes, binders and excipients. Method Excipient Binder Mean / mg Range / mg % Error    CV% Min Max Min Max Direct Compression Lactose 169 164 173 2.95 2.36 1.7 Direct Compression Calcium Phosphate 146 141 148 3.42 1.36 1.5 Wet Massing Lactose PVP 122 120 125 1.63 2.45 1.4 Wet Massing Calcium Phosphate PVP 175 172 179 1.71 2.20 1.2 Wet Massing Lactose Klucel 118 116 119 1.69 0.84 0.9 Wet Massing Calcium Phosphate Klucel 149 142 154 4.69 3.35 2.88 Thus by the help of the above table 4.1 it can be clearly seen that all the tablets produced by different processes, different binders and different excipients are within the percentage max and min error show values below 6% of CV% thus all of them have passed the weight uniformity test. Different Binders: Binders are the substances which are added either dry or in wet- form to form granules or to form cohesive compacts for directly compressed tablets. An ideal binder should have good binding properties, as determined by compressibility under pressure, high plasticity, low elasticity and small particle size. Small particle size facilitates even distribution of the binder through the inter-particulate void spaces in a tablet. Uniform binder distribution in the tablet results in decreased pore structure and subsequent enhancement in tablet crushing strength. To reduce friability, a binder with highly plastic properties (high deformability) is essential. A further requirement for a good binder is low hygroscopicity. Excessive uptake of moisture (greater than 5 percent) or high moisture content can lead to instability and sticking during production (Summers, 2002) There are many excipients used as binders in the direct compression; these include hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), methylcellulose (MC), povidone (PVP), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), and starches and their derivatives, such as pregelatinized and granulated starches. These polymers differ in their physico-chemical, mechanical and morphological characteristics. For direct compression, studies suggest highly compactable, plastic, fine particle size binders facilitate compression of drugs at relatively low filler-to-drug ratios, therefore representing ideal properties for tablet binders(Summers, 2002) The two different binders that were used in this lab were PVP Klucel XPF. In order to study the effects of different binders the following two figs will be used. Fig one represents the friability disintegration time Vs Hardness for tablets produced by wet massing with PVP as a binder and Lactose as a filler. Fig 4.1) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (PVP) Friability : 1.05 % Hardness: 3.75 Kp Disintegration Time: 2.12 decimal mins The above figure represents the friability, Disintegration time and Hradness for a tablet produced the process of wet massing in the presence of lactose (as an excipient) and PVP as a binder. The value of friability as percentage drops from 2% to about 0.75 % as the hardness increases. This is because as friability is the ability to form fines or fragments of the original tablet and since the hardness of the tablet is increasing therefore consequently less fragmentation of the tablet would occur/ take place. On the other hand however the values for disintegration time augments from 0 to 4.5 with an increase in the value of hardness. This is due to the fact that compacts develop mechanical strength by creation of a surface bonding area between particles. This is mainly achieved by irreversible particle deformation that flattens initial asperity. The decrease of particle surface roughness enables molecular forces to act. Thus, the indentation hardness can be considered as that portion of the compression pressure that contributes to the formation of interparticulate contacts. Accordingly (Hiestand, 2000) proposed the tablet hardness to correspond to the magnitude of the bonding active compression pressure considering these arguments for the strengthening mechanism of tablets, the direct link between hardness and bonding points seems to be a reasonable theoretical approach. Fig 4.2) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 6.5 Kp Optimum Friability: 2.70% Optimum Disintegration Time: 3.45 (time/ decimal mins) The above figure represents the friability, Disintegration time and Hardness for a tablet produced the process of wet massing in the presence of lactose (as an excipient) and Klucel as a binder. From the above figure 4.2 it can be seen that with increased hardness of the tablet the value of the friability drops down. Whereas a direct relationship can be seen between the hardness and disintegration time. Comparing the above two fig 4.1 and 4.2 , it can be seen that fig 4.2 has an optimum hardness value of 6.5 whereas that for fig 4.1 has a hardness value of 3.75 .In a similar fashion there is a difference in the values of optimum disintegration time too with fig 4.2 showing higher disintegration time in comparison to that showed by fig 4.1.This difference in the optimum hardness value is due to the difference of binders. From the obtained results it can be seen that using Klucel results in optimum hardness much high in comparison to when PVP is used. But the value for optimum friability is less i.e 1.05% when PVP is used in comparison to Klucel (friability value is 2.70%). In a similar fashion the values for disintegration time is less for tablets produced by PVP whereas it is high for tablets produced by Klucel . Hence from the results obtained above the PVP seems to be a superior binder in comparison to Klucel in terms of lower friability and less disintegration time period. Fig 4.3) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Calcium Phosphate ) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 5.8 Kp Optimum Friability: 0.78% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.38 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.4) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Calcium Phosphate ) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 1.4 Kp Optimum Friability: 0% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.2 (time/ decimal mins) From fig 4.4 it can be seen that the friability behaves quite unexpectedly with increasing hardness. Normally with the tablets, the increase of compression force causes a reduction of friability. The value of friability falls down from 2.75 % to 0 but then starts to rise again as the hardness augments to 5 Kp. One of the possible explanation for this trend could be due to the fact that When the compression force increases, the particles deform plastically and the tablets become harder and less friable But at higher compression forces the friability of the tablets seemed to increase again although the crushing strength remain stable. This could be explained by some fragmentation of the system. Thus again by the help of the above two fig 4.3 and 4.8 it can be clearly seen that the results obtained in this comparison case are opposite to the results obtained by the help of the fig 4.1 4.2. PVP yielded tablets which have higher optimum hardness in comparison to those produced by Klucel. A similar case is with friability and disintegration time too. Thus in this case Klucel stands out to be a superior binder (with respect to low friability and disintegration value). However literarure (Ahmed, 2000) shows that K90 grade for PVP used in this lab (more viscous in comparison to that of Klucel) should produce harder granules. Furthermore using a high grade for PVP like K90 , which is highly viscous, would result in higher dissolution time and hence high disintegration time, which would also consequence in the production of harder tablets. Thus the harder the tablet are the lower friability they would have. Klucel on other hand is less viscous, therefore is will produce softer granules hence softer tablets (therefore low disintegration time and high friability of the tablets will be observed) But this case is not entirely true in all circumstances, as it depends on the grades of the binders used. For example some (Summers, 2002) shows that some grades of Klucel exhibits a unique combination of thermoplasticity with organic solvent or aqueous solubility, allowing tough tablet preparation using many different formulation techniques. Furthermore a tougher binder with a high degree of plastic flow provides better friability performance. In addition, such binder characteristics allow a tableting process to run at a higher compaction speed without capping process. Beyond unmatched tablet hardness and friability, benefits of tableting with Klucel include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lower compression and ejection forces; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduction or elimination of tablet capping. On top of this (Boyle) also shows that Klucel can be used at lower use levels to yield superior tablets, compared to tablets with higher binders levels of HPMC, MC, PVP (Grade K 70) and pre-gelatinized starch. (Aqualon) also stated that High-dose acetaminophen formulations using lower levels of poorer binder like PVP (K70) resulted in poorer formulations due to capping. Furthermore, Klucel (Low Grade) has low viscosity due to which it has much lower (almost twice less) the dissolution time in comparison to that for PVP (grade K70). This has a direct impact on disintegration. Thus the lower the dissolution time is, the faster it will disintegrate (hence will show fast effect) (Marinelli, 2009) Different Excipients: In this lab only two different types of excipients were used i.e Lactose and Calcium Phosphate Fig 4.5) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 3.78Kp Optimum Friability: 1.1 % Optimum Disintegration Time: 2.15 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.6) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Calcium Phosphate ) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 5.80 Kp Optimum Friability: 0.78% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.38 (time/ decimal mins) By the help of the fig 4.5 and 4.6 it can be clearly seen that the value of optimum hardness (for lactose) 3.78 Kp is quite low in comparison to the value of optimum hardness 5.80Kp for tablets which had calcium phosphate as main excipient. However the same figures also show that lactose has a higher value for friability (1.1%) and disintegration time (2.15 decimal min) in comparison to those showed by calcium phosphate. (Friability 0.78%) and disintegration (0.38 time decimal mins). This difference is due to the fact that lactose is more compressible than calcium phosphate and hence requires less amount of compressible force (as this is what the obtained data suggests). However in real time it has been proposed by (Marinelli, 2009) that calcium phosphate has higher density, hence higher compressibility. Therefore in such a case low compression weight would be required to produce hard tablets with less friability. Whereas in case of lactose it has been suggested that it has lower tap ped density hence poor compressibility. This suggests that at lower pressures it will be elastic and therefore a higher compression weight will be required to produce hard tablets with lesser/lower friability. Fig 4.7) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 6.5 Kp Optimum Friability: 2.70% Optimum Disintegration Time: 3.45 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.8) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (calcium phosphate) binder (Klucel) Optimum Hardness: 1.4 Kp Optimum Friability: 0% Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.2 (time/ decimal mins) Thus by the help of the figures 4.7 and 4.8 it can be seen that the results obtained for lactose and calcium phosphate are opposite to the results obtained in figures 4.5 and 4.6. Fig 4.7 and 4.8 show that tablets produced using lactose had high optimum hardness to those produced by calcium phosphate. In a similar fashion the values for friability and disintegration time for tablets produced using lactose were high in comparison to those produced by calcium phosphate. However literature (Marinelli, 2009) suggests that lactose is also more water soluble than calcium phosphate therefore it will dissolve and provide a pathway for diffusion of drug and erosion of matrix, leading to a faster (lower dinintegration time) release of drug from matrix tablets (in comparison to calcium phosphate). Different Processess: The two different sets of processes used in this lab were direct compression and wet massing Fig 4.9) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (wet massing) , excipient (Lactose) binder (PVP) Optimum Hardness: 3.78 Kp Optimum Friability: 1.1 % Optimum Disintegration Time: 2.15 (time/ decimal mins) Fig 4.10 ) Shows relationship between friability, hardness disintegration time for tablet produced by the process (Direct Compression) excipient (Lactose) Optimum Hardness: 3.00 Kp Optimum Friability: 0.480 % Optimum Disintegration Time: 0.15 (time/ decimal mins) Thus by the help of the figure 4.8 and 4.9 it can be clearly seen that tablets produced by direct compression show lower optimum hardness, lower value for friability and lower value for disintegration time. Wet massing on the other hand results in tablets formed with high optimum hardness value, high friability value and high disintegration time. It is also worth mentioning at this stage that direct compression process required DC lactose and calcium phosphate of higher grades (Direct compression formulations require good flow in order to maintain proper weight uniformity) whereas low grade regular lactose and calcium phosphate were used for wet massing (during wet massing low grade excipients were used however the granules produced could have been affected by sieving) With regards to wet massing, it is generally agreed that there will exist an optimum range of granule sizes for a particular formulation, and therefore certain generalizations are worthy to note here. Within limits, smaller granules will lead to higher and more uniform tablet weight and higher tablet crushing strength, with subsequent longer disintegration time and reduced friability. The strength of granules has also been shown to influence the tensile strength of the tablets prepared from them, with stronger granules leading, in general to harder tablets (Marinelli, 2009). Conclusion: Fianlly to sum up everything, it was seen in this lab that all the set of tablets produced (hard, soft medium) via different processes or by different excipients or binders , all of them passed the uniformity of weight test. Concerning binders, in this lab PVP seem to stand superior to Klucel (however this might not always be the case). Regarding excipients both lactose and calcium phosphate could be used. As , calcium phosphate has higher density, hence higher compressibility. Therefore in such a case low compression weight would be required to produce hard tablets with less friability. Whereas in case of lactose it has lower tapped density hence poor compressibility. This suggests that at lower pressures it will be elastic and therefore a higher compression weight will be required to produce hard tablets with lesser/lower friability. Lastly , both DC and wet massing were used to produce tablets however tablets produced by DC had shorter disintegration time in compariso n to those produced by wet massing.

Recent Applications of Keratin

Recent Applications of Keratin Abstract This review discusses the recent applications of keratin and keratin-based materials. Keratin-Based Materials The keratin-based materials are produced from keratin fibers, such as human hair, skin, hooves, feathers, beaks, feet and horns (18). For biomedical and pharmaceutical purposes, human hair is a preferred major source of keratin for several reasons. First, it is available readily from barber and beauty salons. Also, human hair is less prone to cause undesired allergic or immune reactions in a human. Finally, a derived keratin material is able to be made from the hair of a person for whom the keratin-based material will be used (13). Animal feathers are also major resources for keratin extraction. Every year, there are 5 million tons of chicken feathers produced from chicken meat as a waste stream (8). Thus, feathers are abundant source of keratin that can be easily obtained. There are numerous methods to extract the keratin-based material from the keratin sources. One method includes partial oxidization of some disulfide linkages of the keratin with an oxidizing agent, such as peracetic acid, while remaining disulfide linkages are left intact. The partially oxidized hair is powdered and the remaining intact disulfide linkages are cleaved with a reducing agent. An insoluble part of keratin fraction is, then, removed by centrifugation (3, 15). The soluble part, including alpha keratin, is purified and oxidized to reform disulfide linkages between protein backbones (3, 19). The oxidized soluble part is easily dissolved and can form keratin solutions with controlled concentrations (19). The produced keratin solid can be used in a fibrous form when shredded, in a powder form when finely ground, in a hydrogel or viscoelastic hydrogel when hydrated by adding water, or may be used in certain embodiments (13). These materials are used for biomedical, pharmaceutical, biosorbent, and industrial applications. Wound Dressing The optimum wound dressing protects the injured tissue, maintains moisture while being water permeable, is easy to apply, and delivers effective healing agents to the wounded tissue (15). The keratin-based material acts as a non-antigenic wound healing material (3). The keratin-based film is appropriate to be used as a wound dressing. The porous sponge matrices of keratin can play an important role in absorbing wound exudates and in maintaining a healthy and moist environment for healing an injury (16). Also, a hydratable keratin solid powder that is also used in a form of a keratin hydrogel when added water is used as a wound dressing (13). These highly absorbent keratin solid fiber and powder provide an extra benefit along with the water absorbency. This benefit includes healing or soothing peptides associated with the keratin (18). Blanchard et al. (3) tested the keratin power, which would be used to produce a keratin hydrogel when hydrated, as wound healing agent with several donor sites. The sterilized keratin powder is applied on a half of a donor wound site and the other half is treated with a standard treatment. The result shows the halves treated with the keratin powder mature faster and epithelialize more rapidly. Also, the patients with the wounds have significantly less pain with the keratin power treatment (3). Than et al. (4) conducted a study focusing on the effects of the keratin dressing on chronic wounds of different cases. For one of the studied cases, a minimally exudative wound, which had been existed for 11.5 months, was treated with a matrix dressing produced from freeze-dried keratin protein. This dressing allows the rapid growth of new tissue by reabsorbing into the developed tissue. The wound was healed after 30 weeks (Figure 2). Also, the patient had experienced the repeated leg ulcers; yet, the patient stayed ulcer-free after the treatment (4). Figure 1 (1A) Ulcer under keratin-derived matrix dressing treatment at Day 0; (1B) Healed ulcer under keratin-derived matrix dressing treatment at Day 99 (4) Pharmaceutical Siller-Jackson et al. (13) and Van Dyke et al. (18) proposed an invention of the keratin material incorporated with nonwoven film, which can be used in several different applications. One of the applications is that the solid keratin with nonwoven film can form a beneficial drug delivery system when it is incorporated with active pharmaceutical agents. These pharmaceutical agents, including the compounds that may allow ion exchange with sulfonic acid groups of keratin, can be formulated as hydrochlorides, polar agents, protein agents, polypeptide agents, and peptide agents (18). Polypeptide agents include both native and recombinant polypeptides (13). Table 1 provides the list of the classes and types of pharmaceutical agents (13, 18). Table 1 Classes and Types of Pharmaceutical Agents (13, 18) The invention of Van Dyke et al. (18) suggests that the application of the drug delivery system with solid keratin provides several significant advantages. In this system, the properties of the dosage form of a drug can be determined by the chemical and material properties of the keratin, whereas with most delivery systems, the level of a drug is maintained at a consistent concentration with sustained or controlled release. Also, the nonwoven film drug delivery system is performed in non-aqueous media, which is a distinct advantage because non-water soluble drugs are usually troublesome to formulate into convenient dosage forms. Furthermore, keratin can play a dual role of wound dressing and drug delivery system simultaneously, allowing a less intrusive therapy than separate treatments (18). Hemostat Aboushwareb et al. (7) demonstrated the hemostatic characteristics of the human hair keratin hydrogel with the ability to absorb fluid and bind cells successfully. The experiments evaluate the efficacy of human hair keratin hydrogel in a lethal model of liver injury in a rabbit model, compared to other commercial hemostats. The study proved the efficacy of the keratin biomaterials in arresting hemorrhage and increasing the survivability in a model of liver injury, similarly to the compared commercial products.   Also, it was proved that the keratin hydrogel does not produce adverse cell and tissue responses (7). Implant Filler The keratin hydrogel can also be used as an augmentation of soft tissue, including augmentation of vocal chords in order to restore elasticity, and augmentation of breasts, lips, chin, gluteal area, and wrinkled or acne scarred skin in order to improve the appearance of a subject (25). The biocompatible viscoelastic keratin hydrogel is used as an implant filler (25). Such keratin hydrogel provides a natural-appearing and safe implant for reconstructing or filling the human breast, and other tissues. The implant may be used in several ways. One way is that the solid hydrogel implant precursor is hydrated before placing the filler into an implant envelope. Another way is that tissue expanders are contained in an envelope with the keratin hydrogel. This method allows the implant to absorb the body fluids through the envelope and increasing in a volume at a controlled rate, providing a more convenient and comfortable implant compared to traditional implants (18). The keratin hydrogel implants are less toxic than the silicone implants, in case of the risk of a leakage. Also, the keratin fillers give more natural appearance and feeling than saline implants do. Additionally, the keratin implants do not require a second invasive procedure to harvest tissue as fat cells do (18). Biosorbent The interest in the use of biomass for the dissolved metal removal from aqueous solutions has been increasing because of the relatively high cost of the traditional water treatment materials, the complex operational set-up, and the safety precautions (9). The keratin-based material can be used as the purification method of natural and waste water resources contaminated with metal (8). The keratin protein fiber is used to purify heavy metal-contaminated water. The wool keratin has been reported to uptake mercury, copper, silver, cadmium, lead, chromium, and aluminum. Also, mohair keratin has been reported to remove copper (9). Khosa and Ullah (10) have recently presented the application of the keratin biopolymer for the removal of arsenic. Also, Saucedo-Rivalcoba et al. (11) have proposed the use of polyurethane-keratin hybrid membranes in order to absorb and remove hexavalent chromium from water. Rubber Hergenrother et al. (12) has proposed the utilization of keratin as a filler in rubber compositions. This use of keratin in conjunction with coupling agents increases dynamic storage modulus (G) while not affecting the physical properties of the compounds. The keratin filler used is derived from avian feather or feather meal, which has higher bulk density than ground feather. The compounds of the filler are economical and easy to process. Also, these are environmentally friendly because even a small amount of avian feather used will allow the reduced amount of non-renewable fillers, such as carbon black, to be used (12). The keratin filler used for rubber is beta-keratin-based and water-insoluble. Keratin from feathers is relatively economic, is non-toxic, has a high melting point, is light-weight, and is a biodegradable renewable material. Therefore, the reinforcing keratin filler will help produce sustainable products that uses rubber, such as tires. Diapers / Feminine Hygiene Products The absorbent materials are capable of absorbing body fluids such as urine and menses. Thus, the absorbent materials are included in the products that are used next to the skin. Such materials can be derived from wood pulp, cellulosic fibers, or synthetically produced superabsorbent (13, 18). An inner core of diapers and feminine hygiene products is designed to absorb water and urine. It is commonly formed with a superabsorbent polymer that is dispersed in a larger amount of less absorbent material.   Yet, even the absorbent materials are separated from the skin with at least one layer of materials, the skin contact with such materials have been causing irritation and not beneficial (13, 18). The keratin-based absorbent or hydratable solid, in forms of powder or hydrogel, is a natural material that can absorb body fluids, and is beneficial with respect to diaper rash. The hydratable keratin solid can be coated either on a layer next to the skin of a subject or on a layer separated from the skin by a water permeable layer (13, 18). For both diapers and feminine hygiene products, the hydratable keratin solid can be used in an inner absorbent core. The keratin materials may be associated with a nonwoven layer of product, or coated on a layer of a product, or permeated into a layer of a product (13, 18). Keratin Hydrolysate Similar to the keratin-based material sources, keratin hydrolysates are prepared from human hair, wool, animal hair, feathers and horns (21). The recent method of the keratin hydrolysate production utilizes chicken feathers with Bacillus subtilis (21, 22). Vermelho et al. (21) and Villa et al. (22) have suggested that the useful bacterium for the production is Bacillus subtilis.   Villa et al. (22) proposed an effective method that produces a clear hydrolysate (22). Feathers are transformed into keratin peptides and amino acid by peptidases and keratinases, produced by Bacillus subtilis (Figure 2) (22).   From this process, the keratin hydrolysates are produced enzymatically (21). Figure 2 (A) Control: Bacillus subtilis in feather containing medium at Day 0; (B) Growth in feather medium at Day 5 (22) Such method is also environmental friendly because it recycles and helps reducing the feather waste, which is the byproduct of the poultry industry (27). The keratin hydrolysate is majorly used for cosmetics applications. Cosmetics The keratin hydrolysates can be used in various cosmetic applications, such as hair and skin applications (21). Villa et al. (22) effectively proved that the enzymatic production of keratin peptides from feathers is significantly affective in hair care products. The keratin peptides improve the hair fiber hydration and seal cuticles in the hair fibers with the hydrolysates, which increase the shine and softness of the hair (22). Barba et al. (24) conducted a long-term study to find the beneficial effect of the topical application of the wool keratin peptides. The study was performed on undisturbed kin to determine the efficacy of the two keratin peptide samples, one with an aqueous keratin formulation and another with liposome formulation mixed with the aqueous keratin solution. Both of the keratin peptide samples showed very close result with the increase of the hydration of the skin. Also, the treated skin with both samples was resulted with increased skin elasticity (24). The keratin-based hydrogel is capable of facilitating the regeneration of peripheral nerves. Sierpinski et al. (5) showed that the keratin hydrogel enhances the in vitro activity of Schwann cells, led from the increase of cellular proliferation and migration, and the upregulated gene expression. References 1. Rouse, J.G.; Van Dyke, M.E., A Review of Keratin-Based Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications, Materials 2010, 3 (2), 999-1014. 2. Silva, R.; Fabry, B.; Boccaccini, A.R., Fibrous Protein-Based Hydrogels for Cell Encapsulation, Biomaterials 2014, 35 (25), 6727-6738. 3. Blanchard, C.R.; Timmons, S. .; Smith, R.A., Keratin-Based Hydrogel for Biomedical Applications and Method of Production, U.S. Patent 6,379,690, April 30, 2002. 4. Than, M.P.; Smith, R.A.; Hammond, C.; Kelly, R.; Marsh, C.; Maderal, A.D.; Kirsner, R.S., Keratin-Based Wound Care Products for Treatment of Resistant Vascular Wounds, J. Clin. Aesthet. Dermatol. 2012, 5(12), 31-35. 5. Sierpinski, P.; Garrett, J.; Ma, J.; Apel, P.; Klorig, D.; Smith, T.; Koman, L.A.; Atala, A.; Van Dyke, M., The Use of Keratin Biomaterials Derived from Human Hair for the Promotion of Rapid Regeneration of Peripheral Nerves, Biomaterials 2008, 29 (1), 118-128. 6. Apel, P.J.; Garrett, J.P.; Sierpinski, P.; Ma, J.; Atala, A.; Smith, T.L.; Koman, L.A.; Van Dyke, M.E., Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Using a Keratin-Based Scaffold: Long-Term Functional and Historical Outcomes in a Mouse Model, J. Hand. Surg.2008, 33A, 1541-1547. 7. Aboushwareb, T.; Eberli, D.; Ward, C.; Broda, C.; Holcomb, J.; Atala, A.; Van Dyke, M., A Keratin Biomaterial Gel Hemostat Derived from Human Hair: Evaluation in a Rabbit Model of Lethal Liver Injury, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part B Appl. Biomater. 2008, 90B (1), 45-54. 8. Khosa, M.A.; Ullah, A., A Sustainable Role of Keratin Biopolymer in Green Chemistry: A Review, J. Food Processing Beverages 2013, 1 (1), 8-15. 9. Kar, P.; Misra, M., Use of Keratin Fiber for Separation of Heavy Metals from Water, J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 2004, 79 (11), 1313-1319. 10. Khosa, M.A.; Ullah, A., In-situ Modification, Regeneration, and Application of Keratin Biopolymer for Arsenic Removal, J. Hazard. Mater. 2014, 278, 360-371. 11. Saucedo-Rivalcoba, V.; Martinez-Hernà ¡ndez, A.L.; Martinez-Barrera, G.; Belascco-Santos, C.; Rivera-Armenta, J.L.; Castaà ±o, V.M., Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from Water by Polyurethane-Keratin Hybrid Membranes, Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 2011, 218 (1-4), 557-571. 12. Hergenrother, W.L.; Shltz, L.L.; Lin, C.J., Keratin in Rubber Applications, U.S. Application 14/492,835, January 8, 2015. 13. Siller-Jackson, A.J.; Van Dyke, M.E.; Timmons, S.F.; Blanchard, C.R.; Smith, R.A., Keratin-Based Powders and Hydrogel for Pharmaceutical Applications, U.S. Patent 6,544,548 B1, April 8, 2003. 14. Kelly, R.J.; Ali, M.A.; Roddick-Lanzilotta, A.D.; Worth, G.; Hassan, M.M.; McLaughlin, J.R.; McKinnon, A.J., Composite Materials Containing Keratin, U.S. Patent 7,767,756 B2, August 3, 2010. 15. Timmons, S.F.; Blanchard, C.R.; Smith, R.A., Keratin-Based Tissue Engineering Scaffold, U.S. Patent 6,432,435 B1, August 13, 2002. 16. Kelly, R.J.; Roddick-Lanzilotta, A.D.; Ali, M.A., Wound Care Products Containing Keratin, U.S. Patent 7,732,574 B2, June 8, 2010. 17. Kelly, R.J.; Worth, G.H.; Roddick-Lanzilotta, A.D.; Rankin, D.A.; Ellis, P.; Mesman, J.R.; Summers, C.G.; Singleton, D.J., Production of Soluble Keratin Derivatives, U.S. Patent 7,148,327 B2, December 12, 2006. 18. Van Dyke, M.E.; Timmons, S.F.; Blanchard, C.R.; Siller-Jackson, A.J.; Smith, R.A., Absorbent Keratin Wound Dressing, U.S. Patent 6,270,793 B1, August 7, 2001. 19. Wu, C.; Li, J.; Wicks, D.; Morgan, S.; Smith, R.A., Hydratable Keratin Compositions, U.S. Application 11/920,456, August 11, 2011. 20. Van Dyke, M.E.; Blanchard, C.R.; Timmons, S.F.; Siller-Jackson, A.J.; Smith, R.A., Implantable prosthetic or Tissue Expanding Device, U.S. Patent 6,849,092 B2, February 1, 2005. 21. Vermelho, A.B.; Villa, A.L.V.; Mazotto de Almeida, A.M.; de Souza Dias, E.P.; dos Santos, E.P., Keratin Hydrolysates, Process for Their Production and Cosmetic Composition Containing the Same, U.S. Application 12/666,409, August 5, 2010. 22. Villa, A.L.V.; Aragà £o, M.R.S.; Santos, E.P.D.; Mazotto, A.M.; Zingali, R.B.; de Souza, E.P.; Vermelho, A.B., Feather Keratin Hydrolysates Obtained from Microbial Keratinases: Effect on Hair Fiber, BMC Biotechnol. 2013, 13 (1), 15 23. Weathersby, C.; McMichael, A., Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatment: A Review, J. Cosmet. Dermatol. 2013, 12 (2), 144-148. 24. Barba, C.; Mà ©ndez, S.; Roddick-Lanzilotta, A.; Kelly, R.; Parra, J.L.; Coderch, L., Cosmetic Effectiveness of Topically Applied Hydrolysed Keratin Peptides and Lipids Derived from Wool, Skin Res. Tech. 2008, 14, 243-248. 25. Van Dyke, M.E.; Blanchard, C.R.; Timmons, S.F.; Siller-Jackson, A.J.; Smith, R.A., Water Absorbent Keratin and Gel Formed Therefrom, U.S. Patent 6,316,598 B1, November 13, 2001. 26. Misra, M.; Kar, P.; Priyadarshan, G., Keratin Protein Nano-fiber for Removal of Heavy Metals and Contaminants, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 2002, 702, 27. Cedrola, S.M.; de Melo, A.C.; Mazotto, A.M.; Lins, U.; Zingali, R.B.; Rosado, A.S.; Peixoto, R.S.; Vemelho, A.B., Keratinases and sulfide from Bacillus subtilis SLC to Recycle Feather Waste, World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2012, 28, 1259-1269.