JPAG Conference Analytical Science Award

Dr Claire Martin, a pharmaceutics lecturer in the department of pharmacy at the University of Wolverhampton, was the second recipient of the Joint Pharmaceutical Analysis Group’s (JPAG) Conference Analytical Science Award.  Presented at this year’s British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC), the JPAG  Award is a certificate and a bursary of up to £ 2,000 to facilitate attendance by the recipient at a scientific meeting of their choice. It was awarded on the basis of the scientific quality, originality and potential impact of the work presented at the “Short Papers in Pharmaceutical Analysis” session at the BPC.  
Dr Martin’s presentation described “Electrical Impedance Analysis of nutraceutical formulation stability in the frozen state”.

Summary of paper

Dr Martin used Dielectric Spectroscopy to examine the structural and molecular properties of  Tea Tree oil (TTO), alone and formulated with traditional excipients.  
TTO is a natural product obtained by steam distillation of leaves and twigs of the Melaleuca alternifolia tree : the pharmaceutical grade must contain <5% cineole and >35% terpinen-4-ol.  
TTO is applied topically for localised treatment of bacterial, fungal, viral infections, etc and is available commercially as essential oil, cream, ointment and lotion formulations 
Her results showed the potential stability advantages for processing, storage and transport of lipophilic nutraceuticals, when formulated with low concentrations of emulsifying polymers.  Storing oil-base products at between 0 and -5 C, with the addition of commonly used inert, polymeric excipients such as PEG, should conserve their bioactive properties.