TITLE:
Foilized pouches can prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child using multi-drug therapies
AUTHORS:
Robert Malkin
KEYWORDS:
PMTCT; HIV; AIDS; Anti-Retroviral Preservation; Home Birth
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering,
Vol.7 No.1,
January
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Children can become HIV positive (HIV+) from their
mother during home birth. If the infant ingests antiretroviral (ARV),
medications immediately after birth, the risk of transmission can be
dramatically reduced. We have previously proposed the use of foilized,
polyethylene-lined pouches to store ARV’s. Using the pouch, the mother receives
the medication at an antenatal care visit, months before delivery, and if she
delivers at home, tears open the pouch and drips the medication into her
child’s mouth. In this work, we extend the use of the pouch to store a modern
ARV, Lamivudine (3TC), often used in multi-drug regimens. Under laboratory conditions,
pouches were filled with 3TC and stored at 25?C/60% relative humidity (RH)
for twelve months. We found that the 3TC was stable throughout the year
(maximum 5.6% of labeled concentration change). The preservatives were somewhat
degraded by the act of repackaging the medicine, but sufficient preservatives
remained to maintain the medication. The same impurities were identified in the
3TC stored in the pouches and the samples removed from the bottles indicating
that the pouches do not introduce new impurities (impurities that are not
already introduced by the bottle). We conclude that the pouch can preserve this
modern ARV for up to twelve months.