Oct. 1936 AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION 863

USE IN OINTMENTS.

Very satisfactory products were obtained when the U. S. P. ointments were pre- pared substituting soft hydrogenated castor oil for petrolatum or wool fat and hard hydrogenated castor oil for wax, etc. A few of the products were quite superior to the official ointments.

Unguenturn Belladonnce.--Since hydrogenated castor oil is miscible with alco- hol, i t is a valuable base for use when the medicament is in alcoholic solution, such as ointments containing extracts. Thus Belladonna Ointment, prepared as fol- lows, was very satisfactory:

Pilular Extract of Belladonna.. ............. Diluted Alcohol. .......................... 5 cc. Hard Hydrogenated Castor Oil.. ............ Soft Hydrogenated Castor Oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10 Gm.

10 Gm. 75 Gm.

Unguenturn Iodi.-Hydrogenated castor oil appears to absorb glycerin better than lard or petrolatum, probably due to the common hydroxyl radicals. Thus Iodine Ointment, prepared as follows, appeared to be of better consistency than the official product:

Iodine .................................... 4Gm. Potassium Iodide.. ........................ 4 Gm. Glycerin. ................................. 12 cc. Hard Hydrogenated Castor Oil.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Gm. Soft Hydrogenated Castor Oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Gm.

Oculenla (3).-Ointments for the eye are prepared, when the substance to be used is water-soluble, by incorporating the aqueous solution with a base consisting of 90% petrolatum and 10% wool fat previously filtered and sterilized. Since hy- drogenated castor oil more. readily absorbs water, it proved more satisfactory for such ointments.

REFERENCES.

Fiero, G. W,, JOUR. A. Pa. A., 20, 254 (1931). Dean, E. W., I d . Eng. Chem., 12,486 (1920). British Pharmw#&z (1932), 296.

NEW PRACTICALITIES IN PHARMACY .* BY 0. U. SISSON.

“Education begins a t the cradle and ends at the grave.” How often is one re- minded of this? Having had all the conceit taken out of me in 1895 by a man with little pharmaceutical education but a thoroughly practical mind, I have long fol- lowed the old axiom “count that day lost in which nothing has been gained.” All too frequently pharmacists, upon leaving their college halls, feel that their pro- fessional education is completed; there is nothing more for them to learn. Their education progresses no further from a professional standpoint. Mental atrophy sets in.

The only way in which this tendency can be overcome is by effort on the part of .... .-

* Section on Practical Pharmacy and Dispensing, A. PH. A., Dallas meeting, 1936.

AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION

the individual. He must literally use the whip-hand upon himself-keep driving himself forward to keep abreast of the times.

Much is said these days, relative to the pharmacist practicing the ancient art of the apothecary, and I am as much of an enthusiast for this as anyone-but in order to do this, it is not implied that this art shall be practiced in the same manner as that in which the ancient pharmacists plied their knowledge. New methods and new equipment are being developed, and the pharmacist who would keep up-to-date is he who keeps abreast of and makes the most judicious use of these advantages.

Not so long ago a manufacturer of kitchen-ware developed an electric mixer which was highly proclaimed a boon to the housewife in solving culinary problems. I felt that perhaps the apparatus could be adapted to my prescription laboratory. Therefore, I investigated the electric mixer and installed one. My thought was to use it in the preparation of emulsions and of ointments having an hydrophilous base. I found this apparatus to be fairly successful, not only in this but in other fields of usage.

Early this spring while attending a display of aluminum ware I noted a hand homogenizer. Immediately the thought occurred to me that this should prove a valuable aid in the manufacture of emulsions, because the preparation of mayon- naise and similar food dressings are primarily problems of emulsification. I tried this in my laboratory for emulsions and ointments and found the homogenizer to be just the apparatus needed. I further found that these came in several sizes, some hand operated and others electrically operated, suited to the needs of almost any store.

In the preparation of emulsions of the U. S. P. and N. F. type, my procedure first is to mix them in the electrical mixer, then to run them through the homogen- izer twice. This affords a freshly made emulsion-a quantity of 1000 cc. may be prepared in less than fifteen minutes and the product is far superior to those made by the continental method. Furthermore, one is relieved of the dread of having the mixture "break." The process is so simple and inexpensive that it may be adapted to almost any drug store.

I believe that if the pharmacist will feature these freshly prepared and almost colloidal emulsions, which stand up much longer than the ordinary, and which may be popularly priced, he may build up an enviable prescription business among his doctors. Likewise it may be used effectively for over-the-counter preparations, cough remedies, lotions and cosmetic lotions, particularly.

In the case of some ointments, such as that of crude coal tar, both the ma- terials and the mixer should be warmed. Once through the homogenizer, and you have a product that is far superior to that made by hand-perfectly mixed and em- bodying no small particles.

I am offering these suggestions because they are particularly applicable to pres- ent-day phatmacy and because of the great necessity for improvement and for effecting medical economies. Apparatus of this kind places the pharmacist in a position where he need feel no inferior complex in competing with machine-made products on the market.

Certainly all men interested in professional pharmacy will find time and be dis- posed to improve their products and methods of doing business.