Compounding with Sarah

  Stabilization of Oxidation Prone Ingredients by Sarah Taylor, PharmD One of the constant struggles compounding pharmacists face is the stabilization of ingredients and formulations that are subject to change depending on a patient’s specific needs and conditions. Compatibility of different individual ingredients and combinations of ingredients at a wide potential range of concentrations can be difficult to ascertain without trial, error, and observation in the lab. In this newsletter, we will discuss a few active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that often cause issues and review stabilizers that can be added that have demonstrated efficacy for reducing oxidation. Some ingredients commonly used for hyperpigmentation or other cosmetic conditions, such as aging skin are prone to oxidative degradation. Common examples include hydroquinone, kojic acid, and tretinoin. 1 The degradation of hydroquinone and kojic acid is associated with a darkening of color usually to a yellowish or b

  Sirolimus and Aging Skin By Sarah Taylor, PharmD As the average age of the world population increases, there has been growing demand for anti-aging products. Recent estimates put the size of the global anti-aging marketplace at about 50 billion Dollars (USD). 1 Compounding pharmacies often get requests from doctors for products that comprise anti-wrinkle or skin tightening creams. The pathophysiology of aging is multi-modal, and though of course aging is inevitable, it can be accelerated by a variety of factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to: hormonal changes, metabolic processes, and external factors such as UV light, smoking, and air pollution. The reversal of photoaging is often targeted as the main culprit in early wrinkles and skin degeneration. 2 A variety of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) are often used for aging skin, including niacinamide, tretinoin, retinol, and ascorbic acid (among others). Described in more detail below, sirolimus is one emer