Pharmaceutical Methods
Publishing Quality Research & Reviews
Pharmaceutical Methods
Publishing Quality Research & Reviews
Pharmaceutical Methods is a peer reviewed publication developed to publish original and innovative research articles relating to new research, development and quality assurance approaches undertaken in parallel to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products.
This journal will publish articles relating to the development of new drug targets; scale up approaches (getting drugs from the laboratory synthesis stage to the bulk manufacturing stage); analytical instrumental method validation protocols (involving for example, NIR, NMR, LC-MS, UV, HPLC, HPTLC, GC); approaches to meeting and ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements; original techniques for enhancing total quality management (TQM) and team building skills to empower manufacturing professionals to strive for the ‘zero defect’ culture which is now a prerequisite in regulated environments. Consideration will also be given to articles relating to advances in biotechnology. The journal will take into account articles relating to applying the principles of Quality by Design (Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing are examples) and Operational Excellence models. Other areas of relevance may include supply chain management; the use and development of laboratory information management systems (LIMS); new strategies for ensuring supply chain management and for ensuring customer satisfaction, etc. As pharmaceutical manufacturing and the related methodologies is a very diverse and a multi faceted field, the scope of the journal will therefore be, by necessity, quite wide.
Objective
It is the objective of this journal to provide a comprehensive and informative array of pertinent issues relating to pharmaceutical methods and the pharmaceutical industry and thus to help to promote and share techniques and knowledge that will advance the pharmaceutical sector in general.
Editorial Policy
Manuscripts are accepted with the understanding that the authors have not violated any ethical practice followed in preparation and publication of biomedical manuscripts. The list practices that are considered unethical are given in the journal website. Author/s is/are responsible for all the statements made in their work and should be willing to defend them publicly, if challenged. Authors should prepare their manuscripts submitted to the journal exactly according to the instructions given. Manuscripts which do not follow the format and style of the journal may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected. The journal reserves the right to make any further formal changes and language corrections necessary in a manuscript accepted for publication. Manuscripts and figures are not returned to the authors, not even upon rejection of the paper.
Research papers: Original research work will be considered under this section depending on the volume and quality of work.
Methods: Articles on new methods/procedures on drug evaluation, testing and analyses will be published. Innovative studies on established methodologies and their modifications will also be considered. The articles must be supported by data.
Rapid communication: An article will be accepted for rapid communication if it merits priority publication. The decision of acceptance or otherwise will be communicated within 4 weeks of receipt of the manuscript and accepted articles will be published in the following issue.
Research letters: Preliminary work with hard data can be published as a Letter. Brief research communications will also be accepted under this section.
Correspondence: Comment(s) on previously published articles, items of current interest and articles of general interest and views can be submitted for this section.
Final article layout: Above charges are applicable for a minimum of 1-6 pages.
Why do we charge?
This journal is an Open Access, where in the content is free to read. The journal is non-commercial and currently, it is self financing and not supported by any major organizations. Cost is being absorbed only with subscriptions. Hence, a nominal cost will be levied to cover the cost of the following
Submission Requirements
Covering Letter
Disclose all possible conflicts of interest (e.g., funding sources for consultancies or studies of products). Full contact details with postal address(es), phone numbers (mobile & landline) and email IDs (primary & secondary) of the corresponding author must be clearly mentioned. The importance of the paper may be briefly indicated. A list of potential reviewers (not exceeding 5) with their phone numbers and email IDs should be included. The suggested reviewers must be working in the same area dealt with in the manuscript. Whether to use their services or not is the discretion of the chief editor.
Copyright Form
All manuscripts are considered to be the property of journal from the time of submission. If we are not publishing the paper, it releases its rights therein at the time the manuscript is rejected following the editorial/peer review or retracted by the authors. Manuscripts published in Pharm Methods become the sole property of the journal. The corresponding author, on behalf of all authors, signs a copyright transfer form at the time of submission of the manuscript.
Title Page
Title page should give the title, author’s names, their affiliations and their email IDs, corresponding author’s name, email IDs, postal address, phone numbers (landline & mobile) and acknowledgements if any.
Preparation of Manuscript
The manuscript should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized – paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins on all sides. Times New Roman font 12 pt should be used. The fonts used in the text as well as graphics should be restricted to Times New Roman, Symbol and Zapf Dingbats.
A research paper typically should include the following in the order given below:
Title
Should be in Title Case; the first character in each word in the title has to be capitalized. Authors’ names and affiliations should not be given.
Abstract
Should be structured and limited to 250 Words. A brief summary of the research should be given under the subheadings Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions..
Key words
No more than six keywords are needed. Words appearing in the title should not be given as keywords. It is desirable to include the alternative words, if any under keywords e.g. the word ‘epinephrine’. They should be written left aligned, arranged alphabetically in 12pt Times Roman, and the line must begin with the words Keywords boldfaced. A 12pt space should separate the keywords from the affiliations.
Introduction
Description of the research area, pertinent background information, and the hypotheses tested in the study should be included under this section. The introduction should provide sufficient background information such that a scientifically literate reader can understand and appreciate the work to be described. A detailed review of literature is not at all required under this section. The specific aims of the project should be identified along with rationale for the specific experiments and other work performed. The introduction MUST include in-text citations including a few references pertinent to the background and justification for the study.
Materials and Methods
Materials and/or subjects utilized in the study as well as the procedures undertaken to complete the work. The methods should be described in sufficient detail such that they could be repeated by a competent researcher. The sources of all major instruments and reagents used (kits, drugs, etc) must be given with parentheses. Illustrations and/or tables may be helpful in describing complex equipment or elaborate procedures. The statistical tool used to analyze the data should be mentioned. All procedures involving experimental animals or human subjects must accompany a statement on ethical approval from appropriate ethics committee.
Results
Data acquired from the research with appropriate statistical analysis described in the methods section should be included in this section. The results section should highlight the important results obtained. Data should be organized into figures and tables. Qualitative as well as quantitative results should be included if applicable.
Discussion/Conclusion
This section should relate the results section to current understanding of the scientific problems being investigated in the field. Description of relevant references to other work/s in the field should be included here. This section also allows the author to discuss the significance of the results - i.e. does the data support the hypotheses you set out to test? This section should end with new answers/questions that arise as a result of the author’s work.
Tables and Figures
Tables
Tables should be numbered with Roman numerals according to their sequence in the text, and have a short self-explanatory heading. Use SI units. Tables should include vertical rules, but horizontal rules should separate column headings from the content. Authors should keep in mind the page layout of the journal when designing tables. Tables that fit onto one printed page are preferred. Detailed explanations of symbols, units, and abbreviations should be given below the table.
Illustrations
Figures for final production should be submitted as electronic files and hard copy so that the editorial office can ensure that the output of electronic files matches the hardcopy. Please pay particular attention to the guidelines below. The editorial office cannot undertake preparation of manuscripts and illustrations not conforming to journal style. Manuscripts of insufficient quality will be returned immediately without refereeing. A high standard of illustration (both line and photo) is an editorial priority. All illustrations should be prepared for printing to fit 80 x 240 mm (column width) or 169 mm by up to 240 mm (full page) size. The authors should keep in mind that the full-page length is not used and the caption will be placed underneath the figure. In the event that full-page length is necessary for plates, captions will have to appear on adjacent pages. Figure(s) must be numbered consecutively in the text. Compound figures with more than one micrograph or photo should be referred by a single figure reference (e.g. Figure 1), and individual parts should be labeled with capitalized letters in the lower left-hand corner. Lettering should be of a sans-serif type (i.e. fonts without serifs such as Arial) with a minimum published size of 4.2 mm (12 pt). Descriptive labeling in the figures should be clearly readable, and all lettering should have a minimum published size of 6 pt (2.1 mm) for labeling items on photographs or in line art is recommended and a maximum size of 10 pt is suggested. Use a scale bar to indicate magnifications and place in the lower right corner if possible. Computer prepared photographic images must be at a minimum of 350 dpi at the final publication size. Lower resolution will result in pixilation and poor quality images. These should be submitted as JPEG or TIFF, but encapsulated postscript (EPS) format is also acceptable.
Computer drawn figures are accepted provided they are of high quality. Please note that graphs produced by many statistical packages are rarely adequate. In particular, letter quality on axes and captions are often poor. Such figures should be exported into an accepted graphics package and lettering rendered using a text function. Authors should note that .dot, .bmp, and .pat fills should be avoided. Do not use postscript fill patterns as these are often based on bit map patterns that result in screening patterns during final reproduction. When filling illustrations, use fills such as lines, tints or solids. Line width minimum is 0.25 pt (0.09 mm). Also avoid the use of bitmap scans to render text and detail. Text should be saved as text at a minimum text size of 6 pt (2.1 mm). Submit line art as Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, or EPS files. These must be at a minimum resolution of 800 DPI at publication size. High resolution may be necessary where fine line detail is present.
For graphs, Excel graphs are also acceptable. Note that vertical axes must all be at the same scale especially when the paper compares them. Otherwise they should be produced as separate figures. Avoid 3D plots when presenting 2D data.
All tables and figures must be placed in appropriate places in the manuscript and when this is not possible, appropriate place must be indicated in the manuscript. Please note good quality figures must be submitted as separate files as said above apart from presenting a copy of the same at appropriate places in the manuscript. This will make job of the reviewer easy.
Table and Figure captions
Figure captions/legends should include a statement at the end of each caption/legend about reproduction size (e.g. at full page width, at column width). They should be single spaced and typed in the journal format. Explanations should be brief and authors should keep in mind that captions/legends will be placed below figures.
Acknowledgements
Those who have helped the authors carry out the study and/or prepare the manuscript but have not made significant intellectual contribution to deserve authorship must be acknowledged. Mention all applicable grants and other funding that supported the work.
Page layout & styles
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Page size |
Letter Portrait 8 ½ X 11 |
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Margins |
All Margins, 1cm |
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Page number |
Numbered at bottom right |
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Footer / Headers |
None |
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Title |
14 pt Times New Roman, bold, centered. |
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Author and co-authors |
12 pt Times New Roman centered, bold - author and all co-authors names in one line. The corresponding author should include an asterisk*. |
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Authors address |
12 pt Times New Roman centered - giving each authors' affiliation (i.e. Department/Organization/Address/Place/Country/email). Followed by single line spacing. |
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Abstract |
12 pt Times New roman, full justification Normal - maximum 250 words |
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Text |
12 pt Times New roman, full justification – 1.5 line spacing between paragraphs. No indentation |
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Heading |
Major headings (ABSTRACT, KEYWORDS, INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS AND METHODS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, REFERENCES) in upper case left-justified, 12 pt bold, Intermediate headings should be in italics, sentence case, left justified, 12 pt |
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Tables |
Correct “Table 1 : Serum enzyme levels………” Incorrect “Table No. 1 : Serum enzyme levels………” |
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Figures /Graphs |
Figures may be embedded in your word document but they should be created with a program that allows you to save them as gif, jpg or tiff format. Figures, tables or other materials copied verbatim or adopted from previously published materials, the author must have written permission from the copyright holder of that material (publisher and/or authors) for reproduction in your article. A copy of the permission release must be submitted with the manuscript. It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission. To be incorporated at the end of the manuscript with proper labeling Correct “Figure 1 : Serum enzyme levels………” Incorrect “Figure No. 1 : Serum enzyme levels………” |
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Graphs |
To be included from excel and it should be editable. Non–editable graphs will not be accepted. |
All text should be fully justified. Please put all primary section titles in UPPER CASE letters and subheading in both Upper and Lower Case letters. Do not number your titles (for example, 1.0 Introduction; 2.0 Background). Do not use the tab key to indent blocks of text such as paragraphs of quotes or lists because the page layout program overrides the left margin with its own, and the tabs end up in mid-sentence.
References In-text citation
Correct / Acceptable Format
Cloxacillin is a semisynthetic penicillin used as the sodium salt [Figure 1] to treat staphylococcal infections due to penicillinase-positive organisms. [1] Unlike amoxicillin, this antibiotic is incompletely absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, and absorption is reduced by the presence of food in the stomach. To produce a wider spectrum of activity, cloxacillin may be co-formulated with other antibacterials, in particular with amoxicillin (ratio 1:1, w/w) in capsules.
In the literature, the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique has been reviewed as a valuable tool for the analysis of antibiotics in formulated and unformulated samples. [3] As a result, this technique has been widely used for the simultaneous determination of penicillins such as amoxicillin and cloxacillin in pharmaceuticals, biological fluids, and tissues. [4],[5],[6],[7],[8]
Courtesy : J Young Pharm
Reference List: Author/Authors
Journal References
1. Single/Multiple Authors
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002 Jul 25;347(4): 284-7.
2. More than six authors
Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Regulation of interstitial excitatory amino acid concentrations after cortical contusion injury. Brain Res. 2002; 935(1-2): 40-6.
3. Organization as Author
Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002; 40(5): 679-86.
4. Unknown Author
21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. BMJ. 2002; 325(7357): 184-5.
5. Journal article on the Internet
Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [serial on the Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12]; 102(6): [about 3 p.]. Available from:
http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm
Note: Plant/Micro organisms, in-vivo, in-vitro should be in italics.
6. Personal author(s)
Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Paller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.
7. Editor(s), compiler(s) as author
Gilstrap LC 3rd, Cunningham FG, VanDorsten JP, editors. Operative obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002.
8. Author(s) and editor(s)
Breedlove GK, Schorfheide AM. Adolescent pregnancy. 2nd ed. Wieczorek RR, editor. White Plains (NY): March of Dimes Education Services; 2001.
9. Organization(s) as author
Royal Adelaide Hospital; University of Adelaide, Department of Clinical Nursing. Compendium of nursing research and practice development, 1999-2000. Adelaide (Australia): Adelaide University; 2001.
10. Chapter in a book
Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.
11. Conference proceedings
Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumors V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour Conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002.
12. Thesis
N. Khoshakhlagh. The compositions of volatile fractions of Peganum harmala seeds and its smoke. Pharm. D. Thesis, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (2002).
13. Website
Cancer-Pain.org [homepage on the Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.
Submission of Manuscript
Manuscripts should always be submitted only with the web based Manuscript Submission System.
All messages and reviews sent electronically will be acknowledged automatically upon receipt.
Note: Do not send hard copies/CDs, until you receive e-mail request from Editorial office.
A timely submission, however, is not a guarantee that your work will be accepted for forthcoming publication. All submissions are peer reviewed by the editorial board and a select group of reviewers. Please make sure that all guidelines are followed carefully. All the accepted articles will be queued for publication and will appear in the futures issues based on the priorities set by the editorial board.
The manuscript should be submitted through Web Based Manuscript Submission ONLY. Hard copies are not accepted.
Upon acceptance ; subscription to the journal is encouraged before publication
Check List for Submitting A Manuscript
