Introduction: Doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX) are both widely used anticancer drugs with a broad spectrum of antitumor activity, commonly against breast, ovarian, and lung cancers. Currently, these drugs are commercially available in liposomal formulations for their use in chemotherapy. This study generally proposed coconut oil bodies (COB) obtained from Cocos nucifera L. as an alternative carrier for DOX and PTX rather than the currently used liposome. Objectives: This study aimed to compare standard liposome and coconut oil bodies as drug carriers in terms of their microencapsulation efficiencies, lipid profiles, in vitro drug release and stability, as well as their cholesterol levels. Methods: Coconut oil bodies (COB) were isolated and purified from Cocos nucifera L. by modified sucrose gradient method followed by microencapsulation of standard drugs (doxorubicin and paclitaxel) through selfassembly and freeze-thaw method. The two standard drugs were encapsulated using COB and standard liposome. Encapsulation efficiency of both materials were determined. Lipid profiles of both encapsulating materials were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography-flame ionization detector, and cholesterol level determination. In vitro drug release and pH stability of both encapsulated drugs were analyzed. Results: Doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX) were successfully incorporated in COB. Lauric acid was mainly abundant in COB and was able to lower cholesterol levels (5 mg/dL). COB incorporated with DOX and PTX showed stability at acidic and neutral pH. Drug release profile showed a rapid outburst within 3 hours compared to liposome encapsulated DOX and PTX. Conclusion Our study showed the encouraging potentials of using COB as wall materials that will make them attractive candidates for the formulation of pharmaceuticals for optimized drug delivery of cancer chemotherapeutics DOX and PTX
Liposomes ; Doxorubicin ; Paclitaxel

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools shifted to blended learning. This study aimed to determine the demographic and level of confidence of a private medical school’s clinical clerks of School Year 2021-2022 on general competencies and skills. Methods: The study aimed to identify the skills that exhibited the highest and lowest levels of confidence among a group of 139 clinical clerks. Additionally, it sought to examine whether there were significant differences in confidence levels based on sex and prior clinical experience. An analytical cross-sectional study design was employed using a Google Form as the data collection tool. Results: The clerks were most confident in handwashing, and least in NGT insertion, performing digital rectal examination (DRE), and suturing. Females were more confident in history taking of obstetric and gynecologic, surgical, and medical patients, physical examination of pediatric patients, and preparing a discharge summary, while males were more confident in performing digital rectal examination. Clerks with prior medical experience were significantly more confident in foley catheter insertion, intravenous insertion, blood extraction, suturing, and performing essential intrapartum and newborn care (EINC) than those without. The results aligned with previous studies since clerks with prior experience were able to practice the skills in a psychomotor sense. Conclusion The study revealed significant differences in the confidence level on the competencies and skills for medical practice between sex and prior medical experience.
Clinical Competence