MCO Ezeibe Bags Presidential Award on Invention of Antiviral Agent

The Presidential Standing Committee on Invention and Innovations (PSCII) has given an award to Dr. MCO Ezeibe of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka to encourage him to further his research on synthetic aluminum magnesium silicate as “an antiviral agent and adjuvant to other drugs”. Please read excerpts from his work.

The Synthetic Aluminium – Magnesium Silicate
Al4(SiO4)3 + 3Mg2SiO4 → 2Al2Mg3(SiO4)3
Background.
Aluminium–Magnesium Silicate (AMS) has been used as stabilizing agent for drug formulations for many decades. Its molecules consist of submicroscopic platelets . Faces of the platelets carry negative electrical charges while the edges have the positive charges (Vanderbilt,1995).
Viruses also have electrical charges (Cann, 1993). These charges make viruses adsorb onto AMS molecules, thus blocking sites of adsorption of the viruses onto cells of infected animals.
Also, pocession of the two charges make molecules of AMS, when in solution, to hydrate to stabilize drugs it is combined with (Vanderbilt,1995). Stabilizing drugs reduces rate of their metabolic degradation. When high concentrations of drugs are retained in blood for longer time, their actions improve (Brent,2001).
To overcome impurities in natural AMS, two minerals already certified safe as medicines, aluminium silicate and magnesium silicate were reacted to get The synthetic AMS [Ezeibe,(2006), Federal Republic of Nigeria, Patents and Designs Act. Cap. 344 LDN 1990, No. 16448]. Simple sugars were added to the synthetic AMS to transport its molecules, accross mucouse membranes, into blood circulation (Murray,2000).
FINDINGS:
In vitro, the AMS significantly reduced viral titres,viral seroconversion abilities, morbidity rates of infected animals and mortality rates of inoculated chicken embryos. Mean death time of the embryos that died, also increased significantly [ Ezeibe et al (2009 a), Anim. Sc. Rep. 3(4): 132 -137, Ezeibe et al (2009 b), Anim. Sc. Rep. 3(4):141 – 147, Ezeibe et al (2010 a), Anim. Sc. Rep.4(3):87 – 90, Ezeibe, et al (2010 b), Health 2 (10) : 1215 -1217, Ezeibe et al (2011 a), Int. J. Biol. Chem.Sc. 5(2) : 825 – 829, Ezeibe, et al (2011 b), Nature Precedings.hdt 10101/npre 67091. Posted 9 October 2011]. PPR and Measles vaccines which normaly give negative HA and C. I. E reactions gave positive reactions following incubation with the AMS [Ezeibe et al (2010 c) J. Appl Anim. Res. 38 : 113 -115].
Mortality rates of infected animals reduced significantly following oral treatment with the AMS [Ezeibe et al (2009 a) Anim. Sc. Rep. 3(4) : 132 – 137 , Ezeibe, et al (2010 b) Health 2(10) : 1215 -1217, Ezeibe et al (2011 a) Int. J. Biol. Chem.Sc. 5(2) : 825 – 829].
The AMS also significantly improved therapeutic effects of Sulphadimidin, Piperazine, Chloroquine and Ampicillin against coccidia, helminths, plasmodium and bacteria respectively [Ezeibe et al (2011 c) Trop. Vet. 29 : 41 – 44, Ezeibe et al (2012 a). Nature Precedings hdt 10101/npre 2012.6749.1.Posted 2 Jan 2012, Ezeibe et al (2012 b). Nature Precedings hdt.handle.net/10101/npre 2012.6814.1. Posted 23 Jan.2012].Chickens, mice, rats and dogs dosed the AMS manifested no noticeable side effects.