1. A pharmaceutical formulation comprising 50-90% by weight an Andrographis paniculata extract and 5-50% by weight a blocking agent, wherein the extract and the blocking agent are both in powder form and are uniformly admixed.
2. The formulation of claim 1, wherein each of the extract and the blocking agent, independently, has powder sizes ranging from 1-500 \u03bcm.
3. The formulation of claim 2, wherein the extract has powder sizes ranging from 1-180 \u03bcm and the blocking agent has powder sizes ranging from 1-160 \u03bcm.
4. The formulation of claim 1, further comprising 0.1-50% by weight a pore-forming agent, wherein the pore-forming agent is in powder form.
5. The formulation of claim 4, wherein the pore-forming agent has powder sizes ranging from 1-500 \u03bcm.
6. The formulation of claim 4, wherein the blocking agent is 10-20% by weight and the pore forming agent is 5-15% by weight.
7. The formulation of claim 4, wherein the extract includes 7-10% by weight andrographolide, 2-4% by weight neoandrographolide, 0-2% by weight 14-deoxy-andrographolide, and 1-3% by weight 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide; the blocking agent is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, acrylic resin, ethyl cellulose, alginic acid, or a mixture thereof; and the pore-forming agent is lactose, starch, microcrystal fibrin, or a mixture thereof.
8. The formulation of claim 7, wherein the blocking agent is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and the pore-forming agent is lactose.
9. The formulation of claim 8, wherein the extract has powder sizes ranging from 1-180 \u03bcm, the blocking agent has powder sizes ranging from 1-160 \u03bcm, and the pore-forming agent has powder sizes ranging from 1-200 \u03bcm.
10. The formulation of claim 1, further comprising 0.1-20% by weight a filler, 0.5-2% by weight a lubricant, or 1-5% by weight a glidant, wherein the filler is calcium phosphate dibasic, pregelatinized starch, dextrin, calcium sulfate, or a mixture thereof; the lubricant is magnesium stearate, PEG 4000, or PEG 6000; and the glidant is French chalk or silicon oxide.
11. The formulation of claim 10, wherein the filler is calcium phosphate dibasic, the lubricant is magnesium stearate, and the glidant is silicon oxide.
12. The formulation of claim 1, wherein the blocking agent is a mixture of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (K100M) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (K15M).
13. A method for preparing a pharmaceutical formulation comprising:
providing a mixture containing a powdered Andrographis paniculata extract and a powdered blocking agent; and
aggregating the mixture to form granules;
wherein the extract and the blocking agent, independently, has powder sizes ranging from 1-500 \u03bcm, and the granules have powder sizes ranging from 1-1500 \u03bcm.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising compressing the granules to form a tablet.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the aggregating step is conducted by adding a binder to the mixture so that the extract and blocking agent powders aggregate to form granules.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the binder is polyvinylpyrrolidone.
17. The method of claim 13, further comprising mixing a lubricant or a glidant with the granules.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the lubricant is magnesium stearate, PEG 4000, or PEG 6000 and the glidant is French chalk or silicon oxide.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the mixture further contains a pore-forming agent in powder form and has powder sizes ranging from of 1-500 \u03bcm.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the pore forming agent is lactose, starch, microcrystal fibrin, or a mixture thereof.
21. The method of claim 13, wherein the mixture further contains a filler, wherein the filler is calcium phosphate dibasic, pregelatinized starch, dextrin, calcium sulfate, or a mixture thereof.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the mixture further contains a filler, wherein the filler is calcium phosphate dibasic, pregelatinized starch, dextrin, calcium sulfate, or a mixture thereof.
23. The method of claim 22, further comprising mixing a lubricant or a glidant with the granules.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the lubricant is magnesium stearate, PEG 4000 or PEG 6000; and the glidant is French chalk or silicon oxide.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising compressing the granules to form a tablet.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A thermoelectric generator, comprising:
a top plate and a bottom plate disposed is spaced parallel relation to one another, each one of the top and bottom plates being thermally conductive and having a generally circular shape;
a spirally wound foil segment captured between and thermally interconnecting the top and bottom plates, the foil segment comprising:
an elongate substrate having top and bottom edges and a thickness in the range of from about 7.5 microns to about 50 microns and including opposing front and back substrate surfaces, the substrate being formed of an electrically insulating material having a low thermal conductivity;
a series of elongate alternating s and p-type thermoelectric legs disposed in spaced parallel arrangement on the front substrate surface, each of the n-type and p-type legs being formed of a Bi2Te3-type thermoelectric material having a thickness in the range of from about 10 microns to about 100 microns, each n- type and p-type thermoelectric leg having a width and a length, the width being in the range of from about 10 microns to about 100 microns, the length being in the range of from about 100 microns to about 500 microns;
wherein:
each one of the p-type thermoelectric legs is electrically connected to adjacent ones of the n-type thermoelectric legs at opposite ends of the p-type thermoelectric legs such that the n-type and p-type thermoelectric legs are electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel;
the top plate and bottom plate being electrically connected to respective ones of opposing ends of the series of alternating n-type and p-type thermoelectric legs;
the thermoelectric material for the p-type thermoelectric legs being a semiconductor compound having the following formula:
(Bi0.15Sb0.85)2Te3 plus about 10 at. % Te excess to about 30 at. % Te excess.
2. The thermoelectric generator of claim 1 wherein the p-type Bi2Te3-type thermoelectric material has a power factor (Pp) of up to about 45 \u03bcW(K2* cm) at about 20\xb0 Celsius.
3. The thermoelectric generator of claim 1 wherein the thermoelectric material for the n-type thermoelectric legs is a semiconductor compound having the following formula:
Bi2(Te0.9Se0.1)3 plus about 10 at. % (Te0.9Se0.1) excess to about 30 at. % (Te0.9Se0.1) excess.
4. The thermoelectric generator of claim 3 wherein the n-type Bi2Te3-type thermoelectric material has a power factor (Pn) of up to about 45 \u03bcW(K2* cm) at about 20\xb0 Celsius.
5. The thermoelectric generator of claim 1 wherein:
the open circuit voltage output is between about 4.0 V and about 6.5 V;
the short-circuit current output is between about 60 \u03bcA and about 100 \u03bcA at a temperature differential between the top and bottom plates of about 5 K.
6. The thermoelectric generator of claim 1 wherein:
the electrical power output is between about 70 \u03bcW and about 130 \u03bcW at a temperature differential between the top and bottom plates of about 5 K and at a voltage of between about 2.5 V and 3.5 V.
7. The thermoelectric generator of claim 1 wherein:
the top and bottom plates have a diameter in the range of from about 4 millimeters (mm) to about 80 mm;
the top and bottom plates being spaced apart to define an overall height of the thermoelectric generator of between about 0.3 mm and about 4.0 mm.