Determination of clonazepam in pharmaceutical preparations using simple high-throughput flow injection system

This study was aimed at examining two flow injection-spectrophotometric systems (normal and reverse) for the determination of clonazepam (CLO) at the microgram level in pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The estimation of CLO has been developed by conjugating a normal (or reverse) flow injection analysis (nFIA or rFIA) and spectrophotometric detection with phloroglucinol as a coupling reagent. Beer’s law was obeyed over a range of 50–400 and 30–400 μg/mL. The limits of detection were 11 and 8 μg/mL and the sampling rates were 51 and 28 samples per hour for nFIA and rFIA respectively. Both systems were successfully applied for the determination of CLO in its commercially available dosage forms. A comparison between the proposed flow systems was also done. These simple and high throughput methods could be utilized for pharmaceutical analysis of CLO.     

Triangular silver nanoplates as a spectrophotometric reagent for the determination of mercury(II)

The applicability of triangular silver nanoplates (TNPs) as a spectrophotometric reagent for the determination of mercury(II) in an aqueous solution was estimated. The method is based on the oxidation of TNPs with a mean edge length of 52 nm and thickness of 4 nm by mercury(II) ions, which is accompanied by a decrease in the surface plasmon resonance of nanoparticles. The effect of reaction time, pH of solution, and TNP concentration on the sensitivity of mercury(II) determination was studied. The limit of mercury(II) detection under the selected conditions was 0.022 μg/mL.     

Color reactions of vanadium(V) with 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid and ascorbic acid on PANV–AV-17 disks

The adsorption of vanadium(V) and 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HQS) on polyacrylonitrile fiber disks filled with an AV-17 (PANV–AV-17) anion exchanger is studied by diffuse reflection spectroscopy. Vanadium(V) at pH 5?7 is adsorbed on PANV–AV-17; when a HQS solution is applied to the disk, a yellowish green complex compound formed, which changed color to almost black after the treatment of the disk with a HCl solution. The presence of sulfo groups in the HQS molecule ensures the preconcentration of the reagent on PANV–AV-17 disks with the registration of an analytical signal after the treatment of the disk with NaVO₃ and 0.1 M HCl solutions. A linear dependence of the analytical signal is observed in the HQS concentration range of 1?10 μg/mL. The presence of 20-fold amounts (by weight) of 8-hydroxyquinoline (HOQ) does not interfere with the determination. When ascorbic acid is applied to the disk with a vanadium(V)?HQS?HCl complex, the color changes from black to green. A test method for the determination of ascorbic acid is proposed. 8-Hydroxyquinoline can be determined by the intrinsic color of the adsorbate on PANV–KU-2 in the range of concentrations of HOQ solution in two drops 5?100 μg.     

Simultaneous determination of cinnarizine and nicergoline in a binary mixture using first derivative spectra,first derivative of ratio spectra and multivariate calibration techniques

Four methods are described for the simultaneous determination of cinnarizine (Cinn) and nicergoline (Nic). The first method is based on the first derivative (¹ D) ultraviolet spectrophotometry, with zero crossing and peak to base measurement. The first derivative amplitudes at 216.1 and 235.0 nm were selected for the assay of cinnarizine and nicergoline, respectively. The second method is based on the first derivative of the ratio-spectra (¹ DD) obtained by measurement of the amplitudes at 256 and 290.6 nm for cinnarizine and nicergoline, respectively. The other two chemometric methods applied were classical least squares (CLS) and inverse least squares (ILS). The calibration of these chemometric methods that involves absorbance and concentration data matrices is used for the prediction of unknown concentrations of Cinn and Nic. The numerical values were calculated by using Matlab R12 version 6.0 and Origin 5.0 software. The linear ranges are 1–40 and 1–46 μg/mL for cinnarizine and nicergoline, respectively, for all methods. The four methods were successfully applied to assaying the pharmaceutical formulations (Cinibral® tablets).     

Gold nanoparticles,capped by carboxy-calix[4]resorcinarenes: effect of structure and concentration of macrocycles on the nanoparticles size and aggregation

Small (d_core?≈?2–5 nm) well-dispersed gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) stabilized by amphiphilic octacarboxy-calix[4]resorcinarenes with different substituents on the lower rim—methyl (С₁–CR), pentyl (С₅–CR) and undecyl (С₁₁–CR)—in an aqueous solution were obtained. The nanoparticles were studied by spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy, FTIR-spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, small angle X-ray scattering and X-ray powder diffraction. The influence of HAuCl₄/macrocycle ratio during the synthesis on the nanoparticles size and aggregation only for weakly associated С₁–CR and С₅–CR was achieved. The self-association effect of С₁₁–CR on the nanoparticles stabilization is found. The existence of gold in the form of crystallites and their average sizes were defined. The average nanoparticle sizes were determined and the structure of macrocyclic shells on the surface of nanoparticles in an aqueous solution was proposed. The formation of cooperative calix[4]resorcinarene associates on the AuNPs surface due to the multiple supramolecular interactions leads to the creation of functional gold nanoparticles.     

Amberlyst-15 catalyzed synthesis of novel thiophene–pyrazoline derivatives: spectral and crystallographic characterization and anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial evaluation

Increasing instances of antimicrobial drug resistance and Inflammation-mediated disorders requires the design and synthesis of new small-molecules with higher affinity and specificity for their potential targets to serve as antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs, respectively. The current study presents the synthesis of a series of chalcones, 3(a–h) by the reaction of 3-methylthiophene-2-carbaldehyde, 1 and acetophenones, 2(a–h) by Claisen–Schmidt approach. The chalcones were efficiently transformed into thienyl-pyrazolines, 5(a–h) by their reaction with thiosemicarbazide hydrochloride, 4 in the presence of Amberlyst-15 as a catalyst in acetonitrile at room temperature. Alternatively, the compounds 5(a–h) were prepared by conventional method using acetic acid (40%) medium. Structures were characterized by spectral and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Preliminary assessment of the anti-inflammatory properties of the compounds showed that, amongst the series, compounds 5b and 5c have excellent anti-inflammatory activities. Further, compound 5c showed excellent activity against Escherichia coli (MIC, 15 µg/mL), Bacillus subtilis (MIC, 20 µg/mL), Aspergillus niger (MIC, 20 µg/mL), and Aspergillus flavus (MIC 15 µg/mL), respectively. Compounds 5a and 5b were also found to be active against the tested microorganisms.     

Synthesis and properties of novel stilbene-twelve alkyl quaternary ammonium salts as antibacterial optical whitening agents

Four novel stilbene-twelve alkyl quaternary ammonium salts 5a–d were synthesized. All synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and elemental analysis. Compounds 5a–d showed efficient whitening effect on cotton fiber and high fastness. Furthermore, compound 5c showed better stability to light than C186 in aqueous solution. The preliminary biological experiment demonstrated compounds 5a–d possessed significant antibacterial activities. Among them, compound 5d turned out to be the most active compound against Candida albicans with MIC₅₀ 4 μg/mL as well as E. coli with MIC₅₀ 16 μg/mL.     

Potent antibacterial agents: pyridinium-functionalized amphiphiles bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazole scaffolds

Through tuning and optimizing the phenyl substituents and alkyl length, a series of pyridinium-functionalized amphiphiles possessing potent antibacterial activity toward three types of plant pathogenic bacteria were obtained. Investigations on the inhibition effect of substituents on the phenyl ring towards the bioactivity suggested that the substitutional group was not the crucial factor for the bioactivity. In comparison, the antibacterial effects could be significantly enhanced with increasing the length of alkyl chains. Among these amphiphiles, 6c, 6f, 6h, 6i, 6k, 6l, 6n, and 6q exhibited remarkable inhibition activities against the three pathogenic bacteria with the half-maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀) values within 0.128–1.98 µg/mL. Furthermore, the minimum EC₅₀ values against the pathogens Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri could reach to 0.128 and 0.403 µg/mL, respectively, which were decreased about four times than those of our previous results. Given their simple synthesis and biocidal antibacterial activity, this kind of amphiphiles could be developed as promising bactericides against plant bacterial diseases.     

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of some novel hexahydroquinoline derivatives containing benzofuran moiety

A series of new ethyl 4-(2-(benzofuran-2-yl)-4-substituted-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinolin-1-yl)-benzoate 3a–c was synthesized by Michael condensation of benzofuran chalcones 1a–c and cyclohexanone to give 2-(2-benzofuranyl)-4-substituted-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-4-H -chromene 2a–c, followed by reaction of the latter with ethyl 4-aminobenzoate. Condensation of 3a–c with different amines afforded the corresponding amides 4a–e. On the other hand, upon treatment compounds 3a–c with hydrazine hydrate gave the benzohydrazide derivatives 5a–c. The reaction of compounds 5a–c with different thio/isocyanate gave the corresponding thiosemicarbazide and semicarbazide derivatives 6a–c. Meanwhile compounds 5a–c were reacted with ethyl cyanoacetate and different β-dicarbonyl compounds such as acetyl acetone, ethyl acetoacetate, and diethyl malonate to afford pyrazolyl derivatives 7a, b; 8a, b; 9a, b; and 10a–c, respectively. Moreover, 5a–c were reacted with carbon disulfide to synthesize the corresponding oxadiazolyl derivatives 11a–c, while their condensation with different aromatic aldehydes gave the corresponding Schiff bases 12a–d. Cytotoxic evaluation of some of the newly synthesized compounds against human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG-2) revealed that the tested compounds produce promising inhibitory effect against the growth of HepG-2 cells with IC₅₀ values ranged from 11.9 to 19.3 µg/mL.     

Spectrophotometric determination of glimepiride in pharmaceutical preparations based on the formation of charge-transfer and ion-pair complexes

Two rapid, simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric methods were developed for the determination of glimepiride in pharmaceutical preparations. The first method was based on the formation of a charge-transfer complex of the drug, as n-electron donor, with 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), as π-acceptor. The second method was based on the formation of ion-pair complexes between the examined drug and bromothymol blue (BTB). The proposed methods were validated for linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, robustness and specificity. The calibration was linear over the concentration range of 10–80 and 20–120 μg/mL for methods I and II, respectively. The limits of detection were 2.6 and 2.8 μg/mL. The proposed methods were applied to the determination of the drug in pharmaceutical preparations. The results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained using the reference method (HPLC). There was no significant difference in the accuracy and precision as revealed by the accepted values of t- and F-tests, respectively.     

Synthesis of novel heptaplatin derivatives and evaluation of their ability to inhibit proliferation of cancer cell lines

A series of novel heptaplatin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit growth of two cancer cell lines: human colon carcinoma cell line HCT-8 and human hepatocarcinoma cell line Bel-7402. Majority of the synthesized compounds demonstrated superior activity against cancer cell lines compared to heptaplatin. Specifically, compounds 5a and 5b (5 µg/mL) had more pronounced efficacy against the HCT-8 cell line while 6b and 6c (0.5 µg/mL) had higher efficacy against Bel-7402 cell line.     

Voltammetric determination of captopril using a novel ferrocene-based polyamide as a mediator and multi-wall carbon nanotubes as a sensor

A modified carbon paste electrode was prepared by incorporating multi-wall carbon nanotubes with a ferrocene-based polyamide (FDADO-IPC). A mixture of fine graphite powder with 10 wt % of multi-wall carbon nanotubes was applied to the preparation of the carbon paste (by dispersing in paraffin) that was finally modified with a ferrocene polyamide complex. The electrocatalytic oxidation of captopril (CAP) was investigated on the surface of the FDADO-IPC multi-wall carbon nanotubes modified carbon paste electrode (FDADO-IPC-MCNTPE) using cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), chronoamperometry (CHA) and chronocoloumetry (CHC). Using the modified electrode, the kinetics of CAP electrooxidation was considerably enhanced by lowering the anodic overpotential through a catalytic fashion. A linear dynamic range of 0.2–200 μM for CAP was obtained in buffered solutions at pH 7.0. The detection limit was 0.08 μM. Differential pulse voltammetry as a simple, rapid, sensitive, and selective method was developed for the determination of CAP in tablet and human urine without any treatment.     

Flavonoids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cirsium japonicum</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">maackii</Emphasis> pappus as inhibitors of aldose reductase and their simultaneous determination

Aldose reductase is an enzyme in the polyol pathway which is associated in the progression of diabetic complications. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory activity of Cirsium japonicum var. maackii pappus (CJP) against rat lens aldose reductase (RLAR). The ethanolic extract, fractions and isolated flavonoids were subjected to an RLAR assay. Isolation of chloroform (CHCl₃) and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fractions led to the identification of four flavonoids: hispidulin (1), cirsimaritin (2), apigenin (3), and cirsimarin (4). The RLAR assay results suggested that the EtOAc fraction and flavonoids 1 and 3 promoted better AR inhibition than did TMG (control). The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of compounds 1 and 3 was 0.77 and 3.19 μM, respectively. A simultaneous determination of flavonoid content using HPLC–UV indicated that CJP contained large amounts of compounds 2 and 3 (1.65 and 1.84 mg/g, respectively). Flavonoids from Cirsium species have been widely reported to show various pharmacological activities. This study indicated that CJP has the potential to prevent diabetic complications and was a potential source of flavonoids.     

Synthesis and antiviral activities of novel penta-1,4-diene-3-one oxime derivatives bearing a pyridine moiety

A series of novel penta-1,4-diene-3-one oxime ether derivatives bearing a pyridine moiety were designed and synthesized, and their antiviral activities against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) were evaluated. The results of the biological assay indicated that most of the title compounds exhibit good antiviral activities against TMV at 500 μg/mL. In particular, the title compounds 5c, 5j, 5o and 5p showed remarkable curative activities against TMV, with EC₅₀ values of 274.8, 299.2, 251.8 and 287.7 μg/mL, respectively, which were superior to that of ribavirin (379.8 μg/mL). This study indicates that penta-1,4-diene-3-one oxime ether derivatives bearing a pyridine moiety can serve as potential alternative templates in the search for novel, highly efficient, anti-plant viral agents.     

Copper(II) and cobalt(II) complexes with a chiral 5-pyrazolone derivative obtained from the terpene (+)-3-carene: Synthesis and properties

The complexes [CuLCl₂] (I), [CoLCl₂] (II), and CuLBr₂ (III) (where L is the derivative of optically active 5-pyrazolone prepared from the terpene (+)-3-carene) were obtained and characterized. According to X-ray diffraction data, crystal structures I and II (orthorhombic crystal system) are built from mononuclear acentric molecules. In the resulting complexes, the Cu²⁺ or Co²⁺ ion coordinates two N atoms of the chelating bidentate ligand L and two Cl atoms, thus making a distorted tetrahedron. Intermolecular contacts and the hydrogen bonds Cl(1)…H-O(1) give rise to columns parallel to axis y. For complexes I and III, μ_eff = 1.83 and 1.81 μB, respectively; these values correspond to the electronic configuration d ⁹ . For complex II, μ_eff = 4.42 μB, which suggests the tetrahedral structure of the coordination entity CoCl₂N₂. Complexes I and III were studied by EPR spectroscopy.     

Synthesis and structures of Cu<Superscript>I,II</Superscript> complexes with a 2,2´-bipyridine derivative bearing a (+)-3-carene moiety

The complex salt {[CuL₂][Cu₄I₆]?MeCN}_n (1) and the compound [Cu₄L₃I₄]?3 MeCN (2) (L is a chiral ligand bearing a natural monoterpene (+)-3-carene moiety) were synthesized. The crystal structures of compounds 1 and 2 were determined by X-ray diffraction. The structure of compound 1 consists of complex cations [CuL₂]²⁺ (N₃O₂ polyhedron is a trigonal bipyramid) and Cu^I coordination polymers (CuI₄ polyhedron is a tetrahedron) as anions. The experimental magnetic moment μ_eff at 300 K is 1.90 μ_B, which is consistent with the X-ray diffraction data and the assumption that compound 1 is mixed-valence. The structure of compound 2 comprises a tetranuclear Cu^I complex, in which three Cu atoms are coordinated by two N atoms of the ligand L and two I atoms, and the fourth Cu atom is coordinated by four I atoms (coordination polyhedra are distorted tetrahedra). Compounds L and 2 were found to influence the viability of human laryngeal carcinoma cells (Hep2). The IC₅₀ value for complex 2 (13.0±1.7 μM) is substantially smaller than IC₅₀ for compound L (30.5±0.5 μM).     

Effect of heterocyclic ring system on formation of dimeric quinolones under catalyst-free conditions: a green approach

The intermediate-dependent green and efficient synthesis of dimeric quinolones 4a–l and 7a–l by the Knoevenagel condensation followed by Michael-type addition of 4-hydroxy-1-methylquinolin-2(1H)-one 1a, b to indole-3-aldehydes 2a–f and aromatic aldehydes 5a–l in water through the condensed compound 3a–l under catalyst-free conditions is described. This reaction was found to be environmentally friendly, has easy-workup and shorter reaction times giving good yields of the product without the need for its isolation using column chromatography.     

Ultrasonic assistance syntheses of new nano-sized lead(II) coordination polymers: motifs for PbO preparation

Nanoparticles of two new coordination polymers, [Pb(5,5′-dm-2,2′-bpy)Cl₂] _n (1) and [Pb(5,5′-dm-2,2′-bpy)Br₂] _n (2), {5,5′-dm-2,2′-bpy = 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine}, have been synthesized by ultrasonic assistance at different concentrations and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, IR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. Metal oxide nanoparticles were prepared from thermal decomposition of compounds 1 and 2 at 600 °C under air atmosphere. Scanning electron microscopy images of the residue which are obtained from calcination of compounds 1, 2 show the formation of lead(II) oxide nanoparticles with an average diameter of about 80 and 90 nm for compounds 1 and 2, respectively.     

Complex formation of thiocyanate ions with iron(III) on the solid phase of fibrous ion exchangers

Characteristics of complex formation of SCN^–-ions with iron(III) on fibrous materials filled with an AV-17 anion exchanger (PANV–AV-17) and a KU-2 cation exchanger (PANV–KU-2) are studied by diffuse reflection spectroscopy. Sorption conditions of thiocyanate ions on PANV–AV-17 in the dynamic mode and the influence of concentrations of Cl^–, SO ₄ ^2- and NO ₃ ^- on the sorption and analytical signals of thiocyanate complexes are studied. Sorption conditions of iron(III) on PANV–KU-2 and the conditions of formation of thiocyanate complexes are studied. Systems for the sorption–spectroscopic determination of 0.1–0.7 μg/mL of SCN^–-ions in aqueous solutions of pH 5 ± 1 on PANV–AV-17 and test-determination of 5–30 μg of SCN^–-ions on PANV–KU-2 are proposed.     

Gas Chromatographic – Mass Spectrometric Cardiotonic Glycosides Detection in Equine Urine Doping Analysis

A screening method for the detection of cardiotonic glycosides in horse’s urine is presented in this paper. This method is based on the detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) of the trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives of the aglycon moieties of these compounds after solid phase extraction and methanolysis, according to the standard procedure currently used for the screening of anabolic steroids in horses, in the Athens Doping Control Laboratory. This validated method was also applied for the excretion study of digoxin in two mare horses after a single administration of a 75 μg Kg^?1 oral dose, by GC-MS and GC-HRMS.