Methodological Advances Permit the Stereocontrolled Construction of Diverse Fully Synthetic Tetracyclines Containing an All-Carbon Quaternary Center at Position C5a

Here we describe chemical innovations that enable the preparation of fully synthetic tetracyclines containing an all-carbon quaternary, stereogenic center at position C5a, a structurally novel class of compounds in this important family of therapeutic agents. In the key transformation and an important extension of the powerful Michael-Claisen cyclization (AB plus D) approach to the construction of fully synthetic tetracyclines, we show that the six-membered C ring comprising a C5a quaternary carbon center can be assembled by highly stereocontrolled coupling reactions of β-substituted AB enones and o-toluate ester anion D-ring precursors. Novel and versatile β-functionalization reaction sequences employing tris(methylthio)methyllithium and 2-lithio-1,3-dithiane have been developed to transform the AB enone 1 (the key precursor to fully synthetic tetracyclines) into a diverse range of β-substituted AB enone products, including a highly efficient, single-operation method for the synthesis of a β-methyl ester-substituted AB enone. A C5a-C11a-bridged cyclopropane tetracycline precursor was found to undergo efficient and regioselective ring-opening reactions with a range of nucleophiles in the presence of magnesium bromide, thus providing another avenue for the preparation of fully synthetic tetracyclines containing an all-carbon quaternary center at position C5a. Two compounds prepared from the bridged cyclopropane intermediate served as (further) diversifiable branch-points, allowing maximally expedient synthesis of C5a-substituted tetracyclines by final-step diversification.     

CUTANEOUS PHOTOTOXICITY OF TETRACYCLINE ANTIBIOTICS: GENERATION OF FREE RADICALS and SINGLET OXYGEN DURING PHOTOLYSIS AS MEASURED BY SPIN-TRAPPING and THE PHOSPHORESCENCE OF SINGLET MOLECULAR OXYGEN

Chlortetracycline (CTC) generated an aryl radical in aqueous buffer (pH 7.4) during near UV irradiation, as evidenced by the formation of 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane spin adducts. The radical was produced via dechlorination, a photoprocess not previously reported for tetracyclines. Demeclocyc-line (DEM), another chlorinated tetracycline, did not produce detectable aryl radicals. Relative ¹O₂ yields obtained by direct luminescence measurements at 1268 nm for five tetracyclines in alkaline ethanol (demeclocycline · tetracycline · chlortetracycline · doxycycline · minocycline) showed that DEM produced approximately three times as much singlet oxygen as CTC. This constitutes direct evidence that tetracyclines sensitize both Type I and Type II photoreactions.     

General approach for the synthesis of sarpagine/ajmaline indole alkaloids. Stereospecific total synthesis of the sarpagine alkaloid (+)-vellosimine

[reaction: see text] (+)-Vellosimine has been synthesized enantiospecifically in 27% overall yield from commercially available D-(+)-tryptophan methyl ester via the asymmetric Pictet-Spengler reaction and a stereocontrolled intramolecular palladium-coupling reaction as key steps.     

Immunochemical screening for antimicrobial drug residues in commercial honey.

Honey samples (n = 100; origin: various countries from Eurasia, Oceania, and the Americas) were analysed by enzyme immunoassays (EIA) for tetracyclines, streptomycin, and sulfathiazole. Considering antibody specificity, these EIAs are either quantitative (streptomycin) or qualitative (tetracyclines, sulfathiazole) tests. Honey extract purification was achieved by liquid-liquid partition (tetracyclines), and by solid phase extraction-immunoaffinity chromatography (streptomycin, sulfathiazole). Detection limits were 20 micrograms kg-1 (tetracycline equivalents), 10 micrograms kg-1 (streptomycin), and 50 micrograms kg-1 (sulfathiazole equivalents), with mean recoveries of 100-117%. A total of 42% of the samples was found positive by EIA; 25% were positive in one assay, 13% in two, and 3% were positive in all three tests. In the EIA for tetracyclines, 26% were positive, with 12 samples exceeding a level of 50 micrograms kg-1 (tetracycline equivalents). In the EIA for streptomycin, 19% were positive, with a mean concentration of 19 +/- 12 micrograms kg-1. In the sulfathiazole EIA, 16% of the samples were positive, with 13 samples exceeding a level of 100 micrograms kg-1 (sulfathiazole equivalents). However, when samples which were positive in the sulfathiazole EIA were reanalysed for sulfonamides by HPLC, no sulfa drugs could be detected. Experimental heating (40 degrees C) of honey spiked with sulfathiazole indicated that the sulfa drug(s) responsible for positive EIA results could be present a sugar derivatives.     

Application of ELISA in determining the fate of tetracyclines in land-applied livestock wastes

The potential use of a class-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in studying the occurrence and fate of tetracyclines in the environment was evaluated. Several manure samples collected from hog lagoons and cattle feedlots were screened for the presence of tetracycline residues using ELISA. The levels varied from less than the detection limit (0.5 parts per billion) to 200 parts per million. The degradation of tetracyclines in soil-applied manure was followed using ELISA to measure the decline in tetracycline concentrations. Low levels of tetracyclines remained detectable in soil for up to 28 days. The ELISA procedure also proved useful in determining the leaching potential of tetracyclines in undisturbed soil columns and in the analysis of total tetracyclines in manure, soil, and water. Based on the cross-reactivity of the antibodies employed, this ELISA method can be an important screening tool for the presence of other tetracycline compounds, such as chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline. The ELISA method also detects the epimers of tetracyclines and the corresponding dehydration by-products, anhydrotetracyclines. Analysis of selected manure extracts by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) showed lower concentrations of total tetracyclines compared to the values obtained by ELISA, indicating the presence of other structurally related compounds or transformation products of tetracyclines being detected by ELISA in the samples. Because analysis of manure and soil samples by LC-MS requires extensive clean-up procedures, ELISA provides an alternative method for conducting environmental fate and transport studies of antibiotics.     

Complexometric-spectrophotometric assay of tetracyclines in drug formulations

An accurate, rapid and very simple spectrophotometric method for the assay of tetracyclines (tetracycline.HCl, chlorotetracycline.HCl, demeclocycline, oxytetracycline.HCl and doxycycline) has been developed. The method is based on the complexation of iron(III) with tetracyclines in 0.001M sulphuric acid. It has been successfully applied to the assay of tetracyclines in drug formulations, and the interferences of excipients have been examined. The results have been statistically compared with those obtained by two standard methods and found to be very satisfactory.     

Improvement of chemical analysis of antibiotics. V. A simple method for the analysis of tetracyclines using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

An isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of tetracyclines is described using a mobile phase containing oxalic acid and C8- and C18-modified silica gel columns. For good separations of tetracyclines, oxalic acid concentrations of above 0.01 and 0.2 M respectively for parent tetracyclines (group I) and impurities in tetracycline (group II) are required. The optimum pH of the aqueous oxalic acids solution in the mobile phase is 2.0. The combinations of the C8-modified silica gel column with methanol-acetonitrile-0.01 M aqueous oxalic acid solution pH 2.0 (1:1.5:5) and the C18-modified silica gel column with methanol-acetonitrile-0.2 M aqueous oxalic acid solution pH 2.0(1:1:3.5) gave satisfactory results for groups I and II, respectively.     

Analysis of tetracyclines in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A confirmatory method coupling liquid chromatography to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) is described for the determination of tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline and chlortetracycline in honey. Demeclocycline, another tetracycline molecule not reported for its usage in honey, was used as internal standard to quantify the four analytes. The sample preparation entails a clean-up on an Oasis HLB solid-phase extraction cartridge and analyses were realised by LC/MS/MS in selected reaction monitoring mode. The stability of tetracyclines was checked under various storage conditions at -20, +4 and +20 degrees C (both under dark and light exposures). Indeed, tetracyclines are not stable molecules and the epimerisation phenomenon was evaluated in this work. Appropriate correction factors of the MS/MS responses of each epimer were studied for each of the four tetracyclines to accurately quantify them. Moreover, the matrix effects encountered during the LC/MS/MS analyses were also studied in spiked experiments from blank honey samples of various geographical origins and different flower types.     

Analysis of tetracycline residues in bovine milk by CE-MS with field-amplified sample stacking

A rapid, sensitive, and robust CE-MS method has been developed for the determination of tetracycline, oxytetracycline, and chlortetracycline in milk. Field-amplified sample stacking with electromigration injection (FASS-EMI) was used for the online concentration of tetracyclines. The conditions of separation, MS detection, and stacking were systematically optimized. The optimum buffer composition was 35 mM Tris, 1.1% formic acid, 5% methanol, and 15% ACN. By using the online concentration method of field-enhanced sample stacking (FESI)-EMI stacking, the sensitivity was increased six- to seven-fold. The RSDs (n=6) of the relative migration time of tetracyclines were 1.1-1.4% for intraday and 2.4-2.9% for interday. The RSDs (n=6) of the relative peak area of tetracyclines were 3.2-4.6% for intraday and 4.7-6.1% for interday. The LODs (S/N=3) were 7.14 ng/mL for tetracycline, 11.4 ng/mL for oxytetracycline, and 14.9 ng/mL for chlortetracycline. The method has been successfully used to analyze tetracyclines residues in bovine milk.     

Stereoselective synthesis of sugar-based β-lactam derivatives: docking studies and its biological evaluation

Highly diastereoselective synthesis of cis-β-lactams via [2+2] cycloaddition reactions of sugar-imine derivative possessing free hydroxyl groups at C-2 and C-3 positions and ketenes is described. exo-Approach of sugar-imine with ketene leads to the stereoselective formation of cis product and it is facilitated by hydrogen bonding interaction of C2–OH with carbonyl group of ketene. Docking studies show that these derivatives are having greater affinity towards PBP and it has been validated by in vivo studies. Among the different sugar-based azetidine-2-ones, compounds 6a and 6d were superior in activity to the commercial antibiotic tetracycline.     

Identifying the minimal enzymes required for anhydrotetracycline biosynthesis

The cyclohexenone ring A of tetracyclines exhibits unique structural features not observed among other aromatic polyketides. These substitutions include the C2 primary amide, C4 dimethylamine, and the C12a tertiary alcohol. Here we report the identification and reconstitution of the minimum set of enzymes required for the biosynthesis of anhydrotetracycline (ATC, 5), the first intermediate in the tetracycline biosynthetic pathway that contains the fully functionalized ring A. Using a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches, we confirmed OxyL, OxyQ, and OxyT to be the only enzymes required to convert 6-methylpretetramid 1 into 5. OxyL is a NADPH-dependent dioxygenase that introduces two oxygen atoms into 1 to yield the unstable intermediate 4-keto-ATC 2. The aminotransferase OxyQ catalyzes the reductive amination of C4-keto of 2, yielding 4-amino-ATC 3. Furthermore, the N, N-dimethyltransferase OxyT catalyzes the formation of 5 from 3 in a (S)-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent manner. Finally, a "non-natural" anhydrotetracycline derivative was generated, demonstrating that our heterologous host/vector pair can be a useful platform toward the engineered biosynthesis of tetracycline analogues.     

Determination of Tetracyclines in Milk,Eggs and Honey Using in-situ Ionic Liquid Based Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction

In this study, in-situ ionic liquid based dispersive liquid?liquid microextraction method for enrichment of tetracyclines before liquid chromatographic analysis has been improved. A 1-benzyl-3- methylimidazolium chloride was used as an ionic liquid. To increase extraction efficiency, some optimization parameters (amount of ammonium hexafluorophoshate, extraction time, centrifugation time, ratio of ionic liquid/salt) were investigated. At optimized conditions, enrichment factors of four tetracycline antibiotics (tetracycline, chlortetracycline, methacycline, doxycycline) were between 25 and 98. The residues of tetracyclines were not found in the studied real samples. For the accuracy of the method, the concentration of 50 and 250 μg/L of standard tetracycline mixture solutions were spiked to the blank real milk, honey and egg samples and the percentage recoveries were obtained in the range of 75.8–109.7%.     

HPLC separation of tetracycline analogues: comparison study of laser-based polarimetric detection with UV detection

A sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method based upon laser-based polarimetric detection is developed for the determination of six tetracycline analogues. By interfacing the laser-based polarimeter online with an HPLC system, the specific rotation of each analogue is obtained as compounds elute from the separation system. The six structurally similar tetracycline analogues exhibit significant differences in specific rotations. The experiments suggest that specific rotation can be useful in identifying closely related tetracycline analogues. Linear relationships are found to be in the range of 0.342-0.0043 mg for the tetracycline analogues. Five of the six analogues exhibit excellent linearity (R(2) value >/= 0.99). The polarimetric results are compared with UV detection. The HPLC-laser-based polarimetric detection instrument is able to quantitate the studied tetracycline analogues with high precision, accuracy, and sensitivity, which make it useful for the development of a standard method for the determination of tetracyclines in biological specimens. The performance of the HPLC-polarimetric system for the analysis of tetracyclines in a biological matrix is evaluated. The selectivity of polarimetric detection provides a distinct advantage in the analysis of tetracycline analogues in milk. The HPLC-polarimetric system provides a rapid and sensitive technique that involves minimal sample cleanup and pretreatment for the analysis of tetracyclines in milk.     

Determination of Tetracyclines in Honey Using Liquid Chromatography with Ultraviolet Absorbance Detection and Residue Confirmation by Mass Spectrometry

A determination method has been optimized and validated for the simultaneous analysis of tetracycline （TC）, oxytetracycline （OTC）, chlortetracycline （CTC） and doxycycline （DC） in honey. Tetracyclines （TCs） were removed from honey samples by chelation with metal ions bound to small Chelating Sepharose Fast Flow columns and eluted with Na2EDTA-Mcllvaine pH 4.0 buffers. Extracts were further cleaned up by Oasis HLB solid-phase extraction （SPE）, while other solid-phase extraction cartridges were compared. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a polar end-capped C 18 column with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of oxalic acid, acetonitrile and methanol. LC with ultraviolet absorbance at 355 nm resulted in the quantitation of all four tetracycline residues from honey samples fortified at 15, 50, and 100 ng/g, with liner ranges for tetracyclines of 0.05 to 2 μg/mL. Mean recoveries for tetracyclines were greater than 50% with R.S.D. values less than 10% （n= 18）. Detection limits of 5, 5, 10, 10 ng/g for oxytetracycline, tetracycline, chlortetracycline and doxycycline, respectively and quantitation limits of 15 ng/g for all the four tetracyclines were determined. Direct confirmation of the four residues in honey （2-50 ng/g） was realized by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （LC/MS/MS）. The linear ranges of tetracyclines determined by LC/MS/MS were between 5 to 300 ng/mL, with the linear correlation coefficient r〉 0.995. The limits of detection of 1 to 2 ng/g were obtained for the analysis of the TCs in honey.     

Chemiluminescence Determination of Tetracyclines via Aluminum Sensitized Fluorescence

Tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, and chlortetracycline have been determined by chemiexcitation of the corresponding Al(III) highly fluorescent complex from the permanganate or cerium(IV)-sulphite chemiluminogenic reactions. Limits of detection and ranges of linearity are equal to 0.024, 0.015, 0.014, and 0.050 µg mL^?1 and 0.067–3.20, 0.042–1.70, 0.042–3.00, and 0.103–2.80 µg mL^?1 for tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, and chlortetracycline, respectively. Average recovery of tetracyclines from solutions of commercial formulations was equal to 99.8% and the procedure was successfully applied to the determination of tetracyclines in commercial products with mean relative error equal to 3.4% (range 1.4–5.0%).     

Liquid chromatography with ultraviolet absorbance detection for the analysis of tetracycline residues in honey

The separation of tetracyclines (TCs) using reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) is proposed. The use of an amide-based stationary phase prevents the interaction of tetracyclines with the residual silanol groups and thus avoids the appearance of tailed peaks. Detection was based on using an UV spectrophotometer and gradient elution with acetonitrile-oxalic acid as mobile phase permitted good separation of all the peaks. Specificity was demonstrated by the retention characteristics, UV spectra and peak purity index. Linearity, precision, recovery and sensitivity were satisfactory. The procedure was applied to the analysis of tetracycline residues (tetracycline, oxytetracycline (OTC), chlortetracycline (CTC), doxycycline (DC), minocycline (MINO) and methacycline (MTC)) in honey of different types. Extraction involved using a mild acidic solvent containing EDTA to release protein-bound or sugar-bound tetracyclines. For the clean-up step, solid phase extraction using phenyl cartridges was applied. Detection limits in the honey using the proposed procedure are between 15 and 30 ng g(-1), depending on the tetracycline.     

Analysis of tetracyclines from milk powder by molecularly imprinted solid‐phase dispersion based on a metal–organic framework followed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A novel molecularly imprinted polymer that could selectively recognize tetracyclines in milk powder was synthesized using a metal–organic framework as a support material, tetracycline as template molecule, and 3‐aminophenylboronic acid as a functional monomer and a cross‐linking agent. The novel molecularly imprinted polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffractometry, thermogravimetric analysis, and N₂ adsorption/desorption measurements. The adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics, adsorption thermodynamics, and selective adsorption experiments of the novel molecularly imprinted polymer to tetracycline were also studied. The novel molecularly imprinted polymer was used as dispersant of matrix solid‐phase dispersion to extraction tetracyclines. After that, the tetracyclines extracted from milk powder were determined by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limits of tetracyclines were 0.217–0.318 ng/g. The relative standard deviations of intra‐ and interday precision ranged from 3.8 to 6.9% and from 2.8 to 7.4%, respectively. In all three concentration levels (1.0, 10, 50 ng/g), the recoveries of tetracyclines ranged from 84.7 to 93.9%. The method was successfully applied to the determination of tetracyclines in milk powder.     

Separation of tetracyclines by high-speed liquid chromatography.

The separation of tetracycline and its four commoninpurities has been studied by high-speed liquid chromatography. A preliminary study of the effectiveness of ion-exchange, adsorption, liquid-liquid partition and reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography indicated that only the last method showed promise. By developing special hydrocarbon-bonded stationary phases a rapid and complete resolution of all five tetracyclines has been obtained within 10 min. Plate heights using a derivatised 18-mum partisil are in the range 0.15-0.3 mm. The method can be used to quantify the impurities in tetracycline at around the 1% level.     

Adsorption and removal of tetracycline antibiotics from aqueous solution by graphene oxide

Significant concerns have been raised over pollution of antibiotics including tetracyclines in aquatic environments in recent years. Graphene oxide (GO) is a potential effective absorbent for tetracycline antibiotics and can be used to remove them from aqueous solution. Tetracycline strongly deposited on the GO surface via π-π interaction and cation-π bonding. The adsorption isotherm fits Langmuir and Temkin models well, and the theoretical maximum of adsorption capacity calculated by Langmuir model is 313 mg g(-1), which is approximately in a close agreement with the measured data. The kinetics of adsorption fits pseudo-second-order model perfectly, and it has a better rate constant of sorption (k), 0.065 g mg(-1) h(-1), than other adsorbents. The adsorption capacities of tetracycline on GO decreased with the increase in pH or Na(+) concentration. The adsorption isotherms of oxytetracycline and doxycycline on GO were discussed and compared.