Simultaneous Estimation of Atorvastatin Calcium, Ramipril and Aspirin in Capsule Dosage Form by RP-LC

A simple, sensitive, precise and accurate reversed phase liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous estimation of atorvastatin (AT) calcium, ramipril (RA) and aspirin (AS) from capsule dosage form. The method was developed using a Phenomenex Luna C₁₈ (250 mm, 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1%, orthophosphoric acid buffer:acetonitrile:methanol (45:50:5 v/v/v), pH 3.3, at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. Detection was carried out with ultra-violet detection at 210 nm. The retention times were about 12.19, 2.35, and 3.95 min for AT calcium, RA and AS, respectively. The developed method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection, limit of quantitation and robustness. The linearity ranges were 1–6 µg mL^?1 for AT calcium, 0.5–3 µg mL^?1 for RA and 7.5–45 µg mL^?1 for AS with mean recoveries of 100.59 ± 0.68, 100.62 ± 0.83 and 100.49 ± 0.73% for AT calcium, RA and AS, respectively. Limit of detection obtained were 29.85 ng mL^?1 for AT calcium, 4.71 ng mL^?1 for RA and 85.13 ng mL^?1 for AS. Impurity of salicylic acid was found in capsule dosage form at the retention time of about 4.84 min. The proposed method can be used for the estimation of these drugs in combined dosage forms.     

Simultaneous Determination of Organotin Compounds in White Wine by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

A simple, reliable, and effective analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of five organotin compounds (OTCs) including monobutyltin trichloride dibutyltin dichloride tributyltin chloride tetrabutyltin and triphenyltin chloride in white wines. The OTCs were derivatized with sodium tetraethylborate (NaBEt₄), and their derivatives were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) into n-hexane. The experimental variables, such as type and volume of extraction solvents, amount of derivatization reagent NaBEt₄ and extraction time were optimized. The determination of ethylated derivatives of OTCs in the final extracts was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Under optimized conditions, good linearity was observed when analytical concentrations were in the range of 0.01–4.0 µg · mL^?1, the linearity correlation coefficients were between 0.9982 and 0.9987, with the LODs in the range of 0.2–3.0 µg · L^?1, and the LOQs varied from 0.6 to 10.0 µg · L^?1. The obtained recoveries were in the range of 78.0–120.0%, with the relative standard deviations equal to or lower than 8.1%. This method was applied to the determination of OTCs in white wines with satisfactory results.     

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of Tussilago farfara (L.) essential oil from Quebec,Canada

Abstract

The chemical composition of Tussilago farfara L. essential oil from the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec, Canada was analyzed by gas chromatography–flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the antibacterial activity of the oil was tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Forty-five (45) compounds were identified from the GC profile. The main components were 1-nonene (40.1%), α-phellandrene (26.0%) and ρ-cymene (6.6%). The essential oil demonstrated antibacterial activity against E. coli (MIC₅₀ = 468 µg·mL^?1; MIC₉₀ = 6869 µg·mL^?1) and S. aureus (MIC₅₀ = 368 µg·mL^?1; MIC₉₀ = 773 µg·mL^?1). Dodecanoic acid was found to be active against both bacteria having a MIC₅₀ and MIC₉₀ of 16.4 µg·mL^?1 and 95 µg·mL^?1, respectively for E. coli and a MIC₅₀ and MIC₉₀ of 9.8 µg·mL^?1 and 27.3 µg·mL^?1, respectively for S. aureus. In addition, 1-decene and (E)-cyclodecene were also found to be active against E. coli.     

Determination of Nateglinide in Human Plasma by LC-ESI-MS and Its Application to Bioequivalence Study

To evaluate the bioequivalence of nateglinide, a rapid and specific liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization mass spectrometric method was developed and validated to determine nateglinide for human plasma samples. The analyte was detected using electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode. Tinidazole was used as the internal standard. A good linear relationship obtained in the concentration ranged from 0.05 to 16 μg mL^?1 (r ² = 0.9993). Lower limit of quantification was 0.05 μg mL^?1 using 100 μL of plasma sample. Intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations were 2.1–7.5 and 4.7–8.9%, respectively. Among the pharmacokinetic data obtained, T _max was 2.09 ± 1.06 h for reference formulation and 2.40 ± 0.97 h for test formulation. C _max was 4.17 ± 1.31 μg mL^?1 for reference formulation and 4.37 ± 1.53 μg mL^?1 for test formulation. The half-life (t _½) was 1.93 ± 0.44 h for reference formulation and 1.92 ± 0.29 h for test formulation. AUC_0–10h was 13.67 ± 4.36 μg h mL^?1 for reference formulation and 13.21 ± 4.09 μg h mL^?1 for test formulation. This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study in human plasma samples.     

Determination of Poisonous Trace Element Thallium(I) by Kinetic Catalytic Reaction

Abstract

A effective and simple determination of poisonous trace element thallium(I) by means of kinetic catalytic reaction is proposed. The method is based on a catalytic effect of thallium(I) on a luminol-hydrogen peroxide system. Three different kinds of surfactants, cetrimonium bromide (CTMAB), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), and Tween-80, are also investigated to improve the detection sensitivity. In optimum conditions, a highly selective and sensitive method for detecting trace thallium(I) has been established. The detection limit is 0.0073 µg · mL^?1, the relative standard deviation for six determinations of 0.04 µg · mL^?1 thallium(I) is less than 4.0%, and the linear range of determination is 0.02–0.1 µg · mL^?1.     

N-bromosuccinimide-fluorescein system for the determination of protein by flow injection chemiluminescence

A method for flow injection with chemiluminescence (CL) detection has been developed for the determination of proteins. It is based on the luminescence of the N-bromosuccinimide-fluorescein-protein system, where fluorescein is used as an energy transfer reagent in alkaline medium. The CL of the system is strongly enhanced by hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide. Optimum conditions and possible mechanisms have been investigated. Under optimum experimental conditions, the linear range is from 0.4 to 40 µg·mL^?1 for egg albumin, 0.2 to 20 µg·mL^?1 for bovine serum albumin, and from 1 to 100 µg·mL^?1 for bovine hemoglobin. The detection limits are 37, 62, and 240 ng·mL^?1, respectively.     

Nonextractive Trace Level Simultaneous Determination of Mercury(II) and Zinc(II) in Environmental Samples with 2‐(5‐Bromo‐2‐pyridylazo)‐5‐diethylaminophenol and Cetylpyridinium Chloride

Abstract

A simple, rapid, selective, and sensitive method for the derivative spectrophotometric determination of Hg(II) and its simultaneous determination in the presence of Zn(II) using 2‐(5‐bromo‐2‐pyridylazo)‐5‐diethylaminophenol in the presence of cetylpyridinium chloride, a cationic surfactant, has been developed. The molar absorption coefficient and analytical sensitivity of the 1∶1 Hg(II) complex at 558 nm (λ_max) are 5.78×10⁴ L mol^?1 cm^?1 and 0.67 ng mL^?1, respectively. The detection limit of Hg(II) is 1.40×10^?2 ng mL^?1, and Beer's law is valid in the concentration range 0.05–2.40 µg mL^?1. Overlapping spectral profiles of Hg(II) and Zn(II) complexes in zero‐order mode interfere in their simultaneous determination. However, 0.10–2.00 µg mL^?1 of Hg(II) and 0.065–0.650 µg mL^?1 of Zn(II), when present together, can be simultaneously determined at zero cross point of the derivative spectrum, without any prior separation. The relative standard deviation for six replicate measurements of solutions containing 0.134 µg mL^?1 of Hg(II) and 0.620 µg mL^?1 of Zn(II) is 1.72 and 1.47%, respectively. The proposed method has successfully been evaluated for trace level simultaneous determination of Hg(II) and Zn(II) in environmental samples.     

A Novel Method for the Determination of Streptomycin Using Sodium Nitroprusside as a Chromogenic Reagent by Spectrophotometry

Abstract

A rapid and simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of streptomycin has been developed and validated. The method was based on the reaction of streptomycin with sodium nitroprusside in the alkaline medium forming a red product measured at the maximum absorption of 495 nm. The stoichiometric ratio of the product is 1:1. Beer's law is obeyed in a range of 1.87 µg mL^?1 ～ 279.8 µg mL^?1 of streptomycin and ?₄₉₅ is 6.0 × 10³ L·mol^?1 cm^?1.Under the optimum condition, the equation of linear regression is A = 0.00742 + 0.05683 C (× 10⁵ mol·L^?1), with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.9990. The detection limit (3σ/k) is 0.96 µg mL^?1, the relative standard deviation (RSD) is 2.40%, and the average recovery rate is 98.3%–102.7%. Every parameter has been optimized, and the reaction mechanism has been studied. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of streptomycin for injections and tablets of pharmaceutical preparation. Analytical results obtained by this new method were very gratifying.     

A Spectrophotometric Study of Streptomycin Effect on the Clinical Urea Determination

The results of studying inhibitory effect of streptomycin on the modified Berthelot reaction were presented in this paper and a new kinetic method for determining streptomycin in pharmaceutical preparations and human urine was developed on the basis of the obtained results. The rates of catalytic and catalytic‐inhibitory reaction were monitored at 700 nm (t=25±0.1°C) using UV/vis spectrophotometer. By analyzing the spectra and experimental dependences of the catalytic and catalytic‐inhibitory reaction rates on the reactant concentrations, it was noticed that streptomycin attacked nitroprusside and hypochlorite causing the inhibition of the production of 2,2′‐dicarboxylindophenol. According to this effect, an analytical decrease for determination of urea by modified Berthelot reaction appeared in the presence of small amounts of streptomycin. Beer's law was obeyed in the interval of streptomycin sulfate concentration from 18.2 to 182 µg·mL^?1. The detection limit calculated by two methods was obtained at 11.75 µg·mL^?1 and 8.54 µg·mL^?1. The relative standard deviation of 0.55%–8.83% and the recovery of 109.10% were determined. The obtained results were validated using the referent HPLC method.     

Rapid and Highly Sensitive HPLC and TLC Methods for Quantitation of Amlodipine Besilate and Valsartan in Bulk Powder and in Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and in Human Plasma

Two simple, sensitive, and specific high-performance liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography methods were developed for the simultaneous estimation of Amlodipine besilate (AM) and Valsartan (VL). Separation by HPLC was achieved using a xTerra C18 column and methanol /acetonitrile /water/ 0.05% triethylamine in a ratio 40:20:30:10 by volume as mobile phase, pH was adjusted to 3 ± 0.1 with o-phosphoric acid. The flow rate was 1.2 mL min^?1. The linearity range was 0.2 to 2 µg mL^?1 for amlodipine besilate and 0.4 to 4 µg mL^?1 for Valsartan with a mean percentage recovery of 99.59 ± 0.523% and 100.61 ± 0.400% for amlodipine besilate and valsartan, respectively. The TLC method used silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ plates; the optimized mobile phase was ethyl acetate/ methanol / ammonium hydroxide (55:45:5 by volume). Quantitatively, the spots were scanned densitometrically at 237 nm. The range was 0.5–4.0 µg spot^?1 for amlodipine besilate and 2.0–12.0 µg spot^?1 for valsartan. The mean percentages recovery was 99.80 ± 0.451% and 100.61 ± 0.363% for amlodipine besilate and valsartan, respectively. The HPLC method was found to be simple, selective, precise, and reproducible for the estimation of both drugs from spiked human plasma.     

Determination of Explosives in Water Using Disposable Pipette Extraction and High Performance Liquid Chromatography

The use of disposable pipette extraction was examined for the simple and rapid determination of seven high explosives (cyclotrimethyl-enetrinitramine, cyclotetramethyl-enetetranitramine, 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl-methylnitramine, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, nitroglycerin, and pentaerythritol tetranitrate) in water. The current study involved the determination of slightly polar and nonpolar explosives in water with a reversed phase sorbent followed by high performance liquid chromatography. The method was based on a styrene divinylbenzene sorbent loosely placed inside a 5-mL pipette tip. Water samples were drawn into the tip and mixed with the sorbent. Air bubbles were also drawn through the tip following sample solution to enhance mixing. Because disposable pipette extraction uses small amounts of sorbent, minimal solvent is required to elute analytes and solvent evaporation is not necessary. The method provided rapid sample preparation, and required less than five minutes to extract 1.0 mL of water sample in the current study. Matrix-matched calibration was performed, and the limits of detection (LOD) were determined to be below 0.1 µg mL^?1 for all targeted explosives in water with an enrichment factor of two. Coefficients of determination (r²) were greater than 0.9990 for all studied explosives, and the recoveries ranged from 69.76% to 87.51%, 83.77% to 91.25%, and 83.62% to 98.99% for samples spiked at 0.25 µg mL^?1, 1.0 µg mL^?1, and 5.0 µg mL^?1, respectively. The relative standard deviations of recoveries at all spiked levels were below 8.97%. These results indicate that the disposable pipette extraction method provided good accuracy and precision for the determination of explosives in water.     

Trace Determination of Manganese in Urine by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry

This paper describes a simple and sensitive method for the determination of manganese in human urine by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS), which includes sample preparation by microwave digestion. Matrix modifier combinations, the digestion power, pyrolysis, and atomization temperatures were optimized. A mixture of 5.0 µg Pd(NO₃)₂ and 3.2 µg Mg(NO₃)₂ modifier presented the best performance. The optimal temperatures for pyrolysis and atomization were 1500°C and 1950°C, respectively. The GFAAS method was compared to inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) for the determination of manganese in urine. Analytical figures of merit for GFAAS and ICP–MS were: accuracy (3.46%, 2.19%), precision (3.61%, 5.84%), LOD (0.109 µg · L^?1, 0.015 µg · L^?1), LOQ (0.327 µg · L^?1, 0.045 µg · L^?1), and recovery (80–100%, 74–89%). Both methods were employed for the determination of Mn in urine and the results were compared statistically.     

Analysis of Carbamazepine in Tablet and Human Serum by Sweeping‐Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography Method

Abstract

A sensitive and simple micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was developed for the determination of the antiepileptic drug carbamazepine (CBZ) using a sweeping on‐line concentration method with photodiode array detection. The effect of pH, concentration of the running buffer solution, organic modifier, applied voltage and injection time on the concentration efficiency and separation was investigated. An untreated fused‐silica capillary was used (50 cm; effective length, 40 cm, 75 µm i.d.) for the analysis. The background solution (BGS) was 50 mmol · L^?1 NaH₂PO₄ (pH 3.0) containing 100 mmol · L^?1 SDS and 20% acetonitrile (5.82 ms · cm^?1) with an applied voltage of ?20 kV at 25°C. Sample introduction was performed at 0.5 psi for 90 s with diode array detection at 214 nm. For the method, the calibration curve was linear over a range of 0.5–40 µg · mL^?1 for CBZ with a correlation coefficient of 0.998. The detection limit (S/N=3∶1) of CBZ was 0.10 µg · mL^?1. About 100‐fold improvement in concentration sensitivity was achieved in terms of peak height by the sweeping method compared to conventional injection method. The sweeping‐MEKC method has been successfully applied to the analysis of CBZ in tablet and human serum.     

Flow Injection Spectrophotometric Determination of the Antibacterial Levofloxacin in Tablets and Human Urine

Abstract

A sensitive and fast flow‐injection (FI) spectrophotometric method for the determination of levofloxacin based on the formation of a colored product upon oxidation with N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS) in acidic medium is proposed. Optimization of chemical and FI variables has been made. Under the optimized conditions, the sampling rate was over 90 h^?1, the calibration curve obtained was linear over the range 10–300 µg·mL^?1, and the detection limit was 3 µg·mL^?1. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of levofloxacin in pharmaceuticals and human urine samples. It was also found that the excipients in the commercial tablet preparation did not interfere with the assay. Results are precise (RSD<2.7%; n =10) and in agreement with those found by the reference high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure.     

LC Determination of a Novel Synthetic Thiazolidinedione (BP-1107) in Rat Plasma and Its Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study

A simple, rapid, sensitive and reliable liquid chromatographic method for the quantification of BP-1107 in rat plasma has been established. Plasma samples were prepared by extraction with tert-butyl methyl ether, and troglitazone was used as an internal standard. The analytical separation was performed on a C₁₈ column using acetonitrile–0.3% phosphoric acid in water (pH 4.00 adjusted with triethylamine) (75:25, v/v) as a mobile phase. A detailed validation of the method was performed as per USFDA guidelines. For BP-1107 at the concentrations of 2.42, 16.11 and 32.22 μg mL^?1 in rat plasma, the extraction recoveries were 114.14 ± 9.75, 95.37 ± 12.06 and 90.00 ± 6.46%, respectively. The mean recovery for internal standard was 91.96 ± 2.51%. The lower limit of quantitation of BP-1107 was 16 ng. The linear quantification range of the method was 0.81–53.70 μg mL^?1 in rat plasma with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.999. The intra-day and inter-day accuracy for BP-1107 at 2.42, 16.11 and 32.22 μg mL^?1 levels in rat plasma fell between 97.10–110.02 and 97.52–108.04%. The intra-day and inter-day precision were in the ranges of 1.91–5.63 and 4.43–6.28%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of BP-1107 in rats after an intravenous administration.     

HPLC Analysis and Pharmacokinetic Study of Paeoniflorin after Intravenous Administration of a New Frozen Dry Powder Formulation in Rats

A simple and specific high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with UV detection using picroside II as the internal standard was developed and validated to determine the concentration of paeoniflorin in rat plasma and study its pharmacokinetics after an single intravenous administration of 40 mg kg^?1 paeoniflorin to Wistar rats. The analytes of interest were extracted from rat plasma samples by ethyl acetate after acidification with 0.05 mol L^?1 NaH₂PO₄ solution (pH 5.0). Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent XDB C₁₈ column (250 × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 μm) with a Shim-pack GVP-ODS C₁₈ guard column (10 × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 μm) using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–water–acetic acid (18:82:0.4, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. The UV detection was performed at a wavelength of 230 nm. The linear calibration curves were obtained in the concentration range of 0.05–200.0 μg mL^?1 in rat plasma with the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 0.05 μg mL^?1. The intra- and inter-day precisions in terms of % relative standard deviation (RSD) were lower than 5.7 and 8.2% in rat plasma, respectively. The accuracy in terms of % relative error (RE) ranged from ?1.9 to 2.6% in rat plasma. The extraction recoveries of paeoniflorin and picroside II were calculated to be 69.7 and 56.9%, respectively. This validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of a new paeoniflorin frozen dry power formulation. After single intravenous administration, the main pharmacokinetic parameters t _1/2, AUC_0-∞, CL_TOT, V _Z, MRT_0-∞ and V _ss were 0.739 ± 0.232 h, 43.75 ± 6.90 μg h mL^?1, 15.50 ± 2.46 L kg^?1 h^?1, 1.003 ± 0.401 L kg^?1, 0.480 ± 0.055 h and 0.444 ± 0.060 L kg^?1, respectively.     

Determination of Three Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Human Plasma by LC Coupled with Chemiluminescence Detection

A simple and sensitive method was developed for the determination of three nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)—ibuprofen, naproxen and fenbufen in human plasma. The method involved in column liquid chromatographic separation and chemilumenescence (CL) detection based on the CL reaction of NSAIDs, potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) and sodium sulfite (Na₂SO₃) in sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) medium. The chromatographic separation was carried out using a reversed-phase C₁₈ column, which allowed the selective determination of the three medicines in the complicated samples. The special features of the CL detector provided lower LOD for determination than that of existing chromatographic alternatives. The results indicated that the linear ranges were 0.01–10.0 μg mL^?1 for ibuprofen, 0.001–1.0 μg mL^?1 for naproxen, and 0.01–10.0 μg mL^?1 for fenbufen. The limits of detection were 0.5 ng mL^?1 for ibuprofen, 0.05 ng mL^?1 for naproxen and 0.5 ng mL^?1 for fenbufen (S/N = 3). All average recoveries were in the range of 90.0–102.3%. Finally, the method had been satisfactorily applied for the determination of ibuprofen, naproxen and fenbufen in human plasma samples.     

Determination of Tectorigenin in Rat Plasma: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study After Oral Administration of Tectorigenin or Its Prodrug Tectoridin

A simple, sensitive, and validated liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of tectorigenin in rat plasma and application to a pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of tectorigenin or its prodrug tectoridin. The analysis was performed on a Kromasil C₁₈ analytical column using gradient elution with acetonitrile 0.1% phosphonic acid water at 0.8 mL min^?1. The detection wavelength for UV detection was set at 264 nm. The established method was fully validated with parameters as follows: the intra- and inter-day assay precisions (CV) of three analytes were in the range of 4.2–13.3% and accuracies were between 98.0 and 107.5%; the calibration curve was linear with r ² > 0.99 over a concentration range of 0.02–2 μg mL^?1; the lower limit of quantification was 0.02 μg mL^?1; tectorigenin showed stable in rat plasma after 12 h incubation at room temperature, 15 days storage at ?80 °C and three freeze/thaw cycles, as well as in reconstitute buffer for 24 h at 25 °C; and the mean recoveries of tectorigenin were 92.3 ± 3.2, 95.5 ± 2.9 and 94.5 ± 3.0% with quality control levels of 0.02, 0.2 and 2 μg mL^?1, respectively. In conclusion, this method is simple, economic, and sensitive enough for in vivo pharmacokinetic studies of tectorigenin.     

Study of Spectrophotometric Characteristics of the Charge Transfer Reaction of Aminomethylbenzoic Acid with 7,7,8,8‐Tetracyanoquinodimethane

A new spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of aminomethylbenzoic acid (PAMBA) using 7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). The method was based on the formation of charge transfer (CT) complex of this drug as n‐electron donor with the π‐acceptor TCNQ. TCNQ was found to react with PAMBA to produce a kind of yellow complex. The CT reaction proceeded quantitatively in pH 8.5 buffer solution. Different variables affecting the reaction were carefully studied and optimized. Under optimal reaction conditions, the stoichiometric ratio of the reaction, maximum absorption wavelength and the value of molar absorptivity were measured to be 1:1, 425 nm, and 1.9×10⁴ L·mol^?1·cm^?1, respectively. Beer′s law was obeyed in the range of 1–9 µg·mL^?1 of PAMBA. The data have been filled to a linear regression equation A=?0.2612+0.1123c (µg·mL^?1), with a correlation coefficient of 0.9996. The detection limit was 0.4 µg·mL^?1, R.S.D. was less than 1.9%, and average recovery was over 97.6%. The formation of the CT complex was also confirmed by both infrared and ¹H NMR measurements. The thermodynamic property, kinetic property and reaction mechanism have also been discussed. The method developed was applied successfully to the determination of the subject drug in its pharmaceutical dosage forms with good precision and accuracy compared to official method revealed by t‐ and F‐tests.