Semisynthesis of D-ring modified taxoids: novel thia derivatives of docetaxel.

Two novel 5(20)-thia analogues of docetaxel have been synthesized from 10-deacetylbaccatin III or taxine B and isotaxine B. The key step of these syntheses is the concomitant thietane ring formation and acetylation of the tertiary alcohol at C-4. Both compounds are less cytotoxic than docetaxel but have divergent activity on microtubule disassembly.     

Semisynthesis and biological evaluation of a novel D-seco docetaxel analogue

[reaction: see text] A 4-methyl-5-oxo docetaxel analogue has been prepared starting from 10-deacetylbaccatin III. This new D-seco docetaxel analogue is slightly less potent than docetaxel at microtubule stabilization in vitro and has about 1/1000th the cytotoxicity of docetaxel. The lack of improved activity for this compound compared to other D-modified taxoids confirms that a C-5 oxygen atom is not required for biological activity.     

A molecular model to explain paclitaxel and docetaxel sensitivity changes through adduct formation with primary amines in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The objective of this study was to adopt a molecular modeling approach to understand changes in signal intensity due to adduct formation with short-chain alkylamines for two anticancer agents, paclitaxel and docetaxel, during electrospray mass spectrometric analysis. We describe a simple and intuitive modeling procedure using a comparison of hydropathic interaction (HINT) scores to explain differences in responses of amine adducts formed with the two analytes. The responses of paclitaxel and docetaxel were generally enhanced considerably (up to approximately 500% in some instances) on adding the amines. However, for the docetaxel adduct formed with added decylamine in the mobile phase, the response dropped by 32%. A mechanistic understanding for this behavior is proposed, and binding scores calculated from corresponding molecular models were found to be consistent with the trend obtained from mass spectrometric data.     

固相萃取/高效液相色谱法对肝癌细胞中多西紫杉醇的测定

建立了固相萃取/高效液相色谱法测定肝癌细胞中多西紫杉醇浓度的方法。细胞样品经三氯乙酸沉淀蛋白,Bond-elut C18固相萃取柱提取,采用Agilent TC-C18(5μm,4.6 mm×150 mm)色谱柱分析,以乙腈-0.02 mol/L醋酸铵缓冲液(体积比50∶50,醋酸调至pH5.0)为流动相,流速为1 mL/min,检测波长为230nm,进样体积为20μL。多西紫杉醇的质量浓度在0.05~2.25 mg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数r=0.999 3,检出限为0.03 mg/L,提取回收率为93%~95%,其日内、日间精密度(n=5)不大于6.9%,且稳定性良好。方法简便、快速、灵敏度高、干扰小,可用于生物样品中低浓度多西紫杉醇的测定。     

Preparation of 7-modified docetaxel analogs using electrochemistry

The electrochemical reduction of 7-iodo docetaxel at E-1.3V vs. SCE in methanol in the presence of lithium chloride and hydrochloric acid leads predominantly to 7-deoxy-docetaxel 9. When the electroreduction is conducted at E-1.7V vs. SCE in the presence of sodium acetate and acetic acid, the cyclopropanol-containing taxoid 10 is formed in good yield. Electrochemical reduction of 7-deoxy-docetaxel at C-10 is also reported. All these docetaxel analogs retain biological activity.     

Kinetic micro determination of mercury in natural waters and biological materials

Summary A wet digestion has been developed to prepare water and biological samples for a kinetic determination of mercury using an iodide-catalyzed reaction between cerium(IV) and arsenite(III). A mercury-free control, prepared using ion-exchange with a selective chelating resin, was used by adding mercury standards to make a calibration curve. Both inorganic and organic mercury can be determined by the method described either in water or biological samples containing mercury in the range of 0.05 to 2.0g per ml. The procedure can be used satisfactorily down to the 0.05-ppm level for fresh water and urine with an overall error of less than 5 %. The method can also be employed for the determination of mercury in sea water or blood serum with an error of 10 % or less and gives results which compare favourably with other procedures.

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Zusammenfassung Die nasse Veraschung zur Aufbereitung von Wasserproben und von biologischem Material für die kinetische Quecksilberbestimmung mit Hilfe der jodkatalysierten Cer-Arsenit-Reaktion wurde beschrieben. Durch Ionenaustausch an einem selektiven Harz wurde eine quecksilberfreie Vergleichsprobe hergestellt. Diese diente nach Zusatz bekannter Quecksilbermengen zur Ermittlung einer Eichkurve. Anorganisches und organisch gebundenes Quecksilber kann nach diesem Verfahren in Wasser oder biologischem Material im Bereich zwischen 0,05 und 2,0g/ml bestimmt werden. Für die Größenordnung von 0,05 ppm kann das Verfahren für frisches Wasser und für Harn mit einem durchschnittlichen Fehler unter 5% verwendet werden. Ebenso dient es zur Untersuchung von Meerwasser und Blutserum mit einem Fehler bis zu 10%. Die Ergebnisse stehen mit denen anderer Methoden in gutem Einklang.

     

A robust LC–MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of docetaxel and voriconazole in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic studies

Opportunistic fungal infections are common in immunocompromised cancer patients, especially patients undergoing chemotherapy. Because antitumor agents are possible to combine with antifungal agents in clinical, it is necessary to study drug–drug interaction between antitumor agents and antifungal agents. The aim of the study was to explore a method for the simultaneous determination of voriconazole and docetaxel in plasma and investigate pharmacokinetic interaction of voriconazole and docetaxel in rats. A precise and reliable method using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was established for the simultaneous measure of docetaxel and voriconazole in rat plasma after liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The method was fully validated and successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic interaction study of docetaxel and voriconazole in rats after single or combined administration. We found that the AUC of each drug after coadministration increased compared with that after the single administration, which might be caused by interaction at the absorption stage or the competitive inhibition on the metabolic enzymes. This established method can be utilized to study the detailed mechanism of the drug–drug interaction and guide rational drug use in the clinic.     

Application of validated RP-HPLC method for simultaneous determination of docetaxel and ketoconazole in solid lipid nanoparticles

Docetaxel has significant single agent activity in prostate cancer and ketoconazole also has activity as a second line hormonal agent. In vitro, ketoconazole is synergistic with some chemotherapy agents by enhancing the intracellular retention of the cytotoxic agent. A potential drug-drug interaction exists though between docetaxel and ketoconazole because both agents are metabolized hepatically by the cytochrome P-450 system. Hence, a nanoparticulate system was formulated by loading both drugs for tumor targeting. Assay and in vitro release of the formulation were conducted by developing simple, precise, accurate, and validated analytical method for simultaneous determination docetaxel and ketoconazole using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The RP-HPLC method was developed using Waters Symmetry C(18) column (25 cm × 4.5 mm, 5 μm) with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.2% triethylamine pH adjusted to 6.4 (48:52, v/v) at flow rate of 1 mL/min. Intra-day and inter-day variations were less than 2% over the linearity range, 0.5-20 μg/mL. The proposed two methods were successfully applied for the determination of docetaxel and ketoconazole in solid lipid nanoparticles.     

Nanocrystal-Loaded Micelles for the Enhanced In Vivo Circulation of Docetaxel

Prolonging in vivo circulation has proved to be an efficient route for enhancing the therapeutic effect of rapidly metabolized drugs. In this study, we aimed to construct a nanocrystal-loaded micelles delivery system to enhance the blood circulation of docetaxel (DOC). We employed high-pressure homogenization to prepare docetaxel nanocrystals (DOC(Nc)), and then produced docetaxel nanocrystal-loaded micelles (DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA) by a thin-film hydration method. The particle sizes of optimized DOC(Nc), docetaxel micelles (DOC@mPEG-PLA), and DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA were 168.4, 36.3, and 72.5 nm, respectively. The crystallinity of docetaxel was decreased after transforming it into nanocrystals, and the crystalline state of docetaxel in micelles was amorphous. The constructed DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA showed good stability as its particle size showed no significant change in 7 days. Despite their rapid dissolution, docetaxel nanocrystals exhibited higher bioavailability. The micelles prolonged the retention time of docetaxel in the circulation system of rats, and DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA exhibited the highest retention time and bioavailability. These results reveal that constructing nanocrystal-loaded micelles may be a promising way to enhance the in vivo circulation and bioavailability of rapidly metabolized drugs such as docetaxel.     

Simulation of ozone depletion using ambient irradiance supplemented with UV lamps

In studies of the biological effects of UV radiation, ozone depletion can be mimicked by performing the study under ambient conditions and adding radiation with UV-B lamps. We evaluated this methodology at three different locations along a latitudinal gradient: Rimouski (Canada), Ubatuba (Brazil) and Ushuaia (Argentina). Experiments of the effect of potential ozone depletion on marine ecosystems were carried out in large outdoor enclosures (mesocosms). In all locations we simulated irradiances corresponding to 60% ozone depletion, which may produce a 130-1900% increase in 305 nm irradiance at noon, depending on site and season. Supplementation with a fixed percentage of ambient irradiance provides a better simulation of irradiance increase due to ozone depletion than supplementation with a fixed irradiance value, particularly near sunrise and sunset or under cloudy skies. Calculations performed for Ushuaia showed that, on very cloudy days, supplementation by the square-wave method may produce unrealistic irradiances. Differences between the spectra of the calculated supplementing irradiance and the lamp for a given site and date will be a function of the time of day and may become more or less pronounced according to the biological weighting function of the effect under study.     

Pharmacokinetic properties of wogonin and its herb–drug interactions with docetaxel in rats with mammary tumors

Docetaxel, frequently used for the treatment of breast cancer, is mainly metabolized via hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A in humans and is also a substrate of P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp). Wogonin has been shown to be able to modulate the activities of CYPs and P‐gp, and it could serve as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent. However, the impacts of co‐administration of wogonin and docetaxel on their pharmacokinetics have not been studied because of a lack of an analytical method for their simultaneous measurement. In the present study, we established an HPLC–MS/MS method for simultaneous measurement of wogonin and docetaxel in rat plasma, and it was then utilized to explore the pharmacokinetics of wogonin and the herb–drug interactions between wogonin and docetaxel after their combined administration in rats with mammary tumors. The rats received 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg wogonin via oral administration, with or without docetaxel intravenously administered at 10 mg/kg, and the plasma concentrations of wogonin and docetaxel were measured using the established and validated HPLC–MS/MS method. The C_max and AUC_0–t of wogonin were proportionally increased in the dose range from 10 to 40 mg/kg, suggesting a linear pharmacokinetics of wogonin. Moreover, the C_max and AUC_0–t of docetaxel and the AUC_0–t of wogonin were increased after co‐administration (p < 0.05), indicating increased in vivo exposures of both wogonin and docetaxel, which might lead to an increase in not only therapeutic but also toxic effects. Thus the alterations of pharmacokinetics should be taken into consideration when wogonin and docetaxel are co‐administered.     

Hofmeister effects in biology: effect of choline addition on the salt-induced super activity of horseradish peroxidase and its implication for salt resistance of plants

The effect of choline addition on the salt-induced super activity of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is investigated. HRP is presented in the literature as an efficient H(2)O(2) scavenger, and choline is the precursor of glycine betaine, a strong osmoprotectant molecule. Both the regulations of H(2)O(2) and of osmoprotectant concentrations are implicated in plants in order to counteract salt-induced cell damage. For the oxidation of 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), sulfate anions were found to play a crucial role in the increase of HRP activity. This induced super activity can be strongly reduced by adding choline chloride. The phenomena provide an example of physicochemical Hofmeister effects playing a central regulatory role in an important biological system.     

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of ester-linked docetaxel-monosaccharide conjugates as water-soluble prodrugs

Three new docetaxel prodrugs, i.e., 7-propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-glycopyranosides, which contain ester-linked monosaccharides, were synthesized by a chemo-enzymatic procedure involving enzymatic transglycosylations with lactase, β-galactosidase, or β-xylosidase. The water-solubility of 7-propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside was 52-fold higher than that of docetaxel. 7-Propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and 7-propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-xylopyranoside were effectively hydrolyzed by the relevant enzyme(s) of human cancer cells to release docetaxel, whereas 7-propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-galactopyranoside was relatively resistant under similar conditions. 7-Propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and 7-propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-xylopyranoside showed in vitro cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells, whereas 7-propionyldocetaxel 3'-O-β-D-galactopyranoside exerted low cytotoxicity.     

FG020326 sensitized multidrug resistant cancer cells to docetaxel-mediated apoptosis via enhancement of caspases activation

Apoptotic resistance is the main obstacle for treating cancer patients with chemotherapeutic drugs. Multidrug resistance (MDR) is often characterized by the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a 170-KD ATP-dependent drug efflux protein. Functional P-gp can confer resistance to activate caspase-8 and -3 dependent apoptosis induced by a range of different stimuli, including tumor necrosis and chemotherapeutic drugs such as docetaxel and vincristine. We demonstrated here that comparison of sensitive KB cells, P-gp positive (P-gp(+ve)) KBv200 cells were extremely resistant to apoptosis induced by docetaxel. FG020326, a pharmacological inhibitor of P-gp function, could enhance concentration-dependently the effect of docetaxel on cell apoptosis and sensitize caspase-8, -9 and -3 activation in P-gp overexpressing KBv200 cells, but not in KB cells. Therefore, the enhancement of caspase-8, -9 and -3 activation induced by docetaxel may be one of the key mechanisms of the reversal of P-gp mediated docetaxel resistance by FG020326.     

Separation of enzymes by sequential macroaffinity ligand-facilitated three-phase partitioning

Pectinase and cellulase were separated from a commercial enzyme preparation called Pectinex Ultra SP-L. This was carried out using a process called macroaffinity ligand-facilitated three-phase partitioning (MLFTPP). In this method, a water-soluble polymer is floated as an interfacial precipitate by adding ammonium sulfate and tert.-butanol. The polymer (appropriately chosen) in the presence of an enzyme for which it shows affinity, selectively binds to the enzyme and floats as a polymer-enzyme complex. In the first step, pectinase was purified (with alginate as the polymer) 13-fold with 96% activity recovery. In the second MLFTPP step, using chitosan, cellulase was purified 16-fold with 92% activity recovery. Both preparations showed a single band on sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This illustrative example shows that the strategy of sequential MLFTPP can be used to separate important biological activities from a crude broth.     

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for determination of docetaxel in human plasma

A novel, rapid and sensitive isocratic liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed for quantification of docetaxel in human plasma with paclitaxel as internal standard. The high sensitivity and specificity of MS/MS detection enabled the use of a small volume of plasma (0.05 mL) and a simple liquid-liquid extraction procedure. Furthermore, a very short run-time (3 min) fulfilled the need for monitoring plasma levels of docetaxel from large-scale clinical studies. The calibration curve for docetaxel was linear over the range 5-1000 ng/mL with coefficients of correlation >0.999 using only 0.05 mL plasma. The intra- and inter-day precisions (CV) of analysis were <7%, and accuracy ranged from 96 to 110%. The applicability of the method was demonstrated in a pharmacokinetic study of a 1-h infusion of docetaxel with dosages of 75 mg/m(2). Possible conjugated metabolites of docetaxel were not detected in patients' samples.     

A novel method to synthesize docetaxel and its isomer with high yields

Side chains of docetaxel and its isomer were obtained through Staudinger cycloaddition and catalytic hydrogenation of chlorophenyl intermediates, using chlorobenzaldehyde as starting material. Syntheses of three novel chiral azetidinone derivatives through the Staudinger cycloaddition reaction of chlorophenyl chi‐ral amine Schiff base with different substituted positions were described and their ring‐opening reaction under the catalysis of Pd/MgCO₃ or Pd/C to afford side chains of docetaxel and its isomer in high yields was investigated. Finally, docetaxel and its isomer were obtained. Single crystal of (3S,4R)‐3‐hydroxy‐N‐[(S)‐(l‐phenyl)ethyl]‐4 ‐(2′‐chlorophenyl) ‐2‐azetidinone ( 4c ) was obtained, the configuration of which was determined by X‐ray diffraction. Because of the mild cyclization reaction condition and convenient asymmetric resolution operation when p‐chlorobenzaldehyde was employed instead of benzaldehyde, the yield of cyclization and hydrogenation increased dramatically and the total yield of docetaxel was higher than the result in literature. When o‐chlorobenzaldehyde was employed instead of benzaldehyde an isomer of docetaxel was obtained by the same way.     

Simultaneous determination of docetaxel and ketoconazole in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of docetaxel and ketoconazole in rat plasma with paclitaxel as internal standard (IS). The analytes were extracted from rat plasma by using a liquid-liquid extraction technique with ethyl acetate and the LC separation was performed on a Cosmosil-C(18) analytical column (150 mm x 2.0 mm i.d., Nacalai Tesque Inc., Japan). The extracted samples were analyzed with LC/MS/MS, operating in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The SRM transitions of precursor ions to product ions were 830.3-->549.1 (m/z) for docetaxel, 531.2-->489.3 (m/z) for ketoconazole, and 876.7-->307.9 (m/z) for the IS. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 2-500 ng/mL for docetaxel and 50-20 000 ng/mL for ketoconazole, with coefficients of correlation above 0.999. The limits of quantification for docetaxel and ketoconazole were both 2 ng/mL. The limit of detection for each analyte was 1 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision (CV) of analysis were within 7%, and the accuracy ranged from 95 to 110%. The overall recoveries for docetaxel and ketoconazole were about 89.0% and 91.1%, respectively. The total analysis time was only 9.0 min. This quantitation method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of docetaxel and ketoconazole in rat plasma and some potential interaction was found in the current coadministration pharmacokinetic study. This established method was also utilized in the in vitro and in vivo drug-drug interaction study of docetaxel and ketoconazole (to be published).     

Monte Carlo simulation of cutaneous reflectance and fluorescence measurements--the effect of melanin contents and localization

Melanin content and distribution in skin were studied by examining a patient with white, brown and blue skin tones expressed on skin affected by vitiligo. Both diffuse reflectance and autofluorescence spectra of the three distinction skin sites were measured and compared. Monte Carlo simulations were then performed to help explain the measured spectral differences. The modeling is based on a six-layer skin optical model established from published skin optical parameters and by adding melanin content into different locations in the model skin. Both the reflectance and fluorescence spectra calculated by Monte Carlo (MC) simulation were approximately in agreement with experimental results. The study suggests that: (1) trichrome vitiligo skin may be an ideal in vivo model for studying the effect of skin melanin content and distribution on skin spectroscopy properties. (2) Based on the skin optical model and MC simulation, the content and distribution of melanin in skin, or other component of skin could be simulated and predicted. (3) Both reflectance and fluorescence spectra provided information about superficial skin structures but fluorescence spectra are capable of providing information from deeper cutaneous structures. (4) The research method, including the spectral ratio method, the method of adding and modifying the melanin content in skin optical models, and MC simulation could be applied in other non-invasive optical studies of the skin.     

Thin-layer chromatography in spices analysis

Spices are the dried parts of aromatic plants, excepting the leaves, usually used for flavoring, seasoning and imparting aroma in foods. They contain many classes of valuable compounds, which can also exert different biological activities, such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Since spices contain important bioconstituents, they are often adulterated in economical purposes, not only by the botanical and geographical origin, but also by adding or subtracting of different substances which affect in a negative manner their quality. The aim of this paper is to overview the TLC methods used in the analysis of spices, in order to evaluate their composition and biological activities, and also to detect the adulteration.