LC-ESI-MS/MS method for quantification of ambrisentan in plasma and application to rat pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatography–positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of ambrisentan in plasma. The analyte and the internal standard (armodafinil) were extracted from plasma by acetonitrile precipitation and they were separated on a reversed‐phase C₁₈ column with a gradient program. The MS acquisition was performed with multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H]⁺ ions, m/z 379–347 for ambrisentan and m/z 274–167 for the IS. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 1–2000 ng/mL for ambrisentan in plasma. Acceptable precision (<10%) and accuracy (100 ± 8%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The method was successfully applied to quantify ambrisentan concentrations in a rodent pharmacokinetic study after a single oral administration of ambrisentan at 2.5 mg/kg to rats. Following oral administration the maximum mean concentration in plasma (C_max; 1197 ± 179 ng/mL) was achieved at 1.0 ± 0.9 h (T_max), and the area under the curve (AUC) was 6013 ± 997 ng h/mL. Therefore, development of such a simple and sensitive method in rat plasma should translate into a method for ambrisentan in human plasma for clinical trials. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weibel-induced filamentation during an ultrafast laser-driven plasma expansion

The development of current instabilities behind the front of a cylindrically expanding plasma has been investigated experimentally via proton probing techniques. A multitude of tubelike filamentary structures is observed to form behind the front of a plasma created by irradiating solid-density wire targets with a high-intensity (I ~ 10(19) W/cm(2)), picosecond-duration laser pulse. These filaments exhibit a remarkable degree of stability, persisting for several tens of picoseconds, and appear to be magnetized over a filament length corresponding to several filament radii. Particle-in-cell simulations indicate that their formation can be attributed to a Weibel instability driven by a thermal anisotropy of the electron population. We suggest that these results may have implications in astrophysical scenarios, particularly concerning the problem of the generation of strong, spatially extended and sustained magnetic fields in astrophysical jets.     

Nonlinear optical study of palladium Schiff base complex using femtosecond differential optical Kerr gate and Z-scan techniques

A femtosecond differential optical Kerr gate (DOKG) and Z-scan techniques, have been applied to investigate the third-order optical nonlinearity of composite film of the coordination complex [PdLPPh₃] (L=N-(2-pyridyl)-N′-(salicylidene)hydrazine, PPh₃=triphenylphosphine). Film exhibits superior nonlinear optical properties in the near-infrared spectral region. The nonlinear response time and third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of complex were found to be≤90 fs and 3.9×10^?10 esu, respectively. The Z-scan result shows that saturable absorption property of the film and its nonlinear absorption coefficient of the sample was found to be ?23 cm/GW.     

Synthesis of 5-fluoro- and 5-hydroxymethanoprolines via lithiation of N-BOC-methanopyrrolidines. Constrained Cγ-exo and Cγ-endo Flp and Hyp conformer mimics

Proline derivatives with a C(γ)-exo pucker typically display a high amide bond trans/cis (K(T/C)) ratio. This pucker enhances n→π* overlap of the amide oxygen and ester carbonyl carbon, which favors a trans amide bond. If there were no difference in n→π* interaction between the ring puckers, then the correlation between ring pucker and K(T/C) might be broken. To explore this possibility, proline conformations were constrained using a methylene bridge. We synthesized discrete gauche and anti 5-fluoro- and 5-hydroxy-N-acetylmethanoproline methyl esters from 3-syn and 3-anti fluoro- and hydroxymethanopyrrolidines using directed α-metalation to introduce the α-ester group. NBO calculations reveal minimal n→π* orbital interactions, so contributions from other forces might be of greater importance in determining K(T/C) for the methanoprolines. Consistent with this hypothesis, greater trans amide preferences were found in CDCl(3) for anti isomers en-MetFlp and en-MetHyp (72-78% trans) than for the syn stereoisomers ex-MetFlp and ex-MetHyp (54-67% trans). These, and other, K(T/C) results that we report here indicate how substituents on proline analogues can affect amide preferences by pathways other than ring puckering and n→π* overlap and suggest that caution should be exercised in assigning enhanced pyrrolidine C(γ)-exo ring puckering based solely on enhanced trans amide preference.     

A ligand-free and base-free copper catalyzed reaction: arylation of ammonia and primary amines as their acetate salts

A ligand-free, base-free copper catalyzed arylation of ammonia and primary amines as their corresponding acetate salts are established. The Carboxylate group is believed to be catalyzing the arylation of ammonia. This reaction is specific for primary amines.     

Effect of Cationic Lipid Nanoparticle Loaded siRNA with Stearylamine against Chikungunya Virus

Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus (CHIKV). It was reported that NS1 and E2 siRNAs administration demonstrated CHIKV inhibition in in vitro as well as in vivo systems. Cationic lipids are promising for designing safe non-viral vectors and are beneficial in treating chikungunya. In this study, nanodelivery systems (hybrid polymeric/solid lipid nanoparticles) using cationic lipids (stearylamine, C9 lipid, and dioctadecylamine) and polymers (branched PEI-g-PEG -PEG) were prepared, characterized, and complexed with siRNA. The four developed delivery systems (F1, F2, F3, and F4) were assessed for stability and potential toxicities against CHIKV. In comparison to the other nanodelivery systems, F4 containing stearylamine (Octadecylamine; ODA), with an induced optimum cationic charge of 45.7 mV in the range of 152.1 nm, allowed maximum siRNA complexation, better stability, and higher transfection, with strong inhibition against the E2 and NS1 genes of CHIKV. The study concludes that cationic lipid-like ODA with ease of synthesis and characterization showed maximum complexation by structural condensation of siRNA owing to high transfection alone. Synergistic inhibition of CHIKV along with siRNA was demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo models. Therefore, ODA-based cationic lipid nanoparticles can be explored as safe, potent, and efficient nonviral vectors overcoming siRNA in vivo complexities against chikungunya.     

Additive-free Aqueous Dispersions of Two-Dimensional Materials with Glial Cell Compatibility and Enzymatic Degradability

Water-dispersible two-dimensional (2D) materials are desirable for diverse applications. Aqueous dispersions make processing safer and greener and enable evaluation of these materials on biological and environmental fronts. To evaluate the effects of 2D materials with biological systems, obtaining dispersions without additives is critical and has been a challenge. Herein, a method was developed for obtaining additive-free aqueous dispersions of 2D materials like transition metal dichalcogenides and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The nanosheet dispersions were investigated through spectroscopic and microscopic methods, along with the role of size on stability. The aqueous media enabled investigations on cytocompatibility and enzymatic degradation of molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂) and h-BN. Cytocompatibility with mixed glial cells was observed up to concentrations of 100 μg mL⁻¹, suggesting their plausible usage in bioelectronics. Besides, biodegradation using human myeloperoxidase (hMPO) mediated catalysis was investigated through Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The findings suggested that additive-free 2H-MoS₂ and h-BN were degradable by hMPO, with 2H-phase exhibiting better resistance to degradation than the 1T-phase, while h-BN exhibited slower degradation. The findings pave a path for incorporating 2D materials in the burgeoning field of transient bioelectronics.     

Thermal Degradation Kinetics and Modeling Study of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWP)/Graphene Nanocomposite

The incorporation of nanofillers such as graphene into polymers has shown significant improvements in mechanical characteristics, thermal stability, and conductivity of resulting polymeric nanocomposites. To this aim, the influence of incorporation of graphene nanosheets into ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) on the thermal behavior and degradation kinetics of UHMWPE/graphene nanocomposites was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that graphene nanosheets were uniformly spread throughout the UHMWPE’s molecular chains. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data posited that the morphology of dispersed graphene sheets in UHMWPE was exfoliated. Non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies identified a more pronounced increase in melting temperatures and latent heat of fusions in nanocomposites compared to UHMWPE at lower concentrations of graphene. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) revealed that UHMWPE’s thermal stability has been improved via incorporating graphene nanosheets. Further, degradation kinetics of neat polymer and nanocomposites have been modeled using equations such as Friedman, Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW), Kissinger, and Augis and Bennett’s. The "Model-Fitting Method” showed that the auto-catalytic nth-order mechanism provided a highly consistent and appropriate fit to describe the degradation mechanism of UHMWPE and its graphene nanocomposites. In addition, the calculated activation energy (E_a) of thermal degradation was enhanced by an increase in graphene concentration up to 2.1 wt.%, followed by a decrease in higher graphene content.     

Synthesis and characterization of neutral ligand-bridged binuclear dialkylcobalt(III) complexes

A series of neutral ligand-bridged binuclear dialkylcobalt(III) chelates has been prepared. Chelate systems based on monoanions of dimethylglyoxime (dm