Evolution of regulatory aspects of genotoxic impurities in pharmaceuticals: Survival of the fittest

The genotoxic impurities (GIs) are carcinogenic hence its management during synthesis of pharmaceuticals is very important to be detected even in trace level for the safe use of the drugs. The presence of drug substance/drug product DNA-reactive impurities poses a significant problem for drug regulators as well as industry. There are several regulatory guidelines and position papers focused on controlling the amount of impurities within the specified limits. The present compilation gives an account of updated information about GIs and reviews the regulatory aspects for GIs in active pharmaceutical ingredients/drug formulations. A detailed discussion about control strategies in the context of GIs is also described precisely. The analysis of GIs is a challenging and complex aspect of the drug development process. Control and determination of these impurities at ppm or ppb levels are significant challenges for analysts, therefore the approaches for the analysis of GIs have also been discussed.     

Orthogonal Surface Tags for Whole‐Cell Biocatalysis

We herein describe the engineering of E. coli strains that display orthogonal tags for immobilization on their surface and overexpress a functional heterologous “protein content” in their cytosol at the same time. Using the outer membrane protein Lpp‐ompA, cell‐surface display of the streptavidin‐binding peptide, the SpyTag/SpyCatcher system, or a HaloTag variant allowed us to generate bacterial strains that can selectively bind to solid substrates, as demonstrated with magnetic microbeads. The simultaneous cytosolic expression of functional content was demonstrated for fluorescent proteins or stereoselective ketoreductase enzymes. The latter strains gave high selectivities for specific immobilization onto complementary surfaces and also in the whole‐cell stereospecific transformation of a prochiral C_S‐symmetric nitrodiketone.     

Deciphering composition and connectivity of a natural product with the assistance of MS and 2D NMR

A complementary application of three analytical techniques, viz. multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS), and single‐crystal X‐ray diffractometry was required to identify and refine two natural products isolated from Millettia versicolor and solvent of crystallization. The two compounds, namely 3‐(2H‐1,3‐benzodioxol‐5‐yl)‐6‐methoxy‐8,8‐dimethyl‐4H ,8H‐pyrano[2,3‐h ]chromen‐4‐one, or durmillone, (I), and (2E )‐1‐(4‐{[(2E )‐3,7‐dimethylocta‐2,6‐dien‐1‐yl]oxy}‐2‐hydroxyphenyl)‐3‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐one, (II), could not be separated by routine column chromatography and cocrystallized in a 2:1 ratio with 0.13 molecules of ethanol solvent. Compound (II) and ethanol could not be initially identified by single‐crystal X‐ray analysis due to complex disorder in the aliphatic chain region of (II). Mass spectrometry ensured that (II) represented only one species disordered over several positions in the solid state, rather than several species cohabitating on the same crystallographic site. The atomic identification and connectivity in (II) were established by several 2D (two‐dimensional) NMR techniques, which in turn relied on a knowledge of its exact mass. The derived connectivity was then used in the single‐crystal analysis to model the disorder of the aliphatic chain in (II) over three positions and allowed identification of a partially occupied ethanol solvent molecule that was disordered over an inversion center. The disordered moieties were refined with restraints and constraints.     

沉淀分离-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱(ICP-AES)法测定银铜合金中的磷

建立了沉淀分离银、铜,电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱(ICP-AES)法测定银铜合金中微量磷的分析方法。重点研究了氯化银沉淀分离银和硫化铜沉淀分离铜的条件,以及ICP-AES法测定磷的工作条件和谱线选择。结果表明,沉淀分离后[Ag~+]0.1mg/L,[Cu~(2+)]1mg/L,Cu的干扰可以忽略;仪器功率1.3kW时,分析线P 213.617nm时,方法的检出限0.076mg/L;测定银铜合金中0.00092%~0.0032%的磷含量,相对标准偏差5.3%~1.7%(n=7),样品加标回收率94.4%~103%,方法简便、快速,已应用于实际生产中。     

Analytical Methods for Determination of Phytic Acid and Other Inositol Phosphates: A Review

From the early precipitation-based techniques, introduced more than a century ago, to the latest development of enzymatic bio- and nano-sensor applications, the analysis of phytic acid and/or other inositol phosphates has never been a straightforward analytical task. Due to the biomedical importance, such as antinutritional, antioxidant and anticancer effects, several types of methodologies were investigated over the years to develop a reliable determination of these intriguing analytes in many types of biological samples; from various foodstuffs to living cell organisms. The main aim of the present work was to critically overview the development of the most relevant analytical principles, separation and detection methods that have been applied in order to overcome the difficulties with specific chemical properties of inositol phosphates, their interferences, absence of characteristic signal (e.g., absorbance), and strong binding interactions with (multivalent) metals and other biological molecules present in the sample matrix. A systematical and chronological review of the applied methodology and the detection system is given, ranging from the very beginnings of the classical gravimetric and titrimetric analysis, through the potentiometric titrations, chromatographic and electrophoretic separation techniques, to the use of spectroscopic methods and of the recently reported fluorescence and voltammetric bio- and nano-sensors.     

A survey on genomic data by privacy-preserving techniques perspective

Nowadays, the purpose of human genomics is widely emerging in health-related problems and also to achieve time and cost-efficient healthcare. Due to advancement in genomics and its research, development in privacy concerns is needed regarding querying, accessing and, storage and computation of the genomic data. While the genomic data is widely accessible, the privacy issues may emerge due to the untrusted third party (adversaries/researchers), they may reveal the information or strategy plans regarding the genome data of an individual when it is requested for research purposes. To mitigate this problem many privacy-preserving techniques are used along with cryptographic methods are briefly discussed. Furthermore, efficiency and accuracy in a secure and private genomic data computation are needed to be researched in future.     

Recent advances in analytical methodologies based on mass spectrometry for the environmental analysis of halogenated organic contaminants

Halogenated organic contaminants, including legislated and potential persistent organic pollutants and their precursors, represent a major environmental concern due to their hazardous effects in humans and wildlife as well as their ability to bioaccumulate through the food chain, their high resistance to environmental degradation, and their long-range atmospheric transport potential. The monitoring of these compounds in the environment at ultra-trace concentration levels requires highly selective and sensitive analytical methodologies. The lack of reference step-by-step methods led to a high number of reliable determinations depending on analytes, the complexity of the sample, and available instrumentation. Thus, this review article is mainly focused on the last advances in the analytical methodologies for the determination of halogenated organic contaminants. Methodologies regarding sample treatment, chromatographic separation, and mass spectrometry analysis have been reviewed to finally highlight the future perspectives for the improvement of the analytical determinations of these compounds and the throughput of environmental control laboratories in this field.     

微流控纸芯片在环境分析检测中的应用

近年来,微流控纸芯片由于低成本、便携化、检测快等优点,在需要快速检测的环境分析领域中展现出了巨大的应用前景。该综述从微流控纸芯片在环境分析中的应用角度,总结归纳了微流控纸芯片在环境分析中的最新研究进展,并展望了其在未来的发展趋势与挑战。论文内容引用150余篇源于科学引文索引(SCI)与中文核心期刊中的相关论文。该综述包括微流控纸芯片在环境检测中的优势与制造方法介绍;电化学法、荧光法、比色法、表面增强拉曼法、集成传感法等基于纸芯片的先进分析方法介绍;根据环境分析目标物种类,如重金属离子、营养盐、农药、微生物、抗生素以及其他污染物等,对纸芯片的最新应用现状进行了举例评述;基于微流控纸芯片的环境分析研究的未来发展趋势和前景展望。通过综述近期相关研究,表明微流控纸芯片从提出至今虽然只有十几年的发展历程,但其在环境分析研究中的发展却十分迅速。微流控纸芯片可以根据不同的环境条件和检测要求灵活选择制作与分析方法,实现最佳的检测效果。但是微流控纸芯片也面临一些挑战,如纸张机械强度不足、流体控制程度不佳等问题。这些问题指出了微流控纸芯片在环境检测领域的发展趋势,相信随着不断深入的研究,纸芯片将会在未来的环境分析中发挥更大作用。     

Finite Integral Transform Solutions for Free Vibrations of Rectangular Thin Plates With Mixed Boundary Constraints北大核心CSCD

Analytical solutions, with unique research value, can serve as benchmarks for empirical formulas and numerical methods, a tool for rapid parameter analysis and optimization, and a theoretical basis for experimental designs. Conventional analytical methods, e.g., the Lévy solution method, are only applicable to mechanical problems of plates and shells with opposite simply-supported edges, which, however, may fail to obtain analytical solutions for the issues with complex boundary constraints. In recent years, the finite integral transform method for plate and shell problems was developed to deal with non-Lévy-type plates and shells, but it is still infeasible to solve the mixed boundary constrains-induced complex boundary value problems of higher-order partial differential equations. Herein, for the first time, the finite integral transform method was combined with the sub-domain decomposition technique to solve the free vibrations of rectangular thin plates with mixed boundary constraints. The rectangular plate was first divided into 2 sub-domains according to the mixed boundary constraints, and the 2 sub-domains were solved analytically with the finite integral transform method. Finally, the continuity conditions were introduced to obtain the analytical solution of the original problem. Based on the side spot-welded cantilever plates commonly used in engineering, the free vibration problem of a rectangular thin plate with 1 edge subjected to clamped-simply supported constraints and the other 3 edges free, was analyzed. The obtained natural frequencies and mode shapes are in good agreement with those from the finite element method as well as the solutions in literature, thus verifying the accuracy of the proposed method. The solution procedure of the finite integral transform method can be implemented based on the governing equations without any assumption of the solution form. Therefore, this strict analytical method is widely applicable to complex boundary value problems of higher-order partial differential equations for such mechanical problems of plates and shells. © 2023 Editorial Office of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics. All rights reserved.     

A generalized Duffing equation with the Coulomb’s friction law and Signorini–type contact conditions

This work provides mathematical and numerical analyses for a spring–mass system, in which Signorini–type contact conditions and Coulomb’s friction law with thermal effects are taken into consideration. The motion of a mass attached to a viscoelastic (Kelvin–Voigt type) nonlinear spring is described by a generalized Duffing equation. Signorini contact conditions are understood as extended complementarity conditions (CCs), where convolution is incorporated, allowing to consider thermal aspects of an obstacle. We prove the existence of global weak solutions for the highly nonlinear differential equation system with all the conditions, based on the regularized differential equation and the normal compliance condition with the standard mollifier. In addition, we investigate what side effects produce higher singularities of contact forces in dynamic contact problems, which is also supported by numerical evidences. Numerical schemes are proposed and then several groups of data are selected for the display of our numerical simulations.