Studies on metabolism of total glucosides of paeony from Paeoniae Radix Alba in rats by UPLC‐Q‐TOF‐MS/MS

Total glucosides of paeony are the active constituents of Paeoniae Radix Alba. In this study, a novel strategy was proposed to find more metabolites and the differences between paeoniflorin, albiflorin and total glucosides of paeony (TGP). This strategy was characterized as follows: firstly, the animals were divided into three groups (paeoniflorin, albiflorin and TGP) to identify the source of TGP metabolites from paeoniflorin or albiflorin; secondly, a generic information‐dependent acquisition scan for the low‐level metabolites was triggered by the multiple mass defect filter and dynamic background subtraction; thirdly, the metabolites were identified with a combination of data‐processing methods including mass defect filtering, neutral loss filtering and product ion filtering; finally, a comparative study was used in the metabolism of paeoniflorin, albiflorin and TGP. Based on the strategy, 18 metabolites of TGP, 10 metabolites of paeoniflorin and 13 metabolites of albiflorin were identified respectively. The results indicated that the hydrolysis, conjugation reaction and oxidization were the major metabolic pathways, and the metabolic sites were the glycosidic linkage, the ester bond and the benzene ring. This study is first to explore the metabolism of TGP, and these findings enhance our understanding of the metabolism and the interactions of paeoniflrin and albiflorin in TGP. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of an LC‐MS/MS method for determining the pharmacokinetics of clonidine following oral administration of Zhenju antihypertensive compound

Zhenju antihypertensive compound (ZJAHC) is a combined Chinese–Western medicine formula including clonidine (CLO), hydrochlorothiazide (HCT), rutin, Chrysanthemum indicum extract and pearl powder. Compared with CLO preparations, ZJAHC shows improved activities and decreased adverse effects. It is believed that the side effects of CLO are caused by its high peak plasma concentration. Hence, study of the influence of ZJAHC on the pharmacokinetic behaviors of clonidine seems essential. In present study, the plasma concentrations of CLO were determined with a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method. The MS/MS transitions monitored for clonidine and internal standard were 230.2 → 213.1 and 152.2 → 110.2, respectively. The analyte was quantified in a single run within 3 min. The pharmacokinetic study showed that the area under the plasma concentration–time curve of CLO in ZJAHC (60 µg/kg CLO) was similar to that of CLO‐HCT‐high (120 µg/kg CLO) but the peak concentration was much lower than that in CLO‐HCT‐high. ZJAHC could enhance the bioavailability without greatly increasing peak concentration of clonidine. This comprehensive effect of enhancing the bioavailability and avoiding the high peak plasma concentration for CLO might mainly result from the co‐contribution of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), while the effect of TCM was stronger than that of Western medicine. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development and validation of UHPLC‐MS/MS assay for rapid determination of a carvone Schiff base of isoniazid (CSB‐INH) in rat plasma: application to pharmacokinetic study

In this study, a fast UHPLC‐MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of a novel potent carvone Schiff base of isoniazid (CSB‐INH) in rat plasma using carbamazepine as an internal standard (IS). After a single‐step protein precipitation by acetonitrile, CSB‐INH and IS were separated on an Acquity BEH^TM C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) under an isocratic mobile phase, consisting of acetonitrile: 10 mM ammonium acetate (95:5, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Quantification was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multiple reactions monitoring mode by using positive electrospray ionization source. The precursor to product ion transitions were set at m/z 270.08 → 79.93 for CSB‐INH and m/z 237.00 → 178.97 for IS. The proposed method was validated in compliance with US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency guidelines for bioanalytical method validation. The method was found to be linear in the range of 0.35–2500 ng/mL (r² ≥ 0.997) with a lower limit of quantification of 0.35 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision values were ≤12.0% whereas accuracy values ranged from 92.3 to 108.7%. In addition, other validation results were within the acceptance criteria and the method was successfully applied in a pharmacokinetic study of CSB‐INH in rats. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitive method for the determination of paricalcitol by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry and its application to a clinical pharmacokinetic study

A highly sensitive, specific and rapid LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the quantification of paricalcitol (PAR) in human plasma (500 μL) using paricalcitol‐d₆ (PAR‐d₆) as an internal standard (IS) as per regulatory guidelines. A liquid–liquid extraction method was used to extract the analyte and IS from human plasma. Chromatography was achieved on Zorbax SB C₁₈ column using an isocratic mobile phase in a gradient flow. The total chromatographic run time was 6.0 min and the elution of PAR and PAR‐d₆ occurred at ~2.6 min. A linear response function was established for the range of concentrations 10–500 pg/mL in human plasma. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracy and precision values for PAR met the acceptance criteria. The validated assay was applied to quantitate PAR concentrations in human plasma following oral administration of 4 µg capsules to humans. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diborylated Magnesium Anthracene as Precursor for B2H5−‐Bridged 9,10‐Dihydroanthracene

9,10‐(Bpin)₂‐anthracene ( 3 , HBpin=pinacolborane) was synthesized from 9,10‐dibromoanthracene in a stepwise lithiation/borylation sequence. The reaction of 3 with highly activated magnesium furnished the diborylated magnesium anthracene 4 , which was quenched in situ with ethereal HCl to yield cis‐9,10‐(Bpin)₂‐DHA (cis‐ 5 , DHA=9,10‐dihydroanthracene). Compound cis‐ 5 , in turn, can be reduced with Li[AlH₄] in THF to give its diborate Li₂[cis‐9,10‐(BH₃)₂‐DHA] (Li₂[cis‐ 6 ]). In the crystal lattice, the THF solvate Li₂[cis‐ 6 ] ? 3 THF establishes a dimeric structure with Li‐(μ‐H)‐B coordination modes. Hydride abstraction from Li₂[cis‐ 6 ] with Me₃SiCl yields the B?H?B‐bridged DHA Li[ 7 ]. This product can also be viewed as a unique cyclic B₂H₇^? derivative with a hydrocarbon backbone. Treatment of Li₂[cis‐ 6 ] with the stronger hydride abstracting agent Me₃SiOTf (HOTf=trifluoromethanesulfonic acid) in THF affords the THF diadduct of cis‐9,10‐(BH(OTf))₂‐DHA.     

Study of the performances of an oxygen carrier: Experimental investigation of the binder's contribution and characterization of its structural modifications

The aim of this work is to investigate the contribution of the binder (NiAl₂O₄) on the performances of the oxygen carrier NiO/NiAl₂O₄. To this purpose, oxidation/reduction cycles have been performed in a fixed bed reactor using CO as a fuel. The results reveal that the binder can react with the fuel to form CO₂, and that its total reduction capacity increases with temperature. XRD characterizations performed on the binder (on the fresh and after several cycles) show a shift of the diffraction peaks of NiAl₂O₄ toward the ones of γ-alumina, which can be attributed to a progressive decomposition of NiAl₂O₄ to alumina and NiO.     

Simple and Precise Quantification of Iron Catalyst Content in Carbon Nanotubes Using UV/Visible Spectroscopy

Iron catalysts have been used widely for the mass production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high yield. In this study, UV/visible spectroscopy was used to determine the Fe catalyst content in CNTs using a colorimetric technique. Fe ions in solution form red–orange complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline, producing an absorption peak at λ=510 nm, the intensity of which is proportional to the solution Fe concentration. A series of standard Fe solutions were formulated to establish the relationship between optical absorbance and Fe concentration. Many Fe catalysts were microscopically observed to be encased by graphitic layers, thus preventing their extraction. Fe catalyst dissolution from CNTs was investigated with various single and mixed acids, and Fe concentration was found to be highest with CNTs being held at reflux in HClO₄/HNO₃ and H₂SO₄/HNO₃ mixtures. This novel colorimetric method to measure Fe concentrations by UV/Vis spectroscopy was validated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, indicating its reliability and applicability to asses Fe content in CNTs.     

Rational Molecular Design towards Vis/NIR Absorption and Fluorescence by using Pyrrolopyrrole aza‐BODIPY and its Highly Conjugated Structures for Organic Photovoltaics

Pyrrolopyrrole aza‐BODIPY (PPAB) developed in our recent study from diketopyrrolopyrrole by titanium tetrachloride‐mediated Schiff‐base formation reaction with heteroaromatic amines is a highly potential chromophore due to its intense absorption and fluorescence in the visible region and high fluorescence quantum yield, which is greater than 0.8. To control the absorption and fluorescence of PPAB, particularly in the near‐infrared (NIR) region, further molecular design was performed using DFT calculations. This results in the postulation that the HOMO–LUMO gap of PPAB is perturbed by the heteroaromatic moieties and the aryl‐substituents. Based on this molecular design, a series of new PPAB molecules was synthesized, in which the largest redshifts of the absorption and fluorescence maxima up to 803 and 850 nm, respectively, were achieved for a PPAB consisting of benzothiazole rings and terthienyl substituents. In contrast to the sharp absorption of PPAB, a PPAB dimer, which was prepared by a cross‐coupling reaction of PPAB monomers, exhibited panchromatic absorption across the UV/Vis/NIR regions. With this series of PPAB chromophores in hand, a potential application of PPAB as an optoelectronic material was investigated. After identifying a suitable PPAB molecule for application in organic photovoltaic cells based on evaluation using time‐resolved microwave conductivity measurements, a maximized power conversion efficiency of 1.27 % was achieved.     

Synthesis,characterization and α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase inhibition studies of novel vanadyl chalcone complexes

A series of chalcone ligands and their corresponding vanadyl complexes of composition [VO (L^I–IV)₂(H₂O)₂]SO₄ (where L^I = 1,3‐Diphenylprop‐2‐en‐1‐one, L^II = 3‐(2‐Hydroxy‐phenyl)‐1‐phenyl‐propenone, L^III = 3‐(3‐Nitro‐phenyl)‐1‐phenyl‐propenone, L^IV = 3‐(4‐Methoxy‐phenyl)‐1‐phenyl‐propenone) have been synthesized and characterized using various spectroscopic (Fourier‐transform infrared, electrospray ionization mass, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, vibrating sample magnetometer) and physico‐analytic techniques. Antidiabetic activities of synthesized complexes along with chalcones were evaluated by performing in vitro and in silico α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase inhibition studies. The obtained results displayed moderate to significant inhibition activity against both the enzymes by vanadyl chalcone complexes. The most potent complexes were further investigated for the enzyme kinetic studies and displayed the mixed inhibition for both the enzymes. Further, antioxidant activity of vanadyl chalcone complexes was evaluated for their efficiency to release oxidative stress using 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picryl‐hydrazyl‐hydrate assay, and two complexes (Complexes 2 and 4 ) have demonstrated remarkable antioxidant activity. All the complexes were found to possess promising antidiabetic and antioxidant potential.     

Thermodynamic parameters for the complexation of water‐insoluble betulin derivatives with (2‐hydroxypropyl)‐γ‐cyclodextrin determined by phase‐solubility technique combined with capillary zone electrophoresis

The complexation of betulinic and betulonic acids (BIA and BOA) (pentacyclic lupane triterpenoids) with (2‐hydroxypropyl)‐γ‐cyclodextrin (HP‐γ‐CD) was studied at different temperatures using the method combining phase‐solubility technique and CZE. In contrast to mobility shift ACE utilizing the electrophoretic mobility, in this approach, the peak areas are used. The apparent binding (stability, formation) constants are obtained by the Higuchi and Connors method from the linear segment of compound solubility diagrams in CD solutions. It was found that the apparent binding constants of the HP‐γ‐CD complexes of BIA and BOA decrease with increasing temperature. The binding constants of BOA complexes are slightly higher than those of BIA complexes; this can be explained by difference in the hydration degrees of carbonyl and hydroxyl groups. On the basis of the binding constants obtained and their temperature dependences (van't Hoff plot), the enthalpy as well as entropy changes and Gibbs free energies were calculated. It was found that the complexation was characterized by negative changes of enthalpy and entropy, that is, it was controlled by enthalpy changes. The results obtained can be used for the optimization of microcapsulation processes of BOA and BIA with the HP‐γ‐CD application in order to increase solubility and bioavailability of these compounds.