Drug-plasma protein binding assay by electrokinetic chromatography-frontal analysis

We developed a rapid, microscale and reliable analytical method for binding of drugs to plasma proteins using capillary electrophoresis (CE) with ionic cyclodextrins (CD) combined with frontal analysis. These CDs were used as pseudostationary phases of electrokinetic chromatography (EKC). The CD-modified EKC (CDEKC) approach allowed us to separate anionic drugs from plasma proteins, whereas CZE could not separate these drugs from plasma proteins because they had a similar mobility like plasma proteins. CDs uniquely interact with these drugs but not with plasma proteins. Therefore, CDEKC could be coupled with frontal analysis to measure the binding of anionic drugs to plasma proteins. The binding values obtained by CDEKC were highly consistent with those determined by the ultrafiltration method. Our CDEKC approach should expand the applicability of CE to protein binding analysis.     

Electrophoretic mobility-assisted identification of proteins by nanoelectrospray capillary electrophoresis/mass spectrometry under methanolic conditions

A novel method for electrophoretic mobility-assisted identifications of proteins, using capillary electrophoresis/mass spectrometry (CE/MS) under methanolic conditions, was developed. The number of functional groups of the enzymatic digest peptides was estimated from a single run CE/MS analysis and utilized as an additional tag for database searching in addition to the mass map of the peptides. The additional amino acid information thus obtained can improve the confidence level of the protein identification. The database searching software algorithm ProFound was modified to accept the tag, based on this new concept. In this study, optimization of the CE/MS conditions for the estimation of basic functional groups was performed as an example. An accurate value of the number of such functional groups was obtained from CE characteristics when methanolic buffer (methanol/formic acid/water = 60:20:20) was used, via an excellent correlation (r = 0.997) between the number of functional groups of the peptides and [MW((2/3))]. The mass spectrometry sensitivity was also improved when using the methanolic buffer in comparison with that obtained using aqueous 1% formic acid buffer. The identification of a protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which was separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, was performed using the methanolic buffer in combination with sheathless nanoelectrospray CE/MS. A protein spot that had not been identified by MALDI-TOFMS and LC/MS/MS was successfully identified using this new method.     

First synthesis of 1,9-dideoxyforskolin from ptychantin A

1,9-Dideoxyforskolin 2 has been synthesized starting from ptychantin A 3.     

Practical synthesis of a neuropeptide Y antagonist via stereoselective addition to a ketene

[Reaction: see text]. The synthesis of neuropeptide Y antagonist 1, currently under clinical investigation for the treatment of obesity, is described. The convergent synthesis from trans-spirolactone carboxylic acid intermediate 2a and aminopyrazole 3 is predicated on a stereoselective route to the former. The coupling reaction of ethyl 4-oxocyclohexanecarboxylate (10a) with lithiated isonicotinamide 11 was investigated in detail, but even optimized conditions only provided a 45:55 ratio of trans:cis isomers (12a:12b). While selective crystallization schemes were developed to isolate the thermodynamically less stable trans isomer 2a, improved stereocontrol was subsequentially achieved by the application of ketene chemistry. The ketene formation and quench was investigated under a variety of conditions aimed at maximizing the trans:cis ratio. Reacting a mixture of carboxylic acids 2a and 2b with POCl3 in THF, followed by concomitant addition of tert-butyl alcohol in the presence of TMEDA at 35 degrees C provided a 4:1 ratio of trans:cis tert-butyl esters (18a:18b) via in situ ketene formation. Ester hydrolysis, followed by selective crystallization of undesired 2b as the HCl salt, led to isolation of 2a in 47% overall yield. Aminopyrazole intermediate 3 was synthesized via the condensation reaction of 2-fluorophenylhydrazine hydrochloride (4a) with acrylonitrile derivative 5 in 65-70% yield. Coupling of advanced intermediates 2a and 3b via activation with thionyl chloride gave a 92% yield of 1.     

Appearance of pure fluorocarbon micelles surveyed by fluorescence quenching of amphiphilic quinoline derivatives in fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon surfactant mixtures

A halide-sensitive fluorescence probe was utilized to evaluate the miscibility of fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon surfactants in aqueous micellar systems. The fluorescence of 6-methoxy-N-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroheptadecafluorodecylquinolinium chloride, FC10MQ, was quenched by halide ions dissociated from the surfactant. The fluorescence in micellar solutions showed an initially rapid decay. This suggests that halide ions effectively quench FC10MQ fluorescence at the micellar surface. The subsequent slow decay corresponds to the quenching of FC10MQ fluorescence in the aqueous bulk phase by the free counterions. The Stern-Volmer plots for fluorescence quenching gave a distinct break at the critical micelle concentration of the cationic surfactants. The abrupt increase in fluorescence quenching is attributed to the solubilization of the probe in the micelles. The fluorescence quenching behavior provides direct information about the immiscibility of fluorocarbon and hydrocarbon species in micelles, and the results indicate that almost pure fluorocarbon micelles appear in surfactants mixtures.