Simultaneous determination of novel β-lactamase inhibitor WCK 4234 and Meropenem in dog plasma by LC–MS/MS and its application to preclinical pharmacokinetic study

A precise and accurate liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric (LC–MS/MS) bioanalytical method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of WCK 4234 and meropenem (MEM) in dog plasma. Protein precipitation using acetonitrile was employed as a sample preparation approach. Cefepime was used as an internal standard. The developed method was selective, sensitive (limit of quantification, 0.075 μg/ml for both drugs), accurate (recovery > 90%), precise (CV < 10%) and linear (r² ≥ 0.99, concentration range 0.075–120 μg/ml for both analytes). The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of both drugs in plasma to assess the pharmacokinetics in beagle dogs. WCK 4234 + MEM in a 1:1 ratio at 15 + 15 and 30 + 30 mg/kg doses were administered by the intravenous route. The mean plasma concentration and area under the concentration–time curve of WCK 4234 ranged from 38.3 to 77.4 μg/ml and from 47.8 to 77.1 μg h/ml, respectively, and the values for MEM ranged from 52.2 to 115.3 μg/ml and 70.5 to 133.6 μg h/ml respectively. The elimination half-life of WCK 4234 and MEM was around 0.8 h.     

Investigation on Impurity Profiling and Degradation Behavior of WCK 771

Chromatographia - WCK 771 is a novel antibacterial drug recently launched in India for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). This report describes...     

Ensuring robustness in the quality of antibiotic susceptibility test discs for four novel antibiotics

Antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) discs are used as an in-vitro diagnostic tool to select the appropriate antibiotic to treat an infection. Generally, the concentration of the drug loaded on to the AST discs is measured by studying its activity against quality control organisms. This methodology has several limitations—it is time consuming, requires trained manpower, has a wider acceptance criteria of zone of inhibitions—causing ambiguity in judging smaller variations in drug concentration. To overcome these issues, we have developed and validated high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods for the determination of strength of AST discs for in-house researched antibiotics, namely Levonadifloxacin/WCK 771, Nafithromycin/WCK 4873, Cefepime-Tazobactam/WCK 4282, and Cefepime-Zidebactam/WCK 5222. The drugs were extracted from the AST discs using an appropriate solvent. The developed methods are simple, accurate, precise, reproducible, rugged, and robust. They are efficient in terms of time, and can be easily conducted in a quality control laboratory during release as well as stability evaluation of AST disc. Application of HPLC methods for the determination of strength of AST discs ensures flawless quality and, consequently, a better selection of drugs to treat bacterial infections in clinics.     

A weight-function approach for determining watershed initial conditions for combustion waves

In many generic combustion models, one finds that a combustionwave will develop with a specific wave speed. However, thereare possible initial temperature profiles which do not evolveinto such waves, but rather die out to the ambient temperature.There can exist, in some models, a clear distinction betweenthose initial conditions that do evolve into combustion wavesand those that do not; this is sometimes referred to as thewatershed initial condition. When fuel consumption is consideredto be negligible, analytical methods can be used to obtain theexact watershed. In this paper, we consider the problem of determiningpseudo-watersheds and ascertaining the relationship betweenthese pseudo-watersheds and the exact watersheds. In the processa novel weight-function approach for infinite spatial domainsis developed.     

Validated chiral high-performance liquid chromatography method for a novel anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus fluoroquinolone WCK 771

A sensitive, simple, specific, precise, accurate and rugged method for the assay and determination of enantiomeric purity of S-(-)-9-fluoro-6,7-dihydro-8-(4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)-5-methyl-1-oxo-1H,5H-benzo[i,j]quinolizine-2-carboxylic acid L-arginine salt tetrahydrate (WCK 771) in bulk drug has been developed. The method is RP-HPLC using endcapped C-18 stationary phase and chiral mobile phase. Chirality to the mobile phase was imparted with addition of beta-cyclodextrin. The UV-vis detector was operated at 290 nm. The flow rate of mobile phase was 2 ml/min. The method offers excellent separation of two enantiomers with resolution more than 2 and tailing factor less than 1.5. The method was validated for the assay of WCK 771 and quantification of R-(+)-enantiomer impurity in bulk drug. The calibration curves showed excellent linearity over the concentration range of 0.05-0.15 mg/ml for WCK 771 and 0.5-7.5 microg/ml for R-(+)-enantiomer. The precision (RSD) of the assay was 0.23%. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of the method for WCK 771 were 0.015 and 0.06 microg/ml, respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for R-(+)-enantiomer were 0.025 and 0.09 microg/ml, respectively. The average recovery of the R-(+)-enantiomer was 100.5%. Same method was applied for the assay and determination of enantiomeric purity of WCK 771 in the intravenous formulation.     

Synthesis of cytotoxic cyanobactin,Wewakazole B

We report herein the synthesis of cytotoxic cyanobactin, Wewakazole B through an efficient solution-phase approach. The key steps of the synthesis are the macrocyclic lactamization of linear dodecapeptide and construction of two hexapeptides with three different substituted oxazole rings.     

Effect of hydrophilic macro-RAFT agent in surfactant-free emulsion polymerization

Here we report, synthesis of different molecular weight poly (styrene sulfonate) based macro-RAFT agents and their use as shell material in surfactant-free emulsion polymerization of styrene. Concentration and molecular weight of hydrophilic macro-RAFT agent has an influence on colloidal stability, particle size distribution and self-assembly. Microscopic and zeta-potential studies of colloids reveal that, the macro-RAFT agents used with low molecular weight (M_n = 1200) are comparable more efficient than high molecular weight (M_n = 46,800 and 116,000) for imparting narrow particle size distribution with good colloidal stability.     

Effect of gamma-radiation on Methanosarcina hydrogenase containing transition metal ions

Tracer studies using⁶⁵Zn and⁵⁸Co showed that of the four forms ofMethanosarcina hydrogenases, the A form has about 15% of acid labile zinc, while the hydrogenase D has about 50% of cobalt of the total bound activity in the cell and the other two forms B and C have neither zinc nor cobalt. However, all hydrogenases are known to contain iron, sulfur and probably nickel in trace amounts. All air-oxidized forms of hydrogenases catalyze the reduction of methyl viologen after a finite incubation period. The reduction is revealed by an increase in the absorption peak at 602 nm. On -irradiation, all the four hydrogenases changed to more stable oxidized forms, as indicated by an increase in the optical absorption in the visible region at 405 nm. The irradiated samples showed a greater time lag before they could reduce methyl viologen, the time lag increasing with the -dose. The irradiated enzymes could be reactivated by flushing with H₂. The zinc-bearing hydrogenase A alone appeared to be immune to -radiation in its ability to reduce methyl viologen. This may be due to the zinc having no unpaired electrons to interact with -radiation or the primary radiolytic products.     

Stability-Indicating LC Method for the Determination of Olmesartan in Bulk Drug and in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form

A novel stability-indicating LC assay method was developed and validated for quantitative determination of olmesartan in bulk drugs and in pharmaceutical dosage form in the presence of degradation products generated from forced degradation studies. An isocratic, reversed phase LC method was developed to separate the drug from the degradation products, using an Ace5-C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column, and 50 mM ammonium acetate (pH-5.5 by acetic acid) and acetonitrile (70:30 v/v) as a mobile phase. The detection was carried out at the wavelength of 235 nm. The olmesartan was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis (acid, base), oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation. Degradation was observed for olmesartan in acid, base and in 30% H₂O₂ conditions. The drug was found to be stable in the other stress conditions attempted. The degradation products were well resolved from the main peak. The percentage recovery of olmesartan ranged from (99.89 to 100.95%) in pharmaceutical dosage form. The developed method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy (recovery), precision, specificity and robustness. The forced degradation studies prove the stability-indicating power of the method.

     

Stability-Indicating LC Determination of Nitazoxanide in Bulk Drug and in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form

A novel stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic assay method was developed and validated for quantitative determination of nitazoxanide in bulk drugs and in pharmaceutical dosage form in the presence of degradation products generated from forced decomposition studies. An isocratic, reversed phase LC method was developed to separate the drug from the degradation products, using an Ace5- C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column, and 50 mM ammonium acetate (pH 5.5 by acetic acid) and acetonitrile (55:45 v/v) as a mobile phase. The detection was carried out at a wavelength of 240 nm. The nitazoxanide was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis (acid, base), oxidation, photolysis and thermal degradation. Degradation was observed for nitazoxanide in base, acid and in 30% H₂O₂ conditions. The drug was found to be stable in the other stress conditions attempted. The degradation products were well resolved from the main peak. The percentage recovery of nitazoxanide was from (100.55 to 101.25%) in the pharmaceutical dosage form. The developed method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy (recovery), precision, system suitability, specificity and robustness. The forced degradation studies prove the stability indicating power of the method.