Comparative PBT screening using (Q)SAR tools within REACH legislation

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU are facing challenges due to the introduction of new legislation designed to protect consumers and the environment, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of CHemicals). There can be high costs associated with implementing REACH because data on mammalian toxicity, environmental toxicity and environmental fate properties is required and if this data is obtained experimentally the cost is significant. These costs can be reduced if reliable quantitative structure–activity relationships ((Q)SAR) models are instead used to obtain the required information. In this paper we investigate how easily freely available (Q)SAR models can be applied for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) screening of 17 chemicals of interest to SMEs. In this study the PBT predictions obtained from the more user-friendly PBT Profiler and the Danish(Q)SAR database for the chemicals were compared with the results taken directly from the EPI Suite software. It was found that these widely used (Q)SAR databases might have some errors and examples are provided. It was concluded that extra care must be taken when considering the use of these databases for PBT screening. In addition, to increase the likelihood of a correct prediction, data estimates from various (Q)SAR models relevant to the PBT endpoints must be compared.     

Application of PCA and HCA to the Structure-activity Relationship （SAR） Study of Fluoroquinolones

1 INTRODUCTION The earliest antibacterial agents used as chemo- therapeutic drugs in the 1920s were synthetic agents, such as sulponamides. Since the discovery of peni- cillin and its entry into clinical use in the 1940s, the field has been dominated over the past 50 years by natural products or their semi-synthetic derivatives. The fluoroquinolones are the only synthetic anti- bacterial agents to rival β-lactams for impact in clinical usage in the antibacterial field. In recent years, …     

Monomeric dioxouranium(VI), chromium(III), cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes with primary cellulose acetate (PCA)

Monomeric UO ₂ ²⁺ , Cr^III, CO^II, Ni^II and Cu^II complexes with primary cellulose acetate (PCA) have been prepared and characterized. Infrared,¹H NMR, UV/visible spectroscopy, elemental analysis, therniogravimetry, conductance and magnetic measurements were used to assign the mode of coordination in the isolated species. The investigation revealed that PCA exhibits octahedral coordination with Cr^III, Co^II, Ni^II and a square planar form with Cu^II whereas the UO₂ moiety is virtually linear. PCA acts as a neutral bidentate chelating agent via the two oxygen atoms of the vicinal ester groups in the secondary positions forming a five-membered chelate ring. A comparative study between chelates of PCA and those previously prepared with secondary cellulose acetate (SCA) has been undertaken.     

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for monitoring and determining the degree of crystallisation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)

FTIR spectroscopy has been used to monitor and determine the degree of crystallisation in a sample of polyhydroxybutyrate-co-14%valerate (PHB–co-14%HV). Time series spectra of solution-cast films of the polymer revealed spectral changes attributed to the onset of crystallisation. Curve fitting was used to obtain an absolute measure of crystallinity. Mean centred principal-component analysis (PCA) revealed that 99.9% of the spectral variance could be attributed to factor 1. The loadings plot for factor 1 contained features attributable to crystalline and amorphous phases. These features were opposite in sign, indicating that changes in the spectra with the onset of crystallisation are simultaneous and opposite in direction, i.e. as the crystalline band increases the amorphous band decreases. Cross-peaks in asynchronous 2D correlation maps indicate there are likely to be very minor components that are changing out of phase. The presence of these minor components is supported by examination of the loadings of higher factors in the PCA model. PCA has been shown to be suitable for determining the number of dynamic spectral features and has enabled relative and objective monitoring of crystallisation kinetics.     

ToF-SIMS analysis of poly(l-lysine)-graft-poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) ultrathin adlayers

Understanding of the interfacial chemistry of ultrathin polymeric adlayers is fundamentally important in the context of establishing quantitative design rules for the fabrication of nonfouling surfaces in various applications such as biomaterials and medical devices. In this study, seven poly(l-lysine)-graft-poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (PLL–PMOXA) copolymers with grafting density (number of PMOXA chains per lysine residue) 0.09, 0.14, 0.19, 0.33, 0.43, 0.56, and 0.77, respectively, were synthesized and characterized by means of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The copolymers were then adsorbed on Nb₂O₅ surfaces. Optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy method was used to monitor the surface adsorption in situ of these copolymers and provide information on adlayer masses that were then converted into PLL and PMOXA surface densities. To investigate the relationship between copolymer bulk architecture (as shown by NMR data) and surface coverage as well as surface architecture, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analysis was performed. Furthermore, ToF-SIMS method combined with principal component analysis (PCA) was used to verify the protein resistant properties of PLL–PMOXA adlayers, by thorough characterization before and after adlayer exposure to human serum. ToF-SIMS analysis revealed that the chemical composition as well as the architecture of the different PLL–PMOXA adlayers indeed reflects the copolymer bulk composition. ToF-SIMS results also indicated a heterogeneous surface coverage of PLL–PMOXA adlayers with high grafting densities higher than 0.33. In the case of protein resistant surface, PCA results showed clear differences between protein resistant and nonprotein-resistant surfaces. Therefore, ToF-SIMS results combined with PCA confirmed that the PLL–PMOXA adlayer with brush architecture resists protein adsorption. However, low increases of some amino acid signals in ToF-SIMS spectra were detected after the adlayer has been exposed to human serum.

A Structure-activity Relationship （SAR） Study of Fluoroquinolones with Biological Activity against Anti-S.pneumoniae

1INTRODUCTION Streptococcus pneumoniae is a key pathogen in many respiratory tract infections.In a Canada-wide surveillance study published in1999,it was reported that21.2%of pneumococcal tested were interme-diately susceptible or resistant to penicillin.As the newer respiratory fluoroquinolones are active aga-inst both penicillin-susceptible and penicillin-resis-tant isolates of S.pneumoniae,they will be increa-singly important in the future treatment of infections caused by this pathoge…     

Thermal stability and degradation of poly(N-(4-chlorophenyl) acrylamide) homopolymer and copolymer of N-(4-chlorophenyl) acrylamide with methyl methacrylate

Different concentrations of copolymer of (N-(4-chlorophenyl) acrylamide) (CA) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) were prepared and the reactivity ratio values of copolymerization were calculated using ¹H NMR technique. Thermal analysis of the copolymers showed that the thermal stability is intermediate between poly(N-(4-chlorophenyl) acrylamide) (PCA) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) homopolymers. Thermal degradation products of the PCA were identified by GC–MS techniques. It seems that the mechanism of degradation of PCA homopolymer is characterized by free radical formation followed by recombination along the backbone chain. The activation energies of the thermal degradation of the copolymers were calculated using Arrhenius relationship.     

Comparison of ethanol-soluble proteins from different rye (Secale cereale) varieties by two-dimensional electrophoresis

The major storage proteins from six rye varieties, grown under the same conditions in 1997 and 1998 in Rønhave, Denmark, were analyzed by two‐dimensional (2‐D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The proteins were extracted from ground rye kernels with 70% ethanol and separated by 2‐D electrophoresis. The gels were scanned, compared using ImageMaster® software and the data sets were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) using THE UNSCRAMBLER software. Afterwards MATLAB was used to make a cluster analysis of the varieties based on PCA. The analysis of the gels showed, that the protein patterns (number of different proteins and their isoelectric points and molecular weights) from the six rye varieties were different. Based on the presence of unique cultivar‐specific spots it was possible to differentiate between all six varieties if the two harvest years were investigated separately. When the results were combined from the two years five varieties could be differentiated. The results from the PCA confirmed the finding of the unique spots and cluster analysis was made in order to illustrate the results. The combination of the results from 2‐D electrophoresis and other grain characteristics showed that one protein spot was located close to the parameters bread volume and bread height.     

Nucleation and growth rates of poly(L-lactic acid) microparticles during precipitation with a compressed-fluid antisolvent

We measured nucleation and growth rates of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) microparticles produced during precipitation with a compressed-fluid antisolvent (PCA). The injector/precipitator used in this study satisfied the constraints and assumptions incorporated in the development of the mixed-suspension, mixed-product-removal population balance theory. A semicontinuous operation mode with batch product filtering was developed, and results from product particle size distributions allowed nucleation and growth rates to be determined through the use of population balances. Kinetic data, obtained by operating the precipitator under various degrees of supersaturation and suspension density, were used to generate a nucleation rate model for PLLA. Model results indicate a relative kinetic order of 1 and a linear dependence of the nucleation rate on the suspension density. First-order dependence of the nucleation rate on suspension density suggests secondary nucleation mechanism(s) are operative within this PCA flow system and may explain the relative insensitivity of particle size distributions to changes in PCA operating conditions.     

Maize kernel hardness classification by near infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging and multivariate data analysis

The use of near infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging and hyperspectral image analysis for distinguishing between hard, intermediate and soft maize kernels from inbred lines was evaluated. NIR hyperspectral images of two sets (12 and 24 kernels) of whole maize kernels were acquired using a Spectral Dimensions MatrixNIR camera with a spectral range of 960-1662 nm and a sisuChema SWIR (short wave infrared) hyperspectral pushbroom imaging system with a spectral range of 1000-2498 nm. Exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) was used on absorbance images to remove background, bad pixels and shading. On the cleaned images, PCA could be used effectively to find histological classes including glassy (hard) and floury (soft) endosperm. PCA illustrated a distinct difference between glassy and floury endosperm along principal component (PC) three on the MatrixNIR and PC two on the sisuChema with two distinguishable clusters. Subsequently partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to build a classification model. The PLS-DA model from the MatrixNIR image (12 kernels) resulted in root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) value of 0.18. This was repeated on the MatrixNIR image of the 24 kernels which resulted in RMSEP of 0.18. The sisuChema image yielded RMSEP value of 0.29. The reproducible results obtained with the different data sets indicate that the method proposed in this paper has a real potential for future classification uses.     

PCA/GC电极同时测定尿酸(UA)和抗坏血酸(AA)

制备聚肉桂酸(PCA)修饰电极(PCA/GC),研究尿酸(UA)和抗坏血酸(AA)在该电极上的电化学行为.结果表明,在UA和AA共存体系中,UA、AA在PCA/GC电极上氧化峰电流增大且峰电位分别负移至50mV、330mV,二者相差280mV,据此可同时检测UA和AA.在pH6.0磷酸盐缓冲液中,UA、AA的氧化峰电流与其浓度分别在2.0×10-6～1.0×10-4mol·L-1、2.0×10-5～6.0×10-4mol·L-1范围内呈线性关系.该电极重现性好,适用于尿样中UA的检测.     

Non-hydrogen-bonded secondary structure in beta-peptides: evidence from circular dichroism of (S)-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid oligomers and (S)-nipecotic acid oligomers

[formula: see text] Homooligomers of beta-amino acids (S)-3-pyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid (PCA) and (S)-nipecotic acid (Nip) were studied by circular dichroism (CD) in methanol. In each series, a profound change in the far-UV CD spectrum was observed from monomer to tetramer, but little change was observed from tetramer to hexamer. A comparable pattern is observed in the CD spectra of short proline oligomers. We conclude that both PCA and Nip oligomers with > or = four residues adopt a characteristic secondary structure.     

Thermogelling polymers composed of poly(cyclohexylenedimethylene adipate) and poly(ethylene glycol)

Block copolymers composed of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and hydrophobic biodegradable polyesters have been reported as thermogelling polymers, because they feature temperature-dependent sol-to-gel or gel-to-sol transitions in aqueous solutions. In this study, a series of thermogelling poly(ethylene glycol methyl ether)-block–poly(cyclohexylenedimethylene adipate)-block–poly(ethylene glycol methyl ether) triblock copolymers and PEG-block–poly(cyclohexylenedimethylene adipate) multiblock copolymers was synthesized by reacting hydroxyl-terminated poly(cyclohexylenedimethylene adipate) (PCA) with poly(ethylene glycol methyl ether) and PEG, respectively, using 1,6-diisocyanatohexane as the coupling agent. Two hydroxyl-terminated PCAs, i.e., poly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene adipate) and poly(1,3/1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene adipate), were synthesized by the condensation reaction of adipic acid (AA) with 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM) and 1,3/1,4-CHDM, respectively, and used as the hydrophobic polyester blocks of these thermogelling copolymers to compare the effect of crystallinity on the sol-to-gel transition behavior.The polymers were characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, solubility testing, and rheological analysis. Experimental results revealed that the structure of the PCA block (crystalline vs. amorphous), the molecular weights of the hydrophobic PCA and hydrophilic PEG blocks, and the type of thermogelling polymer (triblock vs. multiblock) influenced the solubility, polymer micelle packing characteristics, maximum storage modulus, and sol-to-gel temperature of the polymers. Among all the samples at 40 wt.% aqueous solutions, triblock copolymer TB3 showed sol-to-gel temperature at 22 °C, and had the highest maximum storage modulus about 170 Pa.     

The role of the European centre for the validation of alternative methods (ECVAM) in the validation of (Q)SARs

Under the current chemicals legislation, the regulatory use of structure-activity relationships (SARs) and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), collectively referred to as (Q)SARs, for the assessment of chemicals is limited, partly due to concerns about the extent to which (Q)SAR estimates can be relied upon. On 29 October 2003, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal that foresees the introduction of a new regulatory system for chemicals called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals), which will impose equivalent information requirements on both new and existing chemicals. For reasons of practicality, cost-effectiveness and animal welfare, it is envisaged that (Q)SARs will play an important role in the assessment of some 30,000 existing chemicals for which further information may be required under the REACH system. It will therefore be essential that the (Q)SAR models used will produce reliable estimates. To overcome the barriers in the acceptance of (Q)SARs for regulatory purposes, it is widely acknowledged that there needs to be international agreement on the principles of (Q)SAR validation, and that the process of (Q)SAR validation should be managed by independent organisations, with a view to providing independent advice to the regulators who make decisions on the acceptability of (Q)SARs. The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), which is part of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), has a well-established role in providing independent scientific and technical advice to European policy makers. This paper describes progress made at an international level regarding the principles of validation, and explains the role of ECVAM regarding the practical validation of (Q)SARs.     

Predicting properties of molecules using graph invariants

Topological indices (TIs) have been used to study structure-activity relationships (SAR) with respect to the physical, chemical, and biological properties of congeneric sets of molecules. Since there are many TIs and many are correlated, it is important that we identify redundancies and extract useful information from TIs into a smaller number of parameters. Moreover, it is important to determine if TIs, or parameters derived from TIs, can be used for global SAR models of diverse sets of chemicals. We calculated seventy-one TIs for three groups of molecules of increasing complexity and diversity: (a) 74 alkanes, (b) 29 alkylbenzenes, and (c) 37 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that a few principal components (PCs) could extract most of the information encoded by the seventy-one TIs. The structural basis of the first few PCs could be derived from their pattern of correlation with individual TIs. For the three sets of molecules, viz. alkanes, alkylbenzenes and PAHs, PCs were able to predict the boiling points reasonably well. Also, for the combined set of 140 chemicals consisting of the alkanes, alkylbenzenes and PAHs, the derived PCs were not as effective in predicting properties as in the case of individual classes of compounds.     

Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy and cavity ring-down (CRD) absorption spectroscopy of oil-contaminated jet fuel using fiber-optic probes

Excitation emission matrix (EEM) and cavity ring-down (CRD) spectral signatures have been used to detect and quantitatively assess contamination of jet fuels with aero-turbine lubricating oil. The EEM spectrometer has been fiber-coupled to permit in situ measurements of jet turbine oil contamination of jet fuel. Parallel Factor (PARAFAC) analysis as well as Principal Component Analysis and Regression (PCA/PCR) were used to quantify oil contamination in a range from the limit of detection (10 ppm) to 1000 ppm. Fiber-loop cavity ring-down spectroscopy using a pulsed 355 nm laser was used to quantify the oil contamination in the range of 400 ppm to 100,000 ppm. Both methods in combination therefore permit the detection of oil contamination with a linear dynamic range of about 10,000.