A 3D bio-printed spheroids based perfusion in vitro liver on chip for drug toxicity assays

Liver is the foremost organ of human being for drug metabolism, and it played a significant role in toxicity evaluation of drugs. Establishing a liver model in vitro can accelerate the process of the drug screening and new drug research and development. We provide a 3D printing based hepatic sinusoid-on-a-chip microdevice that reconstitutes organ-level liver functions to create a drug screening model of toxicity evaluation on chip. The microfluidic device, which recapitulates the hepatic sinusoi...     

鬼臼毒素及其衍生物热分解反应的动力学研究

The thermal behavior and thermal decomposition kinetic parameters of podophyllotoxin （1） and 4 derivatives, picropodophyllin （2）, deoxypodophyllotoxin （3）, fl-apopicropodophyllin （4）, podophyllotoxone （5） in a temperature-programmed mode have been investigated by means of DSC and TG-DTG. The kinetic model functions in differential and integral forms of the thermal decomposition reactions mentioned above for first stage were established. The kinetic parameters of the apparent activation energy Ea and per-exponential factor A were obtained from analy- sis of the TG-DTG curves by integral and differential methods. The most probable kinetic model function of the decomposition reaction in differential form was （1- a）^2 for compounds 1-3,2/3·a^-1/2 for compound 4 and 1/2（1-a）·[-In（1-a）]^-1 for compound 5. The values of Ea indicated that the reactivity of compounds 1-5was increased in the order： 5〈4〈2〈1〈3. The values of the entropy of activation △S^≠, enthalpy of activation △H^≠ and free energy of activation △G^≠ of the reactions were estimated. The values of △G^≠ indicated that the thermal stability of compounds 1-3 with the samef（a） was increased in the order： 2〈3〈1.     

Simultaneous LC-MS/MS Determination of Danshensu and Paeoniflorin for Permeability Studies in Caco-2 Intestinal Absorption Model

A high sensitive method based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry（LC-MS/MS） was developed and validated for the study of permeability of danshensu（DS） and paeoniflorin（PF） in Caco-2 intestinal absorption model. The DS and PF were extracted from cell culture by vacuum-lyophilizing and then separated on a Zorbax Stable Bond C18 column with 0.1% acetic acid aqueous solution and methanol as mobile phase. Detection was carried out by negative electrospray ionization（ESI ） with selected reaction monitoring（SRM） mode. The apparent permeability coefficients（Papp） of DS and PF in Caco-2 cell medium were calculated and the effects of verapamil on the coefficients Papp of the two test compounds were also illustrated. The permeability of PF was much better than that of DS when the two compounds were administrated individually. Co-administration of DS and PF led to the decrease of the transport from apical side to basolateral side for both the compounds. However, the transport in the contrary direction were accelerated. It was also observed that verapamil could accelerate the transport of the test compounds from apical side to basolateral side. However, the absorption-enhanced effect of verapamil was attenuated when DS and PF were co-administrated. These observations suggest that both passive diffusion and active efflux involved in P-gp would effect the passage of DS and PF across Caco-2 cell monolayer. At the same time, the co-administration of DS and PF to an alteration of transport behavior, which suggests that the interaction must be taken into account when ‘n-in-one＇ samples were used in Caco-2 intestinal model.     

β-Elemene-loaded polymeric micelles intensify anti-carcinoma efficacy and alleviate side effects

β-Elemene is a volatile oil used for the treatment of cancer,but poor solubility,low bioavailability,and various adverse reactions limit its application.For amelio rating risks of the venous toxicity ofβ-elemene,intravenously injectable micelle ofβ-elemene was prepared using the thin-film hydration method.The results pointed out the micelles were uniformly spherical with about 20.96±0.1966 nm in average diameter and exhibited high entrapment efficiency(99.02%±0.88%).As revealed by drug release studies in vitro,β-elemene micelles had sustained drug release.Compared with freeβ-elemene,the micelles increased the drug cellular uptake and enhanced the anti-tumor effect in vitro through retarding cell cycle and inducing apoptosis.Meanwhile,the elevated se rum stability o fβ-elemene micelles implied less drug leakage and reduced toxicity.The wound healing and tube formation assay in vitro demonstrated the anti-metastasis and anti-angiogenesis effects ofβ-elemene micelles.Moreover,the pharmacokinetics study showed the AUC and T1/2 ofβ-elemene in micelle group were 1.79 and 1.62 times of that in free fi-elemene group,suggesting the circulation time ofβ-elemene in the blood had been prolonged.In addition,β-elemene micelles showed a favorable antitumor response compared with theβ-elemene solution on C26 colon cance r-bearing mice model.Local irritation study investigated in rabbits indicated that theβ-elemene micelles strikingly mitigated the irritation to the injection sites compared with freeβ-elemene.These results proved that the micelle could be a good candidate as an auspicious drug delivery system ofβ-elemene for the prospective clinical treatment of carcinoma.     

CoMFA 3D-QSAR Analysis of Epothilones Based on Docking Conformation and Alignment

Epothilones belong to a class of novel microtubule stabilizing and anti-mitotic agents, which have a paclitaxel-like mechanism of action. A three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship （3D-QSAR） model was built for epothilones by the method of comparative molecular field analysis （CoMFA） combined with the flexible docking technology. The docking CoMFA model gave a good cross-validated value of q2=0.784 with an optimized component of 6 and the conventional correlation coefficient of r^2=0.985. The statistical results show that the model has good ability to predict the activity of the studied compounds. At last, the docking CoMFA model was analyzed through contour maps complemented with MOLCAD-generated active site potential surface in the α,β-tubulin receptor, which can provide important information for the structure-based drug design.     

Theoretical Calculations of the pKa Values of 1-Aryl-4-0rooylpiperazine Drugs in Aqueous Solution

Theoretical calculations were carried out to predict the aqueous-phase acidities of a series of drug 1-phenyl-4-propylpiperazine and its derivatives. The performances of the density functional theory（DFT） methods B3LYP and B3P86, solvation models[the polarized continuum model（PCM） and the conductor-like polarized conti- nuum model（CPCM）], and the basis set effect were tested. A comparison between the theoretical and experimental pKa values for para-substituted 1-phenyl-4-propylpiperazines reveals that the accuracy of B3LYP is better than that of B3P86, and the basis set 6-31＋＋G（d,p） and the CPCM model are suitable for calculating pKa values of the substituted 1-phenyl-4-propylpiperazine. For the investigated compounds, a reasonable agreement between the experimental and calculated oKo values was also observed.     

Quantitative Structure Property Relations （QSPR） for Predicting Molar Diamagnetic Susceptibilities,xm, of Inorganic Compounds

For predicting the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities of inorganic compounds, a novel connectivity index ^mG based on adjacency matrix of molecular graphs and ionic parameter gi was proposed. The gi is defined as gi=（ni^0.5-0.91）^4·xi^0.5｜Zi^0.5, where Zi, ni, xi are the valence, the outer electronic shell primary quantum number, and the electronegativity of atom i respectively. The good QSPR models for the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities can be constructed from ^0G and ^1G by using multivariate linear regression （MLR） method and artificial neural network （NN） method. The correlation coefficient r, standard error, and average absolute deviation of the MLR model and NN model are 0.9868, 5.47 cgs, 4.33 cgs, 0.9885, 5.09 cgs and 4.06 cgs, respectively, for the 144 inorganic compounds. The cross-validation by using the leave-one-out method demonstrates that the MLR model is highly reliable from the point of view of statistics. The average absolute deviations of predicted values of the molar diamagnetic susceptibility of other 62 inorganic compounds （test set） are 4.72 cgs and 4.06 cgs for the MLR model and NN model. The results show that the current method is more effective than literature methods for estimating the molar diamagnetic susceptibility of an inorganic compound. Both MLR and NN methods can provide acceptable models for the prediction of the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities. The NN model for the molar diamagnetic susceptibilities appears more reliable than the MLR model.     

An LD50 model for predicting psychotropic drug toxicity using biopartitioning micellar chromatography

The LD50 determination is the main way to measure the acute toxicity of all types of substances. At the present time, however, there is increasing opposition to the use of living animals in research and testing activities from animal rights groups as well as some scientists. Nevertheless, the need to have a tool for estimating the potential toxicity of new compounds for human consumption has encouraged the development of alternative methods. Under adequate conditions, the partitioning in micellar liquid chromatography can describe the drug biopartitioning. We have named this chromatographic system biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC). In this paper, an LD50 QRAR model developed for psychotropic drugs from their retention data in BMC, is described. The model's ability to predict new psychotropic drug toxicity is statistically proved.     

Biopartitioning Micellar Chromatography to Predict Dihydropyridine Selective Calcium Channel Antagonist Toxicity

With the accelerating development of new drugs, there is a great need for rapid and simple screening technologies for estimating the potential toxicity of new compounds. LD₅₀ determination is the main way to measure the acute toxicity of all types of substances. In this paper, a new in vitro method, biopartitioning micellar chromatography, was developed for predicting oral acute toxicity (LD₅₀) based on the similar properties between biopartitioning micellar chromatography systems and biological barriers and extracellular fluids. A second-order polynomial model (an LD₅₀ model) has been obtained using the retention data of the dihydropyridine selective calcium channel antagonists to predict the pharmacological toxicity of the same compounds.     

SDS-Based Biomembrane Mimetic Chromatography for Prediction of Human Drug Transport as an in Vitro Technique

The main oral drug absorption barriers are fluid cell membranes, and generally drugs are absorbed by a passive diffusion mechanism. On the other hand, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is considered to be the main barrier to drug transport into the central nervous system (CNS). The BBB restricts the passive diffusion of many drugs from blood to brain. Biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC), a mode of micellar liquid chromatography that uses micellar mobile phases in adequate experimental conditions, can be useful as an in vitro system in mimicking the drug partitioning process into biological systems. In this study, relationships between the BMC retention data of a heterogeneous set of 12 drugs and their pharmacokinetics parameters (human oral drug absorption and BBB penetration ability) are studied and the predictive ability of the models is evaluated. Modeling of log k _BMC of these compounds was established by multiple linear regression in two different concentrations (0.07 and 0.09 M) of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The results showed a fair correlation between human oral drug absorption and BMC retention data in 0.09 M SDS (R ² = 0.864) and a good correlation between the blood–brain distribution coefficient and BMC retention data in 0.07 M of SDS (R ² = 0.887). Application of the developed models to a prediction set demonstrated that the model is also reliable with good predictive accuracy. The external and internal validation results showed that the predicted values are in good agreement with the experimental value.     

SDS-Based Biomembrane Mimetic Chromatography for Prediction of Human Drug Transport as an in Vitro Technique

The main oral drug absorption barriers are fluid cell membranes, and generally drugs are absorbed by a passive diffusion mechanism. On the other hand, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is considered to be the main barrier to drug transport into the central nervous system (CNS). The BBB restricts the passive diffusion of many drugs from blood to brain. Biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC), a mode of micellar liquid chromatography that uses micellar mobile phases in adequate experimental conditions, can be useful as an in vitro system in mimicking the drug partitioning process into biological systems. In this study, relationships between the BMC retention data of a heterogeneous set of 12 drugs and their pharmacokinetics parameters (human oral drug absorption and BBB penetration ability) are studied and the predictive ability of the models is evaluated. Modeling of log k _BMC of these compounds was established by multiple linear regression in two different concentrations (0.07 and 0.09 M) of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The results showed a fair correlation between human oral drug absorption and BMC retention data in 0.09 M SDS (R ² = 0.864) and a good correlation between the blood–brain distribution coefficient and BMC retention data in 0.07 M of SDS (R ² = 0.887). Application of the developed models to a prediction set demonstrated that the model is also reliable with good predictive accuracy. The external and internal validation results showed that the predicted values are in good agreement with the experimental value.

     

钒-药物分子配合物生物活性研究进展

无机钒化合物具有降血糖、抗癌、抗炎和抗菌等作用,但生物利用度低,且有一定的毒性,影响了其在药物领域的应用。选择药物分子作为钒的配体,不仅可提高钒化合物的生物利用度,而且可增强或改进药物分子的活性,同时可能降低钒的毒性,从而成为近年来钒化学领域一个新的研究方向。本文主要介绍钒与不同类型药物分子形成配合物的生物活性及相关工作。     

Profiling of Permeable Compounds in Ligusticum chuanxiong by Biopartitioning Micellar Chromatography

The potential of biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC) for screening and analysis of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) for permeable compounds has been investigated by chromatography of methanolic extracts of Ligusticum chuanxiong, as example. Six other ordinary TCM were also studied. Results showed that more than ten components of Ligusticum chuanxiong extract are significantly retained in BMC. According to relationships between retention in BMC and oral drug absorption, cell-membrane permeability, and blood–brain barrier permeability, the cell-membrane permeability and absorption properties of the permeable components of Ligusticum chuanxiong extract could be predicted from their retention in BMC. Effects on the chromatography of components of Ligusticum chuanxiong methanolic extracts of column temperature, mobile phase pH, and concentration of Brij 35 in the mobile phase are also discussed.     

Prediction of drug bioavailability in humans using immobilized artificial membrane phosphatidylcholine column chromatography and in vitro hepatic metabolic clearance

This study reports a rapid screening method for the prediction of oral drug bioavailability in humans based on combined immobilized artificial membrane (IAM) chromatographic capacity factor (k_IAM) and in vitro stability in hepatic microsomes. The fraction of drug absorbed (F_a) in humans was predicted for a set of 15 structurally diverse commercial drugs based on k_IAM values using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: Dulbecco's phosphate‐buffered saline. The hepatic intrinsic clearance (CL ) was calculated from in vitro disappearance half‐life, and the oral bioavailability was predicted using in vitro hepatic clearance (CL_h) and F_a. Significant correlations were observed for the relationships between predicted hepatic extraction ratios (ER_h) and actual presystemic metabolism (r = 0.854) and between predicted and observed oral bioavailabilities (r = 0.805; p < 0.01). The IAM capacity factor together with the hepatic microsomal disappearance half‐life may be useful in identifying compounds with high oral absorption potential in early drug discovery processes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potent Anticancer Activity and Possible Low Toxicity of Platinum(II) Complexes with Functionalized 1,1‐Cyclobutanedicarboxylate as a Leaving Ligand

Two platinum(II) complexes, DN603 and DN604, were designed and prepared by using 3‐oxocyclobutane‐1,1‐dicarboxylate as a ligand. The compounds were prepared according to the concept that incorporation of a functionalized moiety in the leaving ligand that did not affect its coordination bonding to the metal atom would play a key role in the anticancer activity of the resulting platinum complex. The newly prepared compounds were found to show potent in vitro anticancer activity comparable to cisplatin and oxaliplatin; especially DN604, which exhibited low acute toxicity similar to carboplatin, and presented acceptable solubility and stability in water. Chemical and biological results indicated that the functionalized moiety, uncoordinated, led to potent anticancer activity and low apparent toxicity of the platinum complexes by affecting the kinetic properties of the compounds.