Chemoenzymatic acylation of aminoglycoside antibiotics

The chemoenzymatic installation of the clinically valuable (S)-4-amino-2-hydroxybutyryl side chain onto a number of 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycosides is described using the purified Bacillus circulans biosynthetic enzymes BtrH and BtrG in combination with a synthetic acyl-SNAC surrogate substrate.     

Biosynthesis of 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycoside antibiotics

The 2-deoxystreptamine-containing aminoglycosides are an important class of clinically valuable antibiotics. A deep understanding of the biosynthesis of these natural products is required to enable efforts to rationally manipulate and engineer the biological production of novel aminoglycosides. This review discusses the development of our biosynthetic knowledge over the past half-century, with emphasis on the relatively recent contributions of molecular biology to the elucidation of these biosynthetic pathways.     

Release of antibiotics from electrospun bicomponent fibers

Biocompatible nanofibers that are capable of adapting to the physiological conditions of the human body have become increasingly important for clinical applications in recent years. Electrospun fiber mats offer particular advantages due to their large surface area and their sorption/release properties. If loaded with drugs, delivery properties can be tailored to a specific release rate. This research work focuses on poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) incorporating three different model antibiotics as well as bicomponent fibers made from PLA and PCL containing the same model drugs. Tetracycline and chlorotetracycline hydrochloride, and amphotericin B were selected as model drugs and their release properties and antimicrobial effectiveness studied. The surface morphology and the average diameter of the fibers strongly depended on the individual spinning system which in turn influenced the release of the therapeutic compounds from the fibers. Tetracycline was discharged from PCL at the highest rate while amphotericin B was slowest. PCL almost completely liberated any of the drugs over time while PLA only released about 10% total. By forming bicomponent PCL–PLA fibers surface and release characteristics could be modified to fit a sensible drug delivery.     

Chromatographic methods for analysis of aminoglycoside antibiotics.

Aminoglycosides are antimicrobial agents used frequently in treatment of human and animal diseases caused by aerobic, gram-negative bacteria. Because of the toxicity of these compounds, considerable effort has been attributed to analysis of aminoglycoside content in drug preparations, in serum and urine specimen in therapeutic drug monitoring, and in edible animal tissues in residue control. The present review emphasizes the analytical problems associated with aminoglycoside analysis. Screening methods based on microbiological and immunological procedures were briefly discussed. Gas chromatography and especially high-performance liquid chromatography appeared the most widely used chemical methods for the analysis of these compounds. Due to lack of volatility, chromophore, and hydrophility of aminoglycosides, most methods applied derivatization for enhancement of their chromatographic characteristics. The applicability and advantages of the various derivatization procedures were discussed in detail. A wide variety of detection methods, including mass spectrometry have been used. Packed column separation was generally used for gas chromatographic separation. In liquid chromatography, reversed phase, ion pair, ion exchange, and normal phase separation has been employed. Mass spectrometry, as a detection method, was discussed in detail. Extraction procedures from body fluids and tissues were emphasized. The performance and the operational conditions of the methods were described and detailed information of the data was provided also in table format.     

Quantitative determination and separation of analogues of aminoglycoside antibiotics by high-performance liquid chromatography

Commercial bulk products and pharmaceutical drug formulations of aminoglycoside antibiotics obtained by fermentation (kanamycin, gentamicin, sisomicin and tobramycin) or by synthesis (amikacin) were analysed with high-performance liquid chromatography on a C8 reversed-phase column. The method is based on a pre-column derivatization of the aminoglycosides with a 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid reagent and UV detection (350 nm). The quantitative determination was carried out vs. an external standard; both peak heights and areas were used. A gentamicin mixture was separated into five or four components, depending on the column used. Amikacin was separated from its possible regioisomers and kanamycin A was easily separated from its minor components B and C.     

Estimation of the molecular volumes of the reaction products between beta-lactam antibiotics and aminoglycoside antibiotics, and those of the degradation products of beta-lactam antibiotics by isotachophoresis

The correlative equations between the molecular volume and the qualitative indication (hR) for beta-lactam antibiotics, the reaction products between beta-lactam antibiotics and kanamycin, and the degradation products of beta-lactam antibiotics were hR = 0.32 + 0.080 VA2/3//Z/(N = 15, r = 0.972 for penicillins) and hR = 0.04 + 0.072 VA2/3//Z/(N = 12, r = 0.987 for cephems). Where VA is van der Waals volume (A3/molecule), hR is the relative step height in the isotachopherogram, and Z is the electric change, respectively. According to these equations, the molecular volumes of the reaction products between beta-lactam antibiotics and the other aminoglycoside antibiotics, and those of the degradation products of beta-lactam antibiotics can be estimated from the value of hR. Also according to the step height in the isotachopherogram, the reaction products or the degradation products may be estimated directly when the electric charge is known. It was confirmed that a molecule of aminoglycoside antibiotics reacted with a molecule of beta-lactam antibiotics. Therefore, the inactivation of aminoglycoside antibiotics is much greater than for beta-lactam antibiotics when the clinical doses of these antibiotic combinations are used.     

Trace analysis of aminoglycoside antibiotics in bovine milk by MEKC with LIF detection

This work describes a straightforward and sensitive method for the multi-residue analysis of aminoglycoside antibiotics (kanamycin B, amikacin, neomycin B and paromomycin I) in bovine milk samples. The method involves the pre-capillary derivatization of antibiotics with sulfoindocyanine succinimidyl ester (Cy5) and their separation and determination by MEKC with LIF detection. The optimum procedure includes a derivatization step of the antibiotics at 25 degrees C for 30 min and direct injection for MEKC analysis, which is performed in about 20 min by using borate buffer (35 mM; pH 9.2) with 55 mM SDS as an anionic surfactant and 20% ACN as the organic modifier. Under these conditions, dynamic ranges of 10-500 microg/L and RSDs (within-day precision) from 3.8 to 5.3% were obtained. These results indicate that the proposed MEKC-LIF method is useful as a selective and sensitive tool for the determination of these antibiotics and surpasses other reported electrophoretic alternatives. Finally, the method was successfully applied to bovine milk samples after a simple solid-phase extraction clean-up and preconcentration procedure. The aminoglycosides were readily detected at 0.5-1.5 microg/kg levels with average recoveries ranging from 89.4 to 93.3%.     

Broad-spectrum peptide inhibitors of aminoglycoside antibiotic resistance enzymes

The action of aminoglycoside antibiotics is inhibited by chemical modification catalyzed by aminoglycoside inactivating enzymes, which bind these cationic saccharides with active site pockets that contain a preponderance of negatively charged residues. In this study, it was observed that several cationic antimicrobial peptides, representing different structural classes, could serve as inhibitors of such aminoglycoside resistance enzymes. The bovine antimicrobial peptide indolicidin and synthetic analogs appeared to be especially effective against a range of resistance enzymes, inhibiting enzymes belonging to both aminoglycoside phosphotransferase and aminoglycoside acetyltransferase classes, where the mode of action was dependent on the class of antibiotic resistance enzyme. These peptides represent the first example of broad-spectrum inhibitors of aminoglycoside resistance enzymes.     

Challenges in the determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics,a review

Residues of antibiotics (ABs) in the aquatic environment and in food of animal origin represent a major concern, as prolonged exposure to ABs is a serious health hazard, related to both the side effects of prolonged use and the risk of developing bacterial resistance to various ABs. Given the low levels of the AB residues in complex matrices, the development of sensitive analytical methods represents a major challenge. This is certainly true for the aminoglycoside ABs (AGs) which lack a chromophore and show poor chromatographic properties in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. This paper reviews the current state of the art in the determination of AGs. Attention is paid to extraction, sample clean-up, chromatographic separation, and detection of AGs in both environmental and food samples and in plasma and serum. A general workflow for the analysis of AGs is presented which takes into account the matrix and required level of information.     

Kinetic fluorimetric determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics by use of OPA and N-acetylcysteine as reagents

The use of N-acetylcysteine for the kinetic fluorimetric determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics by reaction with o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) in a basic medium was studied. The results obtained show that this thiol is a satisfactory substitute for 2-mercaptoethanol as reagent for the formation of isoindole derivatives of compounds containing primary amines such as amikacin, kanamicin and tobramycin, while avoiding its unpleasant odour. Due to the fast formation of the fluorescent derivatives the stopped-flow mixing technique must be used in order to acquire analytical kinetic data. This allowed the development of a kinetic automatic method for the determination of amikacin applicable to routine analyses. The initial rate was measured within ca. 5 s and the calibration graph was linear over the range 0.05–30.0 g mL^–1. The method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of amikacin in two pharmaceutical preparations with a mean recovery of 98.7%.     

Mass spectrometric study to characterize thioisoindole derivatives of aminoglycoside antibiotics

Aminoglycoside antibiotics are widely used to treat serious Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections. The lack of a UV chromophore presents a problem in the analysis of aminoglycosides. Derivatization with 1,2-phthalic dicarboxaldehyde (OPA) in the presence of a thiol made it possible to introduce a UV chromophoric thioisoindole moiety. A qualitative mass spectrometry study was carried out to confirm the molecular identity of the products formed. The conditions described earlier to derivatize gentamicin and kanamycin yielded products in which all primary amino groups are fully derivatized. On the other hand, with tobramycin and amikacin, there was also formation of incompletely derivatized products that contained one thioisoindole group less than the fully derivatized product. This study has therefore brought an additional insight into the nature of the OPA-aminoglycoside derivatives studied.     

Fluorimetric determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics using lanthanide probe ion spectroscopy

The application of probe ion fluorimetry has succeeded in the microdetermination of six aminoglycoside antibiotics: neomycin, streptomycin, gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin and kanamycin as sulfate salts in pure form and in some pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based on the reaction of Eu³⁺ ions with aminoglycosides through amino and hydroxy groups. Such interactions enhance the intensity of the 616 nm fluorescence emission of the Eu³⁺ ion. The fluorescence at 592 nm comes from a non-hypersensitive transition and is not affected by the ligand which is bound to the probe ions. The intensity ratio R, defined as I₅₉₂/I₆₁₆ was used to determine the amount of free and bound europium ions. A linear relationship between bound europium ions and aminoglycoside was found within the concentration ranges 20–100 ppm for neomycin, 5–60 ppm for streptomycin, and 10–70 ppm for gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin, and kanamycin as sulfate salts. The percentage recoveries ranged from 99.22 to 101.07, with standard deviations ranging from ± 1.5 to ± 4.38. The relative stability constants ranged from 5 × 10³ to 2 × 10⁴. The optimum reaction conditions were studied and the results obtained compared favourably with the fluorimetric method using fluorescmine reagent.     

Specificity of aminoglycoside antibiotics for the A-site of the decoding region of ribosomal RNA

Background: Aminoglycoside antibiotics bind to the A-site of the decoding region of 16S RNA in the bacterial ribosome, an interaction that is probably responsible for their activity. A detailed study of the specificity of aminoglycoside binding to A-site RNA would improve our understanding of their mechanism of antibiotic activity.Results: We have studied the binding specificity of several aminoglycosides with model RNA sequences derived from the 16S ribosomal A-site using surface plasmon resonance. The 4,5-linked (neomycin) class of aminoglycosides showed specificity for wild-type A-site sequences, but the 4,6-linked class (kanamycins and gentamicins), generally showed poor specificity for the same sequences. Methylation of a cytidine in the target RNA, as found in the Escherichia coli ribosome, had negligible effects on aminoglycoside binding.Conclusions: Although both 4,5- and 4,6-linked aminoglycosides target the same ribosomal site, they appear to bind and effect antibiotic activity in different manners. The aminoglycosides might recognize different RNA conformations or the interaction might involve different RNA tertiary structures that are not equally sampled in our ribosome-free model. These results imply that models of ribosomal RNA must be carefully designed if the data are expected to accurately reflect biological activity.     

Study on the interaction of aminoglycoside antibiotics with Titan Yellow by spectrophotometric method and their analytical applications

In a weak acidic medium, the reaction of some aminoglycoside antibiotics (AGs) such as kanamycin sulfate (KANA), gentamycin sulfate (GEN), and tobramycin sulfate (TOB) with acid thiazolyl bisazo dye Titan Yellow (TY) can result in the fading of TY. The maximum fading wavelength was located at 409 nm. The molar absorptivities (ɛ/×10⁴ 1 mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹) were 2.0, 1.5 and 2.5 for KANA, GEN and TOB, respectively. The spectral characteristics, effect factors, optimum conditions of the reaction and the influence of foreign substances were also investigated. The procedure is easy and fast. This method has high sensitivity and can be applied to the determination of commercial aminoglycoside antibiotics and serum samples with satisfactory results. __________ Translated from Journal of southwest China Normal University, 2005, 30(2) (in Chinese)