LC-MS-MS Method for Simultaneous Determination of Icariin and Its Active Metabolite Icariside II in Human Plasma

An LC-MS-MS method was revised and validated for simultaneous determination of icariin and its active metabolite icariside II in human plasma. The analytes and daidzein (IS) were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction and analyzed by LC-MS-MS. The separation was performed by a Zorbax SB-C₁₈ column (3.5 μm, 2.1 × 100 mm) with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol–water–formic acid (65:35:0.035, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.25 mL min^?1. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrum by multiple reaction monitoring mode using the electrospray ionization technique in positive mode. The method had lower limits of quantitation 0.2 and 0.1 ng mL^?1 for icariin and icariside II, respectively, using 500 μL plasma sample. The linear calibration curves were obtained in the concentration range of 0.2–100 ng mL^?1 for icariin and 0.1–100 ng mL^?1 for icariside II. The RSD values of intra- and inter-day precision calculated from quality control (QC) samples were less than 7.2% for icariin and less than 6.5% for icariside II. The accuracy as determined from QC samples was within 3.8% for each analyte. The method has been applied to determine and evaluate the pharmacokinetic of icariin and its metabolite icariside II in volunteers following oral administration of icariin and extract of Epimedium, respectively.     

Solubilities of Dilute SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> in the Binary System of Glycol and Dimethylsulfoxide

The solubility of SO₂ in binary mixtures of ethylene glycol (EG) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), a potential candidate for use as the scrubbing liquid for the absorption of SO₂ from flue gas, are lacking in the literature. The paper presents solubility data of dilute SO₂ in these inexpensive solvent mixtures at T = (303.15, 308.15, and 313.15) K and p = 122.66 kPa. The solubilities of dilute SO₂ in the mixtures increases gradually with increasing concentration of DMSO and decreasing temperature. The solubility of SO₂ is linearly proportional to the experimental pressure. Meanwhile, the Henry’s law constants (H _x ), dissolution enthalpy changes, dissolution entropy changes, and dissolution Gibbs energy changes were also obtained from the solubility data of SO₂ in the mixtures. The experimental results demonstrate that the binary system of EG and DMSO is a promising alternative in SO₂ separation processes due to its excellent absorption and regeneration performance.     

Solubility of gallic acid in liquid mixtures of (ethanol + water) from (293.15 to 318.15) K

The solubility of gallic acid in (water + ethanol) binary solvents was determined from (293.15 to 318.15) K at atmospheric pressure using a thermostatted reactor and UV/vis spectrophotometer analysis. The effects of binary solvents composition and temperature on the solubility were discussed. It was found that gallic acid solubility in (water + ethanol) mixed solvents presents a maximum-solubility effect. Two empirical equations were proposed to correlate the solubility data. The calculated solubilities show good agreement with the experimental data within the studied temperature range. Using the experimentally measured solubilities, the thermodynamic properties of dissolution of the gallic acid such as Gibbs energy (Δ_solG°), molar enthalpy of dissolution (Δ_solH°), and molar entropy of dissolution (Δ_solS°) were calculated.     

4-(Methylsulfonyl)benzaldehyde Solubility in Binary Solvent Mixtures of Acetonitrile + (Methanol,Ethanol and Isopropanol): Determination and Modelling

The solubilities of 4-(methylsulfonyl)benzaldehyde in the binary mixed solvents acetonitrile + methanol, acetonitrile + ethanol and acetonitrile + isopropanol were determined experimentally using an isothermal dissolution equilibrium method within the temperature range from 283.15 to 318.15 K under atmospheric pressure. The solubility of 4-(methylsulfonyl)benzaldehyde increased with increasing temperature and mass fraction of acetonitrile in each binary system. At the same temperature and mass fraction of acetonitrile, the mole fraction solubility of 4-(methylsulfonyl)benzaldehyde is greater in (acetonitrile + methanol) than in the other two mixed solvents. The solubility data were correlated using the CNIBS/R-K model, Jouyban–Acree model, van’t Hoff–Jouyban–Acree model, Apelblat–Jouyban–Acree model, Ma model and Sun model. The maximum values of relative average deviation (RAD) and root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) are 1.53% and 1.17 × 10^?4, respectively. All of the selected models provided good representation of the experimental solubilities. Furthermore, the standard enthalpies of dissolution were calculated. The dissolution process for 4-(methylsulfonyl)benzaldehyde in these mixed solvents is endothermic. The experimental solubility and the models presented in this work are important for the production and purification of 4-(methylsulfonyl)benzaldehyde.     

Measurement and Correlation Solubility of Sodium Succinate in Binary Mixed Solvents of Water + (Methanol or Ethanol) Mixtures

The solubility of sodium succinate in binary solvent mixtures was measured by an analytical stirred-flask method in the temperature range 278.15–318.15 K at atmospheric pressure. It was found that the solubility of sodium succinate in the system increased with increasing temperature and decreased with the increasing mass fractions of methanol or ethanol. The modified Apelblat equation, the Buchwski–Ksiazaczak λh equation and the combined nearly ideal binary solvent/Redlich–Kister (CNIBS/R–K) equation were proposed for correlating the experimental data. The modified Apelblat equation was found to regress the solubility data much better than the Buchwski–Ksiazaczak equation and the CNIBS/R–K equation in a binary solvent system. The dissolution enthalpy and dissolution entropy of sodium succinate were calculated from the solubility data, using the Van’t Hoff equation. The experiment results and correlation models could be used as essential data in the purification of sodium succinate.     

Solubility of Genistin in Ethanol/Acetone + Water and Daidzein in Ethanol + Water Co-solvent Mixtures Revisited: IBKI Preferential Solvation Method

The preferential solvation parameters (δx_1,3) of genistin in ethanol/acetone (1) + water (2) and daidzein in ethanol (1) + water (2) co-solvent mixtures at elevated temperatures were derived from available solubility data using the inverse Kirkwood–Buff integral method. The values of δx_1,3 varied non-linearly with the co-solvent (1) proportion in all the aqueous mixtures. For the three co-solvent mixtures, the values of δx_1,3 were negative in water-rich mixtures, which indicated that daidzein or genistin was preferentially solvated by water and can act as Lewis bases to establish hydrogen bonds with the proton-donor functional groups of water (1). The same behavior was also observed for daidzein in ethanol (1) + water (2) and acetone (1) + water (2) mixtures with co-solvent-rich composition. For daidzein in ethanol (1) + water (2) mixtures with composition 0.24 < x₁ < 1, and genistin in ethanol (1) + water (2) and acetone (1) + water (2) mixtures with intermediate compositions, the local mole fractions of ethanol or acetone were higher than those of the mixtures and therefore the δx_1,3 values were positive, which indicated that genistin and daidzein were preferentially solvated by the co-solvent. In these regions, daidzein and genistin were acting as a Lewis acid with ethanol or acetone molecules.     

Preferential Solvation of Boscalid in Ethanol/Isopropanol + Ethyl Acetate Mixtures from the Inverse Kirkwood–Buff Integrals Method

The preferential solvation parameters (δx _1,3) of Boscalid in solvent mixtures of ethanol (1) + ethyl acetate (2), and isopropanol (1) + ethyl acetate (2) were derived from their available solubility data by means of the inverse Kirkwood–Buff integrals method. The values of δx _1,3 vary non-linearly with the solvent (1) proportion in the two solvent mixtures. For the ethanol (1) + ethyl acetate (2) system, the values of δx _1,3 are negative in ethanol-rich and ethyl acetate-rich mixtures, but positive in intermediate compositions; for the isopropanol (1) + ethyl acetate (2) system, the values of δx _1,3 are positive in ethyl acetate-rich mixtures and in intermediate compositions, but negative in isopropanol-rich mixtures. The δx _1,3 values are positive indicating that Boscalid is preferentially solvated by ethyl acetate. The magnitude of the preferential solvation of Boscalid by ethyl acetate is higher in isopropanol (1) + ethyl acetate (2) mixtures than in ethanol (1) + ethyl acetate (2) mixtures at 298.15, 308.15 and 313.15 K. The ethyl acetate action may be related to the disordered structure of ethanol or isopropanol molecules around the polar moieties of Boscalid, which increases the solvation, with maximum values near x ₁ = 0.40–0.45 for the two solvent mixtures.     

Measurements and predictions of density and carbon dioxide solubility in binary mixtures of ethanol and n-decane

The solubility of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in binary mixtures of ethanol and n-decane has been measured using an in-house developed pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) apparatus at pressures up to 6 MPa and two different temperatures (303.2 and 323.2 K). Three different binary mixtures of ethanol and n-decane were prepared, and the densities of the prepared mixtures were measured over the studied pressure and temperature ranges. The experimental data of CO₂ solubility in the prepared mixtures and their saturated liquid densities were then reported at each temperature and pressure. The solubility data indicated that the gas solubility reduced as the ethanol mole fraction in the liquid mixture increased. The dissolution of CO₂ in the liquid mixtures resulted in the increase in the saturated liquid densities. The impact of gas dissolution on the saturated liquid densities was more pronounced at the lower temperature and lower ethanol compositions. The experimental solubility and density data were compared with the results of two cubic equations of state (EOSs), Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK) and Peng–Robinson (PR). The modeling results demonstrated that both EOSs could predict the solubility data well, while the saturated liquid densities calculated with the PR EOS were much better than those predicted with the SRK EOS.     

A Validated Quantification of Benzocaine in Lozenges Using TLC and a Flatbed Scanner

We present a video-densitometric quantification method for benzocaine in lozenges. The quantification is based on a derivatisation reaction with 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde. Measurements were carried out using a 16-bit flatbed scanner. Benzocaine was separated to a distance of 50 mm in a vertical developing chamber without vapour saturation. We present an RP-18 phase separation on a cyanopropyl plate (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) using water, CH₃CN, dioxane, ethanol, and NH₃ (25 %) (8 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 0.05, v/v) as the mobile phase. We also separated benzocaine in a normal phase system on silica gel 60 LiChrospere^® plates (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) with the mobile phase MTBE/cyclohexane (1 + 1, v/v). The calibration functions for benzocaine in both separations were linear in the range from 1 to 1,000 ng per spot. The range of linearity covers two magnitudes of power because the Kubelka–Munk expression was used for data transformation. In the cyanopropyl-system, the benzocaine amount was quantified as 242.5 ± 18.2 ng in a spot or 6.86 ± 0.52 mg in a single lozenge. The amount of 7.0 mg benzocaine per lozenge was labelled. The combined uncertainty of sample and calibration measurements was statistically calculated using a significance level of α = 0.05 to a total relative uncertainty of 7.49 %. The separation method is inexpensive, fast and reliable.     

Viscosities of Binary and Ternary Mixtures of Water,Alcohol, Acetone,and Hexane

This articles studied and determined the viscosities of the binary mixtures of water–methanol, water–ethanol, water–propanol, water–acetone, acetone–ethanol, methanol–ethanol, and acetone–hexane and the ternary mixtures of water–methanol–ethanol and water–ethanol–acetone at 20°C. It is shown that the mixing of water with the alcohols and acetone resulted in a positive deviation of viscosity, which reached the maximum value at the water mole fraction x ₁ ～ 0.7 for water–methanol, x ₁ ～ 0.72 for water–ethanol, x ₁ ～ 0.74 for water–propanol, and x ₁ ～ 0.83 for water–acetone binary mixture. This viscosity deviation can be mainly attributed to the formation of micelles of alcohol or acetone molecules in water because of the hydrophobic attraction between the hydrocarbon chains. The micelle surfaces are surrounded by hydration layers, leading to the positive viscosity deviation in the liquid mixtures because the water in hydration layers has a much higher viscosity than bulk water. Also, the contrary observation was found in the binary mixtures of acetone–ethanol and acetone–hexane, having a negative viscosity deviation.     

Chiral Separation of Tenatoprazole and Several Related Benzimidazoles by Normal Phase LC Using Amylose-Based Stationary Phase

Simple and efficient analytical LC methods using amylose-based stationary phase Chiralpak AS-H were developed for direct enantioseparation of tenatoprazole and several related benzimidazoles. The chromatographic experiments were performed in the normal phase mode with n-hexane–ethanol–triethylamine (TEA) as mobile phase. The effects of the mobile phase additive, concentration of organic modifiers and column temperature were studied for the enantioseparation. The thermodynamic parameters were also calculated from the van’t Hoff plots. It was found that the enantioseparations were all enthalpy driven. The enantiomers of all compounds were resolved (R _s  > 3.3) within 14 min using n-hexane–ethanol–TEA (20:80:0.1%, v/v/v) as mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.4 mL min^?1 at 40 °C. The optimized method was validated for determination of the enantiomers of tenatoprazole in terms of linearity, precision and accuracy according to ICH guidelines and applied to the assay of tenantoprazole bulk drugs. The proposed method was shown to be accurate and suitable for the quantitative determination of tenatoprazole enantiomers.     

Solubility of (+)-Usnic Acid in Water, Ethanol, Acetone, Ethyl Acetate and n-Hexane

Using ultraviolet spectrophotometry, the solubility of (+)-usnic acid in water, ethanol, acetone, ethyl acetate and n-hexane were measured at temperatures from (278.15 to 338.15) K at atmospheric pressure. The results obtained led to the solubility order: ethyl acetate > acetone > n-hexane > ethanol > water. The solubility values were correlated with the Apelblat equation, the λh equation and the ideal model. The results showed that these three models agreed well with the experimental data.     

Influence of Solute–Solvent Interaction on Acid Strength of Some Substituted Phenols in Ethanol–Water Media

The solute–solvent interactions of some phenol derivatives were investigated potentiometrically in 0–60 % (v/v) ethanol–water mixtures. The acidity constants values were correlated with either macroscopic parameters such as molar fraction, permittivity and the solvating ability or microscopic parameters, such as the Kamlet–Taft solvatochromic parameters. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the pK _a values in any ethanol–water mixtures are linearly related to the pK _a values of the phenols in pure water. The slope and intercept parameters of the linear correlations are related with the mole fraction of ethanol. These equations permit accurate calculation of the pK _a values of the studied phenols at any ethanol–water composition.     

Simultaneous Estimation of Ceftazidime and Ceftizoxime in Pharmaceutical Formulations by HPLC Method

The aim of the present study was to develop a fast, sensitive and reliable method for rapid screening of cephalosporin injectable dosage forms namely ceftazidime and ceftizoxime to the detection of counterfeit and substandard drugs that might be illegally commercialized. Ceftazidime, ceftizoxime and cefixime (IS) were separated in a X-Terra RP-18 column (250 × 4.60 mm ID × 5 ??) and DAD detector set at 290 and 260 nm. The mobile phase consisted of a mixture of methanol:water 20:80 (v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. Additionally, in order to find the optimum pH value of separation the pK _a values of studied compounds were determined by using two different methodologies. Aqueous pK _a values of studied compounds have been determined by UV-spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography were used for the determination and direct characterization of the dissociation constants by using the dependence of the capacity factor on the pH of the mobile phase in 20% (v/v) methanol?Cwater binary mixture in which separation was performed. The pH of the mobile phase was adjusted with 25 mM H₃PO₄ to 3.2. The method was shown to be linear, sensible, accurate, and reproducible over the range of analysis and it can be used to pharmaceutical formulations containing a single active ingredient within a short analysis time.     

Solubility Data of Diazepam in Binary and Ternary Mixtures of PEGs 200 and 400 with N-Methyl Pyrrolidone and Water at 298.2 K: Experimental Data and Modeling

Experimental solubilities of diazepam in binary and ternary solvents of polyethylene glycols 200 and 400 with N-methyl pyrrolidone and water at T = 298.2 K are reported. The Jouyban–Acree model was used to fit solubility data of diazepam in the binary and ternary solvent mixtures (106 data points) in which the overall mean relative deviations (OMRD %) is 13.1 % and the prediction OMRD % is 31.7 %. The combined version of the Jouyban–Acree model with Hansen solubility parameters was used for fitting and predicting the solubility data and the OMRDs % are 10.0 and 20.8 %, respectively. Also, the previously proposed trained versions of the Jouyban–Acree model were used for predicting the reported data in this work and all results are listed in the tables. The density of the solute-free solvent mixtures were measured and employed to calculate the constants of the Jouyban–Acree model and then the densities of the saturated solutions were predicted.     

Solubility and Solution Thermodynamic Properties of 4-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone (Raspberry Ketone) in Different Pure Solvents

The solubility of 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone (raspberry ketone) in six pure solvents was experimentally determined at temperatures ranging from 283.15 to 313.15 K under the pressure 0.10 MPa by employing a gravimetrical method. The experimental results indicate that the solubility of raspberry ketone in all studied solvents is temperature dependent, a rise in temperature brings about an increase in solubility. The experimental solubility data of raspberry ketone in six pure solvents (acetone, ethanol, ethyl acetate, n-propyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, and distilled water) was correlated by using several commonly used thermodynamic models, including the Apelblat, van’t Hoff and λh equations. The results of the error analysis indicate that the van’t Hoff equation was able to give more accurate and reliable predictions of solubility with root-mean-square deviation less than 0.56%. Furthermore, the changes of dissolution enthalpies (Δ_diss H°), dissolution entropies (Δ_diss S°) and dissolution Gibbs energies (Δ_diss G°) of raspberry ketone in the solvents studied were estimated by the van’t Hoff equation. The positive value of Δ_diss H°, Δ_diss S°, and Δ_diss G° indicated that these dissolution processes of raspberry ketone in the solvents studied were all endothermic and enthalpy-driven.     

Physicochemical characterization of spray dried ternary micro-complexes of cefuroxime axetil with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

The physicochemical properties of spray dried micro-complexes of cefuroxime axetil (CFA) with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) in presence and/or absence of ternary components polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 (PVP K30), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), poloxamer 188 and/or polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000) along with Aerosil^®200 as an adsorbent were investigated. The phase solubility studies revealed A_L type of solubility curve in binary as well as ternary systems. The stability constant 382.70 ± 2.4 M^?1 of binary system i.e. CFA with HPβCD was significantly improved to 427.84 ± 3.8, 447.09 ± 4.3, 488.28 ± 4.6 and 502.21 ± 5.1 M^?1 in presence of PVP K30, HPMC, poloxamer 188 and PEG 4000 respectively indicating positive effect of their addition. The micro-complexes of CFA were characterized by Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffractometry, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and dissolution. In all characterization studies, ternary systems performed better in comparison to binary systems as a result of synergistic effect of ternary complexation as well as particle size reduction achieved by a spray drying technology.     

Absorption,desorption and interaction of SO2 with the binary system tetraethylene glycol + dimethyl sulfoxide

The gas-liquid equilibrium (GLE) data were determined for the mixture SO₂ + N₂ in the binary system of tetraethylene glycol (TeEG) + dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at T = 298.15–313.15 K and p = 123.15 kPa with the SO₂ partial pressures of 0.4–150 Pa. From GLE data, Henry’s law constants (HLCs) were obtained. When the SO₂ concentration in the gas phase was designed at y_SO2 = 500 ppmv, the SO₂ solubility in the binary system is located in a minimum of 9.36 mol m^?3 in TeEG and a maximum of 80.34 mol m^?3 in DMSO. The SO₂ absorption process was reversible from the five absorption–desorption cycles, and the solvents could repeat utilisation without obvious loss of absorption capacity and the homologous SO₂ desorption efficiency was nearby 98.7%. Furthermore, the spectral consequences illustrated that H-bonding was formed among TeEG, DMSO and SO₂.     

High-Pressure Solubility of l-Methionine in Water

The solubility (m _S) of l-methionine in water was measured at 298.2 K and pressures up to 200 MPa. The data were fitted to the equation ln(m _S/mol·kg^?1) = ?4.62 × 10^?6 (p/MPa)² + 2.65 × 10^?3 (p/MPa) ? 0.970 with a standard deviation of σ(ln m _S) = 0.002. The pressure coefficient of the logarithm of solubility (?ln m _S/?p) _T was thermodynamically estimated to be (2.62 ± 0.34) × 10^?3 MPa^?1 at 0.10 MPa using several parameters such as partial molar volume and activity coefficient of l-methionine in water and molar volume of solid l-methionine. The resulting value agrees well with the second term on the right-hand side of the fitted equation above, indicating the reliability of the high-pressure solubility measurements. The value of (?ln m _S/?p) _T also was compared with those of other amino acids.