Spectroscopic analysis of triflusal impregnated into PMMA from supercritical CO2 solution

The applicability of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) as a solvent instead of organics has already been demonstrated for the impregnation of biopolymers with pharmaceuticals. This specific process enables the dispersion of a drug in a polymer and leads to further control of drug release. In this work, scCO₂ technology was employed to impregnate triflusal active agent and its hydrolysis metabolite 4-(trifluoromethyl) salicylic acid (HTB) into PMMA bars. Confocal Raman spectroscopy and high-pressure liquid chromatography were the main analysis techniques employed to characterize the degree of dispersion of the drug inside of the polymer. In the Raman analysis, obtained spectra were decomposed with several Gaussians functions. Hence, by using the decomposition of each spectrum it was possible to study the evolution of the concentration of the drug and its metabolite in hundreds of different positions along the radius of the polymer bar. Raman spectroscopy was also used to detect water in the PMMA matrix and to analyze its influence in the formation of the HTB. Finally, spectroscopic analysis showed that scCO₂ impregnation process resulted in triflusal and its metabolite being molecularly dispersed in the polymer matrix. Drug molecules interaction with PMMA chains was detected for the metabolite HTB, but not for triflusal.     

Chemistry and key structural features of oxyhydroxy-fluorides: relationships with the acidic character, thermal stability and surface area

The stability of Al, Cr and Fe hydroxy-fluorides MF_3−x(OH)_x which adopt the hexagonal-tungsten-bronze (HTB)-type structure has been discussed by considering the lability of water coordinated to metals from a kinetic point of view. Thus, in the case of Al or Fe compounds, the easy departure of water contributes to the stabilization of fluoride ions as well as isolated hydroxyl groups around the metal, leading to the formation of the HTB structure. The stabilization of the HTB structure with respect to another structural type, the pyrochlore, with a lower density, is governed by this kinetic feature as well as the ability of fluorinated salts used as precursors to attract hydroxyls. Al(III) and Fe(III) represent the strongest acidic cations and the associated HTB-type structure containing isolated OH groups can easily be stabilized. In the case of Cr, a mixture of pyrochlore and HTB-type structure is generally obtained. We have succeeded in preparing, using supercritical medium, new (Fe, Cr) oxyhydroxy-fluorides which exhibit edge-shared octahedra and large 1D tunnels. These compounds can be considered as potential candidates for acid catalysts.     

Photodegradation and Photobinding of Tiaprofenic Acid: in vitro Versus in vivo

Abstract— The photoreactivity of the photosensitizing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug tiaprofenic acid (TA) and its photoproduct decarboxytiaprofenic acid (DTA) was studied both in the presence and in the absence of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The photoproduct DTA was found to be photostable in buffered aqueous solution at pH 7.4, but photodecomposed when BSA was present in the reaction medium. Both TA and DTA underwent irreversible photobinding to BSA in an almost quantitative way, as evidenced by radioactivity measurements using labeled (3H) compounds. In the case of TA, it has been proven that photobinding is mainly attributable to the phototoreactivity of in situ -generated DTA. The photo-degradation and photobinding of TA were also investigated in the epidermis in vivo. Rats were exposed to UVA after application of TA to their shaven dorsal skin. During the initial periods of irradiation, the amount of TA decreased sharply, and the yield of the corresponding photoproduct (DTA) reached a maximum. Prolonged irradiation led to photodegradation of DTA. In vivo photobinding was studied using 3H-TA. Photobinding took place slowly at the beginning, but its rate increased sharply after complete photoconversion of TA, when the photoproduct DTA reached the maximum concentration. Thereafter, the decrease of DTA was more pronounced than that of TA. This indicates thatalso in vivoDTA rather than TA is responsible for the photobinding to biomacromolecules in the viable layer of the epidermis. Overall, the above results suggest that irradiation of TA in buffered aqueous solution, in the presence of proteins, is a reasonable model system to study the photodegradation and photobinding behavior of this drug in vivo. From the qualitative point of view, the main conclusion is that DTA plays a key role both in vivo and in vitro: it is the major photoproduct, it undergoes further photodegradation upon prolonged irradiation, and it appears to be responsible for the photobinding process.     

Evidences of cyclodextrin-mediated enantioselective photodegradation of rac-nicardipine by capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was applied to photostability studies on rac-nicardipine, a dihydropyridine chiral drug. CE methods were developed able to provide the enantioresolution of drug and its separation from the photodegradation products. Enantioresolution was achieved using 5% sulfated-beta-cyclodextrin (S-beta-CD) as chiral selector in 20 mM triethanolammonium phosphate solution (pH 3). The photostability studies were carried out on inclusion complexes of rac-nicardipine with beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and (2-hydroxypropyl)-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) in aqueous solutions (pH 7.4 and 5). The CE analysis of the solutions exposed to UV-A and UV-B radiations showed a photoprotective effect by beta-CD; conversely, HP-beta-CD proved to favor the drug photodegradation. Moreover, evidences for CDs-mediated stereoselective photodegradation of rac-nicardipine were obtained. In fact, two distinct photodegradation profiles were observed for the nicardipine enantiomers in the presence of the CDs. The photodegradation was found to follow an apparent first-order kinetics and two different kinetic constants (k) were obtained for the two enantiomers. After exposure to UV-A and UV-B radiations, the solutions contained residual nicardipine with a significant change in the enantiomeric ratio; this effect was depending on the CD used for the inclusion complexation.     

A structural study of a new lithium oxyfluorotungstate,LiW3O9F

The structure of LiW₃O₉F was determined from 972 single crystal reflections and refined by least squares to anRfactor of 0.065. It has orthorhombic symmetry with space groupFdd2 and parametersa = 12.716(2)A?,b = 15.230(2)A?,c = 7.288(1)A?, andZ = 8. The structure is related to the HTB structure and can be described as a complex stacking of HTB layers perpendicular to theb axis. The lithium atoms are found in the hexagonal cavities of the HTB layers.     

On the Photodegradation of Dithranol in Different Topical Formulations: Use of SLN to Increase the Stability of the Drug

The purpose of this study was to improve the stability of dithranol, an effective drug for topical treatment of psoriasis. The influence of several formulations (microemulsions, O/W emulsion, gel emulsion, and gel) on the photodegradation kinetics of dithranol was investigated. The photodegradation rate was found to be related with the initial drug concentration and the nature of the vehicle. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were prepared by solvent injection technique to investigate whether the inclusion in the lipid matrix could increase the stability of the drug. Physicochemical characterization of the particles by optical microscopy, photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed that solvent injection is a suitable approach for dithranol-loaded SLN preparation. The obtained particle sizes were between 230 and 270 nm; up to 92% of drug was entrapped in the SLN. The photodegradation kinetic constants (k_c) of dithranol in SLN were related with the medium in which the particles were dispersed. The stability over time of dithranol was also investigated storing the samples at 25°C and the results showed that the drug inclusion in SLN dispersed in gel emulsion reduced its rate of degradation.     

HTB140 melanoma cells under proton irradiation and/or alkylating agents

Chemoresistance is a major problem in the treatment of malignant melanoma. The mainstay of treatment for melanoma is the DNA-alkylating agent dacarbazine (DTIC). Fotemustine (FM), a member of the chloroethylnitrosourea group of alkylating agents, has also demonstrated significant antitumor effects in malignant melanoma. However, the intrinsic and acquired resistance of melanoma limits the clinical application of these drugs. Melanomas are also extremely radioresistant. With the objective of enhancing growth inhibition of melanoma cells, combined treatments of FM or DTIC with proton irradiation have been investigated. These effects were studied on HTB140 melanoma cell viability and proliferation. Cells exposed to treatment with FM and protons have shown inhibition of cell growth and significant reduction of proliferation capacity compared to single irradiation or drug treatment. Treatment with DTIC and protons has shown improved growth inhibition compared to appropriate single drug treatment, while the effects of single proton irradiation have been the most pronounced. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

(10,3)-a Noninterpenetrated network built from a Piedfort ligand pair

The Friedel-Crafts reaction of cyameluric chloride with toluene and subsequent oxidation have resulted in the synthesis of a benzoic acid functionalized tri-s-triazine derivative, s-heptazine tribenzoate (HTB). Photoluminescence and mass spectroscopy data indicate that, in solution, HTB molecules interact by face-to-face pi-pi stacking, forming dimers (the "Piedfort unit"). A porous metal-organic framework (MOF) with a (10,3)-a chiral network has been synthesized with these dimers at the three-connected nodes linking trinuclear zinc clusters. Within the network, the dimer can exist in either of two enantiomeric forms because of an angular offset in the stacking. The resulting MOF is neutral and noninterpenetrated and exhibits a high solvent-accessible volume (calculated 84%).     

Effect of binary and ternary polyethyleneglycol and/or beta-cyclodextrin complexes on the photochemical and photosensitizing properties of Naproxen

The effect of the polyethylene glycol and/or beta-cyclodextrin on the photolability of aqueous solutions of the anti-inflammatory drug Naproxen was studied. In all systems studied, the photodegradation process followed zero-order kinetics, leading to the same photoproducts as in the absence of these additives. Kinetic studies revealed that the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) reduced drug photodegradation (phi=0.11 in water and phi=0.045 in the presence of 1% of PEG). By contrast, the binary inclusion complex, Naproxen:beta-CD, did not protect the drug from degradation, phi=0.11. However, the ternary complex, Naproxen:beta-CD:PEG, reduced the efficiency of the photodegradative process to a considerable extent, with phi=0.022 in this system. In all cases the presence of the different additives elicited a change in the photomixture composition, the alcoholic derivative being the major photoproduct formed. Nevertheless, the change in the efficiency of the process and the amount of the photoproducts formed in the different systems were not related with the biodamage produced by the drug. In this sense, the presence of free Naproxen clearly sensitized the photoperoxidation of linoleic acid. The photosensitizing effect decreased as the PEG concentration increased and was completely abolished by both the binary (Naproxen:beta-CD) and ternary (Naproxen:beta-CD:PEG) complexes. In light of these observations, it is possible to speculate that in these systems the prevention of biodamage would be due to a decrease in the contact between the short-lived species generated during Naproxen photodegradation and biological structures, rather than to the nature or amount of the photoproducts.     

Influence of human serum albumin on photodegradation of folic acid in solution

It has been proposed that photodegradation of folates may be the reason for the pigmentation of races living under high fluence rates of ultraviolet radiation. The photodegradation of folic acid (FA) induced by ultraviolet-A (UV-A) radiation, in solution and in the presence of human serum albumin (HSA), was studied with absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. FA photodegradation, with formation of p-aminobenzoyl-l-glutamic acid, 6-formylpterin and pterin-6-carboxylic acid, was found to follow an exponential trend. A scheme of FA photodegradation, which involves photosensitization of FA degradation by its photoproducts, was proposed. The rate of FA photodegradation decreased drastically in the presence of HSA, whereas the spectral characteristics of the photoproducts remained constant. The reduction of the FA photodegradation rate by HSA was accompanied by degradation of tryptophan in HSA. Tryptophan, when added to solutions of FA, had a similar effect as HSA. In solutions of FA and HSA the FA photoproducts cause photodamage mainly to HSA rather than to FA itself. The oxygen dependence of FA photodegradation and the inhibition of this process by sodium azide indicate that singlet oxygen may participate in the photosensitizing activity of FA photoproducts.     

Photodegradation of isotactic poly(1-butene): Multiscale characterization

The effect of photodegradation in isotactic poly(1-butene) (PB-1) have been investigated using rheology, differential scanning calorimetry and infrared spectroscopy. Two commercially available grades of PB-1 with different average molecular weight were chosen. Specimens prepared by compression moulding were UV irradiated in the interval from 0 to 70 h. UV-induced changes in molecular structure have been followed by evolution of rheological properties, thermal properties and degradation by-products. Thermal analysis showed significant changes in crystallization behaviour influencing morphology and resulting thermal properties. Moreover it has been confirmed that the degradation significantly retards the phase transformation. Rheological measurement has been found as an effective method for determination of early stages of photodegradation of PB-1.     

FI-on line photochemical reaction for direct chemiluminescence determination of photodegradated chloramphenicol

A new, simple, clean and selective flow injection strategy based on the tandem photochemical reaction-chemiluminescence detection was applied to the determination of chloramphenicol. The determination is based on the on-line photodegradation of the drug in a glycine buffer at pH 8.8 by using a photoreactor consisting of 697 cmx0.5 mm PTFE tubing helically coiled around an 8 W low-pressure mercury lamp. Photodegradated chloramphenicol is detected by direct chemiluminescence of resulting photo-fragments and their subsequent reaction with potassium permanganate in sulfuric acid medium as oxidant. The method allows the chemiluminescence determination of compounds which do not exhibit native chemiluminescence. The calibration graph was linear up to 14 mug ml(-1) chloramphenicol, the limit of detection was 30 ng ml(-1), the relative standard deviation was 2.4% for 7 mug ml(-1) of the drug and the sample throughput was 60 h(-1). Taking into account the importance of the medium of photodegradation on the mechanism of photodegradation a comparative study in terms of selective was performed for different chemical media employed in the procedure of photodegradation. The proposed method was applied to the determination of chloramphenicol in commercially available pharmaceutical formulations.     

Photodegradation of Ethylene/Propylene/Polar Monomers Co‐ and Terpolymers. I—Prepared by Group 4 Catalyst Systems

The photooxidative degradation behavior of polyethylene, its copolymers (propylene/polar monomers) and terpolymers, synthesized by a group 4 catalyst system, has been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and confirmed with scanning elecrton microscopy for morphological changes. The kinetics of photodegradation has also been studied. Surface damage caused by polychromatic (≥290 nm) at 55°C in air is presented in different micrographs. The rate of photodegradation is very fast in terpolymers containing polar monomers as compared with copolymers and polyethylene. Morphological study of these photodegraded samples showed a very good relation with photodegradation results.     

二氧化碳和水气氛对高钠煤转化过程中钠迁移的影响

对新疆的两种高钠煤（伊犁煤YL、呼图壁煤HTB）进行了N₂、CO₂和H₂O气氛和不同温度下钠迁移的研究。采用逐级萃取和湿法消解法确定了原煤、半焦中钠的赋存形态,定量研究了两种煤中钠的挥发及迁移规律。结果表明,YL煤的形态钠中水溶钠占80.08%,HTB煤的形态钠中不溶钠占61.54%。不同气氛下,升高温度都可促进两种煤中钠的挥发,半焦中水溶钠比例减小,醋酸铵可溶钠比例会出现先增加后减少现象,盐酸可溶钠比例呈增加趋势。对于YL煤,CO₂气氛可抑制钠的挥发,H₂O蒸气可促进钠的挥发;900℃时,YL煤CO₂气氛下钠挥发仅为N₂气氛下的50.25%,而H₂O气氛钠挥发为N₂气氛下的111.45%。对于HTB煤,CO₂气氛也可抑制钠的挥发,900℃时CO₂气氛下钠挥发为N₂气氛的80.91%;HTB煤在H₂O蒸气下,800℃之前钠挥发高于N₂,当900℃时,钠挥发略低于N₂气氛。YL煤形态钠中以水溶钠为主,其挥发的同时会向盐酸可溶钠及不溶钠转变。而HTB煤形态钠中以不溶钠为主,其次是水溶钠,CO₂和H₂O气氛能促进不溶钠向其他可溶态钠转变。     

Photodegradation study of decabromodiphenyl ether by UV spectrophotometry and a hybrid hard- and soft-modelling approach

This work presents an exploratory study of the photochemical degradation process of decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and gives an interpretation of the kinetic pathway, species and effects of the key factors involved in the degradation process. Use of lowly brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) has been banned by the EU and there seems to be evidence of the photolytic degradation of highly brominated PBDEs into lowly brominated congeners. Hence, the importance of knowing the photodegradation process of decaBDE.The photodegradation was investigated under UV light by UV-spectrophotometric monitoring. A novel hybrid data analysis approach, based on the combination of hard- and soft-spectrophotometric multivariate curve resolution, was applied to elucidate the mechanism of the degradation process, to resolve kinetic profiles and pure spectra of the photodegradation products and to evaluate the rate constants. The photodegradation process could be described with a kinetic model based on three consecutive first-order reactions and a decrease of the degradation process was observed as solvent polarity increased. Complementary identification of photodegradation products by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry using negative chemical ionization (GC-NCI-MS) is attempted.This work presents a novel attempt of describing in a comprehensive way the photochemical degradation process of decaBDE, with all successive steps and related rate constants. This study proves also the potential of the proposed hybrid data analysis methodology as a general strategy to interpret the evolution of these photochemical reactions.     

In vitro phototoxic properties of triamcinolone 16,17-acetonide and its main photoproducts

The phototoxicity of triamcinolone 16,17-acetonide has been estimated through a panel of in vitro tests. The main target involved in phototoxicity induced by triamcinolone appeared to be the cell membrane. Oxygen-independent photohemolysis was observed. A photochemical study in water and buffered solutions supported the conclusion that this is related to the action of radicals formed upon UV irradiation (in particular UV-B) by Norrish Type-I fragmentation of the C-20 ketone group. Peroxy radicals were formed in the presence of oxygen and were the active species in that case. Three photoproducts, isolated from the photodegradation of the drug, were submitted to the same toxicity tests. Two of them were proved to possess toxic or phototoxic properties on erythrocytes, primarily induced by UV-B light, and may participate in the photosensitizing activity of triamcinolone 16,17-acetonide. Our in vitro results suggest that the drug can elicit weak photosensitizing properties in vivo.     

Photodegradation activity of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-perchlorinated iron (II) phthalocyanine (FePcCl16) composite film

In this paper, a novel kind of photodegradable PVC-FePcCl(16) composite film was prepared by homogeneous embedding FePcCl(16) into the commercial PVC plastic. The photodegradation performance of as-prepared film has been investigated in the ambient air under UV light irradiation by means of weight loss monitoring, FT-IR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy. In comparison with the pure PVC film, higher weight loss rate, increasing carbonyl peak intensity and accelerating dehydrochlorination were observed. These results indicate that the PVC-FePcCl(16) composite film has a higher photodegradation activity owing to the FePcCl(16). Moreover, FePcCl(16) has good photostability in the photoreaction. The possible photodegradation mechanism of PVC-FePcCl(16) composite film was also discussed.     

Comprehensive description of the photodegradation of bromophenols using chromatographic monitoring and chemometric tools

A general procedure for the study of complex photodegradation processes of environmental pollutants based on chromatographic monitoring and chemometric method is proposed. The procedure consists of multiset data analysis of aliquots collected at different reaction times and injected in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to diode array detection and mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS). In this study, photodegradation of six bromophenols with different degrees of bromination has been investigated in order to find out their photodegradation pathways and kinetics and to show the potential of the procedure proposed. Multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) has been used to resolve chromatographic elution profiles and pure spectra of species involved in the photodegradation process and, hence, to elucidate the photodegradation mechanism and to propose the chemical structure of the main photoproducts. This study shows that chromatographic monitoring is the preferred option when photochemical systems with large number of components with similar spectra and kinetic evolution are analyzed. This work reveals the advantages of the double DAD and MS detection to provide mechanistic and structural information about these complex photodegradation processes.     

Natural sunlight and sun simulator photolysis studies of tetra- to hexa-brominated diphenyl ethers in water using solid-phase microextraction

Photo-solid-phase microextraction (photo-SPME) is combined for the first time with natural and simulated sunlight to study the photochemical behaviour of environmental concerning tetra- to hexa-brominated diphenyl ethers. The sunlight photodegradation kinetics of five brominated diphenyl ethers (BDE 47, BDE 100, BDE 99, BDE 154 and BDE 153) has been studied. These BDEs are the most abundant congeners in penta-BDE commercial formulations used as flame-retardants and are considered among the most toxic ones. The five studied BDEs were photolytically labile. The detected photodegradation products include more stable lower brominated diphenyl ethers and polybrominated dibenzofurans (PBDFs). The photoformation and decay kinetics of these photoproducts were also monitorized by photo-SPME. Aqueous photodegradation studies have also been carried out. In this case, SPME is only used as the extraction technique. Obtained results in the aqueous photodegradation experiments were compared with those obtained in photo-SPME experiments.