SENSITIVITY OF ACTIVATED MURINE PERITONEAL MACROPHAGES TO PHOTODYNAMIC KILLING WITH BENZOPORPHYRIN DERIVATIVE

Abstract— This study compared the ability of highly purified resting and activated DBA/2 mouse peritoneal macrophages to survive treatment with the photosensitizer benzoporphyrin derivative (BPD, verteporfin) and light. Culture of macrophages with recombinant murine interferon-γ (rIFN-γ, 100 U/mL) for 72 h imparted a phenotypic and functional activation by dramatically increasing cell surface expression of major histocompatibility complex Class II (Ia) molecules and the formation of nitric oxide. The rIFN-γ-activated macrophages were significantly (P < 0.05) more sensitive (lethal dose to cause a 50% reduction in cell survival, LD₅₀= 14.4 ± 1.1 ng/mL) to photodynamic killing with BPD and light (10 J/cm²) than cells (LD₅₀= 18.2 ± 2.0 ng/mL) cultured in medium alone. In contrast, macrophages treated with different concentrations of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were as resistant or more resistant to photodynamic killing than cells cultured in medium alone. No cytotoxic effect of BPD was detected in cultures containing the drug but protected from light. Comparable amounts of BPD were taken up in vitro by unactivated and rIFN-γ-activated macrophages, as detected by flow cytometric analysis. However, cells cultured with LPS (10 μg/mL) took up more BPD than macrophages cultured in medium alone or with rIFN-γ. The DBA/2 P815 mastocytoma cells took up greater amounts of the drug and were subsequently more vulnerable to treatment with BPD and light (LD₅₀= 6.9 ng/mL) than macrophages cultured under any condition. The explanation for the increased vulnerability of rIFN-γ-activated macrophages and the greater resistance of LPS-activated macrophages, relative to medium-cultured macrophages, to photodynamic killing with BPD is uncertain. However, the increased susceptibility of macrophages, activated with the immunomodulatory cytokine IFN-γ, to treatment with BPD and light might indicate how photodynamic therapy could interfere with the development of experimental autoimmune disease, conditions in which activated macrophages are known to be involved.     

Development and validation of a UPLC‐MS/MS method for the determination of 7‐hydroxymitragynine,a μ‐opioid agonist,in rat plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A simple, sensitive and specific ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated to determine the concentrations of 7‐hydroxymitragynine in rat plasma. Following a single‐step liquid–liquid extraction of plasma samples using chloroform, 7‐hydroxymitragynine and the internal standard (tryptoline) were separated on an Acquity UPLC^TM BEH C₁₈ (1.7 µm, 2.1 × 50 mm) column using an isocratic elution at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% acetic acid in water and 0.1% acetic acid in acetonitrile (10:90, v/v). The run time was 2.5 min. The analysis was carried out under the multiple reaction‐monitoring mode using positive electrospray ionization. Protonated ions [M + H]⁺ and their respective product ions were monitored at the following transitions: 415 → 190 for 7‐hydroxymitragynine and 173 → 144 for the internal standard. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 10–4000 ng/mL (r² = 0.999) with a lower limit of quantification of 10 ng/mL. The extraction recoveries ranged from 62.0 to 67.3% at concentrations of 20, 600 and 3200 ng/mL). Intra‐ and inter‐day assay precisions (relative standard deviation) were <15% and the accuracy was within 96.5–104.0%. This validated method was successfully applied to quantify 7‐hydroxymitragynine in rat plasma following intravenous administration. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous quantitation of metformin and dapagliflozin in human plasma by LC–MS/MS: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

A single LC–MS/MS assay has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of metformin and dapagliflozin in human plasma using ion‐pair solid‐phase extraction. Chromatographic separation of the analytes and their internal standards was carried out on a reversed‐phase ACE 5CN (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column using acetonitrile–15 mm ammonium acetate, pH 4.5 (70:30, v/v) as the mobile phase. To achieve higher sensitivity and selectivity for the analytes, mass spectrometric analysis was performed using a polarity switching approach. Ion transitions studied using multiple reaction monitoring mode were m/z 130.1 [M + H]⁺/60.1 for metformin and m/z 467.1 [M + CH₃COO]^?/329.1 for dapagliflozin in the positive and negative modes, respectively. The linear calibration range of the assay was established from 1.00 to 2000 ng/mL for metformin and from 0.10 to 200 ng/mL for dapagliflozin to achieve a better assessment of the pharmacokinetics of the drugs. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for the analytes were 0.39 and 1.0 ng/mL for metformin and 0.03 and 0.1 ng/mL for dapagliflozin, respectively. There was no interference of plasma matrix obtained from different sources, including hemolyzed and lipemic plasma. The method was successfully applied to study the effect of food on the pharmacokinetics of metformin and dapagliflozin in healthy subjects.     

Design,Synthesis, and In Vitro Antileishmanial and Antitumor Activities of New Tetrahydroquinolines

A novel series of tetrahydroquinolines containing acetohydrazide, oxopyrazole, oxothioxodihydropyrazole, and thioxotriazole have been synthesized. Antileishmanial, antitumor, and cytotoxicity activities of synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro. Antileishmanial activity of the most synthesized compounds showed tremendous activity towards Leishmania major. Most of the test compounds exhibited significant level of tumor inhibition. The tetrahydropyrano[2,3‐b]quinolin‐2‐one 6 and 4‐oxo‐4H‐pyrazol‐3‐yloxytetrahydroquinoline‐3‐carbonitrile derivatives 18 showed 100% tumor inhibition comparable with standard drug vincristine (100% tumor inhibition). Tetrahydroquinolines under investigation showed cytotoxicity with LD₅₀ values in the range 0.56–3.01 μg/mL compared with standard drug MS‐222 with LD₅₀ value of 4.30 μg/mL. The presence of a pyrazole ring markedly improved the activity profiles of tetrahydroquinoline. All newly synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, ¹H NMR, and MS.     

Analysis of selective androgen receptor modulators by gas chromatography-microchip atmospheric pressure photoionization-mass spectrometry

A gas chromatography-microchip atmospheric pressure photoionization-mass spectrometric (GC-μAPPI-MS) method was developed and used for the analysis of three 2-quinolinone-derived selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). SARMs were analyzed from spiked urine samples, which were hydrolyzed and derivatized with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide before analysis. Trimethylsilyl derivatives of SARMs formed both radical cations (M^+•) and protonated molecules ([M + H]⁺) in photoionization. Better signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) were obtained in MS/MS analysis using the M^+• ions as precursor ions than using the [M + H]⁺ ions, and therefore the M^+• ions were selected for the precursor ions in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) analysis. Limits of detection (LODs) with the method ranged from 0.01 to 1 ng/mL, which correspond to instrumental LODs of 0.2–20 pg. Limits of quantitation ranged from 0.03 to 3 ng/mL. The mass spectrometric response to the analytes was linear (R ≥ 0.995) from the LOQ concentration level up to 100 ng/mL concentration, and intra-day repeatabilities were 5%–9%. In addition to the GC-μAPPI-MS study, the proof-of-principle of gas chromatography-microchip atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-Orbitrap MS (GC-μAPCI-Orbitrap MS) was demonstrated.     

Development and validation of a sensitive assay for the quantification of imatinib using LC/LC‐MS/MS in human whole blood and cell culture

We developed and validated a semi‐automated LC/LC‐MS/MS assay for the quantification of imatinib in human whole blood and leukemia cells. After protein precipitation, samples were injected into the HPLC system and trapped onto the enrichment column (flow 5 mL/min); extracts were back‐flushed onto the analytical column. Ion transitions [M + H]⁺ of imatinib (m/z = 494.3 → 394.3) and its internal standard trazodone (372.5 → 176.3) were monitored. The range of reliable response was 0.03–75 ng/mL. The inter‐day precisions were: 8.4% (0.03 ng/mL), 7.2% (0.1 ng/mL), 6.5% (1 ng/mL), 8.2% (10 ng/mL) and 4.3% (75 ng/mL) with no interference from ion suppression. Autosampler stability was 24 hs and samples were stable over three freeze–thaw cycles. This semi‐automated method is simple with only one manual step, uses a commercially available internal standard, and has proven to be robust in larger studies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,characterization and biological application of cyclometalated heteroleptic platinum(II) complexes

A series of square planar cyclometalated heteroleptic platinum(II) complexes of the type [(C^N)Pt(O^O)] [where, O^O is a β‐diketonato ligand of acetylacetone (acac), C^N = cyclometalating 7‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐5‐phenylpyrazolo[1,5‐a]pyrimidine (L¹), 7‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐5‐phenylpyrazolo[1,5‐a]pyrimidine (L²), 7‐(4‐bromophenyl)‐5‐phenylpyrazolo[1,5‐a]pyrimidine (L³), 7‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐5‐phenylpyrazolo[1,5‐a]pyrimidine (L⁴), 5‐phenyl‐7‐(p‐tolyl)pyrazolo[1,5‐a]pyrimidine (L⁵)] have been design, synthesized and characterized. All compounds have been screened for biological studies like in vitro antibacterial, in vitro cytotoxicity, cellular level cytotoxicity, absorption titration, viscosity measurements, fluorescence quenching analysis, molecular docking and DNA nuclease. The intrinsic binding constants (K_b) of compounds with HS‐DNA has been obtained in range of 2.892–0.242 × 10⁵ M^?1. All the compounds bound with HS DNA by partial intercalative mode of binding. MIC study has been carried out against Gram^(+ve) and Gram^(?ve) bacterial species. In vitro cytotoxicity against brine shrimp lethality bioassay has been also carried out. The LC₅₀ values of the ligands and complexes have been found in range of 56.49–120.22 μg/mL and 6.71–11.96 μg/mL, respectively.     

EPR and Spectrophotometric Studies of Free Radicals (O2°−, °OH, BPD-MA°−) and Singlet Oxygen (1O2) Generated by Irradiation of Benzoporphyrin Derivative Monoacid Ring A

Abstract— Benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A (BPD-MA), a chlorin-type molecule, is a new photosensitizer currently in phase II clinical trials for the treatment by pho-todynamic therapy of cancerous lesions, psoriasis and pathologic neovascularization. The photochemistry (type I and/or II) of BPD-MA has been studied in homogeneous solution and in aqueous dispersions of unilamellar liposomes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) using electron paramagnetic resonance and spectrophotometric methods. When oxygen-saturated solutions of BPD-MA were illuminated with 690 nm light, singlet oxygen (¹O₂), superoxide anion radical (O₂^?), hydroxyl radical (OH) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) were formed. The BPD-MA generates ¹O₂ with a quantum yield of ca 0.81 in ethanolic solution. The quantum yield does not change upon incorporation of BPD-MA into liposomes of DPPC. The superoxide anion radical was generated by the BPD-MA anion radical (BPD-MA^?) via electron transfer to oxygen, and this process was significantly enhanced by the presence of electron donors. The rate of production of 0₂ was also dependent on the concentration of BPD-MA used (3-100 μM). The quantum yield of O₂^?was found to be 0.011 and 0.025 in aqueous solution and DPPC liposomes, respectively. Moreover, O₂^_upon dis-proportionation can generate H₂O₂ and ultimately the highly reactive OH via the Fenton reaction. In anaerobic homogeneous solution, BPD-MA^?was predominantly photoproduced via the self-electron transfer between the excited- and ground-state species. The presence of an electron donor significantly promotes the reduced form of BPD-MA. These findings suggest that the photodynamic action of BPD-MA may proceed via both type I and type II mechanisms.     

Quantification of methyllycaconitine,selective α7 nicotinic receptor antagonist,in rodent plasma and brain tissue by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry – application to neuropharmacokinetics of methyllycaconitine in rats

A sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatography–positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of methyllycaconitine (MLA) in rat plasma and brain tissue. Following acetonitrile protein precipitation, the analyte was separated using a gradient mobile phase on a reversed‐phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H]⁺ ions, m/z 683–216 for MLA and m/z 260–116 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.5–250 ng/mL for MLA in rat plasma and brain tissue. The lower limit of quantification was 0.5 ng/mL. Acceptable precision (<12%) and accuracy (100 ± 6%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The method was successfully applied to quantify MLA concentrations in a rodent pharmacokinetic and brain penetration study. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of Sulfur Compounds in Water Samples by Ion Chromatography Dynamic Reaction Cell Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

An ion chromatography‐inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (IC‐ICP‐MS) method for the speciation of sulfur compounds, namely sulfite [SO₃^2?], sulfate [SO₄^2?] and thiosulfate [S₂O₃^2?], was described. Ionic sulfur compounds were well separated in about 3 min by ion chromatography with a Hamilton PRP‐X100 column as the stationary phase and 60 mmol L^?1 NH₄NO₃ and 0.1% v/v formaldehyde (HCHO) solution (pH = 7) as the mobile phase. The analyses were carried out using dynamic reaction cell (DRC) ICP‐MS. The sulfur‐selective chromatogram was determined at m/z 48 as ³²S¹⁶O⁺ by using its reaction with O₂ in the reaction cell. The method avoided the effect of polyatomic isobaric interferences at m/z 32 caused by ¹⁶O¹⁶O⁺ and ¹⁴N¹⁸O⁺ on ³²S⁺ by detecting ³²S⁺ as the oxide ion ³²S¹⁶O⁺ at m/z 48, which is less interfered. The detection limit of various species studied was in the range of 3.6–4.6 ng S mL^?1. The accuracy of the method has been verified by comparing the sum of the concentrations of individual sulfur compounds obtained by the present procedure with the total concentration of sulfur in several natural water samples. The recovery was in the range of 97–102% for various compounds studied.     

Quantification of heteroclitin D in rat plasma: validation of an LC/MS/MS method and its application in a preclinical pharmacokinetic study

A rapid, sensitive and specific liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of heteroclitin D in rat plasma after using gambogic acid as internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was done on a Thermo Hypersil GOLD column (30 × 2.1 mm, 3 µm) using a mobile phase consisting of methanol–water–formic acid (80:20:0.1, v/v/v). The mass spectrometer worked with positive electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode, using target ions at [M + H]⁺ m/z 483.3 for heteroclitin D and [M + H]⁺ m/z 629.3 for the IS. The standard curve was linear (R² ≥0.995) over the concentration range 9.98–2080 ng/mL and had good back‐calculated accuracy and precision. The intra‐ and interday precision and accuracy determined on three quality control samples (29.94, 166.4 and 1872 ng/mL) were ≤12.8 and –8.9–3.6%, respectively. The extraction recovery was ≥88.2% and the lower limit of quantification was 9.98 ng/mL. The method was successfully applied to evaluate pharmacokinetics of heteroclitin D in Sprague–Dawley rats following a single intravenous bolus injection of 2.0 mg/kg heteroclitin. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination and pharmacokinetic study of gambogic acid and gambogenic acid in rat plasma after oral administration of Garcinia hanburyi extracts by LC‐MS/MS

Gambogic acid and gambogenic acid are two major bioactive components of Garcinia hanburyi, and play a pivotal role in biologic activity. In this study, a specific and sensitive liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of gambogic acid and gambogenic acid in rat plasma. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C₁₈ column using an isocratic elution with methanol–10 m m ammonium acetate buffer–acetic acid (90:10:0.1, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. The detection was performed on a triple–quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer equipped with electrospray positive ionization using multiple reaction monitoring modes. The transitions monitored were m/z 629.3 [M + H]⁺ → 573.2 for gambogic acid, m/z 631.2 [M + H]⁺ → 507.2 for gambogenic acid and m/z 444.2 [M + NH₄]⁺ → 83.1 for IS. Linear calibration curves were obtained in the concentration range of 2.00–1000 ng/mL for gambogic acid and 0.500–250 ng/mL for gambogenic acid. The lower limits of quantification of gambogic acid and gambogenic acid in rat plasma were 2.00 and 0.500 ng/mL, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision (RSD) values were <11.7% and accuracy (RE) was ?10.6–12.4% at three QC levels for both analytes. The assay was successfully applied to evaluate pharmacokinetics behavior in rats after oral administration of Garcinia hanburyi extracts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous quantification of cilostazol and its primary metabolite 3,4-dehydrocilostazol in human plasma by rapid liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, rapid, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of cilostazol and its primary metabolite 3,4-dehydrocilostazol in human plasma using mosapride as an internal standard. The method involves a simple one-step liquid-liquid extraction with a diethyl ether and dichloromethane mixture (7:3). The analytes were chromatographed using an isocratic mobile phase on a reversed-phase C₁₈ column and analyzed by mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M+H]⁺ ions, m/z 370/288 for cilostazol, m/z 368/286 for 3,4-dehydrocilostazol and m/z 422/198 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 5–2,000 ng/mL for cilostazol and 5–400 ng/mL for 3,4-dehydrocilostazol in human plasma. The lower limit of quantitation was 5 ng/mL for both cilostazol and its metabolite. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve ranges. A run time of 2.5 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 400 human plasma samples per day. The validated method has been successfully used to analyze human plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetics, bioavailability or bioequivalence studies.      

Validated UPLC‐MS/MS method for determination of moclobemide in human brain cell supernatant and its application to bidirectional transport study

A simple and sensitive analytical method based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) has been developed for determination of moclobemide in human brain cell monolayer as an in vitro model of blood–brain barrier. Brucine was employed as the internal standard. Moclobemide and internal standard were extracted from cell supernatant by ethyl acetate after alkalinizing with sodium hydroxide. The UPLC separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC^TM BEH C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm, Waters, USA) with a mobile phase consisting of methanol–water (29.5:70.5, v/v); the water in the mobile phase contained 0.05% ammonium acetate and 0.1% formic acid. Detection of the analytes was achieved using positive ion electrospray via multiple reaction monitoring mode. The mass transitions were m/z 269.16 → 182.01 for moclobemide and m/z 395.24 → 324.15 for brucine. The extraction recovery was 83.0–83.4% and the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 1.0 ng/mL for moclobemide. The method was validated from LLOQ to 1980 ng/mL with a coefficient of determination greater than 0.999. Intra‐ and inter‐day accuracies of the method at three concentrations ranged from 89.1 to 100.9% for moclobemide with precision of 1.1–9.6%. This validated method was successfully applied to bidirectional transport study of moclobemide blood–brain barrier permeability. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of a sensitive and specific LC‐MS/MS method for determination of wilforine from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F. in rat plasma for a bioavailability study

A highly selective and specific LC‐MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of wilforine in rat plasma. The analyte was separated from plasma matrix by using methyl tertiary butyl ether liquid–liquid extraction with bulleyacinitine A as internal standard (IS). The analysis was carried out on a Sepax GP‐Phenyl column using a mixture of methanol and 10 mmol/L ammonium formate buffer solution containing 0.1% formic acid (75:25, v/v) as the mobile phase pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection was operated using a triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple selected reaction monitoring with the parent‐to‐product quantifier transitions [M + H]⁺ m/z 867.6 →206.0 for wilforine and 664.1 →584.1 for IS. The main advantage of this method was the high sensitivity (a lower limit of quantification of 0.02 ng/mL) and the small amount of sample (0.1 mL plasma per sample). The method was fully validated to be accurate and precise with a linear range of 0.02–100 ng/mL, and successfully applied to a bioavailability study of wilforine in rats after intravenous and oral administration. The oral absolute bioavailability of wilforine in rats was estimated to be 84%. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microwave‐assisted three‐component synthesis and in vitro antifungal evaluation of 6‐cyano‐5,8‐dihydropyrido[2,3‐d]pyrimidin‐4(3H)‐ones

The reaction of 6‐aminopyrimidin‐4‐ones 1 with benzaldehydes 2 and β‐aminocrotononitrile 3 or benzoylacetonitrile 4 under microwave irradiation in dry media yields the 6‐cyano‐5,8‐dihydropyrido[2,3‐d]‐pyrimidinones 5a‐t . The structure of the synthesized compounds was determined on the basis of nmr measurements, especially by ¹H,¹H?, ¹H,¹³C COSY, DEPT and NOESY experiments. In contrast with other pyrido‐[2,3‐d]pyrimidine derivatives, these compounds did not show any antifungal in vitro activity up to 250 μg/mL.     

Synthesis and Cytotoxicity of Some Thieno[2,3‐d]pyrimidine Derivatives

A series of compounds 5‐amino‐2‐ethylmercapto‐4‐phenyl‐6‐subistitutedthieno[2,3‐d]pyrimidines ( 8a–d ), 4‐chloro‐7‐ethylmercapto‐9‐phenylpyrimido[5′,4′:4,5]thieno[3,2‐d]triazine ( 9 ), and 2‐ethylmercapto‐8‐oxo‐4‐phenyl‐7‐(4‐chlorophenyl)pyrimido [4′,5′:4,5]thieno[2,3‐d]pyrimidine ( 10 ) were synthesized and their structures were confirmed by ¹H NMR , ¹³C NMR, and MS . All compounds were evaluated for their IC₅₀ values against three cancer cell lines (MCF ‐7, HUH ‐7 and BHK ) and WISH cells. The IC₅₀ of compound ( 8d ) was calculated for each cell line. Interestingly, the IC₅₀ for the normal human amnion WISH cell line was much higher (723 µg/mL) than those found for the tumor cell lines BHK (17 µg/mL), HUH ‐7 (5.8 µg/mL), and MCF ‐7 (8.3 µg/mL). The proliferation inhibition of normal (WISH ) and tumor (BHK , HUH ‐7, and MCF ‐7) cells by compound ( 8d ) was investigated using MTT assay, and the IC₅₀ was calculated after 48 h of treatment for each cell line.     

Metal‐based isatin‐bearing sulfonamides: their synthesis,characterization and biological properties

A new series of antibacterial and antifungal isatin bearing sulfonamides and their cobalt (II), copper (II), nickel (II) and zinc (II) metal complexes have been synthesized, characterized and screened for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigilla dysentriae and Staphylococcus aureus and for in vitro antifungal activity against Trichophyton schoenleinii, Candid glabrata, Pseudallescheria boydii, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Microsporum canis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The results of these studies revealed that all compounds showed moderate to significant antibacterial activity. The brine shrimp bioassay was also carried out to study their in vitro cytotoxic properties. Only three compounds, 2, 11 and 22 displayed potent cytotoxic activity as LD₅₀ = 1.56 × 10^?7, 1.59 × 10^?7 and 1.67 × 10^?7 M /ml respectively, against Artemia salina. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous voltammetric determination of Mo(VI) and W(VI) by adsorptive differential pulse stripping method using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system

An adsorptive differential pulse stripping method is proposed for the simultaneous determination of molybdenum and tungsten based on the formation of their complexes with a novel proton transfer compound, [phenH]⁺[pyzdc]^?, containing both pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline. The optimum experimental conditions were obtained using 0.052 mM [phenH]⁺[pyzdc]^? ligand, pH 3.3, accumulation potential of ?0.1 V versus Ag/AgCl, accumulation time of 60 s and scan rate of 33.3 mV/s. An adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was utilized for the analysis of the voltammogram data. The detection limits were 4.0 ng/mL for Mo(VI) and 3.0 ng/mL for W(VI). The influence of potential interfering ions on the determination of molybdenum and tungsten was studied. The procedure was applied to the simultaneous determination of molybdenum and tungsten in some water samples.     

Quantification of urapidil, α-1-adrenoreceptor antagonist, in plasma by LC-MS/MS: validation and application to pharmacokinetic studies

A sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatography–positive ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of urapidil in plasma. Following liquid–liquid extraction, the analyte was separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reverse‐phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M + H]⁺ ions, m/z 388 to 205 for urapidil and m/z 452 to 344 for the internal standard. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.1–500 ng/mL for urapidil in plasma. Acceptable precision (<7%) and accuracy (100 ± 8%) were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The method was successfully applied to quantify urapidil concentrations in a preclinical pharmacokinetic study after a single oral administration of urapidil at 3 mg/kg to rats. Following oral administration the maximum mean concentration in plasma (C_max; 616 ± 73 ng/mL) was achieved at 0.5 h (T_max) and area under curve (AUC_0–24) was 1841 ± 308 ng h/mL. The half‐life (t_1/2) and clearance (Cl) were 2.47 ± 0.4 h and 1660 ± 276 mL/h/kg, respectively. Moreover, it is plausible that the assay method in rat plasma would facilitate the adaptability of urapidil quantification in human plasma for clinical trials. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.