A validated chiral LC method for the enantiomeric separation of AT13148 on polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phase

A sensitive and accurate LC method for the determination of AT13148 enantiomeric purity has been developed and validated. Baseline separation with a resolution higher than 1.8 was accomplished within 15 min using a Chiralpak AD-H column (250 × 4.6 mm; particle size 5 μm) and n-hexane: 2-propanol: diethylamine (85:15:0.1, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. Eluted analytes were monitored by UV absorption at 254 nm. The effects of mobile phase components, temperature and flow rate on enantiomeric selectivity and resolution of enantiomers were investigated. Calibration curves were plotted within the concentration range between 7 and 500 μg mL^?1 (n = 11), and the recoveries between 98.24 and 100.99% were obtained, with relative standard deviation lower than 1.32%. LOD and LOQ for AT13148 were 2.46 and 7.38 μg mL^?1 and for its enantiomer were 2.54 and 7.49 μg mL^?1, respectively. It was demonstrated that the developed method was accurate, robust and sensitive for the determination of enantiomeric purity of AT13148, especially for the analysis of bulk samples.     

Determination of Enantiomeric Purity of GSK962040 Based on Liquid Chromatography Using Chiral Stationary Phase Combined with a Pre-column Derivatization Procedure

A sensitive and accurate LC method was developed and further validated for the determination of enantiomeric purity of GSK962040. Before separation, a pre-column derivatization procedure was performed. Baseline separation with a resolution higher than 1.9 was accomplished within 15 min using a Chiralpak AD-H (250 × 4.6 mm; particle size 5 μm) column, with n-hexane: 2-propanol (85:15 v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. The eluted analytes were subsequently detected with a UV detector at 260 nm. The effects of mobile phase components and temperature on enantiomeric selectivity as well as resolution of enantiomers were thoroughly investigated. The calibration curves were plotted within the concentration range between 4 and 200 μg mL^?1 (n = 8), and recoveries between 98.15 and 101.48% were obtained, with relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 1.42%. The LOD and LOQ for the Boc-GSK962040 were 1.23 and 4.15 μg mL^?1 and for its enantiomer were 1.38 and 4.76 μg mL^?1, respectively. The developed method was also evaluated and validated by analyzing bulk samples with different enantiomeric ratios of GSK962040. It was demonstrated that the method was accurate, robust and sensitive, and also had practical utilities for real analysis.     

Synthesis,antifungal and insecticidal activity of novel [1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis>]pyridine derivatives containing a sulfide substructure

A series of [1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyridine derivatives bearing a sulfide substructure was designed, synthesized and characterized via ¹H·NMR, ¹³C·NMR, IR and elemental analyses. Bioassay Results indicated some of the derivatives displayed good fungicidal activity on Rhizoctonia cerealis, moderated insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella and good insecticidal activity on Helicoverpa armigera. The inhibitory effects of compounds 4g and 4u against Rhizotonia cerealis were 70.9% at 50 μg mL^?1; the IC₅₀ values of compounds 4d and 4s against Plutella xylostella were 43.87 and 50.75 μg mL^?1, respectively. And the IC₅₀ values of compounds 4d, 4q, and 4s on Helicoverpa armigera were 58.3, 77.14 and 65.31 μg mL^?1, respectively, which were better than that of commercial chlorpyrifos (103.77 μg mL^?1).     

Simultaneous Determination of Paracetamol and Caffeine in Human Plasma by LC–ESI–MS

A rapid, selective and convenient liquid chromatography–mass spectrometric method for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol and caffeine in human plasma was developed and validated. Analytes and theophylline [internal standard (I.S.)] were extracted from plasma samples with diethyl ether-dichloromethane (3:2, v/v) and separated on a C₁₈ column (150 × 4.6 mm ID, 5 μm particle size, 100 Å pore size). The mobile phase consisted of 0.2% formic acid–methanol (60:40, v/v). The assay was linear in the concentration range between 0.05 and 25 μg mL^?1 for paracetamol and 10–5,000 ng mL^?1 for caffeine, with the lower limit of quantification of 0.05 μg mL^?1 and 10 ng mL^?1, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision for both drugs was less than 8.1%, and the accuracy was within ±6.5%. The single chromatographic analysis of plasma samples was achieved within 4.5 min. This validated method was successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol and caffeine in human plasma.     

Highly Efficient Deracemization of Racemic 2-Hydroxy Acids in a Three-Enzyme Co-Expression System Using a Novel Ketoacid Reductase

Enantiopure 2-hydroxy acids (2-HAs) are important intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Deracemization of racemic 2-HAs into the corresponding single enantiomers represents an economical and highly efficient approach for synthesizing chiral 2-HAs in industry. In this work, a novel ketoacid reductase from Leuconostoc lactis (LlKAR) with higher activity and substrate tolerance towards aromatic α-ketoacids was discovered by genome mining, and then its enzymatic properties were characterized. Accordingly, an engineered Escherichia coli (HADH-LlKAR-GDH) co-expressing 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase, LlKAR, and glucose dehydrogenase was constructed for efficient deracemization of racemic 2-HAs. Most of the racemic 2-HAs were deracemized to their (R)-isomers at high yields and enantiomeric purity. In the case of racemic 2-chloromandelic acid, as much as 300 mM of substrate was completely transformed into the optically pure (R)-2-chloromandelic acid (>?99% enantiomeric excess) with a high productivity of 83.8 g L^?1 day^?1 without addition of exogenous cofactor, which make this novel whole-cell biocatalyst more promising and competitive in practical application.     

Development and Validation of Stability-Indicating UPLC Method for 9-Desmethyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">α</Emphasis>-dihydrotetrabenazine

A stability-indicating UPLC method was developed for quantitative determination of 9-desmethyl-α-dihydrotetrabenazine (9-DM-α-DTBZ), the precursor for preparing a widely used vesicular monoamine transporter 2 imaging agent ¹¹C-α-DTBZ. Compound 9-DM-α-DTBZ was subjected to various stress conditions consisting of acidic, alkaline, oxidative, thermal and photolytic forced degradation. The decomposition of 9-DM-α-DTBZ was observed under oxidative condition, whereas no obvious degradation was shown under the other stress conditions. For chromatographic separation of 9-DM-α-DTBZ and its degradation products, an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) and a mobile phase of 20:80 (v/v) methanol/ammonium acetate buffer (pH 4.5, 10 mM) were used. Quantitative determination of 9-DM-α-DTBZ was performed using a PDA detector at a flow rate of 0.30 mL min^?1. UPLC–MS analysis was further utilized to characterize the two degradation products. The proposed method was fully validated as per USP guidelines with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ). The linear regression analysis showed a good linear relationship (r ²  = 0.9995) in the concentration range of 0.001–1.00 mg mL^?1 (n = 6). The assay method was found to have good precision (1.14–1.35% RSD) and recovery (98.91–101.23%). Additionally, the LOD and LOQ of 9-DM-α-DTBZ were 0.30 and 1.00 μg mL^?1, respectively. These results indicated that the present method could be used to evaluate the quality of regular production samples and also used in stability assays.     

Characterization of Truncated <Emphasis Type="Italic">dsz</Emphasis> Operon Responsible for Dibenzothiophene Biodesulfurization in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodococcus</Emphasis> sp. FUM94

Numerous desulfurizing bacteria from the Rhodococcus genus harbor conserved dsz genes responsible for the degradation of sulfur compounds through 4S pathway. This study describes a newly identified desulfurizing bacterium, Rhodococcus sp. FUM94, which unlike previously identified strains encodes a truncated dsz operon. DNA sequencing revealed a frameshift mutation in the dszA gene, which led to an alteration of 66 amino acids and deletion of other C-terminal 66 amino acids. The resulting DszA polypeptide was shorter than DszA in Rhodococcus sp. IGTS8 reference strain. Despite the truncation, desulfurizing activity of the operon was observed and attributed to the removal of an overlap of dszA and dszB genes, and lack of active site in the altered region. Desulfurization experiments resulted in specific production rate of 6.3 mmol 2-hydroxy biphenyl (kgDCW)^?1 h^?1 at 2 g l^?1 biocatalyst concentration and 68.8% biodesulfurization yield at 20 g l^?1 biocatalyst concentration, both at 271 μM dibenzothiophene concentration which is comparable to similar wild-type biocatalysts.     

Determination of migrated phthalic acid residues into edible oils using a green mode of air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector

In this study, for the first time, an organic solvent-free air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method has been reported for the extraction and preconcentration of phthalic acids (o-phthalic acid, m-phthalic acid, and p-phthalic acid) from edible oil samples. The method is based on the repeated aspirating/injection of an alkaline aqueous solution and the oil sample mixture in a conical bottom centrifuge tube to form a cloudy solution. After phase separation by centrifuging, the sedimented phase is directly analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed low limits of detection and quantification between 0.11–0.29 and 0.28–0.91 ng mL^?1, respectively. Extraction recoveries and enrichment factors were from 81 to 97% and 406 to 489, respectively. The relative standard deviations for the analysis of 5 ng mL^?1 of each analyte were less than 5.9% for intraday (n = 6) and interday (n = 5) precisions. Finally, different oil samples were successfully analyzed using the proposed method and m-phthalic acid, and p-phthalic acid were determined in some of them at ng mL^?1 level.     

Growth of Cyanobacteria: Optimization for Increased Carbohydrate Content

Growths of Lyngbya limnetica and Oscillatoria obscura were investigated at varying pH, light intensity, temperature, and trace element concentration with a view to optimize these parameters for obtaining the maximum carbohydrate content. The maximum growth for both strains was obtained at pH 9.0 and temperature 20 ± 3 °C using a light intensity of 68.0 μmol m^?2 s^?1 with continuous shaking. Growth under the nitrogen starvation condition affected the carbohydrate content more compared to the phosphorus starvation, and maximum concentrations were found as 0.660 and 0.621 g/g of dry biomass for L. limnetica and O. obscura, respectively. Under the optimized nitrogen-rich conditions, the specific growth rates for the two strains were found to be 0.187 and 0.215 day^?1, respectively. The two-stage growth studies under nitrogen-rich (stage I) followed by nitrogen starvation (stage II) conditions were performed, and maximum biomass and carbohydrate productivity were found as 0.088 and 0.423 g L^?1 day^?1 for L. limnetica. This is the first ever attempt to evaluate and optimize various parameters affecting the growth of cyanobacterial biomass of L. limnetica and O. obscura as well as their carbohydrate contents.     

An Improved and Validated LC Method for Resolution of Panthenol

An improved LC method was developed and validated for determination of enantiomeric purity of panthenol in bulk drugs. The method is based on derivatization of panthenol with 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride. Baseline separation with resolution >2.7 was achieved within 20 min on Kromasil CHI-DMB (250 × 4.6 mm) column using n-hexane:ethanol (95:5 v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1. The analytes were detected by their UV absorbance at 265 nm. The effects of ethanol, 2-propanol and temperature on enantioselectivity and resolution of enantiomers were evaluated. The method was extensively validated and proved to be robust. The recoveries were between 98.3 and 101.4% with <1.6% relative standard deviation. The regression equations for the derivatives of d-panthenol and l-panthenol were y ₁ = 18.01x ₁ ? 32.56 (r ₁ ²  = 0.9984) and y ₂ = 17.855x ₂ ? 28.16 (r ₂ ²  = 0.9990), respectively. The LOD and LOQ for the derivative of d-panthenol were 10.6 and 37.4 μg mL^?1 and for the derivative of l-panthenol were 12.1 and 40 μg mL^?1, respectively. The improved method was found to be simple, rapid, and sensitive for the determination of enantiomeric purity of panthenol in bulk drugs.     

Production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-Mandelic Acid Using Nitrilase from Recombinant <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis> Cells Immobilized with Tris(Hydroxymethyl)Phosphine

Recombinant Escherichia coli cells harboring nitrilase from Alcaligenes faecalis were immobilized using tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine (THP) as the coupling agent. The optimal pH and temperature of the THP-immobilized cells were determined at pH 8.0 and 55 °C. The half-lives of THP-immobilized cells measured at 35, 40, and 50 °C were 1800, 965, and 163 h, respectively. The concentration of R-mandelic acid (R-MA) reached 358 mM after merely 1-h conversion by the immobilized cells with 500 mM R,S-mandelonitrile (R,S-MN), affording the highest productivity of 1307 g L^?1 day^?1 and the space-time productivity of 143.2 mmol L^?1 h^?1 g^?1. The immobilized cells with granular shape were successfully recycled for 60 batches using 100 mM R,S-MN as substrate at 40 °C with 64% of relative activity, suggesting that the immobilized E. coli cells obtained in this study are promising for the production of R-MA.     

Screening of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Isochrysis</Emphasis> Strains and Utilization of a Two-Stage Outdoor Cultivation Strategy for Algal Biomass and Lipid Production

Isochrysis is a genus of marine algae without cell wall and capable of accumulating lipids. In this study, the lipid production potential of Isochrysis was assessed by comparing 15 Isochrysis strains with respect to their growth rate, lipid production, and fatty acid profiles. Three best strains were selected (lipid productivity, 103.0~121.7 mg L^?1 day^?1) and their lipid-producing capacities were further examined under different controlled parameters, e.g., growth phase, medium nutrient, and light intensity in laboratory cultures. Furthermore, the three Isochrysis strains were monitored in outdoor panel photobioreactors with various initial cell densities and optical paths, and the strain CS177 demonstrated the superior potential for outdoor cultivation. A two-stage semi-continuous strategy for CS177 was subsequently developed, where high productivities of biomass (1.1 g L^?1 day^?1) and lipid (0.35 g L^?1 day^?1) were achieved. This is a comprehensive study to evaluate the lipid-producing capability of Isochrysis strains under both indoor and outdoor conditions. Results of the present work lay a solid foundation for the physiological and biochemical responses of Isochrysis to various conditions, shedding light on the future utilization of this cell wall-lacking marine alga for biofuel production.     

A Weak Cation-Exchange Monolithic SPE Column for Extraction and Analysis of Caffeine and Theophylline in Human Urine

A weak cation-exchange monolithic column has been prepared in stainless steel tubing and used as the solid-phase extraction material in quantitative analysis of caffeine and theophylline in urine. Column switching, with water as mobile phase, was used for on-line cleaning and screening of human urine samples. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was then performed on a C₁₈ column with methanol–water 30:70 (v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.5 mL min^?1. Ultraviolet detection was performed at 274 nm. Good linear relationships were obtained between response and concentrations of caffeine and theophylline in the range 0.1–50 μg mL^?1. Absolute recovery ranged from 77.4 to 82.3% and inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviations were less than 5%. The method was suitable for analysis of caffeine and theophylline in human urine, because it eliminated tedious pretreatment and enabled rapid, economic, repeatable, and effective assay of traces of the drugs in biological samples.     

Facile synthesis of 5A zeolite from attapulgite clay for adsorption of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-paraffins

5A zeolites were facilely synthesized from attapulgite clay and sodium aluminate precursors. The optimum synthesis condition for 4A zeolite (Na-form) were H₂O/attapulgite ratio of 40:1 volume/mass, NaOH/attapulgite mass ratio of 2.35:1, the crystallization time was 4 h at 80–85 °C. The 4A zeolite was converted to related 5A zeolite (Ca-form) through ionic exchanges using calcium chloride solution with the Si/Al mole ratio of 1.3. SEM images demonstrated that as-synthesized 5A zeolites are ordered cubic crystals, average crystals length dimension is 1–2 μm. And the zeolites product had a specific surface area of 482 m² g^?1 and total pore volume of 0.274 cm³ g^?1. The static adsorption experiments showed that the equilibrium adsorption capacities of n-decane and n-pentadecane on produced 5A zeolite were 0.253 and 0.510 g g^?1, respectively. And the adsorption equilibrium time of n-decane and n-pentadecane on 5A zeolite were 45 and 60 min, respectively. The experimental adsorption data of n-decane and n-pentadecane on three zeolites could be properly fitted by the Langmuir–Freundlich isotherm model.     

Growth Parameters,Photosynthetic Performance,and Biochemical Characterization of Newly Isolated Green Microalgae in Response to Culture Condition Variations

This work aimed to characterize two native microalgal strains newly isolated from South Mediterranean areas and identified as Chlorella sorokiniana ES3 and Neochloris sp. AM2. The growth properties and biochemical composition of these microalgae were evaluated in different culture media (Algal, BG-11, f/2, and Conway). Among the tested media, nitrate- and phosphate-rich Algal medium provided the maximum biomass productivities (85.5 and 111.5 mg l^?1 day^?1 for C. sorokiniana and Neochloris sp., respectively), while the nitrate- and phosphate-deficient f/2 medium resulted in the highest lipid productivities (24.1 and 35.8 mg l^?1 day^?1 for C. sorokiniana and Neochloris sp., respectively). The physiological state of both microalgae was investigated under different light and temperature levels using the pulse amplitude-modulated fluorometry. The better photosynthetic efficiency of C. sorokiniana was obtained at 23 °C with a light saturation of 156 μE m^?2 s^?1, while that of Neochloris sp. was achieved at 15 °C with a light saturation of 151 μE m^?2 s^?1. The analysis of fatty acid profile and biodiesel parameters revealed that C. sorokiniana, cultivated in Algal and f/2 media, can be considered as a suitable candidate for high-quality biodiesel production.     

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of thiamine and pyridoxine in multivitamin dosage forms using H-point standard addition and Vierodt᾿s methods

Two simple, reliable and accurate spectrophotometric methods were described for the simultaneous determination of thiamine hydrochloride (THC) and pyridoxine hydrochloride (PYH) in pharmaceutical formulation without any pre-separation procedures. These methods are based on the difference in the color observed from diazotization coupling methods of THC and PYH. When the diazonium salts formed from the reaction of HNO₂ with p-nitroaniline (PNA), they were coupled with THC and PYH in sodium hydroxide medium and the formed dyes had maximum absorption bands at 452 nm for THC and 482 nm for PYH. All experimental parameters were optimized to reduce experimental error. The first method was based on the Vierodt?s method, in which the two wavelengths 452 and 482 nm λ_max of THC and PYH, respectively, were selected for the formation of simultaneous equation. In the second method the H-point standard addition method (HPSAM) was applied, when absorbances at wavelengths pair, 452 and 500 nm, were monitored with the addition of a standard solution of THC to a solution containing a fixed concentration of THC and PYH. The results from applying Vierodt?s and HPSA methods showed that THC and PYH can be determined simultaneously in the concentration range 1.5–11.0 μg mL^?1 (LOD?=?0.48 μg mL^?1) and 0.4–5.0 μg mL^?1 (LOD?=?0.23 μg mL^?1), respectively. The methods were successfully applied for simultaneous determination of THC and PYH in different synthetic and pharmaceutical products. To assess the obtained vitamins (THC and PYH) analysis by both methods (Vierodt?s and HPSAM) in the several pharmaceutical formulations, the results are compared with that obtained by HPLC method as a reference, and good agreements between the results indicate the reliability of the proposed methods.     

UPLC-PDA Analysis for Simultaneous Quantification of Four Active Compounds in Crude and Processed Rhizome of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb

A novel, rapid and specific ultra performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detection method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 2,3,5,4′-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-d-glucoside (TSG), emodin-8-O-β-d-glucoside (EMG), emodin (EM) and physcion (PS). The chromatographic separation was performed on an Acquity BEH C₁₈ column (100 × 2.1 mm i.d., 1.7 μm). The mobile phase was a mixture of 0.3% acetic acid–water and 0.3% acetic acid–acetonitrile employing gradient elution at the flow rate of 0.4 mL min^?1. The four compounds behaved linearly in the concentration range between 60.80–3040.00 μg mL^?1 (TSG), 0.50–25.00 μg mL^?1 (EMG), 2.16–108.00 μg mL^?1 (EM) and 1.56–78.00 μg mL^?1 (PS), respectively with correlation coefficients >0.999. The precision of the method were below 5% RSD. Recoveries of the four compounds ranged from 95.71 to 102.97%, with RSD values less than 2%.     

Evaluation of ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography columns for the analysis of unmodified and antisense oligonucleotides

Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography has been used for the separation and analysis of unmodified and modified antisense oligonucleotides. For this reason, we tested various columns of low particle sizes in our analysis of unmodified and phosphorothioate oligonucleotides. The influence of both the type and concentration of ion-pair reagent on the retention of the studied biomolecules was tested. The developed methods were used for separation of unmodified oligonucleotides and to determine antisense oligonucleotides in human serum samples. The results proved that octadecyl and phenyl columns are the most selective in the resolution of oligonucleotides which differ in the position of single nucleotides in the sequence. The phenyl column was selected and applied for the analysis of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides in serum samples. The calibration plots showed good linearity within the test concentration ranges. The intra-day CV of the calibration curve slopes was in the range of 1.6 to 4.2 %. The limits of detection (LODs) were in the range of 0.11–0.16 μg mL^?1, while the limit of quantification (LOQ) values were between 0.35 and 0.51 μg mL^?1. Figure

Determination of antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotides in serum