Utility of 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p-benzoquinone in assay of codeine, emetine and pilocarpine

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the assay of codeine, emetine and pilocarpine is described, based on the interaction of these drugs (as n-electron donors) with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p-benzoquinone (as pi -acceptor) to give a highly coloured radical anion which exhibits maximum absorption at 460 nm. Formation of the radical anion has been established by electron spin resonance measurements. Beer's law is obeyed for the alkaloids investigated. The assay results are in accord with pharmacopoeial assay results. The procedure is sufficiently sensitive to permit unit dose assay of the individual alkaloids in pharmaceutical formulations.     

Use of p-chloranilic acid for the colorimetric determination of some antimalarials

A simple and sensitive colorimetric method for the assay of quinine sulphate, primaquine diphosphate, amodiaquine hydrochloride and pyrimethamine is described. The method is based on the interaction of the drugs and p-chloranilic acid to give a stable product with an intense colour which can be used for the determination of these antimalarials in their pharmaceutical preparations.     

Changes in Whey Proteome between Mediterranean and Murrah Buffalo Colostrum and Mature Milk Reflect Their Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Value

Milk represents an integrated meal for newborns; its whey protein is rich in many health beneficial components and proteins. The current study aimed to investigate the differences between colostrum and mature milk from Mediterranean and Murrah buffaloes using labeled proteomics and bioinformatics tools. In the current work, LC-MS/MS analysis led to identification of 780 proteins from which 638 were shared among three independent TMT experiments. The significantly changed proteins between the studied types were analyzed using gene ontology enrichment and KEGG pathways, and their interactions were generated using STRING database. Results indicated that immunological, muscular development and function, blood coagulation, heme related, neuronal, translation, metabolic process, and binding proteins were the main terms. Overall, colostrum showed higher levels of immunoglobulins, myosins, actin, neurofascin, syntaxins, thyroglobulins, and RNA-binding proteins, reflecting its importance in the development and activity of immunological, muscular, cardiac, neuronal, and thyroid systems, while lactoferrin and ferritin were increased in mature milk, highlighting its role in iron storage and hemoglobin formation.     

A Hybrid Deep Learning Model for Brain Tumour Classification

A brain tumour is one of the major reasons for death in humans, and it is the tenth most common type of tumour that affects people of all ages. However, if detected early, it is one of the most treatable types of tumours. Brain tumours are classified using biopsy, which is not usually performed before definitive brain surgery. An image classification technique for tumour diseases is important for accelerating the treatment process and avoiding surgery and errors from manual diagnosis by radiologists. The advancement of technology and machine learning (ML) can assist radiologists in tumour diagnostics using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images without invasive procedures. This work introduced a new hybrid CNN-based architecture to classify three brain tumour types through MRI images. The method suggested in this paper uses hybrid deep learning classification based on CNN with two methods. The first method combines a pre-trained Google-Net model of the CNN algorithm for feature extraction with SVM for pattern classification. The second method integrates a finely tuned Google-Net with a soft-max classifier. The proposed approach was evaluated using MRI brain images that contain a total of 1426 glioma images, 708 meningioma images, 930 pituitary tumour images, and 396 normal brain images. The reported results showed that an accuracy of 93.1% was achieved from the finely tuned Google-Net model. However, the synergy of Google-Net as a feature extractor with an SVM classifier improved recognition accuracy to 98.1%.     

Determination of Aflatoxins in Plant-based Milk and Dairy Products by Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction and High-performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection

The consumption of plant-based milk has increased due to their nutritional attributes. However, these products may contain aflatoxins if contaminated raw materials were used, although little concern is present in international regulation regarding this topic. In this work, dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) was used for the determination of the most important aflatoxins (B₁, B₂, G₁, and G₂) in oat, rice, coconut, almond, and birdseed plant-based milk and milk-based products enriched with oats, almonds, and walnuts using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photochemical derivatization and fluorescence detection. Calibrations in matrix were performed for all of the samples, obtaining satisfactory linearity, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.994 for all of the aflatoxins. The precision in terms of repeatability and intermediate precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation, was lower than 9.7%, and recoveries ranged between 82 and 104%, fulfilling current legislation for the determination of aflatoxins. In addition, the limits of quantification were 0.5?µg?L^?1 for the aflatoxins, allowing the determination of these compounds below the maximum levels established by European Commission in these commodities. Finally, 23 commercial products were analyzed to characterize the presence of these toxins.     

Adriblastina-single stranded DNA interaction with statistical analysis

The electrochemical behavior of adriblastina has been studied at in situ mercury film electrode (in situ MFE) and platinum electrode (PtE) in the presence of phosphoric acid as supporting electrolyte using Osteryoung square-wave stripping voltammetry (OSWSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Optimal experimental and operational parameters have been selected for the drug accumulation and determination in aqueous medium. The interaction of the drug with single stranded DNA (ssDNA) has been studied and validated by using classical least square and partial least square with propagation of error. The formal potentials E° and E°′ and the equilibrium constants K₁ and K₂ have been calculated. It was found that K₂ for the oxidized form of adriblastina is 63 times than K₁ for the reduced form. Among several possible interfering metal ions, a complex formation reaction was observed between adriblastina and Cu(II) ions at in situ MFE. Cu(II) ions formed 1:2 metal:drug complex which is more stable than ssDNA–drug interaction and consequently it inhibits drug biochemical damage effects. The copper complex offers sub-nanograms determination of adriblastina in that 5.80 and 180 pg/ml could be easily detected in aqueous and urine media, respectively, with R.S.D. less than 4%. F-test and t-test have been applied in urine media giving good results that indicated the high accuracy of the proposed method.