Development and validation of a high‐throughput and robust LC–MS/MS with electrospray ionization method for simultaneous quantitation of oseltamivir phosphate and its oseltamivir carboxylate metabolite in human plasma for pharmacokinetic studies

A rapid, sensitive and rugged solid‐phase extraction ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed for determination of oseltamivir phosphate (OP) and oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) in human plasma. The procedure for sample preparation includes a simple SPE extraction procedure coupled with a Chromatopack C₁₈ column (50 × 3.0 mm, i.d., 3.0 µm) with isocratic elution at a flow‐rate of 0.600 mL /min and acyclovir was used as the internal standard. The analysis was performed on a triple‐quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by multiple reaction monitoring mode via electrospray ionization. Using 500 µL plasma, the methods were validated over the concentration ranges 0.92–745.98 and 5.22–497.49 ng/mL for OP and OC, with a lower limit of quantification of 0.92and 5.22 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy of the quality control samples were within 10.1%. The recovery was 68.72, 70.66 and 71.59% for OP, OC and IS, respectively. Total run time was only 1.0 min. The method was highly reproducible with excellent chromatography properties. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DNA interaction,free radical scavenging and in‐vitro antibacterial activity of drug‐based copper(II) complexes

The Cu(II) complexes of type [Cu(cpf)(Aⁿ)Cl] (Aⁿ = terpyridines, cpf = ciprofloxacin) were synthesized and characterized using IR, mass and reflectance spectra. The free ligands and their complexes were evaluated for their in‐vitro antimicrobial activity against a panel of Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. The complexes exhibit better or equal inhibition in comparison to free fluoroquinolones. Binding interactions of the complexes with calf thymus (CT DNA) were investigated by absorption titration, viscosity studies and DNA melting temperature experiment. The cleavage reaction on pUC19 DNA was monitored by agarose gel electrophoresis. The lower concentration of the complexes was catalysed the dismutation of superoxide radical at biological pH, which indicates that the complexes can act as a possible model for superoxide dismutase. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Polymorphic Azobenzene Cage for Energy-Efficient and Highly Selective p-Xylene Separation

Developing the competence of molecular sorbents for energy-saving applications, such as C8 separations, requires efficient, stable, scalable, and easily recyclable materials that can readily transition to commercial implementation. Herein, we report an azobenzene-based cage for the selective separation of p-xylene isomer across a range of C8 isomers in both vapor and liquid states with selectivity that is higher than the reported all-organic sorbents. The crystal structure shows non-porous cages that are separated by p-xylene molecules through selective CH–π interactions between the azo bonds and the methyl hydrogen atoms of the xylene molecules. This cage is stable in solution and can be regenerated directly under vacuum to be used in multiple cycles. We envisage that this work will promote the investigation of the azo bond as well as guest-induced crystal-to-crystal phase transition in non-porous organic solids for energy-intensive separations.     

Spectroscopic and electrochemical study for evaluating DNA interaction activity of 4‐(3‐halophenyl)‐6‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)pyrimidin‐2‐amine based piano stool Cp* Rh (III) and Ir (III) complexes

Six novel organometallic half sandwich complexes [(η5‐C₅Me₅)M(L^1–3)Cl]Cl.2H₂O were synthesized using [{(η⁵‐C₅Me₅)M(μ‐Cl)Cl₂], where M = Ir (III)/Rh (III) and L^1–3 = three pyridyl pyrimidine based ligands; and characterized by NMR, Infra‐red spectroscopy, conductance, elemental and thermal analysis. The complex‐DNA binding mode and/or strength evaluated using absorption titration, electrochemical studies and hydrodynamic measurement proposed intercalative binding mode, which was also confirmed by molecular docking study. Differential pulse voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry studies indicated an alteration in oxidation and reduction potentials of complexes (M⁺⁴/M⁺³) in presence of CT‐DNA. The metal complexes can cleave plasmid DNA as proposed in gel electrophoretic analysis. The LC₅₀ values of complexes evaluated on brine shrimp suggested their potent cytotoxic nature.     

Chemoenzymatic asymmetric synthesis of harzia lactone A stereomers

A facile chemoenzymatic synthesis of the harzia lactone A enantiomers was developed. A lipase-catalyzed acylation and an enantio-controlled substrate and reagent-controlled Sharpless’ asymmetric dihydroxylation are the key features of the synthesis.     

One-Step Fabrication of Thermally Stable TiO(2)/SiO(2) Nanocomposite Microspheres by Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly

The evaporation-induced self-assembly of mixed colloids has been employed to synthesize microspheres of TiO(2)/SiO(2) nanocomposites. Small-angle neutron/X-ray scattering and scanning electron microscopy experiments reveal the hierarchical morphology of the microspheres. Although the internal structure of the microspheres, consisting of solely silica nanoparticles, gets significantly modified with time because of the reduction in the high specific surface area by internal coalescence, the same for the composite microspheres remains stable over an aging time of 1 year. Such temporal stability of the composite microspheres is attributed to the inhibition of coalescence of the silica nanoparticles in the presence of titania nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric results show the improved thermal stability of the composite grains against the anatase-to-rutile phase transition. Such thermal stability is attributed to the suppression of the growth of titania nanoparticles in the presence of silica nanoparticles. The UV-vis results indicate the confinement effect of the TiO(2) nanoparticles in the silica matrix. A plausible mechanism has been elucidated for the formation of microspheres with different morphology during self-assembly.     

Temperature dependent atomic transport properties of liquid Sn

A simple analytical model for atomic motion of Tankeshwar et al. [J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 3, 3173 (1991)] is used to obtain velocity autocorrelation function (VACF) with the inter-atomic potential and the pair correlation function as required inputs for liquid Sn. For the electron-ion interaction the modified empty-core potential is used, which represents the orthogonalisation effect due to s-core states in such sp-bonded metals. Temperature dependence of structure factor is considered through temperature dependent potential parameter in the pair potential. The coherent behaviour of liquid Sn in terms of the dynamic structure factor employing viscoelastic theory has also been studied. Intrinsic temperature effect has been studied through damping term\hbox{${\exp}( {-\frac{{\pi k}_{{B}} {T}}{{2k}_{{F}} }{r}} )$} exp (?πkBT2kFr)in the pair potential. The predicted results for VACF, cosine power spectrum, mean square displacement, diffusion and viscosity coefficients have been compared with recent available data, and a good agreement has been achieved.     

Development and validation of amitriptyline and its metabolite in human plasma by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and its application to a bioequivalence study

A method based on ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) in combination with solid‐phase extraction for sample pretreatment has been developed for the simultaneous analysis of amitriptyline and its main metabolite in human plasma. The extraction of the analytes from plasma samples was carried out by means of a selective SPE procedure using hydrophilic–lipophilic balance cartridges. The assay involves a simple solid‐phase extraction (SPE) procedure of 0.2 mL of human plasma and analysis was performed on a triple‐quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode via electrospray ionization (ESI). The standard calibration curve was linear over the ranges 0.370–95.539 ng/mL for amitriptyline and 0.365–94.374 ng/mL for nortriptyline, expressed by the linear correlation coefficient r², which was better than 0.995 for both. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy of the quality control samples were within 10.0%. The recovery was 85.3, 88.4 and 80.7% for amitriptyline, nortriptyline and doxepin respectively. Total run time was 1.2 min only for each sample, which makes it possible to analyze more than 400 samples per day. The method was highly reproducible and gave peaks with excellent chromatography properties. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polyvinyl alcohol/acrylamide based photopolymer composition as recording medium for high‐resolution volume‐phase holograms

A polyvinyl alcohol/acrylamide based photopolymer composition that can be used to record holograms (at 532 nm) with ~92% diffraction efficiency and stability extending over a period of several months has been prepared. This system has been investigated earlier but with limitations of diminishing grating efficiency as a function of time and humidity. In the present work, we have successfully addressed these problems. In this work, crosslinkers have been added both for monomer and binder, and the effect of this addition and concentrations of various components of the composition on the diffraction efficiency and recording energy has been studied. It was found that an optimum concentration exists for each component at which diffraction efficiency is the maximum and recording energy the minimum. It was also observed that addition of a crosslinking monomer improved the grating efficiency. Crosslinking of the binder further improved the grating efficiency and its stability over time and under high humidity conditions. Maximum possible resolution for this photopolymer has been found to be 2000 lines/mm. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.