Synchrotron FTIR analysis of drug treated ovarian A2780 cells: an ability to differentiate cell response to different drugs?

Recently a new di-gold(I) organometallic complex [1,3-(Ph(3)PAu)(2)-C(6)H(4)] (KF0101) has been synthesised and found to exhibit cytotoxic activity in vitro. Subsequently it has been demonstrated that KF0101 shows little or no cross-resistance against a number of the cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer cell lines in vitro suggesting a different mode of action for the drug. In this study, syncrotron radiation infrared microspectroscopy (SR-IRMS) has been used on drug treated single A2780 cells in order to determine if this different mode of action can be identified spectroscopically. The aim of the study was to establish: (i) if single cell SR-IRMS could be used to give insight into the cellular response on treatment with different cytotoxic agents relative to non-treated cells (control) and (ii) that if the cytotoxic drugs elicit a different biochemical response these responses could be distinguished from each other. The most striking features obtained after Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of Resonant Mie Scattering (RMieS) corrected single cell spectra of drug treated ovarian A2780 cells are: (i) The spectra obtained for the control are quite heterogeneous and several hundred spectra are required to adequately define the nature of the control; (ii) after drug treatment at the IC50 level for 24 h with cisplatin, KF0101, methotrexate, paclitaxel or 5-fluorouracil the cell spectra, as represented on a PCA scores plot, generally concentrate in certain well defined areas of the control, there are however a small number of spectra that fall outside of the area defined by the control; and (iii) a differentiation between cell spectra obtained on treatment with different drugs is observed which fits well with different in vitro cell culture behaviour and a flow cytometry cell cycle analysis of the control and drug treated cells. Inspection of the loading plots shows that PC1 is essentially the same for all plots and reflects changes in cell biochemistry related to the cell cycle. PC2, however, on comparison of the control versus cisplatin or cisplatin versus KF0101 is indicative of differences induced by drug treatment and has been termed as cell cycle-plus behaviour. These data are shown to be consistent with that obtained using bench-top IRMS by averaging a number of single cell spectra and carrying out a PCA, but SR-IRMS offers more insight into how the drug is affecting the cell population. More importantly, this approach enables the influence of the cell cycle on both the control and drug treated samples to be taken into consideration when evaluating the drug-cell interaction.     

On the enantioselectivity of aziridination of styrene catalysed by copper triflate and copper-exchanged zeolite Y: consequences of the phase behaviour of enantiomeric mixtures of N-arene-sulfonyl-2-phenylaziridines

By synthesising S-2-phenyl-N-(4-nitrophenyl)aziridine from S-phenylglycinol, it has been demonstrated that the aziridination of styrene by [N-(4-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)imino]phenyliodinane (nosyliminophenyliodinane, PhINNs) in the presence of S,S-2,2'-isopropylidene-bis(4-phenyl-2-oxazoline), catalysed by copper(II) triflate in CH(3)CN solution or heterogeneously by CuHY, has predominantly an R-configuration. The enantioselectivity of the aziridination of styrene by [N-arenesulfonylimino]-phenyliodinanes catalysed by copper-exchanged zeolite Y (CuHY), in conjunction with a chiral bis-oxazoline ligand, has been re-examined. In the case of PhINNs, it is shown that the product mixture of enantiomeric aziridines, on treatment with hexane, gives rise to a solid phase of low enantiomeric excess (ee) and a solution phase of high ee. Separation of the solid phase and recrystallisation afforded a true racemate (racemic compound), which has been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The aziridine obtained from the solution phase could be recrystallised to produce the pure enantiomer originally in excess. A consequence of the new findings is that previous reports on the enantioselectivity of copper-catalysed aziridination, both in heterogeneous and homogeneous conditions, should be regarded with caution if the analytical procedure involved HPLC with injection of the enantiomeric mixture in a hexane-rich solvent. Such a method has been used in previous work from this laboratory, but has also been used elsewhere, following the procedure developed by Evans and co-workers when the (homogeneous) copper-catalysed aziridination by PhINTs was first discovered. Evidently, the change of substituent in the benzenesulfonyl group reduces the solubility in hexane, affording a solution phase of enhanced ee.     

Crystal structures, EPR and magnetic properties of 2-ClC6H4CNSSN˙ and 2,5-Cl2C6H3CNSSN˙

The β-sheet structure associated with chlorinated aromatics (d(Cl···Cl)≈ 4.0 ?) has been implemented to drive formation of π-stacked structures of dithiadiazolyl radicals. Both title compounds exhibit an increase in paramagnetism above 150 K but solid-state EPR studies indicate that the origin of the paramagnetism in these two systems is different.     

The porosity, acidity, and reactivity of dealuminated zeolite ZSM-5 at the single particle level: the influence of the zeolite architecture

A combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM), high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR‐SEM), focused‐ion‐beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB‐SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confocal fluorescence microscopy (CFM), and UV/Vis and synchrotron‐based IR microspectroscopy was used to investigate the dealumination processes of zeolite ZSM‐5 at the individual crystal level. It was shown that steaming has a significant impact on the porosity, acidity, and reactivity of the zeolite materials. The catalytic performance, tested by the styrene oligomerization and methanol‐to‐olefin reactions, led to the conclusion that mild steaming conditions resulted in greatly enhanced acidity and reactivity of dealuminated zeolite ZSM‐5. Interestingly, only residual surface mesoporosity was generated in the mildly steamed ZSM‐5 zeolite, leading to rapid crystal coloration and coking upon catalytic testing and indicating an enhanced deactivation of the zeolites. In contrast, harsh steaming conditions generated 5–50 nm mesopores, extensively improving the accessibility of the zeolites. However, severe dealumination decreased the strength of the Brønsted acid sites, causing a depletion of the overall acidity, which resulted in a major drop in catalytic activity.     

Ion‐Transfer Electrochemistry of Rat Amylin at the Water–Organogel Microinterface Array and Its Selective Detection in a Protein Mixture

The behavior of proteins and polypeptides at electrified aqueous–organic interfaces is of benefit in label‐free detection strategies. In this work, rat amylin (or islet amyloid polypeptide) was studied at the interface formed between aqueous liquid and gelled organic phases. Amylin is a polypeptide that is co‐secreted with insulin from islet beta‐cells and is implicated in fibril formation. In this study, rat amylin was used, which does not undergo aggregation. The polypeptide underwent an interfacial transfer process, from water to the gelled organic phase, under applied potential stimulation. Cyclic voltammetry revealed steady‐state forward and peak‐shaped reverse voltammograms, which were consistent with diffusion‐controlled water‐to‐organic transfer and thin‐film stripping or desorptive back‐transfer. The diffusion‐controlled forward current was greater when amylin was present in an acidic aqueous phase than when it was present in an aqueous phase at physiological pH; this reflects the greater charge on the polypeptide under acidic conditions. The amylin transfer current was concentration dependent over the range 2–10 μM , at both acidic and physiological pH. At physiological pH, amylin was selectively detected in the presence of a protein mixture, which illustrated the bioanalytical possibilities for this electrochemical behavior.     

Memory of chirality in cascade rearrangements of enediynes

The cascade rearrangement of chiral enediynes 1c-e, involving successively 1,3-proton shift, Saito-Myers cyclization, 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer, and intramolecular coupling of the resulting biradical, proceeded at 80 °C to form tri- and tetracyclic heterocycles possessing a quaternary stereogenic center with a very high level of memory of chirality.     

Π‐Stacking Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes through Micelle Swelling

We report on a new, original and efficient method for π‐stacking functionalization of single‐wall carbon nanotubes. This method is applied to the synthesis of a high‐yield light‐harvesting system combining single‐wall carbon nanotubes and porphyrin molecules. We developed a micelle‐swelling technique that leads to controlled and stable complexes presenting an efficient energy transfer. We demonstrate the key role of the organic solvent in the functionalization mechanism. By swelling the micelles, the solvent helps the non‐water‐soluble porphyrins to reach the micelle core and allows a strong enhancement of the interaction between porphyrins and nanotubes. This technique opens new avenues for the functionalization of carbon nanostructures.     

An APCI LC‐MS/MS method for routine determination of capecitabine and its metabolites in human plasma

The anticancer drug capecitabine and its metabolites [including the active metabolite 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU)] display high pharmacokinetic inter‐patient variability. Such variability, which may lead to treatment failure or toxicity, could need drug concentration measurement to individualize dosing regimen. However, usual assay methods are often long and fastidious. A simultaneous and cost‐effective method was thus developed for the determination of the concentrations of these compounds in human plasma. Compounds were extracted via a classic liquid–liquid extraction. Chromatographic analysis was performed on a C18 reverse phase column with detection by atmosphere pressure chemical ionization LC‐MS/MS. Our method allows a good chromatographic separation of the compounds and was fully validated following Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations (good selectivity, no carry‐over, linearity of the calibration curves without weighting, deviations from nominal concentrations of standard samples lower than 15%, intra‐ and inter‐assay precision and accuracy lower than 15%). Recovery and stability were also acceptable following the FDA guidelines. A matrix effect impairing the determination of 5‐FU was avoided by using a stable isotopic derivative of 5‐FU as internal standard. Interestingly, this method allows detection of TetraHydroUridine, an inhibitor of ex vivo degradation of metabolites, which is essential for the stability, the adequate conditioning of blood samples and for good laboratory practice, essential in routine determination. This method seems usable to routinely determine concentrations of capecitabine and its metabolites in blood and may be helpful in further studies aiming at performing therapeutic drug monitoring. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.