Study of the effect of Wuzhi tablet (Schisandra sphenanthera extract) on tacrolimus tissue distribution in rat by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed and validated for determining tacrolimus (FK506) in rat tissues to study the effect of Schisandra sphenanthera extract on FK506 tissue distribution. After a liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate, FK506 and ascomycin (IS) were subjected to LC‐MS/MS analysis using positive electrospray ionization under multiple reactions monitoring mode. Chromatographic separation of FK506 and ascomycin was achieved on a Hypersil BDS C₁₈ column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol‐water (containing 2 mM ammonium acetate, 95 : 5, v/v). The intra‐ and inter‐batch precision of the method were less than 8.8 and 9.8%, respectively. The intra‐ and inter‐batch accuracies ranged from 97.5 to 104.0%. The lowest limit of quantification for FK506 was 0.5 ng/mL. The method was applied to a FK506 tissue distribution study with or without a dose of Wuzhi (WZ) tablet. Most of the FK506 tissue concentrations were slightly increased after a concomitant WZ tablet dose, but the whole blood concentration of FK506 was dramatically increased 3‐fold after a concomitant WZ tablet dose. These results indicated that the LC‐MS/MS method was rapid and sensitive enough to quantify FK506 in different rat tissues, and strict drug monitoring is recommended when co‐administering WZ tablet in clinical use. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Substrate‐Controlled Stereochemistry of Glycals in One‐Pot Rhodium‐Catalyzed Aziridination and Aziridine Ring Opening

We carried out a principle study on the reaction mechanism of rhodium‐catalyzed intramolecular aziridination and aziridine ring opening at a sugar template. A sulfamate ester group was introduced at different positions of glycal to act as a nitrene source and, moreover, to allow the study of the relative reactivity of the nitrene transfer from different sites of the glycal molecule. The structural optimization of each intermediate along the reaction pathway was extensively done by using BPW91 functional. The crucial step in the reaction is the Rh‐catalyzed nitrene transfer to the double bond of the glycal. We found that the reaction could proceed in a stepwise manner, whereby the N atom initially induced a single‐bond formation with C1 on the triplet surface or in a single step through intersystem crossing (ISC) of the triplet excited state of the rhodium–nitrene transition state to the singlet ground state of the aziridine complexes. The relative reactivity for the conversion of the nitrene species to the aziridine obtained from the computed potential energy surface (PES) agrees well with the reaction time gained from experimental observation. The aziridine ring opening is a spontaneous process because the energy barrier for the formation of the transition state is very small and disappears in the solution calculations. The regio‐ and stereoselectivity of the reaction product is controlled by the electronic property of the anomeric carbon as well as the facial preference for the nitrene insertion, and the nucleophilic addition.     

Simultaneous determination of dopamine and serotonin by use of covalent modification of 5-hydroxytryptophan on glassy carbon electrode

An electrochemical biosensor was fabricated by covalent modification of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) on the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrode, denoted as 5-HTP/GCE, was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. For comparison, tryptophan modified GCE (TRP/GCE) and serotonin modified GCE (5-HT/GCE) were prepared by the same method. It was found that electrocatalytic ability of these electrodes was in the order of 5-HTP/GCE?>?TRP/GCE?>?5-HT/GCE for the oxidation of dopamine (DA) and 5-HT. The sensor was effective to simultaneously determine DA and 5-HT in a mixture. It can resolve the overlapping anodic peaks into two well-defined voltammetric peaks at 0.24 and 0.39 V (versus SCE). The linear response is in the range of 5.0?×?10^?7–3.5?×?10^?5 mol L^?1 with a detection limit of 3.1?×?10^?7 mol L^?1 for DA, and in the range of 5.0?×?10^?6–3.5?×?10^?5 mol L^?1 with a detection limit of 1.7?×?10^?6 mol L^?1 for 5-HT (s/n?=?3), respectively.     

Gas flow headspace liquid phase microextraction

There is a trend towards the use of enrichment techniques such as microextraction in the analysis of trace chemicals. Based on the theory of ideal gases, theory of gas chromatography and the original headspace liquid phase microextraction (HS-LPME) technique, a simple gas flow headspace liquid phase microextraction (GF-HS-LPME) technique has been developed, where the extracting gas phase volume is increased using a gas flow. The system is an open system, where an inert gas containing the target compounds flows continuously through a special gas outlet channel (D = 1.8 mm), and the target compounds are trapped on a solvent microdrop (2.4 μL) hanging on the microsyringe tip, as a result, a high enrichment factor is obtained. The parameters affecting the enrichment factor, such as the gas flow rate, the position of the microdrop, the diameter of the gas outlet channel, the temperatures of the extracting solvent and of the sample, and the extraction time, were systematically optimized for four types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The results were compared with results obtained from HS-LPME. Under the optimized conditions (where the extraction time and the volume of the extracting sample vial were fixed at 20 min and 10 mL, respectively), detection limits (S/N = 3) were approximately a factor of 4 lower than those for the original HS-LPME technique. The method was validated by comparison of the GF-HS-LPME and HS-LPME techniques using data for PAHs from environmental sediment samples.     

2,4-二硝基苯胺与牛血清白蛋白相互作用的研究

通过荧光和紫外光谱法研究了2,4-二硝基苯胺同牛血清白蛋白(BSA)的相互作用. 2,4-二硝基苯胺对牛血清白蛋白的内源荧光具有强烈的猝灭作用. 二者之间形成不发荧光的复合物是导致荧光猝灭的主要原因. 计算了其结合常数和结合位点数. 紫外光谱法进一步证明了其猝灭机理为静态猝灭. 根据能量转移理论计算了作用距离(3.13 nm). 同步荧光的结果表明2,4-二硝基苯胺的存在改变了牛血清白蛋白的分子构象.     

EFFECTS OF BLENDING CHITOSAN WITH PEG ON SURFACE MORPHOLOGY,CRYSTALLIZATION AND THERMAL PROPERTIES

Biodegradable blend films composed of chitosan and PEG with various composition ratios were prepared.The chemical structure of the blend films was characterized with FTIR and X-ray,which showed no chemical bond formations but certain interactions probably coming from the hydrogen bonds.Morphologies of these blend films were viewed using AFM and SEM,suggesting that pure chitosan film had a smooth surface structure and the blend films surface showed a plenty of holes with varying size.Through the DMA measu...     

Antitumor activity and pharmacokinetics of podophyllotoxin incorporated into solid lipid nanoparticles

To evaluate the antitumor activity and pharmacokinetics of podophyllotoxin (PPT) incorporated into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), Kunming mice inoculated with flesh tumor were used as animal model. The mice received a single daily intraperitoneal injection of PPT in 20% ethanol (5 mg/kg) and PPT-SLN (5 mg/kg in PPT) for 3 weeks. Gross tumor volumes, body weight and clinical observations were recorded daily. The mice were sacrificed for 24 h after the last administration, and the tumor inhibition rate was calculated with the tumor weight. For the pharmacokinetics research, the mice were treated with intraperitoneal injection of PPT (10 mg/kg) and PPT-SLN (10 mg/kg in PPT). Blood samples were collected at different time to determine the PPT concentration in plasma by HPLC. Blood drug level-time curve was made and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. As a result of drug administration, the tumor volume and weight of the mice injected with PPT-SLN were significantly restrained compared with mice treated with PPT or negative control. The tumor inhibition rate of 58.13% showed a significant antitumor activity of PPT-SLN. At the same time, the increased weight gain of the mice injected with PPT-SLN suggested a reduced toxicity of PPT in SLN. Pharmacokinetics study displayed a higher blood concentration, a prolonged circulation time, and an increased bioavailability of PPT-SLN compared with those of PPT. Our results demonstrated that PPT-SLN could optimize pharmacokinetics, enhance antitumor activity and attenuate toxicity, so it has a promising prospect for the application in anti-tumor treatment. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50673078), the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. 08ZZ21) and the Shanghai Key Fundamental Project (Grant No. 07DZ19603)     

Structural Factors and Mechanisms Underlying the Improved Photodynamic Cell Killing with Silicon Phthalocyanine Photosensitizers Directed to Lysosomes Versus Mitochondria

The phthalocyanine photosensitizer Pc 4 has been shown to bind preferentially to mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum membranes. Upon photoirradiation of Pc 4-loaded cells, membrane components, especially Bcl-2, are photodamaged and apoptosis, as indicated by activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, is triggered. A series of analogs of Pc 4 were synthesized, and the results demonstrate that Pcs with the aminopropylsiloxy ligand of Pc 4 or a similar one on one side of the Pc ring and a second large axial ligand on the other side of the ring have unexpected properties, including enhanced cell uptake, greater monomerization resulting in greater intracellular fluorescence and three-fold higher affinity constants for liposomes. The hydroxyl-bearing axial ligands tend to reduce aggregation of the Pc and direct it to lysosomes, resulting in four to six times more killing of cells, as defined by loss of clonogenicity, than with Pc 4. Whereas Pc 4-PDT photodamages Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, Pc 181-PDT causes much less photodamage to Bcl-2 over the same dose–response range relative to cell killing, with earlier cleavage of Bid and slower caspase-3-dependent apoptosis. Therefore, within this series of photosensitizers, these hydroxyl-bearing axial ligands are less aggregated than is Pc 4, tend to localize to lysosomes and are more effective in overall cell killing than is Pc 4, but induce apoptosis more slowly and by a modified pathway.     

有机物优先透过的聚二甲基硅氧烷渗透汽化膜的改性研究进展

有机物优先透过的渗透汽化过程(Organophilic Pervaporation,O-PV)是一种膜分离技术,可以有效脱除化学、制药、电子、石化、印刷、涂料、纺织等工业废水中含有的微量挥发性有机物(Volatile organic compounds,VOCs),如苯、甲苯、三氯乙烯、氯仿和苯酚等.膜(一般指高分子膜)是O-PV过程的核心,而用于O-PV的膜分离性能主要取决于膜材料所具有的内在分离性能.聚二甲基硅氧烷(Poly(dimethyl siloxane), PDMS )是目前为止应用最为广泛的O-PV膜材料.本文综述了有机物优先透过的PDMS渗透汽化膜的改性研究进展,并展望了其未来的发展方向和前景.     

靶向性多肽修饰荧光功能化碳纳米管的制备及靶向肿瘤细胞的初步研究

以羟基化多壁碳纳米管(MWNT-OH)为引发剂,通过原位负离子开环聚合制备了生物相容性多羟基超支化聚缩水甘油接枝的碳纳米管(MWNT-HPG),利用酯化反应将荧光分子罗丹明6B标记于聚合物上,然后聚合物上的羟基和丁二酸酐反应将其转化为羧基.用TGA、FTIR、TEM、SEM等手段对产物进行了表征.用靶向表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)的小分子多肽D4修饰了所得的荧光功能化碳纳米管,并将其做为受体介导靶向肿瘤细胞的纳米载体,通过噻唑蓝(MTT)比色法评价功能化碳纳米管作为载体的安全性.用荧光显微镜观察其与人肺腺癌细胞SPCAI细胞的结合状态.结果证明了其有希望成为受体介导靶向肿瘤系统的纳米载体.