Liquid-phase microextraction of basic drugs--selection of extraction mode based on computer calculated solubility data

The extractability of 58 different basic drugs by 3-phase liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) was studied. Extraction recoveries were correlated to solubility data and log D data calculated with a commercial computer program. The basic drugs were extracted from 1.5 mL water samples (pH 13) through approximately 15 microL of dodecyl acetate immobilized within the pores of a porous polypropylene hollow fibre (organic phase), and into 15 microL of 10 mM HCl (acceptor solution) present inside the lumen of the hollow fibre. Compounds with a calculated solubility below 1 mg/mL at pH 2 were poorly recovered and remained principally in the organic phase. For these drugs, 2-phase LPME may be used as an alternative technique, where the aqueous acceptor phase is replaced by an organic solvent. In the solubility range 1-5 mg/mL, most drugs were effectively extracted (recovery >30%), whereas drugs belonging to the solubility range 5-150 mg/mL were all extracted with recoveries above 30% by 3-phase LPME. The hydrophilic nature of most drugs with solubilities above 150 mg/mL prevented them from entering the organic phase, and only those with log D >1.8 were effectively recovered by 3-phase LPME. For drugs with log D < 1.8 (and solubility >150 mg/mL), carrier-mediated LPME was found to be the preferred technique, where an ion-pair reagent (octanoic acid) was added to the sample. In the case of carrier-mediated LPME, the volume of sample was decreased to 100 microL to facilitate rapid extractions. Based on the present work, the extractability of new compounds may easily be predicted to speed up method development. Extractions were also accomplished from plasma samples, where interactions between proteins and the drugs may reduce the extraction recovery. However, dilution of the plasma samples with water and adjustment of pH into the alkaline region effectively suppressed drug-protein interactions for most of the drugs studied.     

Thermodynamic properties of peptide solutions. Part 15. Partial molar isentropic compressibilities of some glycyl dipeptides in aqueous solution at 15 and 35°C

The partial molar isentropic compressibilities at infinite dilution,K _s,2 ^o , have been obtained for eight glycyl dipeptides of sequence gly-X (X is an amino acid) in aqueous solution at the temperatures 15 and 35°C. The results have been combined with those obtained at 25°C, that were reported earlier, to evaluate the temperature dependences ofK _s,2 ^o for the dipeptides in the temperature range 15 to 35°C. TheK _s,2 ^o values for all the dipeptides are negative and increase (become more positive) with an increase in temperature. The slopes of the temperature dependences ofK _s,2 ^o for the dipeptides with typically hydrophobic side-chains are significantly larger than those for dipeptides with hydrophilic side-chains.     

Total structure characterization of unsaturated acidic phospholipids provided by vicinal di-hydroxylation of fatty acid double bonds and negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

In the present work, the unsaturated fatty acid substituents of some phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidylglycerol species were converted to their 1,2-di-hydroxy derivatives by OsO₄. The subsequent electrospray ionization tandem low-energy mass spectrometry analysis of the deprotonated species allowed positional determination of the double bonds by the production of specific product-ions. The product-ions are formed by charge-remote and charge-proximate homolytic cleavages as well as charge-directed heterolytic cleavages and rearrangements. The commercial availability of pure species of the phospholipids in question was limited, and a number of species were therefore synthesized. The developed method was used to fully characterize the two isobaric phosphatidylglycerol species 16:0/16:1Δ⁹ and 16:0/16:1Δ¹⁰ extracted from the bacteria Methylococcus capsulatus. The presence of these fatty acids was supported by a gas-chromatography mass spectrometry investigation of the dimethyloxazoline derivatives of the species of the lipid extract. The present work demonstrates that a total structure characterization of acidic unsaturated phospholipids in isolate or in mixtures is accomplished by vicinal di-hydroxylation of olefinic sites and subsequent electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of the derivatized phospholipids.     

Liquid-phase microextraction of hydrophilic drugs by carrier-mediated transport

Basic studies on carrier-mediated transport as a mechanism to extract polar drugs by hollow fibre-based liquid-phase microextraction are presented for the first time. Hydrophilic alkaline drugs with log P (octanol/water partition coefficient) values less than 1 were selected as model substances. Sodium octanoate served as carrier and was added to the sample solution at pH 7 to form hydrophobic ion-pair complexes with the analytes. The ion-pair complexes were extracted into octanol as liquid membrane immobilised in the pores of the hollow fibre. Further extraction into an aqueous acceptor phase inside the lumen of the hollow fibre was facilitated by counter transport of protons from the acceptor solution to the sample solution. Protons from the acceptor solution released the analytes at the liquid membrane-acceptor interface and neutralized the carrier. The acceptor phase was analysed by capillary electrophoresis. The studies show that high extraction recoveries of ionic hydrophilic drugs can be obtained at a sample-acceptor volume ratio of 10. Linear calibration graphs and clean electropherograms indicate that carrier-mediated transport is a promising technique in microextraction of polar drugs from biological matrices.     

Determination of coagulation coefficients and aggregation kinetics for charged aerosols

A new method has been developed which allows determination of the coagulation coefficient of two oppositely charged particles experimentally. For this purpose, quasi-monodisperse particles of different sizes and morphology were used to study the influence of different parameters on the coagulation coefficient. A good agreement between experimental results and the classic Fuchs' theory was obtained when including a method accounting for particle nonsphericity. In experiments with polydisperse bipolarly charged aerosols, no principal differences to uncharged aerosols were found when a dimensionless representation was used. Changes in particle number concentration and geometric mean diameter can be described by simple empirical expressions.     

Thermodynamics of aqueous mixtures of 2-(2-Hexyloxyethoxy)ethanol at 5°C

The densities and the ultrasonic speeds of the aqueous solutions of 2-(2-hexyloxyethoxy)ethanol (C₆E₂) were measured over the entire range of mole fractions at 5°C. Excess molar volumes V ^E were readily calculated from the densities. The densities, in combination with the ultrasonic speeds, furnish estimates of the molar (and excess molar) isentropic compressibilities K _S and the deviations u ^D of the ultrasonic speeds from the values calculated for ideal mixtures. Radical changes in the mole fraction derivatives of the excess molar properties of the (C₆E₂ + water) system, in the vicinity of an amphiphile mole fraction of 0.003, indicate that C₆E₂ like C₆E₃ is capable of micelle formation. Our data have been compared with those reported earlier for (C₄E₂ +, C₂E₂ +, and C₆E₃ + water). We have employed both mass action and pseudophase approaches to data analysis, together with the four-segment model approach.     

Trends in alkyl substituent effects on nucleophilic reactions of carbonyl compounds: gas phase reactions between amines and the methoxy methyl cation

The reactions of various amines (RNH(2); R = H, CH(3), C(2)H(5) and i-C(3)H(7)) with the methoxy methyl cation (CH(2)OCH(3)(+)) have been investigated using an FT-ICR mass spectrometer, and the experimental results are supplied with ab initio calculations. The amines show clear trends in their reactivities with variable degree of: 1) nucleophilic substitution, 2) addition-elimination and 3) hydride abstraction. In all cases addition-elimination dominates over nucleophilic substitution, and for R not equal H the observed reactions occur at the collisional limit. The potential energy profiles for all three reaction types correlate with the basicities of the amines; the more basic amine-the more favourable is the reaction; in other words: nucleophilicity follows basicity in the gas phase.     

Influence of dT20 and [d(AT)10]2 on cisplatin hydrolysis studied by two-dimensional [1H,15N] HMQC NMR spectroscopy

The influence of the presence of DNA on the kinetics of cisplatin (cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2]) aquation (replacement of Cl- by H2O) and anation (replacement of H2O by Cl-) involved in the hydrolysis of cisplatin have been determined by two-dimensional [1H,15N] HMQC NMR spectroscopy. Single-stranded dT20 and double-stranded [d(AT)10]2 oligonucleotides were used as DNA models, avoiding guanines which are known to react rapidly with aquated cisplatin forms. Reactions starting from cis-[PtCl2(15NH3)2], or from a stoichiometric mixture of cis-[Pt(15NH3)2(H2O)2]2+ and Cl- (all 0.5 mM Pt(II); in ionic strength, adjusted to 0.095 M or 0.011 M with NaClO4, pH between 3.0 and 4.0) were followed in an NMR tube in both the absence and presence of 0.7 mM dT20 or [d(AT)10]2. In the presence of dT20, we observed a slight and ionic-strength-independent decrease (15-20 %) of the first aquation rate constant, and a more significant decrease of the second anation rate constant. The latter was more important at low ionic strength, and can be explained by efficient condensation of cis-[Pt(15NH3)2(H2O)2]2+ on the surface of single-stranded DNA, in a region depleted of chloride anions. At low ionic strength, we observed an additional set of [1H,15N] HMQC spectral signals indicative of an asymmetric species of PtN2O2 coordination, and we assigned them to phosphate-bound monoadducts of cis-[Pt(15NH3)2(H2O)2]2+. Double-stranded [d(AT)10]2 slowed down the first aquation step also by approximately 15 %; however, we could not determine the influence on the second hydrolysis step because of a significant background reaction with cis-[Pt(NH3)2(H2O)2]2+.     

On non-linear heat-up of a Boussinesq fluid in a circular cylinder

Summary On the assumption of a quasi-steady, linearized buoyancy-layer flow, the existence of a moving front in the impulsive heat-up of a Boussinesq fluid is demonstrated. The theory gives a sound explanation of a moving front observed in laboratory experiments of heating an initially homogeneous fluid in a circular cylinder. In a way the front represents the thermal analogy of the observed front in the impulsive spin-up of a homogeneous, rotating fluid.

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Zusammenfassung Mit der Annahme eines quasi-stationären, linearisierten Auftrieb-Stromes wird die Existenz einer bewegten Front bei plötzlicher Erwärmung einer Boussinesq-Flüssigkeit nachgewiesen. Die Theorie gibt eine befriedigende Darstellung einer bewegten Front, die in Laboratoriumsversuchen bei Erwärmung einer ursprünglich homogenen Flüssigkeit in einem kreisrunden Zylinder beobachtet wird. Diese Front ist gewissermaßen die thermische Analogie zur beobachteten Front beim plötzlichen Andrehen einer homogenen Flüssigkeit.

     

Occurrence of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in sewage and receiving waters at Spitsbergen and in Norway

A method for the determination of five selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (citalopram, sertraline, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine and paroxetine) and four of their metabolites (desmethylcitalopram, didesmethylcitalopram, norfluoxetine and desmethylsertraline) in seawater and sewage influents and effluents, has been developed and validated. The method is based on a three-phase hollow-fibre supported liquid phase microextraction of 1.1L samples, followed by high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization and mass spectrometric detection. The detection limits varied between 17 pg/L (citalopram) and 618 ng/L (desmethylsertraline), and the quantification limits between 57 pg/L (citalopram) and 4.1 ng/L (desmethylsertraline). Sampling was done from February to August in 2007 on three different locations with dissimilarities concerning waste water treatment procedures. No significant difference in SSRI cleansing efficiency between merely sieving (Langnes STP, Troms?) and a more advanced sewage treatment (VEAS STP, Oslo) was seen. All the investigated compounds are present in all waste water samples from these STPs, and a total concentration of SSRIs and metabolites up to 840 ng/L has been found. Untreated sewage samples have been collected in the small town Longyearbyen at Spitsbergen. Despite few inhabitants (2000), it was still possible to find traces of SSRIs in the waste water. In Troms? and Longyearbyen the waste water is discharged into the sea, therefore seawater samples have been collected close to the outlets. The results show higher concentrations of SSRIs outside Longyearbyen than Troms?, possibly due to the stronger tidal currents around Troms?. However, the concentrations are quite low, not exceeding total concentrations of 3 ng/L.