Dimethocaine,a synthetic cocaine analogue: studies on its in-vivo metabolism and its detectability in urine by means of a rat model and liquid chromatography–linear ion-trap (high-resolution) mass spectrometry

Dimethocaine (DMC, larocaine), a synthetic derivative of cocaine, is a widely distributed “legal high” consumed as a “new psychoactive substance” (NPS) without any safety testing, for example studies of metabolism. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to study its in-vivo and in-vitro metabolism by use of liquid chromatography–(high resolution) mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS ⁿ ). DMC was administered to male Wistar rats (20 mg kg^?1) and their urine was extracted either by solid-phase extraction after enzymatic cleavage of conjugates or by use of protein precipitation (PP). The metabolites were separated and identified by LC–HRMS ⁿ . The main phase I reactions were ester hydrolysis, deethylation, hydroxylation of the aromatic system, and a combination of these. The main phase II reaction was N-acetylation of the p-aminobenzoic acid part of the unchanged parent compound and of several phase I metabolites. The metabolites identified were then used for identification of DMC in rat urine after application of a common user’s dose. By use of GC–MS and LC–MS ⁿ standard urine-screening approaches (SUSAs), DMC and its metabolites could be detected in the urine samples.     

Studies on the metabolism and the detectability of 4-methyl-amphetamine and its isomers 2-methyl-amphetamine and 3-methyl-amphetamine in rat urine using GC-MS and LC-(high-resolution)-MS n

4-Methyl-amphetamine (1-(4-methylphenyl)propane-2-amine; 4-MA) and its isomers 2-methyl-amphetamine (2-MA) and 3-methyl-amphetamine (3-MA) belong to the group of amphetamine-type stimulants and of new psychoactive substances. Several studies showed similar potencies in releasing noradrenalin and dopamine, but higher potencies in releasing serotonin than amphetamine. In March 2013, the EU Council decided on an EU-wide control based on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction risk assessment report documenting that 4-MA was sold as amphetamine on the illicit market and detected in several fatal cases. Therefore, 4-MA and its isomers should be covered by drug testing in clinical and forensic toxicology. The aims of the presented work were to study the metabolism and detectability of each isomer in urine samples. For metabolism studies, rat urine samples were isolated by solid-phase extraction without and after enzymatic cleavage of conjugates. The phase I metabolites were separated and identified after acetylation by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and/or liquid chromatography–high resolution-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS ⁿ ) and the phase II metabolites by LC-HR-MS ⁿ . From the identified phase I and II metabolites, the following main metabolic pathways were deduced: aromatic hydroxylation, hydroxylation of the phenylmethyl group followed by oxidation to the corresponding carboxylic acid, hydroxylation of the side chain, and glucuronidation and/or sulfation of the hydroxy and carboxy groups. CYP2D6 was involved in the aromatic hydroxylation. Finally, the intake of a commonly used dose of the MAs could be confirmed in rat urine using the authors’ GC-MS and the LC-MS ⁿ standard urine screening approaches. Differentiation of the isomers to confirm the intake of a specific isomer was possible with an additional workup in rat urine.     

Diffusiophoresis in suspensions of highly charged soft particles

Diffusiophoresis phenomenon of aoft particles suspended in binary electrolyte solutions is explored theoretically in this study based on the spherical cell model, focusing on the chemiphoresis component in absence of diffusion potential. Both the electrostatic and hydrodynamic aspects of the boundary confinement, or steric effect, due to the presence of neighboring particles are examined extensively under various electrokinetic conditions. Significant local extrema are found in mobility profiles expressed as functions of the Debye length in general, synchronized with the strength of the motion-inducing double layer polarization. Moreover, a seemingly peculiar phenomenon is observed that the soft particles may move faster in more concentrated suspensions. The competition between the simultaneous enhancement of the motion-inducing electric driving force and the motion-retarding hydrodynamic drag force from the boundary confinement effect of the neighboring particles is found to be responsible for it. The above findings are also demonstrated experimentally in a very recent study on the diffusiophoretic motion of soft particles through porous collagen hydrogels. The results presented here are useful in various practical applications of soft particles like drug delivery.     

Order-Unity 13C Nuclear Polarization of [1-13C]Pyruvate in Seconds and the Interplay of Water and SABRE Enhancement

Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange in SHield Enabled Alignment Transfer (SABRE-SHEATH) is investigated to achieve rapid hyperpolarization of ¹³C₁ spins of [1-¹³C]pyruvate, using parahydrogen as the source of nuclear spin order. Pyruvate exchange with an iridium polarization transfer complex can be modulated via a sensitive interplay between temperature and co-ligation of DMSO and H₂O. Order-unity ¹³C (>50 %) polarization of catalyst-bound [1-¹³C]pyruvate is achieved in less than 30 s by restricting the chemical exchange of [1-¹³C]pyruvate at lower temperatures. On the catalyst bound pyruvate, 39 % polarization is measured using a 1.4 T NMR spectrometer, and extrapolated to >50 % at the end of build-up in situ. The highest measured polarization of a 30-mM pyruvate sample, including free and bound pyruvate is 13 % when using 20 mM DMSO and 0.5 M water in CD₃OD. Efficient ¹³C polarization is also enabled by favorable relaxation dynamics in sub-microtesla magnetic fields, as indicated by fast polarization buildup rates compared to the T₁ spin-relaxation rates (e. g., ∼0.2 s⁻¹ versus ∼0.1 s⁻¹, respectively, for a 6 mM catalyst-[1-¹³C]pyruvate sample). Finally, the catalyst-bound hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate can be released rapidly by cycling the temperature and/or by optimizing the amount of water, paving the way to future biomedical applications of hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate produced via comparatively fast and simple SABRE-SHEATH-based approaches.     

Characterization of a highly stable zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction chromatography stationary phase based on hybrid organic–inorganic particles

We have characterized a sulfobetaine stationary phase based on 1.7 μm ethylene-bridged hybrid organic–inorganic particles, which is intended for use in hydrophilic interaction chromatography. The efficiency of a column packed with this material was determined as a function of flow rate, demonstrating a minimum reduced plate height of 2.4. The batch-to-batch reproducibility was assessed using the separation of a mixture of acids, bases, and neutrals. We compared the retention and selectivity of the hybrid sulfobetaine stationary phase to that of several benchmark materials. The hybrid sulfobetaine material gave strong retention for polar neutrals and high selectivity for methyl groups, hydroxy groups, and configurational isomers. Large differences in cation and anion retention were observed among the columns. We characterized the acid and base stability of the hybrid sulfobetaine stationary phase, using accelerated tests at pH 1.3 and 11.0, both at 70°C. The results support a recommended pH range of 2–10. We also investigated the performance of columns packed with this material for metal-sensitive analytes, comparing conventional stainless steel column hardware to hardware that incorporates hybrid surface technology to mitigate interactions with metal surfaces. Compared to the conventional columns, the hybrid surface technology columns showed a greatly improved peak shape.     

Hybrid Curdlan Poly(γ ‐Glutamic Acid) Nanoassembly for Immune Modulation in Macrophage

A nanoformulation composed of curdlan, a linear polysaccharide of 1,3‐β‐linked d ‐glucose units, hydrogen bonded to poly(γ ‐glutamic acid) (PGA), was developed to stimulate macrophage. Curdlan/PGA nanoparticles (C‐NP) are formulated by physically blending curdlan (0.2 mg mL^?1 in 0.4 m NaOH) with PGA (0.8 mg mL^?1). Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis demonstrates a heterospecies interpolymer complex formed between curdlan and PGA. The ¹H‐NMR spectra display significant peak broadening as well as downfield chemical shifts of the hydroxyl proton resonances of curdlan, indicating potential intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. In addition, the cross peaks in ¹H‐¹H 2D‐NOESY suggest intermolecular associations between the OH‐2/OH‐4 hydroxyl groups of curdlan and the carboxylic‐/amide‐groups of PGA via hydrogen bonding. Intracellular uptake of C‐NP occurs over time in human monocyte‐derived macrophage (MDM). Furthermore, C‐NP nanoparticles dose‐dependently increase gene expression for TNF‐α, IL‐6, and IL‐8 at 24 h in MDM. C‐NP nanoparticles also stimulate the release of IL‐lβ, MCP‐1, TNF‐α, IL‐8, IL‐12p70, IL‐17, IL‐18, and IL‐23 from MDM. Overall, this is the first demonstration of a simplistic nanoformulation formed by hydrogen bonding between curdlan and PGA that modulates cytokine gene expression and release of cytokines from MDM.     

Reversible photomechanical switching of individual engineered molecules at a metallic surface

We have observed reversible light-induced mechanical switching for individual organic molecules bound to a metal surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was used to image the features of individual azobenzene molecules on Au(111) before and after reversibly cycling their mechanical structure between trans and cis states using light. Azobenzene molecules were engineered to increase their surface photomechanical activity by attaching varying numbers of tert-butyl (TB) ligands ("legs") to the azobenzene phenyl rings. STM images show that increasing the number of TB legs "lifts" the azobenzene molecules from the substrate, thereby increasing molecular photomechanical activity by decreasing molecule-surface coupling.     

A Quantitative Regularity Estimate for Nonnegative Supersolutions of Uniformly Parabolic Equations

This note establishes an interior quantitative lower bound for nonnegative supersolutions of fully nonlinear uniformly parabolic equations. The result may be interpreted as a quantitative version of a growth lemma established by Krylov and Safonov for nonnegative supersolutions of linear uniformly parabolic equations in nondivergence form. Our approach is different, and follows from an application of a reverse Holder inequality. The result is the parabolic analogue of an elliptic regularity estimate established by Caffarelli, Souganidis, and Wang in the stochastic homogenization of fully nonlinear uniformly elliptic equations.     

Protected Amine Labels: A Versatile Molecular Scaffold for Multiplexed Nominal Mass and Sub-Da Isotopologue Quantitative Proteomic Reagents

We assemble a versatile molecular scaffold from simple building blocks to create binary and multiplexed stable isotope reagents for quantitative mass spectrometry. Termed Protected Amine Labels (PAL), these reagents offer multiple analytical figures of merit including, (1) robust targeting of peptide N-termini and lysyl side chains, (2) optimal mass spectrometry ionization efficiency through regeneration of primary amines on labeled peptides, (3) an amino acid-based mass tag that incorporates heavy isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen to ensure matched physicochemical and MS/MS fragmentation behavior among labeled peptides, and (4) a molecularly efficient architecture, in which the majority of hetero-atom centers can be used to synthesize a variety of nominal mass and sub-Da isotopologue stable isotope reagents. We demonstrate the performance of these reagents in well-established strategies whereby up to four channels of peptide isotopomers, each separated by 4 Da, are quantified in MS-level scans with accuracies comparable to current commercial reagents. In addition, we utilize the PAL scaffold to create isotopologue reagents in which labeled peptide analogs differ in mass based on the binding energy in carbon and nitrogen nuclei, thereby allowing quantification based on MS or MS/MS spectra. We demonstrate accurate quantification for reagents that support 6-plex labeling and propose extension of this scheme to 9-channels based on a similar PAL scaffold. Finally, we provide exemplar data that extend the application of isotopologe-based quantification reagents to medium resolution, quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometers.

Monitoring stabilizing procedures of archaeological iron using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

A methodology for monitoring washing procedures applied to stabilize archaeological iron is described. It is based on the combination of voltammetry of microparticles (VMP) with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). A semi-empirical approach is used where the impedances at low and high frequencies were related with the fraction areas of passive and corrosion layers generated during the stabilizing treatment, the thickness, and the porosity of the corrosion layer. The variation of such parameters with the time of washing was determined from EIS data for four types of desalination procedures using concentrated NaOH and/or Na₂SO₃ aqueous solutions on archaeological iron artifacts. After 2 months of treatment, EIS data indicate that an essentially identical “stable” state was attained in all cases, as confirmed by the formation of a passive magnetite layer identified in VMP measurements while the rate of variation of corroded surface and porosity at short washing times varied significantly from one stabilization procedure to another.