Formulating fluticasone propionate in novel PEG-containing nanostructured lipid carriers (PEG-NLC)

The aim of this study was to develop nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) for topical delivery of fluticasone propionate (FP) with the aim to further improve the safety profile and decrease the adverse-side effects commonly reported in topical corticotherapy. NLC are colloidal drug-carriers consisting of a blend of a solid lipid and a small amount of liquid lipid since these carriers have proved to be effective in epidermal targeting in particular of glucocorticoids. NLC consisting of glyceryl palmito-stearate, and PEG-containing medium chain triglycerides mixture, stabilised by polysorbate 80 and soybean phosphatidylcholine were prepared. A mean particle size between 380 and 408 nm and entrapment efficacy of 95% were obtained for FP-loaded NLC. The crystallinity and polymorphic phase behaviour of FP-free and FP-loaded NLC were examined by differential scanning calorimetry and wide angle X-ray diffraction. Results revealed a low-crystalline structure and confirmed the incorporation of FP into the particles. The suitability of PEG-containing liquid lipids to form the lipid matrix of NLC was also confirmed.     

Optical study of the formation of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-based fluorescent nanoaggregates

Pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives possessing different sterically-hindered end-groups at position 7 of the heterocycle were studied and compared with respect to nanoaggregate formation ability by the reprecipitation method in aqueous solutions. The emergence of nanoaggregates with an increasing water fraction in THF/water mixture was traced by observing sudden changes in spectral and transient fluorescence dynamics accompanied by fluorescence efficiency turn-on. The aggregation induced emission with a maximal 20-fold emission efficiency enhancement was obtained. Tuning of the nanoaggregates sizes from about 50 nm to 600 nm by increasing the THF/water ratio was revealed by electron microscopy. Almost perfect spherical shapes of the nanoaggregates and their structureless fluorescence bands similar to those of their neat amorphous films suggested an amorphous-like nature of the pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-based nanoparticles.     

Determination of surface ζ‐potential and isoelectric point of carbon surfaces using tracer particle suspensions

Carbon materials are widely used in a range of applications from biomaterials to sensing and electronics. Many of these applications rely on the ability to control carbon/water interfacial properties, in particular, surface charge density. This work reports a study of the electrokinetic properties of amorphous carbon thin films as a function of pH and surface chemistry. Surface ζ‐potential (SZP) and isoelectric point were determined using the tracer particle method. Initially, the use of sulfonated and amine‐terminated latex bead suspensions as tracer particles for the determination of SZP of reference polymer surfaces was validated. The tracer particle method was then applied to the determination of SZP and isoelectric point of macroscopic carbon surfaces with different surface chemistry. Highly graphitic and sp³‐rich hydrogenated carbon surfaces were found to display negative SZP, as expected for hydrophobic surfaces. The isoelectric point of the most highly graphitic surface was found to be pH_iso = 3.7. Surface oxidation of these films resulted in a decrease of SZP at all pH values and in a downshift of pH_iso to values lower than 1.5, consistently with the presence of surface acidic groups arising from oxidation. Results indicate that the specific choice of acid/base chemistry for the tracer particles does not significantly affect either SZP or pH_iso determinations. These results show that the tracer particle method in combination with widely available latex beads as tracers can be applied for the determination of carbon SZP as a function of pH. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of methyl (±)-3,5-bis(substitutedmethyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxylates: a convenient approach to proline-mimetics

Starting from readily available N-benzyl protected methyl 3,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)pirrolidinecarboxylate a number of racemic methyl t-3,t-5-disubstitutedprolinates have been synthesised, thus opening a practical way towards the preparation of a variety of putative proline-mimetics. In this context, N-Boc protected derivatives proved to be better intermediates than their N-benzyl counterparts in terms of cleanness and overall yield of the synthetic procedure.     

How light affects 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole

5,10,15-Tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole slowly undergoes oligomerization when left in solution at room temperature, under air and ambient light. This transformation was studied in different solvents (chloroform, dichloromethane, and toluene) and the main resulting products were identified as the 3,3′-corrole dimer 2a and the 3,3′,17′,3′′-corrole trimer 3a.     

Electrochemical modification of Bi2S3 coatings in a nickel plating electrolyte

The electrochemical behavior of Bi₂S₃ coatings in Watts nickel plating electrolyte was investigated using the cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis methods. During the bismuth sulfide coating reduction in Watts background electrolyte in the potential region from −0.4 to −0.6 V, the Bi₂S₃ and Bi(III) oxygen compounds are reduced to metallic Bi, and the decrease in coating mass is related to the transfer of S²⁻ ions from the electrode surface. When the bismuth sulfide coating is reduced in Watts nickel plating electrolyte, the observed increase in coating mass in the potential region −0.1 to −0.4 V is conditioned by Ni²⁺ ions reduction before the bulk deposition of Ni, initiated by Bi₂S₃. In this potential region, the reduction of Bi(III) oxygen compounds can occur. After the treatment of as-deposited bismuth sulfide coating in nickel plating electrolyte at E = −0.3 V, the sheet resistance of the layer decreases from 10¹³ to 500–700 Ω cm. A metal-rich mixed sulfide Ni₃Bi₂S₂–parkerite is obtained when as-deposited bismuth sulfide coating is treated in Watts nickel plating electrolyte at a potential close to the equilibrium potential of the Ni/Ni²⁺ system and then annealed at temperatures higher than 120 °C.     

Spontaneous Bi-modification of polycrystalline Pt electrode: fabrication, characterization, and performance in formic acid electrooxidation

Spontaneous modification of polycrystalline Pt by irreversibly adsorbed bismuth was performed in BiCl₃ solution in concentrated hydrochloric acid under open-circuit conditions. After spontaneous modification, followed by extensive rinsing with water and drying, the surface was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemistry. Bi-oxy(chloride), oxide species, and metallic Bi were found at a submonolayer coverage on the Pt surface after spontaneous modification. The electrochemical response of Bi-modified polycrystalline Pt electrode in sulfuric acid solution exhibits a complex multi-peak feature, which is resulting in about constant redox charge (Bi species coverage) in the potential region from 0 to 0.9 V (vs. a standard hydrogen electrode). The spontaneously Bi-modified Pt catalyst in model studies exhibits a superior activity towards formic acid oxidation at fuel cell anode relevant potentials. The catalytic effect of bismuth oxy-species is explained in terms of both inhibition of CO_ad formation and oxidation of CO_ad in reaction with Bi-oxy-species.     

Isolation of phenolic compounds from hop extracts using polyvinylpolypyrrolidone: Characterization by high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

The aim of the present work was the development of a suitable methodology for the separation and determination of phenolic compounds in the hop plant. The developed methodology was based on the sample purification by adsorption of phenolic compounds from the matrix to polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) and subsequent desorption of the adsorbed polyphenols with acetone/water (70:30, v/v). At last, the extract was analyzed by HPLC–DAD and HPLC–ESI-MS/MS. The first phase of this work consisted of the study of the adsorption behavior of several classes of phenolic compounds (e.g. phenolic acids, flavonols, and flavanols) by PVPP in model solutions. It has been observed that the process of adsorption of the different phenolic compounds to PVPP (at low concentrations) is differentiated, depending on the structure of the compound (number of OH groups, aromatic rings, and stereochemistry hindrance). For example, within the phenolic acids class (benzoic, p-hydroxybenzoic, protocatechuic and gallic acids) the PVPP adsorption increases with the number of OH groups of the phenolic compound. On the other hand, the derivatization of OH groups (methylation and glycosylation) resulted in a greatly diminished binding. The use of PVPP revealed to be very efficient for adsorption of several phenolic compounds such as catechin, epicatechin, xanthohumol and quercetin, since high adsorption and recovery values were obtained. The methodology was further applied for the extraction and isolation of phenolic compounds from hops. With this methodology, it was possible to obtain high adsorption values (≥80%) and recovery yield values (≥70%) for the most important phenolic compounds from hops such as xanthohumol, catechin, epicatechin, quercetin and kaempferol glycosides, and in addition it allows the identification of about 30 phenolic compounds by HPLC–DAD and HPLC–ESI-MS/MS.