Simultaneous quantification of ondansetron and tariquidar in rat and human plasma using a high performance liquid chromatography‐ultraviolet method

Ondansetron, a widely used antiemetic agent, is a P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp) substrate and therefore expression of P‐gp at the blood–brain barrier limits its distribution to the central nervous system (CNS), which was observed to be reversed by coadministration with P‐gp inhibitors. Tariquidar is a potent and selective third‐generation P‐gp inhibitor, and coadministration with ondansetron has shown improved ondansetron distribution to the CNS. There is currently no reported bioanalytical method for simultaneously quantifying ondansetron with a third‐generation P‐gp inhibitor. Therefore, we aimed to develop and validate a method for ondansetron and tariquidar in rat and human plasma samples. A full validation was performed for both ondansetron and tariquidar, and sample stability was tested under various storage conditions. To demonstrate its utility, the method was applied to a preclinical pharmacokinetic study following coadministration of ondansetron and tariquidar in rats. The presented method will be valuable in pharmacokinetic studies of ondansetron and tariquidar in which simultaneous determination may be required. In addition, this is the first report of a bioanalytical method validated for quantification of tariquidar in plasma samples.     

Guest‐Assisted Proton Conduction in the Sulfonic Mesoporous MIL‐101 MOF

Post‐synthesis modification of MIL‐101(Cr)‐NO₂ was explored in order to decorate the organic backbone by propyl‐sulfonic groups, with the aim to incorporate mobile and acidic protons for solid‐state proton electrolyte applications. The resulting solid switched from insulating towards proton superconductive behavior under humidity, while the conductivity recorded at 363 K and 95 % relative humidity reached 4.8×10^?3 S cm^?1. Propitiously, the impregnation of the material by strong acidic molecules (H₂SO₄) further boosted the proton conductivity performances up to the remarkable σ value of 1.3×10^?1 S cm^?1 at 363 K/95 % RH, which reaches the performances of the best proton conductive MOF reported so far.     

Additive‐dependent iptycene incorporation in polyanilines: Insights into the pentiptycene clipping effect and the polymerization mechanism

Despite the long history of polyaniline chemistry, backbone‐substituted polyanilines are limited. Here, we report the synthesis of pentiptycene‐incorporated polyanilines through acidic aniline oxidative polymerization with three pentiptycene derivatives, TA, DA, and TP, as nucleate additives. The reactivity of TA > DA ? TP, as evidenced by structural and property analysis of the corresponding polyaniline products, demonstrates a radical coupling mechanism and the formation of Dewar π‐complex intermediates for the chain propagation. In addition, the iptycene substituent effect on enhancing the electrochemical stability and charge storage capability of polyaniline are discussed with a clip model, namely, the threading of neighboring polyaniline chains through the U‐ and V‐shaped cavities of pentiptycene restricts lateral motions of the polymer chains and promotes interchain conductivity. Density function theory (DFT) calculations suggest a larger clipping effect for the U versus V cavities. Both the conclusion of a terminal planar p‐phenylenediamine (ppda) group being the key component of an effective nucleate and the concept of interchain clipping for enhanced electrochemical performance should facilitate the design and synthesis of novel polyanilines for electronic applications.     

Separation and Retention Behavior of Aromatic Carboxylic Acid Isomers by High‐Performance‐Liquid‐Chromatography Using β‐Cyclodextrin Bonded Phase with Diamine‐s‐Triazine Moiety

A β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) bonded phase with diamine‐s‐triazine moiety was prepared. The separation and retention behavior of the isomers of five aromatic carboxylic acids, including toluic acid, aminobenzoic acid, nitrobenzoic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid, and naphthoic acid were investigated by a high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using the β‐CD bonded phase prepared. The influence of mobile phase pH in the range of 2.7‐3.6 on the retention of these analytes was examined. The isomers of the aromatic carboxylic acids, with the exception of nitrobenzoic acid, were optimally and effectively separated at pH 2.7, while the three isomers of nitrobenzoic acid could be well separated at pH 3.3. Compared with the chromatographic results obtained previously on the amine‐s‐triazine‐β‐CD bonded phase, the retention factors of the isomers of aromatic carboxylic acid on the diamine‐s‐triazine‐β‐CD bonded phase increase to a relatively much greater extent. Thus, the functionality of the spacer arm of the bonded phase playing an important role in the retention of aromatic carboxylic acid isomers is demonstrated. The results also imply that the hydrogen‐bonding interaction and the mechanism of anion exchange sorption as well may contribute significantly to the retention mechanisms.     

A Dual Colorimetric and Fluorometric Sensor for Lead Ion Based on Conjugated Polydiacetylenes

A PDA based sensor, derived from a di‐(2‐picolyl) amine (DPA) substituted diacetylene monomer, displayed a selective colorimetric change and a large fluorescence enhancement in the presence of lead ions. The lead selective PDA‐based chemosensor enabled easy detection of the presence of lead in 100% aqueous solution by the naked‐eye.

     

Solubility of vinylidene fluoride polymers in supercritical CO2 and halogenated solvents

The cloud‐point behaviors of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐22 mol % hexafluoropropylene) (VDF–HFP₂₂) are reported at temperatures up to 250 °C and pressures up to 3000 bar in supercritical CO₂, CHF₃, CH₂F₂, CHClF₂, CClF₃, CH₃CHF₂, CH₂FCF₃, CHF₂CF₃, and CH₃CClF₂. The molecular weight of PVDF has a smaller effect on the cloud point than the solvent quality. Cloud‐point pressures for both fluoropolymers decrease as the solvent polarizability, polar moment per molar volume, and density increases. However, it is extremely difficult to dissolve either fluoropolymer in CClF₃, which has a large polarizability and a small dipole moment. CO₂ is an effective solvent because it complexes with the C F dipole at low temperatures where energetic interactions fix the phase behavior. In addition, polymer architecture has a strong impact on the cloud‐point pressure. VDF–HFP₂₂ has lower cloud‐point pressures than PVDF in all solvents because it has a larger free volume that promotes facile interactions between the solvent and the polymer segments. Cloud‐point data are also reported for amorphous poly(tetrafluoroethylene‐co‐x mol % 2,2‐bistrifluoromethyl‐4,5‐difluoro‐1,3‐dioxole) (TFE–PDD_x ; x = 65 and 85) in CO₂. These data provide an interesting comparison to the PVDF–CO₂ and VDF–HFP₂₂–CO₂ systems because TFE–PDD₆₅ and TFE–PDD₈₇ have very high glass‐transition temperatures of 160 and 240 °C, respectively. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2832–2840, 2000     

Ab initio benchmark study for the oxidative addition of CH4 to Pd: importance of basis-set flexibility and polarization

To obtain a state-of-the-art benchmark potential energy surface (PES) for the archetypal oxidative addition of the methane C-H bond to the palladium atom, we have explored this PES using a hierarchical series of ab initio methods (Hartree-Fock, second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory, fourth-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory with single, double and quadruple excitations, coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD), and with triple excitations treated perturbatively [CCSD(T)]) and hybrid density functional theory using the B3LYP functional, in combination with a hierarchical series of ten Gaussian-type basis sets, up to g polarization. Relativistic effects are taken into account either through a relativistic effective core potential for palladium or through a full four-component all-electron approach. Counterpoise corrected relative energies of stationary points are converged to within 0.1-0.2 kcal/mol as a function of the basis-set size. Our best estimate of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters is -8.1 (-8.3) kcal/mol for the formation of the reactant complex, 5.8 (3.1) kcal/mol for the activation energy relative to the separate reactants, and 0.8 (-1.2) kcal/mol for the reaction energy (zero-point vibrational energy-corrected values in parentheses). This agrees well with available experimental data. Our work highlights the importance of sufficient higher angular momentum polarization functions, f and g, for correctly describing metal-d-electron correlation and, thus, for obtaining reliable relative energies. We show that standard basis sets, such as LANL2DZ+1f for palladium, are not sufficiently polarized for this purpose and lead to erroneous CCSD(T) results. B3LYP is associated with smaller basis set superposition errors and shows faster convergence with basis-set size but yields relative energies (in particular, a reaction barrier) that are ca. 3.5 kcal/mol higher than the corresponding CCSD(T) values.     

Design of Supramolecular Cyclodextrin Complex Sensors for Ion and Molecule Recognition in Water

The design and function of novel supramolecular fluoroionophore/cyclodextrin (CyD) complex sensors for ion and molecule recognition in water are reviewed. For the crown ether fluoroionophore/-CyD complex, the dimerization of the fluoroionophore inside the -CyD is found to be selectively promoted by alkali metal ion binding, thereby resulting in metal-ion-selective pyrene dimer emission in water. This supramolecular function is successfully utilized in the design of a podand fluoroionophore/-CyD complex for sensing toxic lead ion in water. The boronic acid fluoroionophore/-CyD complex binds sugars and produces increased fluorescence emission in water. The response mechanism appears to be due to the suppression of the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from pyrene donor to trigonal phenylboronic acid acceptor. This is a novel emission function provided by the boronic acid fluoroionophore/-CyD complex sensors in water.     

Dynamic identification of phosphopeptides using immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography enrichment, subsequent partial beta-elimination/chemical tagging and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric analysis

The enrichment of phosphopeptides using immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) and subsequent mass spectrometric analysis is a powerful protocol for detecting phosphopeptides and analyzing their phosphorylation state. However, nonspecific binding peptides, such as acidic, nonphosphorylated peptides, often coelute and make analyses of mass spectra difficult. This study used a partial chemical tagging reaction of a phosphopeptide mixture, enriched by IMAC and contaminated with nonspecific binding peptides, following a modified beta-elimination/Michael addition method, and dynamic mass analysis of the resulting peptide pool. Mercaptoethanol was used as a chemical tag and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) immobilized on Sepharose beads was used for IMAC enrichment. The time-dependent dynamic mass analysis of the partially tagged reaction mixture detected intact phosphopeptides and their mercaptoethanol-tagged derivatives simultaneously by their mass difference (-20 Da for each phosphorylation site). The number of new peaks appearing with the mass shift gave the number of multiply phosphorylated sites in a phosphopeptide. Therefore, this partial chemical tagging/dynamic mass analysis method can be a powerful tool for rapid and efficient phosphopeptide identification and analysis of the phosphorylation state concurrently using only MS analysis data.