Determination of penciclovir in human plasma by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: application to a clinical pharmacokinetic study

A rapid, specific and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of penciclovir in human plasma. The method involved simple, one‐step SPE procedure coupled with a C₁₈, 75 × 4.mm, 3µm column with a flow‐rate of 0.5 mL/min, and acyclovir was used as the internal standard. The Quattro Micro mass spectrometry was operated under the multiple reaction‐monitoring mode using the electrospray ionization technique. Using 250 µL plasma, the methods were validated over the concentration range 52.555–6626.181 ng/mL, with a lower limit of quantification of 52.55 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy values were found to be within the assay variability limits as per the FDA guidelines. The developed assay method was applied to a clinical pharmacokinetic study in human volunteers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Franck-Condon effects in collision-induced electronic energy transfer: I2(E; v = 1,2) + He, Ar

Collisions of I2 in the E electronic state with rare gas atoms result in electronic energy transfer to the D, beta, and D' ion-pair electronic states. Rate constants for each of these channels have been measured when I2 is initially prepared in the J = 55, nu = 1 and 2 levels in the E state. The rate constants and effective hard sphere collision cross sections confirm the trends observed when nu = 0 in the E state is initially prepared: He collisions favor population of the D state, while Ar collisions favor population of the beta state. Final state vibrational level distributions are determined by spectral simulation and are found to be qualitatively consistent with the trends in the Franck-Condon factors. The experimental distributions are also compared to the recent quantum scattering calculations of Tscherbul and Buchachenko.     

UV-Vis, fluorescence and NMR spectroscopic investigations on inclusion properties of a designed tetrahomocalix[8]arene with fullerenes C60 and C70 in solution

The present article reports the spectroscopic investigations on non-covalent interaction of fullerenes C(60) and C(70) with a macrocyclic receptor molecule, namely, 1,3,5,7-tetrahomo-p-tert-butylcalix[8]arene (1) in toluene. Jobs method of continuous variation reveals 1:1 stoichiometry for the fullerene complexes of 1. The most fascinating feature of the present study is that 1 binds selectively C(60) compared to C(70) as obtained from binding constant (K) data of C(60)-1 (K(C60-1)) and C(70)-1 (K(C70-1)) complexes which are enumerated to be 265,000 dm(3) mol(-1) and 63,43 dm(3) mol(-1), respectively, and selectivity in binding (K(C60-1)/K(C70-1)) is estimated to be 4.18 as obtained from UV-Vis study. Steady state fluorescence studies reveal quenching of fluorescence of 1 in presence of fullerenes and the K value of the C(60)-1 and C(70)-1 complexes are estimated to be 80,760 and 68,780 dm(3) mol(-1), respectively, with selectivity in binding (K(C60-1)/K(C70-1)) ~1.18. (1)H NMR analysis provides very good support in favor of strong binding between C(60) and 1. The high value of K value for C(60)-1 complex indicates that 1 forms an inclusion complex with C(60).     

Interaction of bathocuproine with metals (Ca, Mg, Al, Ag, and Au) studied by density functional theory

Electronic structure of the interface between a bathocuproine (BCP) molecule and metal surface was studied by density functional theory. The bond energy of BCP with metal surface increased with decreasing work function of metals, that is, Au, Ag, Al, Mg, and Ca in this order. The charge transfer also increased with decreasing metal work function. It was analyzed that the Fermi level and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of BCP are composed of both BCP and metal orbital component, and electron transport properties across the BCP and metal is discussed based on these analyses.     

Synthesis,spectral and structural studies of a Mn(II) complex of [N′-(pyridine-4-carbonyl)-hydrazine]-carbodithioic acid ethyl ester and Mn(II) and Ni(II) complexes of [N′-(pyridine-4-carbonyl)-hydrazine]-carbodithioic acid methyl ester

The new complexes [Mn(Hpchce)₂(o-phen)], {2[Mn(pchcm)(o-phen)₂]}·7H₂O and [Ni(Hpchcm)(o-phen)₂]Cl·CH₃OH with [N′-(pyridine-4-carbonyl)-hydrazine]-carbodithioic acid ethyl ester (H₂pchce) and [N′-(pyridine-4-carbonyl)-hydrazine]-carbodithioic acid methyl ester (H₂pchcm) have been synthesized, containing o-phenanthroline (o-phen) as a coligand. These ligands and their complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR, magnetic susceptibility and single crystal X-ray data. H₂pchce (2), [Mn(Hpchce)₂(o-phen)] (3) {2[Mn(pchcm)(o-phen)₂]}·7H₂O (4) and [Ni(Hpchcm)(o-phen)₂]Cl·CH₃OH (5) crystallized in the monoclinic system, space group Pc, C2/c, P21/n and P21/n, respectively. The (N, O) donor sites of the bidentate ligands chelate the Mn(II) and Ni(II) centers forming a five-membered CN₂OM ring. The resulting complexes are paramagnetic and have a distorted octahedral geometry.     

Synthesis and thermal properties of mesomorphic 1,1'-bis[ω-(4'-cyano-4-biphenyloxy)alkyl] ferrocenes

A new series of 1,1'-disubstituted ferrocene compounds of the type [(η⁵-C₅H₄(CH₂)_nOC₆H₄C₆H₄CN]₂Fe (3a-d, n = 5, 6, 8, 11) incorporating a variable length alkyloxy cyanobiphenyl unit has been prepared and their mesomorphic properties have been investigated. Compounds 3b, c and d exhibit a thermotropic smectic C phase and 3c also exhibits a monotropic smectic A phase over a fairly wide range near ambient temperature.     

Gold-catalysed synthesis of amino acid-derived 2,5-disubstituted oxazoles

Amino acid-derived propargylic amides are cyclised in a one-pot, Au(III)-catalysed operation to yield 5-bromomethyl oxazoles. These compounds are further elaborated to bis-heterocycles, dipeptide mimics and more.     

Antimicrobial activities of essential oil and methanol extract of Coriaria nepalensis

Plant extracts and products have been used for centuries in traditional medicine; for most of them, in addition to the scant scientific credibility, the chemical composition and spectrum of activity are yet to be explored. To put forward this effort and to identify novel antimicrobial agents, the inhibitory activities of methanolic extract and essential oil from Coriaria nepalensis against various microorganisms including pathogenic yeast, and Gram-positive and negative bacteria were evaluated. Chemical compositions of C. nepalensis methanolic extract and essential oil were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In vitro susceptibility tests against all the tested isolates were performed in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and well diffusion assay using standard protocols. All microorganisms tested were profoundly found susceptible to both the C. nepalensis extract and oil with MIC values of 1.3-2.1?mg?mL?1 (Gram-positive bacteria), 1.4-2.2?mg?mL?1 (Gram-negative bacteria) and 0.9-1.6?mg?mL?1 (yeasts). The extent of inhibition was shown more by methanolic extract than by essential oil. This study is the first to report the antimicrobial activity of extracts obtained from the C. nepalensis. It can be concluded that the observed antimicrobial characteristics of C. nepalensis indicate that it might be a promising antimicrobial agent.