Immobilization of porphyrins in poly(hydroxymethylsiloxane)

Three tetracationic porphyrins differing in the position of charged nitrogen atoms on the peripheral substituents — 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin (TMPyP4), 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin (TMPyP2), 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-trimethylammoniophenyl) porphyrin (TMAPP), and hydrophobic 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP), were immobilized by adsorption and encapsulation in poly(hydroxymethylsiloxane) (PHOMS). The so prepared porphyrin-PHOMS composites were characterized by porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy, fluorescence and diffuse reflectance UV-VIS spectroscopy. It was found that porphyrins are immobilized in the PHOMS matrix in the free base monomer form Their irradiation produced singlet oxygen O₂(¹Δ_g) with the lifetime of 10–30 μs.     

Detection of Asp371, Phe375, and Tyr376 Influence on GD-95-10 Lipase Using Alanine Scanning Mutagenesis

GD-95-10 and GD-95-20 lipases are modified GD-95 lipase variants, which lack 10 and 20 C-terminal amino acids, respectively. Previous analysis showed that GD-95-10 lipase has higher activity than GD-95 lipase, while GD-95-20 lipase almost completely loses its activity. Analysis in silico suggested three conservative amino acids at region between 369 and 378 amino acids which can be relevant to the activity of GD-95-10 lipase. These amino acids have direct contacts with residues involved in substrate binding, stabilization of the serine loop or form oxyanion hole. In this work, the role of Asp371, Phe375, and Tyr376 on activity, functionality, and structure of GD-95-10 lipase was analyzed by Ala scanning mutagenesis. We showed that even a single mutation can impact the main structure and activity of Geobacillus lipases. Our experiments provide new knowledge about lipases from thermophilic Geobacillus bacteria and are important for protein engineering and synthetic biology. These enzymes and their engineering can be basis for future biocatalysts applied in production of biofuel or other industrial esters.     

A simple and high‐resolution HPLC‐PDA method for simultaneous quantification of local anesthetics in in vitro buccal permeation enhancement studies

A simple, isocratic, high‐resolution and prompt HPLC‐PDA method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of prilocaine (PCL) and lidocaine (LCL) hydrochlorides in in vitro buccal iontophoresis‐driven permeation studies. A reversed‐phase C₁₈ column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 3μm, 110Å) was used for the chromatographic separation. The mobile phase contained acetonitrile: 0.1M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0 (1:1, v/v), plus 0.05% (v/v) diethylamine. The isocratic flow rate was set at 1 mL/min and the detection wavelength was 203 nm. PCL and LCL eluted in 8.9 min and 13 min, respectively, and the system suitability parameters varied within an acceptable range. The method was selective, sensitive, precise, accurate and robust, producing a linear plot at the concentration range of 0.25 to 10 µg/mL. The application of this method was demonstrated by a significant enhancement of the permeation of PCL and LCL with the application of iontophoresis (1 mA/cm² per 1 h) through isolated porcine esophageal epithelium. The amount of the drug retained in the epithelium also increased with the application of an electrical current. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of GSH adducts of adrenaline in biological samples

The sustained high release of catecholamines to circulation is a deleterious condition that may induce toxicity, which seems to be partially related to the products formed by oxidation of catecholamines that can be further conjugated with glutathione (GSH). The aim of the present study was to develop a method for the determination of GSH adducts of adrenaline in biological samples. Two position isomers of the glutathion-S-yl-adrenaline were synthesized and characterized by HPLC using diode array, coulometric and mass detectors. A method for the extraction of these adducts from human plasma was also developed, based on adsorption to activated alumina, which showed adequate recoveries and proved to be crucial in removing interferences from plasma. The selectivity, precision and linearity of the method were all within the accepted values for these parameters. Furthermore, the sensitivity of this method allows the detection of adduct amounts that are within the range of the expected concentrations for these adducts under certain pathophysiological conditions and/or drug treatments. In conclusion, the development of this method allows the direct analysis of GSH adducts of adrenaline in human plasma, providing a valuable tool for the study of the catecholamine oxidation process and its related toxicity.     

MSE with mass defect filtering for in vitro and in vivo metabolite identification

Metabolite identification studies involve the detection and structural characterization of the biotransformation products of drug candidates. These experiments are necessary throughout the drug discovery and development process. The use of high-resolution chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry together with data processing using mass defect filtering is described for in vitro and in vivo metabolite identification studies. Data collection was done using UPLC coupled with an orthogonal hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. This experimental approach enabled the use of MS(E) data collection (where E represents collision energy) which has previously been shown to be a powerful approach for metabolite identification studies. Post-acquisition processing with a prototype mass defect filtering program was used to eliminate endogenous interferences in the study samples, greatly enhancing the discovery of metabolites. The ease of this approach is illustrated by results showing the detection and structural characterization of metabolites in plasma from a preclinical rat pharmacokinetic study.     

Development and prevalidation of a method for phenol determination by solid-phase spectrophotometry

A simple, sensitive and rapid solid-phase spectrophotometric procedure was developed for the determination of traces of phenol with 4-aminoantipyrine as a reagent (AAP-SPS), and the optimal experimental conditions were established. This method was performed by sorption and direct absorbance measurements of the product phenol-AAP sorbed on the anion-exchanger Dowex 1-X4 (0.2 g) at 495 nm (absorption maximum) and 700 nm (non-absorption wavelength). The sensitivity offered by the AAP-SPS procedure was higher by a factor of 40 compared with the respective conventional spectrophotometric method. Metrological characteristics were established using a prevalidation strategy. The AAP-SPS procedure is characterized by a linear calibration function in the working range of 0.05–0.50 μmol, low standard deviation of procedure (±0.012), low limit of determination (0.021 μmol), and favorable random (±0.85 to ±11.27%) and systematic deviations (−4.55 to +11.50%). Moreover, the accuracy of the system investigated by the recovery test is acceptable (99–102%). Favorable working and performance characteristics make the new SPS method ideal for phenol monitoring in pharmaceutical preparations as well as other matrices.     

Interference of Copper(II) ions with Non-covalent Interactions in Uridine or Uridine 5′-Monophosphate Systems with Adenosine,Cytidine, Thymidine and their Monophosphates in Aqueous Solution

Coordination reactions of copper(II) ions and their effect on non-covalent interactions in uridine (Urd) or uridine 5′-monophosphate (UMP) systems with nucleosides (Ado, Cyd, Thd) and nucleotides (AMP and CMP) in aqueous solutions have been studied. At high pH the effective coordination centers are deprotonated N(3) atoms from Urd and Thd, whereas at low pH, the N(3) atoms of pyrimidine nucleosides are blocked for coordination and the metallation sites are endocyclic nitrogen atoms from Ado, Cyd, AMP and CMP. Moreover, at low pH, the main reaction center in nucleotide solutions is the phosphate group. The NMR study has proven the occurrence of non-covalent ion-dipole interactions and stacking interactions in the systems considered. Introduction of a copper ion in the majority of systems causes the disappearance of weak interactions between ligands. The structures of the complexes in solution have been inferred from the equilibrium study: an analysis of the pH range of their occurrence with respect to the pH range of deprotonation of particular groups in the compounds studied, using Vis, EPR and ¹³C as well as ³¹P NMR spectral analysis.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of PE/organoclay nanocomposites

Polyethylene/montmorillonite clay nanocomposites were obtained via direct melt intercalation. The clay was organically modified with four different types of quaternary ammonium salts. The objective of this work is to study the use of montmorillonite clay in the production of nanocomposites by means on rheological, mechanical and crystallization properties of nanocomposites and to compare to the properties of the matrix and PE/unmodified clay nanocomposites. In general, the tensile test showed that the yield strength and modulus of the nanocomposites are close to the pure PE. Apparently, the mixture with Dodigen salt seems to be more stable than the pure PE and PE/unmodified clay.     

Analytical performance of glucometers in a tertiary care hospital

Point-of-care (POC) testing of glucose (glucometers) represents a convenient alternative to monitor glycemia since the measurement procedure is performed without delay after sampling of the capillary blood, thereby avoiding the metabolism by the blood cells of glucose present in plasma. Likely because of sample instability, there is no proficiency test provider in Brazil for this type of POC sample. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the analytical performance of glucometers used in a tertiary care hospital. The glucometers used were the Accu-Chek Performa^® model from Roche Diagnostics, which use the principle of amperometry. The reference method was the reaction with modified hexokinase/glucose-6-phosphate in a Dimension^® device. The stability evaluation of the control samples showed that it can be performed up to 90 min after the collection of whole blood samples. In the two rounds performed, only one result of the 17 glucometers evaluated was out of the threshold of two standard deviation. Thus, this method for control of glucometers met the expectations and enabled comparing the glucometers in a hospital. Given the current quality guidelines, daily internal quality control of glucometers is recommended, besides at least two annual comparisons between the results of the glucometers and the reference method and one EQA every 3 months.