Study of degradation behavior of besifloxacin,characterization of its degradation products by LC–ESI–QTOF–MS and their in silico toxicity prediction

Knowledge and understanding of the stability profile of a drug is important as it affects its safety and efficacy. In the present work, besifloxacin, a new, fourth‐generation fluoroquinolone antibiotic, was subjected to different forced‐degradation conditions as per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines such as hydrolysis (acid, base and neutral), oxidation, thermal and photolysis. The drug degraded under acidic, basic, oxidative and photolytic conditions while it was found to be stable under dry heat and neutral hydrolytic conditions. In total, five degradation products (DPs) were formed under different conditions—DP1 and DP2 (photolysis), DP3 (oxidation), DP4 (acidic), DP3 and DP5 (basic). The chromatographic separation of besifloxacin and its degradation products was achieved on a Sunfire C₁₈ (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column with 0.1% aqueous formic acid–acetonitrile as a mobile phase. The gradient RP‐HPLC method was developed and validated as per ICH guidelines. The degradation products were characterized with the help of LC–ESI–QTOF mass spectrometric studies and the most likely degradation pathway of the drug was proposed. In silico toxicity assessment of the drug and its degradation products was carried out, which indicated that DP3 and DP4 carry a mutagenicity alert.     

Electrochemical Sensing of Uric Acid Using Glassy Carbon Modified with Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes Dispersed in Polyethylenimine

This work reports the advantages of using glassy carbon electrodes modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) dispersed in polyethylenimine (PEI). The presence of MWCNTs wrapped by PEI largely facilitated the strong adsorption of uric acid (UA) and allowed its highly sensitive and selective quantification even in the presence of high excess of ascorbic acid. The selected conditions for the electrochemical sensing were 5 s accumulation at ?0.300 V under stirring and quantification in a 0.050 M phosphate buffer solution pH 7.40 by differential pulse voltammetry adsorptive‐stripping after medium exchange. The platform allowed the successful application in the quantification of UA in urine.     

The Conformation of Sterically Congested Seven-Membered Rings Containing Tetracoordinate Germanium(IV): A First X-Ray Crystallographic Structure Determination

The X-ray crystallographic analysis of 6,6-dimethyl-2,4,8,10-tetra-tert-octyl-dibenzo[d,f][1,3,2]dioxagermepin, 1 is reported. In the solid-state conformation of 1, the dihedral angle about the C─C sp²-sp ² σ bond connecting the two aryl rings is 50.1°. The observed C₂ symmetry in the solid-state conformation of 1 is consistent with the previously suggested solution conformation.     

Macrocyclic ZnII and CuII complexes as guests of the hybrid composites based on the layered MnPS3 phase. Comparison of spectroscopic properties

A family of macrocyclic complexes [M₂LⁿCl₂] have been synthesized and characterized (M: Cu^II or Zn^II; Lⁿ: macrocyclic ligand derived from 2-hydroxy-5-methyl-1,3-benzenedicarbaldehyde and different aliphatic diamines and o-phenylenediamine). The influence of the aromaticity of the ligand and the metal center on the spectroscopic properties of the complexes (absorption and emission) has been studied. Making use of the weak interactions between hydrated potassium ions and the layers of the K_0.4Mn_0.8PS₃ precursor, the obtained macrocyclic complexes have been intercalated in the interlamellar space by a microwave assisted cationic exchange reaction. The optical properties of the obtained hybrid materials are reported. The absorption edge, recorded by solid state reflectance spectroscopy for Cu^II and the Zn^II macrocycle-based composites, is 1.67–1.76 eV, both shifted to lower energy compared with that of the pristine MnPS₃.     

Synthesis of steroidal dendrimers modified by ‘click’ chemistry with PAMAM dendrons as unimolecular micelles

Novel Fréchet–PAMAM hybrid dendrimers linked by triazole units as unimolecular micelles with a hydrophobic core surrounded by a hydrophilic shell were prepared. The dendritic cores with 3 and 6 alkyne terminal groups were synthesized from 1,3,5-tribromomethyl-benzene (tBrMeB), in one case by direct coupling with 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE); in the second one the tBrMeB was reacted with bis(hydroxymethyl) phenol followed by chlorination of the hydroxyl groups and subsequent coupling to EE. With this strategy, the core can be grown by further substitutions of bis(hydroxymethyl) phenol over the halogenated terminals as Fréchet dendrimer. The hydrophilic shells used were PAMAM type dendrons of 0.5 and 1.5 generations with azide as focal point and tert-butyl ester as end groups. The unimolecular micelles were obtained by cycloaddition between an azide in the selected dendron and the alkyne terminal in the hydrophobic core to obtain a 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole. Once the coupling was achieved, the tert-butyl ester groups were hydrolyzed in trifluoroacetic acid and the corresponding dendrimers with carboxylic acid as end groups were completely soluble in phosphate buffer solutions of pH 7.0, 7.4, and 8.0. All hybrid dendrimers were characterized by High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, and FTIR.     

Determination of lewisite constituents in aqueous samples using hollow-fibre liquid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The applicability of hollow-fibre liquid-phase microextraction for extracting 2-chlorovinyldichloroarsine (lewisite 1), bis(2-chlorovinyl)chloroarsine (lewisite 2), tris(2-chlorovinyl)arsine (lewisite 3) and arsenic trichloride from aqueous samples is reported. Parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of these chemicals were optimised. These parameters included the type of derivatising agent, extraction solvent, derivatisation method, pH, ionic strength, stirring speed and extraction time. A linear range between 0.002 and 0.2 μg/mL was established for the lewisites with good square regression coefficients (0.9955–0.9992). Good reproducibility with relative standard deviations (RSDs) from 8 to 10 % was achieved. The limit of detection was 0.002 μg/mL for the lewisites and 0.005 μg/mL for arsenic trichloride (3:1 signal-to-noise ratio). The extraction method was validated with a proficiency test sample issued by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The rapidity and precision of the new method should help deter against the employment of lewisite as a chemical warfare agent: its use could be confirmed easily from analysis of aqueous samples.     

Single-cell sphingosine kinase activity measurements in primary leukemia

Sphingosine kinase (SK) is a promising therapeutic target in a number of cancers, including leukemia. Traditionally, SK has been measured in bulk cell lysates, but this technique obscures the cellular heterogeneity present in this pathway. For this reason, SK activity was measured in single cells loaded with a fluorescent sphingosine reporter. An automated capillary electrophoresis (CE) system enabled rapid separation and quantification of the phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated sphingosine reporter in single cells. SK activity was measured in tissue-cultured cells derived from chronic myelogenous leukemia (K562), primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from three patients with different forms of leukemia, and enriched leukemic blasts from a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Significant intercellular heterogeneity existed in terms of the degree of reporter phosphorylation (as much as an order of magnitude difference), the amount of reporter uptake, and the metabolites formed. In K562 cells, the average amount of reporter converted to the phosphorylated form was 39?±?26 % per cell. Of the primary PBMCs analyzed, the average amount of phosphorylated reporter was 16?±?25 %, 11?±?26 %, and 13?±?23 % in a chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patient, an AML patient, and a B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL) patient, respectively. These experiments demonstrated the challenge of studying samples comprised of multiple cell types, with tumor blasts present at 5 to 87 % of the cell population. When the leukemic blasts from a fourth patient with AML were enriched to 99 % of the cell population, 19?±?36 % of the loaded sphingosine was phosphorylated. Thus, the diversity in SK activity remained even in a nearly pure tumor sample. These enriched AML blasts loaded significantly less reporter (0.12?±?0.2 amol) relative to that loaded into the PBMCs in the other samples (≥1 amol). The variability in SK signaling may have important implications for SK inhibitors as therapeutics for leukemia and demonstrates the value of single-cell analysis in characterizing the nature of oncogenic signaling in cancer. Figure

Phosphorylation of a fluorescent sphingosine kinase reporter was used to measure single-cell SK activity in primary cells from leukemic patients. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells as well as enriched leukemic blasts were analyzed.     

Ni0.1Co0.9Fe2O4-based electrochemical sensor for the detection of paracetamol

A novel electrochemical sensor based on nickel-doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (Ni_0.1Co_0.9Fe₂O₄)-modified glassy carbon electrode (NCF/GCE) was presented for the sensitive detection of paracetamol. Experimental conditions such as pH, applied potentials and concentration were investigated using cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric techniques. The modified electrode exhibited excellent catalytic response towards the oxidation of paracetamol with good reproducibility. The overpotential for oxidation of paracetamol is decreased, and the current response enhanced significantly on the modified electrode in comparison with that of bare electrode. Linear calibration curve is obtained over the range 2 μM to 8,000 μM having a detection limit of 11 nM. The modified electrode facilitated the simultaneous detection of paracetamol, ascorbic acid, and dopamine with good reproducibility.