Ion-association method for the spectrophotometric determination of the antitussive drug noscapine

A simple, sensitive and fairly rapid method for the determination of noscapine is described, based on the measurement of the absorbance of the organic soluble ion-association complex formed between the noscapine monocation and a bulky counter anion. Methyl Orange, Bromothymol Blue and Bromocresol Green (BCG) were examined as counter ions. The effect of few solvents, the counter-ion concentration and pH on the extraction were also investigated. The most suitable system was based on BCG (pH 3.0) with chloroform as the extraction solvent. The use of the other counter ions, in conjunction with their respective solvents, was found to be less sensitive. The BCG system exhibits negligible or no interference when used for the determination of 38 ppm of noscapine in the presence of several drug excipients, thus lending itself as a possible procedure for the determination of this alkaloid in pharmaceutical preparations.     

On homotopically equivalent relations for fiber bundles

In this paper, we prove the homotopically equivalent relation to the polyhedron property that play an important role in fiber bundle theory over the suspensions of polyhedron space.     

Development of a selective fluorimetric technique for rapid trace determination of zinc using 3-hydroxyflavone

A sensitive and a selective spectrofluorimetric method have been developed for the rapid determination of trace levels of zinc. The method is based on complex formation between zinc and 3-hydroxyflavone (3HF), which displays an intense emission signal around 478 nm. The analytical performance of the method was examined by considering the factors that affect the complex formation such as pH, mole ratio of the metal and solvent type. The optimum conditions for the complex formation were metal to ligand stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 at pH 7.5 with 0.1 M Tris buffer. Under these conditions the detection limit attained was 1.5 ppb. The method was appropriately validated and yielded relative standard deviations of less than 2% (n = 5), which was considered acceptable. It was successfully applied to the trace determination of zinc in drinking water, hair shampoo and pharmaceutical samples.     

High throughput method for the analysis of cetrizine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical formulations and in biological fluids using a tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)-peroxydisulphate chemiluminescence system in a two-chip device

A fast, economic and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method has been developed for the analysis of cetrizine hydrochloride (CET) in pharmaceutical formulations and in biological fluids. The CL method is based on the oxidation of tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) (Ru (bipy)₃²⁺) by peroxydisulphate in a two-chip device. Up to 180 samples can be analysed per hour, consuming only minute quantities of reagents. Three instrumental setups were tested to find the most economical, sensitive and high throughput setup. In the first setup, a continuous flow of sample and CL reagents was used, whereas in the second setup, a fixed volume (2 μL) of (Ru (bipy)₃²⁺) was introduced into a continuous infusion of peroxydisulphate and the sample. In the third design, a fixed volume of sample (2 μL) was injected while the CL reagents were continuously infused. Compared to the first setup, a 200% signal enhancement was observed in the third setup. Various parameters that influence the CL signal intensity, including pH, flow rates and reagent concentrations, were optimized. A linear response was observed over the range of 50 μg L⁻¹ to 6400 μg L⁻¹ (R² = 0.9959) with RSD values of 1.1% (n = 15) for 1000 μg L⁻¹. The detection limit was found to be 15 μg L⁻¹ (S/N = 3). The amount of consumed sample was only 2 μL, from which the detected amount of CET was found to be 6.5 × 10⁻¹⁴ mol. This procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of CET in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids.     

Utilizing NMR and EPR spectroscopy to probe the role of copper in prion diseases

Copper is an essential nutrient for the normal development of the brain and nervous system, although the hallmark of several neurological diseases is a change in copper concentrations in the brain and central nervous system. Prion protein (PrP) is a copper‐binding, cell‐surface glycoprotein that exists in two alternatively folded conformations: a normal isoform (PrP^C) and a disease‐associated isoform (PrP^Sc). Prion diseases are a group of lethal neurodegenerative disorders that develop as a result of conformational conversion of PrP^C into PrP^Sc. The pathogenic mechanism that triggers this conformational transformation with the subsequent development of prion diseases remains unclear. It has, however, been shown repeatedly that copper plays a significant functional role in the conformational conversion of prion proteins. In this review, we focus on current research that seeks to clarify the conformational changes associated with prion diseases and the role of copper in this mechanism, with emphasis on the latest applications of NMR and EPR spectroscopy to probe the interactions of copper with prion proteins. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and Reactions of Some New Thienopyrimidines

4-Methyl-6-mercapto-2-phenylpyrimidine-5-carbonitrile ( 1 ) was reacted with different halo compounds, namely ethylchloroacetate, chloroacetone, bromoacetanilide, p-chlorobromoacetanilide, and p -methoxy chloroacetanilide in ethanol in the presence of sodium acetate yielded the corresponding S-alkylated derivatives ( 2a-e ). The latter compounds underwent cyclization into thienopyrimidines ( 4a-e ) upon treatment with sodium ethoxide in ethanol. The reaction of ( 4a ) with hydrazine hydrate led to the formation of 5-amino-4-methyl-2-phenylthieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2-carbohydrazide ( 5 ). Compound ( 5 ) was reacted with a variety of reagents to produce other new thienopyrimidines as well as oxadiazolylthienopyrimidines ( 6, 11 ).     

Sulfated Triterpenes from Lemon Balm

The hydroalcoholic (EtOH/H₂O) extract of matured leaf margins of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) afforded a new 3,23‐disulfate of 2α,3β‐23,29‐tetrahydroxyolean‐12‐en‐28‐oic acid 28‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 1 ) and a new 23‐monosulfate of 2α,23‐dihydroxyurs‐12‐en‐28‐oic acid 3‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 2 ), along with six known compounds, i.e., 23‐monosulfate of 2α,3β,19α,23‐tetrahydroxyurs‐12‐ene‐28‐oic acid 28‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 3 ), 3,5,6‐trihydroxydehydro‐α‐ionol 9‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( 4 ), quadranoside III ( 5 ), rosmarinic acid ( 6 ), caffeic acid ( 7 ), and luteolin ( 8 ). All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, antimalarial, and cytotoxic activities. Only rosmarinic acid exhibited substantial antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, whereas sulfated terpenes showed considerably lower or no antimicrobial activity.