Shaping Solid-State Supramolecular Cavities: Chemically Induced Accordionlike Movement of gamma-Zirconium Phosphate Containing Polyethylenoxide Pillars

The hydrophilic oxygen atoms of polyethylenoxide chains inserted as pillars in gamma-zirconium phosphate form hydrogen bonds with the acid groups of the host. As a result the pillars are almost perpendicular to the gamma layers. Upon changing the pH level of the supernatant solution the hydrogen bonds are broken and the pillars become almost perpendicular to the layers (shown schematically). Thus there is a reversible enlargement-shortening of the interlayer space.     

Encapsulation of porphyrins and chlorins in biodegradable nanoparticles: the effect of dye lipophilicity on the extravasation and the photothrombic activity. A comparative study

In the present work, we performed a preclinical inter-comparison study using several photosensitizers with the goal of optimizing photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with age-related macular degeneration. The tested molecules were the porphyrins meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) and meso-tetra-(4-carboxyphenyl)-porphyrin (TCPP), and the chlorins pheophorbide-a (Pheo-a) and chlorin e(6) (Ce(6)). Each of these molecules was entrapped in biodegradable nanoparticles (NP) based on poly(d,l-lactic acid). The influence of the degree of lipophilicity on the incorporation efficiency of the drug in the NPs, and on the dye leakage from blood vessels as well as on the photothrombic efficiency was investigated using the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) as in vivo model. NP characterization showed that the dye was more effectively entrapped in the polymeric matrix when its degree of lipophilicity increased. While less lipophilic compounds (TCPP, Ce(6)) extravasate rather easily, the more lipophilic dyes (TPP, Pheo-a) tend to remain inside the blood vessels. After injection of a drug dose of 1 mg/kg body weight and a drug-light application interval of 1 min, irradiation with light doses ranging from 5 to 20 J/cm(2) led to the highest photothrombic efficiency when using the NPs loaded with the most lipophilic molecule (TPP). The latter induced vascular damage, which was significantly higher than that observed with the other molecules tested. Thus, in addition to minimal leakage from blood vessels, the TPP in NP formulation exhibited photothrombic efficiency similar to Visudyne which was also tested in the CAM model.     

Stability study and quantitative determination of mebeverine hydrochloride in tablets by means of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary A rapid and specific reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method (RPHPLC) is described for the determination of mebeverine hydrochloride in tablets. Elution was performed on an octyl silane column with a methanol-water mixture (75-25), containing 0.05% hexylamine as silanol-blocking agent, adjusted to pH 5.0 with phosphoric acid. The method gave accurate, precise and reproducible results. The mean recovery of the drug from six synthetic tablet mixtures was 100.0% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.94%. In order to test the specificity of the method, the interference of the degradation compounds of mebeverine hydrochloride and of the intermediates from the synthesis was investigated. None of them did interfere. By means of mass spectrometry and UV-spectrophotometry, the degradation compounds of mebeverine were identified as veratric acid and as 4-|ethyl-[2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-methylethyl]amino| 1-butanol. The stability study proved that mebeverine hydrochloride is very stable in tablets; the tablets still contain more than 95% of the declared drug potency after storage for more than one year at 50°C.Colofac; Duspatal; Duspatalin     

A complexometric titration of inorganic sulphate in synthetic detergents

An accurate method for the determination of inorganic sulphate in synthetic detergents has been developed. After addition of a cationic surface-active agent (cetyl pyridinium chloride) to an anionic detergent, sulphate can be determined by means of indirect titration with EDTA, using a mixture of Metalphthalein and Naphthol Green B as indicator.     

New membrane materials for potassium-selective ion-sensitive field-effect transistors

Several polymeric materials were studied as membrane materials for potassium-selective ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) to overcome the problems related with the use of conventional plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) membranes casted on ISFET gate surfaces. Several acrylate materials, such as ACE, Epocryl and derivatives, showed no reproducible results. Three room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV)-type silicone rubbers were tested. The addition-type RTV-2 silicone rubber was not suitable as a membrane material, but the condensation-type RTV-1 and especially the RTV-2 silicone rubber showed good results. ISFETs with a Silopren membrane showed a durability of at least 2 months.     

pH sensitivity of Si--C linked organic monolayers on crystalline silicon surfaces.

The electrochemical behavior of Si--C linked organic monolayers is studied in electrolyte-insulator-Si devices, under conditions normally encountered in potentiometric biosensors, to gain fundamental knowledge on the behavior of such Si electrodes under practical conditions. This is done via titration experiments, Mott-Schottky data analysis, and data fitting using a site-binding model. The results are compared with those of native SiO(2) layers and native SiO(2) layers modified with hexamethyldisilazane. All samples display pH sensitivity. The number of Si--OH groups on the alkylated samples is calculated to be less than 0.7 % of that of a pure SiO(2) insulator, which still causes a pH sensitivity of approximately 25 mV per pH unit in the pH range: 4-7. The alkylated samples hardly suffer from response changes during up- and down-going titrations, which indicates that very little oxide is additionally formed during the measurements. The pK(a) values of all samples with monolayers (4.0-4.4) are lower than that of native SiO(2) (6.0). The long-term drift (of approximately 1 mV h(-1)) is moderate. The results indicate that biosensors composed of alkylated Si substrates are feasible if a cross-sensitivity towards pH in the sensor signal is taken into account.     

Monitoring powder blending by NIR spectroscopy

A strategy is proposed for the monitoring of powder blending. Samples are taken throughout the blender vessel and scanned by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the NIR range. The NIR spectra are first subjected to the Standard Normal Variate transformation (SNV). The first approach consists of overlaying the transformed spectra taken from different locations at each time. To quantify the differences between the spectra, the standard deviation spectrum at each time is calculated and the mean standard deviation value is plotted as a function of time. This plot indicates the time at which the blend is most homogeneous. Each individual spectrum can be compared with the mixture spectrum, which is an approximation of the spectrum of a true homogeneous sample. For that purpose several approaches, i.e. determination of the dissimilarity, Principal Component Analysis, are proposed. As an alternative approach to monitoring the blending the use of SIMPLISMA is recommended.Dedicated to Professor Dr. h.c. mult. J.F.K. Huber on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Investigation of the40Ca(γ,N) reaction at 60 MeV

The values of the angle-integrated cross section for the decay to various low-lying states in³⁹K following the⁴⁰Ca(,) reaction at a mean photon energy of 60 MeV are reported on, together with the values of the reduced Legendre coefficientsa _i . The⁴⁰Ca(,gp) and⁴⁰Ca(,n) reactions yield the same angular cross-section values and these agree with the corresponding RPA-calculations.Senior Research Associate NFWO