Stereospecific capillary electrophoresis assays using pentapeptide substrates for the study of Aspergillus nidulans methionine sulfoxide reductase A and mutant enzymes

Stereospecific capillary electrophoresis‐based methods for the analysis of methionine sulfoxide [Met(O)]‐containing pentapeptides were developed in order to investigate the reduction of Met(O)‐containing peptide substrates by recombinant Aspergillus nidulans methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) as well as enzymes carrying mutations in position Glu99 and Asp134. The separation of the diastereomers of the N‐acetylated, C‐terminally 2,4‐dinitrophenyl (Dnp)‐labeled pentapeptides ac‐Lys‐Phe‐Met(O)‐Lys‐Lys‐Dnp, ac‐Lys‐Asp‐Met(O)‐Asn‐Lys‐Dnp and ac‐Lys‐Asn‐Met(O)‐Asp‐Lys‐Dnp was achieved in 50 mM Tris‐HCl buffers containing sulfated β‐CD in fused‐silica capillaries, while the diastereomer separation of ac‐Lys‐Asp‐Met(O)‐Asp‐Lys‐Dnp was achieved by sulfated β‐CD‐mediated MEKC. The methods were validated with regard to range, linearity, accuracy, limits of detection and quantitation as well as precision. Subsequently, the substrates were incubated with wild‐type MsrA and three mutants in the presence of dithiothreitol as reductant. Wild‐type MsrA displayed the highest activity towards all substrates compared to the mutants. Substitution of Glu99 by Gln resulted in the mutant with the lowest activity towards all substrates except for ac‐Lys‐Asn‐Met(O)‐Asp‐Lys‐Dnp, while replacement Asn for Asp134 lead to a higher activity towards ac‐Lys‐Asp‐Met(O)‐Asn‐Lys‐Dnp compared with the Glu99 mutant. The mutant with Glu instead of Asp134 was the most active among the mutant enzymes. Molecular modeling indicated that the conserved Glu99 residue is buried in the Met‐S‐(O) groove, which might contribute to the correct placing of substrates and, consequently, to the catalytic activity of MsrA, while Asp134 did not form hydrogen bonds with the substrates but only within the enzyme.     

The Convenient Way for Obtaining Geranial by Acid‐Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution of Citral

A new simple method has been developed for isolation of geranial from citral, which is a mixture of two isomeric aldehydes, geranial and neral. The storage of citral in the presence of K10 montmorillonite clay has been demonstrated to result in an almost complete conversion of neral to dimeric and oligomeric products, with most geranial remaining unconverted. This enables isolation of geranial with the yield of up to 94%, based on the amount of geranial originally present in citral.     

Predicting human intestinal absorption in the presence of bile salt with micellar liquid chromatography

Understanding intestinal absorption for pharmaceutical compounds is vital to estimate the bioavailability and therefore the in vivo potential of a drug. This study considers the application of micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) to predict passive intestinal absorption with a selection of model compounds. MLC is already known to aid prediction of absorption using simple surfactant systems; however, with this study the focus was on the presence of a more complex, bile salt surfactant, as would be encountered in the in vivo environment. As a result, MLC using a specific bile salt has been confirmed as an ideal in vitro system to predict the intestinal permeability for a wide range of drugs, through the development of a quantitative partition–absorption relationship. MLC offers many benefits including environmental, economic, time‐saving and ethical advantages compared with the traditional techniques employed to obtain passive intestinal absorption values. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of poly(ethyl acrylate) by single electron transfer‐degenerative chain transfer living radical polymerization in water catalyzed by Na2S2O4

Living radical polymerization of ethyl acrylate was achieved by single‐electron‐transfer/degenerative‐chain transfer mediated living radical polymerization in water catalyzed by sodium dithionite. The plots of number‐average molecular weight versus conversion and ln[M]₀/[M] versus time are linear, indicating a controlled polymerization. This method leads to the preparation of α,ω‐di(iodo)poly(ethyl acrylate) (α,ω‐di(iodo)PEtA) macroinitiator that can be further functionalized. The molecular weight distributions were determined using a combination of three detectors (TriSEC): right‐angle light scattering, a differential viscometer and refractive index. The method studied in this work represents a possible route to prepare well‐tailored macromolecules made of ethyl acrylate in environmental friendly reaction medium. To the best of our knowledge there is no previous report dealing with the synthesis of PEtA by any LRP approach in aqueous medium. Furthermore, the method described in this article was successfully applied in pilot scale reactions under industrial production conditions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 421–432, 2008     

Lie-symmetry group and modeling in non-isothermal fluid mechanics

The symmetry group of the non-isothermal Navier–Stokes equations is used to develop physics-preserving turbulence models for the subgrid stress tensor and the subgrid heat flux. The Reynolds analogy is not used. The theoretical properties of the models are investigated. In particular, their compatibility with the scaling laws of the flow is proven. A numerical test, in the configuration of an air flow in a ventilated and differentially heated room is presented.     

Spray dried excipient base: a novel technique for the formulation of orally disintegrating tablets

Orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) are gaining popularity over conventional tablets due to their convenience in administration and suitability for patients having dysphagia. Moreover no water is required for swallowing the tablets and hence suitable for geriatric, pediatric and traveling patients. The purpose of this study is to assess the suitability of spray dried excipient base in the formulation of ODTs of Valdecoxib (low aqueous solubility) and Metoclopramide (high aqueous solubility). Spray dried excipient base was prepared using Scientech spray drier. Super disintegrants (such as Ac-Di-Sol, Kollidon CL, sodium starch glycolate), diluent (mannitol) alongwith sweetening agent (aspartame) were used in the formulation of tablets. The tablets were evaluated for hardness, friability, water absorption ratio, disintegration time (DT) and in vitro drug release. Using the same excipients, the tablets were prepared by direct compression and were evaluated in the similar way. Maximum drug release and minimum DT were observed with Kollidon CL excipient base as compared to tablets prepared by direct compression, showing the superiority of the spray dried excipient base technique over direct compression technique.     

Spectrofluorometric determination of citalopram in pharmaceutical preparations and spiked human plasma using organized media

The native fluorescence of citalopram (CIT) was obtained in citrate buffer of pH 6.5 with and without beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) or sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as fluorescence enhancers at 305 nm using 242 nm for excitation. Micellar systems of ionic and nonionic surfactants were investigated by measuring the fluorescence intensity of the analyte-surfactant system. In slightly acidic aqueous solution of pH 6.5, CIT was better incorporated in CDs and SDS micelles. The luminescence emission from CIT was found to be greatly enhanced by SDS micelles. The fluorescence intensity enhancements in CDs medium and in SDS as ionic surfactant relative to slightly acidic aqueous solution were 125 and 250%, respectively. Organized media-enhanced spectroflourometric methods were developed for the determination of CIT, in pure form as well as in pharmaceutical preparations. The fluorescence intensity-concentration plots were rectilinear over the ranges 0.06 to 0.64, 0.04 to 0.40, and 0.02 to 0.26 microg/mL with lower detection limits of 0.02, 0.01, and 0.007 microg/mL, either in citrate buffer only or in beta-CD and SDS as organized media, respectively. Furthermore, the high sensitivity attained by using SDS as organized medium allowed in vitro spectrofluorometric determination of CIT in spiked human plasma. Interference from endogenous amino acids has been overcome by using the solid-phase extraction technique; the mean recovery (n = 5) was 100.1+/-0.8%