Validation and clinical application of an LC‐ESI‐MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of tolmetin and MED5, the metabolites of amtolmetin guacil in human plasma

A highly sensitive, rapid assay method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous estimation of tolmetin (TMT) and MED5 in human plasma with liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization in the positive‐ion mode. A simple solid‐phase extraction process was used to extract TMT and MED5 along with mycophenolic acid (internal standard, IS) from human plasma. Chromatographic separation was achieved with 0.2% formic acid–acetonitrile (25:75, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.50 mL/min on an X‐Terra RP₁₈ column with a total run time of 2.5 min. The MS/MS ion transitions monitored were 258.1 → 119.0 for TMT, 315.1 → 119.0 for MED5 and 321.2 → 207.0 for IS. Method validation and clinical sample analysis were performed as per FDA guidelines and the results met the acceptance criteria. The lower limit of quantitation achieved was 20 ng/mL and the linearity was observed from 20 to 2000 ng/mL, for both the anlaytes. The intra‐day and inter‐day precisions were in the range 3.27–4.50 and 5.32–8.18%, respectively for TMT and 4.27–5.68 and 5.32–8.85%, respectively for MED5. This novel method has been applied to a clinical pharmacokinetic study. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surfactant‐Stabilized Small Hydrogel Particles in Oil: Hosts for Remarkable Activation of Enzymes in Organic Solvents

Hydrogels of amino acid based cationic surfactant having C₁₆ tails were used to immobilize heme proteins and enzyme. These hydrogel‐entrapped proteins/enzyme showed remarkable activation when dispersed in organic solvent. The activation effect (ratio of the activity of the hydrogel‐entrapped enzyme in organic solvent to the activity of the native enzyme in water) of cytochrome c increased up to 350‐fold with varying protein and gelator concentration. Hydrogel‐entrapped hemoglobin and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) also showed markedly improved activity in organic solvent. Alteration in the structure of the gelator and its supramolecular arrangement showed that the protein immobilized within amphiphilic networks with larger interstitial space exhibited higher activation. This striking activation of hydrogel‐entrapped proteins stems from the following effects: 1) the hydrophilic domain of the amphiphilic networks facilitates accessibility of the enzyme to the water‐soluble substrate. 2) the surfactant, as an integral part of the amphiphilic network, assists in the formation of a distinct interface through which reactants and products are easily transferred between hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains. 3) Surfactant gelators help in the dispersion and stabilization of gel matrix into small particles in organic solvent, which enhances the overall surface area and results in improved mass transfer. The activation was dramatically improved up to 675‐fold in the presence of nongelating anionic surfactants that helped in disintegration of the gel into further smaller‐sized particles. Interestingly, hydrogel‐immobilized HRP exhibited about 2000‐fold higher activity in comparison to the activity of the suspended enzyme in toluene. Structural changes of the entrapped enzyme and the morphology of the matrix were investigated to understand the mechanism of this activation.     

Colloidal Microcapsules: Self‐Assembly of Nanoparticles at the Liquid–Liquid Interface

Colloidal microcapsules (MCs) are highly modular, inherently multiscale constructs of capsules stabilized by nano‐/microparticle shells, with applications in many areas of materials and biological sciences, such as drug delivery, encapsulation, and microreactors. Until recently, fabrication of colloidal MCs focused on the use of submicron‐sized particles because the smaller nanoparticles (NPs) are inherently unstable at the interface owing to thermal disorder. However, stable microcapsules can now be obtained by tuning the interactions between the nanometer‐sized building blocks at the liquid–liquid interface. This Review highlights recent developments in the fabrication of colloidal MCs using NPs.     

Fabrication of Large‐Scale Hierarchical ZnO Hollow Spheroids for Hydrophobicity and Photocatalysis

We report here the preparation of a crystalline, pure hexagonal phase of ZnO as hollow 500–800 nm spheroids in the presence of organic bases, such as pyridine, using zinc acetate as the precursor salt. The spheroids exhibit unique 3D hierarchical architectures, like cocoons, and demonstrate improved superhydrophobic (water contact angle, 150°) character due to the inherited air‐trapped capillarity within the cocoon structure. The simple synthetic strategy used in this process is modified hydrothermolysis (MHT), which represents a general approach and may contribute to the formation mechanism of the hollow nanostructures with highly improved porosity. Depending on the concentration of the precursor salt, it has been possible to cover glass plates or the inner wall of a reaction vessel with ZnO nanocrystals. A low salt concentration (<0.01 M ) allows the easy preparation of a superhydrophobic glass surface, whereas a high salt concentration (>0.01 M ) results in the precipitation of cocoons at the bottom of the reaction vessel as a solid mass together with a deposited thin film of ZnO nanocrystals covering the inner wall of the glass vessel. The thickness of the film successively grows through repetitive hydrothermolysis processes for which a low salt concentration (<0.01 M ) was employed. Because of the hollow cocoonlike morphology, the surface area of the film is greatly increased, which makes it accessible for functionalization by incoming substrates from both sides (internally and externally) and helps to drive a competent photocatalytic dye degradation pathway. The heterocyclic base pyridine exclusively develops cocoons. Thus, the mechanism of self‐aggregation of ZnO nanocrystals under MHT reaction conditions has been studied and the characterization of the compounds has been supported with physical measurements.     

Properties of Ionic Liquid Confined in Porous Silica Matrix

Porous silica matrices of different pore sizes with confined ionic liquid (1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) [BMIM] [PF₆] were prepared by sol‐gel technique using a tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) precursor with an aim to study the changes in physico‐chemical properties of ionic liquid on confinement. It is found that on confinement 1) melting point decreases, 2) fluorescence spectra shows a red shift and 3) the vibrational bands are affected particularly those of imadazolium ring, which interacts more with the walls of the silica matrix. Preliminary theoretical calculations suggest that SiO₂ matrix interact more with the heterocyclic group of [BMIM] cation than the tail alkyl chain end group resulting in significant changes in the aromatic vibrations.     

Improved Performance of an Amperometric Biosensor with Polydiaminonaphthalene on Electrochemically Deposited Au Nanoparticles

The performance of an enzyme sensor fabricated through covalent bond formation on the HRP‐bonded poly(1,8‐diaminonaphthalene) (polyDAN) layer with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was applied to catalyze the electrochemical reduction of H₂O₂. The surface characteristics of the sensor probe were studied using cyclic voltammetry, SEM, XPS, QCM, and impedance spectroscopy. The AuNP‐deposited surface resulted in higher conductivity and sensitivity for H₂O₂ detection in phosphate buffer solution. A linear calibration plot was obtained in the H₂O₂ concentration range between 10.0 μM and 25.0 mM with detection limit 5.0±1.25 μM. The lifetime of HRP/polyDAN/AuNP/GC probe was over 70 days without response loss.     

Amino Acid Based Low‐Molecular‐Weight Ionogels as Efficient Dye‐Adsorbing Agents and Templates for the Synthesis of TiO2 Nanoparticles

The gelation of ionic liquids is attracting significant attention because of its large spectrum of applications across different disciplines. These ‘green solvents’ have been the solution to a number of common problems due to their eco‐friendly features. To expand their applications, the gelation of ionic liquids has been achieved by using amino acid‐based low‐molecular‐weight compounds. Variation of individual segments in the molecular skeleton of the gelators, which comprise the amino acid and the protecting groups at the N and C termini, led to an understanding of the structure–property correlation of the ionogelation process. An aromatic ring containing amino acid‐based molecules protected with a phenyl or cyclohexyl group at the N terminus were efficient in the gelation of ionic liquids. In the case of aliphatic amino acids, gelation was more prominent with a phenyl group as the N‐terminal protecting agent. The probable factors responsible for this supramolecular association of the gelators in ionic liquids have been studied with the help of field‐emission SEM, ¹H NMR, FTIR, and luminescence studies. It is the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance that needs to be optimized for a molecule to induce gelation of the green solvents. Interestingly, to maximize the benefits from using these green solvents, these ionogels have been employed as templates for the synthesis of uniform‐sized TiO₂ nanoparticles (25–30 nm). Furthermore, as a complement to their applications, ionogels serve as efficient adsorbents of both cationic and anionic dyes and were distinctly better relative to their organogel counterparts.     

Nanofibrous polyaniline thin film prepared by plasma‐induced polymerization technique for detection of NO2 gas

A nanofibrous polyaniline (PANI) thin film was fabricated using plasma‐induced polymerization method and explored its application in the fabrication of NO₂ gas sensor. The effects of substrate position, pressure, and the number of plasma pulses on the PANI film growth rate were monitored and an optimum condition for the PANI thin film preparation was established. The resulting PANI film was characterized with UV–visible spectrophotometer, FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The PANI thin film possessed nanofibers with a diameter ranging from 15 to 20 nm. The NO₂ gas sensing behavior was studied by measuring the change in electrical conductivity of PANI film with respect to NO₂ gas concentration and exposure time. The optimized sensor exhibited a sensitivity factor of 206 with a response time of 23 sec. The NO₂ gas sensor using nanofibrous PANI thin film as sensing probe showed a linear current response to the NO₂ gas concentration in the range of 10–100 ppm. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dendronized polymers via Diels–Alder “click” reaction

A modular approach toward the synthesis of polymers containing dendron groups as side chains is developed using the Diels–Alder “click” reaction. For this purpose, a styrene‐based polymer appended with anthracene groups as reactive side chains was synthesized. First through third‐generation polyester dendrons containing furan‐protected maleimide groups at their focal point were synthesized. Facile, reagent‐free, thermal Diels–Alder cycloaddition between the anthracene‐containing polymer and latent‐reactive dendrons leads to quantitative functionalization of the polymer chains to afford dendronized polymers. The efficiency of this functionalization step was monitored using ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and FTIR and UV–vis spectrometry. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 410–416, 2010