Comparison of HPTLC and HPLC for Determination of Econazole Nitrate in Topical Dosage Forms

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - HPTLC and HPLC methods have been established for separation and quantitative determination of econazole nitrate. HPTLC was...     

Chemical oxidative polymerization of safranines

Phenosafranine and safranine have been oxidized with ammonium peroxydisulfate in acidic aqueous solution. The oxidative coupling of both safranines was proved by gel permeation chromatography demonstrating the presence of oligomeric chains of mass-average molar masses 6500 and 4500 g mol-1 for polyphenosafranine and polysafranine, respectively. A theoretical study of the mechanism of safranine and phenosafranine polymerization was based on the MNDO-PM3 semiempirical quantum chemical computations of the heat of formation of dimeric reaction intermediates, taking into account solvation effects. The study of the redox properties of the hydrated safranines and their reactive species shows that nitrenium cations are the main reactive species generated by the oxidation of the parent safranines with a two-electron oxidant, peroxydisulfate, in the initiation phase. The dominant dimers of safranines are formed by N-C coupling reactions between nitrenium cations and the parent safranines. The main coupling reactions of phenosafranine are N-C2 (C8) and N-C4 (C6); N-C4 (C6) is the dominant coupling mode for safranine. The molecular structure of oligosafranines has been studied by FTIR, Raman, and UV-vis spectroscopies. Besides prevalent unoxidized monomeric units, polymerization products of safranines contain also the iminoquinonoid and newly formed fused phenazine units.     

Chemical oxidative polymerization of aminodiphenylamines

The course of oxidation of 4-aminodiphenylamine with ammonium peroxydisulfate in an acidic aqueous ethanol solution as well as the properties of the oxidation products were compared with those of 2-aminodiphenylamine. Semiconducting oligomers of 4-aminodiphenylamine and nonconducting oligomers of 2-aminodiphenylamine of weight-average molecular weights 3700 and 1900, respectively, were prepared by using an oxidant to monomer molar ratio of 1.25. When this ratio was changed from 0.5 to 2.5, the highest conductivity of oxidation products of 4-aminodiphenylamine, 2.5 x 10 (-4) S cm (-1), was reached at the molar ratio [oxidant]/[monomer] = 1.5. The mechanism of the oxidative polymerization of aminodiphenylamines has been theoretically studied by the AM1 and MNDO-PM3 semiempirical quantum chemical methods combined with the MM2 molecular mechanics force-field method and conductor-like screening model of solvation. Molecular orbital calculations revealed the prevalence of N prim-C10 coupling reaction of 4-aminodiphenylamine, while N prim-C5 is the main coupling mode between 2-aminodiphenylamine units. FTIR and Raman spectroscopic studies confirm the prevalent formation of linear N prim-C10 coupled oligomers of 4-aminodiphenylamine and suggest branching and formation of phenazine structural units in the oligomers of 2-aminodiphenylamine. The results are discussed with respect to the oxidation of aniline with ammonium peroxydisulfate, leading to polyaniline, in which 4-aminodiphenylamine is the major dimer and 2-aminodiphenylamine is the most important dimeric intermediate byproduct.     

Divergent synthesis of cytotoxic styryl lactones from D-xylose. The first total synthesis of (+)-crassalactone C

A new divergent approach to (+)-goniofufurone (1) and 7-epi-(+)-goniofufurone (2), as well as the first total synthesis of crassalactone C (3), has been achieved starting from D-xylose. In a preliminary bioassay, all three natural products 1, 2, and 3 showed remarkable in vitro antiproliferative activities against K562, Raji, and HeLa neoplastic cell lines.     

Micro-bioreactor array for controlling cellular microenvironments

High throughput experiments can be used to spatially and temporally investigate the many factors that regulate cell differentiation. We have developed a micro-bioreactor array (MBA) that is fabricated using soft lithography and contains twelve independent micro-bioreactors perfused with culture medium. The MBA enables cultivation of cells that are either attached to substrates or encapsulated in hydrogels, at variable levels of hydrodynamic shear, and with automated image analysis of the expression of cell differentiation markers. The flow and mass transport in the MBA were characterized by computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling. The representative MBA configurations were validated using the C2C12 cell line, primary rat cardiac myocytes and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) (lines H09 and H13). To illustrate the utility of the MBA for controlled studies of hESCs, we established correlations between the expression of smooth muscle actin and cell density for three different flow configurations.     

Characterization of photochemical processes for H2 production by CdS nanorod-[FeFe] hydrogenase complexes

We have developed complexes of CdS nanorods capped with 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) and Clostridium acetobutylicum [FeFe]-hydrogenase I (CaI) that photocatalyze reduction of H(+) to H(2) at a CaI turnover frequency of 380-900 s(-1) and photon conversion efficiencies of up to 20% under illumination at 405 nm. In this paper, we focus on the compositional and mechanistic aspects of CdS:CaI complexes that control the photochemical conversion of solar energy into H(2). Self-assembly of CdS with CaI was driven by electrostatics, demonstrated as the inhibition of ferredoxin-mediated H(2) evolution by CaI. Production of H(2) by CdS:CaI was observed only under illumination and only in the presence of a sacrificial donor. We explored the effects of the CdS:CaI molar ratio, sacrificial donor concentration, and light intensity on photocatalytic H(2) production, which were interpreted on the basis of contributions to electron transfer, hole transfer, or rate of photon absorption, respectively. Each parameter was found to have pronounced effects on the CdS:CaI photocatalytic activity. Specifically, we found that under 405 nm light at an intensity equivalent to total AM 1.5 solar flux, H(2) production was limited by the rate of photon absorption (~1 ms(-1)) and not by the turnover of CaI. Complexes were capable of H(2) production for up to 4 h with a total turnover number of 10(6) before photocatalytic activity was lost. This loss correlated with inactivation of CaI, resulting from the photo-oxidation of the CdS capping ligand MPA.     

DNA binding and antitumor activities of platinum(IV) and zinc(II) complexes with some S-alkyl derivatives of thiosalicylic acid

A series of complexes of platinum(IV) (C1–C5) and zinc(II) (C6–C10) with S-alkyl derivatives of thiosalicylic acid were prepared and characterized. The interactions of the complexes with calf thymus DNA were analyzed by absorption (UV–Vis) and emission spectral studies (ethidium bromide displacement studies). The cytotoxic activities of complexes C1–C10 were determined against mouse B cell lymphocytic leukemia cells (BCL1), human B-prolymphocytic leukemia (JVM-13), mouse mammary carcinoma cells (4T1), and human mammary carcinoma cells (MDA-MB-468) and compared to the activities of the free ligand precursors and cisplatin. The cytotoxicities of the platinum(IV) and zinc(II) complexes toward mouse tumor cell lines were higher compared with their effects on human tumor cell lines. The zinc(II) complex C9 showed the highest antitumor activity toward the tested human cell lines, while the platinum(IV) complex C4 exhibited the highest antitumor activity toward mouse BCL1 and 4T1 cells. Both C4 and C9 have ligands derived from S-propyl thiosalicylic acid.     

4‐Amino‐N‐isopropyl­benzamidinium chloride ethanol solvate

The title compound, C₁₀H₁₆N·Cl⁻·C₂H₆O, is an important intermediate in the convergent synthesis of amidine‐substituted polycyclic heterocycles, a class of compounds that shows significant anticancer activity. The molecule of (I) is not planar, having a dihedral angle of 25.00 (7)° between the aniline and amidine (–C—NH=C=NH₂) groups. The proton­ation of the amidine molecular fragment is accompanied by delocalized C—N bond distances of 1.320 (2) and 1.317 (2) Å. The cations and chloride anions are involved in a network of hydrogen bonds, resulting in the formation of infinite chains propagating along the b direction. The chains are further grouped within the ab plane, in such a way that the structure is segregated into layers dominated by hydro­phobic interactions involving N‐isopropyl residues and layers dominated by N—H⋯Cl [N⋯Cl = 3.275 (2)–3.596 (2) Å], O—H⋯Cl [O⋯Cl = 3.229 (3) Å] and N—H⋯O [N⋯O = 2.965 (3) Å] hydrogen bonds.     

Synthesis, X-ray structural analysis, and cytotoxic activity of some new androstane d-homo lactone derivatives

A series of d-homo lactones 4?C10 from dehydroepiandrosterone 1 via 16-hydroximino derivatives 2 and 3 were synthesized. The d-homo lactone 4 was transformed by the Oppenauer oxidation to obtain compound 5. The (Z)-2-hydroxymethylene-4-en-3-one compound 6, was obtained through reaction of 4-en-3-one compound 5 with ethyl formate and sodium hydride. The epoxides 8 and 9 were prepared from compound 7 by oxidation with m-chloroperbenzoic acid. Compound 10 was obtained by treating epoxides 8 and 9 with chromium(VI)-oxide. The structure of compounds 6 and 10 were confirmed by X-ray structural analysis. These derivatives were screened for antitumor activity against three tumor cell lines (human breast adenocarcinoma ER+, MCF-7, human breast adenocarcinoma ER?, MDA-MB-231, prostate cancer AR?, PC-3), and one human non-tumor cell line, MRC-5. Compounds 4, 7, 8, and 10 exhibited significant antitumor activity against MDA-MB-231 cells, while compound 5 showed strong cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231. No compounds displayed toxicity against MRC-5 cells.     

Probing weak molecular orbital interactions in non-conjugated diene molecules by means of near-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Carbon and oxygen near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of 1,4-cyclohexadiene, p-benzoquinone, norbornadiene, norbornadienone, and cis-cis-[4,4,2]propella-3,8-diene-11,12-dione were calculated by means of Hartree-Fock and hybrid density functional theory using the static-exchange (STEX) approximation. The NEXAFS spectra are used as a probe to identify weak molecular interactions between the two non-conjugated ethylenic pi* orbitals present in these molecules. We show that the X-ray absorption spectrum of 1,4-cyclohexadiene exhibits some particular spectral structures in the discrete energy region that evidence diene through-bond orbital interaction, whereas absorption peaks are identified in the norbornadiene and norbornadienone spectra that indicate effective through-space orbital interactions. The molecular structure of the cis-cis-[4,4,2]propella-3,8-diene-11,12-dione isomer is such that the indirect through-bond or through-space diene orbital interactions are too weak to be assigned by its C1s NEXAFS spectrum.