Design and development of a two‐dimensional system based on hydrophilic and reversed‐phase liquid chromatography with on‐line sample treatment for the simultaneous separation of excreted xenobiotics and endogenous metabolites in urine

In the present work we describe a two‐dimensional liquid chromatographic system (2D‐LC) with detection by mass spectrometry (MS) for the simultaneous separation of endogenous metabolites of clinical interest and excreted xenobiotics deriving from exposure to toxic compounds. The 2D‐LC system involves two orthogonal chromatographic modes, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) to separate polar endogenous metabolites and reversed‐phase (RP) chromatography to separate excreted xenobiotics of low and intermediate polarity. Additionally, the present proposal has the novelty of incorporating an on‐line sample treatment based on the use of restricted access materials (RAMs), which permits the direct injection of urine samples into the system. The work is focused on the instrumental coupling, studying all possible options and attempting to circumvent the problems of solvent incompatibility between the RAM device and the two chromatographic columns, HILIC and RP. The instrumental configuration developed, RAM‐HILIC‐RPLC‐MS/MS, allows the simultaneous assessment of urinary metabolites of clinical interest and excreted compounds derived from exposure to toxic agents with minimal sample manipulation. Thus, it may be of interest in areas such as occupational and environmental toxicology in order to explore the possible relationship between the two types of compounds. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Azasugar inhibitors as pharmacological chaperones for Krabbe disease

Krabbe disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by rapid demyelination of nerve fibers. This disease is caused by defects in the lysosomal enzyme β-galactocerebrosidase (GALC), which hydrolyzes the terminal galactose from glycosphingolipids. These lipids are essential components of eukaryotic cell membranes: substrates of GALC include galactocerebroside, the primary lipid component of myelin, and psychosine, a cytotoxic metabolite. Mutations of GALC that cause misfolding of the protein may be responsive to pharmacological chaperone therapy (PCT), whereby small molecules are used to stabilize these mutant proteins, thus correcting trafficking defects and increasing residual catabolic activity in cells. Here we describe a new approach for the synthesis of galacto-configured azasugars and the characterization of their interaction with GALC using biophysical, biochemical and crystallographic methods. We identify that the global stabilization of GALC conferred by azasugar derivatives, measured by fluorescence-based thermal shift assays, is directly related to their binding affinity, measured by enzyme inhibition. X-ray crystal structures of these molecules bound in the GALC active site reveal which residues participate in stabilizing interactions, show how potency is achieved and illustrate the penalties of aza/iminosugar ring distortion. The structure–activity relationships described here identify the key physical properties required of pharmacological chaperones for Krabbe disease and highlight the potential of azasugars as stabilizing agents for future enzyme replacement therapies. This work lays the foundation for new drug-based treatments of Krabbe disease.     

Doxorubicin Encapsulation in Carbon Nanotubes Having Haeckelite or Stone–Wales Defects as Drug Carriers: A Molecular Dynamics Approach

Doxorubicin (DOX), a recognized anticancer drug, forms stable associations with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNTs when properly functionalized have the ability to anchor directly in cancerous tumors where the release of the drug occurs thanks to the tumor slightly acidic pH. Herein, we study the armchair and zigzag CNTs with Stone–Wales (SW) defects to rank their ability to encapsulate DOX by determining the DOX-CNT binding free energies using the MM/PBSA and MM/GBSA methods implemented in AMBER16. We investigate also the chiral CNTs with haeckelite defects. Each haeckelite defect consists of a pair of square and octagonal rings. The armchair and zigzag CNT with SW defects and chiral nanotubes with haeckelite defects predict DOX-CNT interactions that depend on the length of the nanotube, the number of present defects and nitrogen doping. Chiral nanotubes having two haeckelite defects reveal a clear dependence on the nitrogen content with DOX-CNT interaction forces decreasing in the order 0N > 4N > 8N. These results contribute to a further understanding of drug-nanotube interactions and to the design of new drug delivery systems based on CNTs.     

The Growth of Phosphonium Gold Nanoparticles in Alkaline Media: Kinetics and Mechanism of the Process

Colloid Journal - It has been found that the addition of ammonia water to a gold sol obtained by the Duff method induces the growth of the gold particles. The growth kinetics of such particles in...     

Investigation of the Effect of Artificial Internal Defects on the Tensile Behavior of Laser Powder Bed Fusion 17–4 Stainless Steel Samples: Simultaneous Tensile Testing and X-Ray Computed Tomography

Experimental Mechanics - Insufficient data are available to fully understand the effects of metal additive manufacturing (AM) defects for widespread adoption of the emerging technology....     

Development and Validation of LC-ESI-MS/MS Method for the Determination of Alfuzosin in Human Plasma

Journal of Analytical Chemistry - A new liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for alfuzosin quantification in...