Potential applications of microcalorimetry for the study of physical processes in pharmaceuticals

In calorimetry, the heat-flow to or from a sample is measured as a function of time (isothermal calorimetry) or temperature (scanning calorimetry). The technique is not dependent on the physical form of the sample and is usually non-destructive (exceptions include temperature-induced irreversible phase transitions and thermal decomposition). The inherent sensitivity of modern instruments allows measurements on the micro-Watt scale. Calorimetry is highly suited to the study of pharmaceutical systems because small sample masses are usually required and the technique is very sensitive to changes induced by, for instance, formulation or processing. It is the purpose of this review to show applications of both isothermal and scanning calorimetry in the field of physical and bio-physical pharmacy. Potential applications include studies of physical stability, excipient compatibility, chemical stability and the study of the potential interactions of and between macromolecules such as lipids, surfactants, and nucleic acids.     

TiO2 Catalyzed Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) Conversion in Water: Evidence That This Model Reaction Probes Basicity in Addition to Acidity

In this paper, evidence is provided that the model reaction of aqueous dihydroxyacetone (DHA) conversion is as sensitive to the TiO₂ catalysts’ basicity as to their acidity. Two parallel pathways transformed DHA: while the pathway catalyzed by Lewis acid sites gave pyruvaldehyde (PA) and lactic acid (LA), the base-catalyzed route afforded fructose. This is demonstrated on a series of six commercial TiO₂ samples and further confirmed by using two reference catalysts: niobic acid (NbOH), an acid catalyst, and a hydrotalcite (MgAlO), a basic catalyst. The original acid-base properties of the six commercial TiO₂ with variable structure and texture were investigated first by conventional methods in gas phase (FTIR or microcalorimetry of pyridine, NH₃ and CO₂ adsorption). A linear relationship between the initial rates of DHA condensation into hexoses and the total basic sites densities is highlighted accounting for the water tolerance of the TiO₂ basic sites whatever their strength. Rutile TiO₂ samples were the most basic ones. Besides, only the strongest TiO₂ Lewis acid sites were shown to be water tolerant and efficient for PA and LA formation.     

等温微量热法在生命科学研究中的应用

简要介绍了等温微量热法的原理、典型的仪器及其在生命科学研究中应用所具有的特点。通过它可获得完整的细胞代谢过程产热曲线及其热动力学方程；可以研究细胞器的代谢规律；可以获取生物大分子与小分子相互作用的热动力学特征。     

Isothermal microcalorimetric studies on starch retrogradation

In the present study, isothermal microcalorimetry was introduced as a tool to investigate properties of starch retrogradation during the first 24 h. The study was made on purified amylose and amylopectin from corn, as well as on native starches, such as wheat, potato, maize, waxy maize and amylomaize, differing in their amylose content. The results were obtained in the form ofP-t traces (thermal powervs. time), and integration of these traces gave a net exothermic enthalpy of reaction, caused by the crystallization of amylose and amylopectin. TheP-t traces reflected the quantities of amylose and amylopectin in the starch studied. Depending on the amylose content and the botanical source of the starch, the rate of crystallization of amylose was high and predominated over that of amylopectin during the first 5–10 h. The contribution from amylose crystallization to the measured exothermic enthalpy was very substantial during this period. After 10 h, amylose crystallized at a lower constant rate. During the first 24 h, amylopectin crystallized at a low steady rate. The exothermic enthalpies obtained by the isothermal microcalorimetric investigations during the first 24 h of retrogradation were generally low in relation to the endothermic melting enthalpies observed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements after 24 h of storage. The discrepancies in enthalpy values between the two methods are discussed in relation to phase separation and the endothermic effects owing to the decrease in polymer-water interactions when polymer-rich regions in the starch gel separate. Besides the exothermic enthalpies obtained, theP-t traces also made it possible to study the initial gelation properties of amylose from different botanical sources. The present study further demonstrated that isothermal microcalorimetry can provide a possible way to investigate the antistaling effect of certain polar lipids, such as sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) and 1-monolauroyl-rac-glycerol (GML), when added to starches of different botanical origin. The net exothermic heat of reaction for starch retrogradation during the first 24 h was decreased when GML or SDS was added to the starch gels. The recordedP-t traces also showed how the effect of the added lipid influenced different periods during the first 24 h of starch retrogradation, and that the effect depended mainly on the amylose content, the botanical source of the starch, and the type of lipid used. When GML or SDS was added to waxy maize, the isothermal microcalorimetric studies clearly indicated some interaction between amylopectin and the polar lipids. These results concerning the action of anti-staling agents are further discussed in relation to the helical inclusion complexes formed between amylose-polar lipid and amylopectin-polar lipid.The authors thank Eva Qvarnström at the Dept. of Thermochemistry and Eva Tjerneld at the Dept. of Food Technology for valuable practical assistance. Financial support was obtained from the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research (SJFR) and the Swedish Farmer's Foundation for Agricultural Research (Stiftelsen Lantbruksforskning).     

A Microcalorimetric Study of Host–Guest Complexes of α-Cyclodextrin with Alkyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromides in Aqueous Solutions

Interactions between α-CD and three alkyl trimethyl ammonium bromides, a homologues series of surfactants, in aqueous solutions have been investigated with titration microcalorimetry at 298.15 K. The results are discussed in the light of the amphiphilic interaction and the iceberg structure of water molecules existing around the hydrophobic tail of the surfactant. The stoichiometry of the host–guest complex changes from 1:1 to 2:1, as the number of carbon atoms (n) in the hydrophobic chain, C_nH_2n+1, increases from 8 to 14. All the complexes are quite stable, with the apparent experiential stability constants being β₁ = 2.65 × 10³ dm³-mol⁻¹, β₂ = 4.85 × 10⁶ dm⁶-mol⁻², β₂ = 6.50 × 10⁶ dm⁶-mol⁻², respectively for n = 8, 12, 14. All the complexation processes are shown to be enthalpy driven, and the standard enthalpy effect (−ΔH⁰) increases while standard entropy change (ΔS⁰) decreases with elongation of the hydrophobic chain.     

Microcalorimetric Evaluation of the Effect of Kanamycin： An Analysis Based on the Median-Effect Principle

A study of the effect of drug, kanamycin, on the growth metabolism of recombinant Escherichia coli B 1 was carded out by microcalorimeter monitoring of the metabolic activity of treated cells. Power-time curves of growing recombinant Escherichia coli cell suspensions, treated with different kanamycin doses, were recorded. The extent of the effect was evaluated by changes in the slopes of the microcalorimetric curves and the kinetics of the drug action was interpreted from the time at which these changes reached their maximum values and maintained their maximum values. Experimental dose-effect relationships conform to the median-effect principle of the mass-action law： fa/（1-fa）=（D/D50）^m. A plot of y=lg[（fa）^1-1]^-1 versus x=lg D gives the slope m, D50 and R∞. The experimental results revealed that high concentration of kanamycin had an inhibitory effect on the growth of recombinant Escherichia coli B 1 in the lg phase, and had a promoting effect in the stationary period. Moreover, it was demonstrated that microcalorimetry was a reliable method for the detection of modulatory effects in biology.     

立方体纳米Cu2O表面热力学函数的粒度及温度效应

液相还原法合成了4种粒度在40-120 nm的立方体纳米氧化亚铜（Cu₂O）。利用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、显微拉曼光谱仪和场发射扫描电子显微镜（FE-SEM）对纳米Cu₂O的物相组成及形貌结构进行了表征。采用原位微热量技术实时获取纳米/块体Cu₂O与HNO₃反应过程的热动力学信息,结合热化学循环及动力学过渡态理论计算得到纳米Cu₂O的表面热力学函数。在薛永强等建立的无内孔球形纳米颗粒的热力学模型基础上,发展了立方体纳米颗粒的热力学模型。最后由理论结合实验结果分析了粒度和温度对表面热力学函数的影响规律及原因。结果表明,摩尔表面Gibbs自由能、摩尔表面焓和摩尔表面熵均随粒度减小而增大,且与粒度的倒数呈线性关系,这与立方体热力学模型规律一致;随着温度的升高,摩尔表面焓和摩尔表面熵均增大,摩尔表面Gibbs自由能则减小。本文不仅丰富和发展了纳米热力学基本理论,还为纳米材料表面热力学研究及应用提供了方法和思路。     

Microcalorimetric Investigation of Influence of Fungicide SYP-L190 on Growth Metabolism of Tetrahyrnena therrnophila and Bacillus thuringiensis

Flumorph (SYP‐L190) is a new systemic fungicide with good protective, curative and antisporulant activities but no phytotoxicity to certain plants. Its performance on the environmental ecosystem is unknown. Tetrahymena thermophila and Bacillus thuringiensis are two of biological indicators for the aquatic and soil environmental ecosystem respectively. Microcalorimetric technique based on the heat output was applied to evaluate the influence of fungicide flumorph (SYP‐L190) on the two microorganisms. The thermogenic curves and corresponding thermodynamic and thermokinetic parameters were obtained. SYP‐L190 at a concentration of 50–100 µg·mL^?1 had 5% –10% inhibitory ratios aganist Tetrahymena thermophila and was used as a protection reagent, while at a concentration of 100–200 µg·mL^?1 SYP‐L190 had 10% –20% inhibitory ratios and was used as a therapy reagent. The metabolic thermogenic curves of Bacillus thuringiensis contained bacterial growth phase and sporulation phase. The SYP‐L190 at a concentration of 0–200 µg·mL^?1 had no influence on bacterial growth phase, but led to a little lag of the sporulation phase with a constant heat output. Hormesis was obviously observed in present study.     

Microcalorimetric studies on the interactions of lanthanide ions with bovine serum albumin

The interactions of lanthanide ions (Ln³⁺) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) under mimetic physiological conditions (310.15 K, pH 6.7, 0.1MNaCl) were studied by microcalorimetry. For the first time, based on Two Sets of Independent Sites Model, molar enthalpies (Δ_r H _m1, Δ_r H _m2) and coordination number (n ₁, n ₂) of the two sets of binding sites with different affinity were obtained directly from the microcalorimetric results. It was shown that the interactions are endothermic and entropy-driving processes. By combining with fluorescence spectroscopy, other thermodynamic parameters (Δ_r G _m1, Δ_r S _m1) were determined for high-affinity specific sites.