Heterogeneous and homogeneous electrochemiluminoimmunoassays of hTSH at disposable oxide-covered aluminum electrodes

Heterogeneous and homogeneous immunoassays of human thyroid stimulating hormone (hTSH) were developed on immunometric basis using aromatic Tb(III) chelates as electrochemiluminescent labels and varied types of disposable oxide-covered aluminum electrodes as the solid phase of the immunoassays. The long luminescence lifetime of the present labels allows the use of time-resolved electrochemiluminescence detection and provide the low detection limits of these labels and, thus, sensitive immunoassays. The primary antibody of immunometric immunoassays was coated upon aluminum oxide surface by physical absorption. In homogeneous immunoassays using 66 μl cell and 15 min incubation time, a linear calibration range of 0.25-324 μU/ml was obtained by applying only a single cathodic excitation pulse in the detection step of the assay.     

A Stability-Indicating LC Method for Candesartan Cilexetil

An isocratic reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method has been developed for quantitative determination of candesartan cilexetil, used to treat hypertension, in the bulk drug and in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The method is also applicable to analysis of related substances. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a 250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle, CN column with a 50:50 (v/v) mixture of phosphate buffer, pH 3.0, and acetonitrile as mobile phase. The flow rate was 1.0 mL min⁻¹ and the detection wavelength was 210 nm. Resolution of candesartan cilexetil and six potential impurities was greater than 2.0 for all pairs of compounds. The drug was subjected to hydrolytic, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal stress and substantial degradation occurred in alkaline and acidic media and under oxidative and hydrolytic stress conditions. The major product obtained as a result of basic hydrolysis was different from that produced by acid hydrolysis and aqueous hydrolysis. The stress samples were assayed against a reference standard and the mass balance was found to be close to 99.6%. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness.     

A simple colorimetric method for the assay of penicillin G salt and penicillamine by oxidation with iodate

A simple colorimetric procedure is described for determination of penicillin G salt and penicillamine. It is based on oxidation with potassium iodate at room temperature and measurement of the liberated iodine at 520 nm after extraction with carbon tetrachloride. Compared with other procedures, this method proved to be more rapid, highly reproducible and reasonably accurate. The relative standard deviation did not exceed 0.9% and 0.4% for penicillin and penicillamine, respectively. The procedure has been successfully applied to pharmaceutical preparations containing either of the two compounds.     

New Chemotypes for the Inhibition of (p)ppGpp Synthesis in the Quest for New Antimicrobial Compounds

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to our society from both the medical and economic point of view, while the antibiotic discovery pipeline has been dwindling over the last decades. Targeting non-essential bacterial pathways, such as those leading to antibiotic persistence, a bacterial bet-hedging strategy, will lead to new molecular entities displaying low selective pressure, thereby reducing the insurgence of AMR. Here, we describe a way to target (p)ppGpp (guanosine tetra- or penta-phosphate) signaling, a non-essential pathway involved in the formation of persisters, with a structure-based approach. A superfamily of enzymes called RSH (RelA/SpoT Homolog) regulates the intracellular levels of this alarmone. We virtually screened several fragment libraries against the (p)ppGpp synthetase domain of our RSH chosen model Rel_Seq, selected three main chemotypes, and measured their interaction with Rel_Seq by thermal shift assay and STD-NMR. Most of the tested fragments are selective for the synthetase domain, allowing us to select the aminobenzoic acid scaffold as a hit for lead development.     

Simultaneous Estimation of Escitalopram and Clonazepam in Tablet Dosage Forms Using HPLC-DAD Method and Optimization of Chromatographic Conditions by Box-Behnken Design

The study aimed to develop a new reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method with diode array detection (DAD) detection for simultaneous estimation of escitalopram (EST) and clonazepam (CZP) in tablet dosage forms with a quality by design (QbD) approach. The chromatographic conditions were optimized by Box-Behnken design (BBD) and developed method was validated for the linearity, system suitability, accuracy, precision, robustness, sensitivity, and solution stability according to International Council for Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. EST and CZP standard drugs peaks were separated at retention times of 2.668 and 5.046 min by C-18 column with dimension of 4.6 × 100 mm length and particle size packing 2.5 µm. The mobile phase was methanol: 0.1% orthophosphoric acid (OPA) (25:75, v/v), with a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min at temperature of 26 °C. The sample volume injected was 20 µL and peaks were detected at 239 nm. Using the standard calibration curve, the % assay of marketed tablet was founded 98.89 and 98.76 for EST and CZP, respectively. The proposed RP-HPLC method was able to detect EST and CZP in the presence of their degradation products, indicating the stability-indicating property of the developed RP-HPLC method. The validation parameter’s results in terms of linearity, system suitability, accuracy, precision, robustness, sensitivity, and solution stability were in an acceptable range as per the ICH guidelines. The newly developed RP-HPLC method with QbD application is simple, accurate, time-saving, and economic.     

玉米赤霉醇酶标抗原的制备及其直接和间接竞争ELISA检测方法的建立与比较

采用活性酯法将半抗原玉米赤霉醇-16-羧丙基醚与辣根过氧化物酶连接,制备了三种结合比的酶标抗原。通过紫外吸收法和直接非竞争ELISA法对酶标抗原的偶联结果和抗原性进行鉴定。最终选择结合比为1.3∶1的酶标抗原建立直接竞争ELISA检测方法。并对建立的直接竞争ELISA(DC-ELISA)与间接竞争ELISA(IC-ELISA)方法在检出限、检测线性范围、检测时间和二抗的使用方面进行了比较。     

Cancer-Associated Mutations of the Adenosine A2A Receptor Have Diverse Influences on Ligand Binding and Receptor Functions

The adenosine A_2A receptor (A_2AAR) is a class A G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is an immune checkpoint in the tumor micro-environment and has become an emerging target for cancer treatment. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of cancer-patient-derived A_2AAR mutations on ligand binding and receptor functions. The wild-type A_2AAR and 15 mutants identified by Genomic Data Commons (GDC) in human cancers were expressed in HEK293T cells. Firstly, we found that the binding affinity for agonist NECA was decreased in six mutants but increased for the V275A mutant. Mutations A165V and A265V decreased the binding affinity for antagonist ZM241385. Secondly, we found that the potency of NECA (EC₅₀) in an impedance-based cell-morphology assay was mostly correlated with the binding affinity for the different mutants. Moreover, S132L and H278N were found to shift the A_2AAR towards the inactive state. Importantly, we found that ZM241385 could not inhibit the activation of V275A and P285L stimulated by NECA. Taken together, the cancer-associated mutations of A_2AAR modulated ligand binding and receptor functions. This study provides fundamental insights into the structure–activity relationship of the A_2AAR and provides insights for A_2AAR-related personalized treatment in cancer.     

载脂蛋白免疫复合物微粒的共振散射光谱研究及分析应用

在pH 6.8的Na₂HPO₄-NaH₂PO₄缓冲溶液中和聚乙二醇存在下,载脂蛋白A1(APOA1)、载脂蛋白B(APOB)与相应的抗体发生特异性结合,分别形成粒径约为180,140 nm的抗体抗原免疫复合物微粒,导致体系在340,470 nm处的共振散射峰增强。分别研究了pH、抗血清、聚乙二醇浓度、温育时间和共存物质的影响。在最佳条件下,APOA1浓度在8.4～430.0 ng·mL-1, APOB浓度在14.8～590.0 ng·mL-1范围内与其共振散射强度成良好线性关系,方法的检出限分别为6.2和7.0 ng·mL-1,用于定量分析血清中的APOA1与APOB, 获得满意结果。     

Influence of high pressure treatment on rheological and other properties of egg white

Abstract

The paper deals with the influence of high pressure treatment of fresh egg white on its properties and protein composition (individual amino-acids predicted as a function of pressure and time levels). The rheological properties are changed by high pressure from Newtonian to non-Newtonian behaviour, with increasing apparent viscosity as the pressure and time increased. The pH, whipping ability, foam stability, gel strength of heat induced gels after treatment and the whole protein content, were also predicted.

The results showed that the foam stability is increased with increasing pressure and time of processing. The foam volume is also increased with pressure. The pH did not change with pressure or time of processing. Composition of proteins as indicated by individual amino-acids did not exhibit statistically important changes. Gel strength of heat induced gels prepared from previously pressured liquid whites showed no important change of values with pressure or time of treatment. The modulus of elasticity showed a decrease for samples pressured to 400 MPa for 5 up to 15 minutes.     

On The Fluorometric Method for the Measurement of β-Cyanoalanine Synthase Activity

Abstract

A modification of a fluorescence assay method for β-cyanoalanine synthase has been described which involves the direct coupling of the product of cyanide and cysteine to resazurin, to produce the fluorescent resosurfin, The fluorescence produced was found to be directly proportional to the rate of the reaction.