Implementation of multicommutation principle with flow-through multioptosensors

For the first time, the combination of multicommutation concept with flow-through multioptosensors is exploited and a biparameter multicommutated UV sensor is developed. A very easy-operated and automated sensing device is proposed here and demonstrated to be useful in the routine analysis by applying it to the determination of two widely used pharmaceuticals chosen as model analytes: salicylamide and caffeine. The particulated solid phase used performs two functions: (a) states selectivity conditions by itself in the flow cell and (b) provides appropriate separation of the analytes in the on-line precolumn, thus making possible the sequential arrival of the analytes to the detection zone. Both carrier and eluting solutions chosen allow (with a very simple solenoid valve configuration and operation) the transitory signals to be developed in a completely automated device. Drastic reduction of carrier and eluting solutions used are achieved as compared to typically FIA optosensor configuration. The sensor responds linearly in the range 2-30 and 1-14 μg ml⁻¹ for SLC and CF, with detection limits of 0.33 and 0.15 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. Solution savings between 50 and 85% were obtained when comparing to typical flow injection analysis (FIA).     

Decreasing analysis time in capillary electrophoresis: validation and comparison of quantitative performances in several approaches

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) can be used for the rapid determination of pharmaceuticals, particularly in routine quality control analysis. This paper focuses on several approaches aimed at decreasing the analysis time with commercially available instrumentation by (i) application of a high electric field through a reduced capillary, (ii) use of a dynamically coated capillary to increase the electroosmotic flow, (iii) short-end injection (SEI) technique, and (iv) application of multiple sample injections. Moreover, SEIs were combined with the three other approaches. A pharmaceutical formulation containing lidocaine as an active component was selected, and the methods were validated according to the ICH guidelines. The seven approaches investigated fulfilled different statistical requirements and demonstrated their linearity and trueness, with good recoveries and confidence limits always inferior to 1.5%. Furthermore, relative standard deviation (RSD) values for repeatability and intermediate precision were inferior to 1.1 and 1.8%, respectively. These results confirmed that each approach is of utmost interest to increase the analyte throughput in CE.     

Determination of quinine and quinidine by continuous-flow chemiluminescence

A rapid and precise continuous-flow method is described for the determination of quinine and quinidine (5.00–500 μg ml^?1) which is based on the sensitizing effect of the compounds on the chemiluminescent oxidation of sulphite by cerium(IV). When applied to tablets, the procedure is relatively free from interferences from common excipients. The results obtained for the assay of commercial formulations compared well with those obtained by an official method and demonstrated good accuracy and precision.     

Trends in techniques for the extraction of drugs and pesticides from biological specimens prior to chromatographic separation and detection

The isolation of non-volatile organic poisons from biological specimens is often difficult and time consuming. This paper surveys the isolation of common drugs and pesticides from biological specimens, including serum, blood and tissue, and the effect of experimental variables on the recovery of compounds, with emphasis on recent trends in extraction techniques and new methods under development, particularly those applicable to forensic toxicology. Traditional liquid-liquid extraction techniques are increasingly being replaced by or used in combination with newer extraction techniques such as solid-phase and supercritical fluid extraction. The potential advantages and problems encountered when incorporating these new methodologies in the isolation of drugs and pesticides from biological matrices are discussed. Although early implementation of solid-phase extraction techniques in forensic toxicology has been hampered by a variety of problems, including extract quality, reproducibility and selectivity, improvements in sorbent quality and elution solvents continue to facilitate their replacement of traditional liquid-liquid extraction methods. Future developments in supercritical fluid extraction should allow this technique to develop in an extremely powerful quantitative tool for the isolation of drugs and pesticides either from solid-phase sorbents or from their endogenous matrices.     

Comparison of liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction techniques for drugs in urine and effects on the lifetime and performance of fused-silica capillary columns

Contamination of a gas chromatographic system with involatile sample residues will cause degradation of the chromatograms. Deposition of sample residues from urine extracted by a liquid-liquid and a solid-phase cartridge extraction method for drugs of abuse is compared. Standards containing five different drug compounds were injected into a gas chromatograph equipped with a fused-silica capillary column following injections of urine extracts prepared by the two different extraction methods. The samples extracted by the liquid-liquid method contaminated the chromatographic system to a greater extent and much faster than those extracted by the solid-phase extraction method.     

Practical aspects of fast HPLC separations for pharmaceutical process development using monolithic columns

A large number of samples can be generated during pharmaceutical process development. Fast separation for these samples is usually challenging due to the complexity of sample matrix, which requires high efficiency as well as high speed. Monolithic columns (E. Merck, Germany) were investigated as a possible tool for reducing separation time in reversed-phase HPLC without significantly sacrificing efficiency or resolution. Both van Deemter plots and separations of alkyl benzenes and in-process samples showed that monolithic columns were suitable for fast separations without significantly compromising resolution. Practical parameters including the pressure drop, retention factor, selectivity, and tailing factor of monolithic columns (Chromolith type) were compared to those of conventional YMC 150 mm × 4.6 mm (3-μm particles) and 250 mm × 4.6 mm (5-μm particles) packed columns. The batch-to-batch reproducibility of the 100 mm × 4.6 mm Chromolith columns from five randomly ordered batches was also compared to the 250 mm × 4.6 mm YMC particle-packed columns. Fast and efficient separations of complicated process samples including crude drug substances, reaction mixtures, and crystallized mother liquors were demonstrated for both monolithic columns and conventional packed columns. The analysis times were decreased by three to seven times on the coupled monolithic columns, while maintaining the comparable resolution to typical 5-μm particle-packed 250 mm × 4.6 mm columns.     

Fast flow-injection fluorimetric determination of amiloride by using a solid sensing zone

A rapid and simple flow-through solid phase spectrofluorimetric system is described in this paper for the determination of the diuretic amiloride in physiological fluid (serum) and pharmaceuticals. The sensor was developed in conjunction with a monochannel flow-injection analysis system with fluorimetric transduction. Amiloride was transitorily retained on cationic exchanger gel Sephadex SP-C25 placed in the detection area into the cell. The determination is carried out without any derivatization reaction, by measuring directly the intrinsic fluorescence of the analyte and using the peak height as analytical signal. The wavelengths of excitation and emission were 291 and 419 nm, respectively. Amiloride could be determined in the concentration ranges of 10–600 and 4–250 μg l⁻¹ at a sampling rate of 24 and 30 h⁻¹, respectively with detection limits of 0.92 and 0.33 μg l⁻¹ for 100, and 600 μl of sample volume injected, respectively. The relative standard deviations for ten independent determinations were better than 0.65%. The method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of amiloride in spiked biological fluids (serum) and pharmaceutical preparations without any pretreatment of the samples.     

Growing Utilization of Radical Chemistry in the Synthesis of Pharmaceuticals

Our current unhealthy lifestyle and the exponential surge in the population getting affected by a variety of diseases have made pharmaceuticals or drugs an imperative part of life, making the development of innovative strategies for drug discovery or the introduction of refined, cost-effective and modern technologies for the synthesis of clinically used drugs, a need of the hour. Ever since their discovery, free radicals and radical cations or anions as reactive intermediates have captivated the chemists, resulting in an exceptional utilization of these moieties throughout the field of chemical synthesis, owing to their unprecedented and widespread reactivity. Sticking with the idea of not judging the book by its cover, despite the conventional thought process of radicals being unstable and difficult to control entities, scientists and academicians around the globe have done an appreciable amount of work utilizing both persistent as well as transient radicals for a variety of organic transformations, exemplifying them with the synthesis of significant biologically active pharmaceutical ingredients. This review truly accounts for the organic radical transformations including radical addition, radical cascade cyclization, radical/radical cross-coupling, coupling with metal-complexes and radical cations coupling with nucleophiles, that offers fascinating and unconventional approaches towards the construction of intricate structural frameworks of marketed APIs with high atom- and step-economy; complementing the otherwise employed traditional methods. This tutorial review presents a comprehensive package of diverse methods utilized for radical generation, featuring their reactivity to form critical bonds in pharmaceutical total synthesis or in building key starting materials or intermediates of their synthetic journey, acknowledging their excellence, downsides and underlying mechanisms, which are otherwise poorly highlighted in the literature. Despite great achievements over the past few decades in this area, many challenges and obstacles are yet to be unraveled to shorten the distance between the academics and the industry, which are all discussed in summary and outlook.     

Application of inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) and quality assurance to study the incorporation of strontium into bone,bone marrow,and teeth of dogs after one month of treatment with strontium malonate

The strontium content of serum, bone, marrow, and teeth was determined by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). Significant correlations were obtained after the data were subjected to quality assurance (QA) performed according to validated procedures. After four weeks of treatment with strontium malonate, strontium levels increased from 76 ± 9 μg g⁻¹ in placebo-treated dogs to levels of 7.2 ± 1.7 mg g⁻¹, 9.5 ± 2.7 mg g⁻¹, and 9.8 ± 2.7 mg g⁻¹ in groups treated with 300, 1000, and 3000 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, respectively. Strontium induced a highly significant increase in the bone formation marker, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP), and an excellent correlation was found with the bone-strontium content. In females, the placebo-treated group showed a decrease in BSAP of 53%, whereas the three strontium malonate-treated groups showed an increase of 60, 276, and 278% for the groups treated with 300, 1000, and 3000 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹, respectively. For males the corresponding values were −44%, +142%, +194%, and +247% increases in BSAP in the placebo, 300, 1000, and 3000 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ groups respectively.     

Preparative-scale synthesis of amino coumarins through new sequential nitration and reduction protocol

In contrast to the conventional deleterious approach for nitration (for example HNO₃/H₂SO₄) and for reduction (for example Zn/HCl), we hypothesized that sensitive heterocycles such as coumarins could not withstand with those hard conditions. Hence, while studying this reaction sequence to prepare amino coumarins (which is our ongoing project to synthesize antitubercular coumarin agents), we came across mild and greener reagent for nitration using calcium nitrate (Ca(NO₃)₂·4H₂O; lime nitrate), and reduction using d-glucose. These two mild, chemoselective, high yielding methods are discussed herein.