Development of a bioanalytical method for the quantification of sinococuline in human plasma and its application in phase I clinical pharmacokinetic study

A selective, highly sensitive, precise, and novel bioanalytical method has been developed and validated to quantify sinococuline, an active constituent present in the phytopharmaceutical drug product containing Cocculus hirsutus plant extract, in vivo. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Luna Omega Polar-C18 bonded analytical column maintained at 45°C. The isocratic mobile phase consisted of methanol and ammonium formate buffer (60:40, v/v) at acidic pH with a low flow rate of 0.250 mL/min. Detection was performed on an API 4000 mass spectrometer using electrospray ionization in positive polarity and multiple reaction monitoring mode to achieve a lower limit of quantification of 1.50 ng/mL. Excellent accuracy and precision were obtained after extracting the analyte from plasma samples using a chemical analogue as an internal standard in the absence of an isotope-labeled compound. The extraction efficacy was evidenced from recovery study, and the analyte was found to be stable in plasma. Validation study demonstrated linearity with coefficient of correlation, r ≥ 0.99, and minimal matrix effect. This bioanalytical method was successfully applied to evaluate pharmacokinetic parameters of sinococuline from a phase I clinical trial of an aqueous extract of C. hirsutus in healthy human volunteers.     

One-pot Synthesis,Crystal Structures and Antimicrobial Activities of Two New 1,4-Disubstituted 1,2,3-Triazole-4-Carboxylates

Two new 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles-4-carboxylates were synthesized via click reaction. Compound 1a was synthesized by the interaction of 6-nitro-tetrazolo[1.5-a]-pyridine with ethyl propynoate at room temperature in the presence of Cu(OAc)2 as a catalyst and THF as solvent. Compound 1b was also synthesized by the same manner except that tert-butyl propionate, instead of ethyl propynoate, was used. The compounds were characterized by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Compound 1a(C10H9N5O4) crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P1 with a = 5.0894(9), b = 8.9834(13), c = 13.089(2) ?, α= 83.041(7), β= 80.256(7), γ=87.296(8)°, V = 585.24(16)?3, Z = 2, Mr = 263.22, crystal size(mm) = 0.37 × 0.20 ×0.18,(I 2σ(I)) = 8557, 2493, 1229, Rint = 0.057. Compound 1b(C12H13N5O4) crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P21/c with a = 6.8854(5), b = 21.783(2), c = 9.3986(8) ?,β = 93.239(4)°, V = 1407.4(2)?3, Z = 4, Mr = 291.27, crystal size(mm) = 0.38 × 0.22 × 0.20,(I 2σ(I)) = 11842, 3172, 1866, Rint = 0.047. Antimicrobial assay results showed that the title compounds display excellent activities to different bacterial and fungal strains.     

Caesium carbonate supported on hydroxyapatite‐encapsulated Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanocrystallites as a novel magnetically basic catalyst for the one‐pot synthesis of pyrazolo[1,2‐b]phthalazine‐5,10‐diones

A novel nanomagnetic basic catalyst of caesium carbonate supported on hydroxyapatite‐coated Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄@HAP‐Cs₂CO₃) was prepared. This new catalyst was fully characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques, and then the catalytic activity of this catalyst was investigated in the synthesis of 1H‐pyrazolo[1,2‐b]phthalazine‐5,10‐dione derivatives. Also, Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄@HAP‐Cs₂CO₃ could be reused at least five times without significant loss of activity and could be recovered easily by applying an external magnet. Thus, the developed nanomagnetic catalyst is potentially useful for the green and economic production of organic compounds. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Numerical Range of Operator Polynomials

An upper bound for the number of components of the numerical range of matrix polynomials is established. We also establish a necessary condition and a sufficient condition for the connectedness of the numerical range of a quadratic selfadjoint matrix polynomial. The boundary of the numerical range of linear matrix polynomials is also considered.     

Factors controlling the efficiencies of photoinduced electron-transfer reactions

The overall efficiencies of photoinduced electron transfer reactions in polar solvents are usually determined by the efficiency with which separated radical ions are formed from the initially formed geminate radical-ion pairs. These separation efficiencies are determined by the competition between retum electron transfer and separation within the geminate pairs. A method is described for determining whether variations in the quantum yields for formation of separated radical ions are due to changes in the reorganization parameters for the return electron transfer reactions, or to other factors. The use of the method is illustrated in studies of the effects of varying steric bulk and molecular size of the donors, and also in studies of the effect of using a charged sensitizer.     

A new thermostable peroxidase from garlic Allium sativum

Analysis of peroxidase activity by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) from a garlic bulb (Allium sativum L) extract showed two major activities (designated POX1 and POX2). The POX2 isoenzyme was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, and cation-exchange chromatography. The purified enzyme was found to be monomeric with a molecular mass of 36.5 kDa, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE. The optimum temperature ranged from 25 to 40 degrees C and optimum pH was about 5.0. The apparent Km values for guaiacol and H2O2 were 9.5 and 2 mM, respectively. POX2 appeared highly stable since 50% of its activity was conserved at 50 degrees C for 5 h. Moreover POX2 was stable over a pH range of 3.5-11.0. Immobilization of POX2 was achieved by covalent binding of the enzyme to an epoxy-Sepharose matrix. The immobilized enzyme showed great stability toward heat and storage when compared with soluble enzyme. These properties permit the use of this enzyme as a biosensor to detect H2O2 in some food components such as milk or its derivatives.     

Electrode Kinetics and Ternary Complex Formation of Cd2+‐Antibiotics‐Vitamin‐B5 System. A Polarographic Study

Cd²⁺ complexes with antibiotics viz. neomycin, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, penicillin‐V and penicillin‐G as primary ligands and vitamin‐B₅ as secondary ligand have been reported at pH = 7.30 ± 0.01 and μ = 1.0 M KNO₃ at 298 K by polarographic technique.¹ Cd²⁺ formed 1:1:1, 1:1:2, and 1:2:1 complexes with a stability constants trend of neomycin < chlortetracycline < oxytetracycline < tetracycline < penicillin‐V < penicillin‐G can be explained on the basis of the nature of ligands, bonding, and steric hindrance of these drugs. The nature of electrode processes were reversible and diffusion controlled. The values of stability constants showed that these drugs can be used to reduce the toxicity of Cd.     

Mimicking photosynthesis in a computationally designed synthetic metalloprotein

While advances in protein design have made possible the construction of protein architectures with nativelike properties and predictable structures and function, there are as of yet no examples of functional, protein-based, solar energy conversion systems. This communication describes the design and characterization of an artificial reaction center (RC) protein that closely resembles the function of the natural photosynthetic RC. The synthetic protein, designed by the protein design program CORE, participates in multiple reduction/oxidation cycles with exogenous acceptors/donors following photoexcitation. The designed metalloprotein, aRC, consists of a tetrahelical bundle functionalized with two bis-histidine bound metal cofactors: a Ru(bpy)2 moiety and a heme group. Two distinct bis-histidine binding sites were engineered for each of these metal centers. Photoexcitation of aRC results in rapid ET from the RuII complex to the heme group (kET >/= 5 x 1010 s-1) yielding a long-lived (70 ns) charge-separated state (CSS), RuIII/FeII. This long-lived CSS participates in subsequent ET reactions with exogenous donors and acceptors in multiple photocycles, thus mimicking the basic function of native photosynthetic RCs. This study illustrates the successful design and construction of a protein-based functional charge separation device using a combination of automated computational protein design and knowledge of the engineering principles of biological electron tunneling extracted from natural electron-transfer systems. To our knowledge, this represents the first example of a functional protein-based artificial reaction center.     

Aminopropylcellulose,synthesis and derivatization

The preparation of 3-aminopropylcellulose from cyanoethylcellulose is readily achieved. Reduction of the cyano groups with borane-dimethyl sulfide in tetrahydrofuran or a borane-tetrahy-drofuran complex proceeds quantitatively in 3 h to a corresponding 3-aminopropylcellulose. The presence of primary amine functions is confirmed by spectroscopy and a positive ninhydrin test; the concentration of amino substituents, as ascertained by titration, ranged from 1.2 to 6.4 meq/g. Because the derivatives are neither soluble nor excessively swollen in water, applications as ion-exchange resins or chromatographic supports can be envisioned. Treatment of 3-aminopropyl-cellulose with acetyl chloride, phenyl isocyanate, or p-toluenesulfonyl isocyanate produced 3-acetamido-, 3-(N′-phenyluredo)-, or 3-(N′-p-toluenesulfonyluredo)-N-propylcellulose. Alkylation with methyl chloride yielded a water-soluble quaternary ammonium salt.