Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-ultraviolet absorbance detection assay using derivatisation for the novel marine anticancer agent ES-285 x HCl [(2S,3R)-2-amino-3-octadecanol hydrochloride] and its pharmaceutical dosage form

ES-285 x HCl [(2S,3R)-2-amino-3-octadecanol hydrochloride] is a novel investigational anticancer agent, which has shown in vitro and in vivo cytotoxic activity against various tumor cell lines with selectivity for certain solid tumors. The pharmaceutical development of ES-285 x HCl warranted the availability of an assay for the quantification and purity determination of ES-285 x HCl active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and its pharmaceutical dosage form. A liquid chromatographic method (LC) comprising of derivatisation of ES-285 x HCl with phenylisothiocyanate and UV-detection was developed. The method was found to be linear, precise and accurate. The assay also proved selectivity as determined by analysing ES-285 x HCl in combination with 15 analogues and in combination with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, the excipient used in the lyophilised pharmaceutical dosage form. Stress testing showed that the degradation products were separated from the parent compound, confirming its stability indicating capacity. The method was found robust as determined with design of experiments (DoE), which made it possible to predict system suitability responses in worst case experimental conditions and to define criteria for system suitability testing.     

Development of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the quantification of PM00104, a novel antineoplastic agent, in mouse, rat, dog, and human plasma

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay was developed and validated to quantify a novel antineoplastic agent, PM00104, in mouse, rat, dog, and human plasma. The method was validated to demonstrate the specificity, limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision of measurements. The calibration range for PM00104 was established using PM00104 standards from 0.01-5.0 ng/mL in blank plasma. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM), based on the m/z 692.2 --> 218.2 transition, was specific for PM00104, and that based on the m/z 697.2 --> 218.2 transition was specific for PM00104 ((13)C(2),(2)H(3)) (the internal standard, IS); no endogenous materials interfered with the analysis of PM00104 and IS from blank plasma. The assay was linear over the concentration range 0.01-5.0 ng/mL. The correlation coefficients for the calibration curves ranged from 0.9981-0.9999. The mean intra-day and inter-day accuracies for all calibration standards (n = 8) ranged from 97-105% (< or =5% bias) in human plasma, and the mean inter-day precision for all calibration standards was less than 8.5%. The mean intra- and inter-day assay accuracy for all quality control (QC) replicates in human plasma (n = 9), determined at each QC level throughout the validated runs, ranged from 96-112% (< or =12% bias) and from 102-105% (< or =5% bias), respectively. The mean intra- and inter-day assay precision was less than 15.0 and 11.8% for all QC levels, respectively. For the QC samples prepared in animal species plasma, the %CV values of the assays ranged from 1.8-8.8% in mouse plasma, from 3.7-13.8% in rat plasma, and from 3.0-7.2% in dog plasma. The assay accuracies ranged from 92-102% (< or =8% bias) for all QC levels prepared in mouse plasma; ranged from 93-106% (< or =7% bias) in rat plasma; and ranged from 95-114% (< or =14% bias) in dog plasma. The assay has been used to support preclinical pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic studies and is currently used to measure PM00104 plasma concentrations to support clinical trials.     

Characterization of rubber particles and rubber chain elongation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taraxacum koksaghyz</Emphasis>

Background  

Natural rubber is a biopolymer with exceptional qualities that cannot be completely replaced using synthetic alternatives. Although several key enzymes in the rubber biosynthetic pathway have been isolated, mainly from plants such as Hevea brasiliensis, Ficus spec. and the desert shrub Parthenium argentatum, there have been no in planta functional studies, e.g. by RNA interference, due to the absence of efficient and reproducible protocols for genetic engineering. In contrast, the Russian dandelion Taraxacum koksaghyz, which has long been considered as a potential alternative source of low-cost natural rubber, has a rapid life cycle and can be genetically transformed using a simple and reliable procedure. However, there is very little molecular data available for either the rubber polymer itself or its biosynthesis in T. koksaghyz.     

Metastability of ultradense arrays of quantum dots

We present a linear stability analysis of ultradense arrays of coherently strained islands against Ostwald ripening. Surprisingly, short-range elastic interactions are found to overcome the destabilizing contribution of surface energy, leading to a metastable array of quantum dots. Simulations of Ostwald ripening kinetics directly verify the existence of this metastable regime and confirm the nature of the most unstable mode for subcritical island coverage.     

Tunable metastability of surface nanostructure arrays

A Fokker-Planck equation is used to model the coarsening of surface nanostructure arrays. Metastable states are identified which are associated with a narrow size distribution and a coverage dependent mean island size. This is a general feature linked to nanostructures which, as a function of island size, are associated with a minimum in formation energy per atom and a positive chemical potential gradient. This has important implications for the self-organization of quantum dots.     

Acoustic Radiation from a Circular Cylinder in a Subsonic Stream

The problem of acoustic radiation from a semi-infinite circularcylinder is discussed when a plane wave is propagated out ofthe mouth of the cylinder at which a vortex layer is attached.The effects of convection are included at low Mach numbers anda comparision is made of the radiation in the far field forthe case of propagation in (a) still air, (b) moving air withouta vortex layer and (c) moving air with a vortex layer. It isshown that in general the magnitude of the sound is much greaterdownstream than it is upstream. This directionality becomesmore pronounced in case (b) than in case (a) whilst in the presenceof a vortex layer the field is strengthened in the immediateregion downstream and weakened elsewhere.     

Development of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the quantification of PM02734, a novel antineoplastic agent, in dog plasma

A rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay was developed and validated to quantify a novel antineoplastic agent, PM02734, in dog plasma. The method was validated to demonstrate the specificity, limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision of measurements. The calibration range for PM02734 was established using PM02734 standards from 0.05 to 100 ng/mL in blank plasma. The dominating ions were doubly charged molecular ions [M+2H]2+ at m/z 740.0 instead of singly charged ones at m/z 1478.4. The selected reaction monitoring (SRM), based on the m/z 740.0 --> 212.2 transition, was specific for PM02734, and that based on the m/z 743.8 --> 212.2 transition was specific for deuterated PM02734 (the internal standard, IS); no endogenous materials interfered with the analysis of PM02734 and IS from blank plasma. The assay was linear over the concentration range 0.05-100 ng/mL. In terms of sensitivity of assay 0.05 ng/mL is a very low LLOQ, especially considering PM02734 is a peptide. The correlation coefficients for the calibration curves ranged from 0.9990 to 0.9999. The mean intraday and interday accuracies for all calibration standards (n = 9) ranged from 93 to 111% (< or =11% bias) in dog plasma, and the mean interday precision for all calibration standards was less than 6.4%. The mean intra- and interday assay accuracy for all quality control replicates in dog plasma (n = 9), determined at each QC level throughout the validated runs, ranged from 85-111% (< or =15% bias) and from 99-109% (< or =9% bias), respectively. The mean intra- and interday assay precision was less than 12.1 and 13.3% for all QC levels, respectively. The assay has been used to support preclinical pharmacokinetic (PK) and toxicokinetic studies. The results showed that preclinical samples could be monitored for PM02734 up to 168 h after dosing, which allowed us to identify multiple elimination phases and accurately estimate PK information.