Separation of Tetracycline Antibiotics by Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography Using an Amino-Propyl Stationary Phase

In this work the potential of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is explored for the analysis of tetracycline antibiotics. The choice of the polar stationary phase is first discussed and it is demonstrated that aminopropyl stationary phases lead to higher efficiencies and peak symmetry than bare silica ones. The influence of the composition of the mobile phase is studied next : the concentration of the weaker solvent (acetonitrile), the nature and concentration of the more polar solvent (water or methanol), pH, the nature and ionic strength of the buffer. It is shown that high efficiencies are reached only with a citrate buffer that impairs the interactions with the residual silanol groups whatever the mobile phase pH is. We demonstrate that the citrate buffer strongly interacts with the cationic moiety of the aminopropyl stationary phase and thus reduces the accessibility of silanols. The separation of oxytetracycline, tetracycline and chlortetracycline is achieved in a few minutes at pH 3.5 or 5, with no peak tailing as usually observed in reversed phase liquid chromatography with an opposite elution order when compared with reversed phase liquid chromatography.     

Evaluation of the limit of performance of an analytical method based on a statistical calculation of its critical concentrations according to ISO standard 11843: Application to routine control of banned veterinary drug residues in food according to European Decision 657/2002/EC

Traceability of the measurement of analytical parameters capable of evaluating the performance of methods is an important concept for the assessment of quality for the routine control, especially for residue monitoring of non-authorized medicinal substances in food from animal origin. The European Decision no. 657/2002/EC recommends to calculate two statistical limits, CCα and CCβ, which allow to evaluate the critical concentrations above which the method reliably distinguish and quantify a substance taking into account the variability of the method and the statistical risk to take a wrong decision. The calculation, which can be derived from the ISO standard no. 11843 is applied on a routine basis. An example displays a very simple way for evaluating the performance of an LC-MSMS method which has been validated a few years ago and is qualified onto a Micromass Quattro LCZ tandem mass spectrometer to monitor and confirm the nitrofuran metabolite residues in food from animal origin. Community Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Veterinary Drug Residue Control in Food from Animal Origin     

Multiresidue method for simultaneous determination of ten quinolone antibacterial residues in multimatrix/multispecies animal tissues by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection: single laboratory validation study

Quinolone antibacterials are veterinary drugs authorized for use in food animal production. The analysis of residual amounts of drugs in food from animal origin is important for quality control of products for consumers. For this purpose, Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) have been set up by a European Union Council Regulation on Veterinary Drug Residues (No. 90/2377/EEC and subsequent), and 8 quinolones received MRLs at concentration levels depending on both the matrix and the animal species of interest. A method was developed for screening and confirming 10 quinolone residues (ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, difloxacin, enrofloxacin, flumequine, marbofloxacin, nalidixic acid, norfloxacin, oxolinic acid, sarafloxacin) in a wide variety of matrixes of different animal species. It involves extraction of the residues from the biological tissues/fluids by acidic aqueous solution, centrifugation and filtration prior to injection on a C18 narrow-bore column, and detection through a 3-step-mode fluorescence detector. The method was validated during a 2-week study for a set of 8 species-matrixes (i.e., bovine raw milk, bovine muscle, porcine muscle, porcine kidney, porcine liver, fish flesh and skin, poultry muscle, whole egg). Residues were quantified down to 15 microg/kg with limits of detection and quantitation ranging from 4 to 11 and 13 to 36 microg/kg, respectively, which are sufficient compared to the wide range of MRLs set for these substances (from 30 microg/kg for danofloxacin in milk to 1900 microg/kg for difloxacin in poultry liver). The limit of performance of the method in terms of CCalpha and CCbeta, the critical concentrations stated in the Decision No. 2002/657/EC and the ISO Standard No. 11843, has been calculated for the authorized (MRL) substances but only estimated in the case of the nonauthorized (non-MRL) substances.     

X-Ray Crystallography and Free Energy Calculations Reveal the Binding Mechanism of A2A Adenosine Receptor Antagonists

We present a robust protocol based on iterations of free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations, chemical synthesis, biophysical mapping and X-ray crystallography to reveal the binding mode of an antagonist series to the A_2A adenosine receptor (AR). Eight A_2AAR binding site mutations from biophysical mapping experiments were initially analyzed with sidechain FEP simulations, performed on alternate binding modes. The results distinctively supported one binding mode, which was subsequently used to design new chromone derivatives. Their affinities for the A_2AAR were experimentally determined and investigated through a cycle of ligand-FEP calculations, validating the binding orientation of the different chemical substituents proposed. Subsequent X-ray crystallography of the A_2AAR with a low and a high affinity chromone derivative confirmed the predicted binding orientation. The new molecules and structures here reported were driven by free energy calculations, and provide new insights on antagonist binding to the A_2AAR, an emerging target in immuno-oncology.     

A priori reduction method for solving the two-dimensional Burgers’ equations

The two-dimensional Burgers’ equations are solved here using the A Priori Reduction method. This method is based on an iterative procedure which consists in building a basis for the solution where at each iteration the basis is improved. The method is called a priori because it does not need any prior knowledge of the solution, which is not the case if the standard Karhunen-Loéve decomposition is used. The accuracy of the APR method is compared with the standard Newton-Raphson scheme and with results from the literature. The APR basis is also compared with the Karhunen-Loéve basis.     

Multiresidue analytical method for the determination of eight penicillin antibiotics in muscle tissue by ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC after precolumn derivatization.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic multiresidue method was developed for the determination of 8 penicillin compounds (benzylpenicillin, phenoxymethylpenicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin, and dicloxacillin) at trace levels in muscle tissue. This method involves extraction of the penicillins with phosphate buffer pH 9 followed by cleanup and concentration on a C18 solid-phase extraction column and reaction with benzoic anhydride at 50 degrees C for 5 min and with 1,2,4-triazole and mercury(II) chloride solution pH 9 at 65 degrees C for 10 min. The derivatized compounds are eluted on a C8 column with a mobile phase containing acetonitrile and phosphate buffer (pH 6; 0.1 mol/L) loaded with sodium thiosulfate and ion-pairing tetrabutylammonium hydrogenosulphate. The method detection limit is approximately 3-11 micrograms/kg and the limit of determination was evaluated down to 25 micrograms/kg in line with the criteria of the EU decision No. 93/256/EEC.     

X‐Ray Crystallography and Free Energy Calculations Reveal the Binding Mechanism of A2A Adenosine Receptor Antagonists

We present a robust protocol based on iterations of free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations, chemical synthesis, biophysical mapping and X‐ray crystallography to reveal the binding mode of an antagonist series to the A_2A adenosine receptor (AR). Eight A_2AAR binding site mutations from biophysical mapping experiments were initially analyzed with sidechain FEP simulations, performed on alternate binding modes. The results distinctively supported one binding mode, which was subsequently used to design new chromone derivatives. Their affinities for the A_2AAR were experimentally determined and investigated through a cycle of ligand‐FEP calculations, validating the binding orientation of the different chemical substituents proposed. Subsequent X‐ray crystallography of the A_2AAR with a low and a high affinity chromone derivative confirmed the predicted binding orientation. The new molecules and structures here reported were driven by free energy calculations, and provide new insights on antagonist binding to the A_2AAR, an emerging target in immuno‐oncology.