Novel spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of sulfite with rhodamine B hydrazide in a micellar medium

A novel spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of sulfite using rhodamine B hydrazide as fluorogenic reagent in the presence of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80) surfactant micelles is described. The method is based on the mixture of sulfite with rhodamine B hydrazide, a colorless, non-fluorescent substance in Tween 80 surfactant micelles which gives rhodamine B-like fluorescence emission. The fluorescence intensity increase is linearly related to the concentration of sulfite in the range 5-800 ng ml⁻¹ with a detection limit of 1.4 ng ml⁻¹ (3σ). The optimal conditions for the detection of sulfite are evaluated and the possible detection mechanism is also discussed. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of total sulfite in wines and compares well with the standard iodimetric method.     

Separation and selectivity in micellar electrokinetic chromatography using sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles or Tween 20-modified mixed micelles

The separation and selectivity of eight aromatic compounds ranging from hydrophilic to hydrophobic properties in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles or Tween 20-modified mixed micelles were investigated. The effect of different operation conditions such as SDS and Tween 20 modifier surfactant concentration, buffer pH, and applied voltage was studied. The resolution and selectivity of analytes could be markedly affected by changing the SDS micelle concentration or Tween 20 content in the mixed micelles. Applied voltage and pH of running buffers were used mainly to shorten the separation time. Complete separation of eight analytes could be achieved with an appropriate choice of the concentration of SDS micelles or Tween 20-modified mixed micelles. Quicker elution and better precision could be obtained with SDS-Tween 20 mixed micelles than with SDS micelles. The mechanisms that migration order of those analytes was mainly based on their structures and solute-micelle interactions, including hydrophobic, electrostatic, and hydrogen bonding interactions, were discussed.     

Depression in the cloud point of Tween in the presence of glycol additives and triblock polymers

Cloud point (C_P) measurements of Tween 20 and Tween 80 were carried out in the presence of various glycol oligomers and triblock polymers (TBP). The cloud points of both Tween 20 and 80 decrease in the presence of both types of additives. Among the glycol oligomeric additives, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether was found to reduce the C_P maximum. An increase in the repeating units of polymeric glycol additives leads to a decrease in C_P. Reduction in the C_P in the presence of TBP depends upon the increase in hydrophobic/hydrophilic ratio among the polypropylene to polyethylene units.     

Design and In Vitro Evaluation of Solid-Lipid Nanoparticle Drug Delivery for Aceclofenac

Solid-lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are an interesting nanoparticulate delivery system. The present work was carried out with the aim to develop a prolonged release solid-lipid nanoparticulate system for the drug using aceclofenac. Aceclofenac-loaded solid-lipid nanoparticles (ACSLNs) was prepared by hot high pressure homogenization technique. Tripalmitin was used as the lipid core. Surfactants (Poloxamer 188, Tween 80, and soya lecithin) and co-surfactant (sodium tauro glycholate) were used in the formulations. The prepared ACSLN formulations were characterized for encapsulation efficiency (EE), photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). From these studies, mean particle diameter of the formulation prepared with combination of surfactants (Poloxmer 188 and Tween 80) was about 200 nm with spherical morphology and amorphous nature. Higher EE was obtained with SLNs prepared using combination of soya lecithin and poloxmer 188. The organization and distribution of the ingredients in the nanoparticulate system were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the results showed that the drug is incorporated into the solid matrix. The prepared formulations demonstrated favorable in vitro prolonged release characteristics. Experimental in vitro release data were substituted in available mathematical models to establish the release kinetics of ACSLNs and it was found to follow first-order kinetics and Higuchi diffusion mechanism. Our results suggest that these SLN formulations could constitute a promising approach for the drug delivery of aceclofenac.     

Submicellar liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection improves the analysis of naproxen in plasma and brain tissue

Rapid, simple, and sensitive submicellar liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was developed and validated to quantify naproxen in plasma and brain samples after oral administration of Naproxen formulations. The method used tramadol as an internal standard. Different submicellar mobile phases with organic phases ranging from 40 to 60% were studied to improve the native fluorescence of the Naproxen and decrease retention times. Separation was done in a Zorbax SB C8 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with a mobile phase containing acidic 0.007 M sodium dodecyl sulfate/acetonitrile (50:50, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Detection was performed with an excitation wavelength of 280 nm and emission of 310 nm and 360 nm for internal standard and Naproxen, respectively. The method was validated by International Conference of Harmonization standards. The method is specific, accurate, and precise (relative standard deviation <3%). Limits of detection and quantification were 0.08 and 0.25 μg/mL, respectively, for biological samples. This method was applied to analyze brain/plasma ratios in mice that had received oral administrations of Naproxen micellar formulations containing 10% w/w of sodium dodecyl sulfate, Cremophor RH 40, or Tween 80. The sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles were faster and more widely distributed in the mouse brains.     

The development of an integrated platform to identify breast cancer glycoproteome changes in human serum

Protein glycosylation represents one of the major post-translational modifications and can have significant effects on protein function. Moreover, changes in the carbohydrate structure are increasingly being recognized as an important modification associated with cancer etiology. In this report, we describe the development of a proteomics approach to identify breast cancer related changes in either concentration and/or the carbohydrate structures of glycoprotein(s) present in blood samples. Diseased and healthy serum samples were processed by an optimized sample preparation protocol using multiple lectin affinity chromatography (M-LAC) that partitions serum proteins based on glycan characteristics. Subsequently, three separate procedures, 1D SDS-PAGE, isoelectric focusing and an antibody microarray, were applied to identify potential candidate markers for future study. The combination of these three platforms is illustrated in this report with the analysis of control and cancer glycoproteomic fractions. Firstly, a molecular weight based separation of glycoproteins by 1D SDS-PAGE was performed, followed by protein, glycoprotein staining, lectin blotting and LC–MS analysis. To refine or confirm the list of interesting glycoproteins, isoelectric focusing (targeting sialic acid changes) and an antibody microarray (used to detect neutral glycan shifts) were selected as the orthogonal methods. As a result, several glycoproteins including alpha-1B-glycoprotein, complement C3, alpha-1-antitrypsin and transferrin were identified as potential candidates for further study.     

Chromatography of glycols. Regularities in the retention of C3−C6 branched glycols in gas-solid and gas-liquid chromatography

Summary Linear correlation between the major physico-chemical properties of glycols and their relative retention volumes measured by gas-solid (GSC) and gas-liquid (GLC) chromatography is shown. The coefficients of the linear regression equations describing the relationship between the relative retention volumes and the physico-chemical parameters (boiling point, density, etc.) are given. The values of the change in the free energy for the stationary phases studied are given as well as the increments of this change per −CH₂- and CH₃-group. The main factors determining the retention of branched glycols on Polysorb, Tween and poly(ethylene glycol) are shown to be the distance between the hydroxyl groups in their molecules, the presence of alkyl substituents and the type and the number of these substituents.     

Generation of anti-trenbolone monoclonal antibody and establishment of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of trenbolone in animal tissues, feed and urine

Trenbolone (TRE) is a steroid used by veterinarians on livestock to increase appetite and body weight. The use of TRE has been restricted because of its harmful side effect for consumers. To effectively control TRE residue in food and food product, a rapid and convenient immunoassay was developed by preparing an anti-TRE monoclonal antibody. The immunogen and coating antigen were prepared by coupling TRE hapten with carrier proteins via 1-ethyl-3-(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) method. The optimized method gave an average IC₅₀ value of 0.323 ng mL⁻¹ towards TRE and an average detection limit (LOD) of 0.06 ng mL⁻¹, which is much lower than the maximum residue levels (2.0 ng g⁻¹) accepted by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The specificity of the antibody was evaluated by measuring cross-reactivity of six structurally related compounds, including 19-nortestosterone (9.7%), testosterone (0.13%), methyltestosterone (<0.01%), methandrostenolone (<0.01%), (+)-dehydroisoandrosterone (<0.001%) and β-estradiol (<0.001%). The recovery rates of the test in detection of TRE-fortified animal tissue, urine and animal feed samples were in the range of 81.3-89.4%, while the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 12.0%.     

A mild and efficient THP protection of indazoles and benzyl alcohols in water

A mild and efficient method for THP protection of indazoles and benzyl alcohols has been developed in water, the most environmentally friendly solvent, in which Tween 20 (2% w/w) was added to form aqueous micelles to increase the solubility of starting materials. This aqueous protocol allowed the reaction to proceed smoothly at room temperature and with only 1.2 equiv of DHP, providing moderate to good yields of THP protected products for a wide scope of substrates. In addition, the methodology was highly practical in the large-scale synthesis (1?g synthesis of 2c as an example), wherein the convenient work-up and purification procedure (simple filtration) made the protocol even more attractive.