Simultaneous determination of geniposide and its metabolites genipin and genipinine in culture of Aspergillus niger by HPLC

When cultivated with Aspergillus niger, geniposide, an important drug, is transformed into genipin and genipinine. A simple and rapid HPLC method for simultaneous determination of geniposide and its two metabolites in broth of A. niger is described. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18 ODS column (250 x 4.6 mm) by gradient elution with 0.1% formic acid in water and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile as the gradient mixtures. The flow rate was 1 mL/min, the detection wavelength was 238 nm and the column temperature was kept at 28 degrees C. The retention times of geniposide, genipin and genipinine were 10.9, 13.8 and 21.5 min, respectively. The mean absolute recoveries of three analysts were over 98%. Quantification limits were 0.01 microg/mL for geniposide and 0.02 microg/mL for the two metabolites. The method was applied for the quantification of geniposide, genipin and genipinine during fermentation and the evaluation of the bioavailabilities of these three compounds in Caco-2 monolayer.     

Characterization and Optimization of Injectable In Situ Crosslinked Chitosan-Genipin Hydrogels

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in injectable, in situ crosslinking hydrogels due to their minimally invasive application and ability to conform to their environment. Current in situ crosslinking chitosan hydrogels are either mechanically robust with poor biocompatibility and limited biodegradation due to toxic crosslinking agents or the hydrogels are mechanically weak and undergo biodegradation too rapidly due to insufficient crosslinking. Herein, the authors developed and characterized a thermally-driven, injectable chitosan-genipin hydrogel capable of in situ crosslinking at 37 °C that is mechanically robust, biodegradable, and maintain high biocompatibility. The natural crosslinker genipin is utilized as a thermally-driven, non-toxic crosslinking agent. The chitosan-genipin hydrogel's crosslinking kinetics, injectability, viscoelasticity, swelling and pH response, and biocompatibility against human keratinocyte cells are characterized. The developed chitosan-genipin hydrogels are successfully crosslinked at 37 °C, demonstrating temperature sensitivity. The hydrogels maintained a high percentage of swelling over several weeks before degrading in biologically relevant environments, demonstrating mechanical stability while remaining biodegradable. Long-term cell viability studies demonstrated that chitosan-genipin hydrogels have excellent biocompatibility over 7 days, including during the hydrogel crosslinking phase. Overall, these findings support the development of an injectable, in situ crosslinking chitosan-genipin hydrogel for minimally invasive biomedical applications.     

交联酶聚集体与仿生硅化技术结合制备固定化脂肪酶

将交联酶聚集体(CLEAs)与仿生硅化技术相结合,制备了交联脂肪酶Candidasp.99-125杂化生物催化剂.以京尼平为交联剂,在最佳条件下制得的脂肪酶CLEAs的酶活达771U/g,回收率达75%;保护剂聚乙烯亚胺(PEI)与Candidasp.99-125脂肪酶共沉淀制备P/CLEAs,其酶活达897U/g,回收率约88%;利用PEI的诱导作用,在P/CLEAs表面形成氧化硅涂层,制得的脂肪酶CLEAs(Coated-CLEAs)显示出良好的稳定性,特别是其抗蛋白酶水解能力、有机溶剂耐受能力、重复使用性能等方面明显提高.     

HPLC-MS/MS method to determine genipin in rat plasma after hydrolysis with sulfatase and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

A sensitive high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) method was developed for the quantification of genipin in rat plasma after hydrolysis with sulfatase. Genipin could not be detected directly as it could be transformed into other forms such as conjugated‐genipin immediately after administration. The conjugated genipin could be hydrolyzed by sulfatase to genipin. The conditions of hydrolysis were investigated. Genipin and the internal standard, peoniflorin (IS), were separated on a reversed‐phase column by gradient elution and detected using an electrospray ion source on a 4000 QTrap triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometer. The quantification was performed using multiple reaction monitoring with selected precursor‐product ion pairs of the transitions m/z 225.0 → 122.7 and m/z 479.1 → 449.1 for genipin and peoniflorin. The assay was linear over the concentration range of 1.368–1368 ng/mL, with correlation coefficients of 0.9989. Intra‐ and inter‐day precisions and accuracy were all within 15%. The lower limit of quantification was 1.368 ng/mL. The recoveries of genipin and peoniflorin were more than 53.3 and 51.2%. The highly sensitive method was successfully applied to estimated pharmacokinetic parameters of genipin following oral and intravenous administration to rats. The absolute bioavailability of genipin was 80.2% in rat, which is the first report. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A New Green Thermoplastic Polymer with Improved Hydrophobic Character

Summary: A green thermoplastic polymer based on wheat flour was modified by the addition of a natural crosslinker genipin. Films of the polymer modified with different composition of genipin were prepared by extrusion. Free surface energy using contact angle method, moisture absorption test and hardness test were used to characterize the products. From moisture absorption and contact angle measurements, it was seen that for genipin amounts higher than 0.2% w/w, a hydrophobic character is achieved. Results obtained indicate enhancement in hydrophobic properties of the films.     

Genipin crosslinked microspheres as an effective hemostatic agent

Efficient hemorrhage control is of extreme importance to decrease mortality rates arising from traumatic bleeding. However, traditional hemostatic agents are limited to unsatisfied biocompatibility, inconvenient usage, and high cost. To this end, we have devised a novel hemostatic microsphere from chitosan and gelatin by using appropriate amount of genipin as a crosslinker. The performance of these Cs/Gel MPs was evaluated with experiments in vitro and in vivo. Results in vitro showed that the best hemostatic efficacy was achieved by Cs/Gel‐0.75 MPs (the mass fraction of genipin in Cs/Gel mixture is 8.6 × 10⁻⁶). Skin laceration model indicated that the hemostatic time of Cs/Gel‐0.75 MPs was within 12 seconds, which has been significantly shortened in comparison with commercial available products. Moreover, cytocompatibility results displayed that Cs/Gel‐0.75 MPs caused no obvious cytotoxicity even at the high concentration of 40 μg/ml. Cs/Gel‐0.75 MPs also possess satisfactory fluid absorption ratio and low hemolysis. Therefore, these Cs/Gel‐0.75 MPs are promising candidates for further surgical wound hemostatic agent.     

Synthesis and Properties of Hydrogels Based on Chitosan and Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Crosslinked by Genipin

Semi‐interpenetrating polymeric networks of chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) [PVA] were prepared by varying the ratio of the constituents. The hydrogels were crosslinked using genipin, a naturally occurring nontoxic cross‐linking agent. The swelling behavior of these hydrogels was studied by immersing the films in deionized water at various temperatures and in buffer solutions of different pH. The states of water in the hydrogels, swollen at 25°C and pH 7, were determined using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The swelling behavior of the gels was found to be dependent on temperature and pH of the medium. The amount of freezing water in the swollen hydrogels increased, whereas the amount of nonfreezing bound water remained more or less the same with increasing PVA concentration.     

Evaluation of a non-woven fabric coated with a chitosan bi-layer composite for wound dressing

This study presents a novel design of an easily stripped bi-layer composite that consists of an upper layer of a soybean protein non-woven fabric coated with a lower layer, a genipin-crosslinked chitosan film, as a wound dressing material. This study examines the in vitro properties of the genipin-crosslinked chitosan film and the bi-layer composite. Furthermore, in vivo experiments are conducted to study wounds treated with the composite in a rat model. Experimental results show that the degree of crosslinking and the in vitro degradation rate of the genipin-crosslinked chitosan films can be controlled by varying the genipin contents. In addition, the genipin contents should exceed 0.025 wt.-% of the chitosan-based material if complete crosslinking reactions between genipin and chitosan molecules are required. Water contact angle analysis shows that the genipin-crosslinked chitosan film is not highly hydrophilic; therefore, the genipin-crosslinked chitosan layer is not entangled with the soybean protein non-woven fabric, which forms an easily stripped interface layer between them. Furthermore, this new wound dressing material provides adequate moisture, thereby minimizing the risk of wound dehydration, and exhibits good mechanical properties. The in vivo histological assessment results reveal that epithelialization and reconstruction of the wound are achieved by covering the wound with the composite, and the composite is easily stripped from the wound surface without damaging newly regenerated tissue.     

Preparation of Antibacterial Gelatin/Genipin Nanofibrous Membrane for Tympanic Membrane Repair

Tympanic membrane perforation (TMP), a common disease, often needs a scaffold as the patch to support surgery. Due to the environment of auditory meatus, the patch can be infected by bacteria that results in failure; therefore, the ideal scaffold may combine biomimetic and antibacterial features. In this work, gelatin was used as the electrospinning framework, genipin as the crosslinking agent, and levofloxacin as an antibacterial in order to prepare the scaffold for TMP. Different contents of levofloxacin have been added to gelatin/genipin. It was found that, with the addition of levofloxacin, the gelatin/genipin membranes exhibit improved hydrophilia and enhanced tensile strength. The antibacterial and cell-cultured experiments showed that the prepared antibacterial membranes had excellent antibacterial properties and good biocompatibility, respectively. In summary, levofloxacin is a good group for the gelatin/genipin scaffold because it improves the physical properties and antibacterial action. Compared with different amounts of levofloxacin, a gelatin/genipin membrane with 1% levofloxacin is more suitable for a TM.