Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis

Advances of supercritical fluid chromatography in lipid profiling

Yang Yang, Yanshan Liang, Jina Yang, Fengying Ye, Ting Zhou, Gongke Li

2019, 9(1): 1-8.

Abstract(133) PDF(1)

Abstract:
Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) meets with great favor due to its high efficiency, low organic solvent consumption, and the specialty for the identification of the isomeric species. This review de-scribes the advances of SFC in targeted and untargeted lipid profiling. The advancement of the SFC in-struments and the stationary phases are summarized. Typical applications of SFC to the targeted and untargeted lipid profiling are discussed in detail. Moreover, the perspectives of SFC in the lipid profiling are also proposed. As a useful and promising tool for investigating lipids in vitro and in vivo, SFC will predictably obtain further development.

Recent advances in electrogenerated chemiluminescence biosensing methods for pharmaceuticals

Yu Zhang, Rui Zhang, Xiaolin Yang, Honglan Qi, Chengxiao Zhang

2019, 9(1): 9-19.

Abstract(211) PDF(3)

Abstract:
Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (electrochemiluminescence, ECL) generates species at electrode surfaces, which undergoes electron-transfer reactions and forms excited states to emit light. It has be-come a very powerful analytical technique and has been widely used in such as clinical testing, bio-warfare agent detection, and pharmaceutical analysis. This review focuses on the current trends of molecular recognition-based biosensing methods for pharmaceutical analysis since 2010. It introduces a background of ECL and presents the recent ECL developments in ECL immunoassay (ECLIA), im-munosensors, enzyme-based biosensors, aptamer-based biosensors, and molecularly imprinted poly-mers (MIP)-based sensors. At last, the future perspective for these analytical methods is briefly discussed.

Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of health-care pharmaceutical products using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Sobia Nisar, Ghulam Dastgeer, Muhammad Shafiq, Muhammad Usman

2019, 9(1): 20-24.

Abstract(102) PDF(1)

Abstract:
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a sensitive optical technique that is capable of rapid multi-elemental analysis. The development of this technique for elemental analysis of pharmaceutical products may eventually revolutionize the field of human health. Under normal circumstances, the elemental analysis of pharmaceutical products based on chemical methods is time-consuming and complicated. In this investigation, the principal aim is to develop an LIBS-based methodology for ele-mental analysis of pharmaceutical products. This LIBS technique was utilized for qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of the elements present in Ca-based tablets. All the elements present in the tablets were detected and their percentage compositions were verified in a single shot, using the proposed instrument. These elements (e.g., Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, and others) were identified by the wavelengths of their spectral lines, which were verified using the NIST database. The approximate amount of each element was determined based on their observed peaks and the result was in exact agreement with the content specification. The determination of the composition of prescription drug for patients is highly important in numerous circumstances. For example, the exploitation of LIBS may facilitate elemental decomposition of medicines to determine the accuracy of the stated composition information. Moreover, the approach can provide element-specific, meaningful, and accurate information related to pharmaceutical products.

Assay development for determination of DZ2002, a new reversible SAHH inhibitor, and its acid metabolite DZA in blood and application to rat pharmacokinetic study

Weiwei Jia, Jing Li, Feifei Du, Yan Sun, Fang Xu, Fengqing Wang, Olajide E. Olaleye, Danghui Chen, Wei Tang, Jianping Zuo, Chuan Li

2019, 9(1): 25-33.

Abstract(82) PDF(1)

Abstract:
Methyl (S)-4-(6-amino-9H-purin-9-yl)-2-hydroxybutanoate (DZ2002) is a potent reversible inhibitor of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase (SAHH). Due to its ester structure, DZ2002 is rapidly hydrolyzed in rat blood to 4-(6-amino-9H-purin-9-yl)-2-hydroxybutyric acid (DZA) during and after blood sampling from rats; this hampers accurate determination of the circulating DZ2002 and its acid metabolite DZA in rats. To this end, a method for determining the blood concentrations of DZ2002 and DZA in rats was developed by using methanol to immediately deactivate blood carboxylesterases during sampling. The newly developed bioanalytical assay possessed favorable accuracy and precision with lower limit of quantification of 31 nM for DZ2002 and DZA. This validated assay was applied to a rat pharmacokinetic study of DZ2002. After oral administration, DZ2002 was found to be extensively converted into DZA. The level of systemic exposure to DZ2002 was significantly lower than that of DZA. The apparent oral bioavailability of DZ2002 was 90%–159%. The mean terminal half-lives of DZ2002 and DZA were 0.3–0.9 and 1.3–5.1 h, respectively. The sample preparation method illustrated here may be adopted for de-termination of other circulating ester drugs and their acid metabolites in rodents.

Silymarin-laden PVP-PEG polymeric composite for enhanced aqueous solubility and dissolution rate: Preparation and in vitro characterization

Abid Mehmood Yousaf, Usman Rashid Malik, Yasser Shahzad, Tariq Mahmood, Talib Hussain

2019, 9(1): 34-39.

Abstract(152) PDF(1)

Abstract:
The aim of this work was to develop, optimize and characterize a silymarin-laden polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymeric composite to resolve low aqueous solubility and dissolution rate problem of the drug. A number of silymarin-laden polymeric formulations were fabricated with different quantities of PVP K-30 and PEG 6000 by the solvent-evaporation method. The effect of PVP K-30 and PEG 6000 on the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate was investigated. The optimized formula-tion and its constituents were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. Both the PEG 6000 and PVP K-30 positively affected the aqueous solubility and dis-solution rate of the drug. In particular, a formulation consisting of silymarin, PVP K-30 and PEG 6000 (0.25/1.5/1.5, w/w/w) furnished the highest solubility (24.3972.95 mg/mL) and an excellent dissolution profile (~100% in 40 min). The solubility enhancement with this formulation was ~1150-fold as com-pared to plain silymarin powder. Moreover, all the constituents existed in the amorphous state in this silymarin-laden PVP-PEG polymeric composite. Accordingly, this formulation might be a promising tool to administer silymarin with an enhanced effect via the oral route.

New approaches to identification and characterization of tioconazole in raw material and in pharmaceutical dosage forms

Natalia L. Calvo, Vera A. Alvarez, María C. Lamas, Darío Leonardi

2019, 9(1): 40-48.

Abstract(102) PDF(2)

Abstract:
Tioconazole (TCZ), a broad-spectrum antifungal agent, has significant activity against Candida albicans and other Candida species, and therefore, it is indicated for the topical treatment of superficial mycoses. The main goal of this work is to report an exhaustive identification and characterization procedure to improve and facilitate the online quality control and continuous process monitoring of TCZ in bulk material and loaded in two different dosage forms: ovules and nail lacquer. The methodologies were based on thermal (differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), melting point, and thermogravimetry (TG)), spectroscopic (ultraviolet (UV), Raman, near infrared (NIR), infrared spectroscopy coupled to attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)), microscopic and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The TCZ bulk powder showed a high crystallinity, as observed by XRD, with a particles size dis-tribution (3–95 mm) resolved by microscopic measurements. TCZ melting point (82.8℃) and a de-gradation peak centered at 297.8 ℃ were obtained by DSC and DTG, respectively. An unambiguous structure elucidation of TCZ was obtained by mono- and two- dimensional 1H and 13C NMR spectral data analysis. The FTIR-ATR, Raman and NIR spectra of both the raw material and the commercial products were analyzed and their characteristic bands were tabulated. The best methods for TCZ identification in ovules were DSC, TG, XRD, NIR and Raman, while NIR and FTIR-ATR were the most appropriate tech-niques to analyze it in the nail lacquer. DSC, TG, DRX, Raman, FTIR-ATR and NIR spectroscopy are effective techniques to be used in online process analysis, because they do not require sample preparation, and they are considerably sensitive to analyze complex samples.

Development of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for therapeutic drug monitoring of afatinib

Rintaro Sogawa, Tetsuya Saita, Yuta Yamamoto, Sakiko Kimura, Yutaka Narisawa, Shinya Kimura, Masashi Shin

2019, 9(1): 49-54.

Abstract(87) PDF(1)

Abstract:
Afatinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer. It is necessary to develop a simple quantification method for TKIs in order to facilitate therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in clinical settings. This study sought to develop a simple and sensitive com-petitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify afatinib in plasma for routine phar-macokinetic applications. An anti-afatinib antibody was obtained using (S)-N-4-(3-chloro-4-fluor-ophenyl)-7-(tetrahydrofuran-3-yloxy)-quinazoline-4,6-diamine (CTQD), which has the same sub-structure as afatinib, as a hapten. Enzyme labeling of afatinib with horseradish peroxidase was similarly performed using CTQD. A simple competitive ELISA for afatinib was developed based on the principle of direct competition between afatinib and the enzyme marker for the anti-afatinib antibody, which had been immobilized on the plastic surface of a microtiter plate. Plasma afatinib concentrations below the limit of quantification of 30 pg/mL were reproducibly measurable. Also, the values of plasma afatinib levels measured from 20 patients were comparable with those measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, and there was a strong correlation between the values determined by both methods (Y = 0.976X – 0.207, r = 0.975). As indicated by its specificity and sensitivity, this newly developed ELISA for afatinib is an important tool for TDM and studies of the pharmacokinetics of afatinib.

Study on screening potential allergenic proteins from infant milk powders based on human mast cell membrane chromatography and histamine release assays

Ping Zhang, Yingdi Shi, Xiaoshuang He, Wei Sun, Yanni Lv, Xiaofang Hou

2019, 9(1): 55-61.

Abstract(171) PDF(2)

Abstract:
Cow's milk allergy is mainly observed in infants and young children. Most allergic reactions affect the skin, followed by the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. Conventional diagnosis is based on po-sitive allergy studies and evaluation of parameters including IgE and IgG1 levels, acute allergic skin response and anaphylactic shock reactions. We developed a cell membrane chromatographic (CMC) method based on human mast cells (HMC-1) for screening potential allergens in infant formula milk powders (IFMP). HMC-1 cell membranes were extracted and mixed with silica to prepare cell membrane chromatography columns (10 mm × 2 mm i.d., 5 mm). Under the conditions of 0.2 mL/min flow rate and 214 nm detection wavelength, human breast milk showed no retention. However, IFMP showed clear retention. The retained fractions were collected and analyzed through matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Four major milk proteins, i.e., α-casein, β-casein, α-lactalbumin, and β-lactoglobulin A, were identified. Furthermore, these proteins and β-lacto-globulin B showed clear retention on HMC-1/CMC columns. To test the degranulation effects of the five proteins, histamine and β-hexosaminidase release assays were carried out. All five proteins induced HMC-1 cells to release histamine and β-hexosaminidase. Also, we established a reversed phase liquid chromatographic (RPLC) method for the determination of the five proteins in IFMP and the results showed that 90% proteins in IFMP were α-casein and β-casein. We concluded that cow's milk proteins may be potential allergens and caseins cause more β-casein allergic risk than other proteins. This con-clusion was consistent with other studies.

Development of a microcomposite with single-walled carbon nanotubes and Nd2O3 for determination of paracetamol in pharmaceutical dosage by adsorptive voltammetry

Verónica Arancibia, Johisner Penagos-Llanos, Edgar Nagles, Olimpo García-Beltrán, John J. Hurtado

2019, 9(1): 62-69.

Abstract(100) PDF(1)

Abstract:
This study presents for the first time a new composite of carbon paste (CP), single-walled carbon na-notubes (SWCNTs) and Nd2O3 (NdOX). This versatile composite (NdOX-SWCNT/CPE) was applied to the oxidation of paracetamol (PCM). The newly formed surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The re-sults showed greater conductivity and a higher surface area for the composite than those of the carbon paste alone. Moreover, the anodic peak currents for PCM increased from 1.6 to 3.6 mA with CPE and NdOX-SWCNT/CPE, indicating an increase of nearly 51.0% for the anodic peak current. On the other hand, the anodic peak potentials shifted from 0.67 to 0.57 V. The detection limits were 0.05 mmol/L with NdOX-SWCNT/CPE and 0.50 mmol/L with SWCNT/CPE. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 1.5%(n =7). The accuracy and interference of the methods were evaluated with a urine chemistry control spiked with known quantities of PCM, uric acid, dopamine, ascorbic acid, caffeine, acetylsalicylic acid, tartrazine, sunset yellow, allure red, rutin, morin and metal ions. Finally, the novelty and usefulness of the composite were evaluated to quantify PCM in pharmaceutical dosage forms such as tablets, powders and syrups for children.

Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis

2019, 9(1): 70-71.

Abstract(59) PDF(1)

Abstract:

2019 Vol. 9, No. 1