Testing the ability of non-methylamine osmolytes present in kidney cells to counteract the deleterious effects of urea on structure, stability and function of proteins.

Human kidney cells are under constant urea stress due to its urine concentrating mechanism. It is believed that the deleterious effect of urea is counteracted by methylamine osmolytes (glycine betaine and glycerophosphocholine) present in kidney cells. A question arises: Do the stabilizing osmolytes, non-methylamines (myo-inositol, sorbitol and taurine) present in the kidney cells also counteract the deleterious effects of urea? To answer this question, we have measured structure, thermodynamic stability (ΔG D (o)) and functional activity parameters (K m and k cat) of different model proteins in the presence of various concentrations of urea and each non-methylamine osmolyte alone and in combination. We observed that (i) for each protein myo-inositol provides perfect counteraction at 1∶2 ([myo-inositol]:[urea]) ratio, (ii) any concentration of sorbitol fails to refold urea denatured proteins if it is six times less than that of urea, and (iii) taurine regulates perfect counteraction in a protein specific manner; 1.5∶2.0, 1.2∶2.0 and 1.0∶2.0 ([taurine]:[urea]) ratios for RNase-A, lysozyme and α-lactalbumin, respectively.

Why is glycine not a part of the osmoticum in the urea-rich cells?

Kidney cells of animals including human and marine invertebrates contain high amount of the protein denaturant, urea. Methylamine osmolytes are generally believed to offset the harmful effects of urea on proteins in vitro and in vivo. In this study we have investigated the possibility of glycine to counteract the effects of urea on three proteins by measuring thermodynamic stability, ΔGD° and functional activity parameters (K(m) and k(cat)). We discovered that glycine does not counteract the effects of urea in terms of both protein stability and functional activity. We also observed that the glycine alone is compatible with enzymes function and increases protein stability in terms of T(m) (midpoint of thermal denaturation) to a great extent. Our study indicates that a most probable reason for the absence of a stabilizing osmolyte, glycine in the urea-rich cells is due to the fact that this osmolyte is non-protective to macromolecules against the hostile effects of urea, and hence is not chosen by evolutionary selection pressure.

Quantitative analysis of rabeprazole sodium in commercial dosage forms by spectrophotometry.

The main aim of this work is to develop and validate two spectrophotometric methods for the quantitative analysis of rabeprazole sodium in commercial dosage forms. Method A is based on the reaction of drug with 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone hydrochloride (MBTH) in the presence of ammonium cerium(IV) nitrate in acetic acid medium at room temperature to form red-brown product which absorbs maximally at 470 nm. Method B utilizes the reaction of rabeprazole sodium with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 45+/-1 degrees C to form yellow colored Meisenheimer complex. The colored complex has a characteristic band peaking at 420 nm. Under the optimized reaction conditions, proposed methods are validated as per ICH guidelines. Beer's law is obeyed in the concentration ranges of 14-140 and 7.5-165 microg ml(-1) with linear regression equations of A=6.041 x 10(-4)+1.07 x 10(-2)C and A=1.020 x 10(-3)+5.0 x 10(-3)C for methods A and B, respectively. The limits of detection for methods A and B are 1.38 and 0.75 microg ml(-1), respectively. Both methods have been applied successfully for the estimation of rabeprazole sodium in commercial dosage forms. The results are compared with the reference UV spectrophotometric method.

Kinetic spectrophotometric analysis of pantoprazole in commercial dosage forms.

A kinetic spectrophotometric method has been developed which is based on the oxidation of pantoprazole with Fe(III) in sulfuric acid medium. Fe(III) subsequently reduces to Fe(II), which is coupled with potassium ferricyanide to form Prussian blue. The reaction is followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the increase in absorbance with time (1-8 min) at 725 nm. The initial rate method is adopted for constructing the calibration graph, which is linear in the concentration range of 5-90 microg ml(-1). The regression analysis yields the calibration equation, nu = 3.467 x 10(-6) + 4.356 x 10(-5)C. The limits of detection and quantitation are 1.46 and 4.43 microg ml(-1), respectively. The proposed method was optimized and validated both statistically and through recovery studies. The experimental true bias of all samples is < +/-2.0%. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of pantoprazole in pharmaceutical preparations.