Label-Free Electrochemical Biosensors for the Determination of Flaviviruses: Dengue, Zika, and Japanese Encephalitis.

A highly effective way to improve prognosis of viral infectious diseases and to determine the outcome of infection is early, fast, simple, and efficient diagnosis of viral pathogens in biological fluids. Among a wide range of viral pathogens, Flaviviruses attract a special attention. Flavivirus genus includes more than 70 viruses, the most familiar being dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Haemorrhagic and encephalitis diseases are the most common severe consequences of flaviviral infection. Currently, increasing attention is being paid to the development of electrochemical immunological methods for the determination of Flaviviruses. This review critically compares and evaluates recent research progress in electrochemical biosensing of DENV, ZIKV, and JEV without labelling. Specific attention is paid to comparison of detection strategies, electrode materials, and analytical characteristics. The potential of so far developed biosensors is discussed together with an outlook for further development in this field.

Electrochemical immunoassay for the detection of antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis virus by using various types of bioconjugates based on silver nanoparticles.

This work reports for the first time a significantly improved and simplified electrochemical immunoassay to detect antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) using a 96-well microtiter plate as a platform for immobilization and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as electrochemical labels. The electrochemical assay is performed by detecting the elemental silver oxidation signal where the electroactive signalling silver species are released from the bioconjugates (Ab@AgNP, AbS@AgNP, and ProteinA@AgNP). For this purpose, AgNPs were synthesized and further tagged with biomolecules (antibodies to TBEV, cleaved antibodies to TBEV, and protein A). Signal is read by linear sweep anodic stripping voltammetry (LSASV) of silver ions (through the electrochemical stripping of accumulated elemental silver) on a graphite electrode (GE). AbS@AgNP was chosen as the best option for the new electrochemical immunoassay. The results of electrochemical measurements demonstrated that voltammetric signal increased with the increasing concentration of target antibodies to TBEV within the range from 100 to 1600 IU mL-1, with a detection limit of 90 IU mL-1. To verify the practical application of the novel electrochemical immunosensor, the quantity of immunoglobulins against TBEV in human serum was checked. The results may contribute to the development of alternative methods for monitoring TBEV in biological fluids.

Dihydrogen Bond in the Aminoborane Complex of a Nicergoline Intermediate.

An aminoborane side product from the nicergoline manufacture process was identified by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. As boranes of pharmaceutical molecules are quite rare, the binding potential of the BH3 group was investigated and compared with similar compounds using Cambridge Structural Database (CSD). Surprisingly, the packing was stabilized by a dihydrogen bond, which triggered a false alert for too-short contact of hydrogen atoms in IUCR checkCIF. As the dihydrogen bond concept is not widely known, such an alert might mislead crystallographers to force -CH3 optimal geometry to -BH3 groups. The B-H distances equal to or less than 1.0 Å (17% of the CSD structures) are substantially biased when analyzing the structures of aminoborane complexes in CSD. To conduct proper searching, B-H bond length normalization should be applied in the CSD search.

Preparation and Investigation of Silver Nanoparticle⁻Antibody Bioconjugates for Electrochemical Immunoassay of Tick-Borne Encephalitis.

A new simple electrochemical immunosensor approach for the determination of antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in immunological products was developed and tested. The assay is performed by detecting the silver reduction signal in the bioconjugates with antibodies (Ab@AgNP). Here, signal is read by cathodic linear sweep voltammetry (CLSV) through the detection of silver chloride reduction on a gold-carbon composite electrode (GCCE). Covalent immobilization of the antigen on the electrode surface was performed after thiolation and glutarization of the GCCE. Specific attention has been paid to the selection of conditions for stabilizing both the silver nanoparticles and their Ab@AgNP. A simple flocculation test with NaCl was used to select the concentration of antibodies, and the additional stabilizer bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used for Ab@AgNP preparation. The antibodies to TBEV were quantified in the range from 50 IU·mL-1 to 1600 IU·mL-1, with a detection limit of 50 IU·mL-1. The coefficient of determination (r2) is 0.989. The electrochemical immunosensor was successfully applied to check the quality of immunological products containing IgG antibodies to TBEV. The present work paves the path for a novel method for monitoring TBEV in biological fluids.

Electrochemical nonenzymatic sensor for cholesterol determination in food.

The treatment of some inborn metabolism errors requires cholesterol substitution therapy. Cholesterol plays a vital role in the human body. Therefore, the majority of cholesterol determination techniques are targeted to blood and blood serum. Nevertheless, cholesterol determination in food is important as well. In this paper, cholesterol determination using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) in dairy products (e.g., milk, clotted cream, yogurt, butter, etc.) is reported with a novel nonenzymatic sensor based on diphosphonic acid of 1,4-diacetylglycoluril (DPADGU) as an electrode surface modifier. Stable anodic response was obtained from cholesterol on the modified carbon-based electrode. The sensor has high stability, sensitivity (20 µA mol L-1 cm-2), and a wide linear range from 1 up to 200 µM. The LOD and LOQ values are 1.5 and 5.1 µM, respectively. The developed methods were successfully applied to the above mentioned dairy products. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Solid Forms of Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate, Their Mutual Conversion, and Stabilization of Form I in Formulation.

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF, form I) is an orally delivered pharmaceutical salt used for the treatment of HIV and chronic hepatitis, which acts as an inhibitor of nucleotide reverse transcriptase. There are many solid forms of TDF described in the literature; 2 of them were identified in the drug products: form I and form A. It seems that during formulation, the active pharmaceutical ingredient undergoes partial to total conversion of TDF form I to TDF form A. The goals of this study were to investigate when and why did the conversion occur and whether the conversion could be avoided and how. The influence of pH and possible interaction with excipients were studied. The conditions enabling using wet granulation in technology while preventing the undesired conversion were found. The stabilization was achieved either by replacement of used disintegrants or by acid addition to the current composition of formulation.

Erratum: Capecitabine from X-ray powder synchrotron data. Corrigendum.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1107/S1600536809017905.].

Hot-stage microscopy for determination of API fragmentation: comparison with other methods.

Although the fragmentation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is a phenomenon that is mentioned in many literature sources, no well-suited analytical tools for its investigation are currently known. We used the hot-stage microscopy method, already presented in our previous work, and studied the real fragmentation of the tadalafil particles in model tablets which were prepared under different compaction pressures. The morphology, spectral imaging and evaluation of plastic and elastic energies were also analyzed to support the hot-stage method. The prepared blend of tadalafil and excipients was compacted under a several forces from 5 to 35 kN to reveal the trend of fragmentation. The exact fragmentation of tadalafil with increased compaction pressure was revealed by the hot-stage microscopic method and it was in good agreement with plastic and elastic energies. Conversely, spectral imaging, which is being used for this analysis, was considered to be inaccurate methodology as mainly agglomerates, not individual particles, were measured. The availability of the hot-stage microscopic method equips pharmaceutical scientists with an in vitro assessment technique that will more reliably determine the fragmentation of the API in finished tablets and the behavior of the particles when compacted.

Hot-stage microscopy for determination of API particles in a formulated tablet.

Although methods exist to readily determine the particle size distribution (PSD) of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) before its formulation into a final product, the primary challenge is to develop a method to determine the PSD of APIs in a finished tablet. To address the limitations of existing PSD methods, we used hot-stage microscopy to observe tablet disintegration during temperature change and, thus, reveal the API particles in a tablet. Both mechanical and liquid disintegration were evaluated after we had identified optimum milling time for mechanical disintegration and optimum volume of water for liquid disintegration. In each case, hot-stage micrographs, taken before and after the API melting point, were compared with image analysis software to obtain the PSDs. Then, the PSDs of the APIs from the disintegrated tablets were compared with the PSDs of raw APIs. Good agreement was obtained, thereby confirming the robustness of our methodology. The availability of such a method equips pharmaceutical scientists with an in vitro assessment method that will more reliably determine the PSD of active substances in finished tablets.

A new way of solid dosage form samples preparation for SEM and FTIR using microtome.

Rapid and correct production of generic solid dosage forms requires a large amount of analytical data and conclusions. Modern analytical techniques have a good resolution and accuracy and allow obtaining a lot of information about the original product. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used for observation and assessing individual layers, core and surface of solid dosage forms. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy mapping allows determining the distribution and characterization of individual components in a solid dosage form. However, the samples prepared by common way, using scalpel or tablet splitter, are not good enough. It was the reason for development of a new and better method of sample preparation, which uses microtome. Well-prepared samples analyzed by SEM and FTIR mapping allow to determine a solid dosage form formulation, excipient content and distribution of excipient and active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Regio- and stereocontrolled synthesis of novel steroidal isoxazolines: a new route to the formation of selectively modified steroid side chains.

1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of acetonitrile oxide to cis- and trans-22-hydroxy-24-alkoxycarbonyl-Δ(23)-steroids is investigated. An unusual stereochemical course of the cycloaddition, leading to the same set of the isoxazoline adducts for both (Z)- and (E)-disubstituted olefins is revealed. It is shown, the reaction is regioselective and all possible 4',5'-diastereoisomers of resulting isoxazolines can be prepared as major products by cycloaddition to the suitable alkene. The structure of the key compounds is confirmed by X-ray and 2D NMR analysis.

Characterizing crystal disorder of trospium chloride: a comprehensive,(13) C CP/MAS NMR, DSC, FTIR, and XRPD study.

Analysis of C cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray powder diffraction data of trospium chloride (TCl) products crystallized from different mixtures of water-ethanol [φ(EtOH) = 0.5-1.0] at various temperatures (0°C, 20°C) and initial concentrations (saturated solution, 30%-50% excess of solvent) revealed extensive structural variability of TCl. Although (13) C CP/MAS NMR spectra indicated broad variety of structural phases arising from molecular disorder, temperature-modulated DSC identified presence of two distinct components in the products. FTIR spectra revealed alterations in the hydrogen bonding network (ionic hydrogen bond formation), whereas the X-ray diffraction reflected unchanged unit cell parameters. These results were explained by a two-component character of TCl products in which a dominant polymorphic form is accompanied by partly separated nanocrystalline domains of a secondary phase that does not provide clear Bragg reflections. These phases slightly differ in the degree of molecular disorder, in the quality of crystal lattice and hydrogen bonding network. It is also demonstrated that, for the quality control of such complex products, (13) C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy combined with factor analysis (FA) can satisfactorily be used for categorizing the individual samples: FA of (13) C CP/MAS NMR spectra found clear relationships between the extent of molecular disorder and crystallization conditions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 102:1235-1248, 2013.

A new polymorph of succinylcholinium diiodide: comparison of succinylcholinium structures.

The title compound {systematic name: trimethyl[2-({4-oxo-4-[2-(trimethylazaniumyl)ethoxy]butanoyl}oxy)ethyl]azanium diiodide}, C(14)H(30)N(2)O(4)(2+)·2I(-), is a salt of the succinylcholinium cation. There is one formula unit in the asymmetric unit, represented by two anions and two halves of two cations which lie on centres of inversion. The component species are stabilized by electrostatic interactions, and C-H···I and C-H···O hydrogen bonds are also present.

Alaptide from synchrotron powder diffraction data.

THE TITLE COMPOUND [SYSTEMATIC NAME: (8S)-8-methyl-6,9-diaza-spiro-[4.5]decane-7,10-dione], C(9)H(14)N(2)O(2), consists of two connected rings, viz. a piperazine-2,5-dione (DKP) ring and a five-membered ring. The DKP ring adopts a slight boat conformation and the bonded methyl group is in an equatorial position. The five-membered ring is in an envelope conformation. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules into chains running parallel to the c axis.

Methyl-ergometrine maleate from synchrotron powder diffraction data.

The title compound {systematic name: 9,10-didehydro-N-[1-(hydroxy-meth-yl)prop-yl]-d-lysergamide maleate}, C(20)H(26)N(3)O(2) (+)·C(4)H(3)O(4) (-), contains a large rigid ergolene group. This group consists of an indole plane connected to a six-membered carbon ring adopting an envelope conformation and N-methyl-tetra-hydro-pyridine where the methyl group is in an equatorial position. In the crystal, inter-molecular N-H⋯O, O-H⋯N and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds form an extensive three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network, which holds the cations and anions together.

Capecitabine from X-ray powder synchrotron data.

In the title compound [systematic name 5-de-oxy-5-fluoro-N-(pent-yloxycarbon-yl)cytidine], C(15)H(22)FN(3)O(6), the pentyl chain is disordered over two positions with refined occupancies of 0.53 (5) and 0.47 (5). The furan ring assumes an envelope conformation. In the crystal, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into chains propagating along the b axis. The crystal packing exhibits electrostatic inter-actions between the 5-fluoro-pyrimidin-2(1H)-one fragments of neighbouring mol-ecules as indicated by short O⋯C [2.875 (3) and 2.961 (3) Å] and F⋯C [2.886 (3) Å] contacts.

Pergolide mesylate form II.

A new polymorph of pergolide mesylate or 8beta-[(methylsulfanyl)methyl]-6-propylergoline methanesulfonate, C(19)H(27)N(2)S(+).CH(3)SO(3)(-), is reported. Pergolide mesylate form II crystallizes in the trigonal system, which is unique for ergot derivatives. Although the hydrogen-bond system in form II differs completely from that in form I, the conformation of the pergolide moiety in various related structures is very similar.

Simvastatin.

Simvastatin, or (1S,3R,7S,8S,8aR)-8-[2-[(2R,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-oxo-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl]ethyl]-3,7-dimethyl-1,2,3,7,8,8a-hexahydronaphthalen-1-yl 2,2-dimethylbutanoate, C(25)H(38)O(5), is almost isostructural with lovastatin, and the general conformational features are closely related to those of other reported crystal structures of statins. The only hydrogen bond present facilitates the formation of infinite chains of molecules along the b axis.