UVB photolysis of betamethasone and its esters: characterization of photoproducts in solution, in pig skin and in drug formulations.

The stability of the synthetic glucocorticosteroid betamethasone under UVB light was studied both in vitro (water and methanol solution and in topical and injectable commercial formulations) and ex vivo (pig skin). From irradiated methanol solutions three main photoproducts were isolated by HPLC and TLC and characterized by NMR/MS analyses. The modifications involve parts of the molecule peculiar for the therapeutic activity, that is, rearrangement of ring A ("lumi"- and "photolumiderivatives"), and Norrish Type I fragmentation of the ketolic chain ("androderivative"). Two clinically used esters of betamethasone were also studied, namely the 17-valerate and 21-phosphate, and their photoproducts identified. The HPLC method developed for the photolysis studies in solution was also applied to the analysis of commercial formulations. In a cream and a solution for parenteral use, betamethasone highly decomposed under UVB irradiation, even in the presence of the bactericidal agents chlorocresol and phenol, which are able to absorb part of the incoming radiation. As a model for the UV exposed skin to which the drug is applied, ex vivo pig skin was used; not only the yield of photodegradation was evaluated, but the photoproducts were also identified. A test on THP-1 cells demonstrated the loss of anti-inflammatory activity of betamethasone, when modified by UVB light.

In vitro phototoxic properties of triamcinolone 16,17-acetonide and its main photoproducts.

The phototoxicity of triamcinolone 16,17-acetonide has been estimated through a panel of in vitro tests. The main target involved in phototoxicity induced by triamcinolone appeared to be the cell membrane. Oxygen-independent photohemolysis was observed. A photochemical study in water and buffered solutions supported the conclusion that this is related to the action of radicals formed upon UV irradiation (in particular UV-B) by Norrish Type-I fragmentation of the C-20 ketone group. Peroxy radicals were formed in the presence of oxygen and were the active species in that case. Three photoproducts, isolated from the photodegradation of the drug, were submitted to the same toxicity tests. Two of them were proved to possess toxic or phototoxic properties on erythrocytes, primarily induced by UV-B light, and may participate in the photosensitizing activity of triamcinolone 16,17-acetonide. Our in vitro results suggest that the drug can elicit weak photosensitizing properties in vivo.

Photoisomerization of fluvoxamine generates an isomer that has reduced activity on the 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter and does not affect cell proliferation.

Fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, is used as antidepressant/anxiolytic. The presence of a C=N double bond in the structure of fluvoxamine implies the existence of two geometric isomers: E- (trans) and Z- (cis), and suggests the hypothetical susceptibility of the molecule to photoisomerization. Clinically effective fluvoxamine is in its trans form. UVB (ultraviolet light, class B, wavelength range 290-320 nm) irradiation of aqueous solutions of fluvoxamine generated a photoproduct, which was isolated and analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS), and identified as the cis isomer of fluvoxamine. This cis-isomer lost capacity to inhibit serotonin uptake, suggesting that light exposure might reduce the clinical efficacy of fluvoxamine. Alternatively, the photoproduct could be used as an inactive isomer in the studies of antidepressant mechanisms. Recent proposal suggests that antidepressants increase neurogenesis in the adult brain, whereas either an inhibitory or a stimulatory action of antidepressants on [(3)H]thymidine uptake in vitro has been attributed to their interaction with serotonergic mechanisms. Lower concentrations (i.e., 2 microM) of fluvoxamine and fluoxetine (another selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) stimulated [(3)H]thymidine uptake in mature, but inhibited it in immature cultures of rat cerebellar granule cells; the photoproduct was ineffective. A high concentration of fluvoxamine (i.e., 20 microM) but not the photoproduct was toxic to both immature and mature cultures. We suggest that a mechanism sensitive to fluvoxamine photoisomerization might be involved in the action of antidepressants on cell proliferation.