Synthesis of "click" alginate hydrogel capsules and comparison of their stability, water swelling, and diffusion properties with that of Ca(+2) crosslinked alginate capsules.

Ionically crosslinked alginate hydrogels have been extensively explored for encapsulation and immunoisolation of living cells/tissues to develop implantable cell therapies, such as islet encapsulation for bioartificial pancreas. Chemical instability of these hydrogels during long-term implantation hinders the development of viable cell therapy. The exchange between divalent crosslinking ions (e.g., Ca(+2) ) with monovalent ions from physiological environment causes alginate hydrogels to degrade, resulting in exposure of the donor tissue to the host's immune system and graft failure. The goal of this study was to improve stability of alginate hydrogels by utilizing covalent "click" crosslinking while preserving other biomedically viable hydrogel properties. Alginate was first functionalized to contain either pendant alkyne or azide functionalities, and subsequently reacted via "click" chemistry to form "click" gel capsules. Alginate functionalization was confirmed by NMR and gel permeation chromatography. When compared with Ca(+2) capsules, "click" capsules exhibited superior stability in ionic media, while showing higher permeability to small size diffusants and similar molecular weight cut-off and water swelling. Physicochemical properties of "click" alginate hydrogels demonstrate their potential utility for therapeutic cell encapsulation and other biomedical applications.

Spontaneous carbonate formation in an amorphous, amine-rich, polymeric drug substance: sevelamer HCl product quality.

Spectral differences among multiple manufacturers/lots of sevelamer HCl were observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and further characterization was performed to identify the cause for these differences. The drug substance is a polymer that possesses a large molecular weight, is amorphous, and is practically insoluble in both water and organic solvents. Thus, solid-state characterization methods (spectroscopic and thermal) were required to identify and characterize differences among the samples to assess possible differences in product quality. ¹³C cross-polarization-magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of sevelamer HCl substances demonstrated the presence of a carbonyl-containing species, which was attributed to a carbonate impurity among samples. Stability studies demonstrated that this carbonate impurity formed spontaneously upon exposure of the drug substance to atmospheric water vapor and carbon dioxide, even under ambient conditions. Mechanistically, this behavior likely arises from the large number of primary and secondary amine groups, the hygroscopicity of the HCl salt, and a high degree of molecular mobility due to the amorphous nature of the drug substance.

Improvement of physicochemical properties of an antiepileptic drug by salt engineering.

The focus of the present investigation was to evaluate the feasibility of using cyclamic salt of lamotrigine in order to improve its solubility and intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR). The salt was prepared by solution crystallization method and characterized chemically by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), proton ((1)H) and carbon ((13)C) nuclear magnetic resonance (liquid and solid, NMR) spectroscopy, physically by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermally by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), physicochemically for solubility, IDR, solution and solid-state stability, and polymorphism by solution recrystallization and slurry conversion studies. The FTIR, NMR, PXRD, DSC, and TGA spectra and thermograms indicated the salt formation. The salt formation increased lamotrigine solubility by 19-fold and IDR by 4.9-fold in water. The solution and solid-state stability were similar to parent molecule and were resistant to polymorphic transformation. In conclusion, cyclamic salt of lamotrigine provides another potential avenue for the pharmaceutical development of lamotrigine with improved physicochemical properties especially for pediatric population. It is also possible that appropriate dosage forms can be formulated with much lower drug amount and better safety profile than existing products.

Physicochemical and mechanical properties of carbamazepine cocrystals with saccharin.

The aim of present research was to investigate the physicochemical, mechanical properties, and stability characteristics of cocrystal of carbamazepine (CBZ) using saccharin (SAC) as a coformer. The cocrystals were prepared by solubility method and characterized by pH-solubility profile, intrinsic dissolution by static disk method, and surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), crystallinity by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and mechanical properties by Heckel analysis. Stability of the cocrystals were assessed by storing them at 60 (°)C for two weeks, 25 (°)C/60%RH, 40 (°)C/75%RH and 40 (°)C/94%RH for one month and compared with the stability of CBZ. The solubility profile of cocrystal was similar to CBZ. The cocrystal and CBZ have shown the same stability profile at all the conditions of studies except at 40 (°)C/94%RH. Unlike the CBZ, cocrystal was stable against dihydrate transformation. The compacts of cocrystal have a greater tensile strength and more compressibility. The Heckel analysis suggested that plastic deformation started at low compression pressure in the cocrystal than CBZ. In summary, the cocrystal form of carbamazepine provides another avenue for product development which is more stable than the parent drug.

Development and validation of an ion chromatography method for the determination of phosphate-binding of lanthanum carbonate.

Lanthanum carbonate is indicated to reduce serum phosphate in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). When given orally, lanthanum carbonate dissociates in the acid environment of the upper gastrointestinal tract to release lanthanum ions. The free lanthanum ions bind with dietary phosphate released from food during digestion to form highly insoluble lanthanum-phosphate complexes which prevent the absorption of phosphate, consequently reduce the serum phosphate. In order to evaluate the in vitro binding capacity of lanthanum carbonate, a simple and efficient ion chromatography (IC) method was developed and validated for determination of phosphate across the pH range encountered in the gastrointestinal tract. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Dionex ICS-2000 IC system using a Dionex AS16, IonPac (4mmx250mm) analytical column and Dionex AG16, IonPac (4mmx50mm) guard column. Column temperature was maintained at 30 degrees C. Injection volume was 10microL. The compounds were eluted isocratically at a flow rate of 1mL/min and detected by suppressed conductivity. The analytical method was validated according to USP Category I requirements. The validation characteristics included accuracy, precision, quantification limit, linearity, and stability. The intra-day accuracy ranged from 89% to 103% for the solutions of pH 1.2-6.8. The intra-day precision (RSD) ranged from 0.6% to 3.7% for the solutions of pH 1.2-6.8. The analytical range was linear from 2 to 200ppm (mg/L). The R(2) ranged from 0.9998 to 1.0. This method was found to be simple, robust, sensitive, specific, and accurate. It has been successfully applied for determination of phosphate binding to lanthanum carbonate over the human gastrointestinal pH range at different time-points (from 0.5 to 24h).

Selective killing of nonreplicating mycobacteria.

Antibiotics are typically more effective against replicating rather than nonreplicating bacteria. However, a major need in global health is to eradicate persistent or nonreplicating subpopulations of bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Hence, identifying chemical inhibitors that selectively kill bacteria that are not replicating is of practical importance. To address this, we screened for inhibitors of dihydrolipoamide acyltransferase (DlaT), an enzyme required by Mtb to cause tuberculosis in guinea pigs and used by the bacterium to resist nitric oxide-derived reactive nitrogen intermediates, a stress encountered in the host. Chemical screening for inhibitors of Mtb DlaT identified select rhodanines as compounds that almost exclusively kill nonreplicating mycobacteria in synergy with products of host immunity, such as nitric oxide and hypoxia, and are effective on bacteria within macrophages, a cellular reservoir for latent Mtb. Compounds that kill nonreplicating pathogens in cooperation with host immunity could complement the conventional chemotherapy of infectious disease.

Coumarins and pyranocoumarins, potential novel pharmacophores for inhibition of measles virus replication.

A series of coumarin and pyranocoumarin analogues were evaluated in vitro for antiviral efficacy against measles virus (MV), strain Chicago. Of the 22 compounds tested for inhibition, six were found to have selectivity indices greater than 10. These were compounds 5-hydroxy-7-propionyloxy-4-propylcoumarin (2a), 5,7-bis(tosyloxy)-4-propylcoumarin (7); 5-hydroxy-4-propyl-7-tosyloxy-coumarin (8); 6,6-dimethyl-9-propionyloxy-4-propyl-2H,6H-benzo[1,2-b:3,4-b']dipyran-2-one (9); 6,6-dimethyl-9-pivaloyloxy-4-propyl-2H,6H-benzo[1,2-b:3,4-b']dipyran-2-one (10); and 7,8-cis-10,11,12-trans-4-propyl-6,6,10,11-tetramethyl-7,8,9-trihydroxy-2H,6H,12H-benzo[1 ,2-b:3,4-b':5,6-b'']tripyran-2-one (18). Three of the active drugs were propyl coumarin analogues (2a, 7 and 8), two were dipyranone or chromeno-coumarins (9 and 10), and one was a benzotripyranone with a coumarin nucleus (18). Some appeared to be rather specific and potent inhibitors of MV with EC50 values ranging from 0.2 to 50 microg/ml and the majority of the EC50 values being less than 5 pg/ml. The compounds inhibited an additional nine strains of MV, and in virucidal tests the drugs did not physically disrupt the virion to inhibit virus replication. The inhibitory activity for one of the compounds tested (7) was somewhat dependent on virus concentration and it was still active when added to cells up to 24 h after virus exposure. When used in combination with ribavirin, compound 7 appeared not to profoundly affect the antiviral efficacy of ribavirin or its cell-associated toxicity. However, a slightly antagonistic MV-inhibitory effect was observed at the highest concentration of ribavirin used in combination with most concentrations of compound 7 tested. This and related compounds may be valuable leads in the development of a potent and selective class of MV inhibitors that could be used in future in the clinic.

Total Synthesis of Motuporin and 5-[L-Ala]-Motuporin.

Total synthesis of the cyclic peptide hepatotoxin motuporin is described, including an efficient synthesis of the constituent amino acid Adda. Three strategies to motuporin are outlined with their relative strengths and weaknesses. Cyclization of the linear peptide precursor was found to proceed moderately well for peptides containing the N-methyldehydrobutyrine residue masked as a threonine, but significant C-terminal epimerization occurred in the presence of the dehydroamino acid. Replacement of the N-methyldehydrobutyrine residue by L-alanine was explored to assess the contribution of this dehydroamino acid to the biochemical activity of motuporin. Some epimerization also was observed during cyclization of the alanine-containing peptide. Synthetic motuporin and both isomers of 5-[L-Ala]-motuporin inhibit the activity of protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) in rat adipocyte lysates with comparable IC(50) values. These results indicate that the N-methyldehydrobutyrine residue is not essential for PP1 inhibition.