Spectroscopic, electrochemical and molecular docking studies of dothiepin and doxepin with bovine serum albumin and DNA base.

The interaction of dothiepin (DOT) and doxepin (DOX) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and a DNA base (adenine) was studied using UV-visible, fluorescence, attenuated total reflection-infra-red (ATR-IR), cyclic voltammetry and molecular docking methods. Strong fluorescence quenching was observed upon interaction of DOT and DOX with BSA/adenine and the mechanism suggested static quenching. Hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions were the predominant intermolecular forces needed to stabilize the copolymer. Upon addition of the drugs: (i) the tautomeric equilibrium structure of the adenine was changed; and (ii) the oxidation and the reduction peaks of the adenine/BSA interaction shifted towards high and low potentials, respectively. In ATR-IR, the band shift of amides I and II indicated a change in secondary structure of BSA upon binding to DOT and DOX drugs. The reduction in voltammetric current in the presence of BSA/adenine was attributed to slow diffusion of BSA/adenine binding with DOX/DOT. The docking method indicated that the drug moiety interacted with the BSA molecule. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparison of cytochrome p450 mediated metabolism of three central nervous system acting drugs.

The investigation of cytochrome P450 (CYP) mediated metabolism reactions by determination of enzyme kinetic parameters, Michaelis constant (K(m)), maximum reaction velocity (V(max)), and intrinsic clearance (CL(int)) is important aspects in discovery and development of drugs. The kinetic parameters can be used to predict the clearance prior to human administration and for better understanding the mechanism of clearance in vivo. In this study, the metabolic activities of three major hepatic CYP isoforms (2C19, 2D6, and 3A4) were investigated on structurally different central nervous system (CNS) acting drugs, amitriptyline, fluphenazine, and dothiepin. By using our novel in vitro evaluation system, we could compare the kinetic parameters for the metabolism of fluphenazine and dothiepin for the first time. Comparing CL(int) values thus obtained, we concluded that 2C19 could be predominant for metabolic activity on tricyclic antidepressants as expected, but not on phenothiazine-related antipsychotic drugs. Since the metabolism of CNS drugs is susceptible to single nucleotide polymorphisms of human gene, our results suggest that phenothiazine could be an alternative to clinical application of CNS drugs.

Kinetic spectrophotometric methods for the determination of dothiepin hydrochloride in bulk and in drug formulation.

Two simple and sensitive kinetic methods for the determination of dothiepin hydrochloride are described. The first method is based on kinetic investigation of the oxidation reaction of the drug with alkaline potassium permanganate at room temperature for a fixed time of 25 min. The absorbance of the colored manganate ions is measured at 610 nm. The second method is based on the reaction of dothiepin hydrochloride with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl) in the presence of 0.1 mol L(-1) sodium bicarbonate. Spectrophotometric measurement was achieved by recording the absorbance at 470 nm for a fixed time of 60 min. All variables affecting the development of the color were investigated and the conditions were optimized. Plots of absorbance against concentration in both procedures were rectilinear over the ranges 4-24 and 50-250 microg mL(-1), with mean recoveries 99.33+/-0.42 and 99.88+/-0.53, respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of dothiepin hydrochloride in bulk powder and in capsule dosage form. The results obtained were found to agree statistically with those given by the non-aqueous B.P. method. Furthermore the methods were validated according to USP guidelines and also assessed by applying the standard addition technique. The determination of dothiepin hydrochloride by the fixed concentration method is feasible with the calibration equations obtained, but the fixed time method proves to be more applicable.

Direct investigation of the vectorization properties of amphiphilic cyclodextrins in phospholipid films.

Recently, new cyclodextrin derivatives were synthesized and shown to exhibit strong amphiphilic properties. In this paper, we study the action of these new amphiphilic cyclodextrins on phospholipids. Mixed phospholipid/cyclodextrin derivative films were prepared and studied using X-ray reflectivity for various phospholipid/cyclodextrin ratios. A molar ratio of 3 provides a highly stable film the molecular structure of which has been investigated in detail. The cholesterol tail of the cyclodextrin molecule was found to be anchored into the phospholipid film. The cyclodextrin moieties exposed to the aqueous medium are prone to the addition of the guest molecule Dosulepin, making them of high interest for drug delivery. For this purpose and as an example of a potential application, this cyclodextrin molecular carrier property is also addressed to this complex film architecture.

Ring flexibility within tricyclic antidepressant drugs.

The internal flexibility of the central seven-membered ring of a series of tricyclic antidepressant drugs (TCAs), imipramine [1], amitriptyline [2], doxepin [3], and dothiepin [4], has been investigated by (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic (NMR) techniques. Two dynamic processes were examined: ring inversion and bridge flexing. (1)H NMR line-shape analysis was used to obtain ring inversion barriers for 2-4. These studies yielded energy barriers of 14.3, 16.7, and 15.7 +/- 0.6 kcal/mol for the hydrochloride salts of doxepin, dothiepin, and amitriptyline, respectively. The barriers for the corresponding free bases were lower by 0.6 kcal/mol on average. (13)C T(1) relaxation measurements were used to determine the degree of bridge flexing associated with the central seven-membered ring for all four compounds. By fitting the T(1) data to a two-state jump model, lifetimes and amplitudes of rapid bridge flexing motions were determined. The results show that imipramine has the fastest rate of bridge flexing, followed by amitriptyline, doxepin, and dothiepin. The pharmacological profiles of the TCAs are complex and they interact with many receptor sites, resulting in numerous side effects and a general lack of understanding of their precise mode of action in different anxiety-related disorders. They all have similar three-dimensional structures, which makes it difficult to rationalize their differing relative potency in different assays/clinical settings. However, the clear finding here that there are significantly different degrees of internal mobility suggests that molecular dynamics should be an additional factor considered when trying to understand the mode of action of this clinically important family of molecules.

The determination of the geometric isomers and related impurities of dothiepin in a pharmaceutical preparation by capillary electrophoresis.

The application of capillary zone electrophoresis in the assay of the tricyclic antidepressant drug, dothiepin, in tablets is discussed. The method developed for dothiepin which exists as the cis- and trans-isomers and contains two major related impurities, an 11-oxo compound and a propanamine, utilizes inclusion complexation with beta-cyclodextrin. For optimization of the method the structured procedure of factorial design was used; the electrolyte solution was 50 mM disodium hydrogen phosphate with 10 mM beta-cyclodextrin-propan-1-ol(90:10, v/v). Good precision (RSD = 1.06%, n = 6), linearity (y = 26.84x + 2.25), and correlation (r = 0.999, n = 7) was obtained for trans-dothiepin. The reproducibility of tablet extraction was also acceptable (RSD = 0.77%, n = 6); the recovery of the trans-isomer was 98% (w/w) and the level of cis-isomer in tablets of dothiepin (75 mg) was 5.58% (w/w).