Immunogenicity and Induction of Functional Antibodies in Rabbits Immunized with a Trivalent Typhoid-Invasive Nontyphoidal Salmonella Glycoconjugate Formulation.

Typhoid fever due to Salmonella Typhi and invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (iNTS) infections caused by serovars Enteritidis (SE) and Typhimurium (STm) are major pediatric health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. Typhoid has high complication rates, and iNTS infections have high case fatality rates; moreover, emerging antimicrobial resistance is diminishing treatment options. Vi capsule-based typhoid conjugate vaccine (Typbar-TCV™), licensed in India and pre-qualified by the World Health Organization, elicits durable immunity when administered to infants, but no iNTS vaccines are licensed or imminent. We have developed monovalent SE and STm glycoconjugate vaccines based on coupling lipopolysaccharide-derived core-O polysaccharide (COPS) to phase 1 flagellin protein (FliC) from the homologous serovar. Herein, we report the immunogenicity of multivalent formulations of iNTS COPS:FliC conjugates with Typbar-TCV™. Rabbits immunized with the trivalent typhoid-iNTS glycoconjugate vaccine generated high titers of serum IgG antibody to all three polysaccharide antigens for which anti-COPS IgG antibodies were directed primarily against serogroup-specific OPS epitopes. Responses to SE and STm FliC were lower relative to anti-COPS titers. Post-vaccination rabbit sera mediated bactericidal activity in-vitro, and protected mice after passive transfer against challenge with virulent SE or STm Malian blood isolates. These results support accelerated progression to clinical trials.

LC-MS/MS structural characterization of stress degradation products including the development of a stability indicating assay of Darunavir: An anti-HIV drug.

Darunavir, an anti-HIV drug was subjected to forced degradation under acid, base, thermal and neutral hydrolysis, oxidation and photolysis as prescribed by ICH guidelines. Four major degradation products were formed under acid and base hydrolysis, while stable under neutral and thermal hydrolysis, oxidative and photolysis. The drug and its degradation products were separated on Hiber, LiChrospher® 60, RP-select B, C8 column (250mm×4.6mm i.d., 5µm) using 10mM ammonium acetate: acetonitrile (52:48, v/v) as mobile phase in an isocratic elution mode by LC. The degradation products were characterized by LC-MS/MS and fragmentation pathways were proposed. The proposed structures of degradation products were confirmed by HRMS and the LC method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, accuracy, recovery, LOD and LOQ.

Development and validation of a stability-indicating assay including the isolation and characterization of degradation products of metaxalone by LC-MS.

A stability-indicating reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric method was developed and validated for the assay of metaxalone through forced degradation under acidic, alkaline, photo, oxidative and peroxide stress conditions. Separation of degradation products was accomplished on a reverse-phase Phenomenex C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column thermostated at 25 °C using 10 mM aqueous ammonium acetate: methanol (35:65 v/v) as mobile phase in an isocratic mode of elution. The eluents were detected at 275 nm by photo diode array detector and mass detectors connected in series. Two unknown base hydrolysis products of metaxalone were identified and characterized as (a) methyl 3-(3,5-dimethylphenoxy)-2-hydroxypropylcarbamate and (b) 1-(3,5-dimethylphenoxy)-3-aminopropan-2-ol by MS, (1)H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. The method was validated as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and metaxalone was selectively determined in presence of its degradation impurities, demonstrating its stability-indicating nature.

LC-MS/MS determination of pramipexole on rat dried blood spots: a pharmacokinetic study.

A simple and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method for determination of pramipexole on rat dried blood spots was developed and validated. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Synergy polar-RP column using 10mM ammonium acetate and methanol (50:50, v/v) as mobile phase in an isocratic mode of elution at a flow rate of 1.0mL/min. LC-MS was performed in a positive ion electro spray ionization mode and the MS/MS ion transitions 212.10→153.03 for PRX and 198.10→153.03 for internal standard (2-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-6-ethyl-amino-benzthiazole) were monitored. The developed method exhibited a linear dynamic range over 100-5000pg/mL for PRX on dried blood spots. The overall extraction recovery of PRX from DBS was 96.7%. The intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision were within the pre-defined limits of ≤15% at all concentrations. Influence of hematocrit and spot volume on dried blood spot was also evaluated and found to be well within the acceptable limits. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of PRX in rats.

Ionic-liquid based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by high performance liquid chromatographic determination of anti-hypertensives in rat serum.

A novel, simple and eco-friendly ionic liquid based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by HPLC determination of anti-hypertensive drugs viz., eprosartan, valasartan, irbesartan, losartan and telmisartan in rat serum has been developed and validated. Experimental parameters influencing the extraction efficiency, nature and volume of the ionic liquid, dispenser solvent, extraction time and effect of salt were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the extraction recoveries were between 92.85 and 98.50%. The relative standard deviations of intra-and inter-day accuracy varied between 1.9 and 9.1% (n=3). The linearity of the proposed method was 0.1-20µg/mL with coefficients of determination varying between 0.9979 and 0.9992.

Development and validation of a stability indicating assay of doxofylline by RP-HPLC: ESI-MS/MS, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic characterization of degradation products and process related impurities.

A validated stability indicating RP-HPLC assay of doxofylline was developed by separating its related substances and degradants on LichrocartC18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm; 5 µm) column using 10 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile as a mobile phase in a gradient mode of elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min at 30 °C. The column effluents were monitored by a photo diode array detector set at 274 nm. The method was validated in terms of accuracy, precision and linearity as per ICH guidelines. The limits of quantification of doxofylline and impurities were obtained in the range of 0.19-0.36 µg/mL. Forced degradation of doxofylline was carried out under acidic, basic, thermal, photo, peroxide conditions and the degradation products were isolated and characterized by ESI-MS/MS, (1)H and (13)C spectroscopy. The method was successfully applied not only to quantify related substances and degradation products but also assay of doxofylline in bulk drugs. The recoveries of doxofylline and impurities were in the range of 99.00-100.05% and 97.83-99.86% respectively.

Development of a validated LC-MS/MS method for determination of doxofylline on rat dried blood spots and urine: application to pharmacokinetics.

A rapid and highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method for determination of doxofylline on rat dried blood spots and urine was developed and validated. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a reverse phase C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm), using 20 mM ammonium acetate (pH adjusted to 3.5 with trifluoroacetic acid) and acetonitrile (75:25 v/v) as a mobile phase at 25 °C. LC-MS detection was performed with selective ion monitoring using target ions at m/z 267 and m/z 195 for doxofylline and caffeine used as internal standard respectively. The calibration curve showed a good linearity in the concentration range of 1-5000 ng/mL. The effect of hematocrit on extraction of doxofylline from DBS was evaluated. The mean recoveries of doxofylline from DBS and urine were 93.46 and 89.86% respectively. The intra and inter-day precisions were less than 4.28% in DBS as well as urine. The limit of detection and quantification were 0.24 and 0.84 ng/mL in DBS and 0.28 and 1.00 ng/mL in urine samples respectively. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines and successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of doxofylline in rats.

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric studies of indinavir sulphate and its forced degradation products.

Indinavir sulphate was subjected to forced degradation under hydrolysis (acidic, basic and neutral), oxidation, photolysis and thermal stress as prescribed by ICH guidelines. It was degraded under acidic, basic, neutral and oxidative stress conditions, while it was stable under other conditions. After degradation total eight degradation products were formed. The degradation products were identified and their separation was accomplished on Waters XTerra(®) C(18) column (250 mm × 4.6mm i.d., 5 µm) using 20mM ammonium actate:acetonitrile as (50:50, v/v) mobile phase in an isocratic elution mode by LC. The method was extended to LC-MS/MS for characterization of the degradation products and the fragmentation pathways were proposed. The proposed structures of degradation products were also confirmed by HRMS studies. No previous reports were found in the literature regarding the characterization of degradation products of indinavir sulphate.

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric determination of losartan and its active metabolite on dried blood spots.

A simple and rapid quantitative bioanalytical liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of losartan and its active metabolite, losartan carboxylic acid on rat dried blood spots was developed and validated as per regulatory guidelines. Losartan and its metabolite were extracted from dried blood spots using 50% aqueous methanol and separated on Waters XTerra(®) RP18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column using mobile phase composed of 40% acetonitrile and 60% aqueous ammonium acetate (10mM). The eluents were monitored using ESI tandem mass spectrometric detection with negative polarity in MRM mode using ion transitions m/z 421.2→179.0, m/z 435.3→157.0 and m/z 427.3→193.0 for losartan, losartan carboxylic acid and Irbesartan (internal standard), respectively. The method was validated over the linear range of 1-200 ng/mL and 5-1000 ng/mL with lower limits of quantification of 1.0 ng/mL and 5.0 ng/mL for losartan and losartan carboxylic acid, respectively. Inter and intra-day precision and accuracy (Bias) were below 5.96% and between -2.8 and 1.5%, respectively. The mean recoveries of the analytes from dried blood spots were between 89% and 97%. No significant carry over and matrix effects were observed. The stability of stock solution, whole blood, dried blood spot and processed samples were tested under different conditions and the results were found to be well within the acceptable limits. Additional validation parameters such as influence of hematocrit and spot volume were also evaluated and found to be well within the acceptable limits.

Evaluation of polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases in quality control of (S)-mirtazapine.

High-performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for separation of the enantiomers of mirtazapine and its four process-related substances. The direct separations were achieved on chiral stationary phases containing amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (Chiralpak AD-H), cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (Chiralcel OD-H) and cellulose tris(4-methylbenzoate) (Chiralcel OJ-H ). The experimental data were utilized to discuss the effects of the mobile phase composition, the nature of the alcoholic modifier and the specific structural features of the analytes on retention and separation. The elution sequence was determined under the optimized separation conditions.

Development of a molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction followed by liquid chromatographic determination of sitagliptin in rat plasma and urine.

A novel water-compatible molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) combined with zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZIC-HILIC) method for selective extraction and determination of sitagliptin in rat serum and urine was developed and validated. The effects of progenic solvents, pH, cross linker and amount of monomer were studied to optimize the efficiency and selectivity. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were measured. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) showed good specific adsorption capacity with an optimum of 180 mg/g at pH 7.5 and selective extraction of sitagliptin from rat plasma and urine. The recovery of sitagliptin from rat urine and plasma was >98%. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.03 and 0.10 µg/L respectively. The proposed method overcomes the matrix effects of phospholipids generally encountered while preparation of plasma samples by precipitation of proteins.

Development of a validated liquid chromatographic method for determination of related substances of telmisartan in bulk drugs and formulations.

A simple and rapid reversed phase liquid chromatographic method for separation and determination of the related substances of telmisartan (TLM) was developed and validated. The chromatographic separation was achieved on Lichrospher RP-18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm), using 20 mM ammonium acetate containing 0.1% (v/v) triethylamine (pH adjusted to 3.0 with trifluoroacetic acid) and acetonitrile as mobile phase at 25°C. The detection was performed at 254 nm. The method was validated and found to be robust, precise, specific and linear between 0.37 and 500 µg/mL. The limits of detection and quantification of telmisartan were 0.11 and 0.37 µg/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied to quantify related substances and assay of TLM in bulk drugs and commercial tablets. The related substances relate to a novel synthetic route and different from those A-H impurities reported by European Pharmacopeia.

Enantiomeric separation of mirtazapine and its metabolite in rat plasma by reverse polar ionic liquid chromatography using fluorescence and polarimetric detectors connected in series.

A simple and rapid reverse polar ionic LC method was developed and validated for simultaneous separation and determination of mirtazapine, an antidepressant drug, and its main metabolite N-desmethyl mirtazapine using fluorescence and polarimetric detectors connected in series. The chromatographic separation was achieved on Chirobiotic V column packed with vancomycin as a stationary phase in an isocratic mode of elution of methanol:glacial acetic acid:anhydrous triethyl amine (100:0.2:0.1, v/v/v) as a mobile phase. The compounds were detected by their excitation at 290nm and emission at 370nm using fluorescence detector while the optical rotation (+/-) of the enantiomers was identified by polarimetric detector. The analytes were extracted from rat plasma by precipitation of proteins and the average yield was 88-111% for mirtazapine and 85-123% for N-desmethyl mirtazapine. The method was linear over the concentration range of 20-5000ng/mL. The method was successfully applied on rat plasma spiked with the enantiomers of mirtazapine and N-desmethyl mirtazapine.

Synthesis, structure-activity relationship of novel substituted 4H-chromen-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylates as potential anti-mycobacterial and anticancer agents.

Series of 4H-chromen-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylate derivatives 7a-7zb, 8a-8d and 9a-9d were synthesized and screened for their in vitro anti-mycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Rv (MTB) and cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines including A549, SK-N-SH and HeLa. The results indicate that six compounds are more potent and 7za is most effective anti-mycobacterial derivative compared to the standard drugs Ethambutol and Ciprofloxacin. However, 12 compounds exhibited cytotoxicity against human neuroblastoma cell line; amongst them the compound 7v is most effective compared to the standard drug Doxorubicin. This is the first report assigning in vitro anti-mycobacterial, anticancer and structure-activity relationship for this new class of 4H-chromen-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylates.

Development and validation of a RP-HPLC method for stability-indicating assay of gemifloxacin mesylate including identification of related substances by LC-ESI-MS/MS, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy.

A validated stability indicating RP-HPLC assay of gemifloxacin mesylate was developed by separating its related substances on an Inertsil-ODS3V-C18 (4.6 × 250 mm; 5 µm) column using 0.1% trifluoroaceticacid (pH 2.5) and methanol as a mobile phase in a gradient elution mode at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min at 27°C. The column effluents were monitored by a photodiode array detector set at 287 nm. The method was validated in terms of accuracy, precision and linearity as per ICH guidelines. Forced degradation of gemifloxacin (GFX) was carried out under acidic, basic, thermal, photolysis and peroxide conditions and the degradation products were separated and characterized by ESI-MS/MS, (1) H and (13) C NMR spectroscopy. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of bulk drugs and the recoveries of gemifloxacin and impurities were in the range of 97.60-102.90 and 96.99-102.10%, respectively. No previous reports were found in the literature on identification of degradation products of gemifloxacin.

Precolumn derivatization followed by liquid chromatographic separation and determination of tramiprosate in rat plasma by fluorescence detector: application to pharmacokinetics.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is characterized pathologically by extracellular amyloid deposits composed of amyloid ß (Aß) protein. A simple and rapid method using HPLC with fluorescence detector was developed and validated for determination of tramiprosate in rat plasma. Pre-column derivatization of the deproteinized rat plasma was carried out using o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) as a fluorescent reagent in presence of 3-mercaptopropionic acid. The liquid chromatographic separation was achieved on a Kromasil C18 column using methanol:acetonitrile: 20 mM phosphate buffer pH 7.5 (8.0:17.5:74.5 v/v/v) as a mobile phase in an isocratic elution mode. The eluents were monitored by a fluorescence detector set at 330 and 450 nm of excitation and emission wavelength respectively. Vigabatrin was used as an internal standard. The method was linear within the range 30.0-1000.0 ng/mL. Design of experiments (DOE) was used to evaluate the robustness of the method. The developed method was applied to study the pharmacokinetics of tramiprosate in rats.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of anti- hypertensive drugs on dried blood spots using a fluorescence detector--method development and validation.

A selective and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection for simultaneous determination of irbesartan, losartan and valsartan on dried blood spots (DBS) has been developed and validated. It involves solvent extraction of a punch of DBS followed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography on a Lichrospher(®) 100 RP-18e column. Fluorescence detection was performed at 259 and 385 nm as excitation and emission wavelengths, respectively. The detection limits of irbesartan, losartan and valsartan were 1.8, 3.6 and 1.8 ng/mL respectively. The mean recoveries of irbesartan, losartan and valsartan were 98.68, 98.42 and 97.81%, respectively. The mean inter-day and intra-day precisions of irbesartan, losartan and valsartan were 2.07 and 1.34%, 1.42 and 1.48%, and 3.20 and 2.15% respectively. The proposed method was simple and rapid. Design of experiments was used to evaluate the robustness of the method.

Rapid determination of rifaximin on dried blood spots by LC-ESI-MS.

The use of blood spot collection cards is a simple way to obtain specimens for therapeutic drug monitoring, assessing adherence to medications and preventing toxicity in a clinical setting. A high-throughput liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS) method for determination of rifaximin on dried blood spots (DBS) was developed and validated. It involves solvent extraction of a punch of DBS followed by reversed-phase LC on a monolithic column consisting of a silica rod with bimodal pore structure and detection by ESI-MS. Rifampicin was used as an internal standard (IS). The run time was within 5.0 min with a very low back-pressure at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The assay was linear from 0.1 to 10 ng/mL. The mean recovery was 98.42%. The developed method is very simple, rapid and useful for clinical applications.

Separation and characterization of forced degradation products of abacavir sulphate by LC-MS/MS.

Abacavir sulphate was subjected to forced degradation under the conditions of hydrolysis (acid, alkali and neutral), oxidation, photolysis and thermal stress as prescribed by ICH. Eight degradation products were formed and their separation was accomplished on Waters XTerra C18 (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm) column using 20 mM ammonium acetate:acetonitrile as a mobile phase in gradient elution mode by LC. The degradation products were characterized by LC-MS/MS and its fragmentation pathways were proposed. No previous reports were found in the literature regarding the degradation behavior of abacavir sulphate.

Reversed-phase liquid chromatographic determination of tramiprosate in rat plasma using evaporative light scattering detector.

A simple and reliable method was developed for determining blood concentrations of tramiprosate using reversed-phase HPLC with evaporative light scattering detection. The optimum evaporator and nebulizer temperatures for ELSD were set at 90 and 60°C respectively. The method was linear for a concentration range of 10-1000 µg/mL when 0.3 mL blood was used. The intra-assay precision ranged from 1.84 to 5.24%, and the coefficient of variation (CV) for a quality control sample at 10 µg/mL was 5.24% with a bias of -9.50% from the target value. The inter-assay precision ranged from 2.58 to 5.96%, and the CV for a quality control sample at 10 µg/mL was 5.96% with a bias of -7.50% from the target value. The method described here is suitable for management of tramiprosate in Alzheimer disease therapy.