Synthesis, Antibacterial Activities, Mode of Action and Acute Toxicity Studies of New Oxazolidinone-Fluoroquinolone Hybrids.

To combat bacterial resistance, a series of new oxazolidinone-fluoroquinolone hybrids have been synthesized and characterized. All synthetic hybrids were preliminarily evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activities against 6 standard strains and 3 clinical isolates. The majority of hybrids displayed excellent activities against Gram-positive bacteria, but limited activities against Gram-negative bacteria. Hybrids OBP-4 and OBP-5 were found to be the most promising compounds. Further, in vitro antibacterial activities, mode of action and acute toxicity in mice of hybrids OBP-4 and OBP-5 were investigated. Hybrids OBP-4 and OBP-5 exhibited potent activities against Gram-positive bacteria, including drug-resistant strains. Correspondingly, studies on the mode of action of hybrids OBP-4 and OBP-5 indicated a strong inhibitory activity on protein synthesis by binding the active site of 50S subunit, but a weak inhibitory action on DNA synthesis. In addition, LD50 values of hybrids OBP-4 and OBP-5 in the acute oral toxicity were larger than 2000 mg/kg, suggesting a good safety profile.

Determination of vitacoxib, a novel COX-2 inhibitor, in equine plasma using UPLC-MS/MS detection: Development and validation of new methodology.

Vitacoxib is an imidazole derivative and the novel COX-2 selective inhibitor to be marketed for veterinary use as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. No analytical assay to quantify vitacoxib in equine plasma samples has been published to date. In the current study, we aim to develop and validate a brief, quick and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of vitacoxib in equine plasma samples. Plasma samples were precipitated with methyl tert-butyl ether. The Phenomenex column (Kinetex 50×2.1mm i.d. particle size=2.6µm, C18, 100Å) at 25°C was used in chromatographic separation with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water (containing 0.1% formic acid) at flow rate of 0.4mL/min. Vitacoxib and internal standard (IS, celecoxib) were detected under the multiple-reaction monitoring mode by mass spectrometer with ESI+ (m/z 347.9/269.03 for vitacoxib and m/z 382.0/362.0 for IS, respectively). The curve concentration range of was 0.5-500ng/mL with a lower limit of quantification 0.5ng/mL (r2=0.996309) in equine plasma samples. The selectivity, precision, recovery, accuracy, matrix effect and stability under various conditions were conformed to the acceptance requirements. Pharmacokinetic studies of vitacoxib in horses via oral administration (0.1mg/kg) demonstrated that the procedure was fully validated and successfully. A meaningful basis for assessing the vitacoxib or clinical applications of vitacoxib to horse is provided in the present study.

Safety assessment of vitacoxib: Acute and 90-day sub-chronic oral toxicity studies.

Vitacoxib, is a newly developed coxibs NSAID (selective inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2). To date, no experimental data have been published concerning its safety for use as an additive in the human diet. In the present study, we assessed the acute and sub-chronic toxicity of vitacoxib administered by gavage. The acute toxicity tests in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats and ICR mice demonstrated that vitacoxib at a dose of 5000 mg/kg BW failed to alter any of the parameters studied. In the 90-day sub-chronic toxicity test, vitacoxib was administered to SD rats at the doses of 0 (control), 5, 10, 20, 30, and 60 mg/kg BW. The results demonstrated that there were no significant differences for most indexes of sub-chronic toxicity throughout the experiment at the dose of 5-20 mg/kg BW, indicating no apparent dose-dependent. However, there were significant histopathology changes in the liver and kidney, and alterations in some biochemical parameters in the 60 mg/kg BW group. Based on these findings, the gavage LD50 was determined to be > 5000 mg/kg in SD rats and ICR mice, and the 90-day gavage no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of vitacoxib was considered to be 20 mg/kg BW under the present study conditions.