Assessing Polymorphic Purity of Rifampicin in Double and Triple-Drug Fixed-Dose Combination Products.

First-line tuberculostatic agents, Rifampicin (RIF), Isoniazid (ISH), Ethambutol (ETB), and Pyrazinamide (PZA) are generally administered as a fixed-dose combination (FDC) for improving patient adherence. The major quality challenge of these FDC products is their variable bioavailability, where RIF and its solid state are key factors. In this work, the analysis of the impact of the polymorphism in the performance of RIF in RIF-ISH and PZA-RIF-ISH combined products was carried out by an overall approach that included the development and validation of two methodologies combining near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and partial least squares (PLS) to the further evaluation of commercial products. For NIR-PLS methods, training and validation sets were prepared with mixtures of Form I/Form II of RIF, and the appropriate amount of ISH (for double associations) or ISH-PZA (for triple associations). The corresponding matrix of the excipients was added to the mixture of APIs to simulate the environment of each FDC product. Four PLS factors, reduced spectral range, and the combination of standard normal variate and Savitzky-Golay 1st derivative (SNV-D') were selected as optimum data pre-treatment for both methods, yielding satisfactory recoveries during the analysis of validation sets (98.5±2.0%, and 98.7±1.8% for double- and triple-FDC products, respectively). The NIR-PLS model for RIF-ISH successfully estimated the polymorphic purity of Form II in double-FDC capsules (1.02 ± 0.02w/w). On the other hand, the NIR-PLS model for RIF-ISH-PZA detected a low purity of Form II in triple FDC tablets (0.800 ± 0.021w/w), these results were confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. Nevertheless, the triple-FDC tablets showed good performance in the dissolution test (Q=99-102%), implying a Form II purity about of 80% is not low enough to affect the safety and efficacy of the product.

Continuous-flow protocol for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure intermediates of anti epilepsy and anti tuberculosis active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Continuous-flow production of chiral intermediates plays an important role in the development of building blocks for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), being α-amino acids and their derivatives widely applied as building blocks. In this work we developed two different strategies for the synthesis of intermediates used on the synthesis of levetiracetam/brivaracetam and ethambutol. The results obtained show that methionine methyl ester can be continuously converted to the desired ethambutol intermediate by RANEY® Nickel dessulfurization/reduction strategy whereas levetiracetam/brivaracetam intermediates could be synthesized by both RANEY® Nickel (without H2) and Pd/C-H2 approach or by photochemical desulfurization.

Development and biological evaluation of a new nanotheranostic for tuberculosis.

In this study, we developed, characterized, and tested in vivo polymeric nanoparticle of ethambutol labeled with 99mTc as nanoradiopharmaceutical for early diagnosis of tuberculosis by single-photon emission computed tomography, also as a therapeutic choice. Nanoparticles were developed by double emulsification. All characterization tests were performed, as scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The labeling process with 99mTc was performed using the direct labeling process. In vitro and in vivo assays were performed with animals and cells. The results showed that a spherical ethambutol nanoparticle with a size range of 280-300 nm was obtained. The stability test showed that the nanoparticles were well labeled with 99mTc (> 99.1%) and keep labeled over 24 h. The biodistribution assay showed that almost 18% of the nanoparticles were uptake by the lung in infected mice (male C57Bl/6) with Mycobacterium bovis BCG (4 × 105 CFU/cavity), corroborating its use as a nanodrug for tuberculosis imaging. The results for the cell assay corroborate its therapeutical effect. We developed and efficiently tested a new nanodrug that can be used for both imaging and therapy of tuberculosis, acting as a novel nanotheranostic.

Mefloquine-oxazolidine derivatives, derived from mefloquine and arenecarbaldehydes: In vitro activity including against the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis strain T113.

Ten new mefloquine-oxazolidine derivatives, 4-[(1S,8aR)-3-(aryl)hexahydro[1,3]oxazolo[3,4-a]pyridin-1-yl]-2,8-bis(trifluoromethyl)quinoline (1: aryl=substituted phenyl) and 4-[(1S,8aR)-3-(heteroaryl)hexahydro[1,3]oxazolo[3,4-a]pyridin-1-yl]-2,8-bis(trifluoromethyl)quinoline [2: heteroaryl=5-nitrothien-2-yl (2a); 5-nitrofuran-2-yl (2b) and 4H-imidazol-2-yl) (2c)], have been synthesized and evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Compounds 1f (aryl=3-ethoxyphenyl), 1g (Ar=3,4,5-(MeO)(3)-C(6)H(2)) and 2c were slightly more active than mefloquine (MIC=33µM) with MICs=24.5, 22.5 and 27.4, respectively, whereas compounds 1e (aryl=3,4-(MeO)(2)-C(6)H(3)) and 2a (MICs=11.9 and 12.1µM, respectively) were ca. 2.7 times more active than mefloquine, with a better tuberculostatic activity than the first line tuberculostatic agent ethambutol (MIC=15.9). The compounds were also assayed against the MDR strain T113 and the same MICs were observed. Thus the new derivatives have advantages over such anti-TB drugs as isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and ofloxacin, for which this strain is resistant. The most active compounds were not cytotoxic to Murine Macrophages Cells in a concentration near their MIC values.

Dissolution testing of isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol tablets using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and multivariate calibration.

This work utilized the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and multivariate calibration to measure the percentage drug dissolution of four active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol) in finished pharmaceutical products produced in the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil). The conventional analytical method employed in quality control tests of the dissolution by the pharmaceutical industry is high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The NIRS is a reliable method that offers important advantages for the large-scale production of tablets and for non-destructive analysis. NIR spectra of 38 samples (in triplicate) were measured using a Bomen FT-NIR 160 MB in the range 1100-2500nm. Each spectrum was the average of 50 scans obtained in the diffuse reflectance mode. The dissolution test, which was initially carried out in 900mL of 0.1N hydrochloric acid at 37±0.5°C, was used to determine the percentage a drug that dissolved from each tablet measured at the same time interval (45min) at pH 6.8. The measurement of the four API was performed by HPLC (Shimadzu, Japan) in the gradiente mode. The influence of various spectral pretreatments (Savitzky-Golay smoothing, Multiplicative Scatter Correction (MSC), and Savitzky-Golay derivatives) and multivariate analysis using the partial least squares (PLS) regression algorithm was calculated by the Unscrambler 9.8 (Camo) software. The correlation coefficient (R(2)) for the HPLC determination versus predicted values (NIRS) ranged from 0.88 to 0.98. The root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) obtained from PLS models were 9.99%, 8.63%, 8.57% and 9.97% for isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide, respectively, indicating that the NIR method is an effective and non-destructive tool for measurement of drug dissolution from tablets.

Antitubercular activity of alpha,omega-diaminoalkanes, H2N(CH2)nNH2.

A series of 11 alpha,omega-diaminoalkanes, (H(2)N(CH(2))(n)NH(2), n=2-12) have been evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Compounds, (H(2)N(CH(2))(n)NH(2), n=9-12), exhibited a very good activities in the range 2.50-3.12 microg/mL, which can be compared with that of the first line drug, ethambutol (3.12 microg/mL). These results and a preliminary QSAR study can be considered an important start point for the rational design of new leads for anti-TB compounds.

Optimization of an electrolyte system for analysis of ethambutol in pharmaceutical formulations by capillary zone electrophoresis using complexation with copper(II).

An alternative methodology for the determination of ethambutol by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) under direct UV detection at 262 nm, using acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer solution (pH 4.6) containing copper(II) sulphate to form the ethambutol-copper(II) complex, within analysis time of 2.5 min is proposed. The optimum CE conditions for the background electrolyte were established performing experiments of a 3(2) factorial design. Complex formation was evidenced by the UV batochromic shift and the [CuETB](0) and [CuETB](2+) chemical structures were indicated by LC-MS analysis. After some validation parameters have been performed, such as linearity (r=0.999), selectivity (comparison between slope of the calibration curve of the external standard and calibration curve of the standard addition), area precision (RSD%: <2.13 for ETB and <1.94 for 2A1B), recovery mean (101.7% for ETB and 99.95% for 2A1B) and quantification limit (mg L(-1): 10.17 for ETB and 19.70 for 2A1B), the method was successfully applied to ETB analysis in pharmaceutical formulation samples. It is possible to determine the presence of the 2A1B impurity at concentrations of less than 1% ETB content.