HPLC with fluorescence detection for the bioanalysis and pharmacokinetic study of Doxorubicin and Prodigiosin loaded on eco-friendly casein nanomicelles in rat plasma.

A rapid, efficient, and sensitive liquid chromatographic assay hyphenated to fluorometric detector (HPLC-FLD) was developed and validated for the determination of doxorubicin (DXR) and prodigiosin (PDG) in rat plasma. The sample pre-treatment involves a protein precipitation with acetonitrile with satisfying extraction efficiency (98% and 85% for DXR and PDG, respectively). The chromatographic separation was accomplished using stationary phase: Agilent Zorbax Eclipse plus-C18 analytical column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) and gradient eluting mobile phase of ammonium acetate (pH = 3), acetonitrile and methanol with programmed fluorescence detection. As the proposed method has been validated, it was subsequently implemented to evaluate DXR and PDG loaded on novel eco-friendly Casein nano drug delivery system after intravenous injection in healthy rats. A comparative pharmacokinetics' study was carried out in rats for DXR in free form, DXR alone entrapped in the nanomicelle and DXR with PDG entrapped in the nano micelle. After testing the differences in pharmacokinetic parameters of the different formulations using ANOVA, the results showed insignificant differences among the tested parameters. This indicates that the presented nanomicelle delivery system has succeeded to incorporate PDG and DXR in a hydrophilic, safe, and potent formulation. This novel nanomicelle has negligible effect on the distribution and elimination of DXR.

Production and Potential Applications of Bioconversion of Chitin and Protein-Containing Fishery Byproducts into Prodigiosin: A Review.

The technology of microbial conversion provides a potential way to exploit compounds of biotechnological potential. The red pigment prodigiosin (PG) and other PG-like pigments from bacteria, majorly from Serratia marcescens, have been reported as bioactive secondary metabolites that can be used in the broad fields of agriculture, fine chemicals, and pharmacy. Increasing PG productivity by investigating the culture conditions especially the inexpensive carbon and nitrogen (C/N) sources has become an important factor for large-scale production. Investigations into the bioactivities and applications of PG and its related compounds have also been given increased attention. To save production cost, chitin and protein-containing fishery byproducts have recently been investigated as the sole C/N source for the production of PG and chitinolytic/proteolytic enzymes. This strategy provides an environmentally-friendly selection using inexpensive C/N sources to produce a high yield of PG together with chitinolytic and proteolytic enzymes by S. marcescens. The review article will provide effective references for production, bioactivity, and application of S. marcescens PG in various fields such as biocontrol agents and potential pharmaceutical drugs.