Dennis Phillips

In vitro release properties of encapsulated blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) extracts.

We aimed to determine the effect of encapsulation on the release properties of blueberry extracts during simulated gastrointestinal digestion. An ethanolic pomace extract was microencapsulated with whey protein isolate via spray drying. The in vitro release of monomeric anthocyanins, phenolics and ferric reducing antioxidant activity of the microcapsules (W) were evaluated for the microcapsules and two non-encapsulated systems: ethanolic pomace extract (P) and freeze-dried juice (F). Concentrations of anthocyanin and phenolics were normalised prior to digestion. Results showed that antioxidant activity was in the order of: F>W>P. Regardless of encapsulation, more phenolics were released from W and P than F. Anthocyanin concentration decreased after intestinal digestion for W, but remained constant for P and F. MALDI-MS showed similar spectra for P and F but not for W. The spray-dried product has comparable release characteristics to freeze-dried juice, and may be investigated for food applications.

Determination of the degradation products of selected sulfonated phenylazonaphthol dyes treated by white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus by capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry.

The removal of water-soluble sulphonated phenylazonaphthol dye effluents generated by textile industries is an important issue in wastewater treatment. Microbial treatment of environmental pollutants including dyes, with white rot fungi has received wide attention as a potential alternative for conventional methods in wastewater treatment. Three sulphonated phenylazonaphthol dyes with similar molecular structures Acid Orange 7, Acid Orange 8 and Mordant Violet 5 were selected and degraded by the white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. Chemical instrumental analysis methods such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis combined with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (CE-ESI-MS) were used to identify the degraded dyes. Mordant Violet 5 had two degradation pathways when degraded by P. ostreatus. The first degradation pathway for Mordant Violet 5 was for trans structure and the cis-Mordant Violet 5 followed the second pathway. Acid Orange 8 and Acid Orange 7 had the same degradation mechanism as the first degradation mechanism for Mordant Violet 5, that is cleavage of azo bond at the naphthalene ring side where benzenesulfonic acid and 1,2-naphthoquinone are formed.

Iron chelators in medicinal applications - chemical equilibrium considerations in pharmaceutical activity.

Iron chelators are being examined as a potential class of pharmaceutical agents to battle different types of cancer as well as iron overload diseases. In recent studies, iron binding species such as desferrioxamine, triapine, tachpyridine, Dp44Mt, and PIH have been tested in cell line tests and clinical trials. Using published chemical equilibrium values (stability constants, equilibrium constants), it is argued that an iron chelator cannot competitively remove iron from a heme-containing biomolecule (i.e. hemoglobin (Hb), myoglobin) causing a cancerous cell to die. This type of reaction (DFO(aq) + [Fe(2+,3+)-Hb] --> [Fe(2+,3+)-DFO] + Hb) has been proposed in a number of published studies using circumstantial evidence. It is argued that iron chelators can potentially interact with iron from ferritin or iron that has precipitated or flocculated as oxyhydroxide under physiological pHs. It is argued that chelators can interfere with various physiological processes by binding cations such as Ca(2+), Zn(2+) or K(+). A number of siderophores and natural products that have the ability to bind Fe(3+)/Fe(2+) as well as other cations are discussed in terms of their potential pharmaceutical activity as chelators. Chemical equilibria between cations and pharmaceutical agents, which are rarely quantitated in explaining medicinal mechanisms, are used to show that chelators can bind and remove iron and other cations from physiologically important systems required for cell survival and propagation.

The copper (II) ion as a carrier for the antibiotic capreomycin against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In recent years, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis has been increasing its resistance to antibiotics resulting in new multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). In this study we use several analytical techniques including NMR, FT-ICR, TOF-MS, LC-MS and UV/Vis to study the copper-capreomycin complex. The copper (II) cation is used as a carrier for the antibiotic capreomycin. Once this structure was studied using NMR, FT-ICR, and MALDI-TOF-MS, the NIH-NIAID tuberculosis cell line for several Tb strains (including antibiotic resistant strains) were tested against up to seven variations of the copper-capreomycin complex. Different variations of copper improved the efficacy of capreomycin against Tb up to 250 fold against drug resistant strains of Tb.

Identifying bryostatins and potential precursors from the bryozoan Bugula neritina

The bryozoan species Bugula neritina contains the anticancer agent bryostatin. Bryostatin has been extracted from these sessile marine invertebrates since the late 1960s from the Gulf of California, Gulf of Mexico, as well as various locations on the eastern and western rims of the Pacific Ocean. In this work we are focusing on animals harvested in the Gulf of Mexico near Alligator Point (Florida). Using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS) we measure the concentration of 70 elements in B. neritina, a sea squirt, and the sediment from the point of harvesting. This data has helped us generate an extraction process for marine natural products. Combining UV/VIS absorbance measurements with Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometer (MALDI–TOF-MS), we demonstrated that the specific form of bryostatin extracted is a function of the solvent. A 9.4 T Fourier Transform-Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer, whose sensitivity, mass accuracy, and resolving power allowed the exact empirical formulas of potential precursors of bryostatin to be identified, was employed. Finally we examine extracts of 14 marine species of the Gulf of Mexico, from the sand trout (Cynoscion arenarius) to chicken liver sponge (Chrondrilla nucula), all recently collected, which had shown some medicinal activity thirty years ago in a National Cancer Institute study. By the MALDI–TOF-MS, we were able to identify mass spectral features that correspond to different variations of the basic bryostatin structure, which raises the question if the bryozoans are the original source of bryostatin.

Impact of environmental conditions on the marine natural product bryostatin 1

Marine Natural Products (MNPs), such as bryostatin 1, are exposed to a range of physical and chemical conditions through the life cycle of the host organism. These include exposure to sunlight, oxidizing and reducing agents, cation binding, and adsorption to reactive metal oxide surfaces. Using Fourier Transform-Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT–ICR), Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-MS), UV/Vis absorbance spectroscopy, and molecular modeling, we studied the impact of UV light, TiO2, I2, and reaction with FeCl3 on the structure of bryostatin 1. Our results demonstrate that natural conditions transform bryostatin to a number of structures, including one with a molar mass of 806 Da, which we have previously identified in the sediment collected from the Gulf of Mexico. To date, at least 20 different structures of bryostatin have been reported in the literature. This work suggests that these variations may be products of the chemical environment in which the bryozoa Bugula neritina resides and are not the result of genetic variations within Bugula.

Copper ion as a delivery platform for taxanes and taxane complexes.

A number of delivery agents, such as proteins, liposomes, micelles, and nanoparticles, are utilized for transporting pharmaceutical agents in a physiological environment. This Letter focuses on the use of the copper(II) ion and its potential role as a delivery agent for the taxanes and taxol couple to a malaria drug. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR, (1)H, (13)C, (15)N), Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS, MALDI-TOF, FT-ICR) and computational methods are used to examine the structure of the complex. The National Cancer Institutes benchmark 60 cell line panel is used to compare the efficacy of the copper-taxol and copper-taxol-hydroxychloroquin complexes to that of iron-taxol and pure taxol.

Naturally occurring organic matter as a chemical trap to scan an ecosystem for natural products

A model is proposed that tests an ecosystem for natural products (NPs) using a nonpolar extract of naturally occurring organic matter (NOM), which we demonstrate to be an efficient chemical trap for relatively nonpolar organic molecules. To test the model we collected twenty-six samples of NOM from various locations on the Suwannee River, from its headwaters in the Okeefenokee Swamp to the Gulf of Mexico. We have tentatively identified stearic acid, DDT, chincodine, and a potential precursor to bryostatin. Our data provide evidence that NOM can trap, hold for several decades, concentrate, and transport NP in the environment.

Computational studies of Fe(III) binding to bryostatins, bryostatin analogs, siderophores and marine natural products: arguments for ferric complexes in medicinal applications.

In this computational study, geometric factors are calculated by applying semi-empirical methods (PM3) that support experimental evidence from this lab where bryostatins can bind trivalent iron with six Fe–O bonds forming an octahedral geometry. The geometric factors are calculated for all 20 structures (Fe3+ bound to bryostatin 1–20) as a neutral, monovalent, and divalent species. The average Fe–O bond distances and bond angles are compared to those of known marine and terrestrial siderophores. From these two data sets, we then examined other known marine natural products (MNPs) that can form a hexavalent complex with six Fe–O bonds and draw conclusions about their potential biological role as marine siderophores. This computational data indicates that Fe(III) strongly bonds to a host of MNPs, increasing their water solubility, contracting their structure, hence allowing transport through cell membranes more readily, and in some cases, stabilizing ester bonds that are susceptible to hydrolysis. It is argued that administering medicinally bryostatin, its analogs or other MNPs as a ferric complex, holds some fundamental chemical advantages compared to its administration as a neutral uncomplexed species.

Development of a three component complex to increase isoniazid efficacy against isoniazid resistant and nonresistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The bacterium responsible for causing tuberculosis has evolved resistance to antibiotics used to treat the disease, resulting in new multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistant M. tuberculosis (XDR-TB) strains. Analytical techniques (1)H and (13)C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Fourier Transform-Ion Cyclotron Resonance with Electrospray Ionization (FT-ICR/ESI), and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) were used to study different aspects of the Cu(II)-polyethylene glycol (PEG-3350)-sucrose-isoniazid and Cu(II)-polyethylene glycol (PEG3350)-glucose-isoniazid complexes. The Cu(II) cation, sucrose or glucose, and the aggregate formed by PEG primarily serve as a composite drug delivery agent for the frontline antibiotic, however the improvement in MIC values produced with the CU-PEG-SUC-INH complex suggest an additional effect. Several Cu-PEG-SUC-INH complex variations were tested against INH resistant and nonresistant strains of M. tuberculosis.