Jasmina Brborić

Radioprotectors – the Evergreen Topic

To protect organisms from ionizing radiation (IR), and to reduce morbidity or mortality, various agents, called radioprotectors, have been utilized. Because radiation‐induced cellular damage is attributed primarily to the harmful effects of free radicals, molecules with radical‐scavenging properties are particularly promising as radioprotectors. Early development of such agents focused on thiol synthetic compounds, known as WR protectors, but only amifostine (WR‐2721) has been used in clinical trials as an officially approved radioprotector. Besides thiol compounds, various compounds with different chemical structure were investigated, but an ideal radioprotector has not been found yet. Plants and natural products have been evaluated as promising sources of radioprotectors because of their low toxicity, although they exhibit an inferior protection level compared to synthetic thiol compounds. Active plant constituents seem to exert the radioprotection through antioxidant and free radical‐scavenging activities. Our research established that plants containing polyphenolic compounds (raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, grape, etc.) exhibit antioxidative activities and protect genetic material from IR.

Simultaneous Analysis of Irbesartan and Hydrochlorothiazide: An Improved HPLC Method with the Aid of a Chemometric Protocol

Experimental design method was used for HPLC determination of irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide in combined dosage forms. The traditional approach for optimization of experiments is time-consuming, involves a large number of runs and does not allow establishing the multiple interacting parameters. The main advantages of the experimental design method include the simultaneous screening of a larger number of factors affecting response and the estimation of possible interactions. On the basis of preliminary experiments, three factors-independent variables were selected as inputs (methanol content, pH of the mobile phase and temperature) and as dependent variables, five responses (resolution, symmetry of irbesartan peak, symmetry of hydrochlorothiazide peak, retention factor of irbesartan and retention factor of hydrochlorothiazide) were chosen. A full 23 factorial design, where factors were examined at two different levels (“low” and “high”) was used to determine which factors had an effect on the studied response. Afterwards, experimental design was used to optimize these influent parameters in the previously selected experimental domain. The novelty of our method lies in the optimization step accomplished by Derringer′s desirability function. After optimizing the experimental conditions a separation was conducted on a Supelcosil C18 (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size) column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-tetrahydrofuran-acetate buffer 47:10:43 v/v/v, pH 6.5 and a column temperature of 25 °C. The developed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous separation of these drug-active compounds in their commercial pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Docking Studies, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of β-aryl-β-hydroxy propanoic Acids for Anti-inflammatory Activity.

BACKGROUND Nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are numerous and widely used for more than 60 years, but there is still a strong need for developing novel selective NSAIDs. The need is justified by the fact that nonselective NSAIDs can produce serious gastric side effects and that some of the selective NSAID are withdrawn due to their cardiotoxic side effects. METHODS Eight β-hydroxy-β-arylpropanoic acids, which belong to the arylpropanoic acid class of compounds, structurally similar to some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), were docked into 3D catalytic site of both cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Seven out of those eight acids were synthesized using already published modification of Reformatsky reaction additionally optimized by increasing temperature. Synthesized compounds were tested in vivo in order to elucidate anti-inflammatory activity, gastric tolerability and impact on liver function of rats. RESULTS Results of docking studies have indicated that all compounds have potential to selectively inhibit COX-2 isoform, but that the compounds containing polar substituents on phenyl ring are better inhibitors. Results of carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema test have shown that all compounds exhibit dose dependence and good gastric tolerability and none of the tested compounds have shown negative effect on liver function compared to ibuprofen. CONCLUSION The compound containing polar nitro group in para position has shown the best docking results, anti-inflammatory activity, low hepatotoxicity and good gastric tolerability.

An Improved HPLC Method with the Aid of a Chemometric Protocol: Simultaneous Determination of Atorvastatin and Its Metabolites in Plasma

The aim of the present study was to optimize a chromatographic method for the analysis of atorvastatin (acid and lactone forms), ortho- and para-hydroxyatorvastatin by using an experimental design approach. Optimization experiments were conducted through a process of screening and optimization. The purpose of a screening design is to identify the factors that have significant effects on the selected chromatographic responses, and for this purpose a full 23 factorial design was used. The location of the true optimum was established by applying Derringer’s desirability function, which provides simultaneously optimization of all seven responses. The ranges of the independent variables used for the optimization were content of acetonitrile in mobile phase (60–70%), temperature of column (30–40 °C) and flow rate (0.8–1.2 mL min−1). The influences of these independent variables were evaluated for the output responses: retention time of first peak (p-hydroxyatorvastatin) and of last peak (atorvastatin, lactone form), symmetries of all four peaks and relative retention time of p-hydroxyatorvastatin. The primary goal of this investigation was establishing a new simple and sensitive method that could be used in analysis of biological samples. The method was validated and successfully applied for determination of atorvastatin (acid and lactone forms) and its metabolites in plasma.

The effect of lipophilicity on the hepatobiliary properties of iminodiacetic acid derivatives in the conditions of hyperbilirubinemia

The partition coefficients (log P) of theoretically possible alkyliodinated iminodiacetic acid (IDA) derivatives and commercial IDA derivatives were calculated using two computer programs: ChemSketch Log P and ChemOffice Ultra. Newly synthesized ligands (DIETHYLIODIDA and DIISOPROPYLIODIDA) with the highest calculated log P were labeled with technetium-99m. The biodistribution and the influence of bilirubin on their biokinetics were investigated in rats and compared to corresponding results for commercial (99m)Tc-BROMIDA. Log P of (99m)Tc-complexes of synthesized ligands were determined experimentally as well as the protein binding. In comparison to (99m)Tc-BROMIDA, (99m)Tc-DIETHYLIODIDA has: (a) better biliary excretion (2.76±0.15%ID/g versus 1.83±0.10%ID/g); (b) faster hepatic clearance (2.90±0.21%ID/g versus 7.47±0.70%ID/g) and decreased biliary excretion (for 14% versus 22%) in conditions of hyperbilirubinemia after 15min. It is proved that (99m)Tc-DIISOPROPYLIODIDA has a prolonged hepatic transit time and decreased biliary excretion.

Determination of fluocortolone pivalate and fluocortolone hexanoate in suppositories using reverse-phase HPLC.

Fluocortolone and its esters are synthetic corticosteroids used topically in the treatment of various skin disorders. A method that can be successfully used for the separation and determination of fluocortolone pivalate and fluocortolone hexanoate in suppositories was developed. This method is based on reverse-phase HPLC on Supelcosil LC-18 (25 cm x 4.6 mm, 5 microns), using methanol-acetonitrile-water-glacial acetic acid (17:46:37:0.4 v/v/v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 3.0 ml/min. Detection was carried out using a UV detector at 238 nm. The method developed was validated, and calibration curves were established dependent on peak area. The validated ranges for fluocortolone pivalate and fluocortolone hexanoate are 15-305 micrograms/ml (r = 0.9995) and 15-315 micrograms/ml (r = 0.9996), respectively. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification for both esters were also determined.

In vitro prediction of gastrointestinal absorption of novel β-hydroxy-β-arylalkanoic acids using PAMPA technique

&NA; Prediction of gastrointestinal absorption of thirteen newly synthesized &bgr;‐hydroxy‐&bgr;‐arylalkanoic acids (HAA) and ibuprofen was performed using PAMPA test. The highest values of PAMPA parameters (%T and Papp) were calculated for 1C, 1B and 2C and these parameters were significantly lower in comparison to ibuprofen. QSPR analysis was performed in order to identify molecular descriptors with the highest influence on %T and − logPapp and to create models which could be used for the design of novel HAA with improved gastrointestinal absorption. Obtained results indicate that introduction of branched side chain, as well as introduction of substituents on one phenyl ring (which disturb symmetry of the molecule) could have positive impact on gastrointestinal absorption. On the basis of these results, six novel HAA were designed and PAMPA parameters %T and − logPapp were predicted by use of selected QSPR models. Designed derivatives should have better gastrointestinal absorption than HAA tested in this study. Graphical abstract Figure. No caption available.

Development and validation of a new isocratic RP-HPLC method for simultaneous determination of sodium metabisulfite and sodium benzoate in pharmaceutical formulation

A simple and convenient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for simultaneous separation, identification, and determination of sodium metabisulfite and sodium benzoate in pharmaceutical formulation has been developed and validated. Chromatographic separation was achieved on RP column Zorbax Extend C-18 (150 × 4.6 mm i.d., 3.5 μm particles), and mixture of 0.1% phosphoric acid and acetonitrile in the ratio 62:38 (v/v) was used as a mobile phase. The flow rate was set at 1.0 mL/min with detection wavelength of 275 nm. The method was successfully validated according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines acceptance criteria. The method is selective, as no interferences were observed at retention times corresponding to these analytes. Results of regression analyses (r) and statistical insignificance of calibration curve intercepts (p) proved linearity of the method in defined concentration ranges for sodium metabisulfite and sodium benzoate (0.05–0.15 m...

Application of biopartitioning micellar chromatography and QSRR modeling for prediction of gastrointestinal absorption and design of novel β-hydroxy-β-arylalkanoic acids

&NA; Gastrointestinal absorption of thirteen novel &bgr;‐hydroxy‐&bgr;‐arylalkanoic acids (HAA) with anti‐inflammatory activity was predicted by use of biopartitioning micellar chromatography and compared to ibuprofen. All tested HAA have lower retention factors (k) and lower expected gastrointestinal absorption than ibuprofen, whereas derivatives with the highest values of k are 1C, 2APTF and 2C. Quantitative structure‐retention relationship (QSRR) analysis was performed in order to identify molecular descriptors with the highest influence on k and ANN(k) model was selected as optimal. Descriptors which form this model (nBM, P_VSA_LogP_8 and Eta_L) indicate that replacement of phenyl ring with a saturated or partially unsaturated one, as well as presence of halogens and nitro group should positively affect k values. On the basis of these conclusions, six novel HAA were designed and selected QSRR model was used for the prediction of their k values. Graphical abstract Figure. No caption available.