S. Esmail Tabibi

Use of pure t-butanol as a solvent for freeze-drying: a case study

1-(2-Chloroethyl)-3-sarcosinamide-1-nitrosourea, (SarCNU) (NSC-364432) is a new antitumor drug that is of interest to the National Cancer Institute. It is intended for use as an intravenous injection. Although SarCNU is sufficiently soluble in water to obtain the desired dosage, it is highly unstable. Its T(90) in aqueous solution at room temperature is less than 6 h. Neat tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA), a low toxicity, high vapor pressure and low melting solvent, was determined to be an excellent freeze-drying medium. Lyophilization of SarCNU from pure TBA produces a uniform cake composed of needle-shaped crystals. Thermal analysis and gas chromatography indicate that the cake contains less than 0.001% residual solvent. The SarCNU cake can be readily reconstituted with either water or an aqueous solution of 40% propylene glycol and 10% ethanol. The reconstituted solutions are stable for 4 and 13 h, respectively.

Solubilization of NSC-639829

Solubilization using pH combined with cosolvents, surfactants, and complexants are investigated for NSC-639829, an investigational anti-tumor agent. The intrinsic solubility of the drug is approximately 30 ng/ml and it has an ionizable dimethyl aniline group with an approximate base pK(a) of 5. Samples buffered at pH 1.0, 2.0, and 7.0 with various concentrations of the solubilizing agents were used to study the solubilization of NSC-629829 when present as charged and uncharged species. The solubilization of NSC-639829 was found to be much more effective when the drug was present primarily in ionized form. At pH values 1.0 and 2.0 where the surfactant (SLS) and complexant (SBEbetaCD) carried a negative charge enhanced solubilities of more than a million-fold were observed for the drug.

Preformulation and pharmacokinetic studies on antalarmin: A novel stress inhibitor

The preformulation, solubilization and pharmacokinetic evaluation of antalarmin, a stress inhibitor, have been conducted. Antalarmin has a poor water solubility of less than 1 microg/mL and is weakly basic with an experimentally determined pK(a) of 5.0. Multiple solubilization approaches including pH-control either alone or in combination with cosolvents, surfactants and complexing agents have been investigated. The applicability of lipid-based systems has also been explored. Four formulations, each with a targeted drug loading capacity of 100 mg/mL, show potential for oral administration. Three of these formulations are aqueous solutions (10% ethanol + 40% propylene glycol; 20% cremophor EL; 20% sulfobutylether-beta-cyclodextrin) each buffered at pH 1. The fourth formulation is a lipid-based formulation comprising of 20% oleic acid, 40% cremophor EL and 40% Labrasol. No precipitation was observed following dilution of the four formulations with water and enzyme free simulated gastric fluid. However, only the lipid-based formulation successfully resisted drug precipitation following dilution with enzyme free simulated intestinal fluid. Pharmacokinetic analysis conducted in rats revealed that the 20% cremophor EL solution formulation has a fivefold higher oral bioavailability compared to a suspension formulation. The lipid-based formulation resulted in over 12-fold higher bioavailability as compared to the suspension formulation, the highest amongst the formulations examined.

Stability of 5-Fluoro-2′-deoxycytidine and Tetrahydrouridine in Combination

In vivo, the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-fluoro-2′-deoxycytidine (FdCyd, NSC-48006), is rapidly converted to its unwanted metabolites. Tetrahydrouridine (THU, NSC-112907), a cytidine deaminase inhibitor can block the first metabolic step in FdCyd catabolism. Clinical studies have shown that co-administration with THU can inhibit the metabolism of FdCyd. The National Cancer Institute is particularly interested in a 1:5 FdCyd/THU formulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro pH stability of FdCyd and THU individually and in combination. A stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method for the quantification of both compounds and their degradants was developed using a ZIC®-HILIC column. The effect of THU and FdCyd on the in vitro degradation of each other was studied as a function of pH from 1.0 to 7.4 in aqueous solutions at 37°C. The degradation of FdCyd appears to be first-order and acid-catalyzed. THU equilibrates with at least one of its degradants. The combination of FdCyd and THU in solution does not affect the stability of either compound. The stability and compatibility of FdCyd and THU in the solid state at increased relative humidity and at various temperatures are also evaluated.

Derivatization and high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of pentaazapentacosane pentahydrochloride

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of the dansyl derivative of pentaazapen-tacosane (PAPC) pentahydrochloride has been developed. The chromatographic system uses a reversed-phase C8 column, a mobile phase of acetic acid buffer and acetonitrile and UV detection. The dansylation conditions were optimized with a pH of 11.0 and a 20-fold dansyl chloride excess. The yield of dansyl PAPC increased 10-fold as the reaction pH was changed from 9.5 to 10.5. Under derivatization conditions of pH 8.5-11.0 and 1-30-fold excess dansyl chloride only perdansyl PAPC was found.

Degradation kinetics and mechanism of RH1, a new anti-tumor agent: a technical note.

Summary and ConclusionsThe degradation of RH1 in aqueous solution is found to be both acid and base catalyzed. The maximum stability is obtained in neutral pH but still degrades by 10% (t90) after just 1 week. The stability profile at pH 5 was done, and 4 major degradation products were observed in acid solutions. LC-MS was performed and the molecular weights determined, from which a degradation mechanism was proposed. Degradation products I, II, and III form 2 isomers each depending on which aziridine group is hydrolyzed. No significant effect of light or the presence of antioxidants was observed, indicating that photodegradation and oxidation are not likely degradation reactions.

Mechanism of dansylation of the polyamine pentaazapentacosane ·5 HCl

Abstract Dansylation of the pentaamine pentaazapentacosane ·5 HCl (PAPC) produces only the perdansyl product. This occurs even under conditions of pH and dansyl chloride concentration most likely to produce partially dansylated products. This result is explained by a mechanism whereby only completely unionized amine molecules will dansylate. The proposed mechanism is supported by the dansylation versus pH profile of PAPC versus that of a reference monoamine (piperidine ·HCl). After 4 h at room temperature and pH 9.5, 100% of piperidine is dansylated while under the same conditions only 10% of PAPC is derivatized. A pH greater than 10.5 is required to completely dansylate PAPC. This difference is significantly greater than would be predicted from the p K a values but it is consistent with the proposed mechanism.