Stephen A. Wring

Passive Permeability and P-Glycoprotein-Mediated Efflux Differentiate Central Nervous System (CNS) and Non-CNS Marketed Drugs

Membrane permeability and P-glycoprotein (Pgp) can be limiting factors for blood-brain barrier penetration. The objectives of this study were to determine whether there are differences in the in vitro permeability, Pgp substrate profiles, and physicochemical properties of drugs for central nervous system (CNS) and non-CNS indications, and whether these differences are useful criteria in selecting compounds for drug development. Apparent permeability (P app) and Pgp substrate profiles for 93 CNS (n = 48) and non-CNS (n = 45) drugs were determined by monolayer efflux. Calcein-AM inhibition assays were used to supplement the efflux results. The CNS set (2 of 48, 4.2%) had a 7-fold lower incidence of passive permeability values <150 nm/s compared with the non-CNS set (13 of 45, 28.9%). The majority of drugs (72.0%, 67 of 93) were not Pgp substrates; however, 49.5% (46 of 93) were positive in the calcein-AM assay when tested at 100 μM. The CNS drug set (n = 7 of 48, 14.6%) had a 3-fold lower incidence of Pgp-mediated efflux than the non-CNS drug set (n = 19 of 45, 42.2%). Analysis of 18 physicochemical properties revealed that the CNS drug set had fewer hydrogen bond donors, fewer positive charges, greater lipophilicity, lower polar surface area, and reduced flexibility compared with the non-CNS group (p < 0.05), properties that enhance membrane permeability. This study on a large, diverse set of marketed compounds clearly demonstrates that permeability, Pgp-mediated efflux, and certain physicochemical properties are factors that differentiate CNS and non-CNS drugs. For CNS delivery, a drug should ideally have an in vitro passive permeability >150 nm/s and not be a good (B → A/A → B ratio <2.5) Pgp substrate.

Recent developments in the design and application of screen-printed electrochemical sensors for biomedical, environmental and industrial analyses

Abstract This review presents recent developments in the design and application of disposable, screen-printed electrochemical sensors for biomedical, environmental and industrial analyses. Particular emphasis is given to the fabrication techniques and electrode processes employed; applications are included where available.

SCYX-7158, an Orally-Active Benzoxaborole for the Treatment of Stage 2 Human African Trypanosomiasis

Background Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is an important public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals. An urgent need exists for the discovery and development of new, safe, and effective drugs to treat HAT, as existing therapies suffer from poor safety profiles, difficult treatment regimens, limited effectiveness, and a high cost of goods. We have discovered and optimized a novel class of small-molecule boron-containing compounds, benzoxaboroles, to identify SCYX-7158 as an effective, safe and orally active treatment for HAT. Methodology/Principal Findings A drug discovery project employing integrated biological screening, medicinal chemistry and pharmacokinetic characterization identified SCYX-7158 as an optimized analog, as it is active in vitro against relevant strains of Trypanosoma brucei, including T. b. rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense, is efficacious in both stage 1 and stage 2 murine HAT models and has physicochemical and in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicology (ADMET) properties consistent with the compound being orally available, metabolically stable and CNS permeable. In a murine stage 2 study, SCYX-7158 is effective orally at doses as low as 12.5 mg/kg (QD×7 days). In vivo pharmacokinetic characterization of SCYX-7158 demonstrates that the compound is highly bioavailable in rodents and non-human primates, has low intravenous plasma clearance and has a 24-h elimination half-life and a volume of distribution that indicate good tissue distribution. Most importantly, in rodents brain exposure of SCYX-7158 is high, with Cmax >10 µg/mL and AUC0–24 hr >100 µg*h/mL following a 25 mg/kg oral dose. Furthermore, SCYX-7158 readily distributes into cerebrospinal fluid to achieve therapeutically relevant concentrations in this compartment. Conclusions/Significance The biological and pharmacokinetic properties of SCYX-7158 suggest that this compound will be efficacious and safe to treat stage 2 HAT. SCYX-7158 has been selected to enter preclinical studies, with expected progression to phase 1 clinical trials in 2011.

SCY-635, a Novel Nonimmunosuppressive Analog of Cyclosporine That Exhibits Potent Inhibition of Hepatitis C Virus RNA Replication In Vitro

ABSTRACT SCY-635 is a novel nonimmunosuppressive cyclosporine-based analog that exhibits potent suppression of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in vitro. SCY-635 inhibited the peptidyl prolyl isomerase activity of cyclophilin A at nanomolar concentrations but showed no detectable inhibition of calcineurin phosphatase activity at concentrations up to 2 μM. Metabolic studies indicated that SCY-635 did not induce the major cytochrome P450 enzymes 1A2, 2B6, and 3A4. SCY-635 was a weak inhibitor and a poor substrate for P-glycoprotein. Functional assays with stimulated Jurkat cells and stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells indicated that SCY-635 is a weaker inhibitor of interleukin-2 secretion than cyclosporine. A series of two-drug combination studies was performed in vitro. SCY-635 exhibited synergistic antiviral activity with alpha interferon 2b and additive antiviral activity with ribavirin. SCY-635 was shown to be orally bioavailable in multiple animal species and produced blood and liver concentrations of parent drug that exceeded the 50% effective dose determined in the bicistronic con1b-derived replicon assay. These results suggest that SCY-635 warrants further investigation as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of individuals who are chronically infected with HCV.

Influence of Passive Permeability on Apparent P-glycoprotein Kinetics

AbstractPurpose. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the importance of moderate passive permeability on apparent P-glycoprotein (P-gp) kinetics, and demonstrate that inspection of basolateral to apical and apical to basolateral (BL-AP/AP-BL) permeability ratios may result in a compound being overlooked as a P-gp substrate and inhibitor of another drugs transport via P-gp inhibition. Methods. The permeability ratios of nicardipine, vinblastine, cimetidine, and ranitidine were determined across Caco-2 monolayers that express P-gp, in the presence and absence of the specific P-gp inhibitor, GF120918. In addition, the permeability ratio of vinblastine was studied after pretreatment of Caco-2 monolayers with nicardipine, ranitidine, or cimetidine. Similar studies were repeated with hMDR1-MDCK monolayers. Results. The permeability ratios for cimetidine and vinblastine were >2. The permeability ratios for nicardipine and ranitidine were close to unity, and were not affected by the addition of GF120918. Based solely on ratios, only compounds with moderate transcellular permeability (vinblastine and cimetidine) would be identified as P-gp substrates. Although the permeability ratios appeared to be unity for nicardipine and ranitidine, both compounds affected the permeability of vinblastine, and were identified as substrates and inhibitors of P-gp. Studies performed in hMDR1-MDCK cells confirmed these experimental results. Data were explained in the context of a kinetic model, where passive permeability and P-gp efflux contribute to overall drug transport. Conclusions. Moderate passive permeability was necessary for P-gp to reduce the AP-BL drug permeability. Inspection of the permeability ratio after directional transport studies did not effectively identify P-gp substrates that affected the P-gp kinetics of vinblastine. Because of the role of passive permeability, drug interaction studies with known P-gp substrates, rather than directional permeability studies, are needed to elucidate a more complete understanding of P-gp kinetics.

Voltammetric behaviour of ascorbic acid at a graphite—epoxy composite electrode chemically modified with cobalt phthalocyanine and its amperometric determination in multivitamin preparations

Abstract Cyclic voltammetry was used to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of ascorbic acid at a carbon—epoxy composite electrode modified with the electron mediator cobalt phthalocyanine. The modified electrode reduced the overpotential necessary for the oxidation of the vitamin by approximately 150 mV to 0.21 V vs. The saturated calomel electrode; the process was dependent on the pH of the supporting electrolyte, but independent of ionic strength over the range studied. The relative standard deviation (r.s.d.) of the peak heights of the cyclic voltammograms was 0.81% for a 1 × 10−4 M ascorbic acid solution (n = 7). The optimum supporting electrolyte was found to be 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 5). Amperometry in stirred solutions was then done at an applied potential of +0.25 V. The limit of detection was 0.65 ng ml−1 and the calibration graph was linear in the range 175 ng ml−1−50 μg ml−1. The method was used to determine ascorbic acid concentrations in single- and multivitamin preparations; the recovery was 97.86% for the vitamin added to one preparation. The r.s.d. for the analyses in these samples was about 5%. For comparison, the vitamin was also determined in these tablets using LC with UV detection at 254 nm; the correlation coefficient for the levels determined was 0.9989 (p = 0.0007).

Simultaneous determination of zidovudine and lamivudine in human serum using HPLC with tandem mass spectrometry

A method employing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS) has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of clinically relevant levels of zidovudine (AZT) and lamivudine (3TC) in human serum. The method incorporates a fully automated ultrafiltration sample preparation step that replaces the solid-phase extraction step typically used for HPLC with UV detection. The calibration range of the dual-analyte LC-MS/MS method is 2.5-2,500 and 2.5-5,000 ng ml-1 for AZT and 3TC, respectively, using 0.25 ml of human serum. The lower limit of quantification was 2.5 ng ml-1 for each analyte, with a chromatographic run time of approximately 6 min. Overall accuracy, expressed as bias, and inter- and intra-assay precision are < +/- 7 and < 10% for AZT, and < +/- 5 and < 12.1% for 3TC over the full concentration ranges. A cross-validation study demonstrated that the LC-MS/MS method afforded equivalent results to established methods consisting of a radioimmuno-assay for AZT and an HPLC-UV method for 3TC. Moreover, the LC-MS/MS was more sensitive, allowed markedly higher-throughput, and required smaller sample volumes (for 3TC only). The validated method has been used to support post-marketing clinical studies for Combivir a combination tablet containing AZT and 3TC.

Chemically modified, screen-printed carbon electrodes

The design, fabrication and evaluation of chemically modified screen-printed carbon electrodes is described with particular emphasis being placed on the practical details for sensor construction. This work employed cyclic and differential-pulse voltammetry, together with amperometry in stirred solutions to investigate systematically electrodes containing phthalocyanine and ferrocene-based mediators for the determination of several important biomolecules. An overview of the development of an amperometric assay using the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, and some preliminary results, for the selective determination of reduced glutathione in human whole blood is also presented.

Development of screen-printed carbon electrodes, chemically modified with cobalt phthalocyanine, for electrochemical sensor applications

Abstract A method is described for the production of screen-printed graphite electrodes and also for similar electrodes chemically modified with the electrocatalyst cobalt phthalocyanine. Using cyclic voltammetry, the electrochemical behaviour of these electrodes towards ascorbic acid, reduced glutatione and coenzyme A (CoA-SH) was investigated. The modified electrodes were found to give significant decreases in the over-potential required for the oxidation of these species at carbon electrodes. The useful electrochemical window for the unmodified carbon film electrodes was −1.08 V to +0.85 V vs. SCE, using 1 μA background current cut-off points. Amperometry in stirred solutions was used to investigate the hydrodynamic behaviour of the electrodes and their calibration performance. The limits of detection for ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione at the modified films were 5 × 10−8 and 1 × 10−7 M, respectively. The calibration graphs were also linear up to 2 mM concentrations of both analytes. Using differential-pulse voltammetry, linear calibration graphs were obtained for both species up to 2.5 mM. This technique was also used to assess the reproducibility of the electrode manufacture; the coefficient of variation was 2.8% for 1.49 mM ascorbic acid and 6.9% for 0.92 mM reduced glutathione.

Development of an improved carbon electrode chemically modified with cobalt phthalocyanine as a re-usable sensor for glutathione

Cyclic voltammetry, differential-pulse voltammetry (DPV), amperometry and flow injection with electrochemical detection were used to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of reduced glutathione (GSH) at a carbon paste electrode and also at a carbon paste electrode doped with cobalt phthalocyanine (CPC). The modified electrode was found to reduce greatly the overpotential necessary for the oxidation of GSH at the electrode surface; the process was dependent on the ionic strength and pH of the supporting electrolyte. The oxidation of GSH in the presence of CPC was found to occur at two potentials, 0.27 and 0.75 V versus a saturated calomel electrode. Using DPV the first wave was found to give optimum sensitivity for the measurement of GSH concentations in the range 2.5 × 10–6–6.25 × 10–5M; whereas the second was preferential for GSH concentrations of 1.25 × 10–4–2.5 × 10–3M. Electrode deterioration rendered the other techniques unsuitable for routine quantitative analyses. Similar investigations were also carried out on a carbon-epoxy resin composite electrode containing CPC; the various techniques were used to optimise the electrode response for the determination of GSH in biological fluids. This electrode was found to be superior to the graphite paste electrode as GSH could be determined in flowing or stirred solutions. The modified composite electrode was stable and could be used over a period of at least 10 h. The limits of detection were 10 ng ml–1 and 450 pg injected on column for amperometry and high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (LCEC), respectively. Preliminary studies using LCEC have shown that the method is suitable for the determination of circulating levels of GSH in human plasma.