Inhibition of α-, ß- and γ-carbonic anhydrases from the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae with aromatic sulphonamides and clinically licenced drugs - a joint docking/molecular dynamics study.

The binding mode of aromatic sulphonamides and clinically licenced drugs to the three carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) isoforms from the human pathogen V. cholerae was here thouroghly characterised by a joint docking and molecular dynamics in silico protocol. In fact, VchCA, VchCAß, and VchCAγ are crucial in the pathogen life cycle and growth and represent innovative targets to fight V. cholerae proliferation overcoming the spreading chemoresistance to the available drugs. A set of 40 sulphonamides/sulfamates VchCAs inhibitors was studied using the proteins homology built 3 D models unveiling the key and stable interactions responsible for a potent CA inhibition. This study has the aim to offer insights and guidelines for the future rational design of potent and selective inhibitors targeting CA isoforms from V. cholerae or other human pathogens.

Preparation of molecularly imprinted resin/polydopamine nanofibers mat for the highly efficient extraction and determination of sulfonamides in environmental water.

With polyacrylonitrile nanofibers mat (PAN NFsM) as a template, molecularly imprinted resin/polydopamine nanofibers mat (MIR/PDA NFsM) was synthesized for the extraction of sulfonamides (SAs) in water. The specific surface area and pore volume were increased obviously due to the functionalization of MIR. The adsorption efficiencies of MIR/PDA NFsM under optimized conditions for SAs were 92.3-99.3%. Possible adsorption mechanisms of imprinting recognition and hydrogen bond interactions were also put forward. Compared with MIR particles, the MIR/PDA NFsM exhibited much superior adsorption performance. Particularly, the outstanding mass transfer efficiency of MIR/PDA NFsM was much higher than the other reported adsorbents for SAs. Finally, a new method based on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of MIR/PDA NFsM was successfully developed for the detection of five SAs in environmental water with HPLC-MS/MS and applied to the analysis of actual samples. Under the selected conditions, the enrichment factors of MIR/PDA NFsM of SCP, SMT, SMZ, SMR, and SMX were between 23.0 and 25.0. Low detection limits (0.26-0.76 ng L-1), broad linear range (1.0 ng L-1 to 10.0 µg L-1), and satisfactory recoveries (82.8-115.6%) and precisions (RSDs < 7.2%) were obtained. Moreover, the excellent reusability properties and storage stability endowed MIR/PDA NFsM with great value for practical applications.

Development of Novel Quinoline-Based Sulfonamides as Selective Cancer-Associated Carbonic Anhydrase Isoform IX Inhibitors.

A new series of quinoline-based benzenesulfonamides (QBS) were developed as potential carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs). The target QBS CAIs is based on the 4-anilinoquinoline scaffold where the primary sulphonamide functionality was grafted at C4 of the anilino moiety as a zinc anchoring group (QBS 13a-c); thereafter, the sulphonamide group was switched to ortho- and meta-positions to afford regioisomers 9a-d and 11a-g. Moreover, a linker elongation approach was adopted where the amino linker was replaced by a hydrazide one to afford QBS 16. All the described QBS have been synthesized and investigated for their CA inhibitory action against hCA I, II, IX and XII. In general, para-sulphonamide derivatives 13a-c displayed the best inhibitory activity against both cancer-related isoforms hCA IX (KIs = 25.8, 5.5 and 18.6 nM, respectively) and hCA XII (KIs = 9.8, 13.2 and 8.7 nM, respectively), beside the excellent hCA IX inhibitory activity exerted by meta-sulphonamide derivative 11c (KI = 8.4 nM). The most promising QBS were further evaluated for their anticancer and pro-apoptotic activities on two cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). In addition, molecular docking simulation studies were applied to justify the acquired CA inhibitory action of the target QBS.

Modifier Selectivity Effect on Differential Ion Mobility Resolution of Isomeric Drugs and Multidimensional Liquid Chromatography Ion Mobility Analysis.

Cluster formation in the alternating electric field during differential ion mobility is critical for separation selectivity and is governed by two factors. One is the reduced mass, and the other factor is cluster binding energy between an ion and a neutral solvent molecule (modifier). Therefore, separations of isomeric analytes using a modifier can be related to the thermochemistry of the cluster formation, as subtle changes in the molecular structure will affect its charge delocalization and the binding energy with the corresponding modifier will be different. We have examined the relationship between calculated Gibbs free energies of the cluster formation and experimental ion mobility measurements (CoV dispersion plots) considering the most prominent ion-modifier interactions: charge-dipole, dipole-dipole, and charge-quadrupole. To explain selectivity effects due to the modifier, we have selected a series of positional isomers of sulfonamide drugs that were analyzed in positive and negative electrospray and the diastereoisomers ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in positive mode. The following modifiers were investigated: water, linear and branched alcohols, acetonitrile, acetone, toluene, and ethyl acetate. We could demonstrate a dependence of the separation selectivity of the differential mobility on the reduced mass and Gibbs free energy of the cluster formation. These results are supported by thermochemistry calculations (DFT) and interpreted by molecular modeling. Finally, we describe differential mobility spectrometry selectivity tuning for the multidimensional LCxDMS-MS separation of sulfonamide isomers in human plasma.

Salinity and pH as factors affecting the passive sampling and extraction of pharmaceuticals from water.

Passive sampling is an attractive technique for the long-term monitoring of pharmaceuticals in the water environment. The reliability of the received results depends on the properly performed calibration, namely the determination of analyte sampling rates. This step can be the source of a systematic error, as the sampling rate values are dependent on the water donor phase parameters. This is especially important for pharmaceuticals, since their chemical characteristics and ionic form change with pH. In this study, the cross-effect of pH (3, 7, and 9) and salinity (0, 7, and 35 practical salinity unit, using artificial sea water) on the passive sampling of 21 pharmaceuticals (antiparasitics, beta-blockers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, sulfonamides) was tested. The primarily determined parameter was the sampling rate. In addition, the extraction efficiency, partitioning coefficient, and the concentration of the analytes on the sorbent were calculated. Generally, for the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, beta-blockers, and antiparasitics, the change both in pH and salinity had a negligible impact on the mentioned experimental parameters. In contrast, the extraction of sulfonamides was impacted by both pH and salinity, while lipophilicity was not a decisive parameter.

Determination of Sulfonamides in Feeds by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography after Fluorescamine Precolumn Derivatization.

A new multi-residue method for the analysis of sulfonamides (sulfadiazine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethazine, sulfaguanidine and sulfamethoxazole) in non-target feeds using high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) and precolumnderivatization was developed and validated. Sulfonamides (SAs) were extracted from feed with an ethyl acetate/methanol/acetonitrile mixture. Clean-up was performed on a Strata-SCX cartridge. The HPLC separation was performed on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB C18 column with a gradient mobile phase system of acetic acid, methanol, and acetonitrile. The method was validated according to EU requirements (Commission Decision 2002/657/EC). Linearity, decision limit, detection capability, detection and quantification limits, recovery, precision, and selectivity were determined, and adequate results were obtained. Using the HPLC-FLD method, recoveries were satisfactory (79.3⁻114.0%), with repeatability and reproducibility in the range of 2.7⁻9.1% to 5.9⁻14.9%, respectively. Decision limit (CCα) and detection capability (CCß) were 197.7⁻274.6 and 263.2⁻337.9 µg/kg, respectively, and limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 34.5⁻79.5 and 41.3⁻89.9 µg/kg, respectively, depending on the analyte. Results showed that this analytical procedure is simple, rapid, sensitive, and suitable for the routine control of feeds.

Preparation and evaluation of surface-bonded phenylglycine zwitterionic stationary phase.

4-Hydroxy-D-phenylglycine was modified with methacrylic anhydride and then immobilized on silica through thiol-initiated surface polymerization; the prepared material was applied as stationary phase for HPLC. The obtained stationary phase was characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The chromatographic performance of the packed column was evaluated in reversed-phase liquid chromatograph (RPLC) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatograph (HILIC) mode; this column has shown excellent selectivity to both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic solutes. The selectivity towards polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons relative to that towards alkylbenzenes exhibited by the prepared column was higher than the corresponding selectivity exhibited by commercial C18 column, which could be explained by electronic π-π interaction between phenylglycine and electron-rich aromatic rings. On the other hand, the prepared column has also shown better selectivity for polar compounds, which was based on the multiple interaction and retention mechanisms. It was also used to separate sulfonamides and organic acid compared with a commercial C18 and HILIC column; the results show its great chromatographic performance with distinctive selectivity. All the results indicated the prepared column had potential application in a wide range.

Updating chromatographic predictions by accounting ageing for single and tandem columns.

The most efficient optimization methodologies in liquid chromatography are based on the modeling and prediction of the chromatographic behavior for each compound in the sample. However, when the column suffers some ageing after the modeling process, predictions may differ significantly from the actual separation. Repeating the modeling is especially troublesome when several columns are involved, as is the case of coupled columns. We propose a shortcut to correct the time and peak profiles in these situations, after evaluating the effects of ageing. The original models are corrected by introducing parameters accounting for column ageing, obtained using the data of a small subset of compounds from those used to model the brand-new column. The ageing parameters are fitted from the discrepancies between the data predicted with the original retention models for the brand-new column and the experimental data measured for the aged column. The approach was developed and tested to predict the chromatographic behavior of 15 sulfonamides, analyzed with individual and tandem columns, using isocratic and gradient elution. Chromatograms more in line with the aged column performance were predicted. The agreement between predictions and experimental data in the aged columns was excellent.

Porous covalent organonitridic frameworks for solid-phase extraction of sulfonamide antibiotics.

Porous covalent organonitridic frameworks (PCONFs) were applied as a packing in a solid-phase extraction cartridge for rapid extraction of eight sulfonamide antibiotics from complex samples. The detection was performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry under the multiple reaction monitoring mode. This enabled ultrasensitive, dependable and cost-effective simultaneous analysis of sulfacetamide, sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole and sulfisoxazole. Main parameters affecting the performance of the PCONF-packed cartridge were investigated. Under optimized conditions, this method has attractive features such as wide linear ranges (2.5-1000 ng·L-1), low limits of detection (0.14-2.0 ng·L-1), and good repeatability (intra-day assay: 2.1%-5.6%; inter-day assay: 2.3%-12.9%). It was successfully applied in the analysis of sulfonamide residues in water, milk and chicken meat samples. Graphical abstract The use of a porous covalent organonitridic framework (PCONFs) as solid-phase extraction (SPE) material is described here for the first time. An ultrasensitive, dependable and cost-effective method was developed for simultaneous analysis of eight sulfonamide residues in water, milk and chicken meat samples by coupling PCONF-based SPE with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Preparation and application of epitope magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers for enrichment of sulfonamide antibiotics in water.

Sulfonamides, which are widely used synthetic antibiotics, are hydrophilic and stable. They can easily migrate into the environment and aquatic animals, and increase the risk of cancer, drug resistance, and allergic symptoms if consumed by humans. Here, we developed an epitope magnetic imprinting approach to enrich multiple sulfonamide antibiotics from a water sample. Epitope magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (EMMIPs) were prepared by free-radical polymerization using vinyl-functioned Fe3 O4 as a core, sulfanilamide (SA) as a dummy template, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker. The performance of the EMMIPs was first evaluated by rebinding SA, and then an adsorption experiment was conducted to assess the extraction of multiple sulfonamide antibiotics containing the SA group. The binding experiments showed that the EMMIPs reached adsorption equilibrium in only 5 min with adsorption of SA at 2040 µg/g, compared with just 462 µg/g for the epitope magnetic non-imprinted polymers. EMMIPs were combined with HPLC for the detection of six sulfonamide antibiotics in surface water samples. The recoveries ranged from 79.3 to 92.4% and the relative standard deviations from 0.9 to 7.3%.

Kinetic properties and affinities for sulfonamide inhibitors of an α-carbonic anhydrase (CruCA4) involved in coral biomineralization in the Mediterranean red coral Corallium rubrum.

We report the kinetic properties and sulfonamide inhibition profile of an α-carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1), named CruCA4, identified in the red coral Corallium rubrum. This isoform is involved in the biomineralization process leading to the formation of a calcium carbonate skeleton. Experiments performed on the recombinant protein show that the enzyme has a "moderate activity" level. Our results are discussed compared to values obtained for other CA isoforms involved in biomineralization. This is the first study describing the biochemical characterization of an octocoral CA.

Ionic liquids for the passive sampling of sulfonamides from water-applicability and selectivity study.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are new-generation, non-volatile solvents which are designable, and their structure may be specifically adjusted to the current application needs. Therefore, it is possible to create and apply ILs which efficiently and selectively extract various analytes from different matrices. It has already been examined that ILs may be applied as receiving phases in passive sampling for the long-term water monitoring of PAHs and pharmaceuticals in water. In this paper, the concept of passive sampling with ILs (PASSIL applied as receiving phases) was continued and developed using phosphonium-, imidazolium-, and morpholinium-cation-based ILs. The target group of analytes was pharmaceuticals which represent one of the most common categories of water contaminants. Fourteen-day-long extractions using various ILs were performed in stirred conditions at a constant temperature (20 °C). The best extraction efficiency was achieved for trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium dicyanamide ([P666-14][N(CN)2]). For this preliminary calibration, the sampling rates were calculated for each sulfonamide. Once again, selectivity was observed in passive sampling using [P666-14][N(CN)2]. Therefore, PASSIL is seen as a very promising method for pharmaceutical monitoring in water.

Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Sediment of Honghu Lake and East Dongting Lake, China.

Sediment is an ideal medium for the aggregation and dissemination of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The levels of antibiotics and ARGs in Honghu Lake and East Dongting Lake of central China were investigated in this study. The concentrations of eight antibiotics (four sulfonamides and four tetracyclines) in Honghu Lake were in the range 90.00-437.43 µg kg-1 (dry weight (dw)) with mean value of 278.21 µg kg-1 dw, which was significantly higher than those in East Dongting Lake (60.02-321.04 µg kg-1 dw, mean value of 195.70 µg kg-1 dw). Among the tested three sulfonamide resistance genes (sul) and eight tetracycline resistance genes (tet), sul1, sul2, tetA, tetC, and tetM had 100 % detection frequency in sediment samples of East Dongting Lake, while only sul1, sul2, and tetC were observed in all samples of Honghu Lake. The relative abundance of sul2 was higher than that of sul1 at p < 0.05 level in both lakes. The relative abundance of tet genes in East Dongting Lake was in the following order: tetM > tetB > tetC > tetA. The relative abundance of sul1, sul2, and tetC in East Dongting Lake was significantly higher than those in Honghu Lake. The abundance of background bacteria may play an important role in the horizontal spread of sul2 and tetC genes in Honghu Lake and sul1 in East Dongting Lake, respectively. Redundancy analysis indicated that tetracyclines may play a more important role than sulfonamides in the abundance of sul1, sul2, and tetC gens in Honghu Lake and East Dongting Lake.

Surface-imprinted magnetic particles for highly selective sulfonamides recognition prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization.

In this work, novel magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) were prepared by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using sulfamerazine as the template. With the controlled/living property of RAFT polymerization, the resulting MMIPs showed high selectivity for sulfonamides recognition. The MMIPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, vibrating sample magnetometer, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The static and selectivity binding experiments demonstrated the desirable adsorption capacity and high selectivity of the MMIPs. The developed MMIPs were used as the solid-phase extraction sorbents to selectively extract four sulfonamides from aqueous solution. The recoveries of the spiked pond water ranged from 61.2 to 94.1% with RSD lower than 6.5%. This work demonstrated a versatile approach for the preparation of well-constructed MMIPs for application in the field of solid-phase extraction.

Determination and removal of sulfonamides and quinolones from environmental water samples using magnetic adsorbents.

In this study, the magnetic materials known as polymerized ionic liquid@3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate@Fe3 O4 nanoparticles were synthesized and utilized as potential adsorbents. First, these nanoparticles were applied to the analysis of sulfonamides and quinolones present in different water samples using magnetic solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography. Under optimized conditions, the developed method showed excellent detection sensitivity, with limits of detection (S/N = 3) and quantification limits (S/N = 10) within 0.2-1.0 and 0.8-3.4 µg/L, respectively. The spiked recoveries of the SAs and QNs in environmental water samples ranged from 83.5 to 103.0%, with RSDs of less than 4.5%. In addition, the adsorbents effectively removed sulfamethoxazole and ofloxacin present in existing aquatic environments. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of sulfamethoxazole and ofloxacin on the magnetic adsorbents were studied to assess removal performance. The results indicate that the adsorption process follows a pseudo-second-order mechanism, which reveals that the sorption mechanism is the rate-limiting step and produces high qmax values (sulfamethoxazole = 70.35 mg/g and ofloxacin = 48.95 mg/g), thus demonstrating the enormous adsorption capacity of these magnetic adsorbents.

Graphene-Fe3 O4 as a magnetic solid-phase extraction sorbent coupled to capillary electrophoresis for the determination of sulfonamides in milk.

Graphene-Fe3 O4 nanoparticles were prepared using one-step solvothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The results demonstrated that Fe3 O4 nanoparticles were homogeneously anchored on graphene nanosheets. The as-synthesized graphene-Fe3 O4 nanoparticles were employed as sorbent for magnetic solid-phase extraction of sulfonamides in milk prior to capillary electrophoresis analysis. The optimal capillary electrophoresis conditions were as follows: 60 mmol/L Na2 HPO4 containing 2 mmol/L ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt and 24% v/v methanol as running buffer, separation voltage of 14 kV, and detection wavelength of 270 nm. The parameters affecting extraction efficiency including desorption solution, the amount of graphene-Fe3 O4 nanoparticles, extraction time, and sample pH were investigated in detail. Under the optimal conditions, good linearity (5-200 µg/L) with correlation coefficients ≥0.9910 was obtained. The limits of detection were 0.89-2.31 µg/L. The relative standard deviations for intraday and interday analyses were 4.9-8.5 and 4.0-9.0%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of sulfonamides in milk samples with recoveries ranging from 62.7 to 104.8% and relative standard deviations less than 10.2%.

Preparation of a poly(3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine-co-propargyl methacrylate-co-pentaerythritol triacrylate) monolithic column by in situ polymerization and a click reaction for capillary liquid chromatography of small molecules and proteins.

Combining free radical polymerization with click chemistry via a copper-mediated azide/alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction in a "one-pot" process, a facile approach was developed for the preparation of a poly(3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine-co-propargyl methacrylate-co-pentaerythritol triacrylate) (AZT-co-PMA-co-PETA) monolithic column. The resulting poly(AZT-co-PMA-co-PETA) monolith showed a relatively homogeneous monolithic structure, good permeability and mechanical stability. Different ratios of monomers and porogens were used for optimizing the properties of a monolithic column. A series of alkylbenzenes, amides, anilines, and benzoic acids were used to evaluate the chromatographic properties of the polymer monolith in terms of hydrophobic, hydrophilic and cation-exchange interactions, and the results showed that the poly(AZT-co-PMA-co-PETA) monolith exhibited more flexible adjustment in chromatographic selectivity than that of the parent poly(PMA-co-PETA) and AZT-modified poly(PMA-co-PETA) monoliths. Column efficiencies for toluene, DMF, and formamide with 35,000-48,000 theoretical plates per m could be obtained at a linear velocity of 0.17 mm s(-1). The run-to-run, column-to-column, and batch-to-batch repeatabilities of the retention factors were less than 4.2%. In addition, the proposed monolith was also applied to efficient separation of sulfonamides, nucleobases and nucleosides, anesthetics and proteins for demonstrating its potential.

Chiral separation of D/L-aldoses by micellar electrokinetic chromatography using a chiral derivatization reagent and a phenylboronic acid complex.

A novel method was developed for D/L-isomeric separation of aldopentoses and aldohexoses as their (S)-(+)-4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-(3-aminopyrrolidin-1-yl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole derivatives using phenylboronate buffer containing sodium dodecyl sulfate as a background electrolyte. The combination of derivatization with a chiral labeling reagent and micellar electrokinetic chromatography with phenylboronate made possible the efficient separation of D/L isomers as well as epimeric isomers of aldopentoses and aldohexoses. Laser-induced fluorescence detection permitted the micromolar-level determination of monosaccharide derivatives. The limit of detection was 105 amol (300 nM), and the repeatabilities of the migration times and peak area responses were 0.8 % and 7.9 % (relative standard deviation; n = 6), respectively. The method was applied to the determination of D/L- galactose in red seaweed.

Improved detection of multiple environmental antibiotics through an optimized sample extraction strategy in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.

A solid-phase extraction/liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/multi-stage mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-ESI-MS/MS) method was optimized in this study for sensitive and simultaneous detection of multiple antibiotics in urban surface waters and soils. Among the seven classes of tested antibiotics, extraction efficiencies of macrolides, lincosamide, chloramphenicol, and polyether antibiotics were significantly improved under optimized sample extraction pH. Instead of only using acidic extraction in many existing studies, the results indicated that antibiotics with low pK a values (<7) were extracted more efficiently under acidic conditions and antibiotics with high pK a values (>7) were extracted more efficiently under neutral conditions. The effects of pH were more obvious on polar compounds than those on non-polar compounds. Optimization of extraction pH resulted in significantly improved sample recovery and better detection limits. Compared with reported values in the literature, the average reduction of minimal detection limits obtained in this study was 87.6% in surface waters (0.06-2.28 ng/L) and 67.1% in soils (0.01-18.16 ng/g dry wt). This method was subsequently applied to detect antibiotics in environmental samples in a heavily populated urban city, and macrolides, sulfonamides, and lincomycin were frequently detected. Antibiotics with highest detected concentrations were sulfamethazine (82.5 ng/L) in surface waters and erythromycin (6.6 ng/g dry wt) in soils. The optimized sample extraction strategy can be used to improve the detection of a variety of antibiotics in environmental surface waters and soils.

Natural Product Primary Sulfonamides and Primary Sulfamates.

Primary sulfonamide and primary sulfamate functional groups feature prominently in the structures of U.S. FDA-approved drugs. However, the natural product chemical space contains few examples of these well-known zinc-binding chemotypes, with just two primary sulfonamide and five primary sulfamate natural products isolated and characterized to date. One of these natural products was isolated from a marine sponge, with the remainder isolated from Streptomyces species. In this review are outlined for the first time the discovery, isolation, striking breadth of bioactivity, and total synthesis (where available) for this rare group of natural products.