The vitamin A ester retinyl propionate has a unique metabolic profile and higher retinoid-related bioactivity over retinol and retinyl palmitate in human skin models.

Human skin is exposed daily to environmental stressors, which cause acute damage and inflammation. Over time, this leads to morphological and visual appearance changes associated with premature ageing. Topical vitamin A derivatives such as retinol (ROL), retinyl palmitate (RPalm) and retinyl propionate (RP) have been used to reverse these changes and improve the appearance of skin. This study investigated a stoichiometric comparison of these retinoids using in vitro and ex vivo skin models. Skin biopsies were treated topically to compare skin penetration and metabolism. Treated keratinocytes were evaluated for transcriptomics profiling and hyaluronic acid (HA) synthesis and treated 3D epidermal skin equivalents were stained for epidermal thickness, Ki67 and filaggrin. A retinoic acid receptor-alpha (RARα) reporter cell line was used to compare retinoid activation levels. Results from ex vivo skin found that RP and ROL have higher penetration levels compared with RPalm. RP is metabolized primarily into ROL in the viable epidermis and dermis whereas ROL is esterified into RPalm and metabolized into the inactive retinoid 14-hydroxy-4,14-retro-retinol (14-HRR). RP treatment yielded higher RARα activation and HA synthesis levels than ROL whereas RPalm had a null effect. In keratinocytes, RP and ROL stimulated similar gene expression patterns and pathway theme profiles. In conclusion, RP and ROL show a similar response directionality whereas RPalm response was inconsistent. Additionally, RP has a consistently higher magnitude of response compared with ROL or RPalm.

Safety assessment scheme for menstrual cups and application for the evaluation of a menstrual cup comprised of medical grade silicone.

BACKGROUND: Ensuring menstrual cup safety is paramount, yet a menstrual cup safety assessment scheme is lacking. This paper presents a quadripartite scheme, showing how it can be applied. METHODS: The Tampax Menstrual Cup was evaluated in the safety assessment scheme: (1) Biocompatibility and chemical safety of cup constituents. Extractables were obtained under different use condition; exposure-based risk assessments (EBRA) were conducted for extractables exceeding thresholds of toxicological concern. (2) Physical impact to vaginal mucosa. After physical evaluations, the Tampax Cup and another cup were assessed in a randomised double-blinded, two-product, two-period cross-over clinical trial (65 women, mean age 34.2 years). (3) Impact to vaginal microbiota (in vitro mixed microflora assay and evaluation of vaginal swabs). (4) In vitro growth of Staphylococcus aureus and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) production. FINDINGS: Biocompatibility assessments and EBRA of cup constituents showed no safety concerns. In the randomised clinical trial, all potentially product-related adverse effects were mild, vaginal exams were unremarkable, no clinically relevant pH changes occurred, post-void residual urine volume with and without cup were similar, and self-reported measures of comfort along with reports of burning, itching and stinging between cups were comparable. Cup use had no effect on microbial growth in vitro or in the 62 subjects who completed the trial or on in vitro TSST-1 production. INTERPRETATION: The quadripartite safety assessment scheme allows evaluation of menstrual cup safety. The Tampax Cup is safe and well-tolerated upon intended use. As with all feminine hygiene products, post-market safety surveillance confirmed this conclusion. FUNDING: By Procter & Gamble.

Normalized Mass Maps in Three-Dimensional Space Combining Kendrick-like Values with Chromatographic Separation for Enhanced Data Deconvolution.

The incorporation of retention-time information into a fully rotatable and interactive three-dimensional (3D), "Kendrick-like" normalized mass map (NMM) using a single software platform is reported. Surprising discoveries were made about the elution pattern of block ethoxylate-propoxylate oligomers (ca. 2800 Da) in the supercritical fluid after combined SFC-Orbitrap FTMS analysis. The 3D NMM also facilitated identification of impurities using interactive graphics tools within the map. By selecting map glyphs, associated reconstructed ion chromatograms were automatically generated. Last, since Kendrick and Kendrick-like mapping (NMM) are chemical-formula-based, incorporating retention time in 3D space allows the possibility of resolving isomers in the map.

Gas-phase reactivity of protonated 2-, 3-, and 4-dehydropyridine radicals toward organic reagents.

To explore the effects of the electronic nature of charged phenyl radicals on their reactivity, reactions of the three distonic isomers of n-dehydropyridinium cation (n = 2, 3, or 4) have been investigated in the gas phase by using Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. All three isomers react with cyclohexane, methanol, ethanol, and 1-pentanol exclusively via hydrogen atom abstraction and with allyl iodide mainly via iodine atom abstraction, with a reaction efficiency ordering of 2 > 3 > 4. The observed reactivity ordering correlates well with the calculated vertical electron affinities of the charged radicals (i.e., the higher the vertical electron affinity, the faster the reaction). Charged radicals 2 and 3 also react with tetrahydrofuran exclusively via hydrogen atom abstraction, but the reaction of 4 with tetrahydrofuran yields products arising from nonradical reactivity. The unusual reactivity of 4 is likely to result from the contribution of an ionized carbene-type resonance structure that facilitates nucleophilic addition to the most electrophilic carbon atom (C-4) in this charged radical. The influence of such a resonance structure on the reactivity of 2 is not obvious, and this may be due to stabilizing hydrogen-bonding interactions in the transition states for this molecule. Charged radicals 2 and 3 abstract a hydrogen atom from the substituent in both phenol and toluene, but 4 abstracts a hydrogen atom from the phenyl ring, a reaction that is unprecedented for phenyl radicals. Charged radical 4 reacts with tert-butyl isocyanide mainly by hydrogen cyanide (HCN) abstraction, whereas CN abstraction is the principal reaction for 2 and 3. The different reactivity observed for 4 (as compared to 2 and 3) is likely to result from different charge and spin distributions of the reaction intermediates for these charged radicals.

Ion-molecule reactions for mass spectrometric identification of functional groups in protonated oxygen-containing monofunctional compounds.

Protonated oxygen-containing monofunctional compounds react with selected methoxyborane reagents by proton transfer followed by nucleophilic substitution of methanol at the boron atom in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. The derivatized oxygen functionality can be identified by H/D exchange, collision-activated dissociation, or both. This information on the identity of the functionalities in the analyte, in conjunction with molecular formula information obtained from exact mass measurements on either the protonated or derivatized analyte, facilitates structure elucidation of unknown organic compounds in a mass spectrometer.

Experimental and theoretical characterization of the 3,5-didehydrobenzoate anion: a negatively charged meta-benzyne.

A negatively charged analogue of meta-benzyne, 3,5-didehydrobenzoate, was synthesized in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer, and its reactivity was compared to that of the same ion generated previously in a flowing afterglow apparatus and to its positively charged cousin, N-(3,5-didehydrophenyl)-3-fluoropyridinium. 3,5-Didehydrobenzoate was found to react as a nucleophile with electrophilic reagents. In contrast, N-(3,5-didehydrophenyl)-3-fluoropyridinium does not react with the same electrophilic reagents but reacts instead with nucleophilic reagents. Neither ion is able to abstract hydrogen atoms from typical hydrogen atom donors. The absence of any radical reactivity for these meta-benzynes is consistent with predictions that radical reactions of singlet biradicals should be hindered as compared to their monoradical counterparts. High-level calculations predict that the carboxylate moiety does not significantly perturb the singlet-triplet splitting of 3,5-didehydrobenzoate relative to the parent meta-benzyne.