Bioavailability of potassium from three dosage forms: suspension, capsule, and solution.

A crossover study was performed in 28, healthy, male volunteers to determine the bioavailability of potassium from a suspension containing microencapsulated potassium chloride compared with that from a marketed microencapsulated potassium chloride capsule and a marketed potassium chloride solution. The 20-day study consisted of four, five-day periods. In three of the periods, a single, 40-mEq dose of one of the potassium formulations was administered; no drug treatment was given in the remaining period so that the amount of potassium contributed by dietary sources could be determined. Meals were served that provided controlled amounts of potassium and sodium. Bioavailability was represented by cumulative amount of K+ excreted in urine 24 and 48 hours after drug administration. The rate of absorption was calculated from excretion rates during each of the intervals of urine collection on Days 4. The pattern of excretion exhibited by the solution indicated rapid absorption and elimination. The potassium from the suspension and the capsules was excreted more slowly and over a longer period, indicating that the potassium content from these formulations was not being dumped. No statistically significant differences between the suspension and the capsules were found. The extent of absorption of K+ was similar from all three products, and the potassium from the suspension was found to be fully bioavailable when compared with the liquid and the capsule.

Melting of Saccharomyces cerevisiae 5S ribonucleic acid: ultraviolet absorption, circular dichroism, and 360-MHz proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The heat-induced melting of yeast 5S RNA and tRNAPhe has been monitored by UV, CD, and 360-MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy in order to determine the extent of base stacking and base pairing in the native and denatured structures. In the presence of Mg2+, the optical data indicate less than or equal to 40 base pairs in native yeast 5S RNA, a 60:40 ratio of GC to AU base pairs, with more single-stranded stacking and a slightly less stable structure (half-melted at 67 degrees C) than for tRNAPhe (half-melted at 71 degrees C). In the absence of Mg2+, the NMR results identify a minimum of approximately 32 base pairs at 25 degrees C (increasing to a minimum of approximately 35 base pairs in the presence of Mg2+), of which more than half are still intact at 48 degrees C. The native structure (25 degrees C) shows only minor dependence upon Mg2+ concentration, and no denatured forms could be detected. Finally, the present results support a previously proposed cloverleaf secondary structure for eukaryotic 5S RNA.

Comparison of hemerythrins from four species of sipunculids by optical absorption, circular dichroism, fluorescence emission, and resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Resonance Raman, optical absorption, circular dichroic, and fluorescence emission spectroscopy of hemerythrins from four species of sipunculids (Phascolopsis gouldii, Phascolosoma agassizii, Themiste dyscritium, and Themiste pyroides) reveals no major differences in their active site or tertiary structures. This precludes any change in iron ligands or coodination geometry and makes it unlikely that the active-site structures of P. gouldii and T. dyscritum hemerythrins could be as disparate as indicated by present crystallographic interpretations (Stenkamp, R. E., Sieker, L. C., and Jensen, L. H. (1976), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 349; Klotz, I. M., Klippenstein, G. L., and Hendrickson, W. A. (1976), Science 192, 335). Resonance Raman enhancement profiles of the stretching modes involving coordinated dioxygen maximize with excitation at approximately 525 nm, and correspond to the circular dichroic (CD) transition at approximately 520 nm. For coordinated azide modes in metazidohemerythrins these profiles maximize with excitation at approximately 505 nm corresponding to the 500-nm CD transition. Hemerythrins also possess another resonance Raman peak at approximately 510 cm-1 which show maximum intensity enhancement at approximately 530 nm and this vibration is most likely associated with a permanent iron ligand.