Classification and Visualization of Physical and Chemical Properties of Falsified Medicines with Handheld Raman Spectroscopy and X-Ray Computed Tomography.

Analytical methods for the detection of substandard and falsified medical products (SFs) are important for public health and patient safety. Research to understand how the physical and chemical properties of SFs can be most effectively applied to distinguish the SFs from authentic products has not yet been investigated enough. Here, we investigated the usefulness of two analytical methods, handheld Raman spectroscopy (handheld Raman) and X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT), for detecting SFs among oral solid antihypertensive pharmaceutical products containing candesartan cilexetil as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). X-ray CT visualized at least two different types of falsified tablets, one containing many cracks and voids and the other containing aggregates with high electron density, such as from the presence of the heavy elements. Generic products that purported to contain equivalent amounts of API to the authentic products were discriminated from the authentic products by the handheld Raman and the different physical structure on X-ray CT. Approach to investigate both the chemical and physical properties with handheld Raman and X-ray CT, respectively, promise the accurate discrimination of the SFs, even if their visual appearance is similar with authentic products. We present a decision tree for investigating the authenticity of samples purporting to be authentic commercial tablets. Our results indicate that the combination approach of visual observation, handheld Raman and X-ray CT is a powerful strategy for nondestructive discrimination of suspect samples.

Free oligosaccharides with Lewis x structure expressed in the segmentation period of zebrafish embryo.

We previously reported that zebrafishalpha1-3fucosyltrasferase 1 (zFT1) was expressed in embryos at the segmentation period, and was capable of synthesizing the Lewis x epitope [Gal beta1-4(Fuc alpha1-3)GlcNAc] [Kageyama et.al, J. Biochem., 125, 838-845 (1999)]. In the current study, we attempted to detect the enzyme products of zFT1 in zebrafish embryos. Oligosaccharides were prepared from the zebrafish embryos at 12, 18 and 48 h after fertilization and labelled with a fluorophore, 2-aminopyridine, for highly sensitive detections. Pyridylamino (PA)-oligosaccharides that were alpha1-3/4fucosidase sensitive and time-dependently expressed at 18 h after fertilization were identified as candidates for the in vivo products synthesized by zFT1. Structures of these oligosaccharides were determined by a combination of exoglycosidase digestions and two-dimensional HPLC sugar mapping to be the biantennary complex-type structures with two Lewis x epitopes: (Gal beta1-4)(0,1,2)-{Gal beta1-4(Fuc alpha1-3)GlcNAc beta1-2Man alpha1-6[Gal beta1-4(Fuc alpha1-3)GlcNAc beta1-2Man alpha1-3]}Man beta1-4GlcNAc, and (Gal beta1-4)(0,1)-{Gal beta1-4(Fuc alpha1-3)GlcNAc beta1-2Man alpha1-6[Gal beta1-4(Fuc alpha1-3)GlcNAc beta1-2Man alpha1-3]} Man beta1-4GlcNAc beta1-4GlcNAc. The presence of Lewis x structure of these oligosaccharides together with their expression time suggests that they are products of zFT1. Remarkably, most of these oligosaccharides were free form. Furthermore, we detected an endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase activity in the 18 h embryo. These results suggest that the oligosaccharides synthesized by zFT1 are present in the embryo at the segmentation period in free form, owing to the liberation from glycoproteins with endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase(s) and/or glycoamidase(s).