Development and validation of an UPLC-MS/MS method for the therapeutic drug monitoring of oral anti-hormonal drugs in oncology.

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry assay was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of anti-hormonal compounds abiraterone, anastrozole, bicalutamide, Δ(4)-abiraterone (D4A), N-desmethyl enzalutamide, enzalutamide, Z-endoxifen, exemestane and letrozole for the purpose of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). Plasma samples were prepared with protein precipitation. Analyses were performed with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in the positive and negative ion-mode. The validated assay ranges from 2 to 200 ng/mL for abiraterone, 0.2-20 ng/mL for D4A, 10-200 ng/mL for anastrozole and letrozole, 1-20 ng/mL for Z-endoxifen, 1.88-37.5 ng/mL for exemestane and 1500-30,000 ng/mL for enzalutamide, N-desmethyl enzalutamide and bicalutamide. Due to low sensitivity for exemestane, the final extract of exemestane patient samples should be concentrated prior to injection and a larger sample volume should be prepared for exemestane patient samples and QC samples to obtain adequate sensitivity. Furthermore, we observed a batch-dependent stability for abiraterone in plasma at room temperature and therefore samples should be shipped on ice. This newly validated method has been successfully applied for routine TDM of anti-hormonal drugs in cancer patients.

Zinc-Chelating Small Molecules Preferentially Accumulate and Function within Pancreatic ß Cells.

Diabetes is a hyperglycemic condition characterized by pancreatic ß-cell dysfunction and depletion. Whereas methods for monitoring ß-cell function in vivo exist, methods to deliver therapeutics to ß cells are lacking. We leveraged the rare ability of ß cells to concentrate zinc to preferentially trap zinc-binding molecules within ß cells, resulting in ß-cell-targeted compound delivery. We determined that zinc-rich ß cells and islets preferentially accumulated TSQ (6-methoxy-8-p-toluenesulfonamido-quinoline) in a zinc-dependent manner compared with exocrine pancreas. Next, we asked whether appending a zinc-chelating moiety onto a ß-cell replication-inducing compound was sufficient to confer preferential ß-cell accumulation and activity. Indeed, the hybrid compound preferentially accumulated within rodent and human islets in a zinc-dependent manner and increased the selectivity of replication-promoting activity toward ß cells. These data resolve the fundamental question of whether intracellular accumulation of zinc-chelating compounds is influenced by zinc content. Furthermore, application of this principle yielded a proof-of-concept method for ß-cell-targeted drug delivery and bioactivity.

Detection of Zn2+ release in nitric oxide treated cells and proteome: dependence on fluorescent sensor and proteomic sulfhydryl groups.

Nitric oxide (NO) is both an important regulatory molecule in biological systems and a toxic xenobiotic. Its oxidation products react with sulfhydryl groups and either nitrosylate or oxidize them. The aerobic reaction of NO supplied by diethylamine NONOate (DEA-NO) with pig kidney LLC-PK1 cells and Zn-proteins within the isolated proteome was examined with three fluorescent zinc sensors, zinquin (ZQ), TSQ, and FluoZin-3 (FZ-3). Observations of Zn2+ labilization from Zn-proteins depended on the specific sensor used. Upon cellular exposure to DEA-NO, ZQ sequestered about 13% of the proteomic Zn2+ as Zn(ZQ)2 and additional Zn2+ as proteome·Zn-ZQ ternary complexes. TSQ, a sensor structurally related to ZQ with lower affinity for Zn2+, did not form Zn(TSQ)2. Instead, Zn2+ mobilized by DEA-NO was exclusively bound as proteome·Zn-TSQ adducts. Analogous reactions of proteome with ZQ or TSQ in vitro displayed qualitatively similar products. Titration of native proteome with Zn2+ in the presence of ZQ resulted in the sole formation of proteome·Zn-ZQ species. This result suggested that sulfhydryl groups are involved in non-specific proteomic binding of mobile Zn2+ and that the appearance of Zn(ZQ)2 after exposure of cells and proteome to DEA-NO resulted from a reduction in proteomic sulfhydryl ligands, favoring the formation of Zn(ZQ)2 instead of proteome·Zn-ZQ. With the third sensor, FluoZin-3, neither Zn-FZ-3 nor proteome·Zn-FZ-3 was detected during the reaction of proteome with DEA-NO. Instead, it reacted independently with DEA-NO with a modest enhancement of fluorescence.

Selective androgen receptor modulators: comparative excretion study of bicalutamide in bovine urine and faeces.

Besides their development for therapeutic purposes, non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulators (non-steroidal SARMs) are also known to impact growth-associated pathways as ligands of androgenic receptors (AR). They present a potential for abuse in sports and food-producing animals as an interesting alternative to anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). These compounds are easily available and could therefore be (mis)used in livestock production as growth promoters. To prevent such practices, dedicated analytical strategies should be developed for specific and sensitive detection of these compounds in biological matrices. The present study focused on Bicalutamide, a non-steroidal SARM used in human treatment of non-metastatic prostate cancer because of its anti-androgenic activity exhibiting no anti-anabolic effects. To select the most appropriate matrix to be used for control purposes, different animal matrices (urine and faeces) have been investigated and SARM metabolism studied to highlight relevant metabolites of such treatments and establish associated detection time windows. The aim of this work was thus to compare the urinary and faecal eliminations of bicalutamide in a calf, and investigate phase I and II metabolites. The results in both matrices showed that bicalutamide was very rapidly and mainly excreted under its free form. The concentration levels were observed as higher in faeces (ppm) than urine (ppb); although both matrices were assessed as suitable for residue control. The metabolites found were consistent with hydroxylation (phase I reaction) combined or not with glucuronidation and sulfation (phase II reactions). Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analytical and semipreparative high performance liquid chromatography enantioseparation of bicalutamide and its chiral impurities on an immobilized polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phase.

Direct HPLC separation of enantiomers of Bicalutamide (BCT), a non-steroidal antiandrogen used for the treatment of prostate cancer, was performed by using the immobilized amylose-based Chiralpak IA chiral stationary phase (CSP). Enantioselective conditions were achieved using standard normal phase mixtures n-hexane-alcohol (ethanol or 2-propanol) and a "non-standard" mobile phase containing ethyl acetate (EA). The chromatographic behaviour of the IA CSP under these elution modes was evaluated and compared at different temperatures. The eluent mixture n-hexane-EA-ethanol 100-30-5 (v/v/v) and the column temperature of 40°C were identified as the best operational conditions to carry out semipreparative enantioseparations on a 1-cm I.D. IA column. Using this protocol, about 960mg of (R)-BCT, which is the enantiomer with the almost entire anti-androgenic activity of BCT, per day could be isolated. The analytical and semipreparative HPLC resolution of chiral impurities of BCT, and their empiric absolute configuration assignment by circular dichroism correlation method are also presented.

Validation of RP-HPLC Method for Simultaneous Quantification of Bicalutamide and Hesperetin in Polycaprolactone-Bicalutamide-Hesperetin-Chitosan Nanoparticles.

Bicalutamide is a non-steroidal anti-androgen drug used for the treatment of androgen-dependent prostate cancer. Hesperetin is a natural bioflavonoid that can be used in combination with bicalutamide to improve efficacy and decrease tolerance. The aim of the present work was to develop and validate a simple, sensitive, rapid reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous estimation of bicalutamide and hesperetin. The validation parameters such as specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined according to International Conference on Harmonization ICH Q2 (R1) guidelines. Chromatographic separation was achieved on Lichrocart(®) CN column (250 × 4 mm, 5 µm, MERCK) with isocratic elution. The retention times and detection wavelength, for hesperetin and bicalutamide were 4.28 min, 288 nm and 5.90 min, 270 nm respectively. The intra-day and inter-day assay precision and accuracy were found to be <2% over linearity of 50-2000 ng/mL with R(2) 0.999. LOD and LOQ, of bicalutamide and hesperetin was 14.70, 44.57 ng/mL and 16.11, 48.84 ng/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied for encapsulation efficiency and drug release studies from bicalutamide and hesperetin loaded nanoparticles.

Environmental concentrations of anti-androgenic pharmaceuticals do not impact sexual disruption in fish alone or in combination with steroid oestrogens.

Sexual disruption in wild fish has been linked to the contamination of river systems with steroid oestrogens, including the pharmaceutical 17α-ethinylestradiol, originating from domestic wastewaters. As analytical chemistry has advanced, more compounds derived from the human use of pharmaceuticals have been identified in the environment and questions have arisen as to whether these additional pharmaceuticals may also impact sexual disruption in fish. Indeed, pharmaceutical anti-androgens have been shown to induce such effects under laboratory conditions. These are of particular interest since anti-androgenic biological activity has been identified in the aquatic environment and is potentially implicated in sexual disruption alone and in combination with steroid oestrogens. Consequently, predictive modelling was employed to determine the concentrations of two anti-androgenic human pharmaceuticals, bicalutamide and cyproterone acetate, in UK sewage effluents and river catchments and their combined impacts on sexual disruption were then assessed in two fish models. Crucially, fish were also exposed to the anti-androgens in combination with steroid oestrogens to determine whether they had any additional impact on oestrogen induced feminisation. Modelling predicted that the anti-androgenic pharmaceuticals were likely to be widespread in UK river catchments. However, their concentrations were not sufficient to induce significant responses in plasma vitellogenin concentrations, secondary sexual characteristics or gross indices in male fathead minnow or intersex in Japanese medaka alone or in combination with steroid oestrogens. However, environmentally relevant mixtures of oestrone, 17ß-oestradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol did induce vitellogenin and intersex, supporting their role in sexual disruption in wild fish populations. Unexpectedly, a male dominated sex ratio (100% in controls) was induced in medaka and the potential cause and implications are briefly discussed, highlighting the potential of non-chemical modes of action on this endpoint.

Development of an LC-MS/MS method for determination of bicalutamide on dried blood spots: application to pharmacokinetic study in mice.

A rapid and highly sensitive assay method has been developed and validated for the estimation of bicalutamide (BCL) on mouse dried blood spots (DBS) using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization in the negative-ion mode. The assay procedure involves a simple liquid extraction of BCL and tolbutamide (internal standard, IS) from mouse blood DBS cards using tert-butyl methyl ether. Chromatographic separation was achieved with 5 mm ammonium acetate (pH 6.5)-acetonitrile (35:65, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.60 mL/min on an Atlantis dC18 column with a total run time 3.0 min. The MS/MS ion transitions monitored were 428.80 → 254.70 for BCL and 269.00 → 169.60 for IS. Method validation was performed as per regulatory guidelines. A linear response function was observed from 0.92 to 1911 ng/mL for BCL in mouse blood. The intra- and inter-day precisions were in the ranges of 1.86-12.5 and 3.19-10.8%, respectively. This novel DBS method has been applied to a pharmacokinetic study in mice.

Direct detection of a sulfonate ester genotoxic impurity by atmospheric-pressure thermal desorption-extractive electrospray-mass spectrometry.

A direct, ambient ionization method has been developed using atmospheric pressure thermal desorption-extractive electrospray-mass spectrometry (AP/TD-EESI-MS) for the detection of the genotoxic impurity (GTI) methyl p-toluenesulfonate (MTS) in a surrogate pharmaceutical matrix. A custom-made thermal desorption probe was used to the desorb and vaporize MTS from the solid state, by rapid heating to 200 °C then cooling to ambient temperature, with a cycle time of 6 min. The detection of MTS using EESI with a sodium acetate doped solvent to generate the [MTS+Na](+) adduct ion provided a significant sensitivity enhancement relative to the [M+H](+) ion generated using a 0.1% formic acid solvent modifier. The MTS detection limit is over an order of magnitude below the long-term daily threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) of 1.5 µg/g and the potential for quantitative analysis has been determined using starch as a surrogate active pharmaceutical ingredient (API).

Development and validation of a simple and sensitive high performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of anastrozole, bicalutamide, tamoxifen, and their synthetic impurities.

A simple and sensitive analytical method for simultaneous determination of anastrozole, bicalutamide, and tamoxifen as well as their synthetic impurities, anastrozole pentamethyl, bicalutamide 3-fluoro-isomer, and tamoxifen e-isomer, was developed and validated by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The separation was achieved on a Symmetry(®) C-8 column (100×4.6 mm i.d., 3.5 µm) at room temperature (±24 °C), with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile/water containing 0.18% N,N dimethyloctylamine and pH adjusted to 3.0 with orthophosphoric acid (46.5/53.5, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1) within 20 min. The detection was made at a wavelength of 270 nm by using ultraviolet (UV) detector. No interference peaks from excipients and relative retention time indicated the specificity of the method. The calibration curve showed correlation coefficients (r) >0.99 calculated by linear regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ), respectively, were 2.2 and 6.7 µg mL(-1) for anastrozole, 2.61 and 8.72 µg mL(-1) for bicalutamide, 2.0 and 6.7 µg mL(-1) for tamoxifen, 0.06 and 0.22 µg mL(-1) for anastrozole pentamethyl, 0.02 and 0.07 µg mL(-1) for bicalutamide 3-fluoro-isomer, and 0.002 and 0.007 µg mL(-1) for tamoxifen e-isomer. Intraday and interday relative standard deviations (RSDs) were <2.0% (drugs) and <10% (degradation products) as well as the comparison between two different analysts, which were calculated by f test.

Development of a stability-indicating RP-LC method for the separation of a critical pair of impurities and their degradants in zafirlukast.

A high-throughput reverse-phase liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) method is developed for the quantification of zafirlukast and its related impurities in drug substance. The separation of known impurities is accomplished using a short (50 mm) LC column with sub-2-µm particle size in a relatively short run-time. A linear gradient elution involves ammonium formate and acetonitrile as mobile phase. The critical impurity pair is the meta and para isomers of zafirlukast, which are known to be potential impurities of zafirlukast, whose resolution is sensitive to pH. The stability-indicating capability of the developed method is demonstrated using forced degradation samples from stress conditions such as hydrolysis, oxidation, thermal and photolytic degradation. The developed RP-LC method is validated in accordance with International Conference on Harmonization requirements. The results from the validation study indicate that this RP-LC method can be used for the determination of synthetic and degradation impurities in regular quality control analysis for the drug substance.

Sensor specific imaging of proteomic Zn2+ with zinquin and TSQ after cellular exposure to N-ethylmaleimide.

The impact of the thiol binding reagent N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) on proteomic Zn(2+) availability was investigated in rat glioma cells. Zinquin (ZQ) or TSQ, two related fluorescent sensors, were used to observe reactive Zn(2+). Control cells contained proteomic Zn(2+) but no detectable low molecular weight (LMW) Zn(2+). With either sensor, basal cellular fluorescence emission centered near 470 nm, indicative of sensor-Zn-proteins. ZQ sequestered 13% of proteomic Zn(2+) as Zn(ZQ)(2); TSQ reacted only with the Zn-proteome. NEM (100 µM) abolished LMW thiols, including glutathione (GSH) and lowered proteomic sulfhydryl content about 30%. In ZQ-treated cells, NEM exposure enhanced fluorescent intensity and the formation of Zn(ZQ)(2) (λ(MAX), 492 nm). Cells incubated with TSQ and NEM also displayed increased fluorescence without a spectral shift in wavelength maximum, consistent with increased formation of TSQ-Zn-protein adducts but not Zn(TSQ)(2). In neither experiment was Zn(2+) lost from cells. NEM altered Zn(2+) accessibility to sensors in membrane-nuclear and cytosolic fractions, but Zn(ZQ)(2) was only generated in the cytosol. Similar results were obtained when cell supernatant replaced cells. In contrast, when isolated proteome was reacted with ZQ and 100 µM NEM in the absence of GSH, 70% of the proteomic thiols underwent reaction. As a consequence, most of the ZQ-Zn-protein adducts were converted to Zn(ZQ)(2). Substituting TSQ for ZQ, only increased TSQ-Zn-proteins were observed. Evidently, the results of imaging cells with Zn(2+) sensors are dependent upon the specific chemical properties of the sensors and can only be understood after detailed chemical analysis.

Development and validation of stability-indicating HPLC and UPLC methods for the determination of bicalutamide.

Six new process related impurities (Imp-08, Imp-09, Imp-10, Imp-12, Imp-13 and Imp-14) of bicalutamide (BCT) have been reported in this paper. BCT was subjected to oxidative, acid, alkaline, hydrolytic, thermal and photolytic degradation conditions and found to degrade in alkaline condition, yielding Imp-11. Stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography methods were developed for the determination of BCT in the presence of its 14 process-related impurities and 1 degradant by using Zorbax SB phenyl column (150 × 4.6 mm × 3.5 µm) and HSS T3 column (100 × 2.1 mm × 1.8 µm), respectively. Both the methods were validated as per International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Quantitation limits (QL) were found be in the ranges of 0.02-0.03% for both the methods. Precision was evaluated by replicate analysis in which % relative standard deviation (RSD) values for areas were found below 2.0. Linearity for the impurities was established in the range of QL to 200% of the specification level and the correlation coefficients derived from of the respective calibration curves were approximately 0.999. The recoveries obtained for purity (90-100%) and assay (98-102%) ensured the accuracy of the developed methods.

Sputum zinc concentration and clinical outcome in older asthmatics.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Mouse models of asthma show that zinc deficiency is associated with airway inflammation (AI), which is attenuated by zinc supplements. Whether zinc has a similar role in the human airway remains controversial, with studies demonstrating both high and low plasma zinc concentrations [Zn] in asthmatic patients compared with control subjects. This variability may reflect the inability of plasma measurements to accurately assess airway zinc levels. Examination of induced sputum is an established technique for measuring AI and mediators of inflammation. Recent advances allow measurement of the rapidly exchangeable (labile) and total zinc pools in sputum. The aims of this study were to measure labile and total [Zn] in sputum and plasma of subjects with or without asthma, and second to correlate [Zn] with symptoms, asthma severity, lung function (FEV(1)) and airway hyper-responsiveness. METHODS: A total of 163 subjects (114 with asthma) completed a single visit for sputum induction and a blood test. Labile and total [Zn] were measured by Zinquin fluorescence and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of subjects with and without asthma was 55 (14) and 57 (14) years, respectively. Baseline FEV(1) was significantly lower in subjects with asthma (94.2 (16)%) than in those without asthma (103 (16.6)%). Sputum total and labile [Zn] were lower in subjects with asthma compared with control subjects, with median (interquartile range) values of 31.8 (117) versus 50 (188.5), P = 0.02 and 0 (48) versus 26 (84.5) µg/L, P = 0.05, respectively. Increased frequency of wheeze, as well as asthma severity and reduced FEV(1), was associated with significantly lower labile sputum [Zn]. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that sputum [Zn] reflect clinical outcomes and underlying AI, suggesting a potential role for zinc as a biomarker in asthma.

Zinc signals promote IL-2-dependent proliferation of T cells.

Zinc signals, i.e. a change of the intracellular concentration of free zinc ions in response to receptor stimulation, are involved in signal transduction in several immune cells. Here, the role of zinc signals in T-cell activation by IL-2 was investigated in the murine cytotoxic T-cell line CTLL-2 and in primary human T cells. Measurements with the fluorescent dyes FluoZin-3 and Zinquin showed that zinc is released from lysosomes into the cytosol in response to stimulation of the IL-2-receptor. Activation of the ERK-pathway was blocked by chelation of free zinc with N,N,N',N'-tetrakis-2(pyridyl-methyl)ethylenediamine, whereas zinc was not required for STAT5 phosphorylation. In addition, the key signaling molecules MEK and ERK were activated in response to elevated free intracellular zinc, induced by incubation with zinc and the ionophore pyrithione. Downstream of ERK activation, ERK-specific gene expression of c-fos and IL-2-induced proliferation was found to depend on zinc. Further experiments indicated that inhibition of MEK and ERK-dephosphorylating protein phosphatases is the molecular mechanism for the influence of zinc on this pathway. In conclusion, an increase of cytoplasmic free zinc is required for IL-2-induced ERK signaling and proliferation of T cells.

Identification, characterization and synthesis of impurities of zafirlukast.

Zafirlukast is a drug in the treatment of pulmonary disorders such as asthma. During the process development of zafirlukast, five unknown impurities were detected at levels of below 0.10% (ranging from 0.05 to 0.15%) in reverse phase gradient high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The molecular weights were determined by LC-MS analysis. These impurities were isolated from crude samples of zafirlukast using gradient reverse phase preparative HPLC and were subsequently synthesized. Based on the spectral data, the structures of these impurities were characterized as 3-methoxy-4-(5-methoxycarbonylamino-1-methyl-1H-indol-3-ylmethyl)-benzoic acid (Impurity 1), {3-[2-methoxy-4-(toluene-2-sulfonylaminocarbonyl)-benzyl]-1-methyl-1H-indol-5-yl}-carbamic acid methyl ester (Impurity 2), {3-[2-methoxy-4-(toluene-3-sulfonylaminocarbonyl)-benzyl]-1-methyl-1H-indol-5-yl}-acetic acid cyclopentyl ester (Impurity 3), {3-[2-methoxy-4-(toluene-4-sulfonylaminocarbonyl)-benzyl]-1-methyl-1H-indol-5-yl}-acetic acid cyclopentyl ester (Impurity 4), and 4-(5-cyclopentyloxy carbonylamino-1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl methyl)-3-methoxy-benzoic acid methyl ester (Impurity 5). The separation of the impurities by reverse phase HPLC, the confirmation of their structures by IR, MS and NMR spectral data, the mechanism of their formation and their syntheses are discussed in detail.

Sensitivity of nuclear-quadrupole double-resonance detection of half-integer spin nuclei.

The sensitivity of the Slusher and Hahn's nuclear quadrupole double resonance technique is calculated in general for an arbitrary nuclear spin S of the quadrupole nuclei and for an arbitrary asymmetry parameter eta of the electric field gradient tensor. The nuclear spin S=5/2 ((17)O, (25)Mg, ...) is treated in details. The influence of the cross-relaxation rate between the quadrupole nuclei and the abundant spin system on the sensitivity of double resonance is discussed. The results of the theoretical analysis are applied in the analysis of the (1)H-(17)O nuclear quadrupole double resonance spectra in p-toluenesulfonamide and 2-nitrobenzoic acid. The 17O nuclear quadrupole resonance frequencies from a sulfonamide group are determined for the first time. The proton-oxygen cross-relaxation rates and the proton local frequency in zero external magnetic field are experimentally determined from the nuclear quadrupole double resonance spectra.

Kinetic assay for the determination of the oxidative stress biomarker, advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) in the human blood plasma.

UNLABELLED: A number of human diseases and pathological conditions were found to be associated with increased oxidative stress. In the literature several techniques are available for the assessment of oxidative stress, but most of them are not applicable for a routine medical laboratory due to the complex methodology and/or financial reasons. We report here on a simple, inexpensive, kinetic assay for the determination of the oxidative stress biomarker, advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) in the human blood plasma. METHODS: This study involved 70 patients (47M/23F; mean age: 64.6 y; range: 16-85) admitted to our Department with a wide range of cardiovascular and peripheral vascular diseases. Three critically ill patients were assigned for monitoring purposes. Plasma AOPP were simultaneously determined using an end-point assay as reference method and by a kinetic method developed in our laboratory. Plasma fibrinogen concentration was measured according to the Clauss method. RESULTS: There was a highly significant correlation (r2 = 0.588; p < 0.0001) between AOPP concentration (reference method) and AOPP reactivity (kinetic method). Both AOPP concentration and AOPP reactivity also significantly correlated with plasma fibrinogen concentration (r2 = 0.780; p < 0.0001; r2 = 0.564; p < 0.0001). The three representative cases presented appear to support the relevance of our novel method in the monitoring of critically ill patients. CONCLUSIONS: This simple and inexpensive kinetic assay can be widely used in any routine laboratory interested in oxidative stress research. It is especially recommended for monitoring critically ill or other patients.

Isolation and characterization of process related impurities and degradation products of bicalutamide and development of RP-HPLC method for impurity profile study.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for determination of process impurities and degradation products of bicalutamide in bulk drug and pharmaceutical formulations. The separation was accomplished on a Symmetry C(18) (4.6 mm x 250 mm; particle size 5 microm) column under isocratic mode. The mobile phase was 0.01 M KH(2)PO(4) (pH 3.0):acetonitrile (50:50 v/v) and a PDA detector set at 215 nm was used for detection. Forced degradation of bicalutamide was carried out under thermal, photo, acidic, alkaline and peroxide conditions. The unknown process impurities and alkaline degradation products were isolated and characterized by ESI-MS/MS, (1)H NMR and FT-IR spectral data. Under alkaline conditions bicalutamide was degraded in to an acid and an amine. The kinetics of degradation was studied. The proposed method was validated and successfully applied to the analysis of commercial formulations. Thus, the developed method can be used for process development as well as quality assurance of bicalutamide in bulk drug and pharmaceutical formulations.

Optimisation, validation and application of a capillary electrophoretic method for the determination of zafirlukast in pharmaceutical formulations.

Zafirlukast is a selective and competitive orally administered inhibitor of the cysteinyl leukotrienes and currently indicated for the prophylaxis and treatment chronic asthma. A simple, rapid, reliable capillary zone electrophoresis method for the determination of ZAF in pharmaceutical formulations was developed and validated. The influence of buffer concentration, buffer pH, organic modifier, capillary temperature, applied voltage and injection time was systemically investigated in a fused silica capillary (i.d. 50 microm, total length 80.5 cm and effective length 72.0 cm). Optimum results were obtained with 50mM borate buffer at pH 8.50, capillary temperature 25 degrees C and applied voltage 30 kV. The samples were injected hydrodynamically for 3s at 50 mbar. Detection wavelength was set at 240 nm. Meloxicam was used as internal standard. The method was suitably validated with respect to linearity, limit of detection and quantification, accuracy, precision, selectivity, robustness and ruggedness. The linear calibration range was 2.00-80.00 microg mL(-1) and the limits of detection and quantification were 0.75 and 2.00 microg mL(-1) with R.S.D. of 3.88 and 2.75%, respectively. The proposed method was applied for the determination of ZAF in its pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained from developed method were compared with a HPLC method reported in the literature and no significant difference was found statistically.