Distribution and elimination of poly(methyl methacrylate) nanoparticles after subcutaneous administration to rats.

Poly(methyl [1-14C]methacrylate) nanoparticles were injected subcutaneously into rats. Almost all of the radioactivity stayed at the injection site. After an initial urinary and fecal excretion of approximately 1% of the administered dose per day, the rate of elimination dropped to a low level (approximately 0.005%/day via the feces and approximately 0.0005%/day via the urine) within 70 days. After 200 days, the fecal elimination increased exponentially until a greater than 100-fold increase was observed after 287 days in one rat. After this time, a tendency for an increase in fecal elimination was also observed in the other animals, and the radioactivity in all organs and tissue increased by approximately 100 times in all animals in comparison with the organ radioactivity determinations at earlier times.

Distribution and elimination of polymethyl methacrylate nanoparticles after peroral administration to rats.

Polymethyl [1-14C]methacrylate nanoparticles were administered orally to bile cannulated rats. Ten to fifteen percent of the administered radioactivity was absorbed and found in the bile and urine. Within 48 h, 94-97% of the absorbed radioactivity had been eliminated from the body. After 8 d, the highest residual radioactivity was found in the bone marrow, fatty renal tissue, stomach, liver, and lymph nodes.

Synthesis of a metabolically stable modified long-chain fatty acid salt and its photolabile derivative.

An analogue of the long-chain fatty acid salt, sodium stearate, was synthesized in which the hydrogen atoms at carbons 2, 3, and 18 were replaced by fluorine. The key step in the synthesis was the addition of 3-iodo-2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropanoic acid amide to 15,15,15-trifluoro-1-pentadecene. Radioactivity was introduced by catalytic reduction of 2,2,3,3,18,18,18-heptafluoro-4-octadecenoic acid amide with carrier-free tritium gas yielding a product with the specific radioactivity of 2.63 TBq/mmol. The resulting 2,2,3,3,18,18,18-heptafluoro-4-octadecenoic acid has a pKa of about 0.5 and is completely dissociated under normal physiological conditions. The fluorinated fatty acid salt analogue is readily taken up into hepatocytes and proved to be metabolically inert. In an approach to the identification of proteins involved in long-chain fatty acid salt transport across membranes and intracellular compartments, the photolabile derivative 11,11-azo-2,2,3,3,18,18,18-heptafluoro[G-3H]octadecanoic acid sodium salt was synthesized with a specific radioactivity of 2.63 TBq/mmol. Photolysis of the photolabile derivative, using a light source with a maximum emission at 350 nm, occurred with a half-life of 1.5 min. The generated carbene reacted with 14C-labeled methanol and acetonitrile with covalent bond formation of 6-13%. Its efficacy for photoaffinity labeling was demonstrated by incorporation into serum albumin, the extracellular fatty acid salt-binding protein, as well as into the intracellular fatty acid salt-binding protein (FABP) of rat liver with the molecular weight of 14,000.

Contribution to knowledge of the biosynthesis of cyclosporin A.

3H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopic investigations on the structure of labeled cyclosporin A were performed after feeding of appropriate precursors. The 6 N-methyl groups and the methyl group in position 4 of the epsilon, zeta-unsaturated amino acid No. 1 (Mebmt) are introduced as intact CH3-units from methionine. Four head-to-tail acetate units are involved in the biosynthesis of the 8-carbon chain of the olefinic amino acid.

Irreversible inhibition of hepatic fatty acid salt uptake by photoaffinity labeling with 11, 11-azistearate.

In order to have a model compound for detection of proteins involved in transport and metabolism of long-chain fatty acid salts by photoaffinity labeling 11,11-azistearate and 11,11-azi[G-3H]stearate (specific radioactivity 2.78 TBq/mmol) were synthesized. The suitability of 11,11-azi[G-3H]stearate for photoaffinity labeling was demonstrated by incorporation into BSA (bovine serum albumin) and H-FABP (hepatic fatty acid salt-binding protein) of rat liver. Repeated photoaffinity labeling resulted in a clear decrease of the binding capacities of both proteins. Labeling of protein mixtures with 11,11-azi[G-3H]stearate showed that binding proteins for long-chain fatty acid salts interact specifically with this probe. Photoaffinity labeling of isolated hepatocytes using 300 microM 11,11-azistearate in the presence of 100 microM BSA resulted in the irreversible inhibition of the uptake of stearate and its analogue 2,2,3,3,18,18,18-heptafluorostearate nearly to the same extent of about 30%. Irreversible inhibition of the uptake of long-chain fatty acid salts by photoaffinity labeling did not alter the mediated transport of cholyltaurine and has no effect on the uptake of 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 alpha-triol, a compound that crosses the hepatocyte membrane by simple diffusion. The irreversible inhibition of membrane transport by photoaffinity labeling demonstrates the existence of a specific transport system for the uptake of long-chain fatty acid salts into hepatocytes.

A radioimmunoassay to measure cyclosporin A in plasma and serum samples.

A radioimmunoassay for the immunosuppressant drug Cyclosporin A has been developed which makes possible the monitoring of the drug by direct measurements in clinical plasma and serum samples. The antisera have been produced in rabbits using the hemisuccinate derivative of a structural analogue of Cyclosporin A as a hapten. The assay has both adequate specificity and sensitivity for Cyclosporin A to be suitable for the routine monitoring of therapy. Some degree of cross-reactivity has been shown to occur with four metabolites which were isolated from urine samples.

Immunoassay of ergotamine and dihydroergotamine using a common 3H-labelled ligand as tracer for specific antibody and means to overcome experienced pitfalls.

A highly sensitive radioimmunoassay for the determination of ergotamine and dihydroergotamine is described. The limit of detection is about 9 pg/mL blood plasma for both compounds. The specificity of the gamma-globulin, which was prepared from rabbit antiserum, was investigated in the presence of compounds synthesized as possible metabolites. It was found that the tricyclic peptide moiety common to both molecules is an essential structural feature for binding to the gamma-globulin. From dilution experiments with the radioactively labelled compound it followed that ergotamine and to a lesser extent also its dihydro derivative are adsorbed on various tube wall materials using known buffer solutions. A practically insuperable obstacle is rearrangement of ergotamine under the experimental conditions, forming a stereoisomer by inversion at the C-8 position. The equilibrium of ergotamine in equilibrium ergotaminine found in human plasma remains stable under the incubation conditions of the radioimmunoassay.