Stereoselective methadone disposition after administration of racemic methadone to anesthetized Shetland ponies assessed by capillary electrophoresis

The enantioselectivity of the pharmacokinetics of methadone was investigated in anesthetized Shetland ponies after a single intravenous (0.5 mg/kg methadone hydrochloride; n = 6) or constant rate infusion (0.25 mg/kg bolus followed by 0.25 mg/kg/h methadone hydrochloride; n = 3) administration of racemic methadone. Plasma concentrations of l -methadone and d -methadone and their major metabolites, l - and d -2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP), respectively, were analyzed by CE with highly sulfated γ-cyclodextrin as chiral selector and electrokinetic analyte injection from liquid/liquid extracts prepared at alkaline pH. In both trials, the d -methadone concentrations were lower than those of l -methadone and the d -EDDP levels were lower than those of L-EDDP. For the case of a single intravenous bolus injection, the plasma concentration versus time profile of methadone enantiomers was analyzed with a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. l -methadone showed a slower elimination rate constant, a lower body clearance, and a smaller steady-state volume of distribution than d -methadone. d -methadone and d -EDDP were eliminated faster than their respective l -enantiomers. This is the first study that outlines that the disposition of racemic methadone administered to anesthetized equines is enantioselective.     

Thermal investigation on polymorphism in sodium saccharine

The thermal behavior of sodium saccharin polymorphic forms was investigated using thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry, while structural changes during the dehydration processes were monitored by X-ray powder diffraction. In solid state, sodium saccharine may exhibit three forms: anhydrate, 2/3 hydrate (triclinic), and 15/8 hydrate (monoclinic) ones. In this investigation, it was established that monoclinic and triclinic forms compose an entantiotropically related polymorphs system. At 82 °C, the 15/8 hydrated monoclinic form is converted to 2/3 hydrated triclinic form, which showed to be the more thermodynamically stable form at room temperature. Spontaneous solidification leads to the formation of triclinic cell setting, and additionally, spontaneous hydration of the anhydrous form leads to formation of 2/3 hydrated triclinic form.     

A Bis(pyridine N‐oxide) Analogue of DOTA: Relaxometric Properties of the GdIII Complex and Efficient Sensitization of Visible and NIR‐Emitting Lanthanide(III) Cations Including PrIII and HoIII

We report the synthesis of a cyclen‐based ligand (4,10‐bis[(1‐oxidopyridin‐2‐yl)methyl]‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐1,7‐diacetic acid= L1 ) containing two acetate and two 2‐methylpyridine N‐oxide arms anchored on the nitrogen atoms of the cyclen platform, which has been designed for stable complexation of lanthanide(III) ions in aqueous solution. Relaxometric studies suggest that the thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness of the Gd^III complex may be sufficient for biological applications. A detailed structural study of the complexes by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations indicates that they adopt an anti‐Δ(λλλλ) conformation in aqueous solution, that is, an anti‐square antiprismatic (anti‐SAP) isomeric form, as demonstrated by analysis of the ¹H NMR paramagnetic shifts induced by Yb^III. The water‐exchange rate of the Gd^III complex is ${k{{298\hfill \atop {\rm ex}\hfill}}}$ =6.7×10⁶ s^?1, about a quarter of that for the mono‐oxidopyridine analogue, but still about 50 % higher than the ${k{{298\hfill \atop {\rm ex}\hfill}}}$ of GdDOTA (DOTA=1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐1,4,7,10‐tetraacetic acid). The 2‐methylpyridine N‐oxide chromophores can be used to sensitize a wide range of Ln^III ions emitting in both the visible (Eu^III and Tb^III) and NIR (Pr^III, Nd^III, Ho^III, Yb^III) spectral regions. The emission quantum yield determined for the Yb^III complex (${Q{{{\rm L}\hfill \atop {\rm Yb}\hfill}}}$ =7.3(1)×10^?3) is among the highest ever reported for complexes of this metal ion in aqueous solution. The sensitization ability of the ligand, together with the spectroscopic and relaxometric properties of its complexes, constitute a useful step forward on the way to efficient dual probes for optical imaging (OI) and MRI.     

Nano nickel [1,2,4]-triazole-3-thiones complex: Design,sonochemical synthesis,and antimicrobial evaluation

A series of new 1,2,4-triazole-3-thiones were synthesized by calm, benign, no risk, eco-friendly, and energy efficient sequential reaction methodology like grinding and ultrasonic (US). In addition, 1,2,4-triazoles were prepared under conventional method and comparative study was done. The synthesized 1,2,4-triazoles were complexed with Ni(II) to produce nanoparticles complexes (NPC's) with average particle size vary from 55 to 100 nm (using scanning electron microscope technique) with good yields via both US and conventional techniques. X-ray diffraction technique and spectra analysis techniques were used to confirm the square planer geometry of the synthesized NPC's. Antimicrobial activity of the prepared 1,2,4-triazoles and their nickel complexes were studied which evaluated a high activity with complexes instead their triazoles.     

Missing Carbodiimide and Oxide Carbodiimide of Scandium: Sc2(CN2)3 and Sc2O2(CN2)

The new scandium(III) carbodiimides Sc₂(CN₂)₃ and Sc₂O₂(CN₂) were prepared by solid-state metathesis reactions between Li₂(CN₂) and ScCl₃ and, regarding Sc₂O₂(CN₂), Sc₂O₃ was added. The X-ray powder diffraction pattern refinements lead to a trigonal-rhombohedral (R3 c) crystal system for Sc₂(CN₂)₃ and to an orthorhombic (Immm) crystal system for Sc₂O₂(CN₂). The structure of Sc₂(CN₂)₃ is isotypic to the well-known rare earth carbodiimides RE₂(CN₂)₃ with the smaller cations RE = Tm, Yb, and Lu, whereas Sc₂O₂(CN₂) is not isotypic to the known RE₂O₂(CN₂) (RE = Y, La, Ce–Gd, except Pm) compounds. Both crystal structures are represented by layered arrangements of scandium, respectively scandium and oxide, alternating with carbodiimide layers.     

pH Tuning of Water-Soluble Arylazopyrazole Photoswitches

Arylazopyrazoles are an emerging class of photoswitches with redshifted switching wavelength, high photostationary states, long thermal half-lives and facile synthetic access. Understanding pathways for a simple modulation of the thermal half-lives, while keeping other parameters of interest constant, is an important aspect for out-of-equilibrium systems design and applications. Here, it is demonstrated that the thermal half-life of a water-soluble PEG-tethered arylazo-bis(o-methylated)pyrazole (AAP) can be tuned by more than five orders of magnitude using simple pH adjustment, which is beyond the tunability of azobenzenes. The mechanism of thermal relaxation is investigated by thorough spectroscopic analyses and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Finally, the concepts of a tunable half-life are transferred from the molecular scale to the material scale. Based on the photochromic characteristics of E- and Z-AAP, transient information storage is showcased in form of light-written patterns inside films cast from different pH, which in turn leads to different times of storage. With respect to prospective precisely tunable materials and time-programmed out-of-equilibrium systems, an externally tunable half-life is likely advantageous over changing the entire system by the replacement of the photoswitch.     

Discovery of Homobivalent Bitopic Ligands of the Cannabinoid CB2 Receptor**

Single chemical entities with potential to simultaneously interact with two binding sites are emerging strategies in medicinal chemistry. We have designed, synthesized and functionally characterized the first bitopic ligands for the CB₂ receptor. These compounds selectively target CB₂ versus CB₁ receptors. Their binding mode was studied by molecular dynamic simulations and site-directed mutagenesis.     

Determination of phenolic compounds,in vitro antioxidant activity and characterization of secondary metabolites in different parts of Passiflora cincinnata by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS analysis

Abstract

Ethanol extracts of different parts of Passiflora cincinnata were obtained by maceration. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were evaluated. The antioxidant activities were determined by β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching test, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH), and 2,2’-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging. The crude ethanol stem extract showed the highest amount of total polyphenols (45.53?mg gallic acid equivalent/g) while the highest total flavonoid contents (1.42?mg of quercetin equivalent/g) were observed in the leaf extract. The lowest IC₅₀ (25.65?μg/ml) by the DPPH method was observed for the stem extract. The ABTS method showed a significant antioxidant activity for all investigated extracts. The secondary metabolite composition of ethanol extracts was assessed by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS analysis, leading to the identification of fourteen secondary metabolites in P. cincinnata extracts. These results showed the potentiality of this species as a source of phenolic compounds and antioxidants.     

Quality assessment process for dynamic geometry resources in Intergeo project

One of the objectives of the Intergeo project was to provide European mathematics teachers with ??good quality?? pedagogical material supporting the use of dynamic geometry software in classrooms. With this aim in view, an online repository/platform was developed to gather various dynamic geometry resources, based on the idea of a teachers?? community feeding the repository, (re)using available resources and sharing practices related to the use of dynamic geometry in classrooms. The repository is thus open to contributions of any user who can deposit, browse, download and use resources, which naturally raises the question how to handle the resource quality issue in such an open environment. This paper reports on the way we tackled this issue in the Intergeo project. We first explain what we mean by a ??good quality?? dynamic geometry resource. We then provide a rationale behind the design of a questionnaire, the main tool for resource quality reviews, which are at the core of the quality assessment process implemented in the repository. Several experiments carried out with groups of teachers in order to confront our research-based view of the resource quality with the teachers?? one and to observe teachers?? usages of the quality assessment process are also reported in the paper. The outcomes of these experiments highlight strengths and limitations of the resource quality assessment process. They also tend to show that the idea of involving teachers into the resource quality assessment is a promising way of stimulating the use of dynamic geometry in classrooms, provided that teachers benefit from a support to make the quality process their own.