Biomedical subjects

A Bult

Publications and source records attributed to A Bult.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2000

Equivalence testing and equivalence limits of metered-dose inhalers and dry powder inhalers measured by in vitro impaction.

In this study, criteria for the acceptability of comparative in vitro equivalence testing are proposed. Furthermore, the following equivalence limits for in vitro impaction methods are postulated: the 90% confidence interval (CI) of the in vitro deposition ratio of the test product and the reference product should lie within 0.80-1.20. The aim of this study was to challenge these limits by applying them to in vitro impaction results of several groups of pressurized metered-dose inhalers and dry powder inhalers containing salbutamol and beclomethasone dipropionate. The deposition results were obtained with the Twin Impinger. All products had a marketing authorization in The Netherlands and were considered therapeutically equivalent within each group. The postulated equivalence limits/group were challenged by fictitiously assigning a preparation as a test product or reference product and calculating the 90% CI of the deposition ratio of the test and reference products. All possible combinations of products within a group were tested. The products were considered equivalent if the 90% CI of the quotient lay within 0.80-1.20. In most cases, the quotient of the test product and reference product remains within 0.80-1.20, but due to a high variability in the deposition results of several products, the 90% CI of the quotient sometimes falls outside the proposed equivalence limits. It is concluded that the equivalence limits postulated are rather conservative, with respect to accepting equivalence. The limits can therefore serve as a prudent predictor of equivalence within the acceptability criteria proposed, but have to be further validated.

Albuterol↗

PubMed2000

Breaking through artificial selection limits of an adaptive behavior in mice and the consequences for correlated responses.

Previous divergent selection for nest-building behavior at 22 +/- 1 degrees C resulted in a 40-fold difference between the high and the low lines in amount of cotton used to build a nest. Correlated responses to selection indicated positive genetic correlations with body weight, nest-building at 4 +/- 1 degrees C, and litter size and negative genetic correlations with food consumption. At generation 46, the replicate high-selected (High 1 x High 2), randomly bred control (Control 1 x Control 2), and low-selected (Low 1 x Low 2) lines were crossed and the F1 showed significant heterosis for nest-building behavior. Regression of the F3 on the F2 generation gave heritability estimates of 0.16 +/- 0.10 for the high and 0.07 +/- 0.10 for the low cross, revealing a potential to break the selection limit (at least in the high direction), which had been reached at about 20 generations of selection. Indeed, renewed selection resulted in responses in both the high and the low directions of nesting, yielding realized heritabilities of 0.29 +/- 0.02 and 0.30 +/- 0.004, respectively. Replicated renewed selection, using the F3 generation as the base population, in the high direction of nesting resulted in correlated increases in nest-building at 4 +/- 1 degrees C, litter size, and food consumption. Body weight did not change. The positive correlation with food consumption is opposite in sign compared to the original selection experiment. This indicates that the evolutionary potential of a population to adapt to a changing environment not only depends on its current genetic variability in one adaptive trait, but may be constrained by genetic correlations changing over the course of selection.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Pharmaceutical development of anticancer agents derived from marine sources.

The marine ecosystem is more and more acknowledged as a source of potential anticancer agents. After the identification of a potential substance several hurdles have to be overcome before a marine candidate can enter the clinic. Amongst these are the establishment of a method which ensures sufficient supply and, which is the focus of this review, the development of a clinically useful pharmaceutical formulation. General issues with respect to the pharmaceutical development of marine anticancer agents will be discussed, which will be illustrated by highlighting aspects of the pharmaceutical development and clinical use of some representative compounds.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Fos in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of house mouse lines that reveal a different phase-delay response to the same light pulse.

Increased light intensity of a 5-min light pulse is positively correlated with Fos mRNA and Fos protein levels in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of hamsters. These findings suggest that the level of Fos activation is proportional to the light intensity and that the magnitude of the phase-shift response depends on the level of Fos activation. However, to what extent different phase-delay responses to the same light pulse are mediated by differential Fos activation is unknown. To elucidate this, the authors used selected house mouse lines that reveal an almost threefold difference in phase-delay responses in constant darkness (DD) between circadian time (CT) 16 and CT 20 to the same light pulse. The authors measured wheel-running activity and subjected male mice of these lines to a 15-min light pulse at CT 16 after 2 weeks in DD. The behavioral response was measured and 10 to 12 days later the animals were again subjected to the same light pulse at CT 16. One hour after the start of the second light pulse, the animals were sacrificed for Fos immunocytochemistry. Results indicate a significant difference between the lines in the phase-delay response (F2,26 = 5.112, p < 0.017) and the level of Fos activation (F2,26 = 27.15, p < 0.0001) after a 15-min light pulse at CT 16. These findings support the hypothesis that the magnitude of the phase-delay response is proportional to the number of cells in the SCN that exhibit Fos induction after the same 15-min light pulse at CT 16 in DD. It also indicates a possible difference in the input pathways among the lines.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Degradation study of the investigational anticancer drug clanfenur.

Clanfenur belongs to a new group of substituted benzoylphenylureas. The drug shows both in vitro and in vivo antitumour activity. To assess its chemical stability, a study was carried out in which the effect of pH, temperature, ionic strength and buffer concentration on the reaction rate constant k(obs) were examined. A stability-indicating reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) system was used. The pH-log k(obs) degradation profile, obtained at 70 degrees C, shows that clanfenur has its maximum stability in the pH region 4-5. At pH 7, half-lives were calculated by extrapolation of the Arrhenius plot; at 4 degrees C the half-life was calculated to be 141 years and at 25 degrees C 9. 5 years. The activation energy was calculated to be 114 kJ/mol. In acidic, neutral, and alkaline media, the ionic strength has no effect on the degradation. The buffer concentration of citrate, phosphate, borate, and carbonate did not affect the value of k(obs). An RP-HPLC chromatogram of degraded clanfenur shows the presence of four degradation products, three of which were identified by LC-ESI-MS as p-chloroaniline, p-chlorophenylurea and 2-fluoro-6-dimethylaminobenzamide.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed1999

Quantification of topotecan and its metabolite N-desmethyltopotecan in human plasma, urine and faeces by high-performance liquid chromatographic methods.

Sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of the antitumor drug topotecan and its metabolite N-desmethyltopotecan in human plasma, urine and faeces. Both compounds are reversibly hydrolysed to their hydroxycarboxylate forms at physiologic pH. Separate HPLC systems have been developed for the determination of lactone and total (lactone plus hydroxycarboxylate forms) concentrations in plasma. The instability of the analytes in plasma requires immediate protein precipitation with ice-cold methanol. The lactone forms of the analytes were stable in the methanol extracts for at least 15 months when stored at -70 degrees C. For the determination of the total levels, the plasma extracts were acidified with 25 mM phosphoric acid to convert the compounds into their lactone forms quantitatively. The sample pretreatment procedure for urine included dilution in methanol while the faecal samples were homogenized in distilled water and then extracted twice with an acetonitrile-ammonium acetate mixture. Separation was achieved on reversed-phase columns (Zorbax SB-C18) and detection was performed fluorimetrically at 380/527 nm. Within-run and between-run precisions were less than 10% and average accuracies were between 90 and 110%. The methods were used in a mass balance study in patients with malignant solid tumors to determine the disposition and routes of elimination of topotecan and N-desmethyltopotecan.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed1999

Distribution of Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C isoforms in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the diurnal murid rodent, Arvicanthis niloticus.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) contain the major 'biological clock' in mammals that controls most circadian rhythms expressed by these animals. The functional importance of protein phosphorylation and intracellular Ca2+ in the mammalian circadian pacemaker is becoming increasingly apparent. Here we report the immunocytochemical localization of the four Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms (alpha, betaI, betaII, gamma) within the SCN of the diurnal murid rodent, Arvicanthis niloticus, and the nocturnal golden hamster. In the SCN of A. niloticus, PKCalpha was the most abundant of the four isoforms. Cells containing PKCalpha were homogeneously distributed throughout the SCN. PKCbetaI cells were sparsely distributed in the perimeter of the SCN and were absent in its central area. PKCbetaII and -gamma were not found in the SCN of A. niloticus. In the SCN of the golden hamster, PKCalpha cells were most heavily concentrated in the dorsomedial region, though some were also present laterally and ventrally. The distribution of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) cells in the SCN overlapped with that of PKC in both species. Species differences in the location of the Ca2+-dependent PKC isoforms suggest differences in function such as the relaying of photic or non-photic information to the clock mechanism, or the synchronization of AVP neurons and their subsequent output signals.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Comparison between transient isotachophoretic capillary zone electrophoresis and reversed-phase liquid chromatography for the determination of peptides in plasma.

Low levels of peptide drugs in human plasma can be determined employing off-line solid-phase extraction, followed by capillary zone electrophoresis with UV detection. A bioanalytical procedure is presented, using gonadorelin and angiotensin II in human plasma as model compounds. The solid-phase extraction method, based on a weak cation exchange mechanism, is able to remove interfering endogenous components from the plasma sample, extract the model peptides quantitatively, and give a possibility of concentrating the sample at the same time. Transient isotachophoretic conditions were kept to increase the sample loadability by about two orders of magnitude. Up to about 70% of the capillary was filled with the reconstituted extract, whereafter the peptides were selectively concentrated during the first 15 min. Subsequently, the concentrated sample zones were separated under capillary zone electrophoresis conditions, showing the technique's high resolution. For the model cationic peptides (gonadorelin, angiotensin II) good linearity and reproducibility was observed in the 20-100 ng/mL concentration range. A more extensive washing procedure permits quantitation of gonadorelin at the 5 ng/mL level. In comparison with a liquid chromatography analysis, superior mass sensitivity and separation are obtained with the transient isotachophoretic capillary zone electrophoresis method. Moreover, in this case equivalent sensitivity is achieved when it is directly compared with a liquid chromatography method with UV detection, keeping in mind that 60 times more sample is needed for the latter method. A further gain in sensitivity can be obtained when the analysis is combined with native fluorescence detection, as is demonstrated by combining liquid chromatography separation with fluorescence detection.

Chromatography, Liquid↗

PubMed1999

Qualitative and quantitative aspects of the degradation of several tripeptides derived from the antitumour peptide antagonist [Arg(6), D-Trp(7,9), MePhe(8)] substance P[6-11].

The tripeptides Arg-Trp-Phe, Arg-Trp-Phe-NH2, Phe-Trp-Arg and Phe-Trp-Arg-NH2 were subjected to a degradation study to get a more detailed insight into the degradation processes of the antitumor hexapeptide antagonist [Arg(6), D-Trp(7,9), MePhe(8)] substance P¿6-11¿ which was investigated in earlier research. Degradation kinetics as well as identities of degradation products of the tripeptides emerging in alkaline and acidic media were studied. The amidated forms (Arg-Trp-Phe-NH2, Phe-Trp-Arg-NH2) appear to be less stable than the carboxylic forms (Arg-Trp-Phe, Phe-Trp-Arg). Deamidation of the amide C-terminus, racemization of the Phe and Arg residues, ornithine formation, hydrolysis of the peptide backbone and diketopiperazine formation with elimination of the N-terminal fragments were the major degradative processes. Comparing these reactions with the reactions of antagonist [Arg(6), D-Trp(7,9), MePhe(8)] substance P¿6-11¿ it appeared that racemization of Phe and Arg, hydrolysis of the peptide backbone and diketopiperazine formation did not occur in detectable amounts in the hexapeptide. probably due to lower reaction rates of these reactions compared to the overall degradation rate of antagonist [Arg(6), D-Trp(7,9) MePhe(8)] substance P¿6-11¿.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed1999

Reduction of Cys36-Cys42 and Cys64-Cys74 disulfide bonds in recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor.

The Cys36-Cys42 and Cys64-Cys74 disulfide bonds in recombinant methionyl human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor were reduced to sulfhydryls with dithiothreitol or mercury. Both reduction reactions are dependent on the pH. The reduction reaction with dithiothreitol increased in rate with increasing pH; between pH 7-9 and above pH 10.5 this increase was less than in other regions. These observations are explained by repulsive forces between dithiothreitol and regions in granulocyte colony-stimulating factor which intensify in these pH-regions. The hydroxyl catalysis causes the overall increase in k(obs) in the pH-region studied. The reduction of the disulfides with mercury is, as could be expected from the Nernst equation for disulfide reduction, also pH dependent: the half-wave potential decreases with increasing pH as predicted by theory.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1999

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the staurosporine analogue CGP 41 251 in mice.

Studies with CGP 41 251 (I), an N-benzoylstaurosporine derivative and PKC-alpha inhibitor, revealed that oral administration of 400 microg/day of the compound to wild type mice on four successive days reversed multi drug resistance (Killion et al. Oncology Research 7: 453-459, 1995). In our study, the same regimen of administration was followed with the primary objective to establish the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the compound and to substantiate at which plasma concentrations of CGP 41 251 multi drug resistance (MDR) reversal can be expected. Concentrations of CGP 41 251 and metabolites in plasma were determined by a validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection. Structural characterization of the metabolites was performed with HPLC and mass spectrometric detection. In our experiment extensive metabolism of CGP 41 251 was found. The presence of five hydroxylated metabolites of CGP 41 251 (I) was confirmed and two metabolites were structurally elucidated as CGP 50 750 (III) and CGP 52 421 (V). Maximal concentrations of 73 ng/ml, 1.9 ng/ml and 126 ng/ml for CGP 41 251 (I), III and V were found, respectively. The mass spectra of the other three metabolites indicate that these are oxidized nitrogens or hydroxylated compounds. As yet, the oxidation or hydroxylation sites have not been established. This study has revealed new information about CGP 41 251 pharmacokinetics and metabolism. Target levels between 10-100 ng/ml may be important to achieve in further clinical trials with CGP 41 251 as MDR modulator.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Compatibility and stability of aplidine, a novel marine-derived depsipeptide antitumor agent, in infusion devices, and its hemolytic and precipitation potential upon i.v. administration.

Aplidine is a novel marine-derived antitumor agent isolated from the Mediterranean tunicate Aplidium albicans. The compound is pharmaceutically formulated as a lyophilized product containing 500 microg active substance per dosage unit. Prior to i.v. administration it is reconstituted with a solution composed of Cremophor EL, ethanol absolute and Water for Injection (15/15/70% v/v/v) with further dilution in 0.9% w/v sodium chloride for infusion (normal saline). The aim of this study was to investigate the compatibility of aplidine infusion solutions with polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-containing and PVC-free administration sets, and to determine the stability of aplidine after reconstitution and further dilution in infusion solutions. Furthermore, in vitro biocompatibility studies to estimate the hemolytic and precipitation potential of aplidine infusion solutions upon i.v. administration were conducted. In this study we show that sorption of aplidine to PVC and to a lesser extent to PVC-free administration set materials occurs. Also, most probably due to the presence of Cremophor EL in the infusion solution, significant leaching of diethylhexyl phtalate (DEHP) from the PVC administration set occurs. After reconstitution and dilution the drug is stable for at least 24 and 48 h, respectively, in glass containers when stored at room temperature (20-25 degrees C) and ambient light conditions. We found that aplidine should be administered in infusion concentrations equal or above 28.8 microg/ml using a PVC-free administration set consisting of a glass container and PVC-free infusion tubing. After reconstitution it must be diluted further with normal saline within 24 h after preparation and subsequently administered to the patient within 48 h. Additionally, results from the biocompatibility studies show that neither hemolysis nor precipitation of aplidine is expected upon i.v. administration.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed1999

Daily rhythms of Fos expression in hypothalamic targets of the suprachiasmatic nucleus in diurnal and nocturnal rodents.

Little is known about the differences in the neural substrates of circadian rhythms that are responsible for the maintenance of differences between diurnal and nocturnal patterns of activity in mammals. In both groups of animals, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) functions as the principal circadian pacemaker, and surprisingly, several correlates of neuronal activity in the SCN show similar daily patterns in diurnal and nocturnal species. In this study, immunocytochemistry was used to monitor daily fluctuations in the expression of the nuclear phosphoprotein Fos in the SCN and in hypothalamic targets of the SCN axonal outputs in the nocturnal laboratory rat and in the diurnal murid rodent, Arvicanthis niloticus. The daily patterns of Fos expression in the SCN were very similar across the two species. However, clear species differences were seen in regions of the hypothalamus that receive inputs from the SCN including the subparaventricular zone. These results indicate that differences in the circadian system found downstream from the SCN contribute to the emergence of a diurnal or nocturnal profile in mammals.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Analytical techniques used to study the degradation of proteins and peptides: chemical instability.

Instability of peptides and proteins can be divided into two forms: chemical and physical instability. Chemical instability is due to modification/alteration of amino acid residues. There are several types of degradation reactions responsible for this instability. Most frequently described reactions are oxidation, reduction, deamidation, hydrolysis, arginine conversion, beta-elimination and racemisation. However, any study of the degradation of a chemical substance lacks reliability when the analytical methodology, that is used is not properly validated. Especially in the investigation, where degradation processes lead to their parent compounds, validation of the analysis is pivotal for the correct interpretation of the results. It is therefore appropriate and useful to assemble an overview of degradation processes in relation to the analytical methods to monitor them. An overview like this can help investigators to make the right choices in their analytical approach of stability problems. The degradation reactions involved in peptide/protein degradation as well as the methods to monitor them are summarized and discussed.

Arginine↗

PubMed1998

Analytical techniques used to study the degradation of proteins and peptides: physical instability.

The physical instability of proteins and peptides as well as the various analytical techniques used to study the various aspects of physical instability have been reviewed. Physical instability of proteins and peptides involve changes in secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures of these compounds. After a general introduction of the subject the literature data of these changes and their analytical aspects have been summarized in a Table.

Chemistry Techniques, Analytical↗

PubMed1998

Analysis of Ecteinascidin 743, a new potent marine-derived anticancer drug, in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography in combination with solid-phase extraction.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the quantification of the novel anticancer drug Ecteinascidin 743 in human plasma. The sample pretreatment of the plasma samples involved a solid-phase extraction (SPE) on cyano columns. Propyl-p-hydroxybenzoate was added after the sample pretreatment to correct for variability in injection volumes. The separation was performed on a Zorbax SB-C18 column (75x4.6 mm I.D., particle size 3.5 microm) with acetonitrile-25 mM phosphate buffer, pH 5.0 (70:30, v/v) as the mobile phase. The flow-rate was 1.0 ml/min and the eluent was monitored at 210 nm. The accuracies and precisions of the assay fall within +/-15% for all quality control samples and within +/-20% for the lower limit of quantitation, which was 1.0 ng/ml using 500 microl of plasma. The overall recovery of the sample pretreatment procedure for Ecteinascidin 743 was 87.0+/-5.9%. The drug was found to be stable in human plasma at -30 degrees C for at least 2 months. At room temperature Ecteinascidin 743 was stable in human plasma for 5 h at most.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Liposome-mediated enhancement of the sensitivity in immunoassays of proteins and peptides in surface plasmon resonance spectrometry.

A recently developed liposome sandwich immunoassay for interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), to be applied in microtiter plates, is tailored for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectrometry. The assay is performed on a thin (approximately 20 nm) polystyrene layer that covers a gold surface. This way, analytical data obtained from microtiter plate technology can directly be extrapolated toward SPR. For assaying the antigen IFN-gamma, a 16-kDa cytokine, a capture monoclonal antibody is physically adsorbed onto the polystyrene surface. After addition of the sample containing IFN-gamma, a biotinylated detecting antibody is added. Avidin is used as a bridging molecule between the biotinylated antibody and the biotinylated liposomes. All solutions are prepared with PBS buffer (10 mM, pH 7.4). This avoids additional changes in index of refraction caused by the use of various buffer solutions in immunoassays on microtiter plates for coating, binding, and washing procedures. It is shown that, when liposomes are used, a substantial enhancement of the detection limit is achieved. The "liposome" strategy improves the sensitivity for the IFN-gamma assay approximately 4 x 10(4) times and the detection limit to low picomolar. The method is generally applicable to other sandwich immunoassays.

Adsorption↗

PubMed1998

Quantitative determination of Ecteinascidin 743 in human plasma by miniaturized high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

A method was developed for the bio-analysis of Ecteinascidin 743 (ET-743) using miniaturized liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to an electrospray ionization sample inlet (TurbolonSpray) and two quadrupole mass analyzers (LC/ESI-MS/MS). Solid-phase extraction was used as a sample pretreatment procedure. Ecteinascidin 743 is a very potent anticancer compound and is administered in microgram m-2 dosages, which demands special requirements in terms of sensitivity for the analytical method supporting clinical pharmacokinetic studies. Using conventional LC/UV, a lower limit of quantitation (LLQ) of 1 ng ml-1 plasma was reached using a 500 microliters sample volume, but LC/ESI-MS/MS permitted an LLQ of 10 pg ml-1. The latter method was found to be accurate and precise, and provided a broad linear concentration range of 0.010-2.50 ng ml-1.

Antineoplastic Agents↗