Visible spectrophotometric determination of cephalosporins and penicillins by indophenol derivatization with and without alkaline degradation to ammonia

Cephalosporins and penicillins give reproducible yields of ammonia on degradation in 0.5 M sodium hydroxide solution at 100 degrees C: the ammonia formed was determined in the degraded solutions using the indophenol reaction. In another approach the ammonia driven off on refluxing alkaline solutions of the cephalosporin or penicillin was collected in dilute hydrochloric acid solution and determined using the indophenol reaction. For eight of the fourteen cephalosporins and penicillins studied identical yields were recorded using the two procedures: these varied from 29% for penicillin G to 137% for cephalonium based on the production of one ammonia molecule per beta-lactam molecule. For six other cephalosporins the distillation method gave substantially higher yields of ammonia than did the direct determination. Eight cephalosporins and penicillins were found to give substantial indophenol-type reactions without prior hydrolysis of the beta-lactam, but the sensitivities were usually lower than for the hydrolysis method. Manual spectrophotometric procedures for the determination of cephalosporins and penicillins based on these reactions have been developed.     

Does luminol chemiluminescence detect free radical scavengers?

Thiol compounds have been reported to abolish hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase induced luminol chemiluminescence and this effect has been attributed to scavenging of superoxide (O2-)/(H2O2) produced from hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase. Yet other workers have reported that thiol compounds have shown little, if any, reactivity towards O2-/H2O2. The aim of this study was to examine the discrepancy between these two sets of findings further. Captopril (a thiol angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor) and MPG (a simple thiol) were observed to abolish hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase induced chemiluminescence. The reactivity of captopril and MPG towards O2-/H2O2 was then determined by measurement of thiol oxidation in captopril and MPG after their incubation with hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase. Incubation (at 10 min, 37 degrees C) with 4 mM hypoxanthine/0.03 u ml-1 xanthine oxidase resulted in 7% and 20% thiol oxidation in captopril and MPG (at 1 mM) respectively. Captopril and MPG, therefore, appeared to be ineffective scavengers of oxidants produced by hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase. Captopril and MPG also did not affect urate production or oxygen consumption by xanthine oxidase which indicated that captopril and MPG quench luminol chemiluminescence by a mechanism that excludes the inhibition of xanthine oxidase. Hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase induced luminol chemiluminescence may, therefore, be an unsuitable method for measuring free radical scavenging activity by drugs.     

Physicochemical properties of beta-lactam antibacterials: deuterium solvent isotope effect on penicillin G degradation rate.

To obtain kinetic evidence on the degradation mechanism of penicillin in aqueous solution, degradation rates of penicillin G in water and deuterium oxide were measured in the pH (pD) range of 4-10. The solvent isotope effect (kH2O/kD2O) of 1.53 below pH (pD) 6 supports the mechanism of water-catalyzed rearrangement of undissociated penicillin G to benzylpenicillenic acid. The spontaneous degradation at neutral pH (pD) and the hydroxide-ion-catalyzed degradation in the alkaline pH (pD) range progress with a deuterium solvent isotope effect (kH2O/kD2O) of 4.5 and 0.59, respectively. This finding indicates the mechanisms of general base-catalyzed hydrolysis by water in the neutral pH range and of nucleophilic attack of the hydroxide ion on the beta-lactam in the alkaline pH range. No significant side-chain dependency was observed in the reaction of penicillins with bases. The solvent isotope studies led to the conclusion that penicillin degradation is catalyzed by a series of bases via general base-catalyzed and nucleophilic mechanisms, depending on their basicity.     

Sensitive determination of reactive oxygen species by chemiluminescence methods and their application to biological samples and health foods

Sensitive and selective methods, based on chemiluminescence reactions, were introduced for determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their applications to biological samples and health foods. First, a sensitive method for determination of H(2)O(2) by peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) was developed. This method could be applied to determine small amounts of H(2)O(2) in cola drinks and bacterial contamination of food items. Secondly, the combination of immobilized enzyme column reactor, or ultraviolet irradiation system, with the PO-CL detection method was able to determine clinical substrates (i.e. choline-containing phospholipids, polyamines and D-amino acids) and organic peroxides. Also, an evaluation method of the quenching effect of luminol chemiluminescence against ROS was developed. The sensitive, rapid and precise measurement of the quenching effect against ROS such as superoxide, singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, peroxynitrite and hypochlorous ion was achieved. The proposed method could be applied to rosemary extracts, natural colorants and grape seed extracts.     

A new spectrophotometric method for the selective determination of ampicillin, amoxycillin and cyclacillin in the presence of polymers and other degradation products

A rapid and convenient spectrophotometric method is described for the quantitative determination of ampicillin and other amino-penicillins. The method involves conversion of the penicillins to the corresponding piperazine-2,5-dione derivatives by heating in an alkaline sorbitol-zinc ion solution for 10 min at 60 degrees C and subsequent treatment of these derivatives with 1 M sodium hydroxide to give a highly absorbing product with lambda(max) at 322 nm. Since an intact beta-lactam moiety and a free amino group in the side-chain of the penicillin molecules are required for the piperazinedione formation, the method is highly selective. The method was found to be free of interference from polymerization and other degradation products and its application to assess the stability of the amino-penicillins was demonstrated.     

Drugs effects on superoxide generation and chemiluminescence response of human leukocytes.

Luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence was used to determine the effects of diethyldithiocarbamate, dipyridamole, catechin and verapamil on the generation of reactive oxygen species in human leukocytes, and on superoxide generated by chemiluminescence of the hypoxanthine xanthine-oxidase reaction. These agents reduced the luminol enhanced chemiluminescence response of activated leukocytes, most probably by inhibiting the superoxide generation reaction. On the other hand, citrate and diethylcarbamazine, produced a slight increase of the luminol enhanced chemiluminescence of leukocytes.     

Flow injection determination of isoniazid using N-bromosuccinimide- and N-chlorosuccinimide-luminol chemiluminescence systems

A chemiluminescent method for the determination of isoniazid is described. Method is based on the chemiluminescence (CL) generated during the oxidation of luminol by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) in alkaline medium. It was found that the isoniazid could greatly enhance this CL intensity when present in the luminol solution. Based on this observation, a new flow-injection CL method for the determination of isoniazid is proposed in this paper. The detection limits were 4 and 3 ng ml(-1) isoniazid for the NBS- and NCS-luminol CL systems, respectively. The relative CL intensity was linear with the isoniazid concentration in the range of 8-600 and 600-5000 ng ml(-1) for the NBS-luminol CL system, and 6-200 and 200-2000 ng ml(-1) for the NCS-luminol CL system. The results obtained for the assay of pharmaceutical preparations compared well with those obtained by the official method and demonstrated good accuracy and precision.     

Application of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the analysis of beta-lactam antibiotics and their common degradation products

The (1)H NMR characteristics of the majority of penicillin and cephalosporin beta-lactam antibiotics in world-wide clinical use are presented. Some of the data are novel and include several high resolution (220, 400 MHz) spectra. The influence of solvent and ionisation state upon spectral parameters is discussed and a scheme of analysis proposed for identifying an unknown beta-lactam sample. Spectral features of common degradation products of benzylpenicillin and other penicillins are provided and the use of (1)H NMR spectroscopy in monitoring the breakdown of penicillin antibiotics described. Other aspects discussed are NMR studies of the stereochemistry, association and protein binding of beta-lactam antibiotics.     

Tolerability of aztreonam in patients with IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to beta-lactams

Cross-reactivity between aztreonam and penicillins is poor, but clinical tolerance of aztreonam has been assessed, by means of tolerance challenge tests, only in a few groups of penicillin-allergic patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the tolerability of aztreonam in a large group of beta-lactam-allergic patients. We studied all patients (greater than 14 years of age), with a clinical history of immediate reactions to any beta-lactam and with positive immediate-type skin tests and/or positive specific IgE to any of the studied beta-lactam; they were studied by means of: skin prick and intradermal tests with penicilloyl polylysine, minor determinant mixture, semisynthetic penicillins, cephalosporins, aztreonam and imipenem; detection of specific IgE to penicillin G, penicillin V, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cefaclor and ceftriaxone. Patients with negative immediate-type skin tests with aztreonam then underwent a graded intramuscular challenge. Forty-five patients (mean age 46.1 +/- 15.2 years), 27 females and 18 males, had positive skin tests and/or specific IgE to at least one of the studied beta-lactams. The most involved drugs were amoxicillin (23 cases), ampicillin (9 cases), penicillin G (8 cases) and other beta-lactams in the remaining cases. The most frequent reactions were anaphylaxis (27 cases) and urticaria (15 cases). All patients had negative intradermal tests with aztreonam and all patients tolerated the intramuscular graded challenge. Our data confirm the lack of cross-reactivity between beta-lactams and aztreonam. Immediate-type skin tests with aztreonam represent a simple and rapid diagnostic tool to establish tolerability in beta-lactam-allergic patients who urgently need this drug.     

Facile plasma-catalysed degradation of penicillin alkyl esters but with no liberation of the parent penicillin

The methyl ester and some glycolamide esters of benzylpenicillin and ampicillin were shown to be rapidly degraded by human plasma at 37 degrees C with no parent penicillin being produced. The plasma-catalysed degradation which was also observed in rat plasma proceeds most likely through hydrolytic cleavage of the beta-lactam bonds of the penicillin esters and is suggested to be due to the presence of an ester-specific beta-lactamase in plasma. The results show that the failure of simple alkyl esters of penicillins to function as prodrugs is not due to a high enzymatic stability of the esters, as widely believed, but rather to a pronounced susceptibility to undergo hydrolytic cleavage of their beta-lactam ring in-vivo. Since double ester prodrugs of penicillins, such as the pivaloyloxymethyl ester of ampicillin, are readily hydrolysed in plasma to yield the parent penicillin although at a rate lower than e.g. that of inactivation of a simple methyl ester, the plasma enzyme apparently attacking the beta-lactam bond of penicillin esters appears to have a high degree of specificity for the ester structure.     

Beta-lactams as versatile synthetic intermediates for the preparation of heterocycles of biological interest

Since the advent of penicillin, the beta-lactam antibiotics have been the subject of much discussion and investigation, within both the scientific and public sectors. The primary biological targets of the beta-lactam antibacterial drugs are the penicillin binding proteins, a group of transpeptidases anchored within the bacterial cellular membrane, which mediate the final step of cell wall biosynthesis. The extensive use of common beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins in medicine has resulted in an increasing number of resistant strains of bacteria through mutation and beta-lactamase gene transfer. Thus, a handful of nonconventional fused polycyclic beta-lactams have been described in the literature in order to overcome the defence mechanisms of the bacteria. In fact, tricyclic beta-lactam antibiotics, generally referred to as trinems, are a new class of synthetic antibacterial agents featuring good resistance to beta-lactamases and dehydropeptidases. In addition, recent discoveries have shown other biological properties of these compounds apart from their antibacterial action. In this sense, beta-lactams can serve as inhibitors of serine proteases, such as human leukocyte elastase (HLE) or thrombin, acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase inhibitors and inhibitors of human cytomegalovirus. Additional impetus for research efforts on beta-lactam chemistry has been provided by the introduction of the beta-lactam synthon method, a term coined by Ojima 20 years ago, according to which 2-azetidinones can be employed as useful intermediates in organic synthesis. The usefulness of beta-lactams in the stereocontrolled synthesis of heterocycles of biological significance is based on the impressive variety of transformations, which can be derived from this system, due inter alia to a high chirality content that can be transferred into a variety of products. The cyclic 2-azetidinone skeleton has been extensively used as a template on which to build the heterocyclic structure fused to the four-membered ring, using the chirality and functionalisation of the beta-lactam nucleus as a stereocontrolling element. Alternatively, the direct one-pot generation of fused nitrogen heterocyclic systems from the nitrogen framework of 2-azetidinone derivatives has been achieved by selective bond breakage and rearrangement. It is our aim in this Review to highlight the state of the art in this endeavour, consisting either of the stereocontrolled synthesis of fused polycyclic beta-lactams of antibacterial interest, or stereoselective synthesis of different sized heterocycles of biological significance. Representative examples of the latter include indolizidines, pyrrolizidines, pirrolidines, pyrroles, taxoids and macrolide natural products.     

流动注射化学发光法测定维生素B2

目的建立一种简便、快速、灵敏度高的流动注射抑制化学发光测定维生素B2的新方法.方法以维生素B2对luminol-K3Fe(CN)6化学发光体系的抑制作用为基础,在流动注射系统中用固定化试剂技术完成对试样的测定.结果测定的线性范围为0.01～1.0 μg*mL-1,检测限为4.0 ng*mL-1 (3σ),RSD小于3.0%(n=7).并对药品和生物材料中的常见干扰物质进行了试验.结论维生素B2化学发光传感器可连续使用450次以上,并成功地用于药物中维生素B2的测定.     

Evaluation of scavenging activity assessed by Co(II)/EDTA-induced luminol chemiluminescence and DPPH* (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical assay

The scavenging activities of three standard antioxidants, quercetin, ascorbic acid, and trolox, were evaluated by Co(II)/ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA)-induced luminol chemiluminescence and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH*) free radical assay. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise an enzyme-free and time-independent chemiluminescence method for the assessment of the scavenging profile of compounds in a cell-free system using the Co(II)/EDTA-luminol-peroxide system. These results showed that the three standards were efficient and effective in inhibiting both Co(II)/EDTA-induced luminol chemiluminescence and the free radical DPPH*. For all the data obtained in this work, the scavenging activity for the standards tested decreased in the following order: quercetin > trolox > ascorbic acid. The present study has applied a simple and precise procedure for the study of hydroxyl radical scavenging activity by Co(II)/EDTA-induced luminol chemiluminescence, and this was assessed by DPPH* free radical scavenging.     

Assessment of the antioxidant activities of Brazilian extracts of propolis alone and in topical pharmaceutical formulations

The antioxidant activity of extracts of propolis and of formulations added with these extracts were measured by scavenging different radicals in different systems. For the ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) and the glycolic extract of propolis (GEP) the IC50 observed were respectively of 0.024 and 0.035 microL/mL in scavenging hydroxyl radical, 0.016 and 0.012 microL/mL in inhibiting lipid peroxidation, 0.22 and 0.24 microL/mL in inhibiting chemiluminescence produced in the H2O2/luminol/horseradish peroxide (HRP) system and about 0.005 microL/mL for both extracts in inhibiting chemiluminescence produced in the xanthine/luminol/xanthine oxidase (XOD) system. The antioxidant activity of extracts of propolis in the formulations was not able to be assessed neither using the deoxyribose assay, since the formulation components interfered in the assay measurements, nor using chemiluminescence in the H2O2/luminol/HRP system, since this method did not show to be sensitive for the extract of propolis evaluation. However, the antioxidant activity of extracts of propolis could be successfully evaluated in the formulations using both lipid peroxidation and chemiluminescence generated in the xanthine/luminol/XOD system inhibitions.     

Cooperation of chloroquine and blood platelets in inhibition of polymorphonuclear leukocyte chemiluminescence.

Effect of activated blood platelets and chloroquine on concentration of reactive oxygen species produced by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) stimulated with Ca(2+)-ionophore A23187 was investigated. Oxygen metabolites localized outside PMNL were visualized by isoluminol enhanced chemiluminescence, whereas chemiluminescence, enhanced with luminol and measured in the presence of the extracellular scavengers superoxide dismutase and catalase, was used for the detection of radicals originated intracellularly. Significant reduction of chemiluminescence was observed in the presence of platelets (added to PMNL in the physiological cell ratio 50:1) and of chloroquine (10 and 100 micromol/L). Although chloroquine decreased effectively both the extra- as well as the intracellular part of the chemiluminescence signal, the activity of platelets occurred largely outside PMNL. Serotonin liberated from platelets by A23187 appeared to be involved in inhibition of chemiluminescence; its concentrations achieved in platelet supernatants were found to be sufficient for elimination of PMNL-derived oxygen metabolites. The presented results indicated that chloroquine and blood platelets cooperate in inhibition of chemiluminescence because their common effect was found to be much more extensive than reduction induced by these inhibitors separately. Therefore, for accurate prediction of drug effect in the whole organism, the use of multicellular test systems seems to be pertinent.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence determination of phentolamine based on its enhancing effect on the luminol-potassium ferricyanide system

It was found that the light emission produced by the oxidation of luminol by potassium ferricyanide in the basic medium was enhanced by phentolamine, a drug recently used to treatment of male and female sexual dysfunction. The optimum conditions for this chemiluminescent reaction were studied in detail by a flow-injection system. A new, simple and rapid method has been developed under the optimum conditions for determination of phentolamine. This method has the advantages of high sensitivity, good reproducibility and low detection limit. On the basis of investigation of chemiluminescent, fluorescent and UV spectra of phentolamine in basic solution containing potassium ferricyanide and luminol, a possible mechanism of this reaction was proposed. In the optimum conditions, CL intensities are proportional to concentrations of the phentolamine in the 0.01-1 microg/mL range. The limit of detection is 3.0 ng/mL for phentolamine. The method has been applied to the determination of phentolamine in the commercial preparations, synthetic samples and biological fluids with satisfactory results.     

Chemiluminescence determination of amikacin based on the inhibition of the luminol reaction catalyzed by copper

A simple and sensitive method has been proposed for the amikacin sulphate determination. It is based on the inhibition of the chemiluminescence (CL) emission generated from the oxidation of luminol in alkaline medium by H₂O₂ catalyzed by Cu(II), due to the interaction caused by amikacin, which forms a robust complex with the catalyst. The optimization of the experimental and instrumental variables affecting this CL inhibition effect has been carried out using statistical models, based on the application of two-level full factorial and Box–Behnken designs. The performance characteristics of the proposed method have been established, showing that the method is efficient to determine amikacin sulphate in the linear range of 9.89−20 mg/L with a detection limit of 2.97 mg/L. It has been successfully applied to the amikacin sulphate determination in pharmaceutical formulations.     

Effect of the isocoumarin paepalantine on the luminol and lucigenin amplified chemiluminescence of rat neutrophils

Paepalantine (9,10-dihydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-1H-naphto(2,3c)pyran-1-one), a natural isocoumarin isolated from the capitula of Paepalanthus bromelioides (Eriocaulaceae), was assessed for its effect on the respiratory burst (zymosan-stimulated luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence and PMA-stimulated lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence) of polymorphonuclear neutrophils in vitro. Special attention was devoted to establishing the IC(50) for neutrophils. Paepalantine was able to decrease luminol and lucigenin chemiluminescence, reflecting an inhibitory effect on the respiratory burst, with an ED(50) of 0.44+/-0.05 and 0.84+/-0.15 microg/ml, respectively. A cell-free system was performed with paepalantine on myeloperoxidase/H(2)O(2) and myeloperoxidase/H(2)O(2)/Cl(-) systems. Paepalantine inhibited luminol oxidation in both systems. This inhibition was related to the interaction of paepalantine-myeloperoxidase and its scavenger effect on HOCl.     

流动注射化学发光法测定维生素B2

目的建立一种简便、快速、灵敏度高的流动注射抑制化学发光测定维生素B₂的新方法。方法 以维生素B₂对luminol-K₃Fe(CN)₆化学发光体系的抑制作用为基础,在流动注射系统中用固定化试剂技术完成对试样的测定。结果测定的线性范围为0.01～1.0 μg·mL^-1,检测限为4.0 ng·mL^-1 (3σ),RSD小于3.0%(n=7)。并对药品和生物材料中的常见干扰物质进行了试验。结论维生素B₂化学发光传感器可连续使用450次以上,并成功地用于药物中维生素B₂的测定。