Cephalothin: hydrolysis of the C-3'-acetoxy moiety of a 7-aminocephalosporanic acid; observation of both acyl-oxygen bond cleavage and reversible alkyl-oxygen bond cleavage

Microfluidic filter device coupled mass spectrometry for rapid bacterial antimicrobial resistance analysis

The problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming increasingly serious. Bacteria producing extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), which can hydrolyze beta-lactam antibiotics, are among the most important drug resistant bacteria. Rapid AMR analysis methods are essential for identifying antibiotic resistant bacteria, which is of significant positive value to the clinical therapy of infectious disease. We developed a platform which integrates a sandwich microfluidic filter device with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Bacterial cells were loaded in the sandwich microfluidic chip and antibiotic drugs were injected to pass through the blocked bacterial cells. By online ESI-MS analysis of the antibiotic drugs and their hydrolysis products, the AMR of the bacteria can be assessed within 30 minutes. Four Escherichia coli strains, namely two ESBL-positive and two ESBL-negative, were successfully discriminated using ampicillin and the third generation cephalosporin ceftriaxone. Considering the simplicity and high efficiency of the assay, the microfluidic chip integrated online ESI-MS system is promising in the rapid clinical diagnosis of ESBL-producing bacteria.

Controlled hydrolysis of ceftiofur sodium, a broad-spectrum cephalosporin; isolation and identification of hydrolysis products

Ceftiofur sodium is the salt of (6R,7R)-7-{[(2-amino-4-thiazolyl)-Z-(methoxyimino)acetyl]amino}-3-{[(2-+ ++furanylcarbonyl)thio]methyl}-8-oxo-5-thia-1-azabicyclo[4.2.0]oct-2- ene-2-carboxylic acid. This compound is very susceptible to acid, alkaline-, and enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis, producing a number of unstable degradation products. In this report, we describe the preparation and identification of the hydrolysis products that are formed under controlled alkaline conditions. The primary hydrolysis product was desfuroyl ceftiofur, which is the most abundant metabolite in bovine blood. Desfuroyl ceftiofur was carefully oxidized with H2O2 to prepare the disulfide dimer, a urinary metabolite of ceftiofur sodium in the rat and cattle. Under acidic conditions, desfuroyl ceftiofur was converted to the corresponding thiolactone. The preparation of desacetyl cefotaxime, which is the oxygen analog of desfuroyl ceftiofur, is also described. Furoic acid was readily formed by hydrolytic cleavage of the thioester bond. Thiofuroic acid, formed by the less common cleavage on the alkyl side of the thioester bond, was also isolated.

Mechanistic investigation of the degradation of sulfamic acid 1,7-heptanediyl ester, an experimental cytotoxic agent, in water and 18oxygen-enriched water

The hydrolytic degradation of sulfamic acid 1,7-heptanediyl ester was carried out in water and 18O-enriched water at 47 degrees C. The degradation of 1 was also studied at various pH values in the range of 2.5 to 8.0 at constant ionic strength (0.15 M) and temperature (25 degrees C). The hydrolysis was first order and independent of pH with a mean (+/- SD) observed rate constant (kobs) of 2.38 +/- 0.6 X 10(-3) h-1. No significant buffer catalysis was observed. From TLC, HPLC, and mass spectral studies, 1 initially degraded to sulfamic acid 1,7-heptanemonoyl ester and subsequently to 1,7-heptanediol. The site of bond cleavage was assessed by mass spectrometry of the 18O-enriched water reaction mixtures. Exclusive C--O bond fission was observed. Several mechanistic pathways for the degradation of 1 could be postulated. The results from 18O-labeling studies, the pH-rate profile and buffer studies, and kinetic solvent isotope effect (KSIE) studies were consistent with an SN2 mechanism with an early transition state (reactant-like transition state) where no appreciable bond had developed between the incoming nucleophile, water, and the carbon atom of 1. Although an SN1 mechanism was unlikely, based on the need to postulate the formation of a primary carbocation, this mechanism could not be totally ruled out.