Lipophilicity study of different cephalosporins: Computational prediction of minimum inhibitory concentration using salting-out chromatography

The chromatographic and lipophilicity characters of seven cephalosporins of different four classes (cephradine, cefaclor, cefprozil, cefixime, cefotaxime, ceftazidime and cefepime) were examined by salting out thin-layer chromatography (SOTLC). SOTLC using ammonium sulfate salt was employed to predict the lipophilicity of the proposed drugs via their retention behavior. The calculated R_M0 values showed liner relationship with the molar concentration of ammonium sulfate in mobile phase in the range of 0.5-2.5 mol/L. Additionally, quantitative structure retention relationship (QSRR) was generated to figure out the relationship between the calculated chromatographic parameters (R_M0 and C₀) and log P of the studied cephalosporins. Good correlations were found between the chromatographically obtained retention parameters (R_M0 and C₀) and some molecular descriptors of the examined drugs. Furthermore, an efficient QSAR model was carried out using the calculated chromatographic parameters (R_M0 and C₀) and log P of the studied cephalosporins to predict minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration of the examined drugs. The study was extended to separate and quantify the selected antibiotics in their pure forms and pharmaceutical formulations. Normal phase thin layer chromatographic (NP-TLC) method using a usable developing system of acetone: methanol: water: ammonium hydroxide: glacial acetic acid (90: 10: 18: 3: 2, by volume) was successfully applied to resolve the studied cephalosporins. Linearity was achieved in the range of 0.2-3 µg/mL for most of the studied antibiotics. The developed SOTLC method can be considered as a good start alternative to reversed phase thin layer chromatography (RP-TLC) for prediction of the lipophilic properties of examined cephalosporins. Moreover, the proposed NP-TLC densitometric method can be easily applied for quality control analysis of the chosen drugs and other structurally related components.

Simple TLC-spectrodensitometric method for studying lipophilicity and quantitative analysis of hypoglycemic drugs in their binary mixture

A selective and simple salting-out-assisted thin-layer chromatographic methodology was developed for the simultaneous determination of two oral hypoglycemic drugs, dapagliflozin (DAPA) and metformin (MET) in their pure forms, tablets and spiked human plasma samples. Silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ plates were used in the separation of the two drugs using a mobile phase consisting of 0.5 m (NH₄ )₂ SO₄ and methanol (3:7, v/v). The plates were scanned in the reflectance mode at λ_max  = 237 nm. The obtained retardation factor (R_f ) values for DAPA and MET were 0.77 ± 0.02 and 0.25 ± 0.02, respectively. The thin-layer chromatography method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The peak areas were linearly increased with the increases in concentrations of 45-1,000 and 50-1,500 ng/band for DAPA and MET, respectively. Moreover, the method was applied to estimate the molecular lipophilicity parameters of DAPA and MET via retention data. The suggested method was efficiently utilized for the analysis of DAPA and MET in pharmaceutical tablets and plasma samples with recoveries 98.4-100.4 and RSDs in the ranges of 1.4-2.6 and 2.2-3.0% for DAPA and MET, respectively.

Correlated quantification using microbiological and electrochemical assays for roxithromycin determination in biological and pharmaceutical samples

Microbiological and electrochemical assays, applying the cylinder-plate and differential pulse voltammetry as techniques, are reported for the quantitative determination of roxithromycin in serum and solid pharmaceutical form. The microbiological assay is based upon the inhibitory effect of this drug on the strain Bacillus subtilis ATCC 9372 used as the test microorganism. Linearity of the calibration curve was observed over the concentration range of 8.37-83.70 μg mL^-1, with relative standard deviation values less than 5.0%. The electrochemical behavior of roxithromycin was studied at a graphite screen-printed electrode modified with graphene by using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. The current value of the oxidative peak obtained for roxithromycin at 0.65 V vs. Ag/AgCl in 0.03 mol L^-1 phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) with a scan rate of 0.1 V^-1 is a linear function of the concentration in a range of 4.19-83.70 μg mL^-1 (5-100 μmol L^-1). A comparative study was carried out and both methods were applied for the determination of roxithromycin in solid dosage forms and spiked serum. The bioassay results of human serum samples were in accordance with the electrochemical ones (R² = 0.988, P < 0.001), and the Bland-Altman method also showed good agreement between the values obtained by both procedures. Moreover, the statistical comparison indicated that there was no significant difference between the proposed techniques regarding both accuracy and precision.

Application of salting-out thin layer chromatography in computational prediction of minimum inhibitory concentration and blood-brain barrier penetration of some selected fluoroquinolones

The 2017 FDA safety review regarding the CNS (central nervous system) side effects associated with the systemic use of fluoroquinolones antibacterials (FQs) was the key motivation to carry out this work. The main objective of this study is to investigate lipophilicity and retention parameters of some selected fluoroquinolones antibacterials (FQs) namely; levofloxacin (LEV), ofloxacin (OFL), gatifloxacin (GAT), norfloxacin (NOR), sparfloxacin (SPA), ciprofloxacin (CIP) and lomefloxacin (LOM) using salting-out thin layer chromatography (SOTLC). Statistically significant correlations between the chromatographically-obtained retention parameters and experimental log P values were found and expressed as quantitative structure retention relationship (QSRR) equations. Principal component analysis was carried out to explain the variation between chromatographic and both experimental and computed lipophilicity parameters. In another aspect of this study, a comparison between the chromatographically-determined retention parameters (for five of the drugs under study) obtained using SOTLC (current study) and relative lipophilicity (R_M0) determined using a previously reported RP (reversed-phase)-TLC method was carried out. Statistically significant correlation between the two methods was found, although R_M0 values obtained using SOTLC was lower than those reported using RP-TLC. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to predict MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) and blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration of the examined drugs in which efficient QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) and QSPR (quantitative structure-property relationship) models were generated using the calculated chromatographic parameters (R_M0 and C₀). The described models can provide a useful approach to predict MIC and BBB penetration of newly synthesized FQs targeting to increase their activity against Gram-positive organisms and to minimize the associated CNS side effects.

Combined computational-experimental approach to predict blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeation based on "green" salting-out thin layer chromatography supported by simple molecular descriptors

The objective of this paper is to build QSRR/QSAR model for predicting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. The obtained models are based on salting-out thin layer chromatography (SOTLC) constants and calculated molecular descriptors. Among chromatographic methods SOTLC was chosen, since the mobile phases are free of organic solvent. As consequences, there are less toxic, and have lower environmental impact compared to classical reserved phases liquid chromatography (RPLC). During the study three stationary phase silica gel, cellulose plates and neutral aluminum oxide were examined. The model set of solutes presents a wide range of log BB values, containing compounds which cross the BBB readily and molecules poorly distributed to the brain including drugs acting on the nervous system as well as peripheral acting drugs. Additionally, the comparison of three regression models: multiple linear regression (MLR), partial least-squares (PLS) and orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS) were performed. The designed QSRR/QSAR models could be useful to predict BBB of systematically synthesized newly compounds in the drug development pipeline and are attractive alternatives of time-consuming and demanding directed methods for log BB measurement. The study also shown that among several regression techniques, significant differences can be obtained in models performance, measured by R² and Q², hence it is strongly suggested to evaluate all available options as MLR, PLS and OPLS.

Chromatography methods in investigation of lipophilicity of the biological active substances

This paper presents the review of the methods used in research of the biological active substances hydrophobicity, a very important property. The biological activity of some substances depends on their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. These processes depend on the molecule's capability to interact with two different media: aqueous (cells interior) and non-aqueous (cells membrane), or on the molecule lipophilicity. Today, great attention is given to investigation and systematic determination of drugs lipophilicity. In these researches chromatography methods have an important role.