Colorimetric and fluorometric determination of uric acid by a suspension-based assay using enzyme-immobilized micro-sized particles

Daily monitoring of serum uric acid levels is very important to provide appropriate treatment according to the constitution and lifestyle of individual hyperuricemic patients. We have developed a suspension-based assay to measure uric acid by adding a sample solution to the suspension containing micro-sized particles immobilized on uricase and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). In the proposed method, the mediator reaction of uricase, HRP, and uric acid produces resorufin from Amplex red. This resorufin is adsorbed onto enzyme-immobilized micro-sized particles simultaneously with its production, resulting in the red color of the micro-sized particles. The concentration of resorufin on the small surface area of the microscopic particles achieves a colorimetric analysis of uric acid with superior visibility. In addition, ethanol-induced desorption of resorufin allowed quantitative measurement of uric acid using a 96-well fluorescent microplate reader. The limit of detection (3σ) and RSD (n = 3) were estimated to be 2.2 × 10-2 μg/mL and ≤ 12.1%, respectively. This approach could also be applied to a portable fluorometer.

Elution behavior of drugs in high-speed counter-current chromatography using on-column complexation with metal ions

In this study, determination of (nitrogen containing) drugs by on-column complexation with metal ions in high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was investigated. Bromazepam (BMP) was strongly retained in the organic upper stationary phase (UP) of the two-phase solvent system composed of tert-butyl methyl ether-acetonitrile-water (2:2:3, v/v/v) by eluting the aqueous lower mobile phase (LP) at a flow rate of 2 mL min-1. On the other hand, BMP (200 µg mL-1) was eluted faster without retention to the organic UP with the two-phase system containing 100 μg mL-1 of copper ions (CuCl2) because a very polar BMP-Cu2+ complex was immediately formed in the aqueous LP. The dramatic change in the retention behavior of BMP resulted from on-column complexation. The on-column complexation in HSCCC was further investigated for five (nitrogen containing) drugs and seven metal ions. In the result, tizanidine and phentolamine formed complexes with Al3+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+, ambroxol formed complexes with Al3+, Fe2+, and Cu2+, but voriconazole formed no complexes with all metal ions tested.

Evaluation of the clinical and quantitative performance of a practical HPLC-UV platform for in-hospital routine therapeutic drug monitoring of multiple drugs

BACKGROUND

In-hospital therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) requires a suitable quantification method for target drugs from the viewpoint of precision, throughput, and testing costs. We previously developed a practical HPLC-UV platform for quantification of serum levels of various drugs. In this report, the platform was effectively applied to the quantification of patient serum levels of five different drugs by clinical professionals in our hospital during their daily work.

METHODS

The residual sera of patients receiving carbamazepine (CBZ), phenytoin (PHT), lamotrigine (LTG), vancomycin (VCM), or voriconazole (VRCZ) were used in the present clinical study. The quantification method for each drug consisted of rapid solid-phase extraction (SPE) of each drug in the patient serum, followed by optimized HPLC-UV analysis of the drug in the SPE eluate. Furthermore, patient serum levels of PHT, CBZ, and VCM were also measured by ligand-binding assay using a cobas® analyzer in our hospital, and those of LTG and VRCZ were measured by HPLC-MS/MS at an outsourced provider. Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman analysis were employed to analyze the agreement of drug levels in patient sera, which was separately quantified using two different methods-our HPLC-UV platform and the cobas analyzer, or HPLC-UV and HPLC-MS/MS.

RESULTS

All analytical conditions of the present method using our HPLC-UV platform were well optimized for each target drug quantification in the patient's serum, and the quantification method for each drug was fully validated for accuracy, precision and reproducibility. Furthermore, Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman analysis revealed that patient serum levels of PHT, CBZ, and VCM quantified by our HPLC-UV platform were closely correlated with those quantified by the cobas® analyzer, and the levels of LTG and VRCZ quantified by our HPLC-UV platform were also correlated with those quantified by HPLC-MS/MS.

CONCLUSIONS

Our HPLC-UV platform can be performed without requiring special analytical techniques. This platform is expected to be used for the measurement of blood levels of multiple drugs for in-hospital routine TDM.

Elevated blood favipiravir levels are inversely associated with ferritin levels and induce the elevation of uric acid levels in COVID-19 treatment: A retrospective single-center study

Introduction

Measurement of blood Favipiravir (FPV) levels and accumulation of data in COVID-19 patients are critical for assessing FPV efficacy and safety. We performed a retrospective study based on measurements of blood levels of FPV and related factors in COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital. Furthermore, we also investigated the association between blood FPV levels and uric acid level alterations before and after FPV administration.

Methods

We enrolled 27 COVID-19 patients who had received FPV treatment at Hokushin General Hospital from April 1 to December 31, 2020. Age, gender, COVID-19 severity, presence of comorbidities, and laboratory data for each subject were investigated to identify factors that correlate with blood FPV levels. Uric acid levels were measured before and after FPV administration and a difference between the levels (i.e., a change of uric acid level) was evaluated.

Results

When a significant univariate variable was input by the stepwise method and a combination of variables that maintained statistical superiority was searched, serum ferritin was the only factor that independently affected blood FPV level. Furthermore, in the high-FPV group (20 μg/mL or more), a significant increase in uric acid levels was observed after FPV administration. The increment value was significantly larger than that in the low-FPV group (less than 20 μg/mL).

Conclusions

Ferritin level was an important independent factor inversely affecting blood FPV level. Furthermore, a high blood FPV level induced the elevation of uric acid levels in COVID-19 treatment.

Optimization of Analytical Procedure for In-hospital Rapid Quantification of Serum Level of Favipiravir in the Pharmacological Treatment of COVID-19

An in-hospital rapid method for quantifying the serum level of favipiravir (FPV) in the pharmacological treatment of COVID-19 was developed by an appropriate combination of a solid-phase extraction treatment and a reversed-phase HPLC/UV detection system. The quantification method was well-validated and applied to measuring the serum FPV level in a clinical practice at a general hospital that accepts COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, an analysis of data from our preliminary interaction analysis revealed, for the first time, that FPV selectively forms complexes with ferric (Fe³⁺) and cupric (Cu²⁺) ions.

A Fluorinated Carbanionic Substituent for Improving Water Solubility and Lipophilicity of Fluorescent Dyes

Installation of a carbanionic substituent, that is strongly stabilized by two (trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl (Tf=SO₂ CF₃ ) groups, into several fluorescence dyes including boron-dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs), fluoresceins, and aminocoumarins has been achieved by the 2,2-bis(triflyl)ethylation reaction of the dye frameworks with highly electrophilic Tf₂ C=CH₂ , followed by neutralization with NaHCO₃ . Despite the contradiction between water solubility and lipophilicity, the carbanion-decorated dyes thus obtained showed significant enhancement of not only water solubility but also lipophilicity. This work clearly demonstrates that the fluorinated, highly stabilized carbanionic substituent is a new option for controlling the macroscopic property of chemical materials.

Analysis of Complexation Interactions between Metal Ions and Drugs under Pseudo-physiological pH Conditions by a High-throughput Screening Method Using a Solid-phase Extraction Cartridge

A high-throughput screening method for the complexation between metal ions and drugs was established by combining solid-phase extraction (SPE) using a nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) modified silica spin cartridge with subsequent HPLC analysis. First, a test metal ion solution was passed through the NTA cartridge, then a test drug solution diluted in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) was passed through the metal-chelated NTA cartridge. The complexation behavior between the metal and the drug on the NTA cartridge was evaluated by HPLC quantification of the drug in the SPE eluate. Comprehensive analysis of the complexation behavior between 11 different metal ions and 55 drugs showed that Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Fe³⁺ formed complexes with 12, 5, 4, 2, 1 and 1 kinds of drugs, respectively. Bromazepam selectively formed complexes with Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Co²⁺.