Diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin for colonic drug targeting: In vivo performance in rats.

The aim of this in vivo study was to assess the ability of the prodrug conjugate diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin to release diclofenac in the colon following oral administration, using sulfapyridine (a metabolite of sulfasalazine) as a marker of colonic absorption. Two groups of rats were used; the test rats received a suspension containing the two prodrugs, diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin and sulfasalazine, while the control rats received a suspension containing the corresponding free drugs, sodium diclofenac and sulfapyridine. The rats were fasted overnight with free access to water before and throughout the first 12h of the study.

Influence of feeding regimens on rat gut fluids and colonic metabolism of diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin.

Feeding states may affect the performance of colonic prodrugs. The aim is to investigate the influence of feeding regimen in Wistar rats on: (i) distribution and pH contents along the gut and (ii) metabolism of two colonic prodrugs, diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin and a commercially available control, sulfasalazine, within the caecal and colonic contents. Male Wistar rats were subject to four different feeding regimens, the gut contents characterized (mass and pH) and the metabolism of prodrugs investigated.

Singlet oxygen in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy: photosensitizer-dependent production and decay in E. coli.

Several families of photosensitizers are currently being scrutinized for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy applications. Differences in physical and photochemical properties can lead to different localization patterns as well as differences in singlet oxygen production and decay when the photosensitizers are taken up by bacterial cells. We have examined the production and fate of singlet oxygen in Escherichia coli upon photosensitization with three structurally-different cationic photosensitizers, namely New Methylene Blue N (NMB), a member of the phenothiazine family, ACS268, a hydrophobic porphyrin with a single cationic alkyl chain, and zinc(II)-tetramethyltetrapyridinoporphyrazinium salt, a phthalocyanine-like photosensitizer with four positive charges on the macrocycle core.

In vitro photodynamic activity of 5,15-bis(3-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin and its halogenated derivatives against cancer cells.

5,15-Diarylporphyrins (1-5) with hydroxyl groups and halogens as substituents were prepared by condensation between unsubstituted dipyrromethane and halogenated m-hydroxybenzaldehydes. Photophysical properties show that the nonhalogenated porphyrin 1 has higher fluorescence yield but lower singlet oxygen formation quantum yield than the halogenated derivatives due to the heavy atom effect. The in vitro activity of these derivatives was tested against WiDr colorectal adenocarcinoma and A375 melanoma cancer cells.

N-Vinyl- and C-vinylpyrroles from azafulvenium methides. flash vacuum pyrolysis route to 5-Oxo-5H-pyrrolizines and 1-azabenzo[f]azulenes.

1-Azafulvenium methides, generated from pyrrolo[1,2-c]thiazole-2,2-dioxides' thermal extrusion of sulfur dioxide, led to the synthesis of functionalized pyrroles. The intramolecular trapping of these transient 8pi 1,7-dipoles in pericyclic reactions, namely sigmatropic [1,8]H shifts and 1,7-electrocyclization, allowed the synthesis of N-vinylpyrroles and C-vinylpyrroles which, under flash vacuum pyrolysis conditions, are converted into 5-oxo-5H-pyrrolizines or 4-oxo-1,4-dihydro-1-aza-benzo[f]azulenes, respectively. These heterocycles can also be obtained directly from FVP of pyrrolo[1,2-c]thiazole 2,2-dioxides.

Areas of capsaicin-induced secondary hyperalgesia and allodynia are reduced by a single chiropractic adjustment: a preliminary study.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the hypoalgesic effects of a single spinal manipulation treatment on acute inflammatory reactions and pain induced by cutaneous application of capsaicin.

Methods: Twenty healthy subjects participated in the experiment, which consisted of 2 sessions. In both sessions, following control measurements, topical capsaicin was applied to the right or left forearm to induce cutaneous inflammatory reactions.

Investigations into the mechanism of action of nitrobenzene as a mild dehydrogenating agent under acid-catalysed conditions.

Protonated nitrobenzene can be used to dehydrogenate a range of hydrocarbons, which already possess at least one double bond. Kinetic and spectroscopic results, together with known electrode potentials, yield approximate limits within which protonated nitrobenzenes can be expected to effect dehydrogenation of hydroaromatic compounds. A high yielding synthesis of benzo[j]fluoranthene is described.

Reactivity of 2-halo-2H-azirines. 1. Reactions with nucleophiles.

Nucleophilic substitution reactions of 2-halo-2H-azirines 1a, 1b, 1d, and 1e with potassium phthalimide and aniline allowed the preparation of new substituted 2H-azirines 2-5. The reactions of 2-bromo-2H-azirine 1a with methylamine led to the synthesis of alpha-diimines 7 and 8. 2-Halo-2H-azirines were also established as building blocks for the synthesis of a range of heterocyclic compounds, namely, quinoxalines 10a-10d, 3-oxazoline 14, and 2H-[1,4]oxazines 18 and 20.