Reduction of non-specific adsorption of drugs to plastic containers used in bioassays or analyses.

Introduction: Non-specific adsorption (NSA) of drugs to plastic or glass containers used in clinical use is well known, but methods for reducing NSA have been rarely reported. We assessed the NSA to various containers and then investigated methods to reduce NSA.

Methods: Probe drugs (methotrexate, warfarin, chloroquine, propranolol, verapamil, digoxin and paclitaxel) dissolved in water were incubated in conventional or low-adsorption containers for 4h at 4 degrees C and the NSA was determined by HPLC.

A modified fast (4 day) 96-well plate Caco-2 permeability assay.

Introduction: The Caco-2 permeability assay is widely used for lead optimization in drug discovery. A 3 to 5-day system using a 24-well plate and a 10 to 21-day system using a 96-well plate have been established. Here, we modified the assay system to provide a ready-to-use Caco-2 cell monolayer using a 96-well plate in just 4 days.

Evaluation of drug-drug interaction potential of beraprost sodium mediated by P450 in vitro.

Beraprost sodium (BPS), a chemically stable and orally active prostacyclin analogue used for the treatment of chronic occlusive disease and primary pulmonary hypertension, was investigated in terms of its drug-drug interaction mediated by cytochrome P450. In a metabolic enzyme characterization study using P450-expressing insect cell microsomes, beraprost (BP) was slightly metabolized in the presence of CYP2C8, but not metabolized by the other P450 isoforms (CYP1A2, [corrected] CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP3A4, and CYP4A11) at a concentration of 20 microM. These results suggest that none of the P450 isoforms is a major metabolic enzyme of BP.

(3R)-3-amino-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)-N-{4-[6-(2-methoxyethoxy)benzothiazol-2-yl]tetrahydropyran-4-yl}butanamide as a potent dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Novel series of 3-amino-N-(4-aryl-1,1-dioxothian-4-yl)butanamides and 3-amino-N-(4-aryltetrahydropyran-4-yl)butanamides were synthesized and evaluated as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors. Derivatives incorporating the 6-substituted benzothiazole group showed highly potent DPP-IV inhibitory activity. Oral administration of (3R)-3-amino-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)-N-{4-[6-(2-methoxyethoxy)benzothiazol-2-yl]tetrahydropyran-4-yl}butanamide (12u) reduced blood glucose excursion in an oral glucose tolerance test.

Discovery of quinazolines as a novel structural class of potent inhibitors of NF-kappa B activation.

We disclose here a new structural class of low-molecular-weight inhibitors of NF-kappa B activation that were designed and synthesized by starting from quinazoline derivative 6a. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies based on 6a elucidated the structural requirements essential for the inhibitory activity toward NF-kappa B transcriptional activation, and led to the identification of the 6-amino-4-phenethylaminoquinazoline skeleton as the basic framework. In this series of compounds, 11q, containing the 4-phenoxyphenethyl moiety at the C(4)-position, showed strong inhibitory effects on both NF-kappa B transcriptional activation and TNF-alpha production.