A review of green solvent extraction techniques and their use in antibiotic residue analysis

Antibiotic residues are being continuously recognized in the aquatic environment and in food. Though the concentration of antibiotic residues is typically low, adverse effects on the environment and human health have been observed. Hence, an efficient method to determine numerous antibiotic residues should be simple, inexpensive, selective, with high throughput and with low detection limits. Liquid-based extractions have been exceedingly used for clean-up and preconcentration of antibiotics prior to chromatographic analysis. In order to make methods more green and environmentally sustainable, conventional hazardous organic solvents can be replaced with green solvents. This review presents sampling strategies as well as comprehensive and up-to-date methods for chemical analysis of antibiotic residues in different sample matrices. Particularly, solvent-based sample preparation techniques using green solvents are discussed along with applications in antibiotic residue analysis.

Homogeneous ice nucleation rates and crystallization kinetics in transiently-heated, supercooled water films from 188 K to 230 K

The crystallization kinetics of transiently heated, nanoscale water films were investigated for 188 K < T_pulse < 230 K, where T_pulse is the maximum temperature obtained during a heat pulse. The water films, which had thicknesses ranging from approximately 15-30 nm, were adsorbed on a Pt(111) single crystal and heated with ∼10 ns laser pulses, which produced heating and cooling rates of ∼10⁹-10¹⁰ K/s in the adsorbed water films. Because the ice growth rates have been measured independently, the ice nucleation rates could be determined by modeling the observed crystallization kinetics. The experiments show that the nucleation rate goes through a maximum at T = 216 K ± 4 K, and the rate at the maximum is 10^29±1 m^-3 s^-1. The maximum nucleation rate reported here for flat, thin water films is consistent with recent measurements of the nucleation rate in nanometer-sized water drops at comparable temperatures. However, the nucleation rate drops rapidly at lower temperatures, which is different from the nearly temperature-independent rates observed for the nanometer-sized drops. At T ∼ 189 K, the nucleation rate for the current experiments is a factor of ∼10^4-5 smaller than the rate at the maximum. The nucleation rate also decreases for T_pulse > 220 K, but the transiently heated water films are not very sensitive to the smaller nucleation rates at higher temperatures. The crystallization kinetics are consistent with a "classical" nucleation and growth mechanism indicating that there is an energetic barrier for deeply supercooled water to convert to ice.

Multifunctional Photo- and Magnetoresponsive Graphene Oxide-Fe3O4 Nanocomposite-Alginate Hydrogel Platform for Ice Recrystallization Inhibition

Tuning ice recrystallization (IR) has attracted tremendous interest in fundamental research and a variety of practical applications, including food and pharmaceutical engineering, fabrication of anti-icing coating and porous materials, and cryopreservation of biological cells and tissues. Although great efforts have been devoted to modulation of IR for better microstructure control of various materials, it still remains a challenge, especially in cryopreservation, where insufficient suppression of IR during warming is fatal to the cells. Herein, we report an all-in-one platform, combining the external physical fields and the functional materials for both active and passive suppression of IR, where the photo- and magnetothermal dual-modal heating of GO-Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites (NCs) can be used to suppress IR with both enhanced global warming and microscale thermal disturbance. Moreover, the materials alginate hydrogels and GO-Fe₃O₄ NCs can act as IR inhibitors for further suppression of the IR effect. As a typical application, we show that this GO-Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite-alginate hydrogel platform can successfully enable low-cryoprotectant, high-quality vitrification of stem cell-laden hydrogels. We believe that the versatile ice recrystallization inhibition platform will have a profound influence on cryopreservation and tremendously facilitate stem cell-based medicine to meet its ever-increasing demand in clinical settings.

Addressing Unmet Clinical Needs with 3D Printing Technologies

Recent advances in 3D printing have enabled the creation of novel 3D constructs and devices with an unprecedented level of complexity, properties, and functionalities. In contrast to manufacturing techniques developed for mass production, 3D printing encompasses a broad class of fabrication technologies that can enable 1) the creation of highly customized and optimized 3D physical architectures from digital designs; 2) the synergistic integration of properties and functionalities of distinct classes of materials to create novel hybrid devices; and 3) a biocompatible fabrication approach that facilitates the creation and cointegration of biological constructs and systems. This progress report describes how these capabilities can potentially address a myriad of unmet clinical needs. First, the creation of 3D-printed prosthetics to regain lost functionalities by providing structural support for skeletal and tubular organs is highlighted. Second, novel drug delivery strategies aided by 3D-printed devices are described. Third, the advancement of medical research heralded by 3D-printed tissue/organ-on-chips systems is discussed. Fourth, the developments of 3D-printed tissue and organ regeneration are explored. Finally, the potential for seamless integration of engineered organs with active devices by leveraging the versatility of multimaterial 3D printing is envisioned.

Supercritical antisolvent co-precipitation of rifampicin and ethyl cellulose

Rifampicin-loaded submicron-sized particles were prepared through supercritical anti-solvent process using ethyl cellulose as polymeric encapsulating excipient. Ethyl acetate and a mixture of ethyl acetate/dimethyl sulfoxide (70/30 and 85/15) were used as solvents for both drug and polymeric excipient. When ethyl acetate was used, rifampicin was crystallized separately without being embedded within the ethyl cellulose matrix while by using the ethyl acetate/dimethyl sulfoxide mixture, reduced crystallinity of the active ingredient was observed and a simultaneous precipitation of ethyl cellulose and drug was achieved. The effect of solvent/CO₂ molar ratio and polymer/drug mass ratio on the co-precipitates morphology and drug loading was investigated. Using the solvent mixture, co-precipitates with particle sizes ranging between 190 and 230nm were obtained with drug loading and drug precipitation yield from respectively 8.5 to 38.5 and 42.4 to 77.2% when decreasing the ethyl cellulose/rifampicin ratio. Results show that the solvent nature and the initial drug concentrations affect morphology and drug precipitation yield of the formulations. In vitro dissolution studies revealed that the release profile of rifampicin was sustained when co-precipitation was carried out with the solvent mixture. It was demonstrated that the drug to polymer ratio influenced amorphous content of the SAS co-precipitates. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms and infrared spectra revealed that there is neither interaction between rifampicin and the polymer nor degradation of rifampicin during co-precipitation. In addition, stability stress tests on SAS co-precipitates were carried out at 75% relative humidity and room temperature in order to evaluate their physical stability. SAS co-precipitates were X-ray amorphous and remained stable after 6months of storage. The SAS co-precipitation process using a mixture of ethyl acetate/dimethyl sulfoxide demonstrates that this strategy can be successful for controlling rifampicin delivery.

Investigating Structure and Dynamics of Proteins in Amorphous Phases Using Neutron Scattering

In order to increase shelf life and minimize aggregation during storage, many biotherapeutic drugs are formulated and stored as either frozen solutions or lyophilized powders. However, characterizing amorphous solids can be challenging with the commonly available set of biophysical measurements used for proteins in liquid solutions. Therefore, some questions remain regarding the structure of the active pharmaceutical ingredient during freezing and drying of the drug product and the molecular role of excipients. Neutron scattering is a powerful technique to study structure and dynamics of a variety of systems in both solid and liquid phases. Moreover, neutron scattering experiments can generally be correlated with theory and molecular simulations to analyze experimental data. In this article, we focus on the use of neutron techniques to address problems of biotechnological interest. We describe the use of small-angle neutron scattering to study the solution structure of biological molecules and the packing arrangement in amorphous phases, that is, frozen glasses and freeze-dried protein powders. In addition, we discuss the use of neutron spectroscopy to measure the dynamics of glassy systems at different time and length scales. Overall, we expect that the present article will guide and prompt the use of neutron scattering to provide unique insights on many of the outstanding questions in biotechnology.

Computational investigation of cold denaturation in the Trp-cage miniprotein

The functional native states of globular proteins become unstable at low temperatures, resulting in cold unfolding and impairment of normal biological function. Fundamental understanding of this phenomenon is essential to rationalizing the evolution of freeze-tolerant organisms and developing improved strategies for long-term preservation of biological materials. We present fully atomistic simulations of cold denaturation of an α-helical protein, the widely studied Trp-cage miniprotein. In contrast to the significant destabilization of the folded structure at high temperatures, Trp-cage cold denatures at 210 K into a compact, partially folded state; major elements of the secondary structure, including the α-helix, are conserved, but the salt bridge between aspartic acid and arginine is lost. The stability of Trp-cage's α-helix at low temperatures suggests a possible evolutionary explanation for the prevalence of such structures in antifreeze peptides produced by cold-weather species, such as Arctic char. Although the 310-helix is observed at cold conditions, its position is shifted toward Trp-cage's C-terminus. This shift is accompanied by intrusion of water into Trp-cage's interior and the hydration of buried hydrophobic residues. However, our calculations also show that the dominant contribution to the favorable energetics of low-temperature unfolding of Trp-cage comes from the hydration of hydrophilic residues.

Structural and thermodynamic aspects of plasticization and antiplasticization in glassy encapsulation and biostabilization matrices

The structural and thermodynamic properties of glassy carbohydrate matrices for the encapsulation and biostabilization of sensitive bioactive compounds, such as pharmaceutically active proteins and oxidation-sensitive compounds, are reviewed in the context of the plasticization and antiplasticization of glassy carbohydrates of intermediate and high molecular weight by low molecular weight diluents. Plasticization and antiplasticization may be monitored either by dynamic measures or by structural and thermodynamic features of the glassy matrices. Specifically, it is demonstrated that the decrease in size of the molecular free volume holes with increasing diluent content, as determined by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), is related to the antiplasticization of glassy carbohydrate matrices, resulting in increased barrier properties of the glassy matrix. As far as could be ascertained from the available data, the regimes as identified by PALS map on those detected by neutron scattering and dielectric spectroscopy for glassy matrices consisting of trehalose and the diluent glycerol. The review is concluded by a survey of the published results on the stability of bioactive compounds encapsulated in carbohydrate glasses and an overview of outstanding questions.

Critical Radius of Supercooled Water Droplets: On the Transition toward Dendritic Freezing

The freezing of freely suspended supercooled water droplets with a diameter of bigger than a few micrometers splits into two rather different freezing stages. Within the first very fast dendritic freezing stage a spongy network ice with an ice portion of less than one-third forms and more than two-thirds of liquid water remain. In the present work the distribution of the ice portion in the droplet directly after the dendritic freezing phase as well as the evolution of the ice and temperature distribution has been investigated in dependence of the most relevant parameters as droplet diameter, dendritic freezing velocity (which correlates with the supercooling) and heat transfer coefficient to the surroundings (which correlates with the relative droplet velocity compared to the ambient air and with the droplet size). For this purpose on the experimental side acoustically levitated droplets in climate chambers have been investigated in combination with high-speed cameras. The obtained results have been used for finite element method (FEM) simulations of the dendritic freezing phase under consideration of the beginning second, much slower heat-transfer dominated freezing phase. A theoretical model covering 30 layers and 5 shells of the droplet has been developed which allows one to describe the evolution of both freezing phases at the same time. The simulated results are in good agreement with experimental as well as with calculated results exploiting the heat balance equation. The most striking result of this work is the critical radius of the droplet which describes the transition of one-stage freezing of the supercooled water droplet toward the thermodynamically forced dendritical two-stage freezing in which the droplet cannot sufficiently get rid of the formation heat anymore. Depending on the parameters named above this critical radius was found to be in the range of 0.1 to 1 μm by FEM simulation.

Water clusters in amorphous pharmaceuticals

Amorphous materials, although lacking the long-range translational and rotational order of crystalline and liquid crystalline materials, possess certain local (short-range) structure. This paper reviews the distribution of one particular component present in all amorphous pharmaceuticals, that is, water. Based on the current understanding of the structure of water, water molecules can exist in either unclustered form or as aggregates (clusters) of different sizes and geometries. Water clusters are reported in a range of amorphous systems including carbohydrates and their aqueous solutions, synthetic polymers, and proteins. Evidence of water clustering is obtained by various methods that include neutron and X-ray scattering, molecular dynamics simulation, water sorption isotherm, concentration dependence of the calorimetric Tg , dielectric relaxation, and nuclear magnetic resonance. A review of the published data suggests that clustering depends on water concentration, with unclustered water molecules existing at low water contents, whereas clusters form at intermediate water contents. The transition from water clusters to unclustered water molecules can be expected to change water dependence of pharmaceutical properties, such as rates of degradation. We conclude that a mechanistic understanding of the impact of water on the stability of amorphous pharmaceuticals would require systematic studies of water distribution and clustering, while such investigations are lacking.

Formation of highly porous aerosol particles by atmospheric freeze-drying in ice clouds

The cycling of atmospheric aerosols through clouds can change their chemical and physical properties and thus modify how aerosols affect cloud microphysics and, subsequently, precipitation and climate. Current knowledge about aerosol processing by clouds is rather limited to chemical reactions within water droplets in warm low-altitude clouds. However, in cold high-altitude cirrus clouds and anvils of high convective clouds in the tropics and midlatitudes, humidified aerosols freeze to form ice, which upon exposure to subsaturation conditions with respect to ice can sublimate, leaving behind residual modified aerosols. This freeze-drying process can occur in various types of clouds. Here we simulate an atmospheric freeze-drying cycle of aerosols in laboratory experiments using proxies for atmospheric aerosols. We find that aerosols that contain organic material that undergo such a process can form highly porous aerosol particles with a larger diameter and a lower density than the initial homogeneous aerosol. We attribute this morphology change to phase separation upon freezing followed by a glass transition of the organic material that can preserve a porous structure after ice sublimation. A porous structure may explain the previously observed enhancement in ice nucleation efficiency of glassy organic particles. We find that highly porous aerosol particles scatter solar light less efficiently than nonporous aerosol particles. Using a combination of satellite and radiosonde data, we show that highly porous aerosol formation can readily occur in highly convective clouds, which are widespread in the tropics and midlatitudes. These observations may have implications for subsequent cloud formation cycles and aerosol albedo near cloud edges.

Computer Simulation of Water Sorption on Flexible Protein Crystals

The first simulation study of water sorption on a flexible protein crystal is presented, along with a new computational approach for calculating sorption isotherms on compliant materials. The flexible ubiquitin crystal examined in the study exhibits appreciable sorption-induced swelling during fluid uptake, similar to that reported in experiments on protein powders. A completely rigid ubiquitin crystal is also examined to investigate the impact that this swelling behavior has on water sorption. The water isotherms for the flexible crystal exhibit Type II-like behavior with sorption hysteresis, which is consistent with experimental measurements on protein powders. Both of these behaviors, however, are absent in the rigid crystal, indicating that modeling flexibility is crucial for predicting water sorption behavior in protein systems. Changes in the enthalpy of adsorption, specific volume, and internal protein fluctuations that occur during sorption in the flexible crystal are also shown to compare favorably with experiment.

Antibody nanoparticle dispersions formed with mixtures of crowding molecules retain activity and in vivo bioavailability

Monoclonal antibodies continue to command a large market for treatment of a variety of diseases. In many cases, the doses required for therapeutic efficacy are large, limiting options for antibody delivery and administration. We report a novel formulation strategy based on dispersions of antibody nanoclusters that allows for subcutaneous injection of highly concentrated antibody (≈ 190 mg/mL). A solution of monoclonal antibody 1B7 was rapidly frozen and lyophilized using a novel spiral-wound in-situ freezing technology to generate amorphous particles. Upon gentle stirring, a translucent dispersion of approximately 430 nm protein clusters with low apparent viscosity (≈ 24 cp) formed rapidly in buffer containing the pharmaceutically acceptable crowding agents such as trehalose, polyethylene glycol, and n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. Upon in vitro dilution of the dispersion, the nanoclusters rapidly reverted to monomeric protein with full activity, as monitored by dynamic light scattering and antigen binding. When administered to mice as an intravenous solution, subcutaneous solution, or subcutaneous dispersion at similar (4.6-7.3 mg/kg) or ultra-high dosages (51.6 mg/kg), the distribution and elimination kinetics were within error and the protein retained full activity. Overall, this method of generating high-concentration, low-viscosity dispersions of antibody nanoclusters could lead to improved administration and patient compliance, providing new opportunities for the biotechnology industry.

Solid-state vitrification of crystalline griseofulvin by mechanical milling

The thermodynamic, dynamic, and structural changes of crystalline griseofulvin upon high-energy ball milling at room temperature have been studied. The investigations have been performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. The results indicate that this compound undergoes a direct crystal-to-glass transformation upon milling, whereas no glass transition can be clearly detected upon heating because of the exceptional sub-glass transition temperature (T(g) ) recrystallization of the milled sample. This intrinsic difficulty for characterizing the glassy state has been overcome using three independent strategies: (i) comparison of the evolutions upon milling of both the crystalline powder and the quenched liquid, (ii) use of fast DSC to delay the recrystallization event, and (iii) search for dielectric β relaxations typical of glasses in the milled compound.

Design of submicron and nanoparticle delivery systems using supercritical carbon dioxide-mediated processes: an overview

Supercritical carbon dioxide technology is an environmentally benign technique that allows precise control of particle morphology, while minimizing organic solvent use for a wide variety of biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Supercritical carbon dioxide processes have benefits over the conventional particle formation methods in terms of improved control, flexibility and operational ease. This article gives an insight into a variety of supercritical fluid techniques relevant to drug formulation, recent advances and novel applications in the field of controlled delivery. These new methods have been designed to alleviate the scaling-up of the traditional methods for nanoparticle formulation either in the form of polymeric scaffolds, impregnation or nanoencapsules using a simple one-step process to produce micron-size particles.

Collapse temperature of solutions important for lyopreservation of living cells at ambient temperature

In this study, the collapse temperature was determined using the freeze-drying microscopy (FDM) method for a variety of cell culture medium-based solutions (with 0.05-0.8 M trehalose) that are important for long-term stabilization of living cells in the dry state at ambient temperature (lyopreservation) by freeze-drying. Being consistent with what has been reported in the literature, the collapse temperature of binary water-trehalose solutions was found to be similar to the glass transition temperature (T'(g) approximately -30 degrees C) of the maximally freeze-concentrated trehalose solution (approximately 80 wt% trehalose) during the freezing step of freeze-drying, regardless of the initial concentration of trehalose. However, the effect of the initial trehalose concentration on the collapse temperature of the cell culture medium-based trehalose solutions was identified to be much more significant, particularly when the trehalose concentration is less than 0.2 M (the collapse temperature can be as low as -65 degrees C). We also determined that cell density from 1 to 10 million cells/mL and ice seeding at high subzero temperatures (-4 and -7 degrees C) have negligible impact on the solution collapse temperature. However, ice seeding does significantly affect the ice crystal morphology formed during the freezing step and therefore the drying rate. Finally, bulking agents (mannitol) could significantly affect the collapse temperature only when trehalose concentration is low (<0.2 M). However, improving the collapse temperature by using a high concentration of trehalose might be preferred to the addition of bulking agents in the solutions for freeze-drying of living cells. We further confirmed the applicability of the collapse temperature measured with small-scale (2 microL) samples using the FDM system to freeze-drying of large-scale (1 mL) samples using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) data. Taken together, the results reported in this study should provide useful guidance to the development of optimal freeze-drying protocols for lyopreservation of living cells at ambient temperature for easy maintenance and convenient wide distribution to end users, which is important to the eventual success of modern cell-based medicine.

Reversibility and regioselectivity in thiol/disulfide interchange of tocinoic acid with glutathione in lyophilized solids

Thiol/disulfide interchange is one of the most common routes of aggregation of lyophilized protein drug products, but the mechanisms of the reaction in the solid state have not been established. Here, we report perturbations in thiol/disulfide interchange upon lyophilization, using tocionic acid (cycloCYIQNC; TA(ox)) and glutathione (GSH) as model peptides. The results suggest that thiol/disulfide interchange reactions differ in aqueous solution and in dry lyophilized solids with regard to reversibility and regioselectivity. In solids, the reaction of TA(ox) with GSH is effectively irreversible and the less-hindered single mixed disulfide is formed exclusively.

Physical Characterization of Pharmaceutical Formulations in Frozen and Freeze-Dried Solid States: Techniques and Applications in Freeze-Drying Development

Physical characterization of formulations in frozen and freeze-dried solid states provides indispensable information for rational development of freeze-dried pharmaceutical products. This article provides an overview of the physical characteristics of formulations in frozen and freeze-dried solid states, which are essential to both formulation and process development. Along with a brief description of techniques often used in physical characterization for freeze-drying development, applications of and recent improvements to these techniques are discussed. While most of these techniques are used conventionally in physical characterization of pharmaceuticals, some techniques were designed or modified specifically for studies in freeze-drying. These include freeze-drying microscopy, freeze-drying X-ray powder diffractometry and cryoenvironmental scanning microscopy, which can be used to characterize the physical properties of the formulation under conditions similar to the real vial lyophilization process. Novel applications of some conventional techniques, such as microcalorimetry and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, which facilitated freeze-drying development, receive special attention. Research and developmental needs in the area of physical characterization for freeze-drying are also addressed, particularly the need for a better understanding of the quantitative correlation between the molecular mobility and the storage stability (shelf life).

Role of Thermodynamic, Molecular, and Kinetic Factors in Crystallization from the Amorphous State

Though there is an advantage in using the higher solubility amorphous state in cases where low solubility limits absorption, physical instability poses a significant barrier limiting its use in solid oral dosage forms. Unlike chemical instability, where useful accelerated stability testing protocols are common, no methodology has been established to predict physical instability. Therefore, an understanding of the factors affecting crystallization from the amorphous state is not only important from a scientific perspective but also has practical applications. Crystallization from the amorphous matrix has been linked to the molecular mobility in the amorphous matrix and recent research has focused on developing the link between these two fundamental properties of glass forming materials. Although researchers have been actively working in this area for some time, there is no current review describing the present state of understanding of crystallization from the amorphous state. The purpose of this review therefore is to examine the roles of different factors such as molecular mobility, thermodynamic factors, and the implication of different processing condition, in crystallization from the amorphous state. We believe an increased understanding of the relative contributions of molecular mobility and processing conditions are vital to increased usage of the amorphous state in solid oral dosage forms.

Biodegradable particle formation for drug and gene delivery using supercritical fluid and dense gas

Recent developments in biodegradable particle formation using supercritical fluids and dense gases have been reviewed with an emphasis on studies of micronizing and encapsulating poorly-soluble pharmaceuticals and gene. General review articles published in previous years have then been provided. A brief description of the operating principles of some types of particle formation processes is given. These include the rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS), the particles from gas-saturated solution (PGSS) processes, the gas antisolvent process (GAS), and the supercritical antisolvent process (SAS). The papers have been reviewed under two groups, one involving the production of particles from pure biodegradable substances, and the other involving coating, capsule, and impregnation that contain active components, especially those that relate to pharmaceuticals. This review is a comprehensive review specifically focused on the formation of biodegradable particles for drug and gene delivery system using supercritical fluid and dense gas.

Design of potent amorphous drug nanoparticles for rapid generation of highly supersaturated media

Controlled precipitation produced aqueous nanoparticle suspensions of a poorly water soluble drug, itraconazole (ITZ), in an amorphous state, despite unusually high potencies (drug weight/total weight) of up to 94%. Adsorption of the amphiphilic stabilizer hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) at the particle-aqueous solution interface arrested particle growth, producing surface areas from 13 to 51 m(2)/g. Dissolution of the particles in acidic media yielded high plateau levels in supersaturation up to 90 times the equilibrium solubility. The degree of supersaturation increased with particle curvature, as characterized by the surface area and described qualitatively by the Kelvin equation. A thermodynamic analysis indicated HPMC maintained amorphous ITZ in the solid phase with a fugacity 90 times the crystalline value, while it did not influence the fugacity of ITZ in the aqueous phase. High surface areas led to more rapid and levels of supersaturation higher than those seen for low-surface area solid dispersions, which undergo crystallization during slow dissolution. The rapid generation of high levels of supersaturation with potent amorphous nanoparticles, containing small amounts of stabilizers oriented at the particle surface, offers new opportunities for improving bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs.