Nitroglycerin and nitrate esters

Methyl nitrate energetic compounds based on bicyclic scaffolds of furazan-isofurazan (isoxazole): syntheses, crystal structures and detonation performances

Two energetic bicyclic scaffolds (furazan-isoxazole and furazan-1,3,4-oxadiazole) were constructed via different cyclization reactions. Based on the energetic bicyclic scaffolds, the energetic compounds, 3-(4-nitraminofurazan-3-ly)-isoxazole-5-methylnitrate 1c and 5-(4-nitraminofurazan-3-ly)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-methylnitrate 2c, were designed and synthesized in good yields. Because of the acidity of nitramine, the corresponding energetic ionic salts, ammonium 3-(4-nitraminofurazan-3-ly)isoxazole-5-methylnitrate 1d and ammonium 5-(4-nitraminofurazan-3-ly)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-methylnitrate 2e, were also obtained and well characterized, their structures were further determined by X-ray single crystal diffraction. To have a better understanding of the structure-property relationships of furazan-bicyclic scaffolds and nitrate groups, their thermal behaviors, detonation performances and the sensitivities were investigated via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), ESP analysis, Hirshfeld surfaces calculation, EXPLO5 program and BAM standard techniques. Compared with those of ammonium 5-(4-nitraminofurazan-3-ly)-1,2,4-oxadiazole-2-methylnitrate 3e, the results show that all these methyl nitrate energetic compounds based on bicyclic scaffolds of furazan-isofurazan exhibit good detonation performances and extraordinary insensitivities. As supported by experimental and theoretical data, the formation of energetic ionic salts causes an increase of the weak interactions, significantly improving the thermal performance over 110 °C.

Biomimetic nanoparticle technology for cardiovascular disease detection and treatment

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which encompasses a number of conditions that can affect the heart and blood vessels, presents a major challenge for modern-day healthcare. Nearly one in three people has some form of CVD, with many suffering from multiple or intertwined conditions that can ultimately lead to traumatic events such as a heart attack or stroke. While the knowledge obtained in the past century regarding the cardiovascular system has paved the way for the development of life-prolonging drugs and treatment modalities, CVD remains one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. More recently, researchers have explored the application of nanotechnology to improve upon current clinical paradigms for the management of CVD. Nanoscale delivery systems have many advantages, including the ability to target diseased sites, improve drug bioavailability, and carry various functional payloads. In this review, we cover the different ways in which nanoparticle technology can be applied towards CVD diagnostics and treatments. The development of novel biomimetic platforms with enhanced functionalities is discussed in detail.

Phenomenon of nitrate tolerance

The phenomenon of nitrate tolerance has now been appreciated for almost a century, and our understanding of this process has greatly improved during the past 20 years. Therapeutic nitrates are now recognized as exogenous sources of nitric oxide (or nitrosothiols), which appears to be a primary mediator of natural vasodilatation. Nitrates have been clearly shown to have vasodilatory and antiplatelet effects, both of which diminish during continuous exposure. Nitrate tolerance has been documented with most nitrate preparations when the patient is given continuous nitrate therapy. Tolerance to nitrates may occur in any patient, regardless of underlying illness, medication dose, or serum concentration of NTG. The cause of this phenomenon is multifactorial; there appear to be both cellular and systemic processes involved. To date, no adjuvant pharmacologic intervention has conclusively demonstrated benefit in preventing, abating, or reversing nitrate tolerance. Interruption of nitrate exposure for as little as 8 to 12 hours does appear to be the best means of preventing or reversing tolerance. Nevertheless, some patients with objective tolerance continue to experience relief of symptoms. In addition, despite laboratory-documented cross-tolerance, patients receiving continuous nitrate therapy at usual clinical doses may continue to benefit from the hemodynamic and antianginal effects of SL NTG. Hence, nitrate tolerance is a real entity, but the clinical importance of this phenomenon remains controversial. Finally, further investigation will need to address quality-of-life issues and perhaps assess relief of ischemia by other means.

In vivo induction and reversal of nitroglycerin tolerance in human coronary arteries

The mechanism by which tolerance to the clinical effects of organic nitrates develops has not been elucidated. This study was done to determine whether an intravenous infusion of nitroglycerin induces tolerance in the coronary vascular bed and whether such tolerance is reversed by the sulfhydryl-group donor N-acetylcysteine. We studied 19 subjects--17 with coronary artery disease and 2 without it--who had a mean age (+/- SD) of 54 +/- 9 years. Coronary sinus blood flow, which approximates blood flow to the left ventricle, was measured before and during intracoronary injections of nitroglycerin (10, 25, 50, and 100 micrograms). The patients then received a 24-hour intravenous infusion of saline (n = 7) or of nitroglycerin, 45 +/- 13 micrograms per minute (n = 12), after which the responses of coronary sinus flow to the same doses of intracoronary nitroglycerin used earlier were measured. In the seven patients given saline, the four doses of intracoronary nitroglycerin caused similar percentage increases in coronary sinus flow before and after the saline infusion. In the 12 patients given intravenous nitroglycerin, the four intracoronary doses caused percentage increases in coronary flow before the infusion of 30 +/- 9, 35 +/- 14, 41 +/- 12, and 52 +/- 15, respectively. After the infusion, the same doses of nitroglycerin caused smaller (P less than 0.05) percentage increases (16 +/- 6, 21 +/- 11, 23 +/- 12, and 27 +/- 11, respectively), indicating the development of partial tolerance. Subsequently, 7 of the 12 patients received N-acetylcysteine, after which intracoronary nitroglycerin caused percentage increases in coronary sinus flow similar to the values measured before the intravenous nitroglycerin was given (34 +/- 13, 32 +/- 8, 38 +/- 11, and 44 +/- 16, respectively). We conclude that the coronary vasodilator effect of nitroglycerin is attenuated by an intravenous infusion of nitroglycerin (that is, partial tolerance develops) and that tolerance to the agent can be reversed by administration of the sulfhydryl-group donor N-acetylcysteine. The mechanism by which N-acetylcysteine reverses tolerance will require further investigation.

Pharmacokinetics of pentaerythritol tetranitrate following intra-arterial and oral dosing in the rat

The pharmacokinetics of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol tetranitrate, 1) were studied in rats following a single intra-arterial or oral dose (2 mg/kg) of the 14C-labeled drug. Blood levels of the tetranitrate and its metabolites were determined using a thin-layer radiochromatographic procedure. The apparent systemic clearance of 1 was 0.61 +/- 0.16 L/min/kg (mean +/- SD, n = 6) which exceeded the value of normal cardiac output in rats. The steady-state volume of distribution was 4.2 +/- 1.1 L/kg (n = 6), and the elimination half-life was estimated at 5.8 +/- 0.6 min (n = 6). Blood levels of 1 were only detectable (higher than 4.0 ng/mL) in three of the six rats examined after the oral dose. The trinitrate derivative (2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol trinitrate, 2) the active metabolite of 1, was not detectable following oral dosing with the tetranitrate. The oral bioavailability of 1 was in the range of 0-8%. In spite of the low water solubility of 1 (i.e., 1 microgram/mL), a rather high fraction of the radioactive oral dose [25.7 +/- 10.3% (n = 4) versus 62.4 +/- 14.5% (n = 4) from the intra-arterial dose] was recovered in the urine. A significant portion of the intra-arterial dose (32.7 +/- 11.0%, n = 4) was eliminated in feces, indicating enterohepatic recycling of radioactivity. Analysis of the metabolite pattern in urine indicated extensive metabolism of 1, 2, and the dinitrate derivative 3 (2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol dinitrate). Less than 0.2% of the dose was recovered as unchanged drug and 2 following either route of administration.

Potentiation of nitroglycerin-induced coronary dilatation by N-acetylcysteine

Previous studies have suggested that (1) nitroglycerin causes vasodilatation by interacting with sulfhydryl groups in vascular smooth muscle, thereby activating guanylate cyclase and increasing the intracellular concentration of cyclic GMP, and (2) N-acetylcysteine, a source of sulfhydryl groups, potentiates the peripheral vasodilatory effect of nitroglycerin. This study was performed to explore the influence of N-acetylcysteine on nitroglycerin-induced coronary dilatation. In 18 patients (13 men and five women, 30 to 76 years old), coronary sinus blood flow (by thermodilution) was measured before and during intracoronary administration of nitroglycerin, 25 micrograms, both before and 5 min after a 15 min intravenous infusion of (1) 5% dextrose in water (n = 8, control) or (2) 100 mg/kg N-acetylcysteine (n = 10). Nitroglycerin caused no change in heart rate or systemic arterial pressure. In the control patients, coronary sinus blood flow behaved similarly during the two injections: it was 134 +/- 36 ml/min (mean +/- SD) before and 183 +/- 50 ml/min during injection No. 1 (average increase, 49 +/- 25 ml/min; average percent increase, 38 +/- 21%); and it was 131 +/- 34 ml/min before and 178 +/- 45 ml/min during injection No. 2 (average increase, 47 +/- 23 ml/min; average percent increase, 37 +/- 20%) (NS compared with injection 1). In the patients who received N-acetylcysteine, coronary sinus blood flow was 149 +/- 48 ml/min before and 191 +/- 54 ml/min during injection 1 (average increase, 42 +/- 15 ml/min; average percent increase, 30 +/- 12%) (NS compared with eight control values).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

N-Acetylcysteine potentiates inhibition of platelet aggregation by nitroglycerin

Platelet aggregation is currently felt to play an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic vascular disorders. The smooth muscle relaxant, nitroglycerin, has been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation in vitro, but at concentrations that were felt to be unattainable in vivo. Because the in vivo action of nitroglycerin on smooth muscle cells has been shown to depend on the presence of reduced cytosolic sulfhydryl groups, the inhibitory effect of nitroglycerin on platelet aggregation was examined in the presence of the reduced thiol, N-acetylcysteine. Millimolar concentrations of N-acetylcysteine potentiated markedly the inhibitory effect of nitroglycerin on platelet aggregation induced by ADP, epinephrine, collagen, and arachidonate, decreasing the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) approximately 50-fold for each of these agents. Other guanylate cyclase activators inhibited ADP-induced aggregation similarly and this inhibition was likewise potentiated by N-acetylcysteine. Platelet guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate content increased fivefold in the presence of nitroglycerin and N-acetylcysteine 2 min before maximal inhibition of ADP-induced aggregation was achieved, while simultaneously measured cyclic AMP did not change relative to base-line levels. In the absence of N-acetylcysteine, nitroglycerin induced a marked decrease in platelet-reduced glutathione content as S-nitroso-thiol adducts were produced. The synthetic S-nitroso-thiol, S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine, markedly inhibited platelet aggregation with an IC50 of 6 nM. These data show that N-acetylcysteine markedly potentiates the inhibition of platelet aggregation by nitroglycerin and likely does so by inducing the formation of an S-nitrosothiol adduct(s), which activate guanylate cyclase.

Nitrates and endothelial prostacyclin production: studies in vitro

The hypothesis that nitrates evoke prostacyclin production by vascular endothelium has been reevaluated on cultured umbilical vein endothelial cells and in vascular fragments, both obtained from humans. Endothelial cell monolayers (passages 1 and 2) were washed free of culture medium and exposed for 3 to 5 min to buffer or nitroglycerin (NTG), isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), or isosorbide-5-mononitrate (ISMN) over a range of concentrations (10(-9)M to 10(-6)M) encompassing those usually attained in vivo, with or without 25 microM sodium arachidonate. Basal prostacyclin production, measured by radioimmunoassay of the stable metabolite 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, depended on cell density in the endothelial monolayer (being higher in preconfluent cultures) and on incubation time. Basal prostacyclin, however, was not altered by incubation with NTG (3.3 +/- 2.0 pg/1000 cells without drug vs 3.9 +/- 3.8 pg/1000 cells with drug, mean +/- SD), ISDN (3.1 +/- 1.9 vs 3.1 +/- 2.2), or ISMN (2.0 +/- 0.9 vs 2.3 +/- 1.5) at 10(-7)M (all differences NS). Also, long-term incubation (2, 6, and 24 hr) with ISDN and ISMN did not alter prostacyclin production over control. Over a 30-fold increase (p less than .001) in prostacyclin production was obtained with arachidonate stimulation, but incubation with nitrates did not significantly modify the stimulated production. Saphenous vein, mesenteric artery, and atrial appendage fragments incubated at 37 degrees C for 20 min in a shaking water bath with a control buffer produced 27.8 +/- 13.9, 189.7 +/- 75.2, and 662.3 +/- 390.6 pg 6-keto-PGF1 alpha/mg tissue, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mechanism of nitroglycerin-induced coronary dilatation: lack of relation to intracoronary thromboxane concentrations

Intracoronary nitroglycerin (NTG) increases coronary blood flow and NTG inhibits thromboxane (Tx) A2 production and release. However, whether an alteration in TxA2 is the mechanism by which NTG increases coronary blood flow is not known. Coronary sinus (CS) blood flow (BF) (by thermodilution) and the concentration of TxB2 (the stable metabolite of TxA2) in CS blood were measured in 23 patients (16 men and 7 women, aged 26 to 65 years) with coronary artery disease before, during and after injection of normal saline solution (n = 5, control subjects) or NTG, 100 micrograms (n = 18), into the left coronary artery. In the 5 control subjects, saline solution caused no change in CSBF or the concentration of TxB2 in CS blood. Ten of the 18 patients to whom NTG was given had received no cyclooxygenase inhibitors for 10 days. In these patients, NTG caused a marked increase in CSBF (from 112 +/- 64 to 152 +/- 70 ml/min, p less than 0.01) but no consistent change in the concentration of TxB2 in CS blood (141 +/- 132 to 160 +/- 155 pg/ml, difference not significant [NS]). The remaining 8 patients to whom NTG was given received aspirin before the study. In these patients, NTG caused a marked increase in CSBF (from 111 +/- 39 to 180 +/- 63 ml/min, p less than 0.01), even though the concentration of TxB2 in CS blood (8 +/- 10 to 6 +/- 6 pg/ml, NS) was lower (p less than 0.05) than that in control subjects and patients not receiving aspirin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bronchodilator effect of sublingual isosorbide dinitrate in asthma

The bronchodilating effect of 5 mg sublingual isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) was studied in 10 patients with bronchial asthma, using the double-blind randomised cross-over method with matched placebo. In a further 20 asthmatics the effect of sublingual ISDN was compared with that of metaproterenol given by a metered dose inhaler to a total dose of 2.25 mg, again using the cross-over method. The forced oscillation method was used to measure respiratory resistance (Rrs) and spirometry was used to measure vital capacity (VC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). 5 minutes after administration of ISDN Rrs had decreased (p less than 0.05) and VC (p less than 0.01) and FEV1 (p less than 0.01) were significantly increased. The changes were still present after 15, 30 and 60 min. The placebo had no significant effect. ISDN increased FEV1 less than metaproterenol, and the difference between them was statistically significant (p less than 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between ISDN and metaproterenol in the improvement in Rrs and VC. Of the total of 30 patients, 11 experienced headache and 4 had transient hypotension after ISDN administration. These side effects subsided spontaneously. It was concluded that sublingual ISDN had a bronchodilating effect in stable asthmatics.

Animal pharmacology of nitroglycerin

Nitroglycerin, first introduced over a hundred years ago, is now finding wider clinical applications. To a large degree, the renewed interest in the clinical pharmacologic usage of nitroglycerin is due to the availability of new formulations and drug delivery systems. The current review focuses on the physiological and pharmacological actions of nitroglycerin in mammals. Routes of nitroglycerin metabolism, biochemistry and absorption are discussed. The phenomenon of nitroglycerin tolerance is illustrated and related to specific quantitative alterations occurring at the cellular level. The cardiovascular effects of nitroglycerin are discussed in terms of its effects on coronary flow, the myocardium itself, and on the peripheral vasculature. The early speculation of Murrell (3) that nitroglycerin "would probably prove of service in the treatment of angina pectoris ... and other vascular disorders ..." has now been realized.

Effect of nitrates on LOS pressure in achalasia: a potential therapeutic aid

The effect of a long-acting nitrate, isosorbide dinitrate (ID) 5 mg sublingually, on the lower oesophageal sphincter was tested in 24 patients with achalasia. The drug caused a reduction in LOS pressure in all cases. The mean LOS pressure fell from 46.32.7 mmHg to 15.31.8 mmHg (p less than 0.01). The pressure began to drop after several minutes, reaching its lowest levels after 15 minutes. This measured manometric effect lasted for 60 minutes or more in 10 patients studied. The reported clinic effect lasted for two to three hours, permitting the ingestion of a meal. Twenty-three patients were followed clinically for two to 19 months while receiving the drug three times daily before meals. Nineteen reported a marked to complete relief of dysphagia. Five of these patients had previous pneumatic dilatation, cardiomyotomy, or both, and had recurrence at time of study. Side-effect, mainly headache, were reported in eight patients. In six this was alleviated by substituting oral isosorbide dinitrate, 10 mg. Two patients became refractory to treatment after two to six months. The potential role of long-acting nitrates in the treatment of achalasia has yet to be established.

Circulatory effects of sublingual and oral sustained-release nitroglycerin in healthy young men

The effects on heart rate and blood pressure during standing, and on plethysmographic arterial pulsation in the calf, of nitroglycerin 0.5 mg sublingually, 6.5 mg orally and a placebo tablet were studied for up to 8 h. Sublingual nitroglycerin increased heart rate and arterial pulsation; the peak height and duration of these effects occurred at slightly different times. Oral nitroglycerin had no effect on heart rate but did increase pulsations as compared to placebo. In the orthostatic test, heart rate and pulse amplitude were affected by both forms of administration. Comparing the areas-under-curve for these variables for the two forms suggested that, in comparison with sublingual nitroglycerin, about 1/3 of the oral nitroglycerin was biologically effective over 8 h. Pulse plethysmography appeared to be the most sensitive method for "bioassay" of nitroglycerin.