Metal ion-tetracycline interactions in biological fluids. Part 7. Quantitative investigation of methacycline complexes with Ca(II), Mg(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions and assessment of their biological significance

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⁺.

Application of Metal-Organic Framework Nano-MIL-100(Fe) for Sustainable Release of Doxycycline and Tetracycline

Nanostructures of MIL-100 were synthesized and used as a drug delivery platform for two members of the Tetracycline family. Doxycycline monohydrate (DOX) and Tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) were loaded separately on nano-MIL-100 (nanoparticles of drug@carrier were abbreviated as DOX@MIL-100 and TC@MIL-100). Characterizations were carried out using FT-IR, XRD, BET, DLS, and SEM. The FT-IR spectra revealed that the drugs were loaded into the framework of the carrier. The XRD patterns of DOX@MIL-100 and TC@MIL-100 indicated that no free DOX or TC were present. It could be concluded that the drugs are well dispersed into the pores of nano-MIL-100. The microporosity of the carrier was confirmed by BJH data. BET analysis showed a reduction in the free surface for both DOX@MIL-100 and TC@MIL-100. The release of TC and DOX was investigated, and it was revealed that MIL-100 mediated the drug solubility in water, which in turn resulted in a decrease in the release rate of TC (accelerating in DOX case) without lowering the total amount of released drug. After 48 h, 96 percent of the TC was sustain released, which is an unprecedented amount in comparison with other methods.

Adsorption of tetracycline to nano-NiO: the effect of co-existing Cu(ii) ions and environmental implications

Nano-sized nickel oxide (nano-NiO) is a new nanomaterial that has shown great promise in many areas of application. Understanding its environmental fate and effects is critical for minimizing the potential environmental implications of this new material due to incidental and accidental releases in the future. In this study, we observed strong adsorption of tetracycline to nano-NiO and found that the adsorption affinity can be further enhanced by Cu(ii) ions - the observed distribution coefficient (Kd) values are 10(3.1) to 10(4.2) L kg(-1) in the absence of Cu(ii) and 10(3.0) to 10(5.5) L kg(-1) in the presence of Cu(ii); such adsorption affinities are even comparable to those of tetracycline to carbonaceous materials. The strong adsorptive affinities of nano-NiO for tetracycline are likely attributable to several mechanisms, including surface complexation, cation exchange, and electrostatic attraction. As a strong complexing agent, Cu(ii) can significantly enhance adsorption of tetracycline by serving as a bridging agent between tetracycline and nano-NiO. The findings of this study have important implications for the risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials - in aquatic environments nano-NiO (and likely other metal oxide nanomaterials) can strongly adsorb tetracycline antibiotics, resulting in the changes of environmental risks of the metal oxide nanomaterials and/or bioavailability of the adsorbed contaminants.

Formulation of Hydrophilic Non-Aqueous Gel: Drug Stability in Different Solvents and Rheological Behavior of Gel Matrices

PURPOSE

This study was aimed at formulating a hydrophilic non-aqueous gel for topical delivery of the model moisture-sensitive drug, minocycline hydrochloride (MH).

METHODS

Stability study of MH dissolved in water and various hydrophilic non-aqueous solvents was performed over a period of four months in order to select a suitable non-aqueous solvent for MH gel. To improve MH stability, the effect of different cation additives on MH stability in the selected solvent was investigated. Non-aqueous gel matrices were prepared from three different types of hydrophilic polymers in glycerin-propylene glycol mixture with Mg(2+) cation additive. Oscillatory shear rheometry was performed on the gel matrices using a cone-and-plate rheometer.

RESULTS

MH stability was affected by the type of solvent employed and the duration of storage. Different cation additives affected the extent of MH stabilization through MH-cation complex formation. Rheological properties of the non-aqueous gel matrices were significantly affected by the type and concentration of polymer, and the vehicle ratios in the formulations.

CONCLUSIONS

MH stabilization could be achieved using the selected glycerin-propylene glycol mixture containing MgCl(2). Gel matrix formulated using this solvent system and 3%w/w N-vinylacetamide/sodium acrylate copolymer had demonstrated the most favorable rheological properties as a gel for topical application.

Tetracycline and its analogues as inhibitors of amyloid fibrils: searching for a geometrical pharmacophore by theoretical investigation of their conformational behavior in aqueous solution

Tetracycline (TC) and its derivatives have recently been proposed as a new class of antagonists in prion diseases as they prevent the aggregation of prion protein peptides and their acquisition of protease resistance in vitro and in vivo. Looking for relationships between conformational flexibility and biological activity, we searched for a geometrical pharmacophore by investigating, in aqueous solution, the conformational behavior of 15 TCs in both the zwitterionic and the anionic forms. For TC similar conformational flexibility was found for the two forms and two main conformational families were detected, an extended and a folded conformation characterized by different intramolecular hydrogen-bond networks. On comparing the Molecular Mechanics results with the ab initio ones and the experimental evidence, it can be seen that the conformational behavior of TC is reasonably well predicted by the MM2 force field, whereas the conformational energies provided by the Amber force field are unreliable. The conformational analysis of the other TC derivatives was then performed by the MM2 force field. As a result, their conformational behavior was similar to that observed for TC itself. Despite the hydronaphthacene moiety's conformational flexibility, no geometrical pharmacophore was found among the TCs, i.e. properties other than geometrical ones should play a crucial role in determining their anti-fibrillogenic ability.

Structure and function of "metalloantibiotics"

Although most antibiotics do not need metal ions for their biological activities, there are a number of antibiotics that require metal ions to function properly, such as bleomycin (BLM), streptonigrin (SN), and bacitracin. The coordinated metal ions in these antibiotics play an important role in maintaining proper structure and/or function of these antibiotics. Removal of the metal ions from these antibiotics can cause changes in structure and/or function of these antibiotics. Similar to the case of "metalloproteins," these antibiotics are dubbed "metalloantibiotics" which are the title subjects of this review. Metalloantibiotics can interact with several different kinds of biomolecules, including DNA, RNA, proteins, receptors, and lipids, rendering their unique and specific bioactivities. In addition to the microbial-originated metalloantibiotics, many metalloantibiotic derivatives and metal complexes of synthetic ligands also show antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-neoplastic activities which are also briefly discussed to provide a broad sense of the term "metalloantibiotics."

Importance of tautomers in the chemical behavior of tetracyclinesdagger

We advance the concept that tautomerism is crucial for the understanding of the chemical behavior of tetracycline. Indeed, considering four deprotonations, there are 64 different possible tautomers to be considered for tetracycline. Our results indicate that tetracycline is a very adaptive molecule, capable of easily modifying itself through tautomerism in response to various chemical environments. Indeed, its situation in solution can be more accurately pictured as an equilibrium among a diversity of tautomeric species-an equilibrium that can be easily displaced depending on the various possible chemical perturbations, such as varying the pH or the dielectric constant of the solvent. Moreover, we also show that tetracycline could undergo four deprotonations and predict for it a fourth pKa of 13 and refer to our experimental determination of this parameter, which yielded the value of 12. We conclude that tautomerism is essential to the comprehension of the chemical behavior of tetracycline as determined by the semiempirical method AM1 as well as by the self-consistent reaction field method, which estimates the effects of the solvent on the tautomers. All tautomers in their different conformations have been fully optimized for each of the possible degrees of protonation of this molecule. Thus, the relative stabilities of the different tautomeric species have been computed.

Quantitative investigation of copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes with S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine and computer-simulated appraisal of their potential significance in vivo

S-carboxymethyl-L-cysteine (SCC) is a mucolytic agent extensively used in the treatment of respiratory tract disorders. Some of the undesirable side effects observed during SCC therapy being reminiscent of symptoms characteristic of copper and zinc imbalances, the objective of this paper was to test the possible interference of SCC with the metabolism of these two metals. Copper(II)- and zinc(II)-SCC complex equilibria have thus been investigated under physiological conditions by means of classical potentiometry combined with computer-assisted calculation techniques. Formation constants derived from these studies have then been used to simulate 1) the potential influence of SCC on the distribution of the above metals in blood plasma and 2) the extent to which gastrointestinal interactions between the drug and each metal ion in turn are likely to affect the bioavailability of each other. The results of these simulations show that 1) plasma therapeutic levels of SCC are not likely to induce dramatic changes in the distributions of copper(II) and zinc(II) low molecular weight fractions, 2) the gastrointestinal distribution of the drug is not affected by standard dietary doses of these metals, and 3) in contrast, therapeutic concentrations of SCC are capable of mobilizing significant fractions of both metals into tissue-diffusible electrically neutral complexes. In conclusion significant depletions of neither copper nor zinc are to be expected from oral administration of SCC. While the drug may to some extent facilitate the excretion of Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions from blood plasma, its gastrointestinal influence is, on the contrary, favorable to a better absorption of these two metals.

Metal ion-tetracycline interactions in biological fluids. Part 8. Potentiometric and spectroscopic studies on the formation of Ca(II) and Mg(II) complexes with 4-dedimethylamino-tetracycline and 6-desoxy-6-demethyl-tetracycline

Effects of metal ion-tetracycline (TC) interactions on both gastrointestinal absorption and pharmacological activity of these drugs are well documented. In particular, recent simulation studies based on newly determined complex stability constants have drawn attention to the potential influence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions on the bioavailability of various TC derivatives in blood plasma. Contrary to previous thoughts, it was demonstrated in these studies that the fraction of antibiotic not bound to proteins almost exclusively occurs as calcium and magnesium complexes. Among this fraction, predominant binuclear species are electrically charged, and as such cannot passively diffuse through cell membranes. It was thus postulated that the partial blocking of one of the potential coordination sites of the TC molecule, which would favor the formation of neutral mononuclear complexes, should result in a better tissue penetration of the drug. Such correlations were recently established for specific derivatives. Before possible modifications of the TC molecule can be envisaged, it is necessary that all the chelating sites involved in the relevant complexes be properly assigned. As tetracyclines are very complex ligands, the present paper first deals with the coordination of calcium and magnesium with two simpler parent substances, i.e., 4-dedimethylamino-tetracycline (DTC) and 6-desoxy-6-demethyl-tetracycline (DSC). After the quantitative investigation of the proton and metal complex equilibria involved, UV and circular dichroism spectroscopies are used to study the corresponding structural aspects. In DTC complexes, the BCD ring system acts as the exclusive coordination site for both metals. For DSC, however, the N4 atom plays a leading role in the metal binding and would be the only donor involved in 1:1 species; in ML2 complexes, the second ligand is thought to bind through the BCD ring system.