Laser-Irradiated Chlorpromazine as a Potent Anti-Biofilm Agent for Coating of Biomedical Devices

Nowadays, antibiotic resistance has become increasingly common, triggering a global health crisis, immediately needing alternative, including repurposed drugs with potent bactericidal effects. We demonstrated that chlorpromazine aqueous solutions exposed to laser radiation exhibited visible activity against various microorganisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the quantitative antimicrobial activity of chlorpromazine in non-irradiated and 4-h laser irradiated form. Also, we examined the effect of both solutions impregnated on a cotton patch, cannula, and urinary catheter against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. In all experimental versions, the chlorpromazine antimicrobial activity was enhanced by laser exposure. Besides the experimental results, the in silico analyses using molecular docking proved that the improved antimicrobial activity of the irradiated compound was a result of the combined action of the photoproducts on the biological target (s). Our results show that laser radiation could alter the molecular structure of various drugs and their effects, proving to be a promising strategy to halt antibiotic resistance, by repurposing current medicines for new antimicrobial strategies, thereby decreasing the costs and time for the development of more efficient drugs.

Interactions of phenothiazine drugs with surfactants: a detailed physicochemical overview

Phenothiazine drugs have been the subject of great interest due to their interesting aggregation properties and ability to interact with surfactants, model lipid bilayers, and biomembranes. Since these drugs show enormous pharmacological actions and deposits on the biomembranes, their pharmacological activities seem to be related to the drug-membrane interactions or to the absorbability on the membrane. Further, the mechanisms for the various biological activities of phenothiazines can be explained by exploring these drug-membrane interactions. Keeping these points in view, many researchers have investigated the interactions of these drugs with surfactants. This review describes the physicochemical aspects of the interactions between phenothiazine drugs and surfactants which have been discussed under three sections: (i) micellar and interfacial studies, (ii) spectroscopic studies, (iii) phase separation studies (CP) and (iv) miscellaneous.

Exposure of chlorpromazine to 266 nm laser beam generates new species with antibacterial properties: contributions to development of a new process for drug discovery

INTRODUCTION

Phenothiazines when exposed to white light or to UV radiation undergo a variety of reactions that result in degradation of parental compound and formation of new species. This process is slow and may be sped up with exposure to high energy light such as that produced by a laser.

METHODS

Varying concentrations of Chlorpromazine Hydrochloride (CPZ) (2-20 mg/mL in distilled water) were exposed to 266 nm laser beam (time intervals: 1-24 hrs). At distinct intervals the irradiation products were evaluated by spectrophotometry between 200-1500 nm, Thin Layer Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)-Diode Array Detection, HPLC tandem mass spectrometry, and for activity against the CPZ sensitive test organism Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923.

RESULTS

CPZ exposure to 266 nm laser beam of given energy levels yielded species, whose number increased with duration of exposure. Although the major species produced were Promazine (PZ), hydroxypromazine or PZ sulfoxide, and CPZ sulfoxide, over 200 compounds were generated with exposure of 20 mg/mL of CPZ for 24 hrs. Evaluation of the irradiation products indicated that the bioactivity against the test organism increased despite the total disappearance of CPZ, that is due, most probably, to one or more new species that remain yet unidentified.

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure of CPZ to a high energy (6.5 mJ) 266 nm laser beam yields rapidly a large number of new and stable species. For biological grade phenothiazines (in other words knowing the impurities in the samples: solvent and solute) this process may be reproducible because one can control within reasonably low experimental errors: the concentration of the parent compound, the laser beam wavelength and average energy, as well as the duration of the exposure time. Because the process is "clean" and rapid, it may offer advantages over the pyrogenically based methods for the production of derivatives.

Interactions between selected bile salts and Triton X-100 or sodium lauryl ether sulfate

Background

In order to develop colloidal drug carriers with desired properties, it is important to determine physico-chemical characteristics of these systems. Bile salt mixed micelles are extensively studied as novel drug delivery systems. The objective of the present investigation is to develop and characterize mixed micelles of nonionic (Triton X-100) or anionic (sodium lauryl ether sulfate) surfactant having oxyethylene groups in the polar head and following bile salts: cholate, deoxycholate and 7-oxodeoxycholate.

Results

The micellization behaviour of binary anionic-nonionic and anionic-anionic surfactant mixtures was investigated by conductivity and surface tension measurements. The results of the study have been analyzed using Clint's, Rubingh's, and Motomura's theories for mixed binary systems. The negative values of the interaction parameter indicate synergism between micelle building units. It was noticed that Triton X-100 and sodium lauryl ether sulfate generate the weakest synergistic interactions with sodium deoxycholate, while 7-oxodeoxycholate creates the strongest attractive interaction with investigated co-surfactants.

Conclusion

It was concluded that increased synergistic interactions can be attributed to the larger number of hydrophilic groups at α side of the bile salts. Additionally, 7-oxo group of 7-oxodeoxycholate enhance attractive interactions with selected co-surfactants more than 7-hydroxyl group of sodium cholate.

Isomer-dependent adsorption and release of cis- and trans-platin anticancer drugs by mesoporous silica nanoparticles

We report on adsorption and release of the anticancer drugs cisplatin and transplatin from mesoporous silica nanomaterials, emphasizing the differences between cisplatin and its much less toxic isomer. Two types of particles, MCM-41 and SBA-15, were used, either as just synthesized or after calcination to remove the templates. The particles were characterized by TEM, nitrogen physisorption, and elemental analysis. The UV-vis spectra of cisplatin and transplatin were obtained and the intensities of several bands (205-210 nm, 210-220 nm, 220-235 nm, and 300-330 nm) were found proportional to drug concentrations, allowing their use for measuring drug concentration. To evaluate drug adsorption by nanoparticles, nanoparticles were incubated in drug solutions and removed by centrifugation, after which the supernatants were scanned by spectrometer to determine drug remaining. It was found that calcined MCM adsorbed less cisplatin or transplatin per particle than as-synthesized MCM. SBA nanoparticles adsorbed slightly more cisplatin than MCM, and slightly less transplatin. Measurements of drug adsorption as a function of time show that drug is rapidly adsorbed by all particles studied. This rapid adsorption is probably associated with adsorption of drug on the external surfaces of the particles as well as the possible physisorption within the surfactant assemblies or by replacing the surfactant molecules or ions in the case of the as-synthesized materials. For calcined SBA particles, it is followed by a slow take-up of drug, perhaps due to the internal pores. There is no slow take-up by as-synthesized SBA particles or by either as-synthesized or calcined MCM particles. Measurement of the release of platinum drugs from nanoparticles previously soaked in drug solutions showed a substantial quick release for all particles and both drugs. This was followed by a slow release of Pt species in the case of transplatin in calcined SBA.