Fabrication of Membrane Sensitive Electrodes for the Validated Electrochemical Quantification of Anti-Osteoporotic Drug Residues in Pharmaceutical Industrial Wastewater

Accurate and precise application of ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) in the quantification of environmental pollutants is a strenuous task. In this work, the electrochemical response of alendronate sodium trihydrate (ALN) was evaluated by the fabrication of two sensitive and delicate membrane electrodes, viz. polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and glassy carbon (GC) electrodes. A linear response was obtained at concentrations from 1 × 10-5 to 1 × 10-2 M for both electrodes. A Nernstian slope of 29 mV/decade over a pH range of 8-11 for the PVC and GC membrane electrodes was obtained. All assay settings were carefully adjusted to obtain the best electrochemical response. The proposed technique was effectively applied for the quantification of ALN in pure form and wastewater samples, acquired from manufacturing industries. The proposed electrodes were effectively used for the determination of ALN in real wastewater samples without any prior treatment. The current findings guarantee the applicability of the fabricated ISEs for the environmental monitoring of ALN.

Alendronate sodium

This chapter is a review on physical and chemical properties, methods of preparation, analysis, as well as pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of Alendronate sodium (4-amino-1-hydroxybutane-1,1-diphosphonic acid sodium salt), a bone metabolism regulator, indicated for the treatment of excessive bone resorption and osteoporosis.

Fluorescence imaging of osteoclasts using confocal microscopy

In order to understand osteoclast cell biology, it is necessary to culture these cells on a physiological -substrate that they can resorb in vitro, such as bone or dentine. However, this creates problems for analysis by fluorescence microscopy, due to the depth of the sample under investigation. By virtue of its optical sectioning capabilities, confocal microscopy is ideal for analysis of such samples, enabling precise intracellular localisation of proteins in resorbing osteoclasts to be determined. Moreover, by taking a series of images in the axial dimension, it is possible to create axial section views and to reconstruct 3D images of the osteoclasts, enabling the spatial organisation of the structures of interest to be more easily discerned.

Electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of alendronate analogues: fingerprints for characterization of new potential prodrugs

1-hydroxymethylene-1,1-bisphosphonic acids (HMBPs) are important drugs for the treatment of a variety of bone diseases. Since these compounds have no chromophore, their detection is challenging and mass spectrometry (MS) appears to be an appropriate sensitive tool. Our work deals with the analysis by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) of the well-known nitrogen-containing HMBP alendronate and of three analogues, considered as potential prodrugs. These four molecules share a common structure with different protecting groups on the phosphonic acid and on the amine functions. We describe the dissociation mechanisms of nitrogen-containing HMBPs in positive ion mode and we compare, in negative ion mode, our results with literature data. In both modes, the dissociations are essentially losses of ROH, and of phosphorus-containing species (HPO2, ROP(OH)2 and ROPO(OH)2), where R=H, C6H5, or CH3OC6H5. These fingerprints will be of great value for differentiating alendronate from its potential prodrugs in complex biological mixtures.

Application of UV-derivative spectrophotometry for determination of some bisphosphonates drugs in pharmaceutical formulations

A method for determination of alendronate sodium salt, clodronate disodium salt and etidronate disodium salt in pharmaceutical formulation by direct UV-spectrophotometry and/or first and second derivative UV-spectrophotometry via complex formation with Cu (II) ions is described. The calibration graphs are linear in the range 25-600 mmol/L for all the investigated compounds. No interference was found from tablet excipients at the selected wavelength and assay procedure. The developed method was validated and found to be sufficiently precise and reproducible, at least for established conditions.

Rapid Determination of Bisphosphonates by Ion Chromatography with Indirect UV Detection

Rapid methods for etidronate, clodronate, pamidronate, and alendronate assays are presented. The methods are based on ion chromatography with indirect UV detection, which avoids the need for chemical derivatization procedures. Each compound is analyzed on an individual basis. There is no need for having separation among these analytes because the aim of the proposed methods is to analyze each compound separately either in bulk material or pharmaceuticals. Phenosphere (150 x 2.0-mm, 5 microm) and Sphereclone (250 x 2.0-mm, 5 microm) anion exchange columns were employed with sodium citrate (20mM) as the mobile phase. The methods are simple, rapid (analysis time of 5 min for etidronate and clodronate and 7 min for alendronate and pamidronate), and demonstrate precision (relative standard deviation was lower than 2.0% in all concentrations), accuracy, and specificity. Calibration curves are linear with r(2) > 0.99 over the concentration range of 50 to 400 microg/mL for etidronate and clodronate, and of 100 to 500 microg/mL for pamidronate and alendronate. Furthermore, they employed silica-based columns, which are cheaper than polymeric columns frequently used in previous reported methods.

Evaluation of multidimensional capillary electrophoretic methodologies for determination of amino bisphosphonate pharmaceuticals

Alendronate and pamidronate are amino bisphosphonate analogues of pyrophosphate used for the treatment of a variety of bone diseases. Analysis of these compounds is problematic due to their polar ionic nature, lack of a suitable chromophore and chelation properties and current analytical approaches involve extensive sample preparation and derivatization procedures. The potential of multidimensional capillary electrophoretic methodological approaches, which eliminate sample preparation have been evaluated for the analysis of these compounds both in aqueous and urinary matrices. Capillary isotachophoresis (cITP) was employed as a pre-separation and on-line sample concentration step prior to analytical determination using either cITP or capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with conductivity detection. Single cITP, cITP-cITP and cITP-CZE approaches were partially validated with respect to repeatability, recovery and linearity of response for both compounds. The increases in sensitivity achievable through increasing injection volume from 30 to 300 microL may render such strategies appropriate for determination of these agents at biologically relevant concentrations with minimal sample work-up.

A general approach for the quantitative analysis of bisphosphonates in human serum and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Bisphosphonates are extremely hydrophilic and structurally similar to many endogenous phosphorylated compounds, making their selective extraction from serum or urine very challenging. Many bisphosphonates lack strong chromophores for sensitive UV or fluorescence detection. We report here the first general approach to enable sensitive and selective quantitation of N-containing bisphosphonates by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) following derivatization with diazomethane. The novelty of the strategy lies in performing the derivatization on silica-based anion-exchange sorbents as an integrated step in the sample purification by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The 'on-cartridge' reaction with diazomethane not only led to higher efficiency of derivatization, but also enabled a more discriminatory recovery of the drug's derivatives. The derivatized bisphosphonates demonstrated improved chromatographic separation and increased sensitivity of the detection. The general applicability of the approach was demonstrated by validation of bioanalytical methods for risedronate and alendronate in human serum and urine. Sensitivity was achieved at the pg/mL level with merely 100-200 microL of sample.

High-performance liquid chromatography method for determining alendronate sodium in human plasma by detecting fluorescence: Application to a pharmacokinetic study in humans

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed using diethylamine (DEA) solid-phase extraction (SPE), 9-fluorenylmethyl derivative (FMOC) and fluorescence detection for quantifying alendronate in human plasma. Sample preparation involved a manual protein precipitation with trichloroacetic acid, a manual coprecipitation of the bisphosphonate with calcium phosphate and derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate in citrate buffer at pH 11.9. Liquid chromatography was performed on a Capcell Pak C(18) column (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5 microm particles), using a gradient method starting with mobile phase acetonitrile/methanol-citrate/pyrophosphate buffer (32:68, v/v). The total run time was 25 min. The fluorometric detector was operated at 260 nm (excitation) and 310 nm (emission). Pamidronate was used as the internal standard. The limit of quantification was 1 ng/ml using 3 ml of plasma. The intra- and inter-day precision expressed as the relative standard deviation was less than 15%. The assay was applied to the analysis of samples from a pharmacokinetic study. Following the oral administration of 70 mg of alendronate sodium to volunteers, the maximum plasma concentration (C(max)) and elimination half-life were 40.94 +/- 19.60 ng/ml and 1.67 +/- 0.50 h, respectively. The method was demonstrated to be highly feasible and reproducible for pharmacokinetic studies including bioequivalence test of alendronate sodium in humans.

Bone safety of long-term bisphosphonate treatment

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are widely used in osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Treatment of osteoporosis would, in many instances, involve continued use of BP for a number of years, so it is pertinent to examine skeletal consequences of long-term BP use. Through a non-systematic review of the literature, this commentary considers the reduction in bone turnover and retention in the skeleton with regard to the long-term safety of BP use. BPs normalize bone turnover rates within weeks and no further suppression is seen during long term use, documented up to 10 years. This indicates that the BP retained in bone does not augment or contribute to the pharmacological activity of newly administered BP. Therefore, pharmacologically, long term treatment is not different from short term treatment. Multiple studies have shown that reductions in bone turnover are associated with increased bone density, more homogeneous mineralization, and reduced fracture risk. The amount of BP retained in bone after 10 years of alendronate treatment was estimated at 75 mg per 2 kg mineral, using a pharmacokinetic model for a dose of 10 mg per day. This small fraction, which is unevenly distributed between cancellous and cortical bone, seems unlikely to change bone mechanical properties. Taken together, the known mechanism of action of potent BPs and the experience accrued from treating a large number of patients, including up to 10 years follow-up in controlled trials, have identified only beneficial BP effects on bone.

Spectrophotometric determination of some drugs for osteoporosis

Three simple, accurate and sensitive spectrophotometric methods are developed for the determination of some new drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis: risedronate sodium (I), alendronate sodium (II) and etidronate disodium (III). The first method is based on the measurement of difference in absorbance (Delta A) of risedronate sodium in 0.01 mol l(-1) hydrochloric and 0.1 mol l(-1) sodium hydroxide at 262 nm. Beer's law is obeyed over a concentration range of 15-150 microg ml(-1) with mean recovery 99.75+/-1.22 and molar absorptivity (epsilon) 1.891 x 10(3). The second method is based on the reaction of the primary amino group of (II) with ninhydrin reagent in methanolic medium in the presence of 0.05 mol l(-1) sodium bicarbonate. The colored product is measured at 568 nm, and the linearity range is found to be 3.75-45 microg ml(-1) with mean recovery 99.77+/-0.73 and epsilon 9.425 x 10(3). The third method is based on oxidation of the three mentioned drugs with ceric (IV) sulphate in 0.5 mol l(-1) sulphuric acid at room temperature and subsequent measurement of the excess unreacted cerium (IV) sulphate at 320 nm. The method obeyed Beer's law over a concentration range of 2-24 microg ml(-1) for the three drugs with mean recovery 99.79+/-1.16, 99.73+/-1.38 and 99.86+/-1.13 and epsilon 14.427 x 10(3), 13.813 x 10(3) and 14.000 x 10(3) for drugs I, II, III respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of the studied drugs in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulations. The results were found to agree statistically with those obtained the reported methods. Furthermore, the methods were validated according to USP regulations and also assessed by applying the standard addition technique.

Spectrophotometric determination of alendronate in pharmaceutical formulations via complex formation with Fe(III) ions

The formation of the complex between alendronate, non-chromophoric bisphosphonate drug important for the treatment of a variety of bone diseases, and iron(III) chloride in perchloric acid solution was studied. The stoichiometric ratio of alendronate to Fe(III) ions in the chromophoric complex was determined to be 1:1. The conditional stability constant was logK'(ave)=4.50(SD=0.15), indicating that the Fe(III)-alendronate complex is a complex of medium stability. The optimum conditions for this reaction were ascertained and a spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of alendronate in the concentration range 8.1-162.5 microg ml(-1), the detection limit being 2 microg ml(-1). The method was validated for the direct determination of alendronate in tablet dosage formulations.

Analysis of selected diphosphonic acid derivatives used in treatment of osteoporosis. Part I. Complexometric determination of diphosphonic acid derivatives

The purpose of the study was to develop a simple method for determination of diphosphonic acid derivatives in pharmaceutical preparations used in treatment of osteoporosis: disodium etidronate, disodium clodronate, disodium tiludronate, disodium pamidronate, sodium alendronate. The analysis performed by the visual end point titration method with complexing reagent Th(DCTA) in presence of xylenol orange used the ability of these compounds to form complexes.

Comparison of the distribution of 3H-alendronate and 3H-etidronate in rat and mouse bones

Alendronate and etidronate are bisphosphonates used clinically to treat diseases associated with increased bone resorption. Etidronate is less potent and was reported to cause osteomalacia. This study examines if differences in distribution of alendronate and etidronate in the skeleton can explain differences in efficacy and in effects on mineralization between the two drugs. Eight-day old rat pups were injected s.c. with 3H-alendronate or 3H-etidronate both at either 1.3 mumol/kg or at their respective pharmacological effective doses in the growing rat of 0.12 mumol/kg for alendronate and 72.8 mumol/kg for etidronate. Twelve hours after administration at 1.3 mumol/kg both drugs showed a three- to fourfold higher localization on osteoclast vs. osteoblast surface. At the pharmacologically effective doses, 3H-alendronate labeled eightfold more osteoclast surface than osteoblast surface. In contrast, 3H-etidronate labeled approximately equal fractions of osteoclast and osteoblast surface. When similar doses of 3H-etidronate and 3H-alendronate (0.24 mumol/kg 3H-etidronate vs. 0.20 mumol/kg 3H-alendronate; 1.5 mumol/kg 3H-etidronate vs. 1.2 mumol/kg 3H-alendronate; and 14.6 mumol/kg 3H-etidronate vs. 12.0 mumol/kg 3 H-alendronate) were injected intravenously into adult mice at similar specific activities, 3H-etidronate labeled 1.5-2.5 times more osteoclast surface than 3-H-alendronate, but 3 to 15 times more osteoblast surface. Consequently, the ratio between the fraction of labeled osteoclast surface and the fraction of labeled osteoblast surface ranged for 3H-alendronate from 9 to 24, whereas for 3H-etidronate the range was from 4 to 7, due to more extensive labeling of osteoblast surface by 3H-etidronate. In a third experiment, we confirmed in adult mice the previous observation made in rat pups that normal bone formation occurs over alendronate-covered bone surfaces, and found that it occurred over etidronate-covered surfaces as well. Forty nine days after s.c. administration of alendronate at 0.12 mumol/kg or etidronate at 1.3 mumol/kg or 55.3 mumol/kg into adult mice bone formed over drug label. The distance from incorporated label to bone surface for both drugs (12.7 microns for alendronate and 8.7 and 9.2 microns for etidronate) was similar to wall width (defined by cement line) in controls (10.6 microns). In conclusion, alendronate, especially at pharmacologically active doses, shows higher uptake on resorption vs. formation surfaces than etidronate. The extent of bone formation on surfaces containing alendronate or etidronate is similar and is comparable to the "wall width" in controls.