Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry validated method for the estimation of indapamide in human whole blood

A highly precise and sensitive method for the estimation of indapamide in human whole blood using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is described. The method developed is validated in human whole-blood matrix, with a sensitivity of 0.5 ng/ml as lower limit of quantification. The procedure for the extraction of indapamide and glimepiride as internal standard (IS) involves haemolysis and deprotienation of whole blood using ZnSO(4) followed by liquid-liquid extraction using ethyl acetate. The sample extracts after drying were reconstituted and analysed by LC-MS/MS, equipped with turbo ion spray (TIS) source, operating in the positive ion and selective reaction monitoring (SRM) acquisition mode to quantify indapamide in human whole blood. The mean recovery for indapamide was 82.40 and 93.23% for IS. The total run time was 2.5 min to monitor both indapamide and the IS. The response of the LC-MS/MS method for indapamide was linear over the range of 0.5-80.0 ng/ml with correlation coefficient, r>or=0.9991. The coefficient of variance (% CV) at 0.5 ng/ml was 4.02% and the accuracy was well within the accepted limit of +/-20% at 0.5 ng/ml and +/-15% at all other concentrations in the linear range. This method is fully validated for the accuracy, precision and stability studies and also applied to subject-sample analysis of bioequivalence study for 1.5mg sustained-release (SR) formulations.     

Multiplexed-Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Method for Protein Folding Simulation

Simulating protein folding thermodynamics starting purely from a protein sequence is a grand challenge of computational biology. Here, we present an algorithm to calculate a canonical distribution from molecular dynamics simulation of protein folding. This algorithm is based on the replica exchange method where the kinetic trapping problem is overcome by exchanging noninteracting replicas simulated at different temperatures. Our algorithm uses multiplexed-replicas with a number of independent molecular dynamics runs at each temperature. Exchanges of configurations between these multiplexed-replicas are also tried, rendering the algorithm applicable to large-scale distributed computing (i.e., highly heterogeneous parallel computers with processors having different computational power). We demonstrate the enhanced sampling of this algorithm by simulating the folding thermodynamics of a 23 amino acid miniprotein. We show that better convergence is achieved compared to constant temperature molecular dynamics simulation, with an efficient scaling to large number of computer processors. Indeed, this enhanced sampling results in (to our knowledge) the first example of a replica exchange algorithm that samples a folded structure starting from a completely unfolded state.     

Molecular Cloning and Expression Profile of Toll-Like Receptor 3 from an Indian Coldwater Fish,Schizothorax richardsonii(Gray)

The innate immune system recognizes pathogens through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), and toll-like receptors (TLRs) are one of the most important PRRs. TLR3 is a unique member of TLR family that recognizes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), a viral replication intermediate. There is a variation in its response among diverse fish species toward the same stimulants. We identified and cloned TLR3 from Indian snow trout, Schizothorax richardsonii and carried out its expression analysis in un-induced and poly (I:C) challenged fish. It has an open reading frame (ORF) of 2712 bases that encodes a polypeptide of 904?amino acids. The molecular weight of the polypeptide was predicted to be 102.4482?kDa with an isoelectric point of 7.40. Quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) was carried out after 24 hours of poly (I:C) treatment and expression of TLR3 was analyzed in different tissues. As compared with untreated fish the poly (I:C) challenged fish revealed significantly high expression of TLR3 in kidney followed by liver and gills.     

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of novel 1,4,5-triphenyl-1<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-imidazol-[1,2,3]-triazole derivatives

Novel 1-phenyl-4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole derivatives were synthesized by click chemistry reaction and screened for antimicrobial activity against grampositive and gram-negative bacterial and fungal species. All the compounds were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, IR, and mass spectral data. The results of antibacterial study indicated that 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole, 1-(4-(4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)phenyl)ethanone, 1-(2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenyl)-4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole, and 1-(2-methoxy-4-nitrophenyl)-4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole showed appreciable antibacterial activity while 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy) methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole, 1-(2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenyl)-4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole, and 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4-((4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole emerged as the most potential antifungal agents.     

Prolonged Production and Aggregation Complexity of Cold-Active Lipase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas proteolytica</Emphasis> (GBPI_Hb61) Isolated from Cold Desert Himalaya

Pseudomonas, being the common inhabitant of colder environments, are suitable for the production of cold-active enzymes. In the present study, a newly isolated strain of Pseudomonas from cold desert site in Indian Himalayan Region, was investigated for the production of cold-active lipase. The bacteria were identified as Pseudomonas proteolytica by 16S rDNA sequencing. Lipase production by bacteria was confirmed by qualitative assay using tributyrin and rhodamine-B agar plate method. The bacterium produced maximum lipase at 25 °C followed by production at 15 °C while utilizing olive, corn, as well as soybean oil as substrate in lipase production broth. Enzyme produced by bacteria was partially purified using ammonium sulphate fractionation. GBPI_Hb61 showed aggregation behaviour which was confirmed using several techniques including gel filtration chromatography, dynamic light scattering, and native PAGE. Molecular weight determined by SDS-PAGE followed by in-gel activity suggested two lipases of nearly similar molecular weight of ~50 kDa. The enzyme showed stability in wide range of pH from 5 to 11 and temperature up to 50 °C. The enzyme from GBPI_Hb61 exhibited maximum activity toward p-nitrophenyldecanoate (C10). The stability of enzyme was not affected with methanol while it retained more than 75% activity when incubated with ethanol, acetone, and hexane. The bacterium is likely to be a potential source for production of cold-active lipase with efficient applicability under multiple conditions.     

Resonance Raman study of the pink membrane photochemically prepared from the deionized blue membrane of H. halobium.

We report here the Resonance Raman spectrum of a 'pink' membrane (lambda max approximately 495 nm) photochemically generated from the deionized 'blue' membrane (Chang et al., 1985). Comparison of the Raman spectrum of the pink membrane with that of the model compounds, as well as the chromophore extraction data, indicate that the chromophore in the pink membrane is in the 9-cis configuration. The Schiff base peak at approximately 1,652 cm-1 shifts to approximately 1,622 cm-1 upon deuteration of the pink membrane, showing that the chromophore is bound to the bacterio-opsin by a protonated Schiff base linkage. The location of the Schiff base peak, as well as the 30 cm-1 shift that it undergoes upon deuteration, are quite different from the corresponding values for the native bacteriorhodopsin, suggesting differences in the local environment for the Schiff base in these pigments.     

Structural basis for the GSK-3beta binding affinity and selectivity against CDK-2 of 1-(4-aminofurazan-3yl)-5-dialkylaminomethyl-1H-[1,2,3] triazole-4-carboxylic acid derivatives

A novel structural class of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta inhibitors is modeled using quantum mechanics, automated docking, and molecular dynamics simulations. The proposed binding modes identify important hydrogen bonds and salt-bridges with the ATP-binding pocket of the kinase. The modeled complexes justify the observed structure-activity relationships and provide a structural basis for the high selectivity of these inhibitors against cyclin dependent kinase-2.     

Evaluation of BBL CHROMagar Listeria agar for the isolation and identification of Listeria monocytogenes from food and environmental samples

The performance of BBL CHROMagar Listeria chromogenic agar for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes was evaluated for its ability to isolate and identify L. monocytogenes from food and environmental samples. The medium was compared to non-chromogenic selective agars commonly used for Listeria isolation: Oxford, Modified Oxford, and PALCAM. BBL CHROMagar Listeria had a sensitivity of 99% and 100% for the detection of L. monocytogenes from 200 natural and artificially inoculated food samples, respectively, with a colony confirmation rate of 100%. The sensitivity of non-chromogenic selective media for the detection of L. monocytogenes from these same samples was 97-99% with colony confirmation rates of 65-67.5%. From 93 environmental samples, BBL CHROMagar Listeria agar results correlated 100% with a Listeria spp. visual immunoassay (TECRA) performed on these same samples and the USDA-FSIS standard culture method for the isolation of L. monocytogenes. From environmental samples, the L. monocytogenes confirmation rate was 100% for BBL CHROMagar Listeria as compared to 50% for conventional agars tested. On BBL CHROMagar Listeria, L. monocytogenes forms a translucent white precipitation zone (halo) surrounding blue-pigmented colonies of 2-3 mm in diameter, with an entire border. BBL CHROMagar Listeria offers a high degree of specificity for the confirmation of suspect L. monocytogenes colonies, whereas non-chromogenic selective agars evaluated were not differential for L. monocytogenes from other Listeria species.     

Phage display: Concept,innovations, applications and future

Phage display is the technology that allows expression of exogenous (poly)peptides on the surface of phage particles. The concept is simple in principle: a library of phage particles expressing a wide diversity of peptides is used to select those that bind the desired target. The filamentous phage M13 is the most commonly used vector to create random peptide display libraries. Several methods including recombinant techniques have been developed to increase the diversity of the library. On the other extreme, libraries with various biases can be created for specific purposes. For instance, when the sequence of the peptide that binds the target is known, its affinity and selectivity can be increased by screening libraries created with limited mutagenesis of the peptide. Phage libraries are screened for binding to synthetic or native targets. The initial screening of library by basic biopanning has been extended to column chromatography including negative screening and competition between selected phage clones to identify high affinity ligands with greater target specificity. The rapid isolation of specific ligands by phage display is advantageous in many applications including selection of inhibitors for the active and allosteric sites of the enzymes, receptor agonists and antagonists, and G-protein binding modulatory peptides. Phage display has been used in epitope mapping and analysis of protein-protein interactions. The specific ligands isolated from phage libraries can be used in therapeutic target validation, drug design and vaccine development. Phage display can also be used in conjunction with other methods. The past innovations and those to come promise a bright future for this field.