O atual crescimento do número de estruturas tridimensionais de proteínas está produzindo um banco de dados de estruturas que é muito útil como ponto de partida para o desenvolvimento de novas moléculas relevantes do ponto de vista médico tais como drogas e vacinas. Neste trabalho, parte do projeto de desenvolvimento de novas drogas contra a doença do sono foi feita baseada nos estudos cristalográficos de ligação de compostos e de modelagem molecular de duas enzimas glicolíticas presentes no glicossomo de T. brucei. Como o alvo para novas drogas e o ciclo de glicólise, o qual também é presente nos seres humanos, o novo ligante deve ser seletivo. Frutose-1,6-bisfosfato aldolase (ALDO) é uma das proteínas alvo para o desenho racional de drogas. A análise estrutural e estudos cristalográficos da ALDO de T. brucei foram feitos, através do uso de proteína produzida em grandes quantidades por via recombinante. Vários possíveis sítios de seletividade foram encontrados em ALDO de T. brucei quando comparada as três seqüências das isoenzimas humana, tendo como base a estrutura tridimensional da isoenzima ALDO A. O braço flexível da região C-terminal é um forte alvo para compostos seletivos devido a não-conservação das seqüências. Cristais foram crescidos e padrões de difração de raios-X foram obtidos até 3.0&#197, mas ainda os cristais são pequenos e mostram-se sensíveis a radiação. Triosefosato isomerase (TIM) é outra ptoteína alvo analisada neste trabalho. A estrutura da TIM de T. brucei é conhecida a alta resolução. Cristais de proteína expressa em bactérias foram obtidos após extensivos experimentos. Foi identificado que usar proteína recentemente preparada é essencial para obter cristais que apresentem boa qualidade de difração. Depois de obtidos cristais de proteína expressa em grades quantidades, foram feitos experimentos de difusão de novos inibidores, coleta de dados de difração e análises das estruturas dos possíveis complexos. A conhecida estrutura em volta flexível da TIM fecha quando se liga o substrato ou um inibidor análogo ao substrato no sítio ativo. Desenho racional de drogas tem sido seguido usando como padrão a conformação fechada da estrutura em volta. No entanto, com a obtenção de um novo complexo, no qual a estrutura em volta adota a conformação aberta foi feita uma busca de novos compostos em bancos de dados, que não fossem derivados de fosfatos e fosfoantos, através do programa DOCK. Com este procedimento são propostos novos compostos guia os quais serão utilizados no ciclo do desenho racional de drogas. A estrutura da triosefosfato isomerase de Bacillus stearothermophilus que apresenta estabilidade térmica em complexo com o inibidor competitivo 2PG foi determinada por cristalografia de raios-X à resolução de 2.8&#197. A estrutura foi resolvida por substituição molecular usando o programa XPLOR. Promediação da densidade eletrônica de ordem dois e nivelamento do solvente foram aplicados para melhorar a qualidade do mapa. Ambos os sítios ativos estavam ocupados pelo inibidor e a estrutura emvolta flexível adota a conformação fechada em ambas as subunidades. O fator cristalográfico R é de 17,6% com boa geometria. Bacillus stearothermophillus é considerado um organismo de estabilidade térmica moderada. Encontram-se disponíveis cinco estruturas de triosefosfato isomerase de organismos mesofílicos. A estrutura obtida neste trabalho é a primeira TIM reportada que apresenta estabilidade térmica. Vários artigos têm listados fatores de estabilidade térmica, os quais foram analisados em todas as estruturas de TIM disponíveis. Neste trabalho foi conduzida uma comparação entre a estrutura termofílica e as mesofílicas disponíveis, da qual se concluiu que a interação hidrofóbica na formação do dímero, e o alto número de prolinas são os mais importantes fatores que contribuem para a estabilidade térmica da TIM de B.stearothermophilus. Também concluiu-se que a razão Arg/(arg+Lys) é elevada em TIM de B. stearothermophilus mais devido ao baixo número de lisinas do que a um alto número de argininas. Analisou-se as argininas na TIM de B. stearothermophilus como também as interações das argininas e lisinas em todas as outras estruturas de TIM e não foi possível relacionar o valor aumentado da razão Arg/(arg+Lys) com a estabilidade térmica, fator este indicado anteriormente como importante para a estabilidade térmica / The current growth in the number of known 3-dimensional proteins structures is producing a database of structures that is very useful as starting point for the development of new medically relevant molecules such as drugs and vaccines. In this work part of the project of developing new drugs against the sleeping sickness has been done based on crystallographic, ligand-binding and molecular modeling studies of two glycolytic glycosomal enzymes from T. brucei. As the target for new drugs is the glycolysis pathway, which is present also in the human being, the new ligand must be selective. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (ALDO) is one of the target protein for the rational drug design. The structural analysis and crystallographic studies of ALDO from T. brucei have been done, from overexpressed protein. Several possible sites for selective inhibitor were found in T. brucei ALDO when compared with the three human isoenzyme sequences, based on the human ALDO A structure. The flexible C-terminal arm is a promising target for selective compounds, due to the non-conserved sequence. Crystals were grown, and X-ray diffraction was obtained up to 3.0&#197, but still the crystals are small and show radiation damage. Triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) is the other target protein analyzed in this work. The structure of TIM from T. brucei is already known at high resolution. Crystals from overexpressed protein were obtained after extensive experiments. It was identified that the use of fresh protein is essential to grow good diffracting crystals. After obtaining crystals from overexpressed protein, it has been done soaking of new inhibitors, diffraction data collection and analysis of the structures of the possible complexes. The well known flexible loop in TIM closes upon the binding of either the substrate or an inhibitor analogue to the substrate in the active site. Rational drug design has been followed based on the \"closed\" conformation of the flexible loop. Nevertheless, with a new complex structure, in which the flexible loop adopts the \"open\" conformation, it has been done a search for new compounds in the database, non-derived from phosphate and phosphonate, through the program DOCK. Based on this procedure it was proposed new lead compounds which will be used on the rational drug design cycle. The structure of the thermostable triosephosphate isomerase from Bacillus stearothermophilus in complex with the competitive inhibitor 2PG was determined by X-ray crystallography to a resolution of 2.8&#197. The structure was solved by molecular replacement using XPLOR. Two fold averaging and solvent flattening were applied to improve the quality of the map. Both of the active sites were occupied by the inhibitor and the flexible loop adopts the \"close\" conformation in both subunits. The crystallographic R-factor is 17.6% with good geometry. Bacillus stearothermophilus is considered a moderate thermophile organism. There are already five triosephosphate isomerase structures available from mesophilic organisms. The structure reported here is the first thermostable TIM reported. It has been conducted in this work a comparison between the thermophilic and the mesophilic protein structures available. Several reports had listed thermostable factors, which have been analyzed in all TIM structures available, from which it has been concluded that the hydrophobic interaction upon the dimmer formation and the higher number of proline residues are the most important factors that contribute to the thermostability of B. stearothermophilus TIM. Also it has been concluded that the ratio Arg/(Arg+Lys) is increased in B. stearothermophilus TIM more due to lower number of lysine instead of a higher number of arginine residues. Arginines have been analyze in B. s,tearothermophillis TIM as well as the interactions of arginines and lysines in all other TIM structures and it has not been possible to relate the increased ratio Arg/(Arg+Lys) with thermo stability, which was previously reported as important in thermostability

Os estrógenos exercem importantes efeitos fisiológicos através dos dois subtipos dos receptores de estrógeno humanos (hERs), alfa (hER?) e beta (hER?). Enquanto hER? é um importante alvo macromolecular no desenvolvimento de fármacos para o tratamento do câncer de mama, hER? é um alvo promissor no desenvolvimento de agentes terapêuticos para a terapia de reposição hormonal. O progresso no planejamento de moduladores apresentando maior potência, afinidade e seletividade, entretanto, requer a otimização múltipla de interações intermoleculares fármaco-receptor. A Química Medicinal moderna, de forte caráter multidisciplinar, fornece um arsenal de alternativas e estratégias úteis no processo de planejamento de novos fármacos. As ferramentas de modelagem molecular e de estudos das relações quantitativas entre a estrutura e atividade (QSAR) estão integradas a esse processo, sendo de extremo valor na busca por moléculas bioativas com propriedades múltiplas otimizadas. Para a realização deste trabalho, conjuntos padrões de dados foram organizados para diferentes classes químicas de potentes moduladores dos ERs. Esses conjuntos padronizados para os subtipos do hER, contendo a informação qualificada sobre a estrutura química dos ligantes associada a medida da propriedade farmacológica correspondente, estabeleceram as bases para o desenvolvimento de modelos empregando os métodos holograma QSAR, CoMFA e GRID/PCA. Os modelos finais de HQSAR e CoMFA possuem elevada consistência interna e externa, apresentando bom poder de correlação e predição das propriedades alvo. Juntamente com as informações obtidas pelos mapas de contribuição 2D e de contorno 3D, os modelos de QSAR e GRID/PCA construídos são guias químico-medicinais úteis no planejamento de novos moduladores seletivos do ER possuindo maior afinidade e potência. / Estrogens exert important physiological effects through two human estrogen receptor subtypes (hERs), alpha (hER?) and beta (hER?). While hER? is a macromolecular target of great importance for breast cancer therapy, hER? is an attractive drug target for the development of novel therapeutic agents for hormone replacement therapy. Progress towards the design of modulators having improved potency, affinity and selectivity requires the optimization of multiple ligand-receptor interactions. The strong multidisciplinary character of modern Medicinal Chemistry supplies a rich arsenal of useful rational strategies for the design of new drug candidates. Molecular modeling tools and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) are integrated into the drug design process in the search of bioactive molecules having optimized properties. In this study, standard data sets were organized for different chemical classes of ER modulators, integrating the qualified information about chemical structure associated to the corresponding pharmacological property. The data sets established the scientific basis for the development of models employing the hologram QSAR, CoMFA and GRID/PCA methods. The final HQSAR and CoMFA models possess high internal and external consistency, with good correlative and predictive power. The generated QSAR and GRID/PCA models as well as the information gathered from the 3D contour maps provide useful guidelines for the design of new selective ER modulators having improved affinity and potency.

A doença de Chagas é uma doença tropical negligenciada de alta prioridade nos programas de pesquisa e desenvolvimento da Organização Mundial da Saúde. Grave problema de saúde pública, é uma das maiores causas de desordens cardíacas em vários países da América Latina. A inexistência de um tratamento satisfatório faz urgente a busca por novas alternativas terapêuticas. Nesse contexto, o objetivo dessa tese de doutorado foi o desenvolvimento de inibidores da enzima cruzaína de Trypanosoma cruzi, alvo molecular validado para a doença de Chagas, utilizando de forma integrada várias estratégias experimentais e computacionais de química medicinal e planejamento de fármacos. Duas classes de inibidores foram utilizadas como compostos líderes: derivados benzimidazólicos e imídicos. Diversas etapas de planejamento, síntese química e avaliação biológica foram realizadas de forma iterativa até que a otimização da potência dos compostos fosse alcançada. Modificações em diversas regiões de cada composto líder foram exploradas, levando ao entendimento de requerimentos de SAR essenciais para a inibição enzimática. O mecanismo de inibição de novas séries de compostos foi determinado. Estudos preliminares de toxicidade, em linhagens celulares e in vivo, mostraram que os compostos apresentam um perfil seguro. Por meio da realização de um estágio de doutorado sanduíche no departamento de metabolismo de fármacos e farmacocinética da empresa farmacêutica norte-america AbbVie, foi realizada a determinação de parâmetros farmacocinéticos dos compostos investigados. Além disso, foi possível a utilização de uma metodologia recentemente implementada na empresa, com foco na otimização de múltiplos parâmetros de um composto teste. Este método foi utilizado para a identificação de candidatos a novos fármacos com um equilíbrio favorável entre potência e parâmetros farmacocinéticos, que são absolutamente essenciais para o desenvolvimento de um novo fármaco eficaz e seguro. Por fim, foi criada uma estratégia mais racional e efetiva para a triagem de candidatos a novos antichagásicos, que apresentem uma combinação otimizada de potência e propriedades de ADME. / Chagas\' disease is considered a high priority neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization in its research and development programs. It is a serious public health problem, being among the main causes of cardiac disorders in many countries in Latin America. The absence of an effectite treatment makes urgent the pursue of novel therapeutic options. In this way, the goal of this PhD thesis was to develop inhibitors of the enzyme cruzain, the main cysteine protease from Trypanosoma cruzi, a validated target for Chagas\' disease drug discovery. This work involved the combination of experimental and computational approaches in medicinal chemistry and drug design. Two sets of inhibitors were used as lead compounds: benzimidazole and imide derivatives. The design, chemical synthesis and biological evaluation of several compounds were performed iteratively, until the optimization of potency was achieved. Modifications in different regions of each lead compound were explored, making it possible to understand the SAR requirements for enzyme inhibition. The mode of inhibition of the compounds was determined. Preliminary toxicity studies were caried out using cellular lineages and mice, showing that the compounds possess a safe profile. A PhD internship at the department of metabolism and pharmacokinetics at the U.S. pharmaceutical company AbbVie led to the determination and optimization of the pharmacokinetic profile of the inhibitors. Besides, a methodology recently implemented in the company was employed in this work, which aims a multi parametric optimization of the test compounds. This method was used to identify drug candidates with a favorable balance between potency and pharmacokinetic parameters, which are absolutely essential to develop a new, safe and effective drug. Finally, it was created a rational and more effective strategy for the screening of new antichagasic drug candidates, presenting an optimized combinaiton of potency and ADME properties.

O Mal de Alzheimer é o maior causador de demência em idosos: acomete 10% da população mundial com idade em torno dos 65 anos e atinge cerca de 50% dos indivíduos com mais de 85 anos. A progressão dos sintomas da doença está associada a modificações estruturais nas sinapses colinérgicas em determinadas regiões cerebrais. A maior característica fisiopatológica do AD é a deposição de placas neuríticas extracelulares em áreas cerebrais relacionadas à memória, placas constituídas pelo peptídeo ?-amiloide 40/42, que é formado pela clivagem da Proteína Precursora Amiloide, durante seu metabolismo pela via amiloidogênica, que começa com a enzima ?-secretase. O objetivo do trabalho foi o planejamento e avaliação de novos inibidores de ?-secretase. Para isso, foram utilizadas diferentes técnicas de modelagem molecular e planejamento de moléculas, tendo como base os inibidores da ?-secretase descritos na literatura cujas estruturas estão depositadas no PDB. Posteriormente, foi realizada a avaliação in vitro da atividade inibitória de algumas destas moléculas, onde observou-se que três são capazes de satisfatoriamente inibir a atividade da ?-secretase na concentração de 1 µM. / The Alzheimer\'s disease is the major cause of elderly dementia: it affects 10% of global population with 65 years old and about 50% of individuals with 85 years old or more. The evolution of the disease symptoms is associated with structural changes in cholinergic synapses at certain brain regions. The major pathophysiological feature of AD is the deposition of extracellular neuritic plaques in areas of the brain related to memory. The ?-amyloid peptide 40/42 constitutes the plaques. It\'s formed by cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein during its metabolism by the amyloidogenic pathway, which starts with the ?-secretase enzyme. The goal of this project was the planning and evaluation of new ?-secretase inhibitors activity. For this, we used different molecular modeling and drug design techniques, based on the ?-secretase inhibitors described in the literature, whose structures are deposited in the PDB, with subsequent in vitro evaluation of this molecules activity. The in vitro assays showed three molecules able to inhibit ?-secretase at 1 µM.

O Mal de Alzheimer (MA) foi caracterizado pela primeira vez em 1907 pelo neuropatologista alemão Alois Alzheimer, tendo como sintomas clínicos disfunções cognitivas, fisiológicas, comportamentais, perda de memória, e eventualmente incontinência, demência, acamação e morte. É uma doença neurodegenerativa do sistema nervoso central que costuma afetar, principalmente, indivíduos em faixa etária mais avançada. Este mal é caracterizado microscopicamente pela presença de placas amilóides, que são acúmulos da proteína betaamilóide inter-neurônios, e emaranhados neurofibrilares, formados predominantemente por formas altamente fosforiladas de uma proteína associada aos microtúbulos, Tau, as quais formam massas emaranhadas que consomem o corpo celular neuronal, possivelmente levando à disfunção neuronal e finalmente à morte. MAPK p38? tem sido implicada em dois eventos associados ao MA, fosforilação da Tau e inflamação. MAPK p38? é ativada por uma via de fosforilação dupla em Thr180 e Tyr182. O planejamento de fármacos inibidores de p38? é principalmente focado em pequenas moléculas que competem pelo sítio catalítico do ATP. Aqui, nós utilizamos diferentes técnicas de modelagem molecular e planejamento racional baseado em estrutura e ligantes, tendo como base os inibidores da MAPK p38? descritos na literatura, além das estruturas depositadas no PDB. Como resultado das diferentes abordagens de triagens virtuais utilizadas neste trabalho, tais como \"docking\", farmacóforo, dinâmica molecular, campos de interação molecular, predição de atividade e toxicidade, cálculo de propriedades farmacocinéticas e físico-químicas, foi selecionado um total de 14 compostos que atendem aos critérios adotados de baixa ou nenhuma toxicidade potencial, bom perfil farmacoterapêutico predito, atividades calculadas em valores comparáveis aos obtidos para os compostos de referência, além da manutenção das principais interações observadas para os inibidores mais potentes. Estes compostos podem ser adquiridos para estudos de inibição in vitro frente à enzima MAPK p38?, contribuindo assim na busca de um potencial candidato à fármaco no tratamento do Mal de Alzheimer. / Alzheimer\'s disease (AD) was first characterized in 1907 by the German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer, whose clinical symptoms includes cognitive, physiological and behavioral dysfunctions, memory loss, eventually incontinence, dementia, and death. It is a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system that usually affects individuals group in older age. This is characterized microscopically by the presence of amyloid plaques, which are accumulations of beta-amyloid protein inter-neurons, and neurofibrillary tangles formed predominantly by highly phosphorylated forms of the microtubule-associated protein, tau, which form tangled masses that consume neuronal cell body, possibly leading to neuronal dysfunction and ultimately death. p38? MAPK has been implicated in both events associated with AD, tau phosphorylation and inflammation. p38? MAPK pathway is activated by a dual phosphorylation at Thr180 and Tyr182 residues. The drug design of p38? MAPK inhibitors is mainly focused on small molecules that compete for ATP in the catalytic site. Here, we used different techniques of molecular modeling based on p38? MAPK structure deposited in the PDB and its inhibitors described in the literature. As a result of different virtual screening approaches used in this work, such as \"docking\", pharmacophore, molecular dynamics, molecular interaction fields, activity and toxicity predictions assays, pharmacokinetic properties and physicochemical, was selected a total of 14 compounds that meet these criteria of low or no toxicity potential, good pharmacotherapeutic profile, predicted activities calculated values comparable to those obtained for the reference compounds, while maintaining the main interactions observed for the most potent inhibitors. These compounds should be acquired for in vitro inhibition studies against the enzyme p38? MAPK, thereby helping in the search of a potential drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer\'s disease.

O câncer é umas das principais causas de morte no mundo. Com a falta de critério individual para o tratamento de câncer metastático, a quimioterapia ainda é realizada com fármacos de toxicidade significativa como antraciclinas e taxanos. Portanto, a busca por novos fármacos é de suma importância. Os alquilfosfolipídios constituem uma nova classe de fármacos antineoplásicos, tendo como protótipo a miltefosina, empregada para o tratamento tópico de metástases cutâneas de câncer de mama. No entanto, este fármaco apresenta toxicidade gastrointestinal e ação hemolítica. Neste trabalho, investigou-se a rota sintética da miltefosina, bem como a síntese de novos análogos cicloalquílicos possivelmente menos hemolíticos e menos tóxicos. Para a síntese da miltefosina, 4 etapas foram realizadas: a) obtenção do Dicloreto de fosforoexadecila; b) obtenção de 2-(hexadeciloxi)-3-metil-oxa-1,3,2- oxazofosfolano; c) obtenção do fosfato de 2-(metilamino) etil hexadecila; d) obtenção da miltefosina (hexadecilfosfocolina); sendo o fármaco obtido com sucesso. Em seguida, metodologias de monossubstituição em dióis simétricos foram investigadas para obtenção de ω-hidroxidecil-cicloalquilmetil éteres a serem empregados na rota da miltefosina visando análogos alcoxicicloalquilicos. Diversas tentativas foram empregadas sem sucesso, impedindo-nos de dar continuidade à síntese destes análogos. Partindo-se do reagente cicloexanoetanol e empregando-se a rota de síntese aprimorada da miltefosina, obtivemos o intermediário fosfato de 2-(metilamino)etil cicloexila puro. A última etapa, referente à metilação da amina, resultou em composto dimetilado ao invés do trimetilado esperado. Um ajuste dos parâmetros reacionais como, por exemplo, aumento da concentração dos reagentes de partida, deve resultar no composto planejado. Tanto o intermediário obtido quanto o análogo desejado poderão ser futuramente ensaiados quanto à atividade antitumoral e potencial hemolítico. / Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Due to the lack of individual standard treatment for metastatic cancer, chemotherapy is still based in the use of significantly toxic drugs like anthracyclines and taxanes. Hence, there is a need to search for new anticancer agents. Alkylphospholipids recently emerged as a new antitumor class and its lead compound, miltefosine, has been used for the topical treatment of cutaneous metastasis in breast cancer. However, this drug exhibits gastrointestinal toxicity and hemolytic activity. We investigated miltefosine synthetic route as well as the synthesis of cycloalkyl analogues possibly less toxic and hemolytic. We started from miltefosine synthesis, which included four steps: a) generation of hexadecyl phosphorodichloridate; b) generation of 2-(hexadecyloxy)-3-methyl-oxo-1,3,2-oxazaphospholane; c) generation of hexadecyl 2-(methylamino) ethyl phosphate; d) production of the final product miltefosine (hexadecylphosphocholine). The route was optimized, resulting in the desired drug. After that, several methods for symmetrical diols monoprotection were investigated aiming at the generation of ω-hydroxydecyl cycloalkylmethyl ethers to be further employed in miltefosine synthetic route aiming at alkoxycycloalkyl analogues. Several attempts were realized however unsuccessfully, preventing us to move on in these analogues synthesis. In a different approach, we started from cyclohexylethanol and, employing the synthetic route of miltefosine, obtained the third intermediate, 2-cyclohexylethyl 2- (methylamino)ethyl phosphate pure. The methylation step, last one to obtain the cycloalkyl analogue, resulted in a dimethyl analogue instead of a trymethyl one. We believe that adjusting the reaction parameters, such as increasing reagents concentrations, should result in a successful methylation step. The intermediate obtained as well as the analogue planned might be future evaluated in terms of hemolytic potential and antitumor activity.

siRNA therapy is an emerging technique that reduces protein expression in cells by degrading their mRNAs via the RNA interference pathway (RNAi). Diseases such as cancer often proliferate due to increased protein expression and siRNA therapy offers a new method of treatment for those diseases. Although siRNA therapy has shown success in vitro, it often fails in vivo due to instability in the blood stream. To overcome this limitation, delivery vehicles are necessary for successful transfection of siRNA into target cells and cationic polymers have been widely studied for this purpose. However, complexes between siRNA and delivery vehicles made from cationic polymers exhibit stability issues in the blood stream which results in toxicity and low transfection. This work hypothesizes that improvement of vehicle/siRNA complex stability will improve siRNA transfection efficiency. To test this, the contributions and outcomes of poly(ethylene glycol) [PEG] shell and hydrophobic core modification to a polyethylenimine (PEI) based tethered nanoassemblies (TNAs) were examined. Initially, hydrophobic modification of palmitate (PAL) to the core of the TNA yielded improved transfection efficiency due to an enhanced endosomal escape capability. However, this modification also reduced the TNA/siRNA complex stability. This indicated that the core hydrophobicity must be balanced in order increase stability while increasing transfection efficiency. Additionally, TNAs made from PEG and PEI did not cause transfection in our initial study. The PEG shell density was found to be too great and thereby reduced transfection efficiency. Reducing the PEG density by lowering PEG molecular weight, reducing attachment percentage, and removing small PEI impurities from the synthesis stock increased overall transfection efficiency and unimolecularity of the TNA complexes. This indicated that the shell composition of the TNA must be tuned in order to improve particle design. Further study of the hydrophobically modification to TNAs yielded unintended effects on the transfection efficiency evaluation assay. These particles exhibited an siRNA independent reduction in the reporter protein used to observe transfection, or a false positive effect, that was not previously observed. It was found that this false positive was influence mainly by the hydrophobic group rather than the cationic polymer backbone. Cellular stress was observed in cells dosed with the hydrophobically modified TNAs which lead to over ubiquitination and rapid degradation of the luciferase protein. This demonstrated that core components of TNAs could cause cellular stress and influence interaction outside of the TNA. Overall, this work demonstrates that hydrophobic core and PEG shell modification require balancing and consideration to improve properties of future cationic polymer based siRNA delivery vehicle design.

Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm / Artemisia Afra, a popular South African traditional herbal medicine is commonly administered as a tea infusion of the leaves. However, clinical trials proving it safety and efficacy are lacking mainly due to the absence of good quality dosage forms and credible placebos for the plant. The objectives of this study were to prepare a standardized preparation of the plant leaves and freeze-dried aqueous extract powder of the leaves, in a tea bag dosage form and to design and prepare credible placebos for these plant materials. / South Africa

“Bath salts” and “plant food”, which were legally marketed synthetic cathinones, have a high potential for abuse. Several recent studies indicate that 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethcathinone (methylone), two common drugs of this type, have similar pharmacology to controlled psychostimulants such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and methylphenidate. MDPV acts as a norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) reuptake inhibitor via blockade of their transporters (DAT and NET), whereas methylone is a substrate for the NE, DA, and serotonin (5-HT) transporters, increasing the non-vesicular release of these monoamines. Both drugs cause significant increases in the levels of these neurotransmitters in the cleft. Increases in DA are associated with euphoric effects and thus promote drug abuse and addiction, hence the high addiction potential of MDPV and methylone. Indeed, MDPV is 50 times more potent at the DAT and 10 times more potent at the NET than cocaine. Here, we examined the pharmacokinetics of MDPV and methylone in the brain and plasma, following intraperitoneal injection in mice. These types of injections have similar pharmacokinetics to insufflation (snorting), which is the manner in which MDPV and methylone are commonly abused. Briefly, adolescent male Swiss-Webster mice were injected intraperitoneally with either 10 mg/kg MDPV or 10 mg/kg methylone, and brains and plasma were collected at the following time points: 1, 10, 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes. Samples were then flash-frozen and stored at -70°C until analysis. Samples were spiked with deuterium-labeled MDPV or methylone (internal standards), and the drugs were extracted from tissue using a previously published solid phase extraction method. Chromatographic separation of the compounds was achieved using a HILIC column with a gradient elution of acetonitrile and 5 mM ammonium formate at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Mass spectrometric detection utilized a Shimadzu IT-TOF system with the electrospray source running in positive mode. Data acquisition utilized a direct MS-MS method using a precursor ion of 276.3 m/z for MDPV and methylone. The calibration curve ranged from 100 ng/ml to 0.1 ng/ml. These conditions allowed for a lower limit of detection (LLOD) of less than or equal to 1 ng/mL and a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of less than or equal to 5 ng/mL for MDPV and methylone. MDPV and methylone peak concentrations in plasma were seen immediately at 1 min, while brain concentrations peaked at 15 min; however, MDPV reached higher concentrations in the brain the methylone. This is consistent with MDPV’s higher lipophilicity (logP value). In conclusion, the pharmacokinetic profile of these drugs reflects a quick uptake and distribution of the drugs to the brain, followed by the quick distribution out of the brain, which likely contributes to the binge use of these drugs.

Introduction: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat-soluble substance (ubiquinone) which has a bright orange color in appearance and is widely distributed (ubiquitous) in animals and many bacteria. CoQ10’s presence is most prevalent in mitochondria and it is involved in aerobic cellular respiration and aides in converting ingested nutrients into a readily accessible form of energy, specifically ATP (adenosine triphosphate). CoQ10 is supplied through our diets and can be found more in dark leafy green vegetables, fish and organ meats. CoQ10 supplementation should be beneficial due to its characteristic antioxidant scavenging of free radicals that our body produces while in the cellular respiration process for generating energy from nutrients. Although CoQ10 has great antioxidant benefit, a challenge remains for supplement manufacturers to deliver a sufficient does of this sparingly soluble molecule. Dietary supplements do not have the significant FDA oversight that exists for legend drugs, resulting in significant variability within and between brands. The main hypothesis of this project is that commercially available CoQ10 supplements don’t deliver a sufficient mass of CoQ10 when compared to the labelled quantity. Methods: To test this hypothesis, the group purchased and tested 14 commercially available CoQ10 supplements with each serving containing 100 mg of active, choosing a variety of drug delivery systems (DDS) and also included one in-house product, which contained 70 mg of active. The DDSs examined consisted of 7 soft shell gelatin (SSG) capsules (the most common type available), 3 hard shell gelatin (HSG) capsules, 3 tablets (tab), 1 powder, and 1 suspension. Each DDS was placed into a 500 mL volumetric flask (VF) into an aqueous of 0.1 N HCl acid and 0.1% Tween 80, using a standard FDA dissolution method. To facilitate drug release, the contents were removed from the HSG capsules; the SSG capsules were perforated; and the tabs were broken/crushed. After this, a magnetic stir bar was placed into each flask and all DDS samples were vigorously stirred for 30-45 minutes, including being inverted every 10 minutes to further facilitate dissolution of CoQ10 from each DDS. Filtered samples were obtained and the samples were analyzed by a reverse-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography that was previously developed by this research group. Results and Conclusions: Only two of the 15 products evaluated had significant availability (mean > 50%) of CoQ10; one soft gelatin capsule (Product A, dissolved a mean of 68.57%), and the suspension (Product K, dissolved a mean of 56.71%). All of the other products averaged less than 4% dissolution of the labelled amount (range of values 0.19% to 3.64%). The in-house formulated HSG capsule (Product Q) released a mean amount equal to 8.11% of label (more than twice the percentage of the poorly performing commercial products). The consistency of the products was also variable, with product A having a range of 1.7 to 192 mg of CoQ10 released; Product K had a range of 35.8 to 76.1 mg of drug released. The group concluded that there are acceptable products available, but that most have significant performance issues.