[en] Quinine (QN) is a weak anion-exchange type chiral selector and QN-based silica stationary phases have been widely used for enantioseparation of acidic chiral analytes in HPLC and recently in CEC. In this work we report enantioseparation of non-acidic chiral analytes on a quinine carbamate-immobilized zirconia (QNZ) in reversed-phase (RP) CEC. Influences of pH, composition of the buffer, acetonitrile content and the applied voltage on enantioseparation were examined. Enantiomers of the analytes investigated are well separated in acetonitrile/phosphate buffer mobile phases. Separation data on QNZ were compared to those on QN-bonded silica (QNS). Retention was longer but better enantioselectivity and resolution were obtained on QNZ than QNS

[en] A highly diastereoselective and enantioselective Michael addition/desymmetrization reaction of maleimides with prochiral 3- substituted phthalides catalyzed by quinine-derived bifunctional thiourea was realized. A broad range of the 3,3′-disubstituted phthalides bearing vicinal quaternary-tertiary stereogenic centers were synthesized in moderate to good yields (up to 96%) with high diastereoselectivities (up to >19:1 dr) and enantioselectivities (up to 96:4 er).

[en] Purpose. In this study, spatio-temporal beam profiling for electron ultra-high dose rate (UHDR; >40 Gy s⁻¹) radiation via Cherenkov emission and radioluminescence imaging was investigated using intensified complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor cameras. Methods. The cameras, gated to FLASH optimized linear accelerator pulses, imaged radioluminescence and Cherenkov emission incited by single pulses of a UHDR (>40 Gy s⁻¹) 10 MeV electron beam delivered to the isocenter. Surface dosimetry was investigated via imaging Cherenkov emission or scintillation from a solid water phantom or Gd₂O₂S:Tb screen positioned on top of the phantom, respectively. Projected depth–dose profiles were imaged from a tank filled with water (Cherenkov emission) and a 1 g l⁻¹ quinine sulfate solution (scintillation). These optical results were compared with projected lateral dose profiles measured by Gafchromic film at different depths, including the surface. Results. The per-pulse beam output from Cherenkov imaging agreed with the photomultiplier tube Cherenkov output to within 3% after about the first five to seven ramp-up pulses. Cherenkov emission and scintillation were linear with dose (R ² = 0.987 and 0.995, respectively) and independent of dose rate from ∼50 to 300 Gy s⁻¹ (0.18–0.91 Gy/pulse). The surface dose distribution from film agreed better with scintillation than with Cherenkov emission imaging (3%/3 mm gamma pass rates of 98.9% and 88.8%, respectively). Using a 450 nm bandpass filter, the quinine sulfate-based water imaging of the projected depth optical profiles agreed with the projected film dose to within 5%. Conclusion. The agreement of surface dosimetry using scintillation screen imaging and Gafchromic film suggests it can verify the consistency of daily beam quality assurance parameters with an accuracy of around 2% or 2 mm. Cherenkov-based surface dosimetry was affected by the target’s optical properties, prompting additional calibration. In projected depth–dose profiling, scintillation imaging via spectral suppression of Cherenkov emission provided the best match to film. Both camera-based imaging modalities resolved dose from single UHDR beam pulses of up to 60 Hz repetition rate and 1 mm spatial resolution. (paper)

[en] The mixed dissociation constants of four drug acids - losartan, paracetamol, phenylephrine and quinine - at various ionic strengths I of range 0.01 and 1.0 and at temperatures of 25 and 37 deg. C were determined using SPECFIT32 and SQUAD(84) regression analysis of the pH-spectrophotometric titration data. A proposed strategy of efficient experimentation in a dissociation constants determination, followed by a computational strategy for the chemical model with a dissociation constants determination, is presented on the protonation equilibria of losartan. Indices of precise methods predict the correct number of components, and even the presence of minor ones when the data quality is high and the instrumental error is known. Improved identification of the number of species uses the second or third derivative function for some indices, namely when the number of species in the mixture is higher than 3 and when, due to large variations in the indicator values even at logarithmic scale, the indicator curve does not reach an obvious point where the slope changes. The thermodynamic dissociation constant pKaT was estimated by nonlinear regression of {pK_a, I} data at 25 and 37 deg. C: for losartan pKa,1T=3.63(1) and 3.57(3), pKa,2T=4.84(1) and 4.80(3), for paracetamol pKa,1T=9.78(1) and 9.65(1), for phenylephrine pKa,1T=9.17(1) and 8.95(1), pKa,2T=10.45(1) and 10.22(1), for quinine pKa,1T=4.25(1) and 4.12(1), pKa,2T=8.72(1) and 8.46(2). Goodness-of-fit tests for various regression diagnostics enabled the reliability of the parameter estimates to be found

[en] The high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of enantiomers is preferentially performed using chiral stationary phases (CSPs). If the chiral auxiliary (selector, SO) contains charged or ionizable groups one gets ion exchanger type CSPs which may bind and retain oppositely charged analytes (selectands, SAs). We prepared anion exchanger type CSPs with various quinine and quinidine carbarnates as chiral SOs immobilized either on porous or non-porous silica. These CSPs are able to resolve the enantiomers of a wide spectrum of chiral carboxylic, sulfonic, phosphonic, phosphoric acids and of many other chiral acidic solutes (e.g. N-derivatized alpha-, beta- , gamma-amino acids as 2,4-dinitrophenyl, 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl, benzoyl, acetyl, formyl, t.-butoxycarbonyl, benzyloxycarbonyl, 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl, dansyl amino acids and peptides, alpha-arylalkylcarboxylic acids as profens, alpha-aryloxyalkylcarboxylic acids, alpha-arylthioalkylcarboxylic acids and acidic drugs like etodolac, proglumide, acenocournarol, leucovorin, omeprazole, pantoprazole) employing buffered aqueous mobile phases or non-aqueous mobile phases with buffer dissolved in the organic solvent. The influence of mobile phase parameters and other experimental conditions on retention and enantioselectivity has been evaluated for isocratic and gradient elution techniques, aided by the commercial method development computer software DryLab. Several 'Quantitative Structure-Retention Relationships' (QSRR) have been derived, which allowed prediction of enantioselectivity of new analytes and moreover the optimization of the SO-structure. Spectroscopic investigations as H-NMR, FTIR of certain SO-SA-complexes have been exerted to unveil the mechanism of chiral recognition. (author)

[en] Bitter taste avoidance behavior (BAB) plays a fundamental role in the avoidance of toxic substances with a bitter taste. However, the molecular basis underlying the development of BAB is unknown. To study critical developmental events by which taste buds turn into functional organs with BAB, we investigated the early phase development of BAB in postnatal mice in response to bitter-tasting compounds, such as quinine and thiamine. Postnatal mice started to exhibit BAB for thiamine and quinine at postnatal day 5 (PD5) and PD7, respectively. Histological analyses of taste buds revealed the formation of microvilli in the taste pores starting at PD5 and the localization of type 2 taste receptor 119 (TAS2R119) at the microvilli at PD6. Treatment of the tongue epithelium with cytochalasin D (CytD), which disturbs ACTIN polymerization in the microvilli, resulted in the loss of TAS2R119 localization at the microvilli and the loss of BAB for quinine and thiamine. The release of ATP from the circumvallate papillae tissue due to taste stimuli was also declined following CytD treatment. These results suggest that the localization of TAS2R119 at the microvilli of taste pores is critical for the initiation of BAB.

[en] Highlights: •Naphthazarin activates the Nrf2/ARE pathway. •Naphthazarin induces Nrf2-driven genes in neurons and astrocytes. •Naphthazarin protects neurons against excitotoxicity. -- Abstract: Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway is an important cellular stress response pathway involved in neuroprotection. We previously screened several natural phytochemicals and identified plumbagin as a novel activator of the Nrf2/ARE pathway that can protect neurons against ischemic injury. Here we extended our studies to natural and synthetic derivatives of plumbagin. We found that 5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (naphthazarin) is a potent activator of the Nrf2/ARE pathway, up-regulates the expression of Nrf2-driven genes in primary neuronal and glial cultures, and protects neurons against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity

[en] Polylactic acid (PLA) and chitosan (CS) has been attracted by many researchers due to their good adhesion, biodegradability and biocompatibility. Quinine has been used for the treatment of malaria. In this work, we used emulsion method to prepare polylactic acid/chitosan/quinine (PCQ) nanoparticles with polyethylene oxide (PEO) as a compatibilizer and emulsifier. The content of containing PEO was 3-10 wt. % compared with the weight of PLA. These nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The FTIR spectra of these nanoparticles show that PLA, CS and quinine are interact through the hydrogen bonding and dipolar-dipolar interactions between C-O, C=N, OH groups in quinine and C-O, NH, OH groups in chitosan with C-O, C=O, OH groups in PLA. The FESEM images of the nanoparticles with different PEO contents indicate that the nanoparticles have a spherical shape with the average particle size in the range of 80-220 nm. (author)

[en] Two injection solutions of quinine 79, 77 resp., years were analyzed using RP-HPLC. The conditions of separation were optimized. The quinine content is decreased about 13% for 79-year-old sample and about 8% for 77-year-old sample, respectively. Quinotoxine has been found as the decomposition product. The compounds were identified by MS², and the ESI fragmentation mechanisms of compounds found were proposed. Graphical abstract: < Image>.

[en] The human cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) enzymes, which metabolize 50% of currently used therapeutic drugs, exhibit great interindividual differences in activity that have a major impact on drug treatment outcome, but hitherto no genetic background importantly contributing to this variation has been identified. In this study we show that CYP3A4 mRNA and hnRNA contents with a few exceptions vary in parallel in human liver, suggesting that mechanisms affecting CYP3A4 transcription, such as promoter polymorphisms, are relevant for interindividual differences in CYP3A4 expression. Tanzanian (n = 143) healthy volunteers were phenotyped using quinine as a CYP3A probe and the results were used for association studies with CYP3A4 genotypes. Carriers of CYP3A4*1B had a significantly lower activity than those with CYP3A4*1 whereas no differences were seen for five other SNPs investigated. Nuclear proteins from the B16A2 hepatoma cells were found to bind with less affinity to the CYP3A4*1B element around -392 bp as compared to CYP3A4*1. The data indicate the existence of a genetic CYP3A4 polymorphism with functional importance for interindividual differences in enzyme expression