DETERMINATION OF METFORMIN AND SITAGLIPTIN IN HEALTHY HUMAN VOLUNTEERS' BLOOD PLASMA AND ITS BIOEQUIVALENCE STUDY UNDER FASTING CONDITION

Objective: Metformin hydrochloride and sitagliptin are the oral anti-hyperglycemic medications used to treat type 2 diabetes and are used in combination to treat patients. In this work, we have developed a bioanalytical method for simultaneous estimation of both the drugs form some formulation and subsequently the validation of the developed method metformin and sitagliptin in human plasma. Methods: The stability studies were done as per USFDA and EMA guidelines. The sample extraction approach presented here was a straightforward liquid extraction. The linearity range of metformin was 11.72 ng/ml to 3000 ng/ml, and sitagliptin was 4.68 ng/ml. to 1200 ng/ml. For metformin, the LOD was 1.0 ng/ml, and LLOQ was 11.72 ng/ml. and for sitagliptin, the LOD was 0.75 ng/ml, and LLOQ was 4.68 ng/ml. LC-ESI-MS/MS was used to develop and validate this method using the Phenomenex Kinetex C18 column. Milli-Q water containing 10 mmol Ammonium Acetate (pH =3.6) and Acetonitrile containing 0.1% Formic Acid (pH =2.4) as solvent systems for the estimation of Sitagliptin in a single dose. Metoprolol is used as an Internal Standard. Results: The total chromatographic run time was only 7.0 min, and the elute time of metformin and sitagliptin was 3.94 min and 3.97 min, respectively. Relative Bioavailability was found at 101.14% for Metformin and 96.96% for Sitagliptin. The overall results show that the Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞ for metformin and sitagliptin were within the acceptable limit of 80%-125%. Conclusion: This bioanalytical method was successfully applied in the bioequivalence study. The study design was a randomized, open-label, two treatment, two-period, two sequences, single-dose, crossover bioequivalence study under fasting conditions

BIOEQUIVALENCE STUDY OF AZELNIDIPINE 16 MG TABLET TO EVALUATE PHARMACOKINETIC PROFILE OF SINGLE DOSE IN HEALTHY, ADULT, HUMAN VOLUNTEERS UNDER FASTING CONDITION

Objective: The present study's objective is to conduct a comparative bioavailability study with a special emphasis on the test product's bioequivalence using a standard reference product as a comparator. Methods: Before initiating the bioequivalence study, the plasma sample analysis method was developed and validated by using LC-MS/MS method. The entire study was conducted as a single-dose crossover randomized bioequivalence study with open-label, two treatment, two-period, and two sequences on 24 healthy volunteers under fasting condition. With proper informed consent process the oral dose of the Reference product (R) or Test product (T) was administered on healthy volunteers at 0 h during each period of the study. After the drug's oral administration, a certain quantity of blood sample was collected, and the plasma sample was separated using a cold centrifuge. The plasma samples were analysed by using the validated LC-MS/MS method. The pharmacokinetic parameters, statistical data and ANOVA of the test and reference product were evaluated. Results: The Cmax, Auc0-t, AUC0-∞ and tmax of the test product were found to be 6.29 ng/ml, 117.0 ng. h/ml, 161.67 ng. h/ml and 3.33 h. respectively. And the Cmax, Auc0-t, AUC0-∞ and tmax of reference product were found 6.59 ng/ml, 123.21 ng. h./ml, 172.20 ng. h/ml and 3.38 h respectively. Relative bioavailability was found 94.96%. The overall results show that the 90% confidence intervals (Log-Transformed and Untransformed) for Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ for Azelnidipine were within the acceptable limit of 80%-125%. Conclusion: The entire study's conclusion can be drawn as the test product was bioequivalence with the reference product's comparator

AN LC-MS/MS BASED BIOANALYTICAL APPROACH TO RESOLVE PHARMACOKINETIC INVESTIGATION OF ACOTIAMIDE HYDROCHLORIDE AND ITS APPLICATION TO BIOEQUIVALENCE STUDY

Objective: Acotiamide, a prokinetic drug used to treat Functional Dyspepsia, which acts by modulating gastric motility. However, in this present study, a simple and accurate bioanalytical method was developed for the estimation of Acotiamide in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and validated according to US-FDA guideline. Methods: The method was developed in blank human blood plasma; propranolol was used as internal standard (IS). Protein Precipitation technique was followed for the extraction of the drug from the plasma sample. In liquid chromatography, the C18 analytical column (50 x 3 mm, particle size-5 μm) was used; as a mobile phase, 0.1% formic acid in Mili Q water, and ACN with methanol (1:1) used, at 0.50 ml/min flow rate. Detection was done by positive electrospray ionization (ESI) with a run time of 7 min in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Eight calibration concentrations were taken, ranging from 1.5625-200 ng/ml for Acotiamide. Different stability studies were performed and obtained results found within the acceptable range. Moreover, a comparative pharmacokinetic analysis was done in 24 healthy human volunteers in a single dose, randomized, crossover study. Results: The precursor to production reaction was; m/z 451.200 → 271.200 for Acotiamide and m/z 260.300 → 116.100 m/z for IS. The obtained calibration curve was linear, with a mean r2value 0.9953. Among the pharmacokinetic parameters, Cmax and Tmax were 25.71±2.31,23.61±2.32 ng/ml; 2.54±0.12, 2.43±0.21 h for reference and test samples, respectively. Conclusion: No major adverse events were noted in the clinical phase, the developed method was accurate and linear; obtained pharmacokinetic parameters hence represented

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

When Home is the Edge of the Nation Dialogue with ‘Border’ people of Rajasthan, West Bengal and Bangladesh

SAFHR Monograph - Annexure IVSouth Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) is part of the ‘Auditing Conflict Resolution and Partition in South Asia’ project that conducts an audit of human rights at the local level in border areas. The aim of this report is to critique securitization of the Bengal borderland. It attempts to overcome a “partitioned academy” and offers a more robust analysis on violence and violations in the borderland through incorporating people’s narratives from both sides. The socioeconomic fluidity of the borderland fosters multiple linkages and interactions; albeit ‘irregular’ the flow of exchanges destabilizes the notion of illegality

LC-MS-MS development and validation for simultaneous quantitation of metformin, glimepiride and pioglitazone in human plasma and its application to a bioequivalence study

A simple, precise and reproducible liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated according to the Food and Drug Administration guidelines for the simultaneous quantitation of antidiabetic drugs metformin, glimiperide and pioglitazone in human plasma using glipizide as an internal standard. Quantitation was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer employing electrospray ionization technique, operating in multiple reaction monitoring and positive ion mode. Inter-batch and intra-batch coefficient of variation across four validation runs for the quality control samples was less than 7%. The accuracy determined at quality control levels was within 92.81–105.13%. The method was applied to a bioequivalence study

LC-MS/MS simulatneous determination of itopride hydrochloride and domperidone in human plasma

A rapid, simple, sensitive and specific liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of itopride hydrochloride and domperidone in human plasma. Both drugs were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate and saturated borax solution. The chromatographic separation was performed on a reversed-phase C18 column with a mobile phase of water–methanol (2:98, v/v) containing 0.5% formic acid. The protonated analyte was quantitated in positive ionization by multiple reaction monitoring with a mass spectrometer. The assay exhibited linearity over the concentration range of 3.33–500 ng mL−1 for itopride hydrochloride and 3.33–100 ng mL−1 for domperidone in human plasma. The precursor to product ion transitions of m/z 359.1–72.3 and 426.0–147.2 were used to measure itopride hydrochloride and domperidone respectively. The method was found suitable for the analysis of plasma samples collected during phase 1 pharmacokinetics study of itopride HCl 50 mg and domperidone 20 mg in 12 healthy volunteers after single oral doses of the combination drug

Layered double hydroxide: Inorganic organic conjugate nanocarrier for methotrexate

Layered double hydroxide (LDH)-methotrexate (MTX) nanohybrids were successfully synthesized using ex situ and in situ processes. X-ray diffraction patterns of the synthesized nanopowders revealed that intercalated MTX molecules were stabilized in tilted longitudinal conformation into the hydroxide interlayer space. Two separate hydroxyl peaks were found in the FTIR spectra of LDH-MTX nanopowders suggesting successful intercalation of the MIX molecule into LDH matrix. The synthesized powders were further characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern. HRTEM images showed an increase in interlayer spacing in hydrothermally crystallized LDH-MTX nanohybrids as compared to pristine LDH. The study showed that depending on the synthesis route used to synthesize LDH-MTX nanohybrid, its particle size as well as morphology can be varied at nano scale. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Effect of Process Variations on Anticancerous Drug Intercalation in Ceramic Based Delivery System

Two methods have been attempted to intercalate an anionic anticancerous drug methotrexate (MTX) into Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH): a) anion exchange method (sample A') and b) in situ coprecipitation method followed by a soft hydrothermal treatment (sample A `') to form a biohybrid material. Both the materials obtained were characterized by powdered sample X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), particle size distribution (PSD) analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the integrity of the MTX and to quantify the drug loading in the materials. HPLC data of sample A' confirms the integrity of the MTX moiety in the interlayer space of Mg-Al-LDH which has been further verified by XRD and FTIR spectroscopy and drug loading in the hybrid system was found to be 20.22 mg.g(-1). However, the HPLC data of sample A `' supports that under soft hydrothermal condition decomposition of MTX is operating and the major decomposition product was identified as N(10)-methyl folic acid that remains adsorbed on Mg-Al-LDH surface, primarily, as indicated by the TG-DTA study