Thalidomide Enantiomers Research Articles

Quantum Chemical Investigation of the Interaction of Thalidomide Monomeric, Dimeric, Trimeric, and Tetrameric Forms with Guanine DNA Nucleotide Basis in DMSO and Water Solution: A Thermodynamic and NMR Spectroscopy Analysis.

Thalidomide (TLD) was used worldwide as a sedative, but it was revealed to cause teratogenicity when taken during early pregnancy. It has been stated that the (R) enantiomer of TLD has therapeutic effects, while the (S) form is teratogenic. Clinical studies, however, demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of thalidomide in several intractable diseases, so TLD and its derivatives have played an important role in the development and therapy of anticancer drugs. Therefore, it is important to know the molecular mechanism of action of the TLD, although this is still not clear. In what molecular interactions are concerned, it is known that drug molecules can interact with DNA in different ways, for example, by intercalation between base pairs. Furthermore, the ability of the TLD to interact with DNA has been confirmed experimentally. In this work, we report a theoretical investigation of the interaction of the R and S enantiomers of TLD, in its monomeric, dimeric, trimeric, and tetrameric forms, with guanine (GUA) DNA nucleotide basis in solution using density functional theory (DFT). Our initial objective was to evaluate the interaction of TLD-R/S with GUA through thermodynamic and spectroscopic study in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solvent and an aqueous solution. Comparison of the experimental 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum in DMSO-d6 solution with calculated DFT-PCM-DMSO chemical shifts revealed that TLD can undergo molecular association in solution, and interaction of its dimeric form with a DNA base ((TLD)2-GUA and (TLD)2-2GUA, for example) through H-bond formation is likely to take place. Our results strongly indicated that we must consider the plausibility of the existence of TLD associations in solution when modeling the complexation of the TLD with biological targets. This is new information that may provide further insight into our understanding of drug binding to biological targets at the molecular level.

Enantioselective sensing of (S)-Thalidomide in blood plasma with a chiral naphthalene diimide derivative

Fast, simple in use and highly effective voltammetric enantiosensor dedicated for determination of thalidomide (TD) enantiomers (especially towards the toxic (S)-enantiomer) in blood plasma is still desirable. Here we have proven that newly synthesized chiral naphthalene diimide (NDI) derivatives are excellent electroactive materials for TD enantiosensors. The recognition process relies on the specific interaction between the chiral NDI receptor and the thalidomide enantiomer of the opposite configuration. This unique specific interaction between (S)-thalidomide and (R)-NDI derivative counterparts, evident in the DPV voltammograms, was confirmed by molecular modeling. The demonstrated voltammetric enantiosensors are characterized by the low detection limit at the level of μg·L−1, wide analytical range from 5·10−4 – 10 mg·L−1, high selectivity and long lifetime. The results of the recovery rates showed a very good degree of accuracy towards the determination of (S)-thalidomide in the blood samples, so it can be successfully used in the analysis of clinical samples.

Deuterium-Enabled Chiral Switching (DECS) Yields Chirally Pure Drugs from Chemically Interconverting Racemates

Separation of the preferred enantiomer from racemic mixtures, i.e. “chiral switching,” often improves efficacy and reduces toxicity. However, this strategy is not applicable for all chiral compounds—particularly for molecules with hydrogen-containing chiral centers, which can be prone to rapid stereoisomerization. Deuterium incorporation can stabilize such chiral centers while retaining the pharmacologic characteristics of the parent racemic mixture, thereby enabling their “chiral switching”, changing the drug from a racemate to a single enantiomer. We describe “deuterium-enabled chiral switching” (DECS) as a means of improving on the therapeutic promise of chemically unstable racemic drugs and demonstrate its utility with the isolation and characterization of stable preferred enantiomers of thalidomide and thiazolidinedione (TZD) analogs.

Understanding the Thalidomide Chirality in Biological Processes by the Self-disproportionation of Enantiomers

Twenty years after the thalidomide disaster in the late 1950s, Blaschke et al. reported that only the (S)-enantiomer of thalidomide is teratogenic. However, other work has shown that the enantiomers of thalidomide interconvert in vivo, which begs the question: why is teratogen activity not observed in animal experiments that use (R)-thalidomide given the ready in vivo racemization (“thalidomide paradox”)? Herein, we disclose a hypothesis to explain this “thalidomide paradox” through the in-vivo self-disproportionation of enantiomers. Upon stirring a 20% ee solution of thalidomide in a given solvent, significant enantiomeric enrichment of up to 98% ee was observed reproducibly in solution. We hypothesize that a fraction of thalidomide enantiomers epimerizes in vivo, followed by precipitation of racemic thalidomide in (R/S)-heterodimeric form. Thus, racemic thalidomide is most likely removed from biological processes upon racemic precipitation in (R/S)-heterodimeric form. On the other hand, enantiomerically pure thalidomide remains in solution, affording the observed biological experimental results: the (S)-enantiomer is teratogenic, while the (R)-enantiomer is not.

Thalidomide-type teratogenicity: structure-activity relationships for congeners.

Unravelling the molecular basis of thalidomide embryotoxicity, which is remarkably species-specific, is challenging in view of its low toxicity in the mature animal. Employing data derived solely from proven sensitive primate species or susceptible strains of rabbit, the structure-activity relationship of over 50 compounds which are, arguably, congeners of thalidomide has been reviewed. The molecular requirement for 'thalidomide-type' teratogenicity was highly structure dependent. Both the phthalimide and glutarimide groups were essential for embryopathic activity, although minor substitutions in either or both rings could be tolerated without a loss of toxicity. An α-linkage between the two cyclic structures was essential; a β-link resulted in a complete loss of embryopathic activity. Crucially, this α-configuration provided a centre of asymmetry enabling the existence of stereoisomers. The thalidomide molecule is not a static entity and under physiological conditions it undergoes a number of intra- and inter-molecular reactions. Besides irreversible hydrolysis, its keto-enol tautomerism, base-assisted proton transfer and glutarimide ring rotation lead to rapid interconversion of the thalidomide enantiomers. These enantiomers form equilibria between themselves and also between both homochiral and heterochiral dimers. It is proposed that the more energetically favourable and stable heterochiral dimer of thalidomide is an active agent that possesses the structural features of the paired nucleotides of the double-stranded DNA. Its capacity to enter into hydrogen bonding interactions affects DNA expression in a chaotic manner without causing permanent mutations. This disruption may well be concentrated at nucleotide sites known to be involved in specific promoter regions of the genome.

A thalidomide templated molecularly imprinted polymer that promotes a biologically active chiral entity tagged in colon carcinoma cells and protein-related immune activation

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) with selective layered surface were utilized for the potential allowing the original molecule to be tagged as a biologically active chiral entity in a biological cancer milieu. The general features of the particles consisted of different monomeric compositions for the copolymerization deposited on the surfaces. We found that the addition of an almost equimolar ratio of two crosslinkers enabled thalidomide to be bound 70% and prolonged release of the R-form to a greater extent than that achieved using a single crosslinker. The effect of the altered surface on the ability of the enantiomers and racemic thalidomide to cross a lipid bilayer and the optical properties of a quantum dot has been studied. These chirally imprints provided the controlled interfacial interactions at the self-assembly site, coupled to the electronic reactions, related to probing the recognition events in the apoptosis cancer cells. This result revealed the three-dimensional fluorescence imaging for evaluation drug release that give rise a much greater decrease of cell viability of the Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, the increased hydrophobicity on the surface enhanced fluorescence due to an effective complex with three-dimensional shape of the active site inside the cavity. Evidently, the endogenous components affected the interacting of the albumin capable of the activation of immune system on the cell allowed discriminating a form of thalidomide. The results indicated that the thalidomide-tagged protein on enantiomorphs selective-MIPs optimising its cancer delivery application, yet promoted the identification of target-ligand interactions for pharmaceutical effect and the toxicities of thalidomide enantiomers.

Self-disproportionation of enantiomers of thalidomide and its fluorinated analogue via gravity-driven achiral chromatography: mechanistic rationale and implications.

We report on the self-disproportionation of enantiomers (SDE) of non-racemic thalidomide (1) and 3'-fluorothalidomide (2) under the conditions of gravity-driven achiral silica-gel chromatography. The presence of a fluorine atom on the chiral center dramatically alters the structure and polarity of 1 and 2, resulting in the opposite SDE profile on silica-gel.

Single-step approach for fabrication of vancomycin-bonded silica monolith as chiral stationary phase

A vancomycin-bonded silica monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) was prepared by a single-step in situ sol–gel approach. This sol–gel process incorporates a synthetic sol–gel precursor which contains a macrocyclic antibiotic, vancomycin, to form a porous silica network inside a fused-silica capillary. To avoid degradation of vancomycin during the column fabrication, a mild step was adopted into the sol–gel process. The performance of the vancomycin chiral stationary phase was investigated by CEC in both the reversed-phase mode and the normal-phase mode. The vancomycin chiral stationary phase was optimized with respect to vancomycin loading in the reversed-phase mode for chiral separation of thalidomide enantiomers. The best efficiency and resolution values of 94600plates/m and 5.79, respectively, were achieved. The optimized column was further applied to chiral separation of alprenolol enantiomers. A plate height of less than 7μm for the first eluted enantiomer of alprenolol was obtained in an aqueous mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.74mm/s. Using enantiomers of seven β-blockers and some other basic enantiomers as test analytes, separation efficiencies of up to 148100plates/m in the reversed-phase mode and up to 138100plates/m in the normal-phase mode were achieved.

Abstract 3357: CTP-221, a deuterated S-enantiomer of lenalidomide, is greatly stabilized to epimerization and results in a more desirable pharmacokinetic profile than racemic lenalidomide.

Abstract IMiD-class compounds, including thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide, have been developed as racemic mixtures of S- and R-enantiomers. The isolated enantiomers of thalidomide are known to have distinct biological activities. For example, the well-documented sedative effects of thalidomide are correlated with the R-enantiomer (Eriksson et al., 2000), whereas S-thalidomide exhibits enhanced potency for TNF-α inhibition compared to the R-enantiomer (Wnendt et al., 1996; Moreira et al., 1993). We have demonstrated that S-lenalidomide is more potent than racemic or R-lenalidomide in biological activities that are believed to be important for clinical efficacy of lenalidomide. Due to facile in vivo conversion, isolated S-enantiomers of IMiDs have not been developed clinically. Lenalidomide (Revlimid®) is a racemic mixture of S- and R-enantiomers that interconvert through epimerization. Revlimid is labeled for the treatment of 5q-myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and multiple myeloma. CTP-221 is a deuterium-modified analog of S-lenalidomide containing deuterium atoms at key positions including lenalidomide's chiral center. Deuterium modification has the potential, albeit unpredictably, to alter the metabolic fate and hence the pharmacokinetic disposition of drugs, especially those that are biotransformed via the cleavage of carbon-hydrogen bonds (Fisher et al, 2006). The effect of deuterium modification on the epimerization rate and pharmacokinetic profile of CTP-221 was investigated in vitro and in vivo in mice, rats and monkeys. The rates of epimerization of CTP-221 and S-lenalidomide were compared in vitro in whole blood from mouse, rat, monkey, and human. It was found that CTP-221 was 2- to 3-fold more stable to epimerization than S-lenalidomide in the four species. To compare the in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles of CTP-221 and racemic lenalidomide, the compounds (10 mg/kg, PO) were administered to mice, rats and monkeys. In all three species, the exposure (AUC) of S- and R-lenalidomide following administration of racemic lenalidomide was about 50-57% and 43-50%, respectively, of the sum of the AUC of the individual enantiomers. However, when CTP-221 was administered, the AUC of CTP-221 and the deuterated R-enantiomers formed in vivo were about 96-99% and 1-4% respectively, of the sum of the AUC of the two enantiomers. Thus, CTP-221 epimerizes to a minimal extent in vivo and its administration provides exposure to very low levels of the R-enantiomer. In conclusion, the stabilization of CTP-221 via deuterium substitution resulted in maximal exposure to the more potent S-enantiomer and minimal exposure to the R-enantiomer. As a result, CTP-221 has the potential for improved potency and therapeutic index in comparison to racemic lenalidomide. Citation Format: Vinita Uttamsingh, Richard Gallegos, Changfu Cheng, Ara Aslanian, Julie Fields Liu, Roger Tung, Lijun Wu. CTP-221, a deuterated S-enantiomer of lenalidomide, is greatly stabilized to epimerization and results in a more desirable pharmacokinetic profile than racemic lenalidomide. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3357. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3357

CTP-221, a Deuterated S-Enantiomer of Lenalidomide, Possesses Significantly Enhanced Immunomodulatory and Anti-Proliferative Properties Relative to the R-Enantiomer and to Racemic Lenalidomide.

AbstractAbstract 2463Lenalidomide (Revlimid®) is an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) currently approved for the treatment of 5q- myelodysplastic syndrome and multiple myeloma. The clinical efficacy of lenalidomide is thought to be related in part to enhanced T-cell co-stimulation and NK-cell activation via augmented IL-2 and IFN-γ production (Bartlett et al., 2004; Corral and Kaplan, 1999). Lenalidomide also inhibits TNF-α production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and whole blood, which may further contribute to its anti-tumor activity (Mueller et al., 1999). In addition to immunomodulatory effects, lenalidomide directly induces growth arrest and apoptosis in multiple myeloma cells, which is also recognized as a key mechanism of clinical efficacy (Mitsiades, 2002; Bartlett et al., 2004).IMiD-class compounds, including thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide, have been developed as racemic mixtures of S- and R-enantiomers. The isolated enantiomers of thalidomide are known to have distinct biological activities. For example, the well-documented sedative effects of thalidomide are correlated with the R-enantiomer (Eriksson et al., 2000), whereas S-thalidomide exhibits enhanced potency for TNF-α inhibition and IL-2 induction compared to R-thalidomide (Mueller et al., 1999; Moreira et al., 2003; Macor, 2007). Due to facile in vivo conversion, isolated S- enantiomers of IMiDs have not been developed clinically. To our knowledge, it has not been previously reported whether lenalidomide has enantiospecific immunomodulatory, anti-proliferative, or toxicological properties.Given the therapeutic importance of lenalidomide, we explored a number of deuterium-substituted analogs of lenalidomide, either as racemic mixtures or as isolated S- and R-enantiomers, and studied them in several in vitro pharmacological assays. We found that in each case tested, deuterated racemic lenalidomide analogs were indistinguishable from non-deuterated lenalidomide across all the assays employed, including IL-2 induction in anti-CD3-stimulated PBMC, TNF-α inhibition in LPS-stimulated whole blood, and inhibition of proliferation of MM.1S human multiple myeloma cells.In contrast to deuterated racemic lenalidomide, CTP-221, an optimized deuterated S-lenalidomide analog, exhibited enhanced potency compared to racemic lenalidomide for IL-2 induction (2.7-fold), TNF-α inhibition (3.7-fold) and anti-proliferative (2.4-fold) activities in vitro. Interestingly, these enhancements in potency are greater than the maximal 2-fold enhancement one could expect from assessing an isolated active enantiomer in comparison to its racemate. These greater-than-expected enhancements in potency were consistently observed across all the assays comparing CTP-221 to lenalidomide, suggesting that deuterium substitution had additional effect(s) that drive increased potency. Furthermore, CTP-221 was significantly more potent than similarly deuterated R-lenalidomide in these assays (between 9.0 and 19.8-fold), demonstrating that the clinically relevant pharmacological activities of lenalidomide are primarily contained within the S-enantiomer. Finally, we found that CTP-221 was consistently more potent (1.2–2.0-fold) than non-deuterated S-lenalidomide.Taken together, these in vitro data demonstrate that deuterated racemic lenalidomide does not offer apparent advantages versus lenalidomide. However, the deuterated S-lenalidomide analog CTP-221 is significantly more potent than lenalidomide in key biological activities believed important for clinical efficacy. We plan to explore the toxicological properties of CTP-221 to assess its therapeutic window relative to lenalidomide. Disclosures:Wu:Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Aslanian:Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Liu:Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Hogan:Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Tung:Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Novel Chiral LC Methods for the Enantiomeric Separation of Bicalutamide and Thalidomide on Amylose Based Immobilized CSP

Fast chiral liquid chromatographic methods are developed for the separation of bicalutamide and thalidomide enantiomers in bulk drug samples in an elution time of about 15 min. The chromatographic separation was carried out on various solvents using an amylose 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate immobilized onto silica gel (Chiralpak®-IA). The resolution (Rs) between the enantiomers is found to be greater than 1.5 in the developed method. Chiralpak®-IA column played a key role in achieving chromatographic resolution between the enantiomers and also in enhancing chromatographic efficiency. The columns compatability to non standard chromatographic solvents is checked and found suitable. Keywords: Bicalutamide, Thalidomide, Chiralpak®-IA, Enantiomeric separation, Non-Steroidal Anti-Androgen, Sedative-Hypnotic, Multiple Myeloma, Pharmacokinetic, HPLC, Limit of Quantification, Precision, Robustness

Enantioselectivity of thalidomide serum and tissue concentrations in a rat glioma model and effects of combination treatment with cisplatin and BCNU

Thalidomide is currently under evaluation as an anti-angiogenic agent in cancer treatment, alone and in combination with cytotoxic agents. Thalidomide is a racemate with known pharmacologic and pharmacokinetic enantioselectivity. In a previous study with thalidomide combination chemotherapy, we found evidence of anti-tumour synergy. In this study, we examined whether the synergy involved altered pharmacokinetics of thalidomide enantiomers. Adult female F344 rats were implanted with 9L gliosarcoma tumours intracranially, subcutaneously (flank), or both. Effectiveness of oral thalidomide alone, and with intraperitoneal BCNU or cisplatin combination chemotherapy, was assessed after several weeks treatment. Presumed pseudo steady-state serum, tumour and other tissues, collected after treatment, were assayed for R- and S-thalidomide by chiral HPLC. Both serum and tissue concentrations of R-thalidomide were 40-50% greater than those of S-thalidomide. Co-administration of BCNU or cisplatin with thalidomide did not alter the concentration enantioselectivity. Poor correlation of concentration with subcutaneous anti-tumour effect was found for individual treatments, and with all treatments for intracranial tumours. The consistency of the enantiomer concentration ratios across treatments strongly suggests that the favourable antitumour outcomes from interactions between thalidomide and the cytotoxic agents BCNU and cisplatin did not have altered enantioselectivity of thalidomide pharmacokinetics as their basis.

Supramolecular dynamics of thalidomide and its derivatives in water‐sediment system

The contamination of drug residues, including chiral ones, is not acceptable in earth's ecosystem. The dynamicity of enantiomers of thalidomide and its derivatives (3-methyl thalidomide, 3-ethyl thalidomide, and 3-butyl thalidomide) was ascertained at supramolecular level in water-sediment system using solid phase extraction (SPE) and stereoselective HPLC. Enantiomeric separation of these drugs was carried out on Ceramosphere RU-2 (25 cm x 0.46 cm, particle size 50 microm) chiral column using pure ethanol (1.0 ml/min) as eluent at 230 nm detection. Retention times, capacity, separation, and resolution factors of the enantiomers of these drugs were in the range of 20.0-36.0, 2.08-3.93, 1.35-1.57, and 1.0-2.0 min, respectively. Percentage recoveries of the enantiomers in SPE were in the range of 90.0 to 95.0 in water-sediment system. Langmuir and Freundlich model were best fitted for dynamic equilibrium concentrations at different experimental parameters. Thalidomide and its derivatives follow first-order kinetics at dynamic equilibrium. The rate constants of chiral interconversions were 0.390 and 0.385 days(-1) for S- and R-enantiomers, respectively. The uptake of thalidomide by sediment is quite good and of endothermic nature indicating good self-purification capacity of the nature for such toxic species.

On‐line preconcentration and enantioseparation of thalidomide racemates by CEC with the hyphenation of octyl and norvancomycin monoliths

A method was developed for simultaneous preconcentration and chiral separation of thalidomide enantiomers in human urine by CEC in combination with self-concentration and solvent gradient effects. A 4 cm long octyl (C8) monolithic column was hyphenated with a 15 cm long norvancomycin (NVC)-bonded monolithic column via a fluorinated ethylene-propylene interface. Sample solution was injected into the C8 monolithic column, the two thalidomide enantiomers were first preconcentrated on the C8 monolithic column, and then separated with a further concentration on the NVC-bonded monolithic column by CEC. Injection of 34.8 mm plug of sample solution gave 278- and 298-fold enhancement in sensitivity, and detection limits of 90 and 94 microg/L for the two thalidomide enantiomers. Peak areas of the two isomers were linear in a range of 0.5-50 mg/L. The precision for five replicate injections of 10 mg/L were 0.8-0.9 and 1.1-2.3% for the migration time and peak height, respectively. The developed method was applied to the determination of racemic thalidomide in spiked human urine samples.

A New Method for Determination of Both Thalidomide Enantiomers Using HPLC Systems

Although thalidomide was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy, there is now growing clinical interest in this compound because of its immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenic properties. In 1998, thalidomide was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), an inflammatory complication of Hansen's disease, through a restricted-use program. Thalidomide was approved for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) as an orphan drug in Japan. Direct deproteinization method was shown to be useful for quantitation of enantioselective thalidomide blood level. Stabilized blood was deproteinized with methanol and 2 M trichloroacetic acid. The supernatant was injected onto reverse-phase column (CHIRALPAK AD-RH). The mobile phase consisted of 10% acetonitrile, 70% methanol and 20% 0.025 m citrate buffer (pH 3.0), and the flow rate was 0.5 ml/min. Wavelength of detection was 220 nm. (-)-(S)-thalidomide and (+)-(R)-thalidomide were separated at 13.5 min and 17.6 min, respectively. The accuracy of this method was almost the same as that of the measurement technique with extraction and concentration. In clinical practice, MM patients usually take many kinds of drugs at the same time. Actually, this patient takes a lot of drugs with thalidomide. However, we found no interference of these drugs and thalidomide on the chromatogram. This simple and reliable HPLC determination method for both enantiomers of thalidomide is thought to be very useful for thalidomide studies.

Modified DNA Aptamer That Binds the (R)-Isomer of a Thalidomide Derivative with High Enantioselectivity

A thalidomide-binding aptamer was produced by systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment from a library of non-natural DNA in which thymidine had been replaced with a modified deoxyuridine bearing a cationic functional group via a hydrophobic methylene linker at the C5 position. The additional functional group in the modified DNA aptamer could improve stability against nucleases and increase the binding affinity to thalidomide. The selected aptamer could recognize thalidomide enantioselectively, although a racemic thalidomide-attached gel was used for the selection. Surface plasmon resonance and fluorescence titration studies revealed that the selected modified DNA aptamer and a truncated version bound with an (R)-thalidomide derivative with high enantioselectivity, but not with the (S)-form. The modified group in the DNA aptamer is indispensable for the interaction with thalidomide, as the corresponding natural type DNA bearing the same base sequence showed no binding affinity with (R)- nor (S)-thalidomide. Computational sequence analysis suggested that the selected apatamer (108 mer) could fold into a three-way junction structure; however, truncation of this aptamer (31 mer) revealed that the thalidomide-binding site is a hairpin-bulge region that is a component of one of the arms of the three-way junction structure. The Kd value of the truncated 31 mer aptamer for binding with the (R)-thalidomide derivative was 1.0 microM estimated from fluorescence titration study. The aptamer that can recognize a single enantiomer of thalidomide will be useful as a biochemical tool for the analysis and study of the biological action of thalidomide enantiomers.

Thalidomide enantiomers: Determination in biological samples by HPLC and vancomycin-CSP

Thalidomide is a racemate with potentially different pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the component (+)-(R)- and (-)-(S)-thalidomide enantiomers. As part of a project on the adjunctive effects of thalidomide and cytotoxic agents, a method for the chiral separation and quantitation of thalidomide was developed and validated. Thalidomide in relevant serum and tissue homogenate samples was stabilized by buffering with an equal volume of citrate-phosphate buffer (pH 2, 0.2M), and stored at -80 degrees C pending assay. The thalidomide enantiomers, extracted from the samples with diethyl ether, were well separated on a chiral HPLC column of vancomycin stationary phase and a mobile phase of 14% acetonitrile in 20 mM ammonium formate adjusted to pH 5.4; their concentrations were determined with phenacetin as internal standard at 220 nm detection. Over a thalidomide concentration range of 0.1-20 microg/ml, assay precision was 1-5% (CV) for both enantiomers, and calibration curves were linear with all correlation coefficients being >0.99. The estimated limit of quantification for both enantiomers was 0.05 microg/ml with 0.2-0.6 ml serum samples. Thalidomide in rat and human serum, acidified and stored as described above, was found to be chemically and chirally stable over 1 year. The method has been successfully applied to serum samples from human patients undergoing thalidomide treatment for mesothelioma, and to serum, blood and tissue samples from a laboratory rodent model using transplanted 9l gliosarcoma. Enantioselectivity in thalidomide pharmacokinetics has been found, thereby reinforcing the need for considering the relevance of chirality in thalidomide pharmacology.

Thalidomide does not interact with P-glycoprotein

There is growing clinical interest in thalidomide for the treatment of various disorders due to its anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-angiogenic properties. In numerous clinical trials thalidomide is used as an adjunct to standard therapy. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of all possible drug-drug interactions that might occur with this drug. P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a drug efflux transporter that is expressed in many tissues, is the cause of several drug-drug interactions. P-gp induction or inhibition can lead to ineffective therapy or side-effects. In this study, we investigated thalidomide's potential to cause drug-drug interactions on the level of P-gp. LS180 cells were incubated with thalidomide for 72 h in order to determine P-gp induction using real-time RT-PCR. A human leukaemia cell line over-expressing MDR1 (CCRF-CEM/MDR1) was used to measure uptake of rhodamine 123, a P-gp substrate, in the presence of thalidomide. Dose-dependent and bi-directional transport of thalidomide through Caco-2 cell monolayers was performed to assess site-directed permeability. Transport rates were determined using HPLC including chiral separation of the thalidomide enantiomers. Thalidomide did not induce P-gp expression in LS180 cells. The uptake of rhodamine 123 in CCRF cells over-expressing MDR1 was not influenced by co-incubation with thalidomide. The transport through Caco-2 monolayers was linear and the permeability was similar for both directions. No differences between the thalidomide enantiomers were observed. Our study indicates that thalidomide is neither a substrate, nor an inhibitor or an inducer of P-gp. Therefore, P-gp-related drug-drug interactions with thalidomide are not likely.

Chiral discrimination between thalidomide enantiomers using a solid surface with two-dimensional chirality.

Chiral discrimination between thalidomide enantiomers was achieved using the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of an atropisomeric compound, 1,1'-binaphthalene-2,2'-dithiol (BNSH), which takes a two-dimensional chiral arrangement on gold(111) surface. Interestingly, an "all-or-none" type enantioselectivity appears; one enantiomeric form of BNSH SAM allows the adsorption of only one enantiomer of thalidomide. In addition, the response of a racemic SAM of BNSH was revealed to be one-half of that caused by pure enantiomeric SAM.

Stereointegrity of thalidomide: gas-chromatographic determination of the enantiomerization barrier

Enantioselective chromatographic methods, representing the most commonly used techniques for the determination of enantiomeric ratios, can also be used for the evaluation of stereochemical integrity. In the present study, two chromatographic methods, dynamic gas chromatography (DGC) and stopped-flow gas chromatography (SFGC) were used to determine the enantiomerization barrier of thalidomide. In the presence of a chiral stationary phase (CSP), the enantiomers of thalidomide produced characteristic elution profiles exhibiting plateaus and/or peak broadening which were observed between 190 and 220 °C in DGC. To obtain the enantiomerization barrier of thalidomide from experimental data, the fast and efficient simulation program ChromWin was used to simulate the elution profiles and obtain kinetic activation parameters. From temperature-dependent measurements the rate constants k 1 and k −1 and the kinetic activation parameters Δ G # , Δ H # and Δ S # of the enantiomerization of thalidomide were obtained by DGC. The enantiomerization barrier Δ G # was determined to be 154±2 kJ/mol with DGC and 150±3 kJ/mol with the sfGC technique at 200 °C, respectively. The concept of the retention increment R′ has been applied to separate the enantiomerization barrier of thalidomide in the dissolved and complexed state of the CSP.