Series Of Parabens Research Articles

Interaction of native CDs and their hydroxypropyl derivatives with parabens in aqueous solutions. Part 2: evaluation of paraben/cyclodextrin complex aggregation

Cyclodextrins (CDs) and their inclusion complexes are known to self-assemble in aqueous solutions to form aggregates and the physicochemical characteristics of guest molecules have been linked to the aggregate formation. A series of parabens was selected as model compounds due to their small size (aromatic ring fits in the cavity) and different side chain length. In Part 1 it was demonstrated that CDs and parabens form a range of soluble and insoluble complexes dependent on the type of CD (native or hydroxypropylated αCD, βCD or γCD) and the length of the alkyl residue of the parabens. Furthermore, phase-solubility studies suggested that higher order complexes (e.g., aggregates) were formed. Here we apply osmometry and permeation studies to evaluate if and how the alkyl chain length of the parabens influences the process of aggregate formation. Furthermore, the possible effect of CD aggregates on permeation profile of parabens is also elucidated. Changes in osmometry correlate with the type pf phase-solubility profile. For AL-types total osmolality remained unchanged throughout experiment, while for B-types the osmolality of systems displayed significant changes mainly due to precipitation of poorly-soluble complexes. The permeation method is an effective and useful method to detect and evaluate self-assembly of CDs and to detect aggregate formation in aqueous γCD and HPβCD solutions containing parabens. Generally, all parabens modified the natural aggregation behavior of HPβCD and γCD as the apparent critical aggregation concentration (cac) values for paraben/CD systems decreased compared to those of pure aqueous CD solutions. The longer the alkyl side chain, the greater was the promotion of aggregates formation (methyl < ethyl < propyl < butyl) and, consequently, more and larger aggregates are formed. These superstructures are responsible for the observed changes in apparent cac and flux values, as well as, for the observed slopes greater than unity for the phase-solubility diagrams.

Mathematical Model to Predict Skin Concentration of Drugs: Toward Utilization of Silicone Membrane to Predict Skin Concentration of Drugs as an Animal Testing Alternative

To calculate the skin concentration of active ingredients in cosmetics and topical pharmaceuticals using silicone membrane permeation. A series of parabens were used as model ingredients. Skin concentration of parabens was calculated using silicone membrane permeability. Their partition coefficient from formulations to the silicone membrane was determined by the membrane permeation profiles, and used to calculate their silicone membrane concentration, under an assumption that the membrane is one homogenous diffusion layer. The same procedure was applied for hairless rat skin. The calculated concentration of parabens in silicone membrane was very close to their observed values. However, the skin concentration calculated by skin permeability was not similar to the observed concentration. Re-calculation was performed under the assumption that the skin consists of two diffusion layers. This modification using permeation data through full-thickness and stripped skin enabled precise prediction of the skin concentration of parabens. In addition, the partition coefficient to the silicone membrane was useful to estimate their skin concentration. Ingredient concentration in skin can be precisely predicted using diffusion equations and partition coefficients through permeation experiments using a silicone membrane. The calculated in-skin concentration is useful for formulation studies of cosmetics and topical pharmaceuticals.

Purification and Characterization of PrbA, a New Esterase fromEnterobacter cloacae Hydrolyzing the Esters of 4-Hydroxybenzoic Acid (Parabens)

The esterase PrbA from Enterobacter cloacae strain EM has previously been shown to confer additional resistance to the esters of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (parabens) to two species of Enterobacter. The PrbA protein has been purified from E. cloacae strain EM using a three-step protocol resulting in a 60-fold increase in specific activity. The molecular mass of the mature enzyme was determined to be 54,619 +/- 1 Da by mass spectrometry. It is highly active against a series of parabens with alkyl groups ranging from methyl to butyl, with K(m) and V(max) values ranging from 0.45 to 0.88 mM and 0.031 to 0.15 mM/min, respectively. The K(m) and V(max) values for p-nitrophenyl acetate were 3.7 mM and 0.051 mM/min. PrbA hydrolyzed a variety of structurally analogous compounds, with activities larger than 20% relative to propyl paraben for methyl 3-hydroxybenzoate, methyl 4-aminobenzoate, or methyl vanillate. The enzyme showed optimum activity at 31 degrees C and at pH 7.0. PrbA was able to transesterify parabens with alcohols of increasing chain length from methanol to n-butanol, achieving 64% transesterification of 0.5 mm propyl paraben with 5% methanol within 2 h. PrbA was inhibited by 1-chloro-3-tosylamido-4-phenyl-2-butanone and 1-chloro-3-tosylamido-7-amino-2-heptanone (TLCK), with K(i) values of 0.29 and 0.20 mM, respectively, and was irreversibly inhibited by Diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) or diethyl pyrocarbonate. The stoichiometry of addition of DFP to the enzyme was 1:1 and only 1 TLCK molecule was found in TLCK-modified enzyme, as measured by mass spectrometry. Analysis of the tryptic digest of the DFP-modified PrbA demonstrated that the addition of a DFP molecule occurred at Ser-189, indicating the location of the active serine.

Simultaneous Determination of Acetaminophen, Guaifenesin, Pseudoephedrine, Pholcodine, and Paraben Preservatives in Cough Mixture by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

□ The separation and simultaneous determination, by highperformance liquid chromatography, of acetaminophen (I), guaifenesin (II), pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (III), and pholcodine (IV), together with a series of parabens (methyl to butyl, V–VIII) in a cough mixture, has been demonstrated using a chemically bonded octadecylsilane stationary phase with a mobile phase of methanol–water–acetic acid (45:55:2) containing the ion-pairing agent octanesulfonic acid. Retention volumes for the active ingredients were 3.8 ml, 5.4 ml, 9.4 ml, and 15.6 ml for compounds I–IV, respectively. Corrected retention volumes for the parabens [5.4 ml for methyl (V), 9.6 ml for ethyl (VI), 18.5 ml for propyl (VII), and 37.9 ml for butyl (VIII)] showed an exponential relationship with chain length of the esterifying alcohols. Excipients did not interfere with the estimation of any of the compounds, hence pretreatment of the sample was unnecessary. Average recoveries of the active ingredients and of the parabens from laboratory prepared samples were essentially 100% of theoretical with standard deviations of 1.7, 0.3, 1.5, 0.3, 0.3, 3.3, 0.7, and 2.7% for I–VIII, respectively.