• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 2006

The objective of the study was to evaluate the bioequivalency between the $Rozid^{TM}$ Tablet (Ilhwa Pharm. Co., Ltd.) as a test formulation and the $Rulid^{TM}$ Tablet (Handok Pharm. Co., Ltd) as a reference formulation. Twenty-four healthy male volunteers were administered the formulations by the randomized Latin square crossover design, and the plasma samples were determined by a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detector. $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were obtained from the time-plasma concentration curves, and log-transformed $AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$ and log-untransformed $T_{max}$ values for two formulations were compared by statistical tests and analysis of variation. $AUC_t$ was determined to be $63.30{\pm}25.57{\mu}g.hr/ml$ for the test formulation and $64.02{\pm}29.27mg.hr/ml$ for the reference formulation. The mean values of $C_{max}$ for the test and reference formulations were $5.07{\pm}2.14\;and\;5.53{\pm}2.60{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. The $AUC_t,\;and\;C_{max}$ ratios of the test $Rozid^{TM}$ Tablet to the reference $Rulid^{TM}$ Tablet were -1.12% and -8.32%, respectively, showing that the mean differences were satisfied the acceptance criteria within 20%. The results from analysis of variance for log-transformed $AUC_t,\;and\;C_{max}$ indicated that sequence effects between groups were not exerted and 90% confidence limits of the mean differences for $AUC_t,\;and\;C_{max}$ were located in ranges from log 0.80 and log 1.25, satisfying the acceptance criteria of the KFDA bioequivalence. The RozidTM Tablet as the test formulation was considered to be bioequivalent to the RulidTM Tablet used as its reference formulation, based on $AUC_t,\;and\;C_{max}$ values.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.592-600
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• 2000

The concentration of free fatty acids and fatty acid composition as well as cholesterol supersaturation in bile may be an important factor in the gallstone formation. Therefore, we simultaneously determinded 23 fatty acids in bile by selected ion monitoring (SIM) method of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Biliary fatty acids were extracted by aminopropyl column and the extracts with (phospholipid fraction) or without (free fatty acid fraction) alkaline hydrolysis of phospholipid were derivatized with MSTFA/TMCS (N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyl-trifluoroacetamide/trimethylsilylchloride) mixture in order to be detected on the GC-MS. The recovery range of this method was 61.1-99.0% and the RSD value of within-a-day and day-to-day test were 3.1-25.6% and 3.8-27.0%, respectively. Using this method, biliary profile was investigated in the bile of normal controls and patients with gallstones. The amounts and their distribution of free and phospholipid fatty acids showed different pattern between normal subjects and patients.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.265-272
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• 1999

A simultaneous profile analysis of 19 environmental estrogens, which act like estrogen and may effect the endocrine system by binding to hormone receptors or influencing cell signaling pathways, was attempted. The present method was based on the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). It involves solid-liquid extraction, enzyme hydrolysis, liquid-liquid extraction and quantitative conversion into trimethylsilyl (TMS)-ether derivatives. Analytical recovery range was 47.6 ~ 99.5% and the RSD values of within-a-day and day-to-day test were 0.66 ~ 9.33%, 1.66 ~ 16.14%, respectively. The Korean reference values for the evaluation of environmental estrogen effects were established by this method.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1190-1195
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• 2005

The objective of this study was to develop an assay for mequitazine (MQZ) for the study of the bioavailability of the drug in human subjects. Using one mL of human plasma, the pH of the sample was adjusted and MQZ in the aqueous phase extracted with hexane; the organic layer was then evaporated to dryness, reconstituted and an aliquot introduced to a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) system with ion-trap detector. Inter- and intra-day precision of the assay were less than 15.1 and $17.7{\%}$, respectively; Inter- and intra-day accuracy were less than 8.91 and $18.6{\%}$, respectively. The limit of quantification for the current assay was set at 1 ng/mL. To determine whether the current assay is applicable in a pharmacokinetic study for MQZ in human, oral formulation containing 10 mg MQZ was administered to healthy male subjects and blood samples collected. The current assay was able to quantify MQZ levels in most of the samples. The maximum concentration ($C_{max}$ was 8.5 ng/mL, which was obtained at 10.1 h, with mean half-life of approximately 45.5 h. Under the current sampling protocol, the ratio of $AUC_{t{\rightarrow}last}$ to $AUC_{t{\rightarrow}{\infty}}$ was $934{\%}$, indicating that the blood collection time of 216 h is reasonable for MQZ. Therefore, these observations indicate that an assay for MQZ in human plasma is developed by using GC/MS with ion-trap detector and validated for the study of pharmacokinetics of single oral dose of 10 mg MQZ, and that the current study design for the bioavailability study is adequate for the drug.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2005

Recently, significant contamination problems by residual chemicals have occasionally been occurred from major rivers and drinking water in Korea. Therefore, the management for use of them and risk assessment should be more strictly performed. In this study, we have analyzed trihalomethanes in treated water samples taken from water plants located in the region of four major rivers (i.e. Han river, Geum river, Youngsan river and Nakdong river) in Korea for eight years (1997～2004). From the data, we could assess the excess cancer risk by calculating the chronic daily intakes (CDI) multiplied by individual oral slope factors, Q₁＊, for the cancer suspected matters such as trihalomethanes, moreover the hazard index which is calculated by dividing the CDI by the acceptable daily reference dose (R/sub f/D) was determined for the risk assessment. As a result, in the case of 95 percentile excess cancer risk, it was shown that the excess cancer risk for dichlorobromomethane in the Nakdong river region is highest among the tested samples as 8.73 x 10/sup -6/. The 95 percentile total hazard index (the sum of individual hazard indices considering R/sub f/D), in addition, was below 1.0 for all samples, and therefore it was assessed that water samples taken from treatment plants of four major rivers are not harmful.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.525-530
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• 2000

The nerve growth factor (NGF) induces neuronal differentiation and neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells, whereas epidermal growth factors (EGF) stimulate growth and proliferation of the cells. In spite of this difference, NGF-or EGF-treated PC12 cells share various properties in cellular-signaling pathways. These include the activation of the phosphoinositide (PI)-3 kinase, 70 kDa S6 kinase, and in the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway, following the binding of these growth factors to intrinsic receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Therefore, many studies have been attempted to access the critical signaling events in determining the differentiation and proliferation of PC12 cells. In this study, we investigated the cytosolic phospholipase $A_2$ ($cPLA_2$) in neurite behavior in order to identify the differences of signaling pathways between the NGF-induced differentiation and the EGF-induced proliferation of PC12 cells. We have showed here that the $cPLA_2$ was translocated from cytosol to membrane only in NGF-treated cells. We also demonstrated that this translocation is associated with NGF-induced activation of phospholipase $C-{\gamma}(PLC-{\gamma})$, which elevates intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration. These results reveal that the translocation of $cPLA_2$ may be a requisite event in the neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells. Various phospholipase inhibitors were used to confirm the importance of these enzymes in the differentiation of PC12 cells. Neomycin B, a PLC inhibitor, dramatically inhibited the neurite outgrowth, and two distinct $PLA_2$ inhibitors, 4-bromophenacyl bromide (BPB) and arachidonyltrifluoro-methyl ketone ($AACOCF_3$) also suppressed the neurite outgrowth of the cells, as well Taken together, these data indicated that $cPLA_2$ is involved in NGF-induced neuronal differentiation and neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.239-245
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• 2004

KR-31543, (2S,3R,4S)-6-amino-4-[N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(2 -methyl-2H-tetrazol-5-ylmethyl) amino]-3,4-dihydro-2-dimethoxymethyl-3-hydroxy-2-methyl-2H-1-benzopyran, is a new neuroprotective agent for preventing ischemia-reperfusion damage. This study was performed to identify the metabolic pathway of KR-31543 in human liver microsomes and to characterize cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes that are involved in the metabolism of KR-31543. Human liver microsomal incubation of KR-31543 in the presence of NADPH resulted in the formation of two metabolites, M1 and M2. M1 was identified as N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(2-methyl-2H-tetrazol-5-ylmethyl)amine on the basis of LC/MS/MS analysis with a synthesized authentic standard, and M2 was suggested to be hydroxy-KR-31543. Correlation analysis between the known CYP enzyme activities and the rates of the formation of M 1 and M2 in the 12 human liver microsomes have showed significant correlations with testosterone 6$\beta$-hydroxylase activity (a marker of CYP3A4). Ketoconazole, a selective inhibitor of CYP3A4, and anti-CYP3A4 monoclonal antibodies potently inhibited both N-hydrolysis and hydroxylation of KR-31543 in human liver microsomes. These results provide evidence that CYP3A4 is the major isozyme responsible for the metabolism of KR-31543 to M1 and M2.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.207-210
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• 2001

A fully automated high performance liquid chromatography with column-switching was developed for the simultaneous determination of KR60436, a new reversible proton pump inhibitor, and its active metabolite O-Demethyl-KR60436 from rat plasma samples. Plasma sample (50$\mu$l) was directly introduced onto a Capcell Pak MF Ph-1 column ($10{\times}4$ mm I.D.) where primary separation was occurred to remove proteins and concentrate target Substances Using acetonitrile-Potassium Phosphate (PH 7, 0.1 M) (2 : 8, v/v). The drug molecules eluted from MF Ph-1 column were focused in an intermediate column ($10{\times}2$ I.D.) by the valve switching step. The substances enriched in intermediate column were eluted and separated on a Vydac 218MR53 column ($250{\times}3.2$ I.D.) using acetonitrilepotassium phosphate (pH 7, 0.02 M) (47:53, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min when the valve status was switched back to A position. The method showed excellent sensitivity (detection limit of 2 ng/ml) with small volume of samples ($50{\mu}$l), good precision and accuracy, and speed (total analysis time 24 min) without any loss in chromatographic efficiency. The response was linear ($r^2{\geq}0.797$) over the concentration range of 5-500 ng/ml.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.525-533
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• 1998

The covalent interactions of toluenediisocyanate (TDI) with macromolecules were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro incubations of 2,4- and 2,6-TDI with DNA or proteins resulted in dose-dependent formation of TDI-protein and TDI-DNA adducts. TDI-treated DNA was highly resistant to enzymatic digestion and thermal hydrolysis, but was readily hydrolyzed under acidic conditions by releasing its corresponding toluenediamine (TDA), suggesting that TDI caused the crosslinking of DNA. Reaction of TDI with albumin and globin resulted in the formation of several adducts, and some adducts were formed in blood of TDI-treated rats in a dose-dependent fashion. Administration of TDI to rats resulted also in a dose-dependent binding of TDI to hepatic tissue. Levels of TDI-albumin adducts were 10 times higher than those of TDI-globin adducts; the biological half lives of TDI-albumin and TDI-globin adducts were 1.2 and 12.5 days, respectively. Globin adducts were detected up to 28 days after the treatment. Hepatic TDI protein adducts were persistent for a substantial period whereas the levels of hepatic TDI-DNA adduct were decreased rapidly. These results indicate that the isocyanato group of TDI is not readily hydrolyzed under physiological conditions, is transported to other organs, and is bound to DNA and/or proteins without further metabolic activation. As the adducted products degrade in the body, TDA is released and introduced to the liver. TDA may additionally bind to hepatic tissue after metabolic activation. Thus, the toxic effect of TDI exposure is considered to persist during the lifetime of the adducted biological macromolecules.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.566-569
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• 2006

This study examined whether or not acute stress is linked to increases in the neurosteroid levels, which is a well-known neurotransmitters associated with stress stimuli. The ginsenoside, Rb1, was tested in order to better understand its potential effects on altering the neurosteroid levels and ultimately attenuating stress. The optimal stressed condition was checked by measuring the 5a-dihydroprogesterone (DHP) and allopregnanolone (THP) levels in the brain after immobilization stress at various times. Based on this result, an acute stress model was set up to give 30 min of immobilization stress. The DHP and THP brain levels of the stressed mice were then investigated after administering Rb1 orally (10 mg/kg). These results were compared with the neurosteroid level in the stressed mice not given Rb1. Saline was administered orally to the nonstressed mice to check the placebo effect. Acute immobilization stress induced an increase in the THP and DHP concentration in the frontal cortex and cerebellum. When Rb1 was administered orally prior to immobilization stress, the THP level in the frontal cortex and cerebellum was significantly lower than that in the stressed animals not given Rb1. On the other hand, the DHP level was lower in the cerebellum only. This suggests that the metabolism of the brain neurosteroids is linked to psychological stress, and Rb1 attenuates the stressinduced increase in neurosteroids.