In the present study, the screening of Mirabegron (MBR) co-amorphous was performed to produce water-soluble and thermodynamically stable MBR co-amorphous with the purpose of overcoming the water solubility problem of MBR. MBR is Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) class II drug used for the treatment of an overreactive bladder. The co-amorphous screening was carried out by means of the vacuum evaporation crystallization technique in methanol solvent using three water-soluble carboxylic acids, characterized by a pKa difference greater than 3 with MBR such as fumaric acid (FA), l-pyroglutamic acid (PG), and citric acid (CA). Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) results suggested that all solid materials produced at MBR-FA (1 equivalent (eq.)/1 equivalent (eq.)), MBR-PG (1 eq./1 eq.), and MBR-CA (1 eq./1 eq.) conditions were amorphous state solid materials. Furthermore, by means of solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) (¹H, ¹³C, and 2D) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, we could assess that MBR and carboxylic acid molecules were linked via ionic interactions to produce MBR co-amorphous. Besides, solid-state cross polarization (CP)/magic angle spinning (MAS) ¹³C-NMR analysis was conducted for additional assessment of MBR co-amorphous. Afterwards, dissolution tests of MBR co-amorphouses, MBR crystalline solid, and MBR amorphous were carried out for 12 h to evaluate and to compare their solubilities, dissolution rates, and phase transformation phenomenon. Here, the results suggested that MBR co-amorphouses displayed more than 57-fold higher aqueous solubility compared to MBR crystalline solid, and PXRD monitoring result suggested that MBR co-amorphouses were able to maintain their amorphous state for more than 12 h. The same results revealed that MBR amorphous exhibited increased solubility of approximatively 6.7-fold higher compared to MBR crystalline solid. However, the PXRD monitoring result suggested that MBR amorphous undergo rapid phase transformation to crystalline form in just 35 min and that within an hour all MBR amorphous are completely converted to crystalline solid. Accordingly, the increase in MBR co-amorphous’ solubility was attributed to the presence of ionic interactions in MBR co-amorphous molecules. Moreover, from the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) monitoring results, we predicted that the high glass transition temperature (T_g) of MBR co-amorphous compared to MBR amorphous was the main factor influencing the phase stability of MBR co-amorphous.

Obesity, characterized by excess lipid accumulation, has emerged as a leading public health problem. Excessive, adipocyte-induced lipid accumulation raises the risk of metabolic disorders. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that can be obtained from abundant adipose tissue. High fat mass could be caused by an increase in the size (hypertrophy) and number (hyperplasia) of adipocytes. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in the adipogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs). Lowering the level of ROS is important to blocking or retarding the adipogenic differentiation of hASCs. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor that mediates various antioxidant enzymes and regulates cellular ROS levels. Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC), widely used as artificial sweetener, has been shown to have significant free radical scavenging activity. In the present study, (E)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (CTP), a novel NHDC analogue, was synthesized and examined to determine whether it could inhibit adipogenic differentiation. The inhibition of adipogenic differentiation in hASCs was tested using NHDC and CTP. In the CTP group, reduced Oil Red O staining was observed compared with the differentiation group. CTP treatment also downregulated the expression of PPAR-γ and C/EBP-α, adipogenic differentiation markers in hASCs, compared to the adipogenic differentiation group. The expression of FAS and SREBP-1 decreased in the CTP group, along with the fluorescent intensity (amount) of ROS. Expression of the Nrf2 protein was slightly decreased in the differentiation group. Meanwhile, in both the NHDC and CTP groups, Nrf2 expression was restored to the level of the control group. Moreover, the expression of HO-1 and NQO-1 increased significantly in the CTP group. Taken together, these results suggest that CTP treatment suppresses the adipogenic differentiation of hASCs by decreasing intracellular ROS, possibly through activation of the Nrf2 cytoprotective pathway. Thus, the use of bioactive substances such as CTP, which activates Nrf2 to reduce the cellular level of ROS and inhibit the adipogenic differentiation of hASCs, could be a new strategy for overcoming obesity.

Febuxostat (FB) is a poorly water-soluble drug that belongs to BCS class II. The drug is employed for the treatment of inflammatory disease arthritis urica (gout), and the free base, FB form-A, is most preferred for drug formulation. In order to achieve a goal of improving the water solubility of FB form-A, this study was carried out using the cocrystallization technique called the liquid-assisted grinding method to produce FB cocrystals. Here, five amino acids containing amine (NH), oxygen (O), and hydroxyl (OH) functional groups, and possessing difference of pKa less than 3 with FB, were selected as coformers. Then, solvents including methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, n-hexane, dichloromethane, and acetone were used for the cocrystal screening. As a result, a cocrystal was obtained when acetone and l-pyroglutamic acid (PG) of 0.5 eq. were employed as solvent and coformer, respectively. The ratio of 2:1, which is the ratio of FB to PG within FB-PG cocrystal, was predicted by means of solid-state CP/MAS ¹³C-NMR, solution-state NMR (¹H, ¹³C, and 2D) and FT-IR. Moreover, Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) were used to investigate the characteristics of FB-PG cocrystal. In addition, comparative solubility tests between FB-PG cocrystal and FB form-A were conducted in deionized water and under simulated gastrointestinal pH (1.2, 4, and 6.8) conditions. The result revealed that FB-PG cocrystal has a solubility of four-fold higher than FB form-A in deionized water and two-fold and five-fold greater than FB form-A at simulated gastrointestinal pH 1.2 and pH 4, respectively. Besides, solubilities of FB-PG cocrystal and FB form-A at pH 6.8 were similar to the results measured in deionized water. Therefore, it is postulated that FB-PG cocrystal has a potential overcoming the limitations related to the low aqueous solubility of FB form-A. Accordingly, FB-PG cocrystal is suggested as an alternative active pharmaceutical ingredient of the currently used FB form-A.

Plant-derived antioxidants have been widely used as supplementary health foods, as well as having been regarded as drug candidates for aging and aging-associated diseases. Oleracones, a novel series of flavonoids isolated from Portulaca oleracea L., possess potent antioxidative activities and are expected to exhibit therapeutic potential on the aging process. The current paper describes the concise sequential synthesis of oleracones D–F. Oleracones D and F were efficiently synthesized via selective intramolecular oxa-Michael addition from oleracone E. In addition, we investigated their possible lifespan-extension properties using Caenorhabditis elegans, which is excellently suited as an experimental model to study aging. A significant longevity effect was observed when nematodes were grown with 20 μM of oleracone E.

Research studies related to the polymorphs of l-Carnitine orotate (CO), a medication used for the treatment and prevention of liver diseases, are insignificant or almost nonexistent. Accordingly, in the present study, l-Carnitine orotate (CO) was prepared for investigating CO polymorphs. Here, a reactive crystallization was induced by reacting 1g of l-Carn (1 equivalent) and 0.97 g of OA (1 equivalent) in methanol (MeOH); as a result, CO form-I and CO form-II polymorphs were obtained after 1 h and 16 h of stirring, respectively. The characterization of CO polymorphs was carried out utilizing Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (solid-state CP/MAS ¹³C-NMR). The solution-mediated polymorphic transformation (SMPT) of CO polymorphs was investigated in MeOH at controlled temperature and fixed rotational speed. The results revealed that CO form-I is a metastable polymorph while CO form-II is a stable polymorph. From the same results, it was confirmed that CO form-I was converted to CO form-II during the polymorphic phase transformation process. Moreover, it was assessed that the increase in temperature and supersaturation level significantly promotes the rate of nucleation, as well as the rate of mass transfer of CO form-II. In addition, nucleation and mass transfer equations were employed for the quantitative determination of SMPT experimental results. Lastly, it was suggested that CO form-II was more thermodynamically stable than CO form-I and that both polymorphs belong to the monotropic system.