Codeine is a common analgesic drug that is a pro-drug of morphine. It also has a high risk of abuse as a recreational drug because of its extensive distribution as an OTC drug. Therefore, sensitive and selective screening methods for codeine are crucial in forensic analytical chemistry. To date, a commercial analytical kit has not been developed for dedicated codeine determination, and there is a need for an analytical method to quantify codeine in the field. In the present work, potential modulation was combined with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) for sensitive determination of codeine. The potential modulated technique involved applying a signal to electrodes by superimposing an AC potential on the DC potential. When tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) ([Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺) was used as an ECL emitter, ECL activity was confirmed for codeine. A detailed investigation of the electrochemical reaction mechanism suggested a characteristic ECL reaction mechanism involving electrochemical oxidation of the opioid framework. Besides the usual ECL reaction derived from the amine framework, selective detection of codeine was possible under the measurement conditions, with clear luminescence observed in an acidic solution. The sensitivity of codeine detection by potential modulated-ECL was one order of magnitude higher than that obtained with the conventional potential sweep method. The proposed method was applied to codeine determination in actual prescription medications and OTC drug samples. Codeine was selectively determined from other compounds in medications and showed good linearity with a low detection limit (150 ng mL⁻¹).

Generating reliable data on functional group compatibility and chemoselectivity is essential for evaluating the practicality of chemical reactions and predicting retrosynthetic routes. In this context, we performed systematic studies using a functional group evaluation kit including 26 kinds of additives to assess the functional group tolerance of carbene-mediated reactions. Our findings revealed that some intermolecular heteroatom–hydrogen insertion reactions proceed faster than intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions. Lewis basic functionalities inhibited rhodium-catalyzed C–H functionalization of indoles. While performing these studies, we observed an unexpected C–H functionalization of a 1-naphthol variant used as an additive.

An improvement of the two-photon excitation was achieved using 8-azacoumarin-type caged compounds, which showed large values of the two-photon uncaging action cross-section (δ_u >0.1 Goeppert–Mayer (GM)). In particular, the 7-hydroxy-6-iodo-8-azacoumarin (8-aza-Ihc)-caged compound showed an excellent uncaging action cross-section value (δ_u = 1.28 GM). Therefore, 8-azacoumarin-type photolabile protecting groups (PPGs) can be used as two-photon excitation sources.

Polymeric nanofibers generated via electrospinning offer a promising platform for drug delivery systems. This study examines the application of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers for controlled lysozyme (LZM) delivery. By using various PVA grades, such as the degree of polymerization/hydrolysis, this study investigates their influence on nanofiber morphology and drug-release characteristics. LZM-loaded PVA monolithic nanofibers having 50% drug content exhibit efficient entrapment, wherein rapid dissolution is achieved within 30 min. The initial burst of LZM from the nanofiber was reduced as the LZM content was lowered. The initial dissolution is greatly influenced by the choice of PVA grade used; fully hydrolyzed PVA nanofibers demonstrate controlled release due to the reduced water solubility of PVA. Furthermore, coaxial electrospinning, which creates core–shell nanofibers with polycaprolactone as a controlled release layer, enables sustained LZM release over an extended period. This study confirms a correlation between PVA characteristics and controlled drug release and provides valuable insights into tailoring nanofiber properties for pharmaceutical applications.

This study showcases the 1,2-migration reactions of alkyl and aryl groups on the indole molecule. Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid effectively facilitates the migration of the substituent from C3- to C2-position of the indole structure. The resulting C2-substituted indoles offer a valuable pathway for the synthesis of natural products and medicinal compounds.

Vizantin, 6,6′-bis-O-(3-nonyldodecanoyl)-α,α′-trehalose, has been developed as a safe immunostimulator on the basis of a structure–activity relationship study with trehalose 6,6′-dicorynomycolate. Our recent study indicated that vizantin acts as an effective Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) partial agonist to reduce the lethality of an immune shock caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, because vizantin has low solubility in water, the aqueous solution used in in vivo assay systems settles out in tens of minutes. Here, vizantin was chemically modified in an attempt to facilitate the preparation of an aqueous solution of the drug. This paper describes the concise synthesis of a water-soluble vizantin analogue in which all the hydroxyl groups of the sugar unit were replaced by sulfates. The vizantin derivative displayed micelle-forming ability in water and potent TLR-4 partial agonist activity.

Nucleophilic deprotection of p-methoxybenzyl (PMB) [p-methoxyphenylmethyl (MPM)] ethers was developed using a heterogeneous oxovanadium catalyst V-MPS4 and a thiol nucleophile. The deprotection method had a wide reaction scope, including PMB ethers of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols bearing various functional groups. In addition, the PMB ether of an oxidation-labile natural product was successfully removed by V-MPS4 catalysis, while a common oxidative method of PMB deprotection afforded a complex mixture. The V-MPS4 catalyst was reusable up to six times without a significant loss in the product yield. The advantages of using the heterogeneous catalyst were further demonstrated by conducting the deprotection reaction in a continuous flow process, which resulted in a 2.7-fold higher catalyst turnover number and 60-fold higher turnover frequency compared to those of the corresponding batch reaction.

Glioblastoma (GBM) has a high mortality rate despite the availability of various cancer treatment options. Although cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been associated with poor prognosis and metastasis, and play an important role in the resistance to existing anticancer drugs and radiation; no CSC-targeting drugs are currently approved in clinical practice. Therefore, the development of antiproliferative agents against CSCs is urgently required. In this study, we evaluated the antiproliferative activities of 21 sesquiterpenoids against human GBM U-251 MG CSCs and U-251 MG non-CSCs. Particularly, the guaianolide sesquiterpene lactone cynaropicrin (1) showed strong antiproliferative activity against U-251 MG CSCs (IC₅₀ = 20.4 µM) and U-251 MG non-CSCs (IC₅₀ = 10.9 µM). Accordingly, we synthesized six derivatives of 1 and investigated their structure–activity relationships. Most of the guaianolide sesquiterpene lactones with the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone moiety showed antiproliferative activities against U-251 MG cells. We conclude that the 5,7,5-ring and the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone moiety are both important for antiproliferative activities against U-251 MG cells. The results of this study suggest that the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moiety, which has recently become a research hotspot in drug discovery, is the active center of 1. Therefore, we consider 1 as a potential lead for developing novel drugs targeting CSCs.

The first lactam-type 2-iodobenzamide catalysts, 8-iodoisoquinolinones 8 (IB-lactam) and 9 (MeO-IB-lactam), were developed. These catalysts have a conformationally rigid 6/6 bicyclic lactam structure and are more reactive than the previously reported catalysts 2-iodobenzamides 4 (IBamide) and 5 (MeO-IBamide) for the oxidation of alcohols. The lactam structure could form an efficient intramolecular I---O interaction, depending on the size of the lactam ring.

The development of generic pharmaceuticals involves a bioequivalence study to ensure the therapeutic equivalence of the test formulation to the original innovative product. The formulation characteristics of generic products are expected to be maintained in the long term after approval. This study analyzed the factors contributing to the changes in the dissolution profiles of approved products during their life cycles. Cumulative data on the dissolution similarity of 1675 products of 127 ingredients tested by official laboratories in Japan were assessed according to Japanese bioequivalence guidelines with slight modifications. The products showing dissimilarities in dissolution profiles were analyzed for reporting year, therapeutic category, co-development, physical properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), and suspected reasons for dissolution change. The increase in the number of dissimilar products is related to the co-development of generic products. Although the solubility of the API was not associated with the dissolution change in the analysis of the total dissolution data, control of the API particle size is suggested to be important for drugs with poorly soluble APIs. Additionally, a risk factor for dissolution changes in the test solutions at a certain pH was the presence of acidic or basic residues. These results indicate the importance of proper development through a thorough evaluation of the formulation and process factors affecting the dissolution properties throughout the product lifecycle.

The first enantioselective total synthesis of kopsiyunnanine B, which has a unique folded and complex pentacyclic structure containing six contiguous chiral centers, has been achieved along our originally proposed biosynthetic pathway. The key reaction of this synthesis includes a bioinspired cascade that builds three ring structures and three chiral centers in one step and features the stereoselective reduction of a β-acrylate and oxidation to an oxindole.

Five new viridogriseins B–F were isolated from Streptomyces niveoruber, along with viridogrisein and griseoviridin which belong to streptogramin family antibiotics. A combination of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis and the advanced Marfey’s method elucidated the structures of viridogriseins B–F, each featuring distinct constituent amino acids. Consistent with other streptogramin family antibiotics, these viridogrisein analogs exhibited potent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, equimolar mixtures of each viridogrisein analog and griseoviridin inhibited the growth of S. aureus more potently than each analog treatment alone. Finally, an in vitro functional analysis of SgvY, encoded in the viridogrisein biosynthetic gene cluster, revealed that SgvY detoxifies viridogrisein against S. aureus by linearization. Considering that viridogrisein is not autotoxic to S. niveoruber, SgvY likely contributes to the self-resistance system against viridogrisein in S. niveoruber.

For powder compaction, the Kawakita equation has been used to estimate the powder behavior inside the die. The compression pressure exerted on powders is not homogeneous because of the friction on the die wall. However, the yield pressure and porosity estimated using the Kawakita equation are defined based on the assumption that homogeneous voids and compression pressure are distributed throughout the powder bed. In this study, an extended Kawakita equation was derived by considering the variation in the compression pressure as it corresponds to the distance from the loading punch surface. The yield time section estimated from the extended Kawakita equation was wider than that which was estimated via the classical equation. This result is consistent with the assumptions used to derive the extended Kawakita equation. Furthermore, a comparison of the porosity changes before and after the yield pressure was applied indicate that the direct cause of the yield is the spatial constraints of the powder particles. Equivalent stresses were defined to clarify the critical factor that constitutes the extended Kawakita equation. As a result, “taking into account the die wall friction” was considered to be the critical factor in the extended Kawakita equation. As these findings were theoretically determined by the extended Kawakita equation, a useful model was derived for a better understanding of powder compaction in die.

Direct compression is a tableting technique that involves a few steps in non-demanding manufacturing conditions. High strength and rapid disintegration of tablet formulations were previously achieved through the addition of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), which have recently attracted attention as a high-performance biomass material. However, CNF addition results in greater variation in tablet weight and drug content, potentially due to differences in particle size between CNF and other additives. Herein, we used pulverized CNF to evaluate the effect of CNF particle size on the variation in tablet weight and drug content. Tablet formulations consisted of CNF with different particle sizes (approximately 100 µm [CNF₁₀₀] and 300 µm [CNF₃₀₀], at 0, 10, 30, or 50%), lactose hydrate, acetaminophen, and magnesium stearate. Ten powder formulations with different particle sizes and CNF concentrations were prepared; thereafter, the tablets were produced using a rotary tableting press with a compression force of 10 kN. The variation in weight and drug content as well as the tensile strength, friability, disintegration time, and drug dissolution of tablets were evaluated. CNF₁₀₀ addition to the tablets reduced the weight and drug content variation to a greater extent than CNF₃₀₀ addition. Using CNF₃₀₀, we produced tablets of sufficient strength and short disintegration time. These properties were also achieved with CNF₁₀₀ addition. Our findings suggest that adding CNF of small particle size to the tablet formulation can reduce the variation in weight and drug content while maintaining high strength and short disintegration time.

Virtual screening with high-performance computers is a powerful and cost-effective technique in drug discovery. A chemical database is searched to find candidate compounds firmly bound to a target protein, judging from the binding poses and/or binding scores. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) infectious disease has spread worldwide for the last three years, causing severe slumps in economic and social activities. SARS-Cov-2 has two viral proteases: 3-chymotrypsin-like (3CL) and papain-like (PL) protease. While approved drugs have already been released for the 3CL protease, no approved agent is available for PL protease. In this work, we carried out in silico screening for the PL protease inhibitors, combining docking simulation and molecular mechanics calculation. Docking simulations were applied to 8,820 molecules in a chemical database of approved and investigational compounds. Based on the binding poses generated by the docking simulations, molecular mechanics calculations were performed to optimize the binding structures and to obtain the binding scores. Based on the binding scores, 57 compounds were selected for in vitro assay of the inhibitory activity. Five inhibitory compounds were identified from the in vitro measurement. The predicted binding structures of the identified five compounds were examined, and the significant interaction between the individual compound and the protease catalytic site was clarified. This work demonstrates that computational virtual screening by combining docking simulation with molecular mechanics calculation is effective for searching candidate compounds in drug discovery.

Exosomes are a type of extracellular vesicles that contain diverse molecules and are present in our body fluids. They play a crucial role in transporting materials and transmitting signals between cells. Currently, there have been numerous reports on the use of exosomes in drug delivery systems (DDS). However, most existing methods for utilizing exosomes in DDS require the isolation and purification of exosomes, which raises concerns about yield and potential damage to the exosomes. Recently, we have developed a novel DDS called “ExomiR-Tracker” that harnesses exosomes without the need for isolation and purification. This system aims to deliver nucleic acid drugs effectively. ExomiR-Tracker consists of an anti-exosome antibody equipped with nona-D-arginines (9 mer) and nucleic acid drugs which have complementary sequence of target microRNA (anti-miR). In this study, we modified ExomiR-Tracker by incorporating branched nona-D-arginines (9 + 9 mer) molecules (referred to as Branch ExomiR-Tracker) and evaluated its efficacy in lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549 cells). The improved complex formation ability and enhanced cellular uptake of anti-miR, demonstrated by our findings, highlight the advantages of incorporating branched oligoarginine peptides into the ExomiR-Tracker platform. These results represent significant progress in revealing the effectiveness of Branch ExomiR-Tracker against adhesive cancer cells, which has not been shown to be effective with the conventional Linear ExomiR-Tracker.

This study determined the content of solid active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) powders dispersed in suspension-type pharmaceutical oral jellies using a low-field time-domain NMR (TD-NMR). The suspended jellies containing a designated API content were prepared and tested. Acetaminophen (APAP), indomethacin (IMC) and L-valine were used as test APIs. First, this study measured the T₂ relaxation rate (the reciprocal of T₂ relaxation time) by the Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) pulse sequence, and then evaluated whether the API content could be determined by the acquired T₂ relaxation rate. The T₂ relaxation rate negatively correlated with API content to a certain extent, but their correlation was not sufficient for achieving a precise determination. Subsequently, the solid–echo pulse sequence measurement was adopted for this study. We found that NMR signals corresponding to solid components strongly correlated with API content. Thus, this method achieved a precise determination of API contents in suspended jellies. In addition, this study confirmed the effect of API particle size on the T₂ relaxation rate by using an L-valine-containing jelly: the T₂ relaxation rate became faster when a smaller API size was incorporated into the suspended jelly, while there was no difference in terms of the NMR signals measured by solid–echo pulse sequence. From these findings, TD-NMR could be a powerful tool for evaluating the API dispersion state in suspended oral jellies.

The effect of fluoro substituent on the regioselectivity of several reactions of 3,6-disubstituted arynes was studied. These arynes contained another inductively electron-withdrawing substituent other than fluorine. A reasonable degree of regiocontrol was achieved in the (3 + 2) cycloaddition reaction of 3,6-disubstituted aryne containing both fluorine and bromine atoms with benzyl azide. Furthermore, the insertion reaction of aryne into Sn–F σ-bonds and the three-component coupling reaction involving the insertion of aryne into C=O π-bonds also led to the high degree of regiocontrol.

Chiral lithium binaphtholates prepared from the corresponding binaphthols and lithium tert-butoxide effectively catalyze the asymmetric Michael additions of ketones to poorly reactive acrylamides. The lithium binaphtholate catalyst mediates ketone deprotonation and enantioselective carbon–carbon bond formation to the acrylamide to deliver the Michael adduct in good yield and enantioselectivity. A small excess of lithium tert-butoxide relative to the binaphthol successfully enolizes the ketone in the initial stage of the reaction to promote the Michael reaction. Computational analysis of the transition state suggested that the 3- and 3′-phenyl groups of the binaphtholate catalyst regulate the orientation of the lithium enolate and the subsequent approach of the acrylamide, leading to superior enantioselectivity.

Lactose is an excipient used extensively for bulking, diluting, and molding active pharmaceutical ingredients in tablet manufacturing. Particularly, granulated lactose (GL) intended for direct powder compression has distinct properties due to differences in manufacturing methods. It contributes to handling blended powders for tableting and tablet quality. In this study, we aimed to compare the functions of different forms of GL added as excipients during direct powder compression on the tablet properties and the effect of magnesium stearate (Mg-S) used as a lubricant on each type of GL. Different GL types obtained using different manufacturing methods (agitated granulation, GL-AG; spray-dried granulation, GL-SD; fluidized bed granulation, GL-FB) were blended with maize starch, low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose, and paracetamol in a V-type blender for 10 min. Mg-S was added at varying amounts (0.1, 1.0, and 2.0%) and blending times (5, 10, and 30 min) for the nine types of blended powders for tableting formulation. The powders were tableted, and the tablets were evaluated for weight and drug loading variations, tensile strength, friability, and disintegration time. When tablets with the same blending conditions were compared, the tensile strength and disintegration time were in the order of GL-FB > GL-SD > GL-AG. For each GL, we analyzed the effects of changes in the added amount of Mg-S and blending time using contour plots, evaluated the effects of blending conditions on tablet properties, and determined the target tablet properties. We investigated the optimization of the lubricant blending conditions to obtain suitable tablets.