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A highly sensitive method was developed to measure putrescine by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser induced fluorescence detection with excellent linearity in the 1 nM to 3 µM range. The technique was tested on a drop of blood from Parkinson's disease patients obtained by finger prick. The results showed a statistically significant increase of putrescine in the erythrocytes compared to controls and a non-significant increase in plasma. This high level of putrescine does not constitute by itself proof that putrescine and polyamines are directly related to Parkinson's disease. However, the present results and several others addressed in the discussion suggest that these compounds might be causally involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. In addition, the analytical method reported here may help to find new biomarkers for many diseases including Parkinson's disease.

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Estudos envolvendo os glicocorticoides merecem destaque devido a serem hormônios responsáveis pela transferência de informações e instruções às células, desta forma regulando o metabolismo, desenvolvimento, crescimento, função imune e também auxiliam no controle das funções tanto reprodutivas quanto tecidual. Estes também são sintetizados e amplamente utilizados com finalidade terapêutica processos alérgicos, tratamento de doenças autoimunes, em transplantes no pré-operatório e/ou pós-operatório-, devido a sua eficiente ação como imunossupressores e anti-inflamatórios. Os dois primeiros capítulos deste trabalho exibem uma revisão da literatura com foco em considerações gerais sobre os glicocorticoides, metodologias empregadas na análise destes hormônios e fundamentos da eletroforese capilar. Na sequência, o quarto capitulo, mostra a otimização da separação de 17 glicocorticoides utilizando cromatografia eletrocinética micelar devido a alto grau hidrofóbico dos analitos. Para tal, a composição do eletrólito consistiu em 20mM de tetraborato de sódio (pH=9.3) e 30 mM de dodecil sulfato de sódio (como surfactante), e a interação soluto-micela e, portanto, retenção do soluto, foi manipulada com a adição (volume/volume) de solventes orgânicos na composição de até 20% acetonitrila (ACN), 20% etanol (EtOH) e 1% tetrahidrofurano (THF), a qual se baseia num modelo de desenho de misturas (totalizando dez diferentes eletrólitos), e através desta abordagem um ótimo de separação foi obtido (13,3% EtOH, 3,3% ACN e 0,17% THF). A melhor condição de separação foi testada qualitativamente numa amostra de urina de um voluntário que faz uso contínuo de prednisona como terapia corticoidal. As misturas de solventes estudadas neste trabalho afetam a solubilidade dos hormônios na fase aquosa e a estrutura micelar também sofre grande impacto,principalmente na camada de solvatação. O quarto capítulo busca racionalizar tais efeitos através da obtenção de descritores, e as informações contidas nos descritores hidrofóbicos e hidrofílicos são sempre relevantes e contribuem nas correlações encontradas. Obteve três grupos de comportamento distinto, onde a capacidade doadora e aceptora de prótons para a realização de ligações de hidrogênios foram as interações consideradas as mais relevantes para o comportamento observado da separação. E o capítulo final, apresenta possibilidades de aproveitamento no controle de qualidade na indústria farmacêutica, métodos baseados na injeção e tensão inversas foram propostos a fim de ganho de tempo de análise (máximo de 5 minutos), estes foram validados seguindo o protocolo preconizado pela ANVISA (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária) nos parâmetros: precisão, exatidão, seletividade, linearidade, limites de detecção e quantificação e robustez; e aplicados na quantificação de quatro (diferentes formulações comerciais contendo glicocorticoides (prednisona 20 mg, betametasona 4 mg, furoato de mometasona 200 mcg e dipropionato de beclometasona 200 mcg)

Studies involving glucocorticoids deserve to be highlighted because they are hormones responsible for the transfer of information and instructions to cells, thus regulating metabolism, development, growth, immune function and also assist in the control of both reproductive and tissue functions. These are also synthesized and widely used for therapeutic purposes - allergic processes, treatment of autoimmune diseases, in preoperative and/or postoperative transplants - due to their efficient action as immunosuppressants and anti-inflammatories. The first two chapters of this paper present a review of the literature focusing on general considerations about glucocorticoids, methodologies used in the analysis of these hormones and fundamentals of capillary electrophoresis. Subsequently, the fourth chapter shows the optimization of the separation of 17 glucocorticoids using micellar electrokinetic chromatography due to the high hydrophobic degree of the analytes. To this end, the electrolyte composition consisted of 20 mM sodium tetraborate (pH = 9.3) and 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (as a surfactant), and the solute-micelle interaction and therefore solute retention was manipulated with organic solvent in the composition of up to 20% acetonitrile (ACN), 20% ethanol (EtOH) and 1% tetrahydrofuran (THF), which is based on a mixture design model (totaling ten different electrolytes), and through this approach an optimal separation was obtained (13.3% EtOH, 3.3% ACN and 0.17% THF). The best separation condition was qualitatively tested in a urine sample from a volunteer who makes continuous use of prednisone as corticosteroid therapy. The solvent mixtures studied in this work affect the solubility of the hormones in the aqueous phase and the micellar structure also has a great impact, especially on the solvation layer. The fourth chapter seeks to rationalize these effects by obtainingdescriptors, and the information contained in the hydrophobic and hydrophilic descriptors is always relevant and contributes to the correlations found. It obtained three groups of distinct behavior, where the donor and acceptor capacity of protons for the realization of hydrogen bonds were the interactions considered the most relevant for the observed behavior of the separation. And the final chapter presents possibilities of use in quality control in the pharmaceutical industry, methods based on injection and reverse voltage were proposed in order to gain analysis time (maximum of 5 minutes), these were validated following the protocol recommended by ANVISA (Brazilian National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance) in the parameters: precision, accuracy, selectivity, linearity, limits of detection and quantification and robustness; and applied in the quantification of four different commercial formulations containing glucocorticoids (prednisone 20 mg, betamethasone 4 mg, mometasone furoate 200 mcg and beclomethasone dipropionate 200 mcg)

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The ketogenic diet (KD) is acknowledged as an unconventional option in the treatment of epilepsy. Several lines of investigation point to a possible role of glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as main contributors in this protective effect. Other biomolecules could also be involved in the beneficial consequence of the KD, for example, the diamine agmatine has been suggested to block imidazole and glutamate NMDA receptor and serves as an endogenous anticonvulsant in different animal models of epilepsy. In the present report, we have used microdialysis coupled to capillary electrophoresis to monitor microdialysate levels of GABA, glutamate and agmatine in the hippocampus of rats submitted to a KD for 15days compared to rats on a normal rat chow diet. A significant increase in GABA and agmatine levels while no change in glutamate levels was observed. These results support the notion that the KD modifies different transmitters favoring inhibitory over excitatory neurotransmitters.

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A stability-indicating MEKC method was developed and validated for the analysis of lumiracoxib (LMC) in pharmaceutical formulations using nimesulide as the internal standard (IS). Optimal conditions for the separation of LMC and degradation products were investigated. The method employed 50 mM borate buffer and 50 mM anionic detergent SDS solution at pH 9.0. MEKC method was performed on a fused-silica capillary (50 µm id; effective length, 40 cm) maintained at 30°C. The applied voltage was 20 kV and photodiode array (PDA) detector was set at 208 nm. The method was validated in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonisation requirements. The stability-indicating capability of the method was established by enforced degradation studies combined with peak purity assessment using PDA detection. The degradation products formed under stressed conditions were investigated by LC-ESI-MS and the two degraded products were identified. MEKC method was linear over the concentration range of 5-150 µg/mL (r(2) =0.9999) of LMC. The method was precise, accurate, with LOD and LOQ of 1.34 and 4.48 µg/mL, respectively. The robustness was proved by a fractional factorial design evaluation. The proposed MEKC method was successfully applied for the quantitative analysis of LMC in tablets to support the quality control.

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