Current Drug Discovery Technologies - Volume 16, Issue 3, 2019

Background: Quality by Design (QbD) is associated with a modern, systematic, scientific and novel approach which is concerned with pre-distinct objectives that not only focus on product, process understanding but also lead to process control. It predominantly signifies the design and product improvement and the manufacturing process in order to fulfill the predefined manufactured goods or final products quality characteristics. It is quite essential to identify the desired and required product performance report, such as Target Product Profile, typical Quality Target Product Profile (QTPP) and Critical Quality Attributes (CQA). Methods: This review highlighted the concepts of QbD design space, for critical material attributes (CMAs) as well as the critical process parameters that can totally affect the CQAs within which the process shall be unaffected thus, consistently manufacturing the required product. Risk assessment tools and design of experiments are its prime components. Results: This paper outlines the basic knowledge of QbD, the key elements; steps as well as various tools for QbD implementation in pharmaceutics field are presented briefly. In addition to this, quite a lot of applications of QbD in numerous pharmaceutical related unit operations are discussed and summarized. Conclusion: This article provides a complete data as well as the roadmap for universal implementation and application of QbD for pharmaceutical products.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. National cancer institute of the US estimates that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Considering the devastating effects of the disease and the alarming numbers many scientists and research groups have devoted their research to fight breast cancer. Several recommendations are to be considered as preventing measures which include living a healthy lifestyle, regular physical activity, weight control and smoking cessation. Early detection of the disease by annual and regular mammography after the age of 40 is recommended by many healthcare institutions. This would help the diagnosis of the disease at an earlier stage and the start of the treatment before it is spread to other parts of the body. Current therapy for breast cancer includes surgical ablation, radiotherapy and chemotherapy which is often associated with adverse effects and even may lead to a relapse of the disease at a later stage. In order to achieve a long-lasting anticancer response with minimal adverse effects, development of breast cancer vaccines is under investigation by many laboratories. The immune system can be stimulated by a vaccine against breast cancer. This approach has attracted a great enthusiasm in recent years. No breast cancer vaccines have been approved for clinical use today. One breast cancer vaccine (NeuVax) has now completed clinical trial phase III and a few preventive and therapeutic breast cancer vaccines are at different steps of development. We think that with the recent advancements in immunotherapy, a breast cancer vaccine is not far from reach.

Objective: Ozenoxacin is one of the potent quinolone antibiotics, recently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) with reported pharmacology to treat the impetigo. The demand for better acting topical formulation is increasing day by day. The present review is an attempt to summarize the facts behind the chemistry and biological applications of Ozenoxacin. Mechanism of Action: This novel drug being a quinolone antibiotic compound, acts by inhibiting DNA gyrase A and topoisomerase IV and affects supercoiling, supercoil relaxation, chromosomal condensation, chromosomal decatenation and many others. Pharmacology: Ozenoxacin has demonstrated to have a bactericidal activity against organisms, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pyogenes. Ozenoxacin is non-fluorinated quinolone and being developed for the other dermatological bacterial infections as well. No sign of genotoxicity was observed when tested experimentally. Conclusion: The present review also covers the complete picture of pharmacokinetics, clinical trials, toxicity and future scope and possible avenues in this arena.

Objective: This research aimed to study the anti-aging and anti-inflammatory effects of low and high doses of the β-D-mannuronic (M2000) on gene expression of enzymes involved in oxidative stress (including SOD2, GST, GPX1, CAT, iNOS, and MPO) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy donors under in vitro conditions. Methods: The PBMCs were separated and the RNAs were then extracted and the cDNAs synthesized, and expression levels of the mentioned genes were detected by qRT-PCR. Results: Our results indicated that the high dose of this drug could significantly reduce the expression level of the SOD2 gene compared to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) group (p < 0.0001). Moreover, it was found that the high dose of this drug could significantly decrease the expression level of the GST gene compared to the LPS group (p < 0.0001). However, no significant reductions were observed in expression levels of the CAT and GPX1 genes compared to the LPS group. Furthermore, our data revealed that the level of iNOS and MPO gene expression was significantly reduced, in both doses of M2000, respectively, compared to the LPS group (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: This research showed that M2000 as a novel NSAID with immunosuppressive properties could modify oxidative stress through lowering expression levels of the SOD2, GST, iNOS, and MPO genes compared to the healthy expression levels, with a probable reduction of the risk of developing inflammatory diseases related to age and aging.

Background: One of many strategies to overcome antibiotic resistance is the discovery of compounds targeting cellular processes, which have not yet been exploited. Materials and Methods: Using various genetic tools, we constructed a novel high throughput, cellbased, fluorescence screen for inhibitors of chromosome replication initiation in bacteria. Results: The screen was validated by expression of an intra-cellular cyclic peptide interfering with the initiator protein DnaA and by over-expression of the negative initiation regulator SeqA. We also demonstrated that neither tetracycline nor ciprofloxacin triggers a false positive result. Finally, 400 extracts isolated mainly from filamentous actinomycetes were subjected to the screen. Conclusion: We concluded that the presented screen is applicable for identifying putative inhibitors of DNA replication initiation in a high throughput setup.

Background: Effective β-cell regeneration is a recognized therapeutic strategy in the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Regeneration of β-cells could be achieved via exogenous natural sources as medicinal plant extracts. Medicinal plants selected for the investigation were Spondias pinnata (Linn. f.) Kurz, Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt and Gmelina arborea Roxb. The objective was to determine the β-cell regenerative potential of these plant extracts in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Alloxan monohydrate was used to induce diabetes (150 mg/kg, ip). Methods: Wistar albino rats were divided into six groups (n=6); healthy untreated rats (healthy control), alloxan-induced diabetic untreated rats (diabetic control), diabetic rats received the extracts (treatment groups) of S. pinnata (1.0 g/kg), C. grandis (0.75 g/kg), G. arobrea (1.00 g/kg) and diabetic rats received glibenclamide (0.5 mg/kg; positive control). The above treatment was continued for 30 days. On the 30th day, the rats were sacrificed and biochemical parameters were determined. In addition, histopathology and immunohistochemistry on the pancreatic tissue were done on the 30th day. Results: According to the results obtained for biochemical parameters, there was a significant increase in the concentrations of serum insulin and C-peptide in plant extracts treated diabetic rats (p < 0.05). The extract of C. grandis produced the highest degree of β-cell regeneration demonstrated through an increase in the number of islets and percentage of the insulin-secreting β-cells (75%) in the pancreas of diabetic rats (p < 0.05) based on the histopathology and immunohistochemistry findings. Conclusion: The results revealed that the selected extracts of C. grandis (0.75 g/kg), G. arborea (1.00 g/kg) and S. pinnata (1.00 g/kg) exerted β-cell regenerative potential in diabetic rats. The three plant extracts would be valued as natural agents of prompting the β-cell regeneration in vivo.

Background: Anti-ovarian cancer vaccines based on minimal immune determinants uniquely expressed in ovarian cancer biomarkers appear to promise a high level of sensitivity and specificity for ovarian cancer immunodiagnostics, immunoprevention, and immunotherapy. Methods: Using the Pir Peptide Match program, three ovarian cancer biomarkers – namely, sperm surface protein Sp17, WAP four-disulfide core domain protein 2, and müllerian-inhibiting substance – were searched for unique peptide segments not shared with other human proteins. Then, the unique peptide segments were assembled to define oligopeptides potentially usable as synthetic ovarian cancer antigens. Results and Conclusion: This study describes a methodology for constructing ovarian cancer biomarkerderived oligopeptide constructs that might induce powerful, specific, and non-crossreactive immune responses against ovarian cancer.

Background: A significant number of antibiotics are known to inhibit peptidoglycan synthesis in the cross-linking stage, while the drug fosfomycin is the only one known to inhibit MurA. Escalated antibiotic resistance has had an impact on the efficacy of fosfomycin, thus demanding the discovery of suitable substitutes with improved potential for MurA inhibition. The aim of this work is to isolate antibacterial compounds from Sarang Semut (Myrmecodia pendans) and to evaluate their antibacterial activity against pathogenic oral bacteria of Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and inhibitory activity against MurA enzyme. Methods: The antibacterial compounds from Sarang Semut were isolated by a bioactivity-guided separation method with various solvents and combination of column chromatography on normal and reverse phases. The compounds with concentrations of 1000 and 5000 ppm were assessed against E. faecalis ATCC 29212 by agar well diffusion method, with chlorhexidine and fosfomycin being used as positive controls. Results: Two antibacterial compounds isolated from Sarang Semut were identified as two new flavonoids derivates of 1 (10 mg) and 2 (4 mg). Both compounds were tested for antibacterial activities against E. faecalis. MIC values of compounds 1 and 2 were 8.15 and 8.05 mm at 1000 ppm and 8.62 and 8.55 mm at 5000 ppm, respectively. MBC values were 156 and 625 ppm for 1 and 625 and 2500 ppm for 2, respectively. In an inhibitory murA enzyme activity assay, compounds 1 and 2 were shown to inhibit the enzyme activity by IC50 values of 21.7 and 151.3 ppm. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that ethyl acetate fraction of Sarang Semut contained antibacterial flavonoids as active constituents that showed activity against E. faecalis. These results showed the plant’s potential in herbal medicine and the development of new antibacterial agent for pathogenic dental caries.

Background: mTORC1/ PI3K control multiple anabolic pathways, including protein synthesis, ribosome production, lipogenesis, and nucleotide synthesis, are all important for cell and tissue growth. Sapanisertib and Dactolisib inhibit PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, an important signaling pathway for many cellular functions such as growth control, metabolism and translation initiation. Methods: Dactolisib contains quinolin-3-yl-2,3-dihydroimidazo[4,5-c]quinolin scaffold and Sapanisertib contains benzo[d]oxazol-5-yl-1-ethyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidinnucleous. From the reference to both of drug novel series of 4-Amino-3-(isoquinolin-4-yl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin was developed by molecular docking. In sillico analysis was done with SWISSADME online tools. Results: Among all the designed derivatives, compounds 6(-10.6 kcal/mol) , 12( -10.7 kcal/mol), 14( -10.2 kcal/mol), and 16(-10.2 kcal/mol) have a good binding affinity than others. Biological activity was predicted by Molinspirationonline software tool showing that all compounds are active on G- protein coupled receptor. In silico toxicity profile of designed compounds was performed using the SWISSADME program, indicating that all the compounds follow the Lipinski rule of five and do not penetrate Blood brain barrier. Conclusion: Series of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin derivatives gives good binding affinity with pan- PI3-Kinese/Mtor inhibitors. The present study provided a better understanding of the molecular modeling requisite for maintaining and/or improving PI3K/mTOR inhibitors.

Background: Dengue Fever is a major threatening global health issue caused by a mosquito-borne pathogen. Even though some anti-viral drugs are now available to reduce the disease severity. Still, there is a need of better drug compound to combat with dengue fever. The NS2B/NS3 protease is a major therapeutic drug target for Insilco drug discovery. Materials & Methods: Previously, we have performed a pharmacophore features based virtual screening studies, which has led to the identification of ZINC92615064 compound as a potent NS2B/NS3 protease inhibitor and demonstrated its potential to act as anti-dengue drug-like compound using computational approaches. In this present study, the identified lead compound ZINC92615064 has been made to undergo scaffold hopping based novel library generation, and the resulted novel library of compounds has been virtually screened on to NS2B/NS3 protease towards identifying novel proprietary scaffold of compound which is acting as a potent inhibitor for the given drug target of NS2B/NS3. Result & Conclusion: A total of 16,847 novel designed compounds library was generated using the scaffold hopping technology based on the structure of the lead compound ZINC92615064. Out of which, compound design no. 3718 has shown the best binding potential with a predicted IC50 value of 417.13 nM along with a permissible range of ADMET properties based on its descriptor values. This NS2B/NS3 protease in complex with compound 3718 was subjected to a rigorous molecular dynamic simulation study to further validate this complex thermodynamic stability, along with the aim to reveal the underlying molecular level interactions and potential mode of action.