Colon-specific prodrugs of 4-aminosalicylic acid for inflammatory bowel disease

Despite the advent of biological products, such as anti-tumor necrosis factor-α monoclonal antibodies (infliximab and adalimumab), for treatment of moderate to severe cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), most patients depend upon aminosalicylates as the conventional treatment option. In recent years, the increased knowledge of complex pathophysiological processes underlying IBD has resulted in development of a number of newer pharmaceutical agents like low-molecular-weight heparin, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics and innovative formulations such as high-dose, once-daily multi-matrix mesalamine, which are designed to minimize the inflammatory process through inhibition of different targets. Optimization of delivery of existing drugs to the colon using the prodrug approach is another attractive alternative that has been utilized and commercialized for 5-aminosalicylic acid (ASA) in the form of sulfasalazine, balsalazide, olsalazine and ipsalazine, but rarely for its positional isomer 4-ASA - a well-established antitubercular drug that is twice as potent as 5-ASA against IBD, and more specifically, ulcerative colitis. The present review focuses on the complete profile of 4-ASA and its advantages over 5-ASA and colon-targeting prodrugs reported so far for the management of IBD. The review also emphasizes the need for reappraisal of this promising but unexplored entity as a potential treatment option for IBD.

Synthesis of phenol-class azo derivatives of 4-aminosalicylic acid

To explore the better prodrug of 4-aminosalicylic acid（4-ASA）with higher activity and less side effects against the inflammatory bowel disease.4-ASA,after a succession of synthesis process,was conjugated with various carder molecules to get seven azo derivatives of 4-ASA.All compounds were characterized by FT-IR,^1H NMR,^13C NMR spectras in detail.New derivatives of 4-ASA were definituded.

Synthesis of azo derivatives of 4-aminosalicylic acid

For searching a better 4-aminosalicylic acid derivative with higher activity and less side effects against the inflammatory bowel disease, 4-aminosalicylic acid (4-ASA) was protected by benzyloxycarbonyl and acetyl, respectively. The resultant was hydrogenized to remove protective group of amino group, then the product was reacted with NaNO2 to give diazonium salt, which was conjugated with salicylic acid, hydroxybenzene, N-salicyloyl glycine acid to get azo derivatives of 4-ASA. The azo derivatives were hydrolyzed under the alkaline condition to get the target products. All compounds were characterized by FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR spectra in details. New derivatives of 4-ASA were characterized. The synthetic route was reasonable and feasible.

Interaction of 4-aminosalicylic Acid and Surfactants in Aqueous Solutions Using UV-Vis Spectra and Steady-state Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The interactions of 4-aminosalicylic acid （4-ASA） and surfactants in aqueous solutions were investigated by using UV-Vis spectra and steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy.The results showed that the strongest peak at UV-vis spectra of 4-ASA aqueous solution in the presence of cationic surfactant and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide （CTAB） appeared at 206 nm and took a red shift from 206 nm to 221 nm with the increase of 4-ASA concentrations from 0.8×10-5 to 4.4×10-4 mol/L.Similarly,the strongest peak at UV-vis spectra of 4-ASA aqueous solution in the presence of nonionic surfactant and polyvinylpyrrolidone （PVP） appeared at 206 nm and took a red shift from 206 nm to 219 nm with the increase of 4-ASA concentrations from 0.8×10-5 to 4.4×10-4 mol/L.However,the similar phenomena did not appeared in the presence of anion surfactant,sodium dodecyl sulfate （SDS）,the UV-vis spectra of 4-ASA aqueous solution remained the same peak position and the peak value increased with the 4-ASA concentration increase.The results could be attributed to the electrostatic attraction between 4-ASA and CTAB or PVP,as well as the electrostatic repulsion between 4-ASA and SDS.Furthermore,the value of critical micelle concentration （CMC） of surfactants in the presence of 4-ASA was determined with Fluorescence method.The first and second CMC of CTAB was 1.2×10-4 M and 2.4×10-4 M,respectively.The first and second CMC of PVP was 1.2×10-4 M and 2.8×10-4 M.SDS realized the multiple micellizations to form multiple CMC.

Efficacy of Topical versus Oral 5-Aminosalicylate for Treatment of 2,4,6-Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic Acid-induced Ulcerative Colitis in Rats

5-aminosalicylic acid（5-ASA） is drug of choice for the treatment of ulcerative colitis（UC）. In this study, the efficacy of topical versus oral 5-ASA for the treatment of UC was examined as well as the action mechanism of this medication. A flexible tube was inserted into the rat cecum to establish a topical administration model of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid（TNBS）-induced UC. A total of 60 rats were divided into sham operation group（receiving an enema of 0.9% saline solution instead of the TNBS solution via the tube）, model group, topical 5-ASA group, oral Etiasa group（a release agent of mesalazine used as positive control） and oral 5-ASA group（n=12 each）. Different treatments were administered 1 day after UC induction. The normal saline（2 mL） was instilled twice a day through the tube in the sham operation group and model group. 5-ASA was given via the tube in the topical 5-ASA group（7.5 g/L, twice per day, 100 mg/kg）, and rats in the oral Etiasa group and oral 5-ASA group intragastrically received Etiasa（7.5 g/L, twice per day, 100 mg/kg） and 5-ASA（7.5 g/L, twice per day, 100 mg/kg）, respectively. The body weight was recorded every day. After 7 days of treatment, blood samples were drawn from the heart to harvest the sera. Colonic tissues were separated and prepared for pathological and related molecular biological examinations. The concentrations of 5-ASA were detected at different time points in the colonic tissues, feces and sera in different groups by using the high pressure liquid chromatography（HPLC）. The results showed that the symptoms of acute UC, including bloody diarrhea and weight loss, were significantly improved in topical 5-ASA-treated rats. The colonic mucosal damage, both macroscopical and histological, was significantly relieved and the myeloperoxidase activity was markedly decreased in rats topically treated with 5-ASA compared with those treated with oral 5-ASA or Etiasa. The mRNA and protein expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α was down-regulated in the colonic tissue of rats topically treated with 5-ASA, significantly lower than those from rats treated with oral 5-ASA or Etiasa. The concentrations of 5-ASA in the colonic tissue were significantly higher in the topical 5-ASA group than in the oral 5-ASA and oral Etiasa groups. It was concluded that the topical administration of 5-ASA can effectively increase the concentration of 5-ASA in the colonic tissue, decrease the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, alleviate the colonic pathological damage and improve the symptoms of TNBS-induced acute UC in rats.

Synthesis of 4-Aminosalicylglycine

To search for a better prodrug of 4-aminosalicylic acid that is expected to deliver stably parent drug to colon against the inflammatory bowel disease, a novel 4-aminosalicylic acid derivative was designed and synthesized from 4-aminosalicylic acid. 4-Aminosalicylglycine was prepared from 4-aminosalicylic acid by protecting amino and hydroxyl groups with benzyloxy- carbonyl and acetyl, respectively, then the carboxylic acid was converted to acyl chloride which was treated with glycine. After removing the protection groups, 4-aminosalicylglycine was obtained. All the compounds were characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR spectra. In vivo experiment on rats suggested that the curative effect of 4-aminosalicylglycine was more effective than that of 4-aminosalicylic acid.

Synthesis and Structure of a Titanocene-ferrocenyl Complex

A titanocene-ferrocenyl complex, （5-ferrocenyl-2-hydroxybenzenecarboxylato- O,O′）-bis（methylcyclopentadienyl）titanium（IV） 4, and an unexpected ionic complex, [C7H8NO3]- [（C5H5）Fe（C5H4）SO3]·H2O3 were synthesized and characterized by IR, ^1H NMR and elemental analysis. Compound 3 is of triclinic, space group P1 with a = 5.954（2）, b = 13.208（5）, c = 13.252（5） A, α = 60.993（7）,β = 84.342（8）,γ = 86.933（8）°, Z = 2, V = 906.8（6）A^3, Dc = 1.601 g/cm^3, μ（MoKα） = 0.987 mm^-1, F（000） = 452, the final R = 0.0647 and wR = 0.1333 for 2311 observed reflections （I 〉 2σ（I））. Compound 4 belongs to the monoclinic system, space group P2 1/c with α = 14.3310（9）, b = 12.5065（8）, c = 12.9406（10） A, β = 95.101（4）°, Z = 4, V = 2310.2（3） A^3, Dc = 1.513 g/cm^3, μ（MoKα） = 1.004 mm^-1, F（000） = 1088, the final R = 0.0461 and wR = 0.1048 for 2112 observed reflections （1 〉 2σ（I））.

Synthesis and Kinetic Study on the Chromium（Ⅲ） Complex [Cr（ASA）（en）2]Cl·2H2O

In order to explore the transfer mechanism of chromium（Ⅲ） in mammals, a novel complex [Cr（ASA）（en）2]Cl·2H2O, bis（ethylenediamine-κ2 N,N′）（4-aminosalicylic acid-κ^2 O,O′） chromium（Ⅲ） monochloride dihydrate was synthesized （4-aminosalicylic acid=H2ASA, ethylenediamine=en）. The crystal structure belongs to orthorhombic system with the space group P212121 by means of X-ray diffraction. The characteristic for transfer of Cr^3＋ from the compound to the low-molecular-mass chelator EDTA and the iron-binding protein apoovotransferrin （apoOTf） was followed by UV-visible （UV-Vis） and fluorescence spectra in 0.01 mol·L^-1 Hepes at pH 7.4. The second order rate constants were calculated. Those spectra in conjunction were used to obtain more accurate information about the interaction of chromium complex with apoOTf. The experimental results indicate that Cr^3＋ can be transferred from the complex to apoOTf with the retention of the 4-aminosalicylic acid acting as a synergistic anion.