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Intranasal drug delivery is a noninvasive drug delivery route that can enhance systemic delivery of therapeutics with poor oral bioavailability by exploiting the rich microvasculature within the nasal cavity. The intranasal delivery route has also been targeted as a method for improved brain uptake of neurotherapeutics, with a goal of harnessing putative, direct nose-to-brain pathways. Studies in rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans have pointed to the efficacy of intranasally delivered neurotherapeutics, while radiolabeling studies have analyzed brain uptake following intranasal administration. In the present study, we employed carbon-11 radioactive methylation to assess the pharmacokinetic mechanism of intranasal delivery of Orexin A, a native neuropeptide and prospective antinarcoleptic drug that binds the orexin receptor 1. Using physicochemical and pharmacological analysis, we identified the methylation sites and confirmed the structure and function of methylated Orexin A (CH 3 -Orexin A) prior to monitoring its brain uptake following intranasal administration in rodent and nonhuman primate. Through positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of [ 11 C]CH 3 -Orexin A, we determined that the brain exposure to Orexin A is poor after intranasal administration. Additional ex vivo analysis of brain uptake using [ 125 I]Orexin A indicated intranasal administration of Orexin A affords similar brain uptake when compared to intravenous administration across most brain regions, with possible increased brain uptake localized to the olfactory bulbs.

2-[(Diphenylmethyl)sulfinyl]acetamide (modafinil) is commonly prescribed for the treatment of narcolepsy. Increasing popularity and off-label use as a cognitive enhancer has resulted in a reputation as an intelligence boosting 'wonder drug'. Common alternatives available from online shops and other retail outlets include 2-[(diphenylmethyl)sulfinyl]-N-hydroxyacetamide (adrafinil), 2-{[bis(4-fluorophenyl)methyl]sulfinyl}acetamide (CRL-40,940), 2-{[bis(4-fluorophenyl)methyl]sulfinyl}-N-hydroxyacetamide (CRL-40,941), and N-methyl-4,4-difluoro-modafinil (modafiendz), respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a common tool used in forensic and clinical analysis but there is a potential for inducing analysis-related ambiguities. This study reports on the thermal degradation of modafinil, modafinic acid, adrafinil, CRL-40,940, and CRL-40,941 due to exposure to the heated GC injection port dissolved in a variety of solvents. Key degradation products common to modafinil, modafinic acid, and adrafinil analysis included diphenylmethanol and 1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethane (TPE), the latter of which was verified by its synthesis and characterization by x-ray crystallography. The investigated compounds were also characterized by 1 H and 13 C NMR. Diphenylmethane and thiobenzophenone were also identified in some instances. TPE formation was suggested to involve the generation of a benzhydrylium ion and its reaction with the sulfoxide oxygen of the parent compound to give an oxysulfonium intermediate. Correspondingly, the fluorinated TPE analogue was formed during heat-induced degradation of modafiendz, CRL-40,940 and CRL-40,941, respectively. When a mixture of modafinil (non-fluorinated) and modafiendz (fluorinated) were subjected to GC analysis, 4,4'-(2,2-diphenylethane-1,1-diyl)bis(fluorobenzene) was detected as a third cross reaction product in addition to the two expected TPE analogues. These observations served as a reminder that the seemingly straightforward implementation of GC-MS analysis can lead to challenges during routine analysis., (Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Objectives: A "chiral switch" occurs in the pharmaceutical market when a drug made up of 2 enantiomer forms is replaced with a purified single-enantiomer version, often in the context of a patent expiration. We studied the prevalence of chiral switching in the United States over the past decade, including trends in use of, and expenditures on, these products in Medicaid., Study Design: Retrospective analysis., Methods: We used US Adopted Names prefixes (lev/levo/ar/es/dex/dextro) to identify all single-enantiomer drugs approved from 2001 to 2011. From publicly available US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval documents, we extracted the characteristics of the pivotal premarket trials for the single enantiomers. Specifically, we evaluated whether the single enantiomer was directly compared with the precursor racemic drug and whether there was evidence of superior efficacy. We used quarterly drug expenditure data from each state Medicaid program to chart trends in use of, and spending on, the single-enantiomer products and their racemic precursors during the study period., Results: From 2001 to 2011, the FDA approved 9 single-enantiomer products: dexlansoprazole, levoleucovorin, levocetirizine, armodafinil, arformoterol, eszopiclone, escitalopram, dexmethylphenidate, and esomeprazole. Of those 9 drugs, 3 had at least 1 pre-approval randomized trial that included the racemic precursor as a direct comparator, but there was no evidence of superiority of the single enantiomer over the racemic at comparable doses. Between 2001 and 2011, US Medicaid programs spent approximately $6.3 billion on these 9 single-enantiomer drugs., Conclusions: Recently approved single-enantiomer drugs showed no evidence of superior efficacy over the older racemic precursors in the pivotal trials leading to their approval, and in a majority of cases, they were not directly compared.

According to the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of modafinil, a therapeutic drug of hypnolepsy, we designed and synthesized two series of compounds 2-[(diphenylmethane)sulfinyl] acetamides and 2-[(diphenylmethyl)thio] acetamides, and measured their biological activities. The target compounds (6a-6o) were synthesized beginning with diphenyl carbinol by substitution, oxidation, acylation and so on. Their structures were confirmed by ESI-MS, 1H NMR and elemental analysis. The central stimulatory effects of the target compounds were determined by the independent activity assay on mice. Compounds 6c, 6f and 6n have considerable activities, while the central stimulative effect of 6h is slightly better than the positive control modafinil.