Abstract. Laser diffraction (LD) and next generation impactor (NGI) are commonly used for the evaluation of inhaled drug formulations. In this study, the effect of temperature and humidity on the assessment of the nebulizer particle size distribution (PSD) by LD was investigated, and the consistency between NGI and LD measurements was evaluated. There was an increase in particle size with higher temperature or lower humidity. The particle population with a diameter less than 1 μm was significant at a temperature of 5°C or at relative humidity >90%; however, the same particle population became undetectable when temperature increased to 39°C or at relative humidity of 30-45%. The results of the NGI and LD measurements of aerosol generated from three types of jet nebulizers were compared. A poor correlation between the NGI and LD measurements was observed for PARI LC (2.2 μm) (R 2 = 0.893) and PARI LC (2.9 μm) (R 2 =0.878), while a relatively good correlation (R 2 =0.977) was observed for the largest particle size nebulizer (PARI TIA (8.6 μm)). We conclude that the ambient environment and the nebulizer have significant impacts on the performance and consistency between these instruments. These factors should be controlled in the evaluation of inhaled aerosol drug formulations when these instruments are used individually or in combination.

In this study an enantioseparation method for rac-bambuterol (5-(2-(tert-butylamino)-1-hydroxyethyl)-1,3-phenylene bis(dimethylcarbamate)) via diastereoisomeric salt formation with o-chloromandelic acid was developed. The enantiomeric excess (ee) values and chemical purities of the desired products were confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using chiral stationary phase and reverse-phase HPLC analyses, respectively. The ee values and the chemical purities both exceeded 99%. Animal experiments showed that (R)-bambuterol was a potent inhibitor for histamine-induced asthma reactions. (S)-bambuterol was ineffective in relaxing the airways. Both enantiomers increased heart rates in beagles. Therefore, replacing rac-bambuterol with (R)-bambuterol could be beneficial for asthma patients.

Four putative GH12 genes were found in the Fusarium graminearum genome. The corresponding proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and evaluated. FGSG_05851 and FGSG_11037 displayed high activities towards xyloglucan (V max of 4 and 11 µmol/min, respectively), whereas FGSG_07892 and FGSG_16349 were much less active with this substrate (0.081 and 0.004 µmol/min, respectively). However, all four of these enzymes had a similar binding affinity for xyloglucan. Xyloglucan was the substrate preferred by FGSG_05851, in contrast to the three other enzymes, which preferred β-glucan or lichenan. Therefore, FGSG_05851 is a xyloglucan-specific glucanase (E.C. 3.2.1.151) rather than an endoglucanase (E.C. 3.2.1.4) with broad substrate specificity. FGSG_11037 displayed a peculiar behavior in that the xyloglucan binding was highly cooperative, with a Hill coefficient of 2.5. Finally, FGSG_05851 essentially degraded xyloglucan into hepta-, octa-, and nonasaccharides, whereas the three other enzymes yielded hepta-and octa-saccharides as well as larger molecules.