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Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Food and Drugs

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Analytical Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 4373

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Michele De Luca

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Guest Editor

Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
Interests: drug analysis; food analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Stefan Platikanov

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Guest Editor

Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council, Barcelona, Spain
Interests: chemometrics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food and drugs play central roles in our everyday lives. Food is essential for performing regular human physiological functions, while drugs are designed to restore normal physiological functions when imbalances occur due to internal or external factors. However, there is now a new category of substances called nutraceuticals. These unique compounds serve a dual purpose, acting as both drugs and food. Recently, they have been used for the development of new classes of natural food supplements and pharmaceuticals.

The global economic importance of food and pharmaceutical products is huge. They are essential for industries, consumers, and government agencies to evaluate the safety of the products being sold. In this context, analytical laboratory procedures continue to play a key role in the characterization and control of quality of food and pharmaceutical products, as well as detecting potential degradation, adulteration, and contamination. Drug analysis is also essential at all stages of new molecule development, from synthesis to ADMET or formulation design.

This Special Issue encourages submissions on topics related to food and drug analysis, considering qualitative and quantitative approaches. We welcome research on chromatographic (LC-MS, GC-MS, etc.) and spectroscopic techniques (UV/Vis, NIR, MIR, hyperspectral imaging, etc.), as well as chem/bio sensors, biological assays, QSAR and QSPR modelling, chemometric/statistical methods, and other innovative analytical methods and techniques, which are essential at all stages of drug and food manufacturing.

Dr. Michele De Luca
Dr. Stefan Platikanov
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

drug analysis
food analysis
chromatographic techniques
spectroscopic techniques
chem/bio sensors
biological assays
QSAR and QSPR modelling
chemometric methods
analytical chemistry

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1944 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of an RP-HPLC Method for Quantifying Diclofenac Diethylamine, Methyl Salicylate, and Capsaicin in Pharmaceutical Formulation and Skin Samples

by Lubna H. M. AlNahwa, Hazim M. Ali, Tamer H. A. Hasanin, Khaled Shalaby, Mutairah S. Alshammari, Alaa M. Alsirhani and Sabrein H. Mohamed

Molecules 2024, 29(12), 2732; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29122732 - 8 Jun 2024

Viewed by 231

Abstract

An RP-HPLC method with a UV detector was developed for the simultaneous quantification of diclofenac diethylamine, methyl salicylate, and capsaicin in a pharmaceutical formulation and rabbit skin samples. The separation was achieved using a Thermo Scientific ACCLAIM^TM 120 C₁₈ column (Waltham, MA, USA, 4.6 mm × 150 mm, 5 µm). The optimized elution phase consisted of deionized water adjusted to pH = 3 using phosphoric acid mixed with acetonitrile in a 35:65% (v/v) ratio with isocratic elution. The flow rate was set at 0.7 mL/min, and the detection was performed at 205 nm and 25 °C. The method exhibits good linearity for capsaicin (0.05–70.0 µg/mL), methyl salicylate (0.05–100.0 µg/mL), and diclofenac diethylamine (0.05–100.0 µg/mL), with low LOD values (0.0249, 0.0271, and 0.0038 for capsaicin, methyl salicylate, and diclofenac diethylamine, respectively). The RSD% values were below 3.0%, indicating good precision. The overall greenness score of the method was 0.61, reflecting its environmentally friendly nature. The developed RP-HPLC method was successfully applied to analyze Omni Hot Gel^® pharmaceutical formulation and rabbit skin permeation samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Food and Drugs)

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12 pages, 1614 KiB

Open AccessArticle

O-Phthalaldehyde Derivatization for the Paper-Based Fluorometric Determination of Glutathione in Nutritional Supplements

by Maria Tarara, Paraskevas D. Tzanavaras and George Z. Tsogas

Molecules 2024, 29(11), 2550; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29112550 - 29 May 2024

Viewed by 228

Abstract

Herein, a new, direct paper-based fluorimetric method is described for the quantitative determination of glutathione (GSH) molecules in nutritional supplements. Briefly, the proposed analytical method is based on the fluorescence emission resulting from the direct and selective chemical reaction of GSH molecules with the derivatization reagent that is o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) in acidic conditions at room temperature. The intensity of the emitted fluorescence on the surface of the analytical paper devices after irradiation with a lamp at 365 nm is proportional to the concentration of GSH and is measured using a smartphone as the detector. This methodology, which is suitable for measurements in laboratories with limited resources, does not require specialized instrumentation or trained personnel. The protocol governing the proposed method is simple and easily applicable. Essentially, the chemical analyst should adjust the value of pH on the surface of the paper by adding a minimal amount of buffer solution; then, after adding a few microliters of the derivatization reagent, wait for the surface of the paper to dry and, finally, add the analyte. Subsequently, the irradiation of the sensor and the measurement of the emitted fluorescence can be recorded with a mobile phone. In the present study, several parameters affecting the chemical reaction and the emitted fluorescence were optimized, the effect of interfering compounds that may be present in dietary supplements was examined, and the stability of these paper sensors under different storage conditions was evaluated. Additionally, the chemical stability of these paper devices in various maintenance conditions was studied, with satisfactory results. The detection limit calculated as 3.3 S/N was 20.5 μmol L⁻¹, while the precision of the method was satisfactory, ranging from 3.1% (intra-day) to 7.3% (inter-day). Finally, the method was successfully applied to three different samples of dietary supplements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Food and Drugs)

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16 pages, 836 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wheat Bread Enriched with House Cricket Powder (Acheta domesticus L.) as an Alternative Protein Source

by Magdalena Gantner, Anna Sadowska, Anna Piotrowska, Klaudia Kulik, Barbara Sionek and Eliza Kostyra

Molecules 2024, 29(3), 711; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29030711 - 3 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1437

Abstract

The house cricket (Acheta domesticus L.) is one of four edible insect species introduced to the EU market as a novel food and alternative protein source. Innovative products, such as cricket flour, are increasingly appearing on supermarket shelves and can offer an alternative to traditional cereals, while providing the body with many valuable nutrients of comparable quality to those found in meat and fish. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using cricket powder as a substitute for wheat flour in the production of bread. The physicochemical properties of cricket powder were evaluated in comparison to wheat flour. As a result of technological studies, bread compositions with 5%, 10% and 15% replacements of wheat flour by cricket powder were designed and their quality characteristics (physicochemical, sensory and microbiological) were evaluated. Cricket powder was characterised by a higher protein (63% vs. 13.5%) and fat (16.3% vs. 1.16%) content and a lower carbohydrate (9.8% vs. 66%) and fibre (7.8% vs. 9.5%) content as compared to wheat flour. The tested preparations had a similar pH (6.9 and 6.8, respectively, for cricket powder and flour) and fat absorption capacity (0.14 vs. 0.27 g oil/g powder, respectively, for cricket powder and flour) but different water holding capacities and completely different colour parameters. All breads had good microbiological quality after baking and during 7 days of storage. In instrumental tests, the 10 and 15% replacements of wheat flour by cricket powder affected the darker colour of the breads and caused a significant increase in the hardness of the breads. The research has shown that the optimal level of replacement, which does not significantly affect the physiochemical and sensory characteristics, is 5% cricket powder in the bread recipe. Considering the results obtained and the fact that insects provide a sufficient supply of energy and protein in the human diet, are a source of fibre, vitamins and micronutrients, and have a high content of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, the suitability of cricket powder for protein enrichment of bakery products is confirmed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Food and Drugs)

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13 pages, 2370 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analytical Methods Based on the Mass Balance Approach for Purity Evaluation of Tetracycline Hydrochloride

by Sunyoung Lee, Song-Yee Baek, Ha-Jeong Kwon, Ki Hwan Choi and Jeesoo Han

Molecules 2023, 28(22), 7568; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28227568 - 13 Nov 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1116

Abstract

Analytical methods based on the mass balance approach were developed for the purity evaluation of tetracycline hydrochloride, a representative salt compound used in pure veterinary drug analysis. The purity assignment method was used to quantify individual classes of impurities via independent analytical techniques. The mass fraction of the free base or salt form contained in a high-purity organic compound with a hydrochloride salt can be determined. The chloride content by ion chromatography-conductivity detector (IC-CD) and general classes of impurities, including structurally related impurities by liquid chromatography–ultraviolet (LC-UV) detector, water by Karl Fischer (KF) coulometric titration, residual solvents by headspace sampler gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS), and non-volatiles by thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), were considered to calculate the purity of the mass fraction. The chloride content of the salt compound can be considered the main impurity in the mass fraction of the free base in the salt compound. A purity assay using quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (q-NMR) as a direct determination method was performed to confirm the results of the mass balance method. The assigned purities of the tetracycline free form and its salt form in mass fraction were (898.80 ± 1.60) mg/g and (972.65 ± 1.58) mg/g, respectively, which are traceable to the international system of units (SI). Thus, the procedure for evaluating the purity of the free base and salt forms in the salt compound is newly demonstrated in this study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Food and Drugs)

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Review

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30 pages, 1102 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Quantitative and Topical Analysis of Anthocyanins in Food

by Jorge A. Custodio-Mendoza, Havva Aktaş, Magdalena Zalewska, Jarosław Wyrwisz and Marcin A. Kurek

Molecules 2024, 29(8), 1735; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29081735 - 11 Apr 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 806

Abstract

Anthocyanins, a subclass of flavonoids known for their vibrant colors and health-promoting properties, are pivotal in the nutritional science and food industry. This review article delves into the analytical methodologies for anthocyanin detection and quantification in food matrices, comparing quantitative and topical techniques. Quantitative methods, including High-performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Mass Spectrometry (MS), offer precise quantification and profiling of individual anthocyanins but require sample destruction, limiting their use in continuous quality control. Topical approaches, such as Near-infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) and hyperspectral imaging, provide rapid, in situ analysis without compromising sample integrity, ideal for on-site food quality assessment. The review highlights the advancements in chromatographic techniques, particularly Ultra-high-performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with modern detectors, enhancing resolution and speed in anthocyanin analysis. It also emphasizes the growing importance of topical techniques in the food industry for their efficiency and minimal sample preparation. By examining the strengths and limitations of both analytical realms, this article aims to shed light on current challenges and prospective advancements, providing insights into future research directions for improving anthocyanin analysis in foods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Food and Drugs)

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