Despite the fact that it was put on the market more than 60 years ago, hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) is still one of the most important antihypertensive drugs. Due to its chemical structure, which ...contains the secondary aryl-alkyl-amino moiety, it is vulnerable to the formation of N-nitrosamine drug substance-related impurity (NDSRI) N-nitroso-hydrochlorothiazide (NO-HCT). In our study, we reveal that NO-HCT degrades rapidly at pH values 6 to 8. The main degradation products identified are formaldehyde, thiatriazine, and aminobenzenesulfonic acid derivative. Interestingly, degradation of NO-HCT at pH values from 5 to 1 is significantly slower and provides a different impurity profile when compared to the profile generated between pH 6 and 8. Specifically, between pH 1 and 5, HCT is observed as one of the key degradation products of NO-HCT in addition to formaldehyde and aminobenzenesulfonic acid. Moreover, at pH 1, the aminobenzenesulfonic acid derivative is transformed to the corresponding diazonium salt in approximately 3% yield with the nitrosyl cation, which is released during the decomposition of NO-HCT to HCT. This diazonium is highly unstable above pH 5. To verify that degradation of NO-HCT does not produce the corresponding diazonium salt that could be formed via metabolic activation of NO-HCT, this diazonium salt and its hydrolytic and reduction degradation products were synthesized and used as standards for the identification of species formed during the degradation of NO-HCT. This enabled us to confirm that the corresponding aryl diazonium salt, which would be obtained from metabolic activation of NO-HCT, is not observed in the NO-HCT degradation pathway. Our study also demonstrates that this diazonium salt is stable only in the presence of a large excess of strong mineral acid under anhydrous conditions. In the presence of water, it is instantaneously converted to an aminobenzenesulfonic acid derivative. These findings suggest that the NO-HCT should not be considered as a typical compound belonging to the cohort of the concern.
We investigated the effectiveness of photocatalytic pretreatment (PCP) of precursors in minimizing the formation potentials (FPs) of carcinogenic nitrosamines, including N-nitrosodimethylamine ...(NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), and N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA), during water chloramination. A steel mesh substrate with immobilized TiO2 was highly efficient at mitigating nitrosamine formation and removing targeted precursors such as ranitidine, nizatidine, trimebutine, triethanolamine, and metoclopramide. Compared to UVC/H2O2, PCP under UVA irradiation (intensity of 0.67 mW cm−2) was more effective for reducing nitrosamine-FPs during post-chloramination. However, the PCP efficacies varied with the water source, pretreatment pH, and irradiation time. For example, PCP of eutrophic water increased the NDMA-FPs, but produced notable reductions (up to 99%) for NDELA- and NDEA-FPs. Shorter irradiation times, up to 15 min, increased the NDELA-FP in triethanolamine, and the NDMA-FP in nizatidine and trimebutine. However, the nitrosamine-FP decreased by > 50% after PCP at a pH > 5.6, following irradiation for 120 min. Oxygen addition, N-de(m)ethylation, and N-dealkylation were responsible for decreasing nitrosamine-FPs via the destruction of key moieties; this has been elucidated by mass spectroscopy. This study suggests that PCP could be used as an alternative strategy for minimizing nitrosamine-FPs during water treatment.
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•Immobilized TiO2 samples effectively removed nitrosamine precursors.•Photocatalytic pretreatment decreased nitrosamine formation in post-chloramination.•Nitrosamine formation potentials varied with the initial pH and water matrix.•O2 transfer and N-dealkylation on DMA-N are responsible for nitrosamine reduction.
•Mutation frequency on M13mp2 DNA increased after exposure to NPRO+UVA.•Single-base substitutions, especially GC to CG transversions increased.•Non-clustering of the GC to CG mutations suggests ...NPRO+UVA damage to DNA is random.
N-nitrosoproline (NPRO) is endogenously formed from proline and nitrite. In an effort to delineate the mechanism of NPRO-induced photomutagenicity, we investigated the mutagenic spectrum of NPRO on M13mp2 DNA with UVA irradiation. Following exposure to NPRO and UVA, the mutation frequency increased significantly in an NPRO and UVA dose-dependent manner. The sequence data derived from seventy of the mutants indicated that mutagenesis resulted mainly from an increase in single-base substitutions, the most frequent being GC to CG transversions. Non-clustering of the GC to CG mutations suggests that NPRO+UVA damage to DNA is random. These transversions may be caused by guanine adducts in DNA or in part by oxidatively modified guanine in DNA exposed to NPRO and UVA.
The ICH M7(R1) guideline describes a framework to assess the carcinogenic risk of mutagenic and carcinogenic pharmaceutical impurities following less-than-lifetime (LTL) exposures. This LTL framework ...is important as many pharmaceuticals are not administered for a patient's lifetime and as clinical trials typically involve LTL exposures. While there has been regulatory caution about applying LTL concepts to cohort of concern (COC) impurities such as N-nitrosamines, ICH M7 does not preclude this and indeed literature data suggests that the LTL framework will be protective of patient safety for N-nitrosamines. The goal was to investigate if applying the LTL framework in ICH M7 would control exposure to an acceptable excess cancer risk in humans. Using N-nitrosodiethylamine as a case study, empirical data correlating exposure duration (as a percentage of lifespan) and cancer incidence in rodent bioassays indicate that the LTL acceptable intake (AI) as derived using the ICH M7 framework would not exceed a negligible additional risk of cancer. Therefore, controlling N-nitrosamines to an LTL AI based on the ICH M7 framework is thus demonstrated to be protective for potential carcinogenic risk to patients over the exposure durations typical of clinical trials and many prescribed medicines.
•N-Nitrosamines are part of the ICH M7 cohort of concern (COC) class of impurities.•ICH M7 provides a framework for less-than-lifetime (LTL) acceptable intake (AI) derived from a lifetime AI.•N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) exposures at the ICH M7 LTL AIs are of negligible excess cancer risk.•The ICH M7 LTL AI guidance should be used to limit exposures to N-nitrosamines.
In the last five years, the presence of N-nitrosamines in commonly used medicines has become a significant concern for patients, physicians, and the pharmaceutical industry, due to their carcinogenic ...properties, even at low concentrations. Analytical methods that enable the unequivocal monitoring of these compounds, with low detection limits and covering a range of drugs, are indispensable. The present work proposes a bidimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method capable of quantifying eleven N-nitrosamines in lipophilic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The API is retained in the first chromatographic dimension, while the fraction containing the N-nitrosamines is transferred to the second chromatographic dimension and, after separation, to the mass spectrometer. The logP values for the APIs and N-nitrosamines enabled prediction of the APIs that could be separated from the target analytes. The method was validated and successfully applied for the quantification of 1-methyl-4-nitroso piperazine (MNP) and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in rifampicin, a drug used to treat tuberculosis. Although NDMA was not detected in two pharmaceutical analyzed, MNP was found at concentrations of 0.44 ± 0.05 and 2.1 ± 0.3 µg g−1. Given the ability to apply the method to various APIs, together with its reliance solely on logP values for determining suitability, the proposed technique could be extended to the determination of N-nitrosamines in other drugs besides rifampicin.
•A general approach is proposed for the determination of nitrosamine impurities.•2D-LC-MS/MS method separates and quantifies N-nitrosamines from lipophilic APIs.•LogP values predict APIs that can be separated from N-nitrosamines on the 1D column.•1-Methyl-4-nitrosopiperazine was determined in rifampicin.•The technique can analyze multiple N-nitrosamines simultaneously in one run.
Current production of tipifarnib involves a late-stage chiral resolution where the mother liquor containing ∼2/3 of the product is disposed of as waste. As part of an effort to develop an efficient ...recycling process, a NaNO2-mediated racemization was initially devised and successfully implemented at kilogram scale. However, formation of a new hard-to-purge impurity and concerns about potential N-nitrosamine contamination prompted exploration of a NaNO2-free process. Additional experimentation with acidic conditions at elevated temperatures afforded a highly efficient, robust recycling process that was seamlessly incorporated into the original process. The resulting production output of tipifarnib increased over 60%, and waste disposal was dramatically decreased.
Microbial inoculants can reinvent the value and edible security of cultured sausages. Various studies have demonstrated that starter cultures made up of
(LAB) and
(known as L-S) isolated from ...traditional fermented foods were used in fermented sausage manufacturing.
This study evaluated the impact of the mixed inoculation cultures on limiting biogenic amines, nitrite depletion, N-nitrosamine reduction, and quality metrics. Inoculation of sausages with the commercial starter culture (SBM-52) was evaluated for comparison.
Results showed that the L-S strains could rapidly decrease the water activity (Aw) and pH of fermented sausages. The ability of the L-S strains to delay lipid oxidation was equivalent to the SBM-52 strains. The non-protein nitrogen (NPN) contents of L-S-inoculated sausages (0.31%) were higher than that of SBM-52-inoculated sausages (0.28%). After the ripening process, the nitrite residues in the L-S sausages were 1.47 mg/kg lower than in the SBM-52 sausages. Compared to the SBM-52 sausages, there was a 4.88 mg/kg reduction in the biogenic amines' concentrations in L-S sausage, especially for histamine and phenylethylamine concentrations. The N-nitrosamine accumulations of the L-S sausages (3.40 ug/kg) were lower than that of the SBM-52 sausages (3.70 ug/kg), and the NDPhA accumulations of the L-S sausages were 0.64 ug/kg lower than that of the SBM-52 sausages. Due to their significant contributions to nitrite depletion, biogenic amine reduction, and N-nitrosamine depletion in fermented sausages, the L-S strains have the potential to serve as an initial inoculant in the process of manufacturing fermented sausages.
•N-nitroso-CIP was formed and accumulated in sludge under denitrifying conditions.•The percentage of transformation of CIP into N-nitroso-CIP reached 14.3%.•NO release and codenitrification were ...responsible for N-nitroso-CIP formation.•Formation of carbamate adducts in presence of HCO3− inhibited nitrosation reaction.•N-nitroso-CIP and N-nitroso-hydrochlorothiazide were identified in WWTP effluents.
The formation of N-nitroso-ciprofloxacin (CIP) was investigated both in wastewater treatment plants including nitrification/denitrification stages and in sludge slurry experiments under denitrifying conditions. The analysis of biological wastewater treatment plant effluents by Kendrick mass defect analysis and liquid chromatography - high resolution - mass spectrometry (LCHRMS) revealed the occurrence of N-nitroso-CIP and N-nitroso-hydrochlorothiazide at concentration levels of 34 ± 3 ng/L and 71 ± 6 ng/L, respectively. In laboratory experiments and dark conditions, produced N-nitroso-CIP concentrations reached a plateau during the course of biodegradation experiments. A mass balance was achieved after identification and quantification of several transformation products by LCHRMS. N-nitroso-CIP accounted for 14.3% of the initial CIP concentration (20 µg/L) and accumulated against time. The use of 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate and superoxide dismutase as scavengers for in situ production of nitric oxide and superoxide radical anion respectively, revealed that the mechanisms of formation of N-nitroso-CIP likely involved a nitrosation pathway through the formation of peroxynitrite and another one through codenitrification processes, even though the former one appeared to be prevalent. This work extended the possible sources of N-nitrosamines by including a formation pathway relying on nitric oxide reactivity with secondary amines under activated sludge treatment.
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The recent discovery of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a mutagenic N-nitrosamine, in pharmaceuticals has adversely impacted the global supply of relevant pharmaceutical products. Contamination by ...N-nitrosamines diverts resources and time from research and development or pharmaceutical production, representing a bottleneck in drug development. Therefore, predicting the risk of N-nitrosamine contamination is an important step in preventing pharmaceutical contamination by DNA-reactive impurities for the production of high-quality pharmaceuticals. In this study, we first predicted the degradation pathways and impurities of model pharmaceuticals, namely gliclazide and indapamide, in silico using an expert-knowledge software. Second, we verified the prediction results with a demonstration test, which confirmed that N-nitrosamines formed from the degradation of gliclazide and indapamide in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, especially under alkaline conditions. Furthermore, the pathways by which degradation products formed were determined using ranitidine, a compound previously demonstrated to generate NDMA. The prediction indicated that a ranitidine-related compound served as a potential source of nitroso groups for NDMA formation. In silico software is expected to be useful for developing methods to assess the risk of N-nitrosamine formation from pharmaceuticals.
•First estimation of nitrosamine intake via tobacco by smokers in 30 provinces, China.•First estimation of cancer risk (CR) of nitrosamines in tobacco to smokers in China.•CRs of NNK and NDMA are ...comparable in tobacco smoke (1.99 × 10−4 vs. 1.66 × 10 -4).•CR by nitrosamine intake: tobacco (3.80 × 10−4) > food (1.74 × 10−4) > water (1.38 × 10−5).•Tobacco smoking brings 202% extra cancer risk of nitrosamines to Chinese smokers.
Nitrosamines are a class of carcinogens which have been detected widely in food, water, some pharmaceuticals as well as tobacco. The objectives of this paper include reviewing the basic information on tobacco consumption and nitrosamine contents, and assessing the health risks of tobacco nitrosamines exposure to Chinese smokers. We searched the publications in English from “Web of Science” and those in Chinese from the “China National Knowledge Infrastructure” in 2022 and collected 151 literatures with valid information. The content of main nitrosamines in tobacco, including 4-(methylnitrosoamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), N-nitrosoanatabine (NAT), N-nitrosoanabasine (NAB), total tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA), and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were summarized. The information of daily tobacco consumption of smokers in 30 provinces of China was also collected. Then, the intakes of NNN, NNK, NAT, NAB, TSNAs, and NDMA via tobacco smoke were estimated as 1534 ng/day, 591 ng/day, 685 ng/day, 81 ng/day, 2543 ng/day, and 484 ng/day by adult smokers in 30 provinces, respectively. The cancer risk (CR) values for NNN and NNK inhalation intake were further calculated as 1.44 × 10−5 and 1.95 × 10−4. The CR value for NDMA intake via tobacco smoke (inhalation: 1.66 × 10−4) indicates that NDMA is similarly dangerous in tobacco smoke when compared with the TSNAs. In China, the CR values caused by average nitrosamines intake via various exposures and their order can be estimated as the following: smoke (3.75 × 10−4) > food (1.74 × 10−4) > drinking water (1.38 × 10−5). Smokers in China averagely suffer 200% of extra cancer risk caused by nitrosamines in tobacco when compared with non-smokers.
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