Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics Commons^™

Novel Oral Delivery System Using Modified Inulin For Enhanced Liver Cancer Therapy, Sung-Ling Tang, Yu-Ju Lai, Wei-Cheng Lin, Meng-Yi Bai, Yu-Chi Wang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although advanced oral anticancer drugs, such as sorafenib and lenvatinib, are available for treating HCC, their effectiveness is limited by significant side effects and the requirement for optimal liver function, restricting their broader use. Furthermore, these drugs cannot be used in combination, leading to suboptimal treatment outcomes. This study introduces a novel therapeutic approach by repurposing two existing drugs, niclosamide and disulfiram, as a combination therapy to treat HCC. Despite their known anticancer properties, these drugs face challenges such as high lipophilicity and a significant first-pass effect, resulting in …

Effect Of Cosmetic Whitening Ingredients’ Lipophilicity On Melanocyte Cytotoxicity: A Systematic Review, Lord Sam B. Liston, Zach Uriel Cabije, Enrico John Belleza, Catherine Ortega, Mark Niño Melgo, Vanbeth Camson, Sabrina Dahlizar, Pajaree Sakdiset, Gea Abigail Ecoy, Gerard Lee See, Florencio Jr. Arce

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Tyrosinase is an enzyme involved in the early stages of melanin synthesis. Melanin, which gives skin its pigment, is the most targeted molecule in the development of skin-whitening cosmetic products. Consequential risks of chemically induced skin diseases are associated with the usage of skin-whitening products that contain tyrosinase-inhibiting compounds. Currently, products containing tyrosinase inhibitors on the market lack collective analysis of their toxicity on melanocytes. Moreover, national regulatory agencies (e.g., FDA) place the burden of ensuring the safety of whitening products on manufacturers, risking bias and selective reporting. In fact, the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive does not include more than half …

The Protective Potential Of Intestinal Bifidobacterium-Derived Extracellular Vesicles With Unique Lipid Composition Against Blue Light-Induced Damage In Retinal Cells, Wei-Hsuan Hsu, Pin-Hsuan Su, Hao-Yuan Chien, Tzu-Ming Pan, Bao-Hong Lee

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Bifidobacterium longum is a probiotic that resides in the intestine, and extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by microorganisms have garnered attention in recent years for their role in regulating host health. This study found that triacylglycerol, cholesteryl esters, and free fatty acid (18:0 and 16:0) are primarily composed of lipids in B. longum-derived EVs by lipidomics assay. Such lipid composition facilitates the entry of EVs into ARPE-19 cells and protects the cells from oxidative death induced by blue light exposure. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that treatment with B. longum-derived EVs can regulate phosphoinositide 3-kinase and mTOR, thereby enhancing the survival …

Systematic Verification Of Saliva-Based Biosignatures For Oral Cancer Via Targeted Metabolomics, Ya-Ju Hsieh, Yu Chang, Chi Yang, Nai Hsuan Teng, Jau-Song Yu, Kai-Ping Chang, Wen-Chen Chen, Lichieh Julie Chu, Yi-Ting Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains a major global health challenge, and early detection is essential for improving patient outcomes. To identify reliable salivary biomarkers, we performed a targeted metabolomics study using ¹³C₂/¹²C₂-dansylation, integrating candidate metabolites from published OSCC metabolomics datasets and systematically verifying them through LC-MRM-MS. A panel of 26 metabolites was quantified in saliva samples from 299 subjects, including healthy controls (n = 98), oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD I, n = 50; OPMD II, n = 53), and OSCC patients (n = 98). Among these, cadaverine, N-acetylcadaverine, choline, glycine, and …

Phthalate Exposure And Lipid Disruption In Taiwanese Children: Insights From Serum Lipidomic Approach, Tzu-Hsin Yen, Wei-Chen Tseng, Sheng-Han Lee, Zhi-Yi Du, Wan-Yu Lin, Mei-Huei Chen, Ching-Chun Lin, Ching-Chun Lin, Hui-Ju Wen, Hao-Jan Liang, Yue-Leon Guo, Pau-Chung Chen, Ching-Yu Lin

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that raise particular concern for children, who generally experience higher exposure levels and are more susceptible to environmental pollutants. To understand potential molecular mechanisms, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 256 Taiwanese children aged 8–10 years from two population-based cohorts: the Taiwan Birth Panel Study and the Taiwan Early-Life Cohort. Serum phosphocholine-containing lipids were profiled by liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and associated with urinary levels of 12 phthalate metabolites. Multiple linear regression models, adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic factors, revealed that mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), an oxidative metabolite of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), …

Applications Of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy In Pediatric Clinical Metabolomics: From Research To Future Perspectives, Chieh-Ni Kuo, Meng-Han Chiang, Hsien-Ju Lee, Yu-Ying Yu, Eric Yi-Liang Shen, Chih-Yung Chiu

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Metabolomics studies small-molecule metabolites to provide insights into health and disease, supporting early diagnosis and personalized medicine. Advances in mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have expanded its use in metabolic, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. In pediatrics, high-resolution NMR metabolomics has been instrumental in identifying age-related metabolic changes during early childhood and their associations with growth, nutrition, and disease risk. However, a comprehensive review of its clinical applications and future potential remains limited. This review highlights how utilizing specific NMR pulse sequences, such as CPMG and NOESY, allows for precise and non-destructive metabolic profiling of diverse biofluids, supported by …

The Evolution Of Desi-Msi: A Comprehensive Look At Preprocessing And Quantification Strategies For Metabolomics, Cheng-Hung Yang, Hung-Yao Ho, Chen-Yu Chang, Mei-Ling Cheng

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has become an indispensable tool in metabolomics for visualizing the spatial distribution of biomolecules within tissues. Due to its direct, ambient analysis capability, desorption electrospray ionization (DESI-MSI) has evolved from a rapid screening tool into a precise and reliable quantitative platform. We delve into its technical principles and particularly review the criticality of sample preprocessing, highlighting the paradigm shift from a "no-preprocessing" approach to one of "optimized preprocessing." The paper details how factors like sample preservation, choice of embedding agents, washing, drying, and on-tissue chemical derivatization all impact data quality. We also discuss how the addition …

Advanced Technologies Of Single-Cell Metabolomics Unveiling Cellular Metabolic Heterogeneity For Biological And Biomedical Research, Shang-Che Kuo, Ting-Wei Tsao, I-Fan Wang, Ying-Lan Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Metabolomics provides direct insights into cellular physiology, yet it faces greater analytical challenges compared to genomics and transcriptomics due to the chemical diversity, instability, and environmental sensitivity of metabolites. Conventional bulk metabolomics averages signals across cell populations, thereby masking cellular heterogeneity critical for understanding disease mechanisms. Recent breakthroughs in single-cell metabolomics (SCM), driven by advances in mass spectrometry, microfluidics, isotope tracing, and spatial omics, have enabled the detection of metabolic diversity at unprecedented resolution. SCM has uncovered cell-type-specific biomarkers, revealed metabolic reprogramming in cancer and immunity and revealed disease progression. These studies highlight SCM’s transformative potential in biomarker discovery, clinical …

Metabolomics Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) Exposure: Advances In Lc-Ms Technology And Applications, Yu-Meng Wang, Pei-Chen Lin, Yu-Da Zheng, Pin-Shiuan Wu, Kuo-Tai Hua, Sung-Fang Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic chemicals known for their high stability and bioaccumulation potential, leading to their widespread presence in the environment and human tissues. Exposure to PFAS has been associated with significant health concerns, including neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and metabolic disturbances. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based metabolomics has emerged as a powerful and central tool for PFAS research, enabling the comprehensive analysis of metabolic changes induced by exposure. This review provides a critical summary of the applications of LC-MS metabolomics in both clinical studies and various experimental models, including in vivo models (mice) and in …

Quantitative Determination Of Nano Delivered Kras Sirna, Axel S. Deraspe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the development and validation of analytical methods for the detection of therapeutic KRAS-targeting siRNA in biological systems. Physicochemical characterization showed that p5RHH-formulated siRNA nanoparticles exhibit a controlled nanoscale size distribution, moderate polydispersity, and a negative zeta potential, suggesting colloidal stability and potential suitability for cellular uptake. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed a predominantly spherical morphology with a relatively uniform size distribution, consistent with dynamic light scattering measurements.

To enable accurate siRNA quantification, stem–loop reverse transcription (SL-RT) coupled with SYBR Green–based quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) was optimized. Key parameters, including a primer concentration of 100 nM and …

Developing Antibodies Against Galectin-3 And Galectin-9 To Target Endometriosis, Ashleigh Burger, Noah Farnsworth, Jared J. Reisnouer, Cheyenne Vue

2026 Symposium

Endometriosis is a disease characterized by pelvic pain and the formation of endometrial-like tissue on the outside of the uterine lining. This condition affects nearly 10% of women across the globe and confirming whether someone has endometriosis requires visualization in surgery. While the specific causes of this disease remain unclear, the over-expression of the Galectins 3 and 9 in ectopic endometrial tissues suggests a role in the development and maintenance of the condition. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are highly specific proteins with potential as diagnostic or treatment tools. The goal of this study is to generate antibodies against Gal3 and Gal9. …

Herbularyo (Folk Healer): An Herbal Medicine Card Game, Maryjane T. Magsino, Inah Marie Q. Rivera, Armando M. Guidote, Genejane M. Adarlo

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Herbularyo, a card game teaching about herbal plants (HPs), was created and evaluated as a viable educational card game based on Tuomisto and Aksela’s criteria. A quasi-experiment was performed on 81 Grade 8 students from a private high school and 50 Grade 11 from a public high school. Independent t-test revealed that the control group (CG) and experimental group (EG) (p=0.386), and EG1 (played ≤5) and EG2 (played >5) (p=0.681) are not comparable with each other. Paired t-test showed EG performed better (p=0.001) than CG (p=0.901) whereas ANCOVA showed that playing Herbularyo improved students’ information retention (p=0.006). EG1 and EG2 …

Metabolomics In Precision Medicine: Application And Prospect In Cancer Research, Ming-Shi Shiao

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Metabolomics is the most recent and final discipline among the post-genomic, multiomics fields. It encompasses key technologies in systems biology, providing an overview of low-molecular-weight metabolites while examining disturbances to offer pathophysiological explanations. The two key analytical tools in metabolomics are nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, which includes gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Metabolomic research relies on a three-stage data generation process: the first stage involves precise analytical chemistry to produce data; the second stage employs multivariate statistical analysis; and the last stage uses big data as a reference for comparison to establish biochemical, metabolic, and …

Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics For Studying Gut Microbiota-Derived Metabolites In Biological Samples, Ya-Ting Lin, Huai-Hsuan Chiu, Chih-Ning Cheng, Ching-Hua Kuo

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Gut microbiota produces a wide range of metabolites and plays a critical role in maintaining host health. Dysregulation of these metabolites can influence host metabolism through systemic circulation, contributing to the development of various diseases, including immunological, neurological and cancer-related disorders. Chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a powerful analytical approach, offering high sensitivity and resolution for studying gut microbiota-related metabolites. This review provides a comprehensive overview of chromatographic MS-based methods applied to the study of the gut microbial metabolome. We summarize strategies for sample collection, storage, and preparation of commonly analyzed sample types, including feces, plasma/serum, …

Special Issue: Analytical Technologies In Metabolomics: Applications And Future Prospects, Sung-Fang Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

No abstract for this article type.

Comparative Antiscabies Efficacy Of Sonneratia Alba Extracts: Evaluation Of Plant Parts And Concentrations In Mice, Delima Engga Maretha, Lara Mukti Taresha, Karina Yuliana, Iis Ariska, Silvia Diah Lestari

Makara Journal of Science

This study evaluated the antiscabies efficacy of 70% ethanol extracts from various parts of the mangrove Sonneratia alba (leaves, flowers, bark, and roots) as a potential alternative therapy. The primary objective was to compare the healing effects of the extracts at different concentrations on scabies lesions in mice (Mus musculus). Using a completely randomized design, 24 male Swiss Webster mice were assigned to four groups: a control (K0) group and three treatment groups to receive 10% (K1), 20% (K2), and 30% (K3) extract concentrations topically twice daily. The results demonstrated that the S. alba extracts had significant effects …

Dual-Modal Tumor Imaging Using Functionalized Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles For Mri And Fluorescence, Kevin Secades

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accurate tumor imaging is essential for early cancer detection and treatment monitoring [1]. Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) is a commonly used radioisotope for medical imaging, but its reliance on gamma-ray emission poses challenges related to safety, accessibility, and regulatory constraints[2-5]. This research proposes the development of a dual-modal imaging approach by functionalizing iron-oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) with the fluorescent chromophore Cy5, enabling both MRI contrast enhancement and optical imaging for improved tumor specificity. IONPs provide strong T2-weighted MRI contrast [6], while conjugated near-infrared (NIR) chromophores allow for high-resolution fluorescence imaging [7], making this proposed system adaptable for both in vitro and in vivo …

Comparison Of Analytical Techniques From The Extraction Of Bioactive Compounds From Kratom, Curry, Ginger, And Turmeric, Riley Bruno

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Plants, herbs, and spices have been used as medicines for thousands of years. Early civilizations often attributed healing properties of plants to magical or divine forces. However, as chemistry and analytical technology advanced between the 16th and 18th centuries, scientists began to understand that bioactive compounds within the plants actually caused these effects. Today, natural products remain extremely important in drug discovery. As the number of newly developed synthetic drugs declines, there has been renewed interest in identifying biologically active molecules from plants. Bioactive molecules are a group of diverse chemical compounds that stimulate a response in living tissues. The …

Analysis Of Active Ingredients In Medicinal Herbs With High-Performance Liquid Chromatography And Related Technologies: A Review, T.-H. Tsai, C.-Y. Hong, C.-F. Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

An increasing number of analytical techniques have been brought to bear on the herbal drugs used in traditional Chinese medicine. This in turn has led to improved quality control of medicinal herbs, ingredient stability and shelf-life tests, ensurement of the concentrations of herbal drug ingredients in biological fluids, and pharmacokinetic studies. In the past decades, gas chromatography has been the method of choice for the analysis of volatile compounds, while liquid chromatography is a highly successful separation technique for nonvolatile molecules. Recently, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with various column and detection systems have become some of the most important techniques …

Absolute Quantification And Identification Of Rna From Rna-Lipid Nanoparticles Using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Jason C. Funderburk

Theses and Dissertations

RNA therapeutics are a rising drug category with potential use for a range of conditions encompassing infectious diseases to therapies for cancer, diseases, and genetic disorders. RNA-lipid nanoparticles (RNA-LNPs) are the prominent delivery method for these therapeutics approved products include mRNA vaccines and polyneuropathy treatments. The emergency use authorizations and orphan drug status of current RNA-LNP drugs has allowed approval without finalization of the regulatory analytical procedures for quality monitoring. The objective of the study was to develop an LC-MS assay to simultaneously measure identity and concentration of two therapeutically relevant intact RNA constructs extracted from RNA-LNPs to enhance quality …

Investigating The Role Of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine For Cancer Symptom Management In Older Adults: A Rapid Review, Isabelle C. Karshner

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Patients with cancer often experience symptoms related to disease, complications, and treatment. One potential method of alleviating these symptoms is traditional Chinese herbal medications (TCHM). This rapid review explores the role of traditional Chinese herbal medications in treating cancer-related symptoms in older adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this rapid review is to gain and provide a better understanding of the effects of TCHM on cancer-symptom management in the older adult population. This review explores the association between TCHM and effects on cancer symptoms in older adults, including interactions, toxicity, and signs/symptoms of TCHM use that may be useful information …

Absolute Quantification And Identification Of Rna From Rna-Lipid Nanoparticles Using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Jason C. Funderburk, Yasir A. Alshehry, Matthew S. Halquist Phd, Sandro R.P. Da Rocha Phd

Graduate Research Posters

Background

RNA therapeutics are a rising drug category with potential use for a range of conditions encompassing infectious diseases to therapies for cancer, diseases, and genetic disorders. RNA-lipid nanoparticles (RNA-LNPs) are the prominent delivery method for these therapeutics approved products include mRNA vaccines and polyneuropathy treatments. The emergency use authorizations and orphan drug status of current RNA-LNP drugs has allowed approval without finalization of the regulatory analytical procedures for quality monitoring. The objective of the study was to develop an LC-MS assay to simultaneously measure identity and concentration of two therapeutically relevant intact RNA constructs extracted from RNA-LNPs to enhance …