A comparative study of the effect of phenothiazine derivatives and their S-oxides on cholinesterase investigated by a new kinetic spectrophotometric method

Abstract

Aim. To develop a new kinetic spectrophotometric method for determining acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors – phenothiazine antipsychotic drugs (PhT) and their sulfoxide metabolites (S-oxides) without adding an exogenous catalyst to obtain a chromogenic agent. Materials and methods. The bases of S-oxides of promethazine (PMZ), chlorpromazine (CPM) and thioridazine (THZ) were obtained by oxidizing the corresponding PhT hydrochlorides with diperoxyadipic acid. The structure of the S-oxides of the corresponding PhT synthesized was proven by melting points, spectral characteristics (1H NMR and IR methods) and oscillopolarography results. 1H NMR spectra were recorded on a Varian XL-200 spectrometer. IR spectra were recorded within the range of 4000-400 cm–1 on a SPECORD M-80 spectrometer (Zeiss, Jena, Germany). To register polarograms, a “PO 03 CLA” oscillopolarograph with a three-electrode cell was used. The purity of S-oxides was determined by the high-performance liquid chromatography method on a Zorbax SB, C-18 (250 × 4.6) mm column. Measurements of absorbance of solutions were performed in a 1 cm cuvette on an Evolution 60S UV-Visible Thermo-Scientific Spectrophotometer (USA) (λ = 358 nm). Results and discussion. Acetylcholine (ACh) was found to mimic the activity of peroxidase; based on it, a spectrophotometric system containing ACh–H2O2–p-Ph for a sensitive and selective assessment of the AChE activity and determination of its inhibitors was developed. According to the plots of inhibition efficiency vs inhibitors concentration, the inhibiting ability of chlorpromazine, promethazine and thioridazine and their S-oxides was determined. The IC50 values of CPM, PMZ and THZ and their metabolites in relation to the AChE activity were estimated as 11 ng mL−1 (CPM) and 1.8 ng mL−1 (CPM S-oxide), 17 ng mL−1 (PMZ) and 2.5 ng mL−1 (PMZ S-oxide) and 27 ng mL−1 (THZ 2S,5S-dioxide). The results obtained indicate that S-oxides of the corresponding PhT are selective and potent inhibitors of AChE. The values of the inhibition efficiency obtained for S-oxides of PhT derivatives were an order of magnitude lower than those of the corresponding PhT derivatives. Conclusions. The spectrophotometric method proposed without the addition of other exogenous catalysts holds promise for the on-site determination of PhT antipsychotics and can be additionally used for sensory applications in areas related to environmental protection and food safety, as well as in the chemical-toxicological analysis.

Keywords

• acetylcholine
• acetylcholinesterase
• phenothiazine derivatives
• s-oxides
• photometric methods of analysis