Development of a sensitive HPLC method to measure in vitro permeability of E- and Z-isomeric forms of thiosemicarbazones in Caco-2 monolayers

In the current study, we developed a HPLC method to quantitatively measure the permeability of the BpT-based chelators, 2-benzoylpyridine 4-ethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (Bp4eT) and 2-benzoylpyridine 4-allyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (Bp4aT), across human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) monolayers as a model of gut absorption. In aqueous solution, Bp4eT and Bp4aT formed inter-convertible Z and E isomers that were resolved by HPLC. Peak area was linear with respect to chelator concentration. Acceptable within-day and between-day precision (<22%) and accuracy (85–115% of true values) were obtained over a range of 1.0–100 μM for Bp4eT and 1.5–300 μM for Bp4aT. Limits of detection were 0.3 μM and 1 μM for Bp4eT and Bp4aT, respectively, while corresponding limits of quantification were 1 μM and 5 μM. Both chelators showed significant ability to chelate iron in THP-1 cells using a calcein-based assay and no apparent cytotoxicity was observed within 24 h. Ratios of the apical to basolateral and basolateral to apical transport for Bp4eT were 1.10 and 0.89 at 100 μM and 300 μM respectively, indicating equal bi-directional movement of the compounds. Similarly, ratios were 0.77 and 0.92 for Bp4aT, respectively. This study demonstrates that Bp4eT and Bp4aT can be efficiently transported through Caco-2 cells and can potentially be formulated for oral delivery.