QDIS Blog

As most of you know, I have a podcast called Searching the Internet: Practical advice and tips on searching the Internet. It covers using various Internet sites to find the information you need. I haven’t done any interviews on my podcast because getting them to record correctly was somewhat of a pain until now.

Rogue Amoeba (I love that name and their “mascot”) has updated Audio Hijack Pro (AHP) to version 2.7 and has made it very simple and easy to record any VOIP client including Skype Gizmo, and iChat. This is something I had been wanting in AHP for a while now and maybe I’ll now try to do some interviews.

Their weblog (entry for July 31, 2006) has the instructions:

And so, for v2.7, we’ve simplified it down to the following:

Not only is there no Step 3, there isn’t even a joke “There’s no Step 3″ step. Make your session, hit Record, and it just works.

They also make it possible to record each end of the conversations on separate tracks! This is especially useful if you have someone who’s voice isn’t loud enough and you need to do some manipulation in post-production. You can easily increase the volume of just one side of the conversation.

Go read their weblog, it has a nice visual tutorial on using Audio Hijack Pro v2.7.

I should note that this can be used for so much more than just podcasting. If you need to capture audio and you use a Mac, this software is for you!

I must say, I’m a very happy user. Also, the price is more than reasonable for software that works this well ($32; or $10 upgrade from Audio Hijack). Version 2.7 is a free upgrade to anyone who has v2.x.

Technorati Tags: audio, Audio Hijack Pro, audio software, Rogue Amoeba

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Major thought leaders have agreed that Aromatase Inhibitors such as Arimidex (from Astra Zenaca) are superior to Tamoxifen as an adjunct to early breast cancer treatment.

Aromatase Inhibitors Declared Superior to Tamoxifen in the Adjuvant Treatment of Early Breast Cancer: Financial News - Yahoo!
Finance:

Read the article for more information. I want to comment on the molecules themselves.

Here is the description from the prescribing information (pdf) for Arimidex:

ARIMIDEX®(anastrozole) tablets for oral administration contain 1 mg of anastrozole, a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor. It is chemically described as 1,3-Benzenediacetonitrile, α, α, α’, α’-tetramethyl-5-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl). Its molecular formula is C17H19N5and its structural formula is:

Anastrozole is an off-white powder with a molecular weight of 293.4. Anastrozole has moderate aqueous solubility (0.5 mg/mL at 25°C); solubility is independent of pH in the physiological range. Anastrozole is freely soluble in methanol, acetone, ethanol, and tetrahydrofuran, and very soluble in acetonitrile. Each tablet contains as inactive ingredients: lactose, magnesium stearate, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, polyethylene glycol, povidone, sodium starch glycolate, and titanium dioxide.

I can’t help but make an observation based on my process development background. The molecule is symmetrical which makes synthesis easier. It also is achiral; it doesn’t have any chiral centers. In my days of process development, I’d love to have a project such as the synthesis of this molecule land on my desk.

Let’s compare Arimidex to tamoxifen. Here’s the description from the prescribing for Nolvadex:

NOLVADEX (tamoxifen) tablets, a nonsteroidal antiestrogen, are for oral administration. Chemically, NOLVADEX is the trans-isomer of a triphenylethylene derivative. The chemical name is (Z)2-[4-(1,2-diphenyl-1-butenyl) phenoxy]-N,N-dimethylethanamine 2 hydroxy-1,2,3-peopanetricarboxylate (1:1). The structural and empirical formulas are:

Tamoxifen citrate has a molecular weight of 563.62, the pKa’ is 8.85, the equilibrium solubility in water at 37 ªC is 0.5 mg/mL and in 0.02 N HCl at 37 ªC, it is 0.2 mg/mL.

I should also mention that Astra Zenaca use to manufacture tamoxifen under the brand name Nolvadex but has discontinued the commercial manufacturing and distribution of it. There are other sources for generic tamoxifen.

Back to the synthesis of tamoxifen; I can remember being in graduate school and first seeing this molecule and coming up with routes to he molecule. First, since it is only the trans isomer it has to be either sperated from the cis isomer or made in a sterospecific manner. Both of these are more difficult than the synthesis of anastrozole.

Other Resources

• ARIMIDEX - Postmenopausal Women with Hormone Receptor-Positive Early Breast Cancer

• Nolvadex Online, Description, Chemistry, Ingredients - Tamoxifen Citrate - RxList Monographs

• Arimidex Online, Description, Chemistry, Ingredients - Anastrozole - RxList Monographs
• Tamoxifen (3Dchem.com; chemical information)

Technorati Tags: anastrozole, Arimidex, breast cancer, Tamoxifen

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