Content of review 1, reviewed on August 15, 2018
This manuscript details the electrochemical behavior of a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, AntiOxCIN4, at the aqueous-organogel interface via voltammetric techniques. The authors showed its accumulation activity as well as, through the lipophilicity studies, determined its thermodynamic properties resulting in the estimation of its partition coefficient. This study presented the electrochemistry at the ITIES as a viable platform to understand ion passive transport across membranes which could contribute to better understanding of pharmacokinetics and drug disposition.
Overall, the article provides new insights into the viability of the ITIES as a simple model to further the understanding of pharmacokinetics and drug disposition which could impact the field of medicinal chemistry and drug delivery. Furthermore, it provided novelty by the new information about how AntiOxCIN4 partitions at the interface. The article has also provided enough details for the study to be replicated with some minor clarifications needed.
Major points in the article which needs clarification, refinement, reanalysis, rewrites and/or additional information and suggestions for what could be done to improve the article.
- The reproducibility of the data was not clearly mentioned or discussed. There was a mention of some data “within experimental error” yet no error value was given.
- In the discussion for Figure 6, the authors mentioned that at pH > pKa2, no response was observed and attributed this to the pronounce transfer of a background electrolyte at extreme pH values. It would have made the discussion clearer if the background electrolyte species were identified and some reference to such phenomenon.
Minor points like figures/tables not being mentioned in the text, a missing reference, typos, and other inconsistencies.
- Some sentences can be improved to make the statements clear and concise. (E.g. p. 7991, last sentence of the first paragraph in Results and Discussion, “specie” should be species)
- One statement in the discussion said (the accumulation activity) supported previous data but no reference of which data it is referring to was given and yet it mentions in the Abstract that it is the first time it was reported so causing some confusion on the reader.
- The font sizes on the figures can be improved to enhance readability.
Source
© 2018 the Reviewer.
References
A., R. J., Sofia, B., Fernando, C., Jose, T., J., O. P., Fernanda, B., F., S. A., M., P. C. 2018. Electrochemical Behavior of a Mitochondria-Targeted Antioxidant at an Interface between Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions: An Alternative Approach to Study Lipophilicity. Analytical Chemistry.
