Profiling and sequencing of gangliosides from human caudate nucleus by chip‐nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry

Gangliosides (GGs), sialic acid‐containing glycosphingolipids are involved in many brain functions at the cell and molecular level. Compositional and structural elucidation of GGs in mixtures extracted from human brain is essential for correlating their profile with the specialized function of each brain area in health and disease. As a part of our ongoing study on GG expression and structure in different healthy and diseased brain regions, in this work, a preliminary investigation of GGs in a specimen of human caudate nucleus (CN) was carried out using an advanced mass spectrometry (MS) technique. By chip‐nanoelectrospray MS performed on a NanoMate robot coupled to a high capacity ion trap instrument, 81 GG components were detected in human CN in only 1.5 min of signal acquisition. Although the native GG mixture from CN was found dominated by mono‐, di‐ and trisialylated GGs with a slight dominance of disialylated forms (GD), four tetrasialylated structures (GQ) and two pentasialylated (GP) species were also identified. Additionally, species with unusually long fatty acid chains, exceeding 30 carbon atoms in their ceramide (Cer) composition, and several glycoforms modified by fucosyl (Fuc), O‐acetyl (O‐Ac) and/or lactonization were discovered. By tandem MS (MS²) using collision‐induced dissociation, two atypical mono and disialylated species with long‐chain fatty acids in their Cer could be confirmed and structurally characterized. These results may be a starting point for new GG‐based approaches in the study of CN functions and ethiopathogenesis of CN‐related neurodegenerative disorders. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chip-nanoelectrospray quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry of meningioma gangliosides: a preliminary study

A strategy combining high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), laser densitometry, and fully automated chip-based nanoelectrospray (nanoESIchip) performed on a NanoMate robot coupled to QTOF-MS was developed, optimized, and for the first time applied for mapping and structural identification of gangliosides (GGs) extracted and purified from a human angioblastic meningioma specimen. While HPTLC pattern indicated only seven fractions migrating as GM3, GM2, GM1, GD3, GD1a (nLD1, LD1), GD1b, GT1b, and possibly GD2, due to the high sensitivity, mass accuracy, and ability to ionize minor species in complex mixtures, nanoESIchip-QTOF MS was able to discover significantly more GG species than ever reported in meningioma. Thirty-four distinct glycosphingolipid components of which five asialo, one GM4, nine GM3, two GM2, two GD3, nine GM1, and six GD1 differing in their ceramide compositions were identified. All structures presented long-chain bases with 18 carbon atoms, while the length of the fatty acid was found to vary from C11 to C25. MS screening results indicated also that the diversity of the expressed GM1 structures is higher than expected in view of the low proportions evidenced by densitometric quantification. Simultaneous fragmentation of meningioma-associated GM1 (d18:1/24:1) and GM1 (d18:1/24:0) by MS/MS using CID confirmed the postulated structures of the ceramide moieties and provided data on the glycan core, which document that for each of the GM1 (d18:1/24:1) and GM1 (d18:1/24:0) forms both GM1a and GM1b isomers are expressed in the investigated meningioma tissue.     

Determination of ganglioside composition and structure in human brain hemangioma by chip-based nanoelectrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

We report here on a preliminary investigation of ganglioside composition and structure in human hemangioma, a benign tumor in the frontal cortex (HFC) in comparison to normal frontal cortex (NFC) tissue using for the first time advanced mass spectrometric methods based on fully automated chip-nanoelectrospray (nanoESI) high-capacity ion trap (HCT) and collision-induced dissociation (CID). The high ionization efficiency, sensitivity and reproducibility provided by the chip-nanoESI approach allowed for a reliable MS-based ganglioside comparative assay. Unlike NFC, ganglioside mixture extracted from HFC was found dominated by species of short glycan chains exhibiting lower overall sialic acid content. In HFC, only GT1 (d18:1/20:0), and GT3 (d18:1/25:1) polysialylated species were detected. Interestingly, none of these trisialylated forms was detected in NFC, suggesting that such components might selectively be associated with HFC. Unlike the case of previously investigated high malignancy gliosarcoma, in HFC one modified O-Ac-GD2 and one modified O-Ac-GM4 gangliosides were observed. This aspect suggests that these O-acetylated structures could be associated with cerebral tumors having reduced malignancy grade. Fragmentation analysis by CID in MS² mode using as precursors the ions corresponding to GT1 (d18:1/20:0) and GD1 (d18:1/20:0) provided data corroborating for the first time the presence of the common GT1a and GT1b isomers and the incidence of unusual GT1c and GT1d glycoforms in brain hemangioma tumor.      

Application of Chip-Based Nanoelectrospray Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry to Compositional and Structural Analysis of Gangliosides in Human Fetal Cerebellum

Two native ganglioside mixtures from normal human fetal cerebellum in the 15th (Cc15) and 40th (Cc40) gestational week were subjected to NanoMate high capacity ion trap (HCT) mass spectrometric (MS) and collision induced dissociation (CID) tandem MS (MS²) analysis under thoroughly optimized experimental conditionns. An total of 56 different species were identified in Cc15 and 54 in Cc40. By employing CID MS² molecular ions, related GD1 (d18:1/20:0) and GM2 (d18:1/19:0) species were structurally characterized in a high throughput mode. The method provided elevated ionization efficiency, high speed of analysis, almost 100% reproducibility at sample consumption per experiment situated in the femtomole range.     

Determination of moutan tannins by high‐performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis

Cortex Moutan (Radicis Cortex Moutan), the dried root bark of Paeonia moutan and P. spp., contains a series of water‐soluble tannins. With the eight components, 1 4,6‐di‐O‐GG (4,6‐di‐O‐galloyl‐D‐glucose), 2 1,2,3,6‐tetra‐O‐GG, 3 1,2,3,4,6‐penta‐O‐GG, 4 1,3,4,6‐tetra‐O‐GG, 5 3,4,6‐tri‐O‐GG, 6 1,3,6‐tri‐O‐GG, 7 3,6‐di‐O‐GG, and 8 1,2,6‐tri‐O‐GG, as marker substances, a rapid and efficient method of analysis based on HPLC and CE was developed. Using a phosphate eluent, a 5C18‐MS separating column, and a detection wavelength of 280 nm, HPLC was successfully used to analyze the eight constituents within 60 min. The analysis can be completed within 50 min, using the MEKC mode with a buffer composed of borate, SDS, and isopropanol, and a detection wavelength of 210 nm. The detection limit for the marker substances varied from 0.04 to 0.93 μg/mL for the HPLC method and 0.02 to 0.36 μg/mL for the CE method.     

Coupling of fully automated chip electrospray to Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry for high-performance glycoscreening and sequencing

The NanoMate robot has been coupled to a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer at 9.4 T and implemented for the first time for complex carbohydrate analysis. It was optimized in the negative ion mode to achieve automated sample delivery on the chip along with increased sensitivity, ultra-high resolution and accurate mass determination. A novel bracket has been designed to allow a reliable mounting of the NanoMate to the Apollo electrospray ionization (ESI) source of an APEX II instrument. The notably higher efficiency of ionization for compositional mapping of complex mixtures and feasibility for fragmentation analysis of components by sustained off-resonance irradiation collision-induced tandem mass spectrometry (SORI-CID MS2) has been demonstrated on a glycoconjugate mixture containing O-glycosylated sialylated peptides from urine of a patient suffering from a hereditary N-acetylhexosaminidase deficiency (Schindler's disease), previously analyzed by capillary-based nanoESI-FTICRMS, and of a healthy control person. Due to its potential to generate highly charged ionic species, reduce the in-source fragmentation, increase sensitivity, reproducibility and ionization efficiency, along with the ability to generate a sustained and constant electrospray, this method can be considered as a new platform for advanced glycomics.     

Physical properties of diblock methylcellulose derivatives with regioselective functionalization patterns: First direct evidence that a sequence of 2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl‐glucopyranosyl units causes thermoreversible gelation of methylcellulose

This article describes detailed structure‐property relationships of 5 regioselectively methylated celluloses and 10 diblock cellulose derivatives with regioselective functionalization patterns: methyl 2,3,6‐tri‐O‐ ( 1 , 236MC), methyl 2,3‐di‐O‐ ( 2 , 23MC), methyl 2,6‐di‐O‐ ( 3 , 26MC), methyl 3‐O‐ ( 4 , 3MC), methyl 6‐O‐methyl‐cellulosides ( 5 , 6MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl‐ ( 6 , G‐236MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐ ( 7 , G‐23MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐2,6‐di‐O‐methyl‐ ( 8 , G‐26MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐3‐O‐methyl‐ ( 9 , G‐3MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐6‐O‐methyl‐ ( 10 , G‐6MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl‐ ( 11 , GG‐236MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐ ( 12 , GG‐23MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopy‐ranosyl‐(1→4)‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐2,6‐di‐O‐methyl‐ ( 13 , GG‐26MC), methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐3‐O‐methyl‐ ( 14 , GG‐3MC), and methyl β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐(1→4)‐6‐O‐methyl‐cellulosides ( 15 , GG‐6MC). Surface tension, differential scanning calorimetry, fluorescence, and dynamic light scattering measurements of aqueous solutions of compounds 1 – 15 revealed that there was no relationship between aggregation behaviors and gel formation, gelation occurred only when the hydrophobic environments formed by hydrophobic interactions between the sequences of 2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl‐glucopyranosyl units upon heating. The diblock structure consisting of cellobiosyl block and approx. ten 2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl‐glucopyranosyl units was of crucial importance for thermoreversible gelation of methylcellulose. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 49: 1539–1546, 2011     

Orbitrap mass spectrometry for monitoring the ganglioside pattern in human cerebellum development and aging

We have developed here a superior approach based on high‐resolution (HR) mass spectrometry (MS) for monitoring the changes occurring with development and aging in the composition and structure of cerebellar gangliosidome. The experiments were focused on the comparative screening and structural analysis of gangliosides expressed in fetal and aged cerebellum by Orbitrap MS with nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) in the negative ion mode. The employed ultrahigh‐resolution MS platform allowed the discrimination, without the need of previous separation, of 159 ions corresponding to 120 distinct species in the native ganglioside mixtures from fetal and aged cerebellar biopsies, many more than detected before, when MS platforms of lower resolution were employed. A number of gangliosides, in particular polysialylated belonging to GT, GQ, GP, and GS classes, modified by O‐fucosylation, O‐acetylation, or CH₃COO^? were discovered here, for the first time in human cerebellum. These components, found differently expressed in fetal and aged tissues, indicated that the ganglioside profile in cerebellum is development stage‐ and age‐specific. Following the fragmentation analysis by high‐energy collision‐induced dissociation (HCD) tandem MS (MS/MS), we have also observed that the intimate structure of certain compounds has not changed during the development and aging of the brain, an aspect which could open new directions in the investigation of ganglioside biomarkers in cerebellar tissue.     

Profiling and sequence analysis of gangliosides in human astrocytoma by high-resolution mass spectrometry

In this preliminary investigation, a low-grade astrocytoma (AcT) is investigated by high-resolution (HR) mass spectrometry (MS) aiming at characterization of gangliosides with potential biomarker value. The research was conducted towards a comparative mapping of ganglioside expression in AcT, its surrounding tissue (ST) and a normal control brain tissue (NT). HR MS was conducted in the negative ion mode nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI). Fragmentation analysis was carried out by collision-induced dissociation (CID) MS²–MS^4. Due to the high resolving power and mass accuracy, by comparative mapping of the ganglioside extracts from AcT, ST and NT, under identical conditions, 37 different species in AcT, 40 in ST and 56 in NT were identified. AcT and ST were found to contain 18 identical ganglioside components. Among all three specimens, ST extract presented the highest levels of sialylation, fucosylation and acetylation, a feature which might be correlated to the tumor expansion in the adjacent brain area. MS mapping indicated also that AcT, ST and NT share one doubly deprotonated molecule at m/z 1063.31, attributable to GT1(d18:1/18:0) or GT1(d18:0/18:1). CID MS²–MS⁴ on these particular ions detected in AcT and ST provided data supporting GT1c isomer in the investigated astrocytoma tissue. Our results show that HR MS has a remarkable potential in brain cancer research for the determination of tumor-associated markers and for their structural determination.

Nanoelectrospray with ion-trap mass spectrometry for the determination of beta-casomorphins in derived milk products

beta-Casomorphins (b-CMs) are bioactive peptides derived from casein with opioid agonist effects similar to morphine. The use of electrospray (ESI) with quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometry (QIT-MS) for these compounds in two matrices, cheese and milk, was examined. It was compared to a liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and a “soft” ionisation technique, NanoMate, with selected ion monitoring (SIM), which are unreliable for the determination of trace casomorphins in derived milk products. b-CM mass fragmentation pathways were done for the four most common b-CMs: β-casomorphin (1-5) bovine (b-CM-5), β-casomorphin (1-7) bovine (b-CM-7), [D-Ala2, D-Pro4,Tyr5]-β-casomorphin (1-5) amide (b-CM-10) and β-casomorphin (1-5) amide [D-Ala2,Hyp4,Tyr5] (b-CM-11). The major product ions obtained in QIT-MS were used to construct fragmentation pathways for b-CMs. The different collision energies using automated nanoelectrospray ion source NanoMate and conventional LC in QIT-MS were studied. Calibration data for b-CMs, using spiked milk or cheese samples (10 g or 10 mL), were: NanoMate/MS (25-1000 μg/L), r² = 0.998; NanoMate/MS² (5-1000 μg/L), r² = 0.9992; NanoMate/MS³ (2.5-1000 μg/L), r² = 0.9998. Reproducibility data (% RSD, N = 5) for NanoMate/MSⁿ mode ranged between 2.0 at 500 μg/L and 7.0 at 10 μg/L.     

Human caudate nucleus exhibits a highly complex ganglioside pattern as revealed by high-resolution multistage Orbitrap MS

Abstract

Caudate nucleus (CN) is a specialized part of the dorsal striatum of each brain hemisphere involved in numerous cognitive processes. Caudate dysfunctions are associated with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, autism, and even schizophrenia. Most of the studies upon CN and related diseases were conducted using neuroimaging techniques, which, in some instances have reached contradictory conclusions. This state-of-the-art technique triggered the development of methods able to provide information at the molecular level. In this context, here we have implemented high resolution (HR) mass spectrometry (MS) and multistage MS (MSⁿ), for mapping and structural analysis of gangliosides in human CN. Due to the high resolution and mass accuracy (average value: 1.5?ppm), 100 distinct species, of which 90 were di-, tri-, tetra-, and pentasialylated and 17 fucosylated and acetylated and, for the first time, species modified by CH₃COO^?, were reliably identified in the native CN ganglioside extract. Additionally, two structurally-relevant species, GD2 (d18:1/18:0) and GD2 (d18:1/16:2), were characterized with MS²–MS³ by collision-induced dissociation (CID) and higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD). The set of data collected by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) revealed a much higher complexity of the CN ganglioside pattern than ever reported, and the species associated to this brain region, potentially implicated in many of its functions.     

Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometric determination of plasmalogens in human plasma

A new liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of plasmalogens in human plasma using a nonendogenous plasmalogen (1-O-1′-(Z)-tricosenyl-2-oleoyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine, PLS 23:0/18:1) as an internal standard. 1-O-1′-(Z)-Tricosenyl glyceryl ether was prepared by reacting lithioalkoxyallyl with 1-iodoeicosane as the key intermediate in the formation of PLS 23:0/18:1. In LC/MS analyses, PLS 23:0/18:1 generated significant fragment ions in positive and negative modes. In positive ion mode, the [M+H]⁺ of PLS 23:0/18:1 yielded unique fragments with cleavages at the sn-1 and sn-2 positions of the glycerol backbone. In negative ion mode, the [M+CH₃COO]⁻ of PLS 23:0/18:1 resulted in characteristic fragmentation at the sn-2 and sn-3 positions. 1-O-1′-(Z)-Hexadecenyl-2-linoleoyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PLS 16:0/18:2) and 2-arachidonoyl-O-1′-(Z)-hexadecenyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PLS 16:0/20:4) were chemically synthesized as PLS 23:0/18:1. The calibration curves obtained for PLS 16:0/18:2 and PLS 16:0/20:4 were linear throughout the calibration range (0.04–1.60 pmol). The LOD (S/N = 5:1) was 0.008 pmol and the LOQ (S/N = 6:1) was 0.01 pmol for both PLS 16:0/18:2 and PLS 16:0/20:4. Plasma concentrations of PLS 16:0/18:2 and PLS 16:0/20:4 were 4.0 ± 1.3 μM and 3.5 ± 1.2 μM (mean ± SD), respectively, in five healthy volunteers.     

Structural characterization of gentiobiosyl diglycerides fromBacillus pumilus associated with ascidiaHalocynthia aurantium

A mixture of 1(3),2-di-O-acyl-3(1)-O-β-gentiobiosylglycerols was isolated from a sea isolate ofBacillus pumilus. The components of the mixture were structurally characterized by mass spectrometry and¹H and¹³C NMR spectroscopy data for the native compounds and their derivatives. The predominant component contains two C₁₅ acyl groups, while the second component contains C₁₅ and C₁₇ fatty acids. Six minor components differ in residues of fatty acids and/or their combinations. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 166–170, January, 2000.     

Structural characterization of gentiobiosyl diglycerides fromBacillus pumilus associated with ascidiaHalocynthia aurantium

A mixture of 1(3),2-di-O-acyl-3(1)-O-β-gentiobiosylglycerols was isolated from a sea isolate ofBacillus pumilus. The components of the mixture were structurally characterized by mass spectrometry and¹H and¹³C NMR spectroscopy data for the native compounds and their derivatives. The predominant component contains two C₁₅ acyl groups, while the second component contains C₁₅ and C₁₇ fatty acids. Six minor components differ in residues of fatty acids and/or their combinations. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 166–170, January, 2000.     

sn-1 Specificity of Lysophosphatidylcholine Acyltransferase-1 Revealed by a Mass Spectrometry-Based Assay

Lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase-1 (LPCAT1) plays a critical role in the remodeling of phosphatidylcholines (PCs) in cellular lipidome. However, evidence is scarce regarding its sn-selectivity, viz. the preference of assembling acyl-Coenzyme A (CoA) at the C1 or C2-hydroxyl on a glycerol backbone because of difficulty to quantify the thus-formed PC sn-isomers. We have established a multiplexed assay to measure both sn- and acyl-chain selectivity of LPCAT1 toward a mixture of acyl-CoAs by integrating isomer-resolving tandem mass spectrometry. Our findings reveal that LPCAT1 shows exclusive sn-1 specificity regardless of the identity of acyl-CoAs. We further confirm that elevated PC 18 : 1/16:0 relative to its sn-isomer results from an increased expression of LPCAT1 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue as compared to normal liver tissue. MS imaging via desorption electrospray ionization of PC 18 : 1/16:0 thus enables visualization of HCC margins in human liver tissue at a molecular level.     

Structural characterisation of some fatty acids from the brain as biomarkers of BSE risk material

Identification of bovine and ovine tissue from the central nervous system (CNS: brain and spinal cord) in meat products is possible by using certain CNS fatty acids as biomarkers in GC–MS analysis. Furthermore, the relationship between the isomers of the tetracosenic acid (C24:1) is important for differentiation of the species and age of the CNS in view of the legal definition of specified risk material (SRM). This has so far been referred to as the cis/trans ratio of the isomers of nervonic acid; however, structural analysis was not performed. Here we present results from GC–MS structural analysis by retention time and DMDS adduct profiling of the even numbered monoenoic fatty acids from C18:1 to C26:1. Retention times and mass spectra of the FAME standards indicated that the so far designated trans-nervonic acid has a different isomeric structure in the tetracosenic acid from brain-sample extracts. By performing GC–MS analysis of DMDS adducts we have shown that this isomer was actually cis-17-tetracosenic acid in all species so far tested, not trans-15-tetracosenic acid (trans-nervonic acid). The tetracosenic acid isomer ratio proved to be species-specific in accordance with previous results. Thus, instead of the ratio of cis/trans isomers of nervonic acid, the ratio of 9/7-tetracosenic acid (15c-C24:1/17c-C24:1) will have to be used as a correct reference in future publications. Although trans isomers were not detectable in sheep and cattle brain, porcine brain contained, in addition to cis-17-tetracosenic acid, small amounts of the trans isomers of the C18:1, C20:1, C24:1, and C26:1 fatty acids, in decreasing quantities. In future, this might be useful as another means of differentiation between porcine CNS (non-SRM) and ovine or bovine CNS (SRM). Extensive follow-up studies must be performed to elucidate the extent to which this GC–MS approach will facilitate the detection of CNS according to the legal SRM definition.     

A fast,sensitive, and high‐throughput method for the simultaneous quantitation of three ellagitannins from Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix in rat plasma by ultra‐HPLC–MS/MS

A fast, sensitive, and high‐throughput ultra‐HPLC–MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of three main active constituents of Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix in rat plasma. After addition of the internal standard, plasma samples were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate/isopropanol (1:1, v/v) and separated on a CAPCELL PAK C₁₈ column (100 × 2.0 mm, 2 μm, Shiseido, Japan), using a gradient mobile phase system of methanol/water. The detection of the analytes was performed on a 4000Q UHPLC–MS/MS system with turbo ion spray source in the negative ion and multiple reaction‐monitoring mode. The linear range was 1.0–1000 ng/mL for 3,3′‐di‐O‐methyl ellagic acid‐4′‐O‐β‐d ‐glucopyranoside (i), 1.5–1500 ng/mL for 3,3′‐di‐O‐methyl ellagic acid‐4′‐O‐β‐d ‐xylopyranoside (ii), and 5.0–5000 ng/mL for 3,3′‐di‐O‐methyl ellagic acid (iii). The intra‐ and interday precision and accuracy of all the analytes were within 15%. The extraction recoveries of the three analytes and internal standard from plasma were all more than 80%. The validated method was first successfully applied to the evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters of compounds 1 , 2 , and 3 in rat plasma after intragastric administration of the Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix extract.     

Development and validation of a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method for the metabolic profiling of human colon tissue

In this study, a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method was developed and validated for the metabolic profiling of human colon tissue. Each colon tissue sample (20 mg) was ultra‐sonicated with 1 mL of a mixture of chloroform/methanol/water in the ratio of 20:50:20 (v/v/v), followed by centrifugation, collection of supernatant, drying, removal of moisture using anhydrous toluene and finally derivatization using N‐methyl‐N‐trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) with 1% trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS). A volume of 1 µL of the derivatized mixture was injected into the GC/MS system. A total of 53 endogenous metabolites were separated and identified in the GC/MS chromatogram, all of which were selected to evaluate the sample stability and precision of the method. Of the identified endogenous metabolites 19 belonging to diverse chemical classes and covering a wide range of the GC retention times (Rt) were selected to investigate the quantitative linearity of the method. The developed GC/MS method demonstrated good reproducibility with intra‐ and inter‐day precision within relative standard deviation (RSD) of ±15%. The metabolic profiles of the intact tissue were determined to be stable (100 ± 15%) for up to 90 days at ?80°C. Satisfactory results were also obtained in the case of other stability‐indicating studies such as freeze/thaw cycle stability, bench‐top stability and autosampler stability. The developed method showed a good linear response for each of the 19 analytes tested (r² > 0.99). Our GC/MS metabolic profiling method was successfully applied to discriminate biopsied colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue from their matched normal tissue obtained from six CRC patients using orthogonal partial least‐squares discriminant analysis [two latent variables, R²Y = 0.977 and Q² (cumulative) = 0.877]. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Five New C19‐Diterpenoid Alkaloids from Aconitum hemsleyanum

Five new C₁₉‐diterpenoid alkaloids, named hemsleyaconitines A–E ( 1 – 5 , resp.), were isolated from Aconitum hemsleyanum Pritz. By UV, IR, MS, 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR analyses, their structures were elucidated as 18‐dehydroxygeniculatine D ( 1 ), 6‐hydroxy‐14‐O‐veratroylneoline ( 2 ), 14‐O‐acetyl‐8‐ethoxysachaconitine ( 3 ), 18‐veratroylkaracoline ( 4 ) and 8‐O‐ethylaustroconitine B ( 5 ).