LC-ESI-MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Determination of Triterpenoid Glycosides and Aglycones in Centella asiatica L.

A new and rapid method for simultaneous identification and estimation of bioactive triterpenoid glycosides [asiaticoside (AS) and madecassoside (MS)] and their aglycones [asiatic acid (AA) and madecassic acid (MA)] in Centella asiatica was developed by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Estimation was based on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using the precursor → product ion combination for determination of four analytes using Alltima C18 column (50 × 4.6 mm, 3 µm). An electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem interface in positive mode was employed prior to mass-spectrometric detection. The method was subjected to a thorough validation procedure in terms of linearity, limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision. Six-point calibration curves were linear in the range of 50–500 ng mL⁻¹ for AS and MS, and 25–250 ng mL⁻¹ for AA and MA, with excellent linearity (R ² > 0.98). With the optimized conditions, the four analytes were detected accurately within 10 min. LOD and LOQ ranged from 2.5 to 5 and 10 to 15 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Method accuracy in terms of average recoveries of all four analytes ranged between 98.61 and 102.85 % at three spiking levels with intra- and interday precision relative standard deviation (RSD, %) of 1.01–4.62 and 1.13–4.16, respectively. The new method was successfully applied to estimate the concentration of these four bioactive compounds in extracts of C. asiatica prepared by nonpolar-to-polar solvents.

     

Synthese,Röntgenstrukturanalyse und Multikern‐NMR‐spektroskopische Untersuchung einiger intramolekular stickstoffstabilisierter Bor‐, Aluminium‐ und Galliumorganyle

Synthesis, X‐Ray Structure, and Multinuclear NMR Investigation of some intramolecularly Nitrogen stabilized Organoboron, ‐aluminum, and ‐gallium Compounds The intramolecularly nitrogen stabilized organoaluminum‐ and organoboron compounds Me₂Al(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 1 ), Me₂AlC₁₀H₆‐8‐NMe₂ ( 2 ), ⁱPr₂Al(CH₂)₃NEt₂ ( 3 ), (CH₂)₅Al(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 4 ), and (CH₂)₅B(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 5 ) are synthesized from Me₂AlCl and the corresponding organolithium compounds and from AlCl₃ or BCl₃, the lithium alkyl and ⁱPrMgCl or BrMg(CH₂)₅MgBr, respectively. AlCl₃ and GaCl₃ react with Li(CH₂)₃NMe₂ or LiCH₂CHMeCH₂NMe₂ forming Cl₂AlCH₂CHMeCH₂NMe₂ ( 6 ), Cl₂Al(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 8 ), and Cl₂Ga(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 9 ). The reaction of 6 and of 8 or 9 with BrMg(CH₂)₅MgBr and BrMg(CH₂)₆MgBr, respectively, yields (CH₂)₅AlCH₂CHMeCH₂NMe₂ ( 7 ), (CH₂)₆Al(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 10 ), and (CH₂)₆Ga(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 11 ). MeAlCl₂, made by the redistribution reaction of AlCl₃ with Me₂AlCl, reacts with 2 equivalents of Li(CH₂)₃NMe₂ yielding MeAl[(CH₂)₃NMe₂]₂ ( 12 ) and with MeN[(CH₂)₃MgCl]₂ under formation of MeAl[(CH₂)₃]₂NMe ( 13 ). MeAlCl₂, MeGaCl₂, or GaCl₃ accordingly react with one equivalent of organolithium reagent to give the intramolecularly nitrogen stabilized organoaluminum and organogallium chlorides MeClAl(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 14 ), MeClGa(CH₂)₃NMe₂ ( 15 ), MeClGaC₆H₄‐2‐CH₂NMe₂ ( 16 ) as well as Cl₂GaC₆H₄‐2‐CHMeNMe₂ ( 17 ). The compounds were characterized by elemental analyses, mass spectroscopy, ¹H, ¹¹B, ¹³C and ²⁷Al NMR investigations. Single crystal X‐ray structure analyses of 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 and 17 reveal the monomeric molecular structures with intramolecular nitrogen coordination.     

Colourings of star systems

An $e$‐star is a complete bipartite graph $K_{1,e}$. An $e$‐star system of order $n>1,S_e\left(n\right)$, is a partition of the edges of the complete graph $K_n$ into $e$‐stars. An $e$‐star system is said to be $k$‐colourable if its vertex set can be partitioned into $k$ sets (called colour classes) such that no $e$‐star is monochromatic. The system $S_e\left(n\right)$ is $k$‐chromatic if $S_e\left(n\right)$ is $k$‐colourable but is not $\left(k?1\right)$‐colourable. If every $k$‐colouring of an $e$‐star system can be obtained from some $k$‐colouring $?$ by a permutation of the colours, we say that the system is uniquely $k$‐colourable. In this paper, we first show that for any integer $k?2$, there exists a $k$‐chromatic 3‐star system of order $n$ for all sufficiently large admissible $n$. Next, we generalize this result for $e$‐star systems for any $e?3$. We show that for all $k?2$ and $e?3$, there exists a $k$‐chromatic $e$‐star system of order $n$ for all sufficiently large $n$ such that $n\equiv 0,1$ (mod $2e$). Finally, we prove that for all $k?2$ and $e?3$, there exists a uniquely $k$‐chromatic $e$‐star system of order $n$ for all sufficiently large $n$ such that $n\equiv 0,1$ (mod $2e$).     

A new test specimen for the determination of the field of view of small-area X-ray photoelectron spectrometers

Small-area/spot photoelectron spectroscopy (SAXPS) is a powerful tool for the investigation of small surface features like microstructures of electronic devices, sensors or other functional surfaces, and so forth. For evaluating the quality of such microstructures, it is often crucial to know whether a small signal in a spectrum is an unwanted contamination of the field of view (FoV), defined by the instrument settings, or it originated from outside. To address this issue, the d_80/20 parameter of a line scan across a chemical edge is often used. However, the typical d_80/20 parameter does not give information on contributions from the long tails of the X-ray beam intensity distribution or the electron-optical system as defined by apertures. In the VAMAS TWA2 A22 project “Applying planar, patterned, multi-metallic samples to assess the impact of analysis area in surface-chemical analysis,” new test specimen was developed and tested. The here presented testing material consists of a silicon wafer substrate with an Au-film and embedded Cr circular and square spots with decreasing dimensions from 200 μm down to 5 μm. The spot sizes are traceable to the length unit due to size measurements with a metrological SEM. For the evaluation of the FoV, we determined the Au4f intensities measured with the center of the FoV aligned with the center of the spot and normalized to the Au4f intensity determined on the Au-film. With this test specimen, it was possible to characterize, as an example, the FoV of a Kratos AXIS Ultra DLD XPS instrument.