Information theory of miniaturization advantages of column liquid chromatography for quantitative analysis

Summary The influences of decreasing column diameter and length on two analytical goals, the precision and solvent efficiency, in reversed-phase liquid-chromatography are studied. Low solvent consumption is one of analytical advantages of miniaturized columns and is shown to be quantitatively evaluated by the precision and solvent efficiency which are defined to be the total Shannon mutual information obtained from an assay and the information obtained in a unit solvent volume, respectively. Analysis of paraben food additives on a microbore column is taken as an example. In trace analysis, the relative standard deviation (RSD) of measurements theoretically derived from the precision is shown to approach to the observed ones.     

Identification of Shiga toxins in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli using immunoprecipitation and high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

We developed a rapid and reliable identification method for Shiga toxins in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) using immunoprecipitation and high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS). Polyclonal antisera specific for Shiga toxin 1 (Stx1) and Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) were raised in rabbits so as to be used for the immunoprecipitation. The immunoprecipitaion was carried out by mixing sample solutions with 50 microl each of the antisera to Stx1 and Stx2 followed by allowing the mixed solutions to stand for 30 min. The quantity required to obtain the immunoprecipitate was more than 0.5 microg of Shiga toxins. HPLC-ESI-MS analysis of the resulting immunoprecipitates provided accurate molecular weight information on Shiga toxins, leading to direct evidence for the presence of these toxins. It requires at most two days to perform our procedure from toxin extraction to measurement of HPLC-ESI-MS whereas the previous method using isolation procedures required about two weeks to complete. The usefulness of the present method has been demonstrated by identifying Stx1, Stx2 and a variant of Stx2 (Stx2e) in the immunoprecipitates prepared from STEC strains.     

Pictet-Spengler reactions catalyzed by Brønsted acid-surfactant-combined catalyst in water or aqueous media

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOSA), Brønsted acid-surfactant-combined catalyst, efficiently catalyzes the Pictet-Spengler reactions of β-arylethyl carbamate derivatives with aldehydes in water. The present reaction is accelerated by the addition of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP).     

Effect of ginseng saponins on the survival of cerebral cortex neurons in cell cultures

The effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) and saponins isolated from Panax ginseng C.A. Mayer on the survival of chick and rat embryonic cerebral cortex neurons were examined. Ginsenoside Rg1 (GRg1) exerted a survival-promoting effect on both chick and rat cerebral cortex neurons in cell cultures. Ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1) also had an effect in the rat and displayed some influence in the chick. NGF alone exerted no effect on both neurons, although it did potentiate the GRb1 effect on chick embryonic cerebral cortex neurons, but did not alter the GRb1 effect on rat embryonic cerebral cortex neurons. NGF did not alter the survival-promoting effect of GRg1 on either chick or rat embryonic cerebral cortex neurons. The other saponins alone or with NGF exerted no effect on the survival of cerebral cortex neurons in either the chick or rat.     

DPPH (= 2,2‐Diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl = 2,2‐Diphenyl‐1‐(2,4,6‐trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl) Radical‐Scavenging Reaction of Protocatechuic Acid Esters (= 3,4‐Dihydroxybenzoates) in Alcohols: Formation of Bis‐alcohol Adduct

Protocatechuic acid esters (= 3,4‐dihydroxybenzoates) scavenge ca. 5 equiv. of radical in alcoholic solvents, whereas they consume only 2 equiv. of radical in nonalcoholic solvents. While the high radical‐scavenging activity of protocatechuic acid esters in alcoholic solvents as compared to that in nonalcoholic solvents is due to a nucleophilic addition of an alcohol molecule at C(2) of an intermediate o‐quinone structure, thus regenerating a catechol (= benzene‐1,2‐diol) structure, it is still unclear why protocatechuic acid esters scavenge more than 4 equiv. of radical (C(2) refers to the protocatechuic acid numbering). Therefore, to elucidate the oxidation mechanism beyond the formation of the C(2) alcohol adduct, 3,4‐dihydroxy‐2‐methoxybenzoic acid methyl ester ( 4 ), the C(2) MeOH adduct, which is an oxidation product of methyl protocatechuate ( 1 ) in MeOH, was oxidized by the DPPH radical (= 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl) or o‐chloranil (= 3,4,5,6‐tetrachlorocyclohexa‐3,5‐diene‐1,2‐dione) in CD₃OD/(D₆)acetone 3 : 1). The oxidation mixtures were directly analyzed by NMR. Oxidation with both the DPPH radical and o‐chloranil produced a C(2),C(6) bis‐methanol adduct ( 7 ), which could scavenge additional 2 equiv. of radical. Calculations of LUMO electron densities of o‐quinones corroborated the regioselective nucleophilic addition of alcohol molecules with o‐quinones. Our results strongly suggest that the regeneration of a catechol structure via a nucleophilic addition of an alcohol molecule with a o‐quinone is a key reaction for the high radical‐scavenging activity of protocatechuic acid esters in alcoholic solvents.