Development of a method to screen and isolate xanthine oxidase inhibitors from black bean in a single step: Hyphenation of semipreparative liquid chromatography and stepwise flow rate countercurrent chromatography

Black bean, in which isoflavones are the main active constituent, also contains saponins and monoterpenes. Soybean isoflavone is a secondary metabolite that is formed during the growth of soybean; it exhibits antioxidant and cardiovascular activities and traces estrogen-like effects. In this study, black bean isoflavones were extracted with n-butanol, and ultrafiltration–liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry was used to screen their activity. Subsequently, the inhibitors were isolated and purified using semipreparative liquid chromatography and stepwise flow rate countercurrent chromatography. Thereafter, five active compounds were identified using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. Finally, the inhibition types of the xanthine oxidase inhibitors were determined using enzymatic kinetic studies. The IC₅₀ values of daidzin, glycitein-7-O-glucoside, genistin, daidzein, and genistein were determined to be 35.08, 56.22, 30.76, 68.79, and 95.37 μg/mL, respectively. Daidzin, genistin, and daidzein exhibited reversible inhibition, whereas glycitein-7-O-glucoside and genistein presented irreversible inhibition. This novel approach, which was based on ultrafiltration–liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and stepwise flow rate countercurrent chromatography, is a powerful method for screening and isolating xanthine oxidase inhibitors from complex matrices. The study of enzyme inhibition types is helpful for understanding the underlying inhibition mechanism. Therefore, a beneficial platform was developed for the large-scale production of bioactive and nutraceutical ingredients.     

A pseudotargeted method based on sequential window acquisition of all theoretical spectra mass spectrometry acquisition and its application in quality assessment of traditional Chinese medicine preparation-Yuanhu Zhitong tablet

Quality control plays a key role in the application of Chinese materia medica, especially in the preparation of traditional Chinese medicine. A pseudotargeted analysis method using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry that was operated in the sequential window acquisition of all theoretical spectra mode was proposed to explore the chemical markers of traditional Chinese medicine preparation. Full-scan-based untargeted analysis was applied to extract the target ions. After data preprocessing, 302 target ions were extracted and used for the subsequent sequential window acquisition of all theoretical spectra analyses. The established sequential window acquisition of all theoretical spectra-based pseudotargeted approaches exhibited good repeatability and a wide linear range. The established method was successfully applied to discover analytical markers for the Yuanhu Zhitong tablet. After multivariate statistical analysis, 94 potential markers were identified. Ten markers were annotated by matching accurate m/z and product ion information obtained from previous reports. It is clearly indicated that the pseudotargeted analysis could make a great contribution to the quality assessment of traditional Chinese medicine preparation as a newly emerging technique.     

Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 as a dispersive solid phase extraction sorbent for simultaneous determination of 145 pesticide residues in polyphenol-rich plants

Many plants have a high polyphenol content, which causes the matrix effect and makes the analysis of trace pesticide residues highly challenging. A common approach to improving matrix effects is to purify pesticides through the use of sorbents, but this requires a combination of multiple sorbents and extensive use. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 is widely used for pesticide analysis due to its high porosity, large specific surface area, and versatility. Here, we established and validated a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method based on a zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 that was used to test the removal ability for polyphenols. To this end, 145 pesticide residues in peppermint, perilla, fennel, and mulberry leaves were analyzed by the modified method coupled with liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The mean recoveries of all pesticide residues were in the range of 74.3–103.7%, with mean relative standard deviations ≤9.1% at spiked concentrations of 1, 10, 50, and 100 μg/kg for mulberry leaves. The limits of quantitation of the method ranged from 1 to 50 μg/kg. This study offers a reliable approach for the accurate quantitative analysis of various trace substances in the polyphenol-rich plants.     

超高效液相色谱-串联四极杆静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法测定豆类中的硒代蛋氨酸

该研究利用超高效液相色谱-串联四极杆静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱(UHPLC/ESI-Q-Orbitrap)技术,对硒代蛋氨酸(SeMet)的色谱信息、分子离子质荷比和碎裂片段的质荷比进行采集,并对特征离子碎裂途径进行解析,建立了豆类中硒代蛋氨酸的检测方法。样品用三羟甲基氨基甲烷-盐酸(Tris-HCl)缓冲溶液溶解后,涡旋混匀,超声提取,在恒温水浴条件下酶解,离心后取上清液过0.22μm滤膜后上机检测。采用Hypersil GOLD HILIC(50 mm×2.1 mm,1.9μm)色谱柱进行分离,以0.2%(体积分数,下同)甲酸6 mmol/L甲酸铵水溶液和0.2%甲酸6 mmol/L甲酸铵乙腈溶液为流动相梯度洗脱,采用电喷雾正离子模式电离,在全扫描/数据依赖扫描模式(Full MS/dd-MS2)下进行检测,基质匹配标准校正法定量。结果表明,硒代蛋氨酸的基质效应为15.75%,在0.05~0.5 mg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r²)为0.9976,方法检出限(LOD)为0.015 mg/kg,定量下限(LOQ)为0.05 mg/kg;空白样品在0.1、0.2、0.4 mg/kg 3个加标水平下的平均回收率为77.6%~83.2%,日内相对标准偏差(RSDr)为2.8%~4.8%,日间相对标准偏差(RSD_R)为4.1%~6.5%。将方法应用于实际样品的检测,得富硒黑豆、富硒红豆、富硒绿豆中硒代蛋氨酸的含量分别为0.252、0.163、0.184 mg/kg。该方法具有前处理操作简单、结果准确、重复性好等优点,适用于豆类中硒代蛋氨酸的检测。     

质谱分子成像技术与应用进展

该文总结了二次离子质谱、基质辅助激光解吸电离质谱和常压敞开式离子化质谱三大类型质谱分子成像（MSI）技术的概况、技术与方法及其应用新进展。MSI技术作为免标记、高覆盖、高灵敏、检测范围广的可视化分析手段,不局限于生物组织或细胞中某种特定分子的检测,可对已知和未知多种分子进行同时成像分析,获得不同分子的空间分布、相对含量及结构信息,实现其分子的定性、定量与定位分析;还可提供不同生理及病理过程中功能分子的动态时空变化信息等。因此,MSI技术成为质谱领域以及分析化学等领域的研究前沿与热点方向之一,并在化学、医学、生命科学、药学和环境科学等领域显示出重大应用前景。此外,MSI技术是单细胞可视化分析和空间分辨代谢组学的强有力分析手段,可从动物或器官组织的整体、微区、单细胞等不同空间尺度,获取具有空间分布特征、时空动态变化的功能分子全景轮廓信息等而备受关注。     

超高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法非靶向筛查苹果中苯脲类农药

建立了超高效液相色谱－四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱（UPLC-Q/Orbitrap HRMS）非靶向筛查苹果中苯脲类农药的方法。样品采用QuEChERS法提取净化,Acquity BEH C18色谱柱（100 mm × 2.1 mm,1.7 μm）分离,以甲醇和含0.1%甲酸的水溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,在电喷雾正离子模式下采用四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱进行检测。将13种苯脲类除草剂和9种苯甲酰脲类杀虫剂按化学结构分为4类。首先通过对4类22种典型苯脲类农药标准品的准分子离子和二级质谱碎片进行分析,总结苯脲类农药的质谱裂解规律如下：绿麦隆等9种苯脲类除草剂的主要特征离子碎片为m/z 72.044 59,可通过特征丢失中性分子二甲胺（m/z 45.058 03）产生特征离子碎片;绿谷隆等4种苯脲类除草剂可通过特征丢失中性分子甲醇［CH3OH］或卤化氢［HR1］（R=Cl,Br,F）产生离子碎片;除虫脲等7种含氟苯甲酰脲杀虫剂的主要特征离子碎片为 m/z 158.040 47、141.015 00,也可发生特征中性丢失2,6-氟苯甲酰胺结构［C8H3F2O2NH2］（m/z 183.013 21）;杀铃脲等2种含氯苯甲酰脲类杀虫剂的主要特征离子碎片为m/z 156.020 25、138.993 76、113.015 28。利用该方法对北京12份市售苹果进行非靶向筛查,在1份样品中筛查出绿麦隆。该方法可为快速筛查农产品中相似结构特征的苯脲类化合物提供参考。     

Recent Progress in Mass Spectrometry-based Metabolomics for Colorectal Cancer

Metabolomics, one of the latest omics technologies, is employed to reveal overall metabolic trajectories, identify disease causative mechanisms and provide information for preventive diagnosis and drug targeting. Cancer is a disease known to alter cellular metabolism and so metabolomics can play an important role in the early diagnosis of cancer and in the evaluation of medical interventions and treatments for cancer. Many metabolomics studies rely on high-sensitive and high-throughput mass spectrometry platforms. In recent years, various mass spectrometry(MS) methodologies have been developed and enriched the scope of metabolite detection, contributing to disease studies, such as diabetes, cancer, and depression. Colorectal cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer worldwide and its incidence ranked third in China. This review focuses on the mass spectrometry technologies in metabolomics and summarizes the progress of metabolomics research in colorectal cancer.     

A sensitive and selective HPLC–MS3 method for therapeutic drug monitoring of meropenem and its validation by comparison with HPLC–MS2 methods

Meropenem, a representative β-lactam antibiotic, is widely used to treat complicated and serious infections. Therefore, it is of great significance to monitor the plasma drug concentration for individualized antimicrobial therapy. This study first describes the development and validation of high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry cubed method for monitoring meropenem in human plasma. Protein precipitation with methanol and a chromatographic analysis time of 7 min make this method simple and of high throughput. Meropenem was extracted from human plasma with recoveries >94.1%. Calibration curves were linear (R² > 0.995) in the concentration range of 0.5–50 μg/mL. Overall accuracy and precision did not exceed 8.0% as well as no significant matrix effect was observed. The novelty of this method is that the triple-stage mass spectrometry technology improves the selectivity and sensitivity. A comparison of the presented method and traditional liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was assessed in 44 patients treated with meropenem and Passing–Bablok regression coefficients and Bland–Altman plots showed that no significant difference between the two methods. So the triple-stage mass spectrometry method developed in this study is appropriate and practical for the monitor of meropenem in the daily clinical laboratory practice.     

LC-MS/MS methods for determination of unstable pivmecillinam and mecillinam in acidified human plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study

Pivmecillinam, the ester of biologically active antibiotic mecillinam, is an effective oral preparation to treat urinary tract infections. To study pharmacokinetics in humans, LC-MS/MS methods were developed to quantify pivmecillinam and mecillinam in human plasma, respectively. Considering cephalexin as internal standard, analytes were separated on UltimateXB-C18 columns after protein precipitation by acetonitrile. The mobile phase was composed of water containing 0.1% formic acid and methanol. The multiple reactions monitoring transitions of m/z 440.2→167.1, 326.1→167.1, and 348.1→158.1 were selected to inspect pivmecillinam, mecillinam, and the internal standard in positive ion mode. No apparent matrix effect was perceived. Linearities were obtained over calibration ranges of 0.0500–12.0 and 10.0–15,000 ng/mL, respectively. The intraday precisions were below 5.5%, the interday precisions were below 6.1%, and accuracies were within –8.1 to 13.0%. Stability tests were conducted and an acidification step was explored to enhance the stability of pivmecillinam and mecillinam. Further stability was validated under various storage and processing conditions. Both methods were applied to a pharmacokinetic study of pivmecillinam and mecillinam after oral administration of 400 mg pivmecillinam hydrochloride tablets in healthy Chinese subjects.     

Identification and quantification of anthocyanins,flavonoids, and phenolic acids in flowers of Rhododendron arboreum and evaluation of their antioxidant potential

The current study aimed to investigate the anthocyanins, non-anthocyanins (flavonoids and phenolic acids), and free radicals scavenging potential in the flowers of Rhododendron arboreum using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with ion mobility quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 25 constituents including nine anthocyanins, six phenolic acids, and ten flavonoids were identified in the flower extract. The major anthocyanins identified were cyanidin-3-O-β-galactoside ( 1 ), cyanidin-3-O-α-arabinoside ( 4 ), and cyanidin-3-O-rhamnoside ( 8 ), while quercetin glycosides were the main identified flavonoids in R. arboreum flowers. Additionally, ultra high performance liquid chromatography methods were developed and validated for the quantification of nine compounds (anthocyanins, flavonoid glycosides, and phenolic acids); five of them were quantified using internal standards. The extracts were analyzed for total phenolics (123.6 mg GAE/g), anthocyanin content (1.76% w/w), and evaluated for antioxidant properties against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (IC₅₀: 102.06 and 96.92 μg/mL) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation (112.25 and 45.59 μM TE/g) assays. The profiling of R. arboreum for anthocyanins is reported for the first time. The findings suggest that the flowers are a promising source of bioactive constituents and could be used as functional food, antioxidants, and nutraceuticals.