NMR line‐fitting quantification of polysaccharide N‐acylurea‐based modification in glycoconjugates of Salmonella Typhi Vi polysaccharide

The polysaccharides modification via carbodiimide reaction is one of the most applied methods for obtaining conjugated vaccines against Salmonella enterica. However, N‐acylurea carbodiimide adduct generated in the process is a critical impurity in carbohydrate‐based vaccines. A quantitative NMR method was developed for assessing the N‐acylurea carbodiimide adduct impurity. The procedure was based on line‐fitting facilities for processing the NMR signals on complex spectra. The method showed good linearity, accuracy and precision under inter‐operator variation (relative standard deviation <5%). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE STUDY OF 2-CHLORO-5,5-DIMETHYL-2-OXO-1,3,2-DIOXAPHOSPHORINANE IN SOLUTIONS BY MOLECULAR DYNAMICS METHODS USING IR AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY

Abstract

2-Chloro-5,5-dimethyl-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane has been studied in CCl₄, CHCl₃ and CD₃CN solutions by IR and Raman line shape analysis. Equilibrium process of dimerization and ring conversion in CCl₄ solutions have been considered. On the contrary to the commonly expected dominance of the conformer with the equatorial oriented P[dbnd]O bond for 2-halo-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinanes, it was found that for the 2-chloro derivative both conformers are nearly equally distributed. It has been shown that the interactions induced absorption is an important mechanism of relaxation in the studied compound and this mechanism gives significant contribution to the total IR band broadening, while the interaction induced light scattering is negligible. The obtained results show that the molecular dynamics method can be useful in studying cyclic compounds in solutions.     

Kinetic Study of Radical Polymerization VIII. A Comprehensive Study of Solution Copolymerization of Vinyl Acetate and Methyl Acrylate by 1H‐NMR Spectroscopy

Radical copolymerization reaction of vinyl acetate (VA) and methyl acrylate (MA) was performed in a solution of benzene‐d₆ using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as the initiator at 60°C. Kinetic studies of this copolymerization reaction were investigated by on‐line ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy. Individual monomer conversions vs. reaction time, which was followed by this technique, were used to calculate the overall monomer conversion, as well as the monomer mixture and the copolymer compositions as a function of time. Monomer reactivity ratios were calculated by various linear and nonlinear terminal models and also by simplified penultimate model with r _2(VA)=0 at low and medium/high conversions. Overall rate coefficient of copolymerization was calculated from the overall monomer conversion vs. time data and k _p  . k _t ^?0.5 was then estimated. It was observed that k _p  . k _t ^?0.5 increases with increasing the mole fraction of MA in the initial feed, indicating the increase in the polymerization rate with increasing MA concentration in the initial monomer mixture. The effect of mole fraction of MA in the initial monomer mixture on the drifts in the monomer mixture and copolymer compositions with reaction progress was also evaluated experimentally and theoretically.     

An on‐line sample pretreatment technique for the HPLC analysis of plant samples

A continuous‐flow, on‐line sample pretreatment technique using a silica gel microsyringe extractor has been developed. All steps including extraction, separation, clean‐up, and concentration occur in the microsyringe. The overall sample pretreatment process takes <10 min per sample. Different polarity chemicals in the plant sample are successively extracted and separated, and analyzed in parallel using HPLC–UV and HPLC–UV–MS/MS. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkylphenols, and plant hormones were determined as model compounds for nonpolar, intermediate polarity, and polar fractions, respectively. All the parameters that influence the extraction and separation efficiency of the microsyringe extractor have been optimized and evaluated. Under the optimized conditions, recoveries of target compounds ranged from 78.4 to 101.9%, the RSD was <12.8% and the square of the correlation coefficient was >0.99. Complex plant samples of Sambucus Mandshurica Kitag have been tested using this method. Fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and plant hormones were detected in all the samples, and concentrations ranged from 24.2–34.9, 43.8–67.1, 25.9–29.2, and 14.5～110.8 ng/g, respectively.     

The number of spanning trees in an (r,s)‐semiregular graph and its line graph

For a graph G, a “spanning tree” in G is a tree that has the same vertex set as G. The number of spanning trees in a graph (network) G, denoted by t(G), is an important invariant of the graph (network) with lots of decisive applications in many disciplines. In the article by Sato (Discrete Math. 2007, 307, 237), the number of spanning trees in an (r, s)‐semiregular graph and its line graph are obtained. In this article, we give short proofs for the formulas without using zeta functions. Furthermore, by applying the formula that enumerates the number of spanning trees in the line graph of an (r, s)‐semiregular graph, we give a new proof of Cayley's Theorem. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Determination of UV filters in river water samples by in‐line SPE‐CE‐MS

The use of SPE coupled in‐line to CE using electrospray MS detection (in‐line SPE‐CE‐ESI‐MS) was investigated for the preconcentration and separation of four UV filters: benzophenone‐3, 2,2‐dihydroxy‐4‐methoxybenzophenone, 2,4‐dihydroxybenzophenone and 2‐phenylbenzimidazole‐5‐sulphonic acid. First, a CE‐ESI‐MS method was developed and validated using standard samples, obtaining LODs between 0.06 μg/mL and 0.40 μg/mL. For the in‐line SPE‐CE‐ESI‐MS method, three different sorbents were evaluated and compared: Oasis HLB, Oasis MCX, and Oasis MAX. For each sorbent, the main parameters affecting the preconcentration performance, such as sample pH, volume, and composition of the elution plug, and sample injection time were studied. The Oasis MCX sorbent showed the best performance and was used to validate the in‐line SPE‐CE‐ESI‐MS methodology. The LODs reached for standard samples were in the range between 0.01 and 0.05 ng/mL with good reproducibility and the developed strategy provided sensitivity enhancement factors between 3400‐fold and 34 000‐fold. The applicability of the developed methodology was demonstrated by the analysis of UV filters in river water samples.     

Continuous Spectroscopy Characterization of Emulsions

In emulsion polymerization, the formation of particles has an important effect on the rate of reaction and on the final properties of the latex. To investigate particle nucleation mechanisms in emulsion polymerization it is necessary to establish the initial conditions of the emulsified system before the reaction takes place. This research reports on a technique to continuously monitor the droplet size distribution of liquid-liquid emulsions using spectroscopy. The on-line particle characterization methodology is based on an integrated sampling and dilution strategy combined with spectroscopy methods. It is shown that the sampling system integrated with a multiwavelength turbidity detector provides reliable estimates of droplet populations as function of the dispersed phase concentration in emulsions of saturated hydrocarbons. The results provide not only the groundwork necessary for the elucidation of particle nucleation during emulsion polymerization process but also suggests the potential of this combined technology to further our understanding of liquid-liquid emulsions.     

基于电喷雾电离质谱的人肝癌细胞HepG2与正常肝细胞L02的N-糖链的定性定量比较

以培养的原发性肝癌细胞HepG2和正常肝细胞L02为研究对象,采用细胞裂解液提取总蛋白,用PNGase F酶解释放N-糖链,以微晶纤维素柱结合石墨碳柱纯化分离N-糖链,通过电喷雾电离质谱(ESI-MS)和串联质谱(MS/MS)对N-糖链进行序列鉴定,以β-环糊精为内标对2种细胞系的N-糖链进行了定量比较分析.结果表明,在肝癌细胞系HepG2和正常细胞系L02中共检测到26种N-糖链,与L02相比,HepG2的大多数高甘露糖型糖链、唾液酸化糖链和岩藻糖基化糖链的数量都明显升高,其中有15种糖链在数量上具有极显著性差异(p0.01),1种糖链具有显著性差异(p0.05).本研究为进一步探索肝癌中各类N-糖链的表达特点及发现早期肝癌糖链标志物提供了参考.     

Determination of cysteine,homocysteine, cystine,and homocystine in biological fluids by HPLC using fluorosurfactant‐capped gold nanoparticles as postcolumn colorimetric reagents

We have demonstrated for the first time the suitability of fluorosurfactant‐capped spherical gold nanoparticles as HPLC postcolumn colorimetric reagents for the direct assay of cysteine, homocysteine, cystine, and homocystine. The success of this work was based on the use of an on‐line tris(2‐carboxyethyl)phosphine reduction column for cystine and homocystine. Several parameters affecting the separation efficiency and the postcolumn colorimetric detection were thoroughly investigated. Under the optimized conditions, cysteine, homocysteine, cystine, and homocystine in human urine and plasma samples were determined. Detection limits for cysteine, homocysteine, cystine, and homocystine ranged from 0.16–0.49 μM. The accuracy in terms of recoveries ranged between 94.0–102.1%. This proposed method was rapid, inexpensive, and simple.     

Aspects of trapping efficiency and matrix effects in the development of a restricted‐access‐media‐based trap‐and‐elute liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry method

Online restricted access media with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry for the direct analysis of small molecules in biological fluids represents an interesting alternative to time‐demanding traditional sample preparation techniques. In this study, important considerations concerning the development of a restricted access media with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of dansylated estrogens in biological matrix are presented. Parameters influencing peak tailing and trapping efficiency were evaluated. The key factors included the ion strength of the mobile phase, a loading flow rate of the sample onto the trap column, and selection of a proper stationary phase of the trap column for a given set of analytes. These parameters have proven to be essential for minimizing any unwanted chromatographic peak tailing. The bulk derivatization of the analytes in the biological fluids and its relationship to the observed matrix effects was evaluated as well.