Development of a Wine Metabolomics Approach for the Authenticity Assessment of Selected Greek Red Wines

Wine metabolomics constitutes a powerful discipline towards wine authenticity assessment through the simultaneous exploration of multiple classes of compounds in the wine matrix. Over the last decades, wines from autochthonous Greek grape varieties have become increasingly popular among wine connoisseurs, attracting great interest for their authentication and chemical characterization. In this work, 46 red wine samples from Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro grape varieties were collected from wineries in two important winemaking regions of Greece during two consecutive vintages and analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QToF-MS). A targeted metabolomics methodology was developed, including the determination and quantification of 28 phenolic compounds from different classes (hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids, stilbenes and flavonoids). Moreover, 86 compounds were detected and tentatively identified via a robust suspect screening workflow using an in-house database of 420 wine related compounds. Supervised chemometric techniques were employed to build an accurate and robust model to discriminate between two varieties.     

Diels–Alder Polymer Networks with Temperature‐Reversible Cross‐Linking‐Induced Emission

A novel synthetic strategy gives reversible cross‐linked polymeric materials with tunable fluorescence properties. Dimaleimide‐substituted tetraphenylethene (TPE‐2MI), which is non‐emissive owing to the photo‐induced electron transfer (PET) between maleimide (MI) and tetraphenylethene (TPE) groups, was used to cross‐link random copolymers of methyl (MM), decyl (DM) or lauryl (LM) methacrylate with furfuryl methacrylate (FM). The mixture of copolymer and TPE‐2MI in DMF showed reversible fluorescence with “on/off” behavior depending on the Diels–Alder (DA)/retro‐DA process, which is easily adjusted by temperature. At high temperatures, the retro‐DA reaction is dominant, and the fluorescence is quenched by the photo‐induced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. In contrast, at low temperatures, the emission recovers as the DA reaction takes over. A transparent PMFM/TPE‐2MI polymer film was prepared which shows an accurate response to the external temperature and exhibited tunable fluorescent “turn on/off” behavior. These results suggest the possible application in areas including information security and transmission. An example of invisible/visible writing is given.     

Red Blood Cell Stiffness and Adhesion Are Species-Specific Properties Strongly Affected by Temperature and Medium Changes in Single Cell Force Spectroscopy

Besides human red blood cells (RBC), a standard model used in AFM-single cell force spectroscopy (SCFS), little is known about apparent Young’s modulus (Ea) or adhesion of animal RBCs displaying distinct cellular features. To close this knowledge gap, we probed chicken, horse, camel, and human fetal RBCs and compared data with human adults serving as a repository for future studies. Additionally, we assessed how measurements are affected under physiological conditions (species-specific temperature in autologous plasma vs. 25 °C in aqueous NaCl solution). In all RBC types, Ea decreased with increasing temperature irrespective of the suspension medium. In mammalian RBCs, adhesion increased with elevated temperatures and scaled with reported membrane sialic acid concentrations. In chicken only adhesion decreased with higher temperature, which we attribute to the lower AE-1 concentration allowing more membrane undulations. Ea decreased further in plasma at every test temperature, and adhesion was completely abolished, pointing to functional cell enlargement by adsorption of plasma components. This halo elevated RBC size by several hundreds of nanometers, blunted the thermal input, and will affect the coupling of RBCs with the flowing plasma. The study evidences the presence of a RBC surface layer and discusses the tremendous effects when RBCs are probed at physiological conditions.     

Analytical potential of a laser ablation–glow discharge–optical emission spectrometry system for the analysis of conducting and insulating materials

The analytical capabilities of a glow discharge (GD) as a secondary source for excitation/ionization of the material provided by laser ablation (LA) have been compared to conventional laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). In LA–GD both sources can be independently adjusted to optimize the sampling process and then its subsequent excitation. This could involve a number of analytical performance advantages, such as reduced matrix dependence, greater precision and sensitivity than those encountered in LIBS. For such purpose, an ablation chamber design including two electrodes to generate the GD discharge has been built and assayed. A comparison between LIBS and LA–GD–OES has been carried out, both, under reduced argon and helium atmospheres. Different sets of samples (conducting reference materials, glass and fluorine pellets) have been used to evaluate the novel coupled technique. The LA–GD coupled system has shown to provide lower detection limits. In addition, best linear correlations between intensities and concentrations and lower matrix effects have also been found using the coupled system. Moreover, special advantages of the LA–GD–OES have also been demonstrated for the analysis of fluorine.     

新型核素~(64)Cu标记硝基咪唑类肿瘤乏氧显像剂及正电子发射断层扫描显像研究

采用新型核素64Cu标记了含丙烯胺肟[Pn AO(3,3,9,9-Tetramethyl-4,8-diazaundecane-2,10-dione Dioxime)]结构的硝基咪唑类乏氧显像剂Pn AO-1-(2-nitroimidazole)[BMS181321],通过优化反应条件,于室温下反应10 min后即得到高放化纯度和高比活度的标记化合物64Cu-BMS181321.目标产物经放射性高效液相色谱检测验证和体外稳定性实验确认后,通过尾静脉注射到人源胰腺癌(PANC-1细胞系)裸鼠体内,分别于注射显像剂4和8 h后进行小动物正电子发射断层扫描显像(Micro-PET).结果表明,4 h左右肿瘤乏氧区域有良好的放射性浓聚.64Cu-BMS181321的合成及其分子显像研究开创了64Cu标记硝基咪唑类乏氧显像剂进行乏氧显像的先例,经进一步药物临床实验评价后,64Cu-BMS181321有望成为具有良好前景的PET乏氧显像药物.     

Interfacial bonding mechanism and bonding strength of AlTiCrN coating by cathodic arc ion plating

AlTiCrN coating was prepared on the surface of YT14 tungsten carbide cutting tools by cathodic arc ion plating with Ti, Al and Cr as targets. The surface morphologies, interface energy spectrum, phase and elements' binding energy of the coatings were observed with SEM, EDS, XRD and XPS, respectively, and bonding strength of the coating interface was measured with scratch tester. The results show that the phases of AlTiCrN coating are mainly composed of AlN, CrN and TiN, the crystal plane of (111) has a strong preferred orientation. The concentrations of Al, Ti, Cr, N in the coating are higher than those in the substrate, showing the gradient diffusion distribution at the bonding interface, while C atoms of the substrate have diffused into the lattices of TiN, AlN and CrN to form an obvious interdiffusion layer, and the average bonding strength of coating interface is 57.65 N. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In‐line coupled single drop liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction with capillary electrophoresis for determining fluoroquinolones in water samples

A simple in‐line single drop liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction (SD‐LLLME) coupled with CE for the determination of two fluoroquinolones was developed. The method is capable to quantify trace amount of analytes in water samples and to improve the sensitivity of CE detection. For the SD‐LLLME, a thin layer of organic phase was used to separate a drop of 0.1 M NaOH hanging at the inlet of the capillary from the aqueous donor phase. By this way, the analytes were extracted to the acceptor phase through the organic layer based on their acidic/basic dissociation equilibrium. The drop was immersed into the organic phase during 10 min for extraction and then it is directly injected into the capillary for the analysis. Parameters such as type and volume of organic solvent phase, aqueous donor, and acceptor phases and extraction time and temperature were optimized. The enrichment factor was calculated, resulting 40‐fold for enrofloxacin (ENR) and sixfold for ciprofloxacin (CIP). The linear range were 20–400 μg/L for ENR and 60–400 μg/L for CIP. The detection limits were 10.1 μg/L and 55.3 μg/L for ENR and CIP, respectively, and a good reproducibility was obtained (4.4% for ENR and 5.6% for CIP). Two real water samples were analysed applying the new method and the obtained results presented satisfactory recovery percentages (90–100.3%).     

大气压下甲烷火花放电制乙炔和合成气

用大气压下火花放电方法和发射光谱原位诊断技术, 对CH₄直接转化制乙炔和间接转化制合成气进行了研究, 并与介质阻挡放电进行了比较。结果表明, 火花放电具有能量效率高的突出优点, 能够高效地将CH₄活化成C原子、H原子和C₂等活泼物种。当CH₄单独进料时, 能得到以C₂H₂为主的烃类产物。当CH₄与CO₂和O₂共进料时, 能得到H₂/CO比值可调的合成气产物。在用火花放电转化CH₄和CO₂制合成气时, 添加O₂能够避免反应器的结炭问题, 反应温度只需225 ℃, 与常规催化法相比具有明显的低温优势。     

Aggregation-induced emission of non-conjugated poly(amido amine)s: Discovering,luminescent mechanism understanding and bioapplication

It is found that the fluorescence of aliphatic poly(amido amine)s including linear and hyperbranched ones can be dramatically enhanced by simple aggregation of polymer chains, attributing to the formation of a variety of intra- and interchain clusters with shared lone-pair electrons and the restriction of intramolecular motions. Thanks to the combination of strong solid fluorescence and excellent biocompatibility, these non-conjugated polymers become promising candidates for bioimaging such as bacterial detection. This finding not only extends the aggregation-induced emission(AIE) systems from conjugated compounds to non-conjugated materials, which expands the bioapplication range of AIE systems, but also sheds light on the exploration of novel unconventional luminogens.     

Radiofluorination of a Pre‐formed Gallium(III) Aza‐macrocyclic Complex: Towards Next‐Generation Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging Agents

As part of a study to investigate the factors influencing the development of new, more effective metal‐complex‐based positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents, the distorted octahedral complex, [GaCl(L)]?2 H₂O has been prepared by reaction of 1‐benzyl‐1,4,7‐triazacyclononane‐4,7‐dicarboxylic acid hydrochloride (H₂L?HCl) with Ga(NO₃)₃?9 H₂O, which is a convenient source of Ga^III for reactions in water. Spectroscopic and crystallographic data for [GaCl(L)]?2 H₂O are described, together with the crystal structure of [GaCl(L)]?MeCN. Fluorination of this complex by Cl^?/F^? exchange was achieved in high yield by treatment with KF in water at room temperature over 90 minutes, although the reaction was complete in approximately 30 minutes if heated to 80 °C, giving [GaF(L)]?2 H₂O in good yield. The same complex was obtained by hydrothermal synthesis from GaF₃?3 H₂O and Li₂L, and has been characterised by single‐crystal X‐ray analysis, IR, ¹H and ¹⁹F{¹H} NMR spectroscopy and ESI⁺ MS. Radiofluorination of the pre‐formed [GaCl(L)]?2 H₂O has been demonstrated on a 210 nanomolar scale in aqueous NaOAc at pH 4 by using carrier‐free ¹⁸F^?, leading to 60–70 % ¹⁸F‐incorporation after heating to 80 °C for 30 minutes. The resulting radioproduct was purified easily by using a solid‐phase extraction (SPE) cartridge, leading to 98–99 % radiochemical purity. The [Ga¹⁸F(L)] is stable for at least 90 minutes in 10 % EtOH/NaOAc solution at pH 6, but defluorinates over this time scale at pH of approximately 7.5 in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or human serum albumin (HSA). The subtle role of the Group 13 metal ion and co‐ligand donor set in influencing the pH dependence of this system is discussed in the context of developing potential new imaging agents for PET.