Accurate,sensitive determination of omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in human plasma,urine samples

Quantitative determination of omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in human plasma and urine with high accuracy and precision provides significant information to monitor the underlying etiology of several diseases. In this regard, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry is a good choice owing to its great selectivity and sensitivity. Additionally, the hybrid quadrupole–time of flight–mass spectrometer systems provides easy identification of target compounds with superior mass measurements. In this study, an analytical method has been developed for simple, accurate and simultaneous determination of linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid in a short chromatographic analysis period. The developed method is suitable for the quantitative detection of these four compounds with detection limits ranging between 1.1–3.0 ng ml⁻¹ and its applicability was assessed in human urine and plasma samples. As a result, acceptable accuracy (between 83 and 111%) and good precision (<6%) were obtained for target compounds using matrix matching calibration strategy.     

FeOOH@Metal–Organic Framework Core–Satellite Nanocomposites for the Serum Metabolic Fingerprinting of Gynecological Cancers

High-throughput metabolic analysis is of significance in diagnostics, while tedious sample pretreatment has largely hindered its clinic application. Herein, we designed FeOOH@ZIF-8 composites with enhanced ionization efficiency and size-exclusion effect for laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS)-based metabolic diagnosis of gynecological cancers. The FeOOH@ZIF-8-assisted LDI-MS achieved rapid, sensitive, and selective metabolic fingerprints of the native serum without any enrichment or purification. Further analysis of extracted serum metabolic fingerprints successfully discriminated patients with gynecological cancers (GCs) from healthy controls and also differentiated three major subtypes of GCs. Given the low cost, high-throughput, and easy operation, our approach brings a new dimension to disease analysis and classification.     

Intertwined Detection and Recognition Roles of Tetrazine in Synergistic Anion-π and H-bond Based Anion Receptor

The intrinsic properties of tetrazine as a π-anion receptor and as an on/off recognition probe merged with H-bond ability of an urea motif into a single architecture constitutes a new generation of well-defined anion receptors. Complexation properties directly benefit from the dual and synergistic contribution of tetrazine and urea. In this study, we report on the synthesis and assessment of binding properties to anions of diverse geometries. Association constants have been predicted by theoretical calculations and evaluated by multiple and complementary experimental techniques including electrospray-mass tandem spectroscopy, NMR, UV-visible, steady state fluorescence spectroscopies and time resolved fluorescence. These results provide the basis for a better understanding of both the complexation and the anion-dependent quenching mechanism.     

通过超宽139La固体核磁共振波谱研究层状La(OH)2NO3

层状稀土氢氧化物是一类新型的稀土功能材料，本文采用固体核磁共振（SSNMR）方法研究了同时具备离子交换能力和非线性光学特性的层状La（OH）₂NO₃化合物，探讨了通过四极核CPMG（QCPMG）脉冲序列和变频谱图采集获取超宽¹³⁹La SSNMR谱图的方法，并描述了适用于此类实验的滤波方程和谱图重建方法.重建谱图同时包含四极核中心跃迁和卫星跃迁信息，本文使用QUEST软件对超宽¹³⁹La NMR谱图进行了模拟，获取的四极耦合常数C_Q和非对称因子η_Q均与CASTEP密度泛函理论计算值高度吻合.SSNMR实验结果证实层状La（OH）₂NO₃化合物属于非中心对称结构（P2₁），解决了对其结构长期以来存在的争论.     

Analysis of new psychoactive substances in human urine by ultra‐high performance supercritical fluid and liquid chromatography: Validation and comparison

New psychoactive substances represent serious social and health problem as tens of new compounds are detected in Europe annually. They often show structural proximity or even isomerism, which complicates their analysis. Two methods based on ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography and ultra high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection were validated and compared. A simple dilute‐filter‐and‐shoot protocol utilizing propan‐2‐ol or methanol for supercritical fluid or liquid chromatography, respectively, was proposed to detect and quantify 15 cathinones and phenethylamines in human urine. Both methods offered fast separation (<3 min) and short total analysis time. Precision was well <15% with a few exceptions in liquid chromatography. Limits of detection in urine ranged from 0.01 to 2.3 ng/mL, except for cathinone (5 ng/mL) in supercritical fluid chromatography. Nevertheless, this technique distinguished all analytes including four pairs of isomers, while liquid chromatography was unable to resolve fluoromethcathinone regioisomers. Concerning matrix effects and recoveries, supercritical fluid chromatography produced more uniform results for different compounds and at different concentration levels. This work demonstrates the performance and reliability of supercritical fluid chromatography and corroborates its applicability as an alternative tool for analysis of new psychoactive substances in biological matrixes.     

Chemical profiling of bioactive constituents in hop cones and pellets extracts by online comprehensive two‐dimensional liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and direct infusion Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Humulus lupulus L. (hop) is highly interesting from a nutraceutical perspective. The hop phytocomplex contains a wide range of bioactive metabolites, and its characterization is challenging. To tackle such a task, for the first time we applied and compared a combined approach consisting of online comprehensive two‐dimensional liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and direct infusion Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometry. A reversed phase × reversed phase approach with a shifted gradient in the second dimension ensured selectivity and two‐dimensional space coverage. Hyphenation with an ion trap time‐of‐flight analyzer led to the identification of 83 compounds in 70 min, comprising a novel quercetin derivative and six unknown bitter acids. On the other hand, the direct infusion method was able to identify 40 analytes (except isomers) with high mass accuracy (≤ 0.1 ppm) in less than 1 min analysis time. The developed approach can be used in a complementary way, combining the separation capability and high informative spectra of two‐dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with the ultra‐high mass accuracy of direct infusion, for potential compound discovery or the accurate profiling of bioactive compounds in different hop cultivars as well as for monitoring processing and storage of hop‐based products.     

Rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

An ionic‐liquid‐based in situ dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed for the rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters. The chemical structures of five ionic liquids were specifically designed to incorporate various functional groups for the favorable extraction of the target analytes. Extraction parameters including ionic liquid mass, molar ratio of ionic liquid to metathesis reagent, vortex time, ionic strength, pH, and total sample volume were studied and optimized. The effect of the headspace temperature and volume during the headspace sampling step was also evaluated to increase the sensitivity of the method. The optimized procedure is fast as it only required ∼7–10 min per extraction and allowed for multiple extractions to be performed simultaneously. In addition, the method exhibited high precision, good linearity, and low limits of detection for six ultraviolet filters in aqueous samples. The developed method was applied to both pool and lake water samples attaining acceptable relative recovery values.     

双曲冷却塔塔筒水平地震响应分析

为明确冷却塔在水平地震下的内力环向分布特征及内在原因,同时探究不同地震波时程与规范反应谱所得内力差异的原因,以某大型双曲冷却塔为例,在动力特性分析的基础上,通过反应谱方法和时程方法的水平地震响应计算及对比分析,对上述两个问题进行了研究。研究表明:由于仅侧弯振型对水平地震有贡献,而塔筒的侧弯振型和实际响应均表现为整体侧倾并伴随微弱的截面“流动”变形,这也使塔筒各内力的环向分布分别呈现正弦、余弦分布特征;其整体侧倾可类比于悬臂杆结构,塔筒子午向轴力FY、子午向弯矩MY、剪力FXY和扭矩MXY的环向分布可借助悬臂杆侧倾时截面正应力和剪应力分布来解释;而截面“流动”变形则决定了环向轴力FX和环向弯矩MX的环向分布;整体侧移显著而截面变形极小也使FY和FXY的幅值在塔筒中下部明显大于FX;由于冷却塔第1阶侧弯振型在水平地震响应中往往起绝对主导作用,因此可先对所选地震波计算得到其反应谱,对比第1阶侧弯振型周期对应的水平地震影响系数α值,即可初步推断不同时程及规范反应谱方法所得结果的大小关系。     

Influence of Molar Mass and Concentration on the Thermogelation of Methylcelluloses

In this study, thermogelation of methylcelluloses is investigated in relation to the molar mass and concentration in aqueous medium. A large hysteresis between heating and cooling ramps was observed whatever the conditions. The heating process in particular was studied to analyze the two steps of gelation using rheometry. At low temperature, in the sol state, viscosity depends on the concentration and molar mass. Over 30°C a gel-like behavior was observed including two steps (the second step is a strong gel with phase separation) having storage moduli that are nearly independent of polymer molar mass but are directly related to polymer concentration.