Determination of δ‐[L‐α‐aminoadipyl]‐L‐cysteinyl‐D‐valine in cell extracts of Penicillium chrysogenum using ion pair‐RP‐UPLC‐MS/MS

δ‐[L ‐α‐Aminoadipyl]‐L ‐cysteinyl‐D ‐valine (ACV) is a key intermediate in the biosynthesis pathway of penicillins and cephalosporins. Therefore, the accurate quantification of ACV is relevant, e.g. for kinetic studies on the production of these β‐lactam antibiotics. However, accurate quantification of ACV is a challenge, because it is an active thiol compound which, upon exposure to air, can easily react with other thiol compounds to form oxidized disulfides. We have found that, during exposure to air, the oxidation of ACV occurs both in aqueous standard solutions as well as in biological samples. Qualitative and quantitative determinations of ACV and the oxidized dimer bis‐δ‐[L ‐α‐aminoadipyl]‐L ‐cysteinyl‐D ‐valine have been carried out using ion pair reversed‐phase ultra high‐performance liquid chromatography, hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (IP‐RP‐UPLC‐MS/MS) as the analytical platform. We show that by application of tris(2‐carboxy‐ethyl)phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP) as the reducing reagent, the total amount of ACV can be determined, while using maleimide as derivatizing reagent enables to quantify the free reduced form only.     

Using surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and fluorescence spectroscopy for screening yeast extracts,a complex component of cell culture media

Yeastolate or yeast extract, which are hydrolysates produced by autolysis of yeast, are often employed as a raw material in the media used for industrial mammalian cell culture. The source and quality of yeastolate can significantly affect cell growth and production; however, analysis of these complex biologically derived materials is not straightforward. The best current method, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC‐MS), is time‐consuming and requires extensive expertise. This study describes the use of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy coupled with robust principal component analysis (ROBPCA) for the rapid and facile characterization and discrimination of yeast extracts in aqueous solution. SERS using silver colloids generates time‐dependent signals, where adenine is the strongest contributor, and the spectra are stable and reproducible (< ~3%) at 180 min after mixing. Combining this spectral behavior with chemometric methods enables SERS to be used in discriminating between different yeastolate sources, for assessing lot‐to‐lot variability, and, potentially, to monitor storage‐induced compositional changes. Fluorescence EEM combined with multiway ROBPCA also provides a rapid and inexpensive method for the discrimination of yeastolate, yielding results in terms of sample discrimination very similar to that obtained with SERS. However, the EEM data does not provide the same level of chemical information that is provided by the SERS. Thus, the combination of these two methodologies has the potential to be extremely useful in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, as well as for the rapid characterization and screening of biogenic hydrolysates from animal or plant sources. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a novel label-free amperometric immunosensor for the detection of okadaic acid

Okadaic acid (OA), a lipophilic phycotoxin is mainly produced by toxigenic dinoflagellates. The need to develop high performing methods for OA analysis able to improve the traditional ones is evident. In this work, a novel experimental methodology for label-free detection of OA was developed. Protein G magnetic beads (protein-G-MBs) modified gold electrode was used to immobilize anti-OA monoclonal antibody (anti-OA-MAb). Preliminary, colorimetric tests were performed in order to validate protein-G-MBs and anti-OA-MAb reaction. Electrochemical detection was carried out by differential pulse voltammetry in ferri/ferrocyanide solution. The limit of detection value obtained (0.5 μg L⁻¹) validated the developed electrochemical immunosensor as a promising tool for routine use. The matrix effect and the recovery rate were also assessed with real samples, showing a good percentage of recovery.     

Determination of Quercetin in Extracts of Ginkgo biloba L. Leaves by Near‐Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy Based on Interval Partial Least‐Squares (iPLS) Model

Abstract

This paper developed a multivariate method of analysis of quercetin in Ginkgo biloba leaf extracts, based on reflectance NIR measurements and partial least squares regression. In order to give a better correlation with the results obtained by HPLC, multiplicative scatter correction (MSC) was utilized to correct scattering effect and interval partial least squares (iPLS) to select optimum wavelength region. In general, good calibration statistics were obtained for the prediction of quercetin content, as demonstrated by some figures of merit, namely linearity, repeatability, and accuracy. And the iPLS model was more reliable than the full model.     

Simultaneous Determination of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors Using Human Uterus as a Standard

Abstract

Numerous reports have shown a high degree of correlation between the presence of estrogen and progesterone receptors in cancerous breast tumors and response to endocrine therapy. There are several methods in use for measurement of these receptors, but all are time consuming and require large amounts of tumor tissue. Our laboratory needed a faster and simpler method to determine receptor concentration. We describe here an assay which utilizes human uterus extract with known receptor concentration as a standard to determine receptor concentration of tumor tissues. This method is simple, fast and will allow determination of estrogen and progesterone receptor in up to ten patient samples at one time.     

神华煤直接液化残渣超临界溶剂萃取研究

利用甲苯、苯和乙醇三种溶剂在反应釜中对神华煤直接液化残渣进行了超临界溶剂萃取,考察了压力、温度、萃取时间、溶剂/残渣比等对萃取产物收率和重质液体萃取组成的影响。结果表明,以甲苯为溶剂进行萃取时,萃取时间对重质液体产率及HS和A收率的影响不大,而温度、压力以及溶剂/残渣质量比都会影响萃取产物的产率及组成。溶剂超临界萃取过程中,有其他组分向HS组分转化,提高了HS的收率。三种溶剂中,苯显示了和甲苯相似的萃取性能,而乙醇的萃取性能相比苯和甲苯则较差,但乙醇萃取得到的重质液体中轻质组分含量高于苯和甲苯。萃取过程中,残渣中的灰分和硫分主要富集至萃取残渣中。     

Comparison of Liquid–Liquid Extraction,Simultaneous Distillation Extraction,Ultrasound-Assisted Solvent Extraction,and Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction for the Determination of Volatile Compounds in Jujube Extract by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

Jujube extract has a unique flavor that has been used as a common fragrance due to the volatile compounds. In this study, the volatiles of jujube extract were isolated by liquid–liquid extraction, simultaneous distillation extraction, ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction, and headspace solid-phase microextraction, and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Altogether 92 compounds were identified by the four methods, of which 53 components were identified for the first time; however, only 21 compounds were identified by all these methods. The performance characteristics of the four pretreatment techniques were compared by principal component analysis which showed that the volatile compounds obtained by liquid–liquid extraction and ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction were similar both in categories and in content; whereas, the volatiles extracted by simultaneous distillation extraction, ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction, and headspace solid-phase microextraction greatly varied. The results indicated that a multi-pretreatment technique should be adopted in order to obtain the most complete information about the volatile compounds in jujube extract. The ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction method exhibited excellent repeatability and recoveries, and was very suitable for quantitative analysis. Although the recoveries and reproducibility of headspace solid-phase microextraction were inferior to the other methods, it was more sensitive than other methods.     

Rapid Sample Pretreatment,Identification and Determination of Active Constitutents in Water‐soluble Radix isatidis Extract via MAE,ESI‐MS and RODWs‐HPLC

In this study, we successfully studied water‐soluble extract from Radix isatidis. Optimized conditions of MAE were listed, the sample can be extracted completely in 10 minutes under microwave power of 400W and solid/liquid ratio of 1:80. Active compounds in water‐soluble extract from R. isatidis were identified with HPLC‐DAD/ESI‐MS, these compounds followed by cytidine, uridine, guanosine, (R,S)‐goitrin and adenosine. RODWs–HPLC as a new sensitive chromatography were also first proposed and investigated, we favoringly used this method for simultaneous determination of these active constitutents in water‐soluble R. isatidis extract. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Diamonsil C18 column (5 μm, 150 mm × 4.6 mm) with a mobile phase gradient consisting of methanol and water at a flow‐rate of 1.0 mL/min, detection wavelengths 240, 250, 260 and 270 nm, the retention times of the tested five compounds were about 4.2, 5.8, 11.1, 14.2 and 20.8 min respectively, the limits of detection were 15, 12, 20, 5.8 and 24 ng/mL for cytidine, uridine, guanosine, (R,S)‐goitrin and adenosine respectively, their linear ranges were between 0.045 and 350 μg/mL with correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9998‐0.9999. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of intra‐day and inter‐day assays were 0.30‐2.36% and 0.86‐2.54% respectively. Extraction recoveries were 94.25‐106.21%. This novel analytical method was shown to be simple, low‐cost, sensitive and reliable for multiple components in complex or undeveloped materials via MAE, ESI‐MS and RODWs‐HPLC.     

南北五味子荧光光谱差异的原因

建立了用荧光法快速鉴别五味子和部分含五味子制剂中五味子是属于北五味子还是南五味子的方法,探明了南北五味子荧光光谱差异的主要原因。研究了五味子的五种活性成分五味子醇甲、五味子酯甲、五味子甲素、五味子乙素和安五脂素的荧光性质和五味子以及护肝片乙醇提取液的荧光光谱,并用高效液相色谱测定了供试品五种活性成分的含量。研究表明：发光效率按安五脂素、五味子乙素、五味子甲素和五味子醇甲依次减弱,五味子酯甲不具有荧光性;北五味子的主要荧光物质为五味子乙素,而南五味子的主要荧光物质是安五脂素,它们是导致南北五味子荧光光谱差异的主要原因。用荧光法鉴别南北五味子具有简单、快速和灵敏的特点     

用清除羟自由基法评价竹叶提取物抗氧化能力

进行了Fe2+与邻二氮菲生成红色配合物的吸收光谱,抗氧化剂TBHQ及竹叶提取物样品对清除羟自由基能力的研究。分光光度法测定抗氧化剂清除羟自由基能力的测定波长为509.1 nm。以IC₅₀值(清除率为50%时,抗氧化剂的浓度值)作为评价抗氧化剂清除羟自由基能力的指标,测得合成抗氧化剂和效果最好竹叶提取物样品IC₅₀值分别为0.040(TBHQ),0.378(M20),0.323(M40),0.334(M60),M20, M40, M60等竹叶提取物可以作为天然抗氧化剂进行开发。