DNA-based bioanalytical microsystems for handheld device applications

This article reviews and highlights the current development of DNA-based bioanalytical microsystems for point-of-care diagnostics and on-site monitoring of food and water. Recent progresses in the miniaturization of various biological processing steps for the sample preparation, DNA amplification (polymerase chain reaction), and product detection are delineated in detail. Product detection approaches utilizing “portable” detection signals and electrochemistry-based methods are emphasized in this work. The strategies and challenges for the integration of individual processing module on the same chip are discussed.     

Simultaneous quantification of differently glycosylated, acetylated, and 2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one-conjugated soyasaponins using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection

A novel method utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was developed for the analysis of soyasaponins, a divers group of triterpenic compounds with one or two sugar side chains, occurring in soy. Group A soyasaponins in different degrees of acetylation, as well as group B soyasaponins in both their 2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (DDMP)-conjugated and non-conjugated forms could be separated and quantified using authentic soyasaponin standards, in one single run. The method was tested by the determination of the soyasaponin content and composition of eight soygerm samples of different origin. Differences in the composition and the degree of acetylation of the group A soyasaponins were observed among these samples. The group B soyasaponins showed much less variability and they were mainly present in their DDMP-conjugated form.     

Spectrophotometric determination of dopamine in microliter scale using microfluidic system based on polymeric technology

In this paper we report two simple and sensitive spectrophotometric procedures for the determination of dopamine in microfluidic system based on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) technology and comparison of their interference-susceptibility. The analytical reactions and measurements were carried out at ambient temperature in a microreactor of total volume 6 μl coupled with a spectrophotometric flow-through cuvette.     

HPLC-APCI-MS法分析测定白刺籽油中游离脂肪酸

利用荧光衍生试剂1,2-苯并-3,4-二氢咔唑-9-乙基对甲苯磺酸酯(BDETS)作为脂肪酸柱前衍生化试剂,采用梯度洗脱在Eclipse XDB-C8色谱柱上对游离脂肪酸(FFA)(油酸、亚油酸、软脂酸和硬脂酸)衍生物进行分离.利用柱后在线的串联质谱以大气压化学电离源(APCI)正离子模式实现了各组分的质谱定性.荧光检测的激发和发射波长分别为λex=333 nm,λem=390 nm.脂肪酸的线性回归系数大于0.9990,检出限为3.38～6.59 nmol/L.建立的方法具有良好的重现性.利用此方法对超临界CO2提取的唐古特白刺籽油中几种游离脂肪酸进行了分析.结果表明白刺籽油中含有大量的游离不饱和脂肪酸.     

Reversible DNA condensation induced by a tetranuclear nickel(II) complex

DNA condensing agents play a critical role in gene therapy. A tetranuclear nickel(II) complex, [Ni^II₄(L?2H)(H₂O)₆(CH₃CH₂OH)₂] ? 6NO₃ (L=3,3',5,5'‐tetrakis{[(2‐hydroxyethyl)(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl)amino]methyl}biphenyl‐4,4'‐diol), has been synthesized as a nonviral vector to induce DNA condensation. X‐ray crystallographic data indicate that the complex crystallizes in the monoclinic system with space group P2₁/n, a=10.291(9), b=24.15(2), c=13.896(11) Å, and β=98.175(13)°. The DNA condensation induced by the complex has been investigated by means of UV/Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, gel electrophoresis assay, and zeta potential analysis. The complex interacts strongly with DNA through electrostatic attraction and induces its condensation into globular nanoparticles at low concentration. The release of DNA from its compact state has been achieved using the chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for the first time. Other essential properties, such as DNA cleavage inactivity and biocompatibility, have also been examined in vitro. In general, the complex satisfies the requirements of a gene vector in all of these respects.     

Improving Gene Delivery Efficiency of Bioreducible Poly(amidoamine)s via Grafting with Dendritic Poly(amidoamine)s

Dendritic poly(amidoamine)s (PAMAM)s were introduced into the side chains of disulfide‐containing poly(amidoamine)s via repetitive Michael addition and amidation. The bioreducible poly(amidoamine)s grafted with dendritic polyamidoamines showed high buffer capacity, low cytotoxicity and strong DNA binding ability at low N/P ratio. They were able to condense DNA into small sized polycation/DNA complexes, which degraded and released the incorporated DNA under reductive conditions. In comparison to the original disulfide‐containing poly(amidoamine) with aminoethyl side chain, the grafting of the bioreducible poly(amidoamine) with dendrimer greatly improved the transfection efficiencies of 293T and HeLa cells with foreign DNA at various N/P ratios. The structure–gene delivery property relations of dendrimer‐grafted polycations will provide valuable insight into the design of highly efficient and less toxic polycationic gene carriers.

     

Separation of phenolic acids by capillary electrophoresis with indirect contactless conductometric detection

A new method for the electrophoretic separation of nine phenolic acids (derivatives of benzoic and cinnamic acids) with contactless conductometric detection is presented. Based on theoretical calculations, in which the mobility of the electrolyte co- and counterions and mobility of analytes are taken into consideration, the electrolyte composition and detection mode was selected. This approach was found to be especially valuable for optimization of the electrolyte composition for the separation of analytes having medium mobility. Indirect conductometric detection mode was superior to the direct mode as predicted theoretically. The best performance was achieved with 150 mM 2-amino-2-methylpropanol electrolyte at pH 11.6. The separation was carried out in a counter-electroosmotic mode and completed in less than 6 min. The LODs achieved were about 2.3-3.3 microM and could be further improved to 0.12-0.17 microM by using a sample stacking procedure. The method compares well to the UV-Vis detection.     

Immunoassay of P-glycoprotein on single cell by capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection

The cellular mechanism based on P-glycoprotein (PGP) for its drug pump function has become very important in multidrug resistance (MDR) research. A method has been established to characterize PGP on single K562 cell by coupling capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection. A permeable intact cell after the immunoassay binding with fluorescence labeling antibody was injected into the capillary and directly separated without lysis. It was found that once 5-10 optional cells were detected in batch, the PGP amount on this cell line could be outlined and calculated clearly. The PGP amount on K562 MDR cell line is 3.88 times higher than that on K562 sensitive cell line. These two cell lines with immunoassay binding were also analyzed by injection of multi-cells in order to improve the throughput. A resistance factor so called multidrug resistance multiple (MRM) was introduced to evaluate the MDR difference between cell lines. The MRM values of the cell line K562 measured by single cell analysis are well correlated with those by flow cytometry, which also prove the validity of our method in single cell analysis for the possibility of cancer diagnosis, pharmacokinetics and drug screening in future.     

Determination and Differentiation of Two Seemingly Identical Medicinal Herbs by Capillary Electrophoresis with Electrochemical Detection

A high-performance capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection (CE-ED) method has been employed for the determination of six bioactive ingredients in traditional Chinese herbs, Herba cepbalanoplosis segeti and Herba cirsii japonici. The effects of several factors such as the acidity and concentration of running buffer, the separation voltage, the applied potential and the injection time on CE-ED were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the six analytes could be well separated within 21 min in a 75 cm length capillary at the separation voltage of 15 kV in a 50 mmol L^–1 borax running buffer (pH 8.4). A 300 m diameter carbon disk electrode was used as the working electrode positioned carefully opposite the outlet of the capillary in a wall-jet configuration at potential of +950 mV (vs. SCE). Good linear relationship was established between peak current and concentration of analytes over two orders of magnitude with detection limits (S/N=3) ranged from 1.5×10^–7 to 6.0×10^–7 g mL^–1 for all six analytes. This proposed method has been successfully applied for the analysis of traditional Chinese herbs after a relatively simple extraction procedure, further on, for the differentiation of these above two seemingly identical herbs based on their electropherograms or characteristic electrochemical profiles.     

Electrochemical detection of ultratrace nitroaromatic explosives using ordered mesoporous carbon

A sensitive electrochemical sensor has been fabricated to detect ultratrace nitroaromatic explosives using ordered mesoporus carbon (OMC). OMC was synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. Glassy carbon electrodes functionalized with OMC show high sensitivity of 62.7 μA cm⁻² per ppb towards 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). By comparison with other materials such as carbon nanotubes and ordered mesoporous silica, it is found that the high performance of OMC toward sensing TNT is attributed to its large specific surface area and fast electron transfer capability. As low as 0.2 ppb TNT, 1 ppb 2,4-dinitrotoluene and 1 ppb 1,3-dinitrobenzene can be detected on OMC based electrodes. This work renders new opportunities to detect ultratrace explosives for applications of environment protections and home securities against chemical warfare agents.