Lithium adduct as precursor ion for sensitive and rapid quantification of 20 (S)‐protopanaxadiol in rat plasma by liquid chromatography/quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry and application to rat pharmacokinetic study

A novel, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry [LC‐ESI‐(QqLIT)MS/MS] method was developed and validated for the quantification of protopanaxadiol (PPD) in rat plasma. Oleanolic acid (OA) was used as internal standard (IS). A simple protein precipitation based on acetonitrile (ACN) was employed. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Sepax GP‐C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, 5 μM) with a mobile phase consisting of ACN–water and 1.5 μM formic acid and 25 mM lithium acetate (90 : 10, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min for 3.0 min. Multiple‐reaction‐monitoring mode was performed using lithium adduct ion as precursor ion of m/z 467.5/449.4 and 455.6/407.4 for the drug and IS, respectively. Calibration curve was recovered over a concentration range of 0.5–100 ng/ml with a correlation coefficient >0.99. The limit of detection was 0.2 ng/ml in rat plasma for PPD. The results of the intraday and interday precision and accuracy studies were well within the acceptable limits. The validated method was successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetic study of PPD after intravenous and gavage administration to rat. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐energy collision‐induced dissociation of [M+Na]+ ions desorbed by fast atom bombardment of ceramides isolated from the starfish Distolasterias nipon

Ten ceramides and four cerebrosides were extracted from the starfish Distolasterias nipon by solvent extraction, silica gel column chromatography and reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. Structural identification was conducted using tandem mass spectrometry of monosodiated ions desorbed by fast atom bombardment. The complete structures of four cerebrosides were determined by a previously reported method. The high‐energy collision‐induced dissociation (CID) spectral characteristics of ceramides with various structures depend on the number and positions of double bonds on both the N‐acyl and sphingoid chains, the presence of a hydroxyl group or a double bond at the C‐4 position of the sphingoid chain and the presence of an α‐hydroxy group on the N‐acyl chain. The high‐energy CID of the monosodiated ion, [M+Na]⁺, of each ceramide molecular species generated abundant ions, providing information on the composition of the fatty acyl chains and sphingoid long‐chain bases. Each homologous ion series along the fatty acyl group and aliphatic chain of the sphingoid base was used for locating the double‐bond positions of both chains and hydroxyl groups on the sphingoid base chain. The double‐bond positions were also confirmed by the m/z values of abundant allylic even‐ and odd‐electron ions, and the intensity ratio of the T ion peak relative to the O ion peak. This technique could determine the complete structures of ceramides and cerebrosides in an extract mixture and has great potential for determining other sphingolipids isolated from various biological sources. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quadrupole mass filter operation under the influence of magnetic field

This work demonstrates resolution enhancement of a quadrupole mass filter (QMF) under the influence of a static magnetic field. Generally, QMF resolution can be improved by increasing the number of rf cycles an ion experiences when passing through the mass filter. In order to improve the resolution, the dimensions of the QMF or the operating parameters need to be changed. However, geometric modifications to improve performance increase the manufacturing cost and usually the size of the instrument. By applying a magnetic field, a low‐cost, small footprint instrument with reduced power requirements can be realized. Significant improvement in QMF resolution was observed experimentally for certain magnetic field conditions, and these have been explained in terms of our theoretical model developed at the University of Liverpool. This model is capable of accurate simulation of spectra allowing the user to specify different values of mass spectrometer dimensions and applied input signals. The model predicts enhanced instrument resolution R>26 000 for a CO₂ and N₂ mixture with a 200‐mm long mass filter operating in stability zone 3 via application of an axial magnetic field. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Novel Mechanism for the Extraction of Metals from Water to Ionic Liquids

We present a novel mechanism for the extraction of metals from aqueous phases to room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) by use of a high-temperature salt as an extraction agent. The mechanism capitalizes on the fact that charged metal complexes are soluble in ILs; this allows for extraction of charged complexes rather than the neutral species, which are formed by conventional approaches. The use of a well-chosen extraction agent also suppresses the competing ion-exchange mechanism, thus preventing degradation of the ionic liquid. The approach permits the use of excess extractant to drive the recovery of metals in high yield. This work presents both a thermodynamic framework for understanding the approach and experimental verification of the process in a range of different ILs. The method has great potential value in the recovery of metals, water purification and nuclear materials processing.     

双(8-乙氧羰甲氧基-2-亚甲喹啉基)缩连氮的合成及其选择传感性能

以水合肼和2-甲酰基-8-乙氧羰甲氧基喹啉为原料合成了希夫碱双(8-乙氧羰甲氧基-2-亚甲喹啉基)缩连氮(BEQA),经1HNMR、元素分析等进行了结构表征,在乙醇-水混合溶剂中采用UV-Vis光谱法研究了H+、Ca2+、Mg2+、Sr2+、Mn2+、Co2+、Ni2+、Cu2+、Zn2+、Cd2+及Hg2+对BEQA光谱的影响,结果表明,BEQA分子的UV-Vis光谱仅对体系中的H+、Cu2+和Cd2+有特殊的选择传感性,在体系中的pH值或Cu2+、Cd2+浓度增大时,BEQA在380 nm处的吸收峰强度会逐渐减小,并伴随有不同程度的蓝移;Job′s法测定Cu2+和Cd2+与BEQA形成配合物的化学计量比为1∶4。     

基于偶氮联吡啶配体的银和钴配位聚合物的构筑与性质

通过将2个4,4''-联吡啶基团用偶氮基团连接,我们合成了新的配体顺式-和反式-1,2-二（（4,4''-联吡啶）-3-氮烯）（cis-L和trans-L）,并利用trans-L与银离子和钴离子构筑了配位聚合物{[Ag₂（trans-L）（ClO₄）₂]·4CH₃CN}_n（1）和{[Co（trans-L）₂（H₂O）₂]（ClO₄）₂}_n（2）。其中1为一维梯形链,链与链之间通过π-π以及Ag…Ag相互作用堆积;2为三维无限dendrimer结构,其Co中心具有合适的氧化还原电位,在以荧光素为光敏剂的条件下,可作为光催化剂实现光解水放氢。     

基于苯并噻唑Zn2+荧光探针及其细胞造影应用

设计合成基于苯并噻唑Zn²⁺荧光增强型探针BHP,在HEPES缓冲液中测其对Zn²⁺识别性能。实验结果表明,BHP对Zn²⁺有较高的选择性,对其他金属离子如Cd²⁺,Fe²⁺,Ni²⁺,Pb²⁺,Hg²⁺,Al³⁺,Mn²⁺,Ag⁺,Cu²⁺,Co²⁺,Na⁺,K⁺,Mg²⁺和Ca²⁺无明显荧光增强响应。BHP与Zn²⁺按1：1计量比配位,在生理条件下荧光强度不受pH值影响。在HeLa细胞中对Zn²⁺的造影表明BHP可用于生物体Zn²⁺检测。