The contribution of the pressure drop to analyte retention in coupled column supercritical fluid chromatography of lipids

Summary This paper reports the qualitative and quantitative effects of the column pressure drop on the retention of lipid components in a serially coupled capillary column SFC system. The contribution of the pressure drop consists of two components, the density effect and the flow effect. The magnitude of the flow effect,i. e. the change in retention which results from changes in the flow-rate when column pressures are changed, is determined by the difference in single column analyte k values. The effect will be positive compared with the uncorrected retention values when the column with largest k value is closest to the injector. With the columns in reversed order, the effect will be negative. The contribution from the density effect always resulted in larger coupled column k values and was in most instances of more significance than the flow effect component. Values calculated with and without pressure drop correction have been compared and it has been shown that for most of the eighteen model lipid compounds investigated, the deviations from the experimental retention factors were smaller when pressure drop corrections were made.     

Calorimeters for biotechnology

The isothermal and temperature scanning calorimeters manufactured by Calorimetry Sciences Corporation are briefly described. Applications of calorimetry to determine thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions of interest in biotechnology are described with illustrative examples.     

Effects of irradiation on trans fatty acids formation in ground beef

In order to give the consumer the assurance that meat processed by irradiation is a safe product, a great deal of research has been developed in the world. The effect of irradiation on the hygienic quality of meat and meat products is considered as related to the control of meat-borne parasites of humans; elimination of pathogens from fresh meat and poultry; and elimination of pathogens from processed meat. Lipid oxidation and associated changes are the major causes of the quality deterioration of meat during storage. Irradiation of lipids induces the production of free radicals, which react with oxygen, leading to the formation of carbonyls, responsible for alterations in food nutritional and sensorial characteristics. Trans fatty acids are present in ground beef and can also be formed during its processing. Interestingly, the trans fatty acids, due to their chemical and physical characteristics, show more resistance to the oxidizing process. This property motivated us to investigate the level of the trans fatty acids, as well as the level of oxidation in irradiated ground beef. Irradiation of ground beef was performed by gamma rays from a ⁶⁰Co source. The applied radiation doses were 0; 1.0; 2.0; 3.0; 4.0; 5.0; 6.0; 7.0 and 8.0 kGy. Lipid peroxidation in terms of TBA number and carbonyl content was monitored during storage. The sample characteristics and trans fatty acids composition were measured, following irradiation and after 60 and 90 days of storage at –10°C.     

High-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light-scattering detection for the determination of phospholipid classes in human milk,infant formulas and phospholipid sources of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

We developed and validated a new high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation of phospholipid classes in human milk, infant formulas and phospholipidic sources of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) used in paediatric nutrition. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin were separated in less than 25 min using an Extrasil silica column (150 x 4.0 mm I.D., 3-microm particle size) by isocratic elution with a mixture of isopropanol-hexane-water. Phospholipids were determined by an evaporative light-scattering detector. Several chromatographic conditions were assayed to optimise the method, whose suitability is shown by the detection limits, linearity ranges and precision rates obtained. The main advantages of the proposed method are its speed and the direct determination of the main phospholipids present in human milk, infant formulas and the phospholipid sources of LC-PUFAs used in paediatric nutrition.     

Oral <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>-Carnitine Supplementation and Exercise Metabolism

Summary. Oral L-carnitine supplementation is frequently reported to have beneficial effects on exercise capacity in clinical populations and has been considered as a potential ergogenic aid for endurance athletes. However, this latter view is largely unsubstantiated possibly due to many experimental studies being poorly controlled or difficult to compare. The potential for oral L-carnitine supplementation to influence skeletal muscle carnitine content has been questioned and there are several key factors identified that may explain variations between study outcomes. Recent more well controlled research suggests some potential for L-carnitine to act as a key regulator of cellular stress, possibly through an impact on the integration of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and this work should be followed up in future by well controlled studies in both athlete and clinical subject groups.     

Comparison by capillary SFC and SFC-MS of soxhlet and supercritical fluid extraction of hamster feces

Components of hamster feces ranging from low molecular weight fatty acids through the expected range of triglycerides have been eluted in a single SFC run with simultaneous pressure and temperature programming. Temperature programming from 140°C to 240°C was required to provide optimum conditions for separation of the fatty acids and to move the elution region of the sterol esters away from that of the triglycerides. Data from chemical ionization and electron impact mass spectrometry of compounds separated by SFC were used to confirm identities suggested by retention measurements and to provide tentative identities of unknown compounds. SFC with flame ionization detection was used to compare Soxhlet extraction, off-line supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and on-line SFE of the feces. Although samples obtained by Soxhlet extraction and SFE produced very similar chromatograms, SFE required far less time and consumed much smaller quantities of organic solvent.     

Rapid clean-up of fat extracts for organophosphorus pesticide residue determination using C18 solid-phase extraction cartridges

Commercial solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges with C₁₈ bonded silica packings effectively cleaned up acetonitrile extracts of 3-g samples of fats and oils for determination of organophosphorus pesticide residues by gas chromatography with flame photometric detection. Cartridges from three different sources were tested and found to differ in lipid capacity and inertness (free silanol activity). Consequently, the amount of packing (i.e., number of cartridges) and/or the choice of eluent used were adjusted for each brand of cartridge to achieve optimum clean-up and analyte recovery. Seven pesticides with a wide range of polarity (acephate, azodrin, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion, methamidophos and methyl parathion) were separated from coextracted lipids by elution with either acetonitrile or methanol, depending on the brand of cartridge used. Cartridges were regenerated by purging lipids with dichloromethane and were reused numerous times without apparent loss of effectiveness. Recoveries from vegetable oils and butterfat fortified with the seven compounds at levels of 0.05–0.87 μg g^?1 ranged from 80 to 103%. Practical limits of determination range from 0.01 to 0.08 μg g^?1, depending on analyte response.     

Retention in coupled capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography with lipids as model compounds

Summary We have investigated to which extent retention data, acquired on single capillary columns, can be used for predicting retention factors in a coupled column system. For this purpose we utilized a model mixture of 18 lipid components with widely different vapor pressures and polarities. The sample was chromatographed on two columns, SB-biphenyl-30 (70% methyl-30% biphenylpolysiloxane) and SB-cyanopropyl-50 (50% methyl-50% cyanopropylsiloxane). Experimental retention factors, acquired in coupled column systems with two columns connected in different order, were thus compared with values calculated from runs on each single column. The agreement between calculated and experimental values generally was better than 5% without any pressure drop correction.To study the possibility of predicting retention behavior in a wide pressure range from a limited number of experiments, we also investigated the relation between solute retention and mobile phase density. We found that all data could be fitted to second order equations, which gives the possibility to optimize the resolution with respect to pressure from a limited number of runs at different pressures.     

Contribution of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography coupled to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry and UV detections for the analysis of a complex vegetable oil – Application for characterization of a Kniphofia uvaria extract

Lipids are an important and diverse group of naturally occurring organic compounds present in all biological entities. They play many essential roles in the survival of the organisms. Analysis of lipids is extremely complex due to their large variety of chemistries. In this work, we describe an innovative method for the characterization of the lipid composition in a complex and unknown vegetable oil: an extract of Kniphofia uvaria seeds; using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) coupled to Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI), High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) and UV detections. Thanks to the properties of supercritical CO₂ allowing the use of a large number of chromatographic columns, an effective separation for this complex matrix was obtained.     

Influence of cholesterol on the bilayer properties of monounsaturated phosphatidylcholine unilamellar vesicles

The influence of cholesterol on the structure of unilamellar-vesicle (ULV) phospholipid bilayers is studied using small-angle neutron scattering. ULVs made up of short-, mid- and long-chain monounsaturated phospholipids (diCn :1PC, n = 14 , 18, 22, respectively) are examined over a range (0-45mol %) of cholesterol concentrations. Cholesterol's effect on bilayer structure is characterized through changes to the lipid's transmembrane thickness, lateral area and headgroup hydration. For all three lipids, analysis of the experimental data shows that the addition of cholesterol results in a monotonic increase of these parameters. In the case of the short- and mid-chain lipids, this is an expected result, however, such a finding was unexpected for the long-chain lipid. This implies that cholesterol has a pronounced effect on the lipid's hydrocarbon chain organization.