An on‐line sample pretreatment technique for the HPLC analysis of plant samples

A continuous‐flow, on‐line sample pretreatment technique using a silica gel microsyringe extractor has been developed. All steps including extraction, separation, clean‐up, and concentration occur in the microsyringe. The overall sample pretreatment process takes <10 min per sample. Different polarity chemicals in the plant sample are successively extracted and separated, and analyzed in parallel using HPLC–UV and HPLC–UV–MS/MS. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkylphenols, and plant hormones were determined as model compounds for nonpolar, intermediate polarity, and polar fractions, respectively. All the parameters that influence the extraction and separation efficiency of the microsyringe extractor have been optimized and evaluated. Under the optimized conditions, recoveries of target compounds ranged from 78.4 to 101.9%, the RSD was <12.8% and the square of the correlation coefficient was >0.99. Complex plant samples of Sambucus Mandshurica Kitag have been tested using this method. Fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and plant hormones were detected in all the samples, and concentrations ranged from 24.2–34.9, 43.8–67.1, 25.9–29.2, and 14.5～110.8 ng/g, respectively.     

Rapid screening of bioactive compounds from natural products by integrating 5-channel parallel chromatography coupled with on-line mass spectrometry and microplate based assays

A high throughput method was developed for rapid screening and identification of bioactive compounds from traditional Chinese medicine, marine products and other natural products. The system, integrated with five-channel chromatographic separation and dual UV–MS detection, is compatible with in vitro 96-well microplate based bioassays. The stability and applicability of the proposed method was validated by testing radical scavenging capability of a mixture of seven known compounds (rutin, dihydroquercetin, salvianolic acid A, salvianolic acid B, glycyrrhizic acid, rubescensin A and tangeretin). Moreover, the proposed method was successfully applied to the crude extracts of traditional Chinese medicine and a marine sponge from which 12 bioactive compounds were screened and characterized based on their anti-oxidative or anti-tumor activities. In particular, two diterpenoid derivatives, agelasine B and (−)-agelasine D, were identified for the first time as anti-tumor compounds from the sponge Agelas mauritiana, showing a considerable activity toward MCF-7 cells (IC₅₀ values of 7.84 ± 0.65 and 10.48 ± 0.84 μM, respectively). Our findings suggested that the integrated system of 5-channel parallel chromatography coupled with on-line mass spectrometry and microplate based assays can be a versatile and high efficient approach for the discovery of active compounds from natural products.     

Reactive desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) of natural products of a marine alga

Presented here is the optimization and development of a desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) method for detecting natural products on tissue surfaces. Bromophycolides are algal diterpene-benzoate macrolide natural products that have been shown to inhibit growth of the marine fungal pathogen Lindra thalassiae. As such, they have been implicated in antimicrobial chemical defense. However, the defense mechanisms are not yet completely understood. Precise detection of these compounds on algal tissue surfaces under ambient conditions without any disruptive sample processing could shed more light onto the processes involved in chemical defense of marine organisms. Conventional DESI-MS directly on algal tissue showed relatively low sensitivity for bromophycolide detection. Sensitivity was greatly improved by the addition of various anions including Cl⁻, Br⁻, and CF₃COO⁻ into the DESI spray solvent. Chloride adduction gave the highest sensitivity for all assayed anions. Density functional optimization of the bromophycolide anionic complexes produced during DESI supported this observation by showing that the chloride complex has the most favorable binding energy. Optimized DESI protocols allowed the direct and unambiguous detection of bromophycolides, including A, B, and E, from the surface of untreated algal tissue. Figure Desorption Electrospray Ionization, a novel technique for mass spectrometric analysis under open air conditions reveals the presence of naturally-occurring antibiotics on the surface of marine algae. Ab-initio calculations and experimental results indicate that sensitiviity could be greatly enhanced by means of dynamic complexation of these antibiotics with various small anions during the dynamic desorption process. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Separation of peroxidation products of diacyl-phosphatidylcholines by reversed-phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Lipid peroxidation process has attracted much attention due to the growing evidence of its involvement in the pathogenesis of age-related diseases. The monitoring of the lipid peroxidation products in phospholipids, formed under oxidative stress conditions, may provide new markers for oxidative stress signaling and for disease states, giving new insights in the pathogenesis process. Reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method coupled to mass spectrometry was developed for the separation of oxidized glycero-phosphatidylcholine (GPC) peroxidation products formed by the Fenton reaction that mimic in vivo oxidative stress conditions. The LC-MS conditions were applied for the separation of peroxidation products of oleoyl- (POPC), lineloyl- (PLPC) and arachidonoyl-palmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (PAPC). The peroxidation products separated included products resulting from the insertion of oxygen atoms in the sn-2 chain (long-chain), and products with the sn-2 chain shortened resulting from cleavage of oxygen-centered radicals (short-chain). Among long-chain products were the keto, hydroxy, hydroperoxide and poly-hydroxy derivatives, while short-chain products included dicarboxylic acids, aldehydes and hydroxy-aldehydes. Separation of long-chain products formed in each phosphatidylcholine was observed, and the reconstructed ion chromatogram of each ion showed an increase in the number of peaks with the increase in the number of oxygen atoms inserted into the phospholipid. Separation of short-chain products took place according to the functional group present at the sn-2 moiety that allowed the elution of dicarboxylic acids distinct from aldehydes. Separation between isomeric structures that were present in short- and long-chain products was also achieved.     

Derivative spectrum chromatographic method for the determination of trimethoprim in honey samples using an on-line solid-phase extraction technique

A simple, selective and rapid analytical method for determination of trimethoprim (TMP) in honey samples was developed and validated. This method is based on a SPE technique followed by HPLC with photodiode array detection. After dilution and filtration, aliquots of 500 μL honey samples were directly injected to an on-line SPE HPLC system. TMP was extracted on an RP SPE column, and separated on a hydrophilic interaction chromatography column during HPLC analysis. At the first detection step, the noise level of the photodiode array data was reduced with two-dimensional equalizer filtering, and then the smoothed data were subjected to derivative spectrum chromatography. On the second-derivative chromatogram at 254 nm, the limit of detection and the limit of quantification of TMP in a honey sample were 5 and 10 ng/g, respectively. The proposed method showed high accuracy (60-103%) with adequate sensitivity for TMP monitoring in honey samples.     

Simultaneous Determination of Tin,Nickel, Lead,Cadmium and Mercury in Tobacco and Tobacco Additives by Microwave Digestion and RP‐HPLC Followed by On‐Line Column Enrichment

A new method for the simultaneous determination of five heavy metal ions, tin, nickel, lead, cadmium and mercury ions as metal‐tetra‐(2‐aminophenyl)‐porphyrin (T₂APP) chelates was developed using reversed‐phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC) equipped with a photodiode array detector and combined with an on‐line enrichment technique. The tin, nickel, lead, cadmium and mercury ions were pre‐column derivatized with T₂APP to form color chelates. The Sn‐T₂APP, Ni‐T₂APP, Hg‐T₂APP, Cd‐T₂‐APP and Pb‐T₂APP chelates can be absorbed onto the front of the enrichment column when they are injected into the injector and sent to the enrichment column [Waters Xterra? RP₁₈(5μ, 3.9 × 20 mm)] with a buffer solution of 0.05 mol/L pyrrolidine‐acetic acid (pH = 10.0) as mobile phase. After the enrichment had finished, by switching the six‐port switching valves, the retained chelates were back‐flushed by mobile phase and traveling towards the analytical column. These chelates separation on the analytical column [Waters Xterra? RP₁₈ (5μ, 3.9 × 150 mm)] was satisfactory by gradient elution with methanol (containing 0.05 mol/L pyrrolidine‐acetic acid buffer salt, pH = 10.0) and acetone (containing 0.05 mol/L pyrrolidine‐acetic acid buffer salt, pH = 10.0) as mobile phase. The linearity range is 0.01?120 μg/L for each metal ion. The detection limits (S/N = 3) of tin, nickel, lead, cadmium and mercury are 4.0 ng/L, 3.5 ng/L, 2.5 ng/L, 3.0 ng/L and 3.0 ng/L, respectively. This method was applied to the determination of tin, nickel, lead, cadmium and mercury ions in tobacco and tobacco additives with good results.     

流动注射预富集-液相色谱联机测定痕量镍、铜、汞的研究

萃取－液相色谱用于同时测定痕量金属离子已引起广泛重视［１～３］，但操作方法繁琐，样品易玷污［４］．我们曾用固相萃取的方法使金属离子衍生为二乙基二硫代氨基甲酸盐（ＤＴＣ）配合物富集后，继以ＨＰＬＣ分离测定了钴、铜和汞［５］．本文研究了流动注射固相萃取预...     

Simultaneous determination of toxins in algae and water samples by high-performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

A facile method based on liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry working in selected reaction monitoring mode has been established to analyze toxins in the algae and water samples. Twelve types of toxins (anatoxin, cylindrospermopsin, dinophysistoxin-1, nodularin, okadaic acid, microcystins) were efficiently separated under optimized liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry conditions in the selected reaction monitoring mode. Correlation coefficients of the calibration curves, all felt in the range of 0.9958-0.9998, indicated good linearity. The detection limits of toxins in this method were all lower than 0.20 ng/mL and the quantification limits were in the range from 0.04 to 0.60 ng/mL. Except for anatoxin, cylindrospermopsin, and nodularin, the other toxins' recoveries varied from 55.45 to 140.85%. And the relative standard deviations of interday and intraday precision were at 8.61% (n = 5). The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometery (MS) method was also successfully applied to analyze the algae and water samples. Owing to its exclusive selectivity and excellent sensitivity, the developed method is a tool for comprehensive analyses of the 12 types of toxins at nanogram levels.     

Retention behaviors of natural products in reversed-phase liquid chromatography using mobile phase comprising methanol, acetonitrile and water

The three-component mobile phase, methanol-acetonitrile-water, has been frequently used for the separation of natural products in complicated herbal extracts by reversed-phase liquid chromatography, especially when two-component solvent systems do not work. However, the rational for optimization of this three-solvent system is not clear, so far. In this study, the retention behavior of different types of natural products in RP-LC with a methanol-acetonitrile-water elution system was studied. A total of 27 compounds from four classes, including steroids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and triterpene saponins were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry or ultraviolet detectors. It was interesting to find that prolonged retention times and improved separation capabilities were obtained when the acetonitrile-to-methanol ratio was 3-16%. This rule applied to all four classes of natural products under different instrumental conditions, and could be valuable for the separation of natural products in complicated samples.     

Five decades in the study of natural products

This paper describes the five-decade long fascinating journey taken by Prof. T R Govindachari towards the study of the natural products of India. A variety of Indian plants were investigated by him for the study of their constituent alkaloids and terpenoids. The concluding part of the paper summarizes the isolation and identification of the constituents of theNeem kernel, which eventually led to the first X-ray structure determination of azadirachtin A. Text of the lecture delivered by Prof T R Govindachari when accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award in January 2000 during the 2nd Natural Chemistry Symposium held at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. Prof T R Govindachari passed away on 28 December 2001, shortly after he sent this paper to us.     

HPLC method validation for measurement of sulforaphane level in broccoli by‐products

A simple and specific analytical method was developed and tested for the determination of sulforaphane in broccoli by‐products. The method includes the optimization of the conversion of glucoraphanin to sulforaphane, followed by purification of extracts using solid‐phase extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The response surface methodology was used to find optimum conditions for the preparation and purification procedure. Chromatographic conditions for reversed‐phase HPLC with UV photodiode array detection were as follows: column, Exil ODS C₁₈, 25 × 0.46 cm, 5 μm; column temperature, 36°C; mobile phase, a 30 : 70 (v/v) mixture of acetonitrile:water; flow rate, 0.6 mL/min. The detection wavelength was UV 202 nm. Under these conditions, excellent linearity was obtained (r² = 1), and the overall recovery was 97.5 and 98.1% for fresh florets and lyophilized florets, respectively. The precision results showed that the relative standard deviation of the repeatability for florets fresh and lyophilized was 3.0 and 4.0%, respectively. Sulforaphane contents were determined in the edible portion of fresh broccoli, and broccoli crop remains. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development,method validation and simultaneous quantification of eleven bioactive natural products from high-altitude medicinal plant by high-performance liquid chromatography

Herein, a novel, rapid, reliable, simple method validation and simultaneous quantification of 11 bioactive compounds (mostly xanthones) have been described. International Conference on Harmonization guidelines were used for the analytical method validation. Good linearity, repeatability, intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy and reliability were well-illuminated in the method validation procedure. The calibration curves showed a good linear relationship (r > 0.999) within test range. Precision was evaluated by intra- and inter-day tests with relative standard deviation <2.79% and accuracy validation recovery of 74.16%–91.84%. On quantification study, the validated method described the high content of bioactive xanthone derivatives, including 1-hydroxy-3, 5-dimethoxyxanthone ( 7 ), 2-(allyloxy)-8-hydroxy-1, 6-dimethoxyxanthone ( 6 ) 1, 7, 8-trihydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone ( 9 ) and Coxanthone E ( 5 ) in Codonopsis ovata, which is advantageous given the numerous pharmacological and biological effects associated with these compounds, which mostly exhibit anti-cancerous, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic and anti-obesity effects. The bulk abundance of these compounds can also be used for further modification to produce better lead molecules for drug discovery with low toxicity and high potency. The proposed method makes it possible to simultaneously determine all bioactive compounds in one run and can be extended to marker-based standardization of herbal formulations in medicinal and pharmaceutical industries.     

Separation and preconcentration of trace manganese from various samples with Amberlyst 36 column and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

This work assesses the potential of a new adsorptive material, Amberlyst 36, for the separation and preconcentration of trace manganese(II) from various media. It is based on the sorption of manganese(II) ions onto a column filled with Amberlyst 36 cation exchange resin, followed by the elution with 5 mL of 3 mol/L nitric acid and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) without interference of the matrix. Different factors including pH of sample solution, sample volume, amount of resin, flow rate of sample solution, volume and concentration of eluent, and matrix effects for preconcentration were investigated. Good relative standard deviation (3%) and high recovery (>95%) at 100 μg/L and high enrichment factor (200) and low analytical detection limit (0.245 μg/L) were obtained. The adsorption equilibrium was described well by the Langmuir isotherm model with maximum adsorption capacity of 88 mg/g of manganese on the resin. The method was applied for the manganese determination by FAAS in tap water, commercial natural drinking water, commercial treated drinking water and commercial tea bag sample. The accuracy of the method is confirmed by analyzing the certified reference material (tea leaves GBW 07605). The results demonstrated good agreement with the certified values.     

Detection of s-triazine pesticides in natural waters by modified large-volume direct injection HPLC

There is a need for simple and inexpensive methods to quantify potentially harmful persistent pesticides often found in our water-ways and water distribution systems. This paper presents a simple, relatively inexpensive method for the detection of a group of commonly used pesticides (atrazine, simazine and hexazinone) in natural waters using large-volume direct injection high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) utilizing a monolithic column and a single wavelength ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis) detector. The best results for this system were obtained with a mobile phase made up of acetonitrile and water in a 30:70 ratio, a flow rate of 2.0 mL min⁻¹, and a detector wavelength of 230 nm. Using this method, we achieved retention times of less than three minutes, and detection limits of 5.7 μg L⁻¹ for atrazine, 4.7 μg L⁻¹ for simazine and 4.0 μg L⁻¹ for hexazinone. The performance of this method was validated with an inter-laboratory trial against a National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method commonly used in commercial laboratories.     

高效液相色谱-电感耦合等离子体质谱联用测定海洋产品中无机砷

采用高效液相色谱( HPLC)和电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)联用技术测定了海洋产品中的无机砷.动物性和植物性海洋产品试样经过10％ H3PO溶液(V/V)提取,阴离子交换色谱分离,ICP-MS测定其中As(Ⅲ)和As(Ⅴ)的含量.实验结果表明As(Ⅲ)和As(Ⅴ)的检出限分别为5.0和8.0 μg/kg,线性范...