Chromatographic characterization of a molecular imprinted polymer binding cortisol

A cortisol-binding polymer was prepared by utilising a non-covalent molecular imprinting polymerisation technique. The obtained polymer was packed in a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column; the selectivity was studied by liquid chromatography, eluting cortisol, cortisone, corticosterone, progesterone, 11-ketoprogesterone, 11alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, cortisol 21-hemisuccinate, and cortisol 21-acetate with chloroform, containing 0.5% (v/v) acetic acid, as mobile phase. The mechanism of molecular imprinting was confirmed and a good selectivity for cortisol, with limited recognition for cortisone and 11alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, was found.     

Self-consistency of fractional precipitation method for determining molecular weight distribution in a polymer sample

Molecular weight distribution curves have been determined for two samples of polystyrene by fractionating them with a conventional single-stage precipitation technique and followed by measurement of the average molecular weights of the fractions by viscometry. The experimental results obtained were analyzed by the usual method of plotting cumulative distribution curves. Subsequently, the distribution curve for a mixture of aliquots of the two samples was obtained and found to agree with the expected curve, which would be the sum of the curves in the two constituent samples. This finding confirms the internal self-consistency of this method for determining molecular weight distribution curves.     

Chromatographic and electrophoretic methods for determining polyphenol compounds

The main physicochemical methods for identifying and quantifying polyphenol compounds in various plant and food objects (tea, wine) and human biological fluids (urine, plasma, blood serum, saliva) were reviewed, such as chromatography (high-performance liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography) and electrophoresis (capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography). Different procedures for sample preparation were discussed, including liquid, solid-phase, supercritical fluid extraction, and high-pressure liquid extraction.     

Lowering the molecular mass limit of thermal field-flow fractionation for polymer separations

Thermal field-flow fractionation (ThFFF) is capable of separating a wide molecular mass range of polymers by their molecular mass (Mr) and chemical composition. However, retention and resolution decrease significantly for polymers with Mr<20 kDa. Various approaches for increasing the retention of low Mr (<15 kDa) polymers were investigated. Our results showed that temperature conditions and single-component solvents had a limited effect on polymer retention and that certain binary solvent mixtures caused a dramatic increase in retention. The binary solvents approach has enabled the use of a ThFFF system and temperature conditions to separate 2.6 kDa PS from 4.4 kDa PS, thereby extending the applicability of ThFFF to lower molecular masses. The effect of binary solvent mixtures on polymer retention is correlated with the mixture viscosity.     

Hickel分子轨道计算的割键法则及其应用

Tang Ao-qing et al. have put forward graph theory method for determining the Huckel molecular orbits and the calculation of energy levels for conjugated molecules. Based on the work of the forerunners, the bond-break rule for determining the molecular orbits is presented in this paper. The general concept of the bond ratio is first introduced. The calculation of orbital coefficients and of energy levels are transformed into a calculation of bond ratio and of energy levels. Following the rules governing bond-breaking established in this paper to break some bonds in the structural diagram of molecules and at the same time modify the Coulomb's integration of atoms, it becomes possible to use a group of mutually independent sub-diagrams to replace the complicated structural diagram of molecules. The secular determinants of each sub-diagram must all equal zero. Thereby series of equations (called series of equations of bond ratio) can be established with the energy level and the bond ratio as the unkowns. When this is solved, the energy level and bond ratio are obtained. Because of the simplicity of the construction of the sub-diagrams, the calculation is greatly simplified when this method is used. Futhermore, this method can be widely applied to all kinds of complicated conjugated molecules. In this paper the authors have gone through some calculations for molecules with heteropoly-radicals.     

Chromatographic separation for domoic acid using a fragment imprinted polymer

A method for real-time visualisation of reactions performed in-capillary by the technique of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) is described, using a two dimensional imaging detection system. The UV absorbance detector is based on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor. Imaging of analyte peaks absorbing at 200 nm and migrating over length of 14 mm in the capillary dimension allowed measurement of velocities and lengths of reactant and product zones. By contrast with use of single point detection, velocities of species generated by reaction anywhere within the capillary are readily measured with CMOS imaging: this is of particular benefit for EMMA experiments where reaction occurs during zone overlap. For the oxidation of glutathione by hydrogen peroxide, reaction times were varied over the range 0.5-20 s by changing voltages for electrokinetic injection and zone migration, and reactant and product peak areas were obtained for kinetic analysis of the reaction. The use of EMMA conditions with CMOS imaging allows the whole process of reaction, separation and quantification to be carried out in nanolitre volumes on-capillary in a single run on a time scale of less than 5 min.     

染料木素分子印迹聚合物的制备及其识别性能

以染料木素为模板分子、4-乙烯基吡啶(4-VP)为功能单体、乙二醇二甲基双丙烯酸酯(EGDMA)为交联剂、四氢呋喃(THF)为溶剂,采用本体聚合法制备了染料木素的分子印迹聚合物;采用静态平衡结合实验研究了该分子印迹聚合物对染料木素的结合能力和选择性能.结果表明,与化学组成相同的相应非印迹聚合物相比,染料木素分子印迹聚合物对染料木素的吸附性能和选择性更好.利用所合成的分子印迹聚合物作为固相萃取材料填充固相萃取小柱,可以选择性地从豆奶粉中分离、富集染料木素;此外,该分子印迹聚合物还有望用于其他豆制品的分析检验.     

Characterization of polymer molecular mass distribution from rheological measurements

Various methods for the determination of molecular mass distribution from rheological measurements of polymer melts are introduced. Shear viscosity, entrance pressure loss, recoverable shear, and in particular the dynamic viscoelasticity data G' and G” are discussed as analytical tools to evaluate the molecular mass distribution. Well characterized samples and homologous series of the polymers PS, PE-HD, PP, and PTFE were measured to check the methods. Precise and reliable results can be obtained by calculating the molecular mass distribution from the frequency dependence of the storage modulus.     

Dependence of polymer specific volume on molecular characteristics

Linear and branched bisphenol A polycarbonate (PC) samples were characterized by their average molecular weights, $\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>n</mtext>}}$ and $\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>w</mtext>}}$, polydispersity degree $\text{q =}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>w</mtext>}}\text{/}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>n</mtext>}}$, and branching degree g_v. The weight fraction of microgel was also determined for branched samples. The samples were amorphized and densities were measured at 23°C to obtain the values of specific volume, v_sp. The dependence of v_sp on molecular characteristics is described by the multivariable power function $\text{Δv}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>sp</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{A}{}_{\mathrm{sp}}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>x</mtext>}}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>a</mtext>}}\text{q}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>apx</mtext>}}\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>v</mtext>}}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>ab</mtext>}}$, where Δv_sp = v_sp ? v_sp,∞, and A_sp, a, a_px and a_b are constants. It has been confirmed that a = ?1, a_pn = 0 and a_pw = 1. It has also been found that the branching exponent a_b significantly depends on microgel content. The relationships found for PC should, in principle, be valid for other polymers. Examples based on literature data are given for linear polyethylene and polydimethylsiloxane.     

Why does the rouse model fairly describe the dynamic characteristics of polymer melts at molecular masses below critical mass?

Generalization of the Rouse model without any use of the postulates concerning the Gaussian distribution of the vector connecting the ends of segments is advanced. In the initial (in general, nonlinear) Langevin equations, self-averaging over continuous fragments of a macromolecule naturally defines a linear term for the tagged chain, and this term differs from the entropy term of the classical Rouse model only by the numerical coefficient. According to the inertia-free approximation, the initial decay rates of correlation functions for the normal modes are described by the Rouse model independently of the character of fluctuations of the vector connecting the ends of the Kuhn segment. This statement is valid for any moment if the initial Langevin equations are treated in terms of the approximation of dynamic self-consistency. Simulation of the Fraenkel chains by the method of Brownian dynamics shows that decay of autocorrelation functions of shortwave normal modes is fairly described by the linearized equations for a given model of a chain and that the Rouse equation can be used for the long-wave modes. The results of this study make it possible to explain a marked difference between the lengths of the Kuhn and Rouse segments that is estimated from static and dynamic experiments.     

Effect of molecular weight and its distribution on the spinodal for polydisperse polymer solutions

The Flory–Huggins interaction parameter χ(r_i) is considered as dependent on the chain length of a polymer. Therefore, a modified free energy expression of Flory–Huggins theory is obtained for the polydisperse polymer solutions. Based on this modified free energy expression and the thermodynamics of Gibbs, the expression of spinodal for polydisperse polymer solutions is obtained. For a given χ(r_i) according to de Gennes, the spinodals are calculated for polydisperse polymer solutions at different molecular weights and their distributions. It is found that all the interested variables r_n, r_w, r_z and molecular weight distribution have an effect on the spinodal for polydisperse polymer solutions, where the effect of changing r_w is much greater than that of changing r_n, r_z and molecular weight distribution.     

Adsorption from polymer mixtures. The effect of molecular mass

Two approaches are used to study the adsorption of components from polydisperse polymer melts. The distribution of components of binary mixture of homopolymers differing only in molecular masses near the neutral wall is studied using the Scheutjens-Fleer lattice model. An increase in the concentration of component with lower molecular mass near the wall observed under the considered conditions is caused by a decrease in the losses of configurational entropy of polymer chains. The adsorption of low-molecular-mass component is calculated for a large set of model parameters. The equation describing adsorption as a function of mixture concentration and parameter (N ₁/N ₂ ? 1) characterizing the difference in chain lengths of N ₁ and N ₂ components is proposed. The proposed equation is a specific case of equation, which was derived using Flory-Huggins lattice theory and the data on the dependences of surface tension on the composition of polydisperse melts.     

Molecularly imprinted polymer for metsulfuron-methyl and its binding characteristics for sulfonylurea herbicides

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared using metsulfuron-methyl (MSM) as the template molecule. A combinatorial protocol has been employed to optimize the polymer in terms of the kind and relative amounts of functional and cross-linking monomers. A copolymer of 2-(trifluoromethyl)acrylic acid (TFMAA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) showed the highest binding capacity for MSM. The binding characteristics of the imprinted polymers and MSM were evaluated in various solvents using equilibrium binding experiments. The results showed that the MIP binds MSM only in dichloromethane, which was used as the porogen during polymerization. Scatchard plot analysis revealed that two classes of binding sites were formed in the imprinted polymer with dissociation constants of 32.3 μmol l⁻¹ and 1.7 mmol l⁻¹, respectively. The specificity of the imprinted polymer was investigated by binding assays using MSM and other structurally related sulfonylurea herbicides. The results indicated that the imprinted polymer showed a marked selectivity for MSM.     

Molecularly imprinted polymer for monocrotophos and its binding characteristics for organophosphorus pesticides

In this study, molecular imprinting was used to develop a method based on noncovalent interaction for the synthesis of a monocrotophos-specific polymer. The selective binding characteristics of the template polymer were evaluated by 1H NMR study. The result was consistent with the existence of multi-molecular complexes formed by hydrogen-bonding interactions. Batch rebinding studies in acetonitrile were undertaken to quantitatively evaluate the affinity of the polymer for monocrotophos. The experimental binding isotherms were fitted to the Freundlich isotherm and the total number of binding sites of the polymer can be calculated to be 4.046 micromol g(-1). The induced affinity and selectivity by imprinting were examined chromatographically. The polymer gave more than 15 times longer retention for monocrotophos than the nonimprinted polymer with the same chemical composition. Other organophosphorus pesticides under study were eluted close to the void volume on the polymer column.     

On the use of mass scaling for stable and efficient simulated tempering with molecular dynamics

Simulated tempering (ST) is a generalized‐ensemble algorithm that employs trajectories exploring a range of temperatures to effectively sample rugged energy landscapes. When implemented using the molecular dynamics method, ST can require the use of short time steps for ensuring the stability of trajectories at high temperatures. To address this shortcoming, a mass‐scaling ST (MSST) method is presented in which the particle mass is scaled in proportion to the temperature. Mass scaling in the MSST method leads to velocity distributions that are independent of temperature and eliminates the need for velocity scaling after the accepted temperature updates that are required in conventional ST simulations. The homogeneity in time scales with changing temperature improves the stability of simulations and allows for the use of longer time steps at high temperatures. As a result, the MSST is found to be more efficient than the standard ST method, particularly for cases in which a large temperature range is employed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Macroporous polymer materials: Synthesis of a new functional copolymer and its use for biological microanalysis

Macroporous materials based on a new reactive copolymer of 2-cyanoethyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate have been prepared via photo-induced free-radical polymerization in the presence of porogeneous solvents. The effect of the composition of mixed porogenes on the porous structure of the resulting solid copolymers has been studied. A number of synthesis parameters have been optimized, namely, the concentration of initiator and the time of polymerization. As exemplified by a model biologically complementary (bioaffine) pair, the created polymer material shows promise for design of bioanalytical panels (microbiochips).     

Comparison of four mass analyzers for determining carbosulfan and its metabolites in citrus by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Four liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) systems, equipped with single quadrupole, triple quadrupole (QqQ), quadrupole ion trap (QIT) and quadrupole time-of-flight (QqTOF) mass analyzers, were evaluated for the analysis of carbosulfan and its main transformation products. The comparison of quantitative aspects (sensitivity, precision and accuracy) was emphasized. Results showed that the triple quadrupole instrument reaches at least 20-fold higher sensitivity (LOD from 0.04 to 0.4 microg kg(-1)) compared to the single quadrupole (4-70 microg kg(-1)), the QIT (4-25 microg kg(-1)) and the QqTOF (4-23 microg kg(-1)) instruments. Recoveries were over 70% for all the analytes, except dibutylamine and 7-phenolcarbofuran. Repeatabilities (within-day) were slightly better by the single quadrupole (5-10%) and the QqQ (5-9%) than by the QIT (12-16%) and the QqTOF (9-16%). Both the QqTOF and QIT offer a linear dynamic range of two orders of magnitude whereas the single quadrupole and QqQ of, at least, three orders of magnitude. The method was applied to analyze carbosulfan field-treated orange samples, in which carbosulfan, carbofuran, 3-hydroxycarbofuran, and dibutylamine were found. As an example, the mean carbosulfan concentration was 20 +/- 0.6 microg kg(-1) measured by the QqQ, 22 +/- 1.2 microg kg(-1) by the single quadrupole, 25 +/- 2.8 microg kg(-1) by the QIT, and 20 +/- 1.8 microg kg(-1) by the QqTOF. Although the QqQ is more sensitive and precise, the mean values obtained by the four instruments are acceptable and comparable. The potential of each technique for the verification of the identity of residues detected in oranges is discussed using the concept of identification points.     

General approach to polymer properties dependent on molecular characteristics

The general equation

where P is a polymer property, Π is the sign of product, A is a constant, v_i is the ith variable and a_i is the exponent of ith variable, has been proposed for the dependence of some polymer properties on molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and long-chain branching. The data confirming the proposed equation have been taken from published theoretical and experimental papers on intrinsic viscosity, melt viscosity and glass transition temperature, as well as on viscosity of polymer solutions. Examples of application are given.     

A novel method for determining the viscosity of polymer solution

The relative viscosity η_r and, thus, the reduced viscosity η_sp/C of polymer solution could be obtained by recording the flow times of the polymer solution and the pure solvent in a capillary viscometer. Our experimental results indicated that the measurement of the flow time of the pure solvent was unnecessary. In particular, if the recorded flow time of the pure solvent was used to determine the viscosity of polymer solution, the reduced viscosity η_sp/C exhibited either a drastic increase or a significant decrease in an extremely dilute solution, depending upon the properties of the polymer solution investigated. In this research work, a new method for determining the viscosity of polymer solutions is reported. In the proposed method, the flow time of polymer solution at zero concentration, t₀^*, instead of the measured flow time of the pure solvent, was used to determine the viscosity of polymer solution. The reduced viscosity η_sp/C determined by the new method is proportional to concentration C even in an extremely dilute solution. The relative viscosity η_r vs. C plot also indicated clearly that t₀^*, instead of the measured flow time of the pure solvent, should be used for determining the viscosity of polymer solution. At low concentrations, the flow time of the polymer solution was proportional to C. As a result, t₀^* could be determined by extrapolating the flow time of the polymer solution to C=0.     

Tandem mass spectrometric approach for determining the structure of molecular species of ceramide in the marine sponge Haliclona cribricutis

Ceramides are important intracellular second messengers that play a role in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and programmed cell death. Analysis of these second messengers requires sensitive and specific analytical method to detect individual ceramide species and to differentiate between them. Eight molecular species of ceramide were identified from the marine sponge Haliclona cribricutis using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). From this marine sponge N-hencicosanoyl (N21:0) to N-hexasanoyl (N26:0) Octadecasphing-4 (E)-enine have been reported for the first time. The ESI-MS spectra gave several strong protonated molecular ion [M+H](+) with the corresponding bis (2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate adduct [M+H+DHEP](+). The collision induced dissociation (CID) on ceramides at m/z 622.7337, 636.7645, 650.7789, 664.7925 and 678.8130 conducted at low-collision energy produced well characteristic product ions at m/z 252.31, 264.32, 278.33, 282.33 and 296 .35 for d18:1 sphingosine regardless of the length of the fatty chain. The MS/MS of the Phthalate adduct [M+H+DHEP](+) at m/z 1013.1820, 1027.1971, 1041.2176, 1055.2394 and 1069.2573 also yielded characterizing product ions for sphingosine and confirmed the molecular ion at m/z 391 for bis (2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate. The major ions in the [M+H](+) and [M+H+DHEP](+) were due to neutral loss of [M+H-H(2)O](+) and [M+H(H(2)O)(2)](+).