Speciation of antimony(III) and antimony(V) in cell extracts by anion chromatography/ inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

An analytical method for the separation and quantification of Sb(III) and Sb(V) using anion chromatography with ICP-MS is presented. The optimum conditions for the separation of the antimony species were established with 15 mmol/L nitric acid at pH 6 as eluent system on a PRP-X100 column. The retention times for antimony(V) and antimony(III) were 85 s and 300 s with detection limits of 0.06 μg/L and 0.29 μg/L, respectively. The proposed method was applied to cell extracts of Leishmania donovani, which were incubated with antimony(III) and antimony(V). Some metabolism seemed to occur within the cells.     

Determination of trace concentrations of antimony by the introduction of stibine into an inductively-coupled plasma for atomic emission spectrometry

A simple, rapid and sensitive method is described for the determination of trace concentrations of antimony by inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry with hydride generation. Hydrochloric acid (1 M) is the best medium for stibine generation, but antimony(III) is also effectively reduced to stibine in 1 M malic acid or 0.5 M tartaric acid, whereas antimony(V) gives no significant signal in either of these acids. This permits the differential determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V). Most of the inter-element interference effects can be minimized by thiourea, bur standard additions are recommended for accurate determinations. Thiourea is also effective in prereducing Sb(V) to Sb(III). The detection limit is 0.19 ng Sb ml^?1 and the calibration graph is linear up to 100 μg ml^?1. The r.s.d, at 1 and 100 ng Sb ml^?1 are 3.8 and 2.1%, respectively. The method is applied to copper metal and to speciation of antimony in waste water.     

Superior Performance of a MoS2‐RGO Composite and a Borocarbonitride in the Electrochemical Detection of Dopamine,Uric Acid and Adenine

A MoS₂‐RGO composite and borocarbonitride (BC₅N) have been used as electrodes to selectively detect dopamine and uric acid in the presence of ascorbic acid. Both the electrodes show excellent eletrocatalytic activity towards the detection of dopamine, the detection limits being 0.55 μM and 2.1 μM in the case of MoS₂‐RGO and BCN respectively. MoS₂‐RGO shows a linear range of current over the 1–110 μM concentrations of dopamine, while BCN shows over the 2.3–20 μM range. BCN also exhibits satisfactory performance in the oxidation of uric acid with a detection limit of 3.8 μM and the linear range from 4 to 40 μM. The MoS₂‐RGO has also been used to detect adenine as well.     

Quantitative HPLC-ICP-MS analysis of antimony redox speciation in complex sample matrices: new insights into the Sb-chemistry causing poor chromatographic recoveries

In solution antimony exists either in the pentavalent or trivalent oxidation state. As Sb(III) is more toxic than Sb(V), it is important to be able to perform a quantitative speciation analysis of Sb's oxidation state. The most commonly applied chromatographic methods used for this redox speciation analysis do, however, often show a low chromatographic Sb recovery when samples of environmental or biological origin are analysed. In this study we explored basal chemistry of antimony and found that formation of macromolecules, presumably oligomeric and polymeric Sb(V) species, is the primary cause of low chromatographic recoveries. A combination of HPLC-ICP-MS, AFFF-ICP-MS and spin-filtration was applied for analysis of model compounds and biological samples. Quantitative chromatographic Sb redox speciation analysis was possible by acidic hydrolysis of the antimony polymers prior to analysis. Sample treatment procedures were studied and the optimum solution was acidic hydrolysis by 1 M HCl in the presence of chelating ligands (EDTA, citrate), which stabilise the trivalent oxidation state of Sb.     

Simultaneous determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) by partial least squares regression

A method for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of Sb(III) and Sb(V) using multivariate calibration method is proposed. This method is based on the development of the reaction between the analytes and pyrogallol red at pH 2.00. The selection of variables was studied. A series of synthetic solutions containing different concentrations of Sb(III) and Sb(V) were used to check the prediction ability of the partial least squares model. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.3-3.4 and 0.3-3.0 μg ml⁻¹ for Sb(III) and Sb(V), respectively. The detection limits were 0.177 and 0.200 μg ml⁻¹ for Sb(III) and Sb(V), respectively.     

Microcolumn sorption of antimony(III) chelate for antimony speciation studies

Selective sorption of the Sb(III) chelate with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) on a microcolumn packed with C₁₆-bonded silica gel phase was used for the determination of Sb(III) and of total inorganic antimony after reducing Sb(V) to Sb(III) by l-cysteine. A flow injection system composed of a microcolumn connected to the tip of the autosampler was used for preconcentration. The sorbed antimony was directly eluted with ethanol into the graphite furnace and determined by AAS. The detection limit for antimony was significantly lowered to 0.007 μg l⁻¹ in comparison to 1.7 μg l⁻¹ for direct injection GFAAS. This procedure was applied for speciation determinations of inorganic antimony in tap water, snow and urine samples. For the investigation of long-term stability of antimony species a flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry with quartz tube atomization (FI HG QT AAS) and GFAAS were used for selective determination of Sb(III) in the presence of Sb(V) and total content of antimony, respectively. Investigations on the stability of antimony in several natural samples spiked with Sb(III) and Sb(V) indicated instability of Sb(III) in tap water and satisfactory stability of inorganic Sb species in the presence of urine matrix.     

Speciation of antimony(III) and antimony(V) in cell extracts by anion chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

An analytical method for the separation and quantification of Sb(III) and Sb(V) using anion chromatography with ICP-MS is presented. The optimum conditions for the separation of the antimony species were established with 15 mmol/L nitric acid at pH 6 as eluent system on a PRP-X100 column. The retention times for antimony(V) and antimony(III) were 85 s and 300 s with detection limits of 0.06 microg/L and 0.29 microg/L, respectively. The proposed method was applied to cell extracts of Leishmania donovani, which were incubated with antimony(III) and antimony(V). Some metabolism seemed to occur within the cells.     

Differential determination of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V), and antimony(III) and antimony(V) by hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrophotometry,and its application to the determination of these species in sea water

A method is described for the differential determination of As(III) and As(V). and Sb(III) and Sb(V) by hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrophotometry with hydrogen-nitrogen flame using sodium borohydride solution as a reductant. For the determination of As(III) and Sb(III), most of the elements, other than Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Sn²⁺, Se⁴⁺ and Te⁴⁺, do not interfere in an at least 30,000 fold excess with respect to As(III) or Sb(III). This method was applied to the determination of these species in sea water and it was found that a sample size of only 100 ml is enough to determine them with a precision of 1.5–2.5%. Analytical results for surface sea water of Hiroshima Bay were 0.72 μgl^?1, 0.27 μgl^?1 and 0.22 μgl^?1 for As(total), As(III) and Sb(total), respectively, but Sb(III) was not detected in the present sample. The effect of acidification on storage was also examined.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of tyrosine by parallel rate-limiting proton transfer and multisite electron-proton transfer

The oxidation of the amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan by complexes based on M(bpy)33+ (M = Ru, Os) was studied by monitoring the cyclic voltammetry of the metal complex in the presence of the oxidizable amino acids. Addition of both amino acids to aqueous solutions of the metal complexes in phosphate buffer produced electrocatalytic enhancement in the oxidative wave observed at indium tin oxide electrodes. The kinetics for the oxidation by the Ru(III) and Os(III) forms was determined by digital simulation. The oxidation kinetics for tryptophan were consistent with outer-sphere electron transfer, giving an expected dependence of the oxidation rate constant on the reduction potential of the metal complex. In contrast, oxidation of tyrosine at pH 7.5 did not give an appreciable dependence on the metal complex potential. These results were explained by a kinetic model where proton transfer from tyrosine to phosphate can be the rate-limiting step in competition with a concerted, multisite electron-proton-transfer pathway that is observed at lower base concentrations. These results suggest that tyrosine oxidation in enzymes can access both pathways depending on the solvent accessibility of the oxidized residue and the availability of a suitable proton acceptor.     

Relevance of Sb(III), Sb(V), and Sb-containing nano-particles in urban atmospheric particulate matter

A quick and reliable analytical method for the separation and quantification of extractable Sb(III) and Sb(V) in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) by ion chromatography(IC)-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been optimized, validated on pairs of real, equivalent PM₁₀ samples and applied to a field monitoring campaign in a urban site. Both Sb(III) and Sb(V) forms were detected in real samples with Sb(III)/Sb(V) ratios up to 1.5. These two Sb species accounts only for a portion, of variable magnitude, of the total extractable Sb (10–70%); anyway, no other soluble Sb species were detected in the samples. The analysis of size-segregated samples collected by a 13-stage impactor showed that the recovery of [Sb(III) + Sb(V)] versus total extractable Sb is almost quantitative in the coarse fraction while it is below than 10% in the fine fraction. In the extracted solution from particles below 1 μm we could highlight the presence of Sb-containing suspended solid nano-particles, which probably constitute the missing fraction. The contribution of nano-particles can be estimated as the difference between ICP-MS and IC-ICP-MS data, as small size solid bodies are able to pass through the nebulizer and reach the plasma torch, while they are retained by the chromatographic column. The aggregation state of these nano-particles seems to be easily altered when they are suspended in a water solution; a similar behavior could be hypothesized when in contact with biological fluids. It has been confirmed that brake pad abrasion is the prevalent source of Sb(III) in PM and that Sb(V) may be formed by oxidation during the braking processes. Differing from other environmental matrices, there is no evidence of any spontaneous oxidative conversion within the two species.     

Adsorption of radioisotopes from their organic solutions on filter papers the Sb(III)-nonpolar solvents-system

The extraction of Sb(III) chloride by nonpolar solvents from 0.15M HCl was studied as a function of sulphuric acid concentrations in the aqueous phase. The distribution of Sb(III) chloride between the nonpolar solvents benzene, toluene, xylene, nitrobenzene, cyclohexane, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride and filter paper is reported. In case of benzene the Sb(III) activity (given in counts·s^–1·ml^–1) decreases from 1500 to 200 after 24 hours. The corresponding values are about 1200 and 540 for toluene, 1330 and 50 for xylene, 1050 and 700 for nitrobezene, 1080 and 22 for cyclohexane, 330 and 30 for chloroform and 130 and 40 for carbon tetrachloride. More than 95% of the adsorbed Sb(III) is desorbed by 1M HNO₃, 1M HCl or 0.5M H₂SO₄ by contacting the loaded filter paper with any of these acids for 27 hours.     

Determination of antimony (III) and (V) by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry

Re-evaluation of DPASV procedures for determining low levels of Sb (III) and Sb (V) in solution identified several problem areas, e.g. anomalous ASV behaviour, possible formation of an intermediate valency state during the analytical cycle, and chemical interactions in acidified test solutions containing both valency states. Specific determination of Sb (III) can be achieved using base solutions composed of 0.2M HCl (detection limit 10 nM) or acetic acid/acetate buffer (detection limit 600 nM). For the determination of Sb (V), analysis in 2M HCl is recommended [with response in 0.2M HCl being used to correct for any Sb (III) present].     

A Toolbox for Glutamine Use in Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization: from Enzymatic Reaction Monitoring to the Study of Cellular Metabolic Pathways and Imaging

Glutamine is under scrutiny regarding its metabolic deregulation linked to energetic reprogramming in cancer cells. Many analytical techniques have been used to better understand the impact of the metabolism of amino acids on biological processes, however only a few are suited to work with complex samples. Here, we report the use of a general dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (D-DNP) formulation using an unexpensive radical as a multipurpose tool to study glutamine, with insights from enzymatic modelling to complex metabolic networks and fast imaging. First, hyperpolarized [5-¹³C] glutamine is used as molecular probe to study the kinetic action of two enzymes: L-asparaginase that has been used as an anti-metabolic treatment for cancer, and glutaminase. These results are also compared with those acquired with another hyperpolarized amino acid, [1,4-¹³C] asparagine. Second, we explored the use of hyperpolarized (HP) substrates to probe metabolic pathways by monitoring metabolic profiles arising from hyperpolarized glutamine in E. coli extracts. Finally, a highly concentrated sample formulation is proposed for the purpose of fast imaging applications. We think that this approach can be extended to formulate other amino acids as well as other metabolites and provide complementary insights into the analysis of metabolic networks.     

Metabolic studies on the total phenolic acids from the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza in rats

Phenolic acids are the main active constituents of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. The metabolism of total phenolic acids from the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza in rats was investigated. A sample preparation method combining the solid-phase extraction with liquid-liquid extraction was established to separate metabolites from the biological matrix. HPLC-UV and HPLC-MS methods were employed to analyze the metabolites. Five metabolites (M1-M5) were identified by HPLC-MS analysis and comparison with those of the reference standards. The fi ve metabolites were characterized as danshensu (M1), caffeic acid (M2), ferulic acid (M3), isoferulic acid (M4) and methylized ferulic acid (M5), respectively. The possible metabolic pathway of the phenolic acids is proposed.     

Simultaneous Determination of Carbohydrates and Amino Acids by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis with Constant Potential Amperometric Detection at a Copper Electrode

Capillary zone electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection at a copper microdisk electrode (100 μm in diameter) was successfully applied for simultaneous determination of carbohydrates and amino acids. Under the separation voltage of 27 kV and the separation electrolyte of 80 mM NaOH in a 75 cm fused silica capillary (10 μm i.d. × 375 μmU o.d.), complete separation of a standard mixture containing 9 carbohydrates and 12 amino acids was achieved in less than 25 min. With the electrokinetical injection of 5.4 s at 27 kV and the detection potential of 0.62 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.22–0.65 ppm (1.2–1.9 μM) for carbohydrates and 0.31–6.5 ppm (2.3–39 μM) for amino acids, respectively. The calculated numbers of theoretical plates were between 41,000 and 190,000. The use of this method for analysis of carbohydrates and amino acids in a urine sample was demonstrated.     

Hollow fiber supported liquid membrane extraction coupled with thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in environmental and biological samples

A new method of hollow fiber supported liquid membrane extraction (HF-SLME) coupled with thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (TS-FF-AAS) for the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in environmental and biological samples has been developed. The method is based on the complex of Sb(III) with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC). The formed hydrophobic complex is subsequently extracted into the lumen of hollow fiber, whereas Sb(V) is remained in aqueous solutions. The extraction organic phase was injected into TS-FF-AAS for the determination of Sb(III). Total Sb concentration was determined after reduction of Sb(V) to Sb(III) in the presence of l-cysteine and the extraction procedure mentioned above. Sb(V) was calculated by subtracting of Sb(III) from the total Sb. DDTC was used as complexing reagent. 1-Octanol was immobilized in the pores of the polypropylene hollow fiber as liquid membrane and also used as the acceptor solution. Some parameters that influenced extraction and determination were evaluated in detail, such as concentration of sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), type of organic solvent, pH of samples, stirring rates, extraction time, as well as interferences. Under optimized conditions, a detection limit of 0.8 ng mL⁻¹ and an enrichment factor of 160 were achieved. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 6.2% for Sb(III) (50 ng mL⁻¹, n = 5). The proposed method was successfully applied to the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) in environmental and biological samples with satisfactory results.     

Speciation analysis of inorganic Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions by using mini column filled with Amberlite XAD-8 resin

The speciation of inorganic Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions in aqueous solution was studied. The adsorption behavior of Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions were investigated as iodo and ammonium pyrollidine dithiocarbamate (APDC) complexes on a column filled with Amberlite XAD-8 resin. Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions were recovered quantitatively and simultaneously from a solution containing 0.8 M NaI and 0.2 M H₂SO₄ by the XAD-8 column. Sb(III) ions were also adsorbed quantitatively as an APDC complex, but the recovery of the Sb(V)-APDC complex was found to be <10% at pH 5. According to these data, the concentrations of total antimony as Sb(III)+Sb(V) ions and Sb(III) ion were determined with XAD-8/NaI+H₂SO₄ and XAD-8/APDC systems, respectively. The Sb(V) ion concentration was calculated by subtracting the Sb(III) concentration found with XAD-8/APDC system from the total antimony concentration found with XAD-8/NaI+H₂SO₄ system. The developed method was applied to determine Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions in samples of artificial seawater and wastewater.     

Electrolytic hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of antimony, arsenic, selenium, and tin – mechanistic aspects and figures of merit

This article deals with the electrocatalytic and electrochemical mechanisms of hydride formation and their dependence on hydrogen overvoltage. A three-electrode-arrangement was used to determine the hydrogen overvoltage of different cathode materials (Pt, Au, Ag, glassy carbon, Cd, Pb, amalgamated Ag). The applicability of these cathode materials was tested for hydride formation using As(III), As(V), Sb(III), Sb(V), Se(IV), and Sn(IV). Glassy carbon is the most suitable cathode material for hydride generation with As(III), Sb(III), Se(IV), and Sn(IV). Hg–Ag is well suited for the production of stibine and arsine. As(III), As(V), Sb(III), and Sb(V) were all converted into their hydrides with efficiencies > 90%. A detection limit in the range of 0.11–0.13 μg L^–1 for As and Sb (sample volume 200 μL) was obtained for cathode materials with a high hydrogen overvoltage. The precision of replicate measurements was better than 5% calculated as variation coefficient. The accuracy of the presented method was verified by analysis of certified reference materials and tissues of cancer patients. The recovery rates for As and Se were calculated to be 93–108%.     

Speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) by pH-control using three inorganic acids (hydrochloric, phosphoric and sulphuric)

Summary A method is described for the speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) using HG-AAS. The efficiency of stibine generation using different pH, from Sb(III) and Sb(V) solutions, was tested. At high pH-values Sb(V) is not reduced to form stibine, Sb(III) being selectively determined. The three acids HCl, H₂SO₄ and H₃PO₄ at controlled pH were used to generate stibine, H₃PO₄ being the most satisfactory for antimony speciation. The interference of Sb(V) was studied for the case of Sb(III) determination with stibine generation in H₃PO₄ medium (pH 1.81). The speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) is possible up to a ratio of 1:9.     

Modern analytical techniques in metabolomics analysis

Metabolomics is the comprehensive assessment of endogenous metabolites and attempts to systematically identify and quantify metabolites from a biological sample. Small-molecule metabolites have an important role in biological systems and represent attractive candidates to understand disease phenotypes. Metabolites represent a diverse group of low-molecular-weight structures including lipids, amino acids, peptides, nucleic acids, organic acids, vitamins, thiols and carbohydrates, which makes global analysis a difficult challenge. The recent rapid development of a range of analytical platforms, including GC, HPLC, UPLC, CE coupled to MS and NMR spectroscopy, could enable separation, detection, characterization and quantification of such metabolites and related metabolic pathways. Owing to the complexity of the metabolome and the diverse properties of metabolites, no single analytical platform can be applied to detect all metabolites in a biological sample. The combined use of modern instrumental analytical approaches has unravelled the ideal outcomes in metabolomics, and is beneficial to increase the coverage of detected metabolites that can not be achieved by single-analysis techniques. Integrated platforms have been frequently used to provide sensitive and reliable detection of thousands of metabolites in a biofluid sample. Continued development of these analytical platforms will accelerate widespread use and integration of metabolomics into systems biology. Here, the application of each hyphenated technique is discussed and its strengths and limitations are discussed with selected illustrative examples; furthermore, this review comprehensively highlights the role of integrated tools in metabolomic research.