Determination of aculeatisides based on immunoassay using a polyclonal antibody against aculeatiside A

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for determination of aculeatisides. Aculeatiside A was conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) for immunization. The ratio of hapten in an antigen conjugate was determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization TOF mass spectrometry. Polyclonal antibody was developed in rabbits against an aculeatiside A-BSA conjugate. The antibody was specific for aculeatiside A and aculeatiside B. The range of the immunoassay extended from 100 ng ml(-1) to 5 pg ml(-1) of aculeatisides. Good correlation between ELISA and HPLC methods was obtained when crude extracts of plant samples were analyzed. The optimized ELISA was found to be applicable to the determination of total aculeatisides in various plant samples.     

Group-selective antibodies based fluorescence immunoassay for monitoring opiate drugs

A novel carboxylic acid derivative of monoacetylmorphine (MAM-COOH) was synthesized and conjugated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) for generating polyclonal antibodies against the target molecule heroin and its major metabolites. The conjugate was characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry to confirm the extent of haptenization of the carrier protein. A high titer (1:64,0000) of antibody was obtained by using the conjugate with an optimum protein/hapten molar ratio of 1:100. The generated antibody showed good binding affinity with heroin and its metabolites monoacetylmorphine (MAM) and morphine. The relative affinity constant (K (aff)) of the antibody was 3.1 x 10(7) l mol(-1), and the IC(50) values obtained for heroin, MAM, morphine, and codeine were 0.01, 0.013, 0.012, and 0.014 ng ml(-1), respectively. A fluorescence-based competitive inhibition immunoassay procedure was developed for the estimation of heroin and its major metabolites in standard and biofludic samples over a concentration range up to 0.01 ng ml(-1) with good signal reproducibility (p < 0.05). The method can be used as a convenient quantitative tool for the sensitive screening of major metabolites of heroin in biological samples.     

Behaviour of the dithiocarbamate complexes of arsenic, antimony, bismuth, mercury, lead, tin and selenium in methanol with a hydride generator

A study was carried out with a continuous hydride generator coupled to an atomic emission spectrometer with inductively-coupled plasma to determine whether hydrides of As, Bi, Pb, Sb, Sn and Se and mercury vapor could be generated in methanol solutions of their dithiocarbamate complexes. It was found that (with the exception of Pb) hydride generation with sufficient efficiency for simultaneous multi-element determination is achieved using 0.25% NaBH(4)-0.6 mol 1(-1) HCl as reaction medium. The detection limit was found to be 0.2 ng ml(-1) for As, 30 ng ml(-1) for Bi, 0.03 ng ml(-1) for Se, Sb and Sn.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination and metabolic study of sennoside a in daiokanzoto by mouse intestinal bacteria

Daiokanzoto (DKT, combination of rhubarb and glycyrrhiza), a Kampo medicine, is clinically effective for constipation. Sennoside A is well known to induce diarrhea. Sennoside A is a prodrug that is transformed into an active metabolite, rheinanthrone, by intestinal bacteria. In this study, we investigated the effects of glycyrrhiza on the activity of sennoside A metabolism in intestinal bacteria using mouse feces. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of sennoside A in incubation mixture of DKT with mouse feces was established. The retention time of sennoside A was 9.26±0.02 min with a TSKgel ODS-80TsQA column by linear gradient elution using a mobile phase containing aqueous phosphoric acid and acetonitrile and detection at 265 nm. We found that the activity of sennoside A metabolism in intestinal bacteria was significantly accelerated when glycyrrhiza, liquiritin or liquiritin apioside coexisted with sennoside A, whereas that of glycyrrhizin was not altered. This method is applicable for determination of the activity of sennoside A metabolism by anaerobic incubation of DKT with mouse feces.     

A new electrochemical enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the screening of macrolide antibiotic residues in bovine meat.

A new sensitive electrochemical enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of two macrolides (erythromycin and tylosin) in bovine muscle was developed, using the mouse monoclonal antibodies anti-erythromycin and anti-tylosin. The competitive indirect assay was performed using an erythromycin (or tylosin)-BSA conjugate as a coating molecule; after competition between free and coated analytes for the antibodies, the activity of the horseradish peroxidase-labelled antiglobulins was measured electrochemically using 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) as substrate. The detection limit of the assay was 0.4 ng ml(-1) for erythromycin and 4.0 ng ml(-1) for tylosin, while the sensitivity (25% inhibition concentration) was 1.4 ng ml(-1) for erythromycin and 13.0 ng ml(-1) for tylosin. The specificity of the assay was assessed by studying the cross-reactivity of various macrolides other than erythromycin and tylosin. The results indicate that the monoclonal antibodies anti-erythromycin and anti-tylosin can readily distinguish the target compound from other macrolides, with the exception of roxithromycin, a semisynthetic macrolide antibiotic derived from erythromycin. Fortified and real samples were analysed by the developed ELISA method and results confirmed by micro-LC-MS-MS using an atmospheric pressure ionisation (API) source and an ionspray (IS) interface. The latter provides unequivocal identification and quantification of the analytes at the level of interest. The ELISA assay showed precision (RSD) values ranging from 6.3 to 11.4% for erythromycin and from 7.5 to 12.6% for tylosin; the accuracy (relative error, RE) ranged from -16.0 to -9.8% and from -9.5 to 8.0% for erythromycin and tylosin, respectively. All results obtained demonstrate that the electrochemical ELISA is a suitable method for a sensitive, simple, rapid and reliable screening of the two macrolides in animal tissues.     

Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide sensitized resonance light-scattering of nucleic acid--Pyronine B and its analytical application

This is the first report on the determination of nucleic acids with Pyronine B (PB) sensitized by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) with resonance light-scattering (RLS) technique. Under the experimental conditions (1 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) PB, 1 x 10(-5) mol l(-1) CTMAB, pH 7.4, at room temperature, ionic strength 0.02 mol l(-1) NaCl), the interaction of PB with DNA sensitized by CTMAB results in enhanced RLS signals at 328 and 377 nm in the enhanced regions. It was found that the enhanced RLS intensity at 328 nm was proportional to the concentration of DNA in the suitable ranges. The linear range of this assay is 0.0-1.2 microg ml(-1) for calf thymus, 0.0-0.8 microg ml(-1) for fish sperm DNA (fsDNA), and 0.04-1.4 microg ml(-1) for yeast RNA, respectively. The detection limits (3 sigma) are 6.1 ng ml(-1) for calf thymus DNA (ctDNA), 11.2 ng ml(-1) for fish sperm DNA, and 8.6 ng ml(-1) for yeast RNA, respectively. Six synthetic samples were determined satisfactorily. This method is simple, rapid and the dye is inexpensive and stable.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of less polar ginsenosides in processed ginseng

A novel method for the determination of iodide by size exclusion chromatography was established. The method was simple and highly sensitive with good precision. Iodide was converted to iodine, then sequestered with starch, and separated from the matrix using a Shim-pack DIOL-150 (250 x 7.9 mm) size exclusion column with methanol-0.01 mol l(-1) aqueous phosphoric acid (10:90, v/v) as mobile phase at 1.2 ml min(-1) and UV detection at 224 nm. The calibration graph was linear from 1.0 ng ml(-1) to 100.0 ng ml(-1) for iodide with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 (n=6). The detection limit was 0.2 ng ml(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of iodide in seawater and urine. The recovery was from 92% to 103% and the relative standard deviation was in the range of 1.5% to 3.7%.     

Response Surface Methodology (RSM)-Based Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Sennoside A,Sennoside B,Aloe-Emodin,Emodin, and Chrysophanol from Senna alexandrina (Aerial Parts): HPLC-UV and Antioxidant Analysis

In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions were optimized to maximize the yields of sennoside A, sennoside B, aloe-emodin, emodin, and chrysophanol from S. alexandrina (aerial parts). The three UAE factors, extraction temperature (S₁), extraction time (S₂), and liquid to solid ratio (S₃), were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). A Box–Behnken design was used for experimental design and phytoconstituent analysis was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. The optimal extraction conditions were found to be a 64.2 °C extraction temperature, 52.1 min extraction time, and 25.2 mL/g liquid to solid ratio. The experimental values of sennoside A, sennoside B, aloe-emodin, emodin, and chrysophanol (2.237, 12.792, 2.457, 0.261, and 1.529%, respectively) agreed with those predicted (2.152, 12.031, 2.331, 0.214, and 1.411%, respectively) by RSM models, thus demonstrating the appropriateness of the model used and the accomplishment of RSM in optimizing the extraction conditions. Excellent antioxidant properties were exhibited by S. alexandrina methanol extract obtained using the optimized extraction conditions with a DPPH assay (IC50 = 59.7 ± 1.93, µg/mL) and ABTS method (47.2 ± 1.40, µg/mL) compared to standard ascorbic acid.     

Determination of Mo, U and B in waters by electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of Mo, U and B in waters by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, using an electrothermal vaporizer for sample introduction, is described. For Mo and U, NH(4)F was chosen as modifier and for B, synthetic sea water plus mannitol were used. The modifier effect was verified and the optimized pyrolysis and vaporization temperatures were obtained from pyrolysis and vaporization curves, together with the transient signals of the analytes. The masses of the modifiers added to the tube were also optimized. The detection limits were 0.018 or 0.30 ng ml(-1) for Mo, 0.03 ng ml(-1) for U and 0.68 ng ml(-1) for B. The analytes were determined in certified waters and the obtained results agree with the certified or recommended values or, in the case of B in sea waters, with the values obtained by other methods. Uranium could not be measured in the sea water samples due to strong memory effect.     

A simple and sensitive assay for the quantitative analysis of paclitaxel in human and mouse plasma and brain tumor tissue using coupled liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

The development and validation of an assay for the determination of paclitaxel in human plasma, human brain tumor tissue, mouse plasma and mouse brain tumor tissue is described. Paclitaxel was extracted from the matrices using liquid-liquid extraction with tert-butyl methyl ether, followed by chromatographic analysis using an alkaline eluent. Positive ionization electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was performed for selective and sensitive detection. The method was validated according to the FDA guidelines on bioanalytical method validation. Validation results indicate that calibration standards in human plasma can be used to quantify paclitaxel in all tested matrices. In human samples, the validated range for paclitaxel was from 0.25-1000 ng ml(-1) using 200 microl plasma aliquots and from 5 to 5000 ng g(-1) using 50 microl tumor homogenate aliquots (0.2 g tissue ml(-1) control human plasma). In mice, the ranges were 1-1000 ng ml(-1) and 5-5000 ng g(-1) using 50 microl of mouse plasma and 50 microl of tumor homogenate aliquots (0.2 g tissue ml(-1) control human plasma), respectively. The method can be applied to studies generating only small sample volumes (e.g. mouse plasma and tumor tissue), but also to studies in human plasma requiring a lower limit of quantitation. The assay was applied successfully to several studies with both human and mouse samples.     

Spectrophotometric determination of osmium based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of carminic acid by hydrogen peroxide

A highly sensitive spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of trace amounts of osmium(VIII), based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of carminic acid by hydrogen peroxide. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of carminic acid at 540 nm after 3 min of mixing the reagents. The optimum reaction conditions were 1x10(-4) mol l(-1) carminic acid, 0.013 mol l(-1) hydrogen peroxide and pH 10 at 25 degrees C. By using the recommended procedure, the calibration graph was linear from 0.1 to 1.5 ng ml(-1) of osmium; the detection limit was 0.02 ng ml(-1); the RSD for five replicate determinations of 0.2-1.4 ng ml(-1) was in the range of 1.8-4.7%. The influence of several foreign ions on osmium determination were studied and the effect of interfering ions were removed by extracting osmium into isobuthyl methyl ketone and back extracting into sodium hydroxide solution.     

Simultaneous determination of anthraquinones, their 8-beta-D-glucosides, and sennosides of Rhei Rhizoma by capillary electrophoresis

The simultaneous separation and determination of major anthraquinones (emodin, chrysophanol, rhein and their glucosides, aloe-emodin, sennoside A, and sennoside B) of Rhei Rhizoma were achieved by cyclodextrin modified capillary zone electrophoresis. The running electrolyte used in this method was 0.005 M alpha-cyclodextrin in 0.03 M borate buffer (pH 10.0) containing 20% acetonitrile, with an applied voltage of 20 kV.     

Flow-injection photometric determination of sub-nanogram amounts of cobalt by its catalysis of the oxidative coupling of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone with N,N-dimethylaniline in a micellar medium

A catalytic flow-injection photometric method was developed for the determination of levels of cobalt as low as 10(-10) mol 1(-1). The method is based on the catalytic action of cobalt(II) on the oxidative coupling of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone with N,N-dimethylaniline to form a colored dye (lambda(max) = 590 nm) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The extremely activating effect was obtained in the presence of 1,2-dihydroxybenzene-3,5-disulfonate (Tiron) and sodium hydrogencarbonate as activators. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the method was enhanced by adding sodium dodecylsulfate as a surfactant. Linear calibration graphs were obtained over the range 0.04-0.2 ng ml(-1) and 0.1-0.5 ng ml(-1) cobalt(II). respectively, at a sampling rate of 30 per hour. The detection limit (signal/noise = 3) was 5 pg ml(-1) and the relative standard deviations for 0.1 and 0.04 ng ml(-1) cobalt (n = 10) were 1.0 and 2.3%, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of cobalt in pepperbush.     

The surface-enhanced Raman spectra of aflatoxins: spectral analysis, density functional theory calculation, detection and differentiation

High-quality surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of aflatoxin (AF) B(1), B(2), G(1) and G(2) have been acquired using silver nanorod (AgNR) array substrates fabricated by oblique angle deposition method. Significant vibrational peaks are identified on the argon plasma-cleaned substrates, and those peaks agree very well with the Raman spectra calculated by density function theory (DFT). The concentration-dependent SERS detection is also explored. The relationship between the concentration (C) of different AFs and the SERS intensity (I) of the Raman peak at Δν = 1592 cm(-1) is found to follow the general relationship I = AC(α), with α ranging from 0.32 to 0.46 for the four AFs. The limits of detection (LODs) reach 5 × 10(-5) mol L(-1) for AFB(1), 1 × 10(-4) mol L(-1) for AFB(2), and 5 × 10(-6) mol L(-1) for both AFG(1) and AFG(2) in bulk solution, or 6.17 × 10(-16) mol/1.93 × 10(-4) ng of AFB(1), 1.23 × 10(-15) mol/3.88 × 10(-4) ng for AFB(2), 6.17 × 10(-17) mol/2.03 × 10(-5) ng for AFG(1), and 6.17 × 10(-17) mol/2.04 × 10(-5) ng for AFG(2) per laser spot. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to successfully differentiate these four different kinds of AFs at different concentrations up to their detection limits. The LODs obtained from PCA agree with the LODs obtained by using peak fitting method. With such a low detection limit and outstanding differentiation ability, we prove the possibility of utilizing the SERS detection system as a platform for highly sensitive mycotoxin detection.     

Quantitative analysis of ES-285, an investigational marine anticancer drug,in human,mouse, rat,and dog plasma using coupled liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

A method was developed for the quantitative analysis of the novel anticancer agent ES-285 (spisulosine; free base) in human, mouse, rat, and dog plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in order to support pre-clinical and clinical studies with the drug. Sample preparation was carried out by protein precipitation with acetonitrile, containing isotopically labeled (d(3)) ES-285 as internal standard. Aliquots of 10 micro l of the supernatant were injected directly on to an Inertsil ODS-3 column (50 x 2.0 mm i.d., 5 micro m). Elution was carried out using methanol-10 mM ammonium formate (pH 4) in water (80 : 20, v/v) pumped at a flow-rate of 0.2 ml min(-1) with a run time of 8 min. Multiple reaction monitoring chromatograms obtained on an API365 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer were used for quantification. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 10 ng ml(-1) in human, mouse, rat, and dog plasma and the linear dynamic range extended to 500 ng ml(-1). A full validation of the method was performed in human plasma, and partial validations were performed in mouse, rat and dog plasma. Accuracies and precisions were <20% at the LLOQ concentration and <15% for all other concentrations in all matrices. ES-285 was stable during all steps of the assay. Thus far this method has been used successfully to analyze over 500 samples in pre-clinical trials, and will be implemented in the planned clinical phase I studies.     

超痕量铑的催化动力学分析研究

在氯化钠存在的磷酸介质中，铑（Ⅲ）对高碘酸钾氧化罗丹明Ｂ裉色的反应具有强烈的催化作用，该催化反应对罗丹明Ｂ和铑（Ⅲ）均为一级反应，反应的表观活化能为６８．３８ｋＪ／ｍｏｌ。以该反应为指示反应建立的动力学光度法可测定０．０３－２．５ｎｇ／２５ｍｌ的铑，考察了３０多种离子的干扰情况，本法选择性好。     

Determination of vitamin B12 in multivitamin tablets and fermentation medium by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A novel method for the determination of vitamin B12 by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection is reported. The method was simple and highly sensitive with good precision. Vitamin B12 was analyzed by HPLC on a muBondapak C18 column (300x3.9 mm, 10 microm) with methanol-water (30:70) as mobile phase and fluorescence detection at 305 nm (with excitation at 275 nm). The calibration graph was linear from 1.000 to 100.0 ng ml(-1) for vitamin B12 with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 (n=6). The detection limit was 0.1 ng ml(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of vitamin B12 in vitamin B12 tablets, multivitamin tablets and fermentation medium. The recovery was from 94 to 102% and the relative standard deviation was in the range of 1.8 to 4.1%.     

Determination of ivermectin B(1a) in animal plasma by liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A novel, sensitive and specific method for the quantitative determination of ivermectin B(1a) in animal plasma using liquid chromatography combined with positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) is presented. Abamectin was used as the internal standard. Extraction of the samples was performed with a deproteinization step using acetonitrile. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Nucleosil ODS 5 microm column, using gradient elution with 0.2% (v/v) acetic acid in water and 0.2% (v/v) acetic acid in acetonitrile. The method was validated according to the requirements defined by the European Community. Calibration curves using plasma fortified between 1 and 100 ng ml(-1) showed a good linear correlation (r > or = 0.9989, goodness-of-fit coefficient < or =8.1%). The trueness at 2 and 25 ng ml(-1) (n = 6) was +4.2 and -17.1%, respectively. The trueness and between-run precision for the analysis of quality control samples at 25 ng ml(-1) was -4.0 and 11.0%, respectively (n = 16). The limit of quantification of the method was 1.0 ng ml(-1), for which the trueness and precision also fell within acceptable limits. Using a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 : 1, the limit of detection was calculated to be 0.2 ng ml(-1). The specificity was demonstrated with respect to ivermectin B(1b).The method was successfully used for the quantitative determination of ivermectin B(1a) in plasma samples from treated bovines, demonstrating the usefulness of the developed method for application in the field of pharmacokinetics.     

Determination of Total Sennosides and Sennosides A,B, and A1 in Senna Leaflets,Pods, and Tablets by Two-Dimensional qNMR

In the present work, a two-dimensional qNMR method for the determination of sennosides was established. Using band-selective HSQC and the cross correlations of the characteristic 10–10’ bonds, we quantified the total amount of the value-determining dianthranoids in five minutes, thus, rendering the method not only fast, but also specific and stability indicating. The validation of the method revealed excellent accuracy (recovery rates of 98.5 to 103%), precision (RSD values of 3.1%), and repeatability (2.2%) and demonstrated the potential of 2D qNMR in the quality control of medicinal plants. In a second method, the use of 2D qNMR for the single analysis of sennosides A, B, and A₁ was evaluated with acceptable measurement times (31 min), accuracy (93.8%), and repeatability (5.4% and 5.6%) for the two major purgatives sennoside A and B. However, the precision for sennoside B and A₁ was not satisfactory, mainly due to the low resolution of the HSQC signals of the two compounds.     

Antigen synthetic strategy and immunoassay development for detection of acrylamide in foods

Acrylamide, a toxic and carcinogenic compound, has been found to be present in a range of processed starchy foods. To prepare an effective immunogen compound for acrylamide, N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS) was conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) at a high molar ratio of 21.2:1. Antisera were obtained by immunization of rabbits with additional booster injections of the NAS-BSA conjugate after the regular process. The IgGs purified by an ammonium sulfate precipitation method were further fractionated with a BSA-immobilized immunoaffinity column. The affinity constant between the collected antibody and coated antigen (NAS-ovalbumin) is found to be 6.7 x 10(7) L mol(-1). Asparagine, the key precursor of acrylamide formation in foods, showed negligible cross-reactivity to the antibody. A biotin-avidin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (BA-ELISA) was developed and the optimum assay medium was found to be 0.1 mol L(-1) NaHCO(3) (pH 8.3, containing 0.5 mol L(-1) NaCl). The BA-ELISA afforded a practical sensitivity with a working range of 10-100,000 ng mL(-1) and a detection limit of 6 ng mL(-1). The assay was applied to detect acrylamide in potato fries and biscuits and the quantitative results were in good agreement with those obtained by the high-performance liquid chromatography method. This immunoassay will be very useful for monitoring acrylamide in food samples.