Determining and reporting purity of organic molecules: why qNMR

Although NMR has been routinely used to determine/estimate relative number of protons for structure elucidation, it has been rarely used to determine and report the purity of organic compounds. Through this paper, we want to emphasize on routine use of quantitative NMR (qNMR) for this purpose. The results of qNMR can be routinely considered as documentation of purity much like other established methods (HPLC, elemental analysis and differential scanning calorimetry). qNMR is a fast, easy, accurate and non‐destructive alternate to speed up the whole analytical process and serves the purpose of both identification and purity determination of compounds using single technique. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative NMR (qNMR) for pharmaceutical analysis: The pioneering work of George Hanna at the US FDA

In the last two decades, quantitative NMR (qNMR) has become increasingly important for the analysis of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and natural products including dietary supplements. For the purpose of quality control and chemical standardization of a large variety of pharmaceutical, chemical, and medicinal products, qNMR has proven to be a valuable orthogonal quantification method and a compelling alternative to chromatographic techniques. This work reviews a fundamental component of the early development of qNMR, reflected in the pioneering work of the late George M. Hanna during the years between 1984 and 2006 at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Because Hanna performed the majority of his groundbreaking work on a 90‐MHz instrument, his legacy output connects with recent progress in low‐field benchtop NMR instrumentation. Hanna gradually established the utility of qNMR for the routine quality control analyses practiced in pharmaceutical and related operations well ahead of his peers. His work has the potential to inspire new developments in qNMR applied to small molecules of biomedical importance.     

定量核磁法测定CL-20标准物质中有机杂质的含量

采用定量核磁共振波谱法(qNMR)测定六硝基六氮杂异伍兹烷(CL-20)标准物质中有机杂质的含量。核磁谱图解析证明,主要有机杂质成分为残余溶剂乙酸乙酯和中间体五硝基-乙酰基六氮杂异伍兹烷(MPIW),以不含四甲基硅烷(TMS)的氘代丙酮为溶剂,将六甲基二硅醚的四氯化碳标准溶液加入待测液中作为内标,以其谱峰(δ=0.06)作为内标峰对两种有机杂质进行定量分析。考察了延迟时间和采样次数对准确定量的影响,结果显示为确保定量结果的准确性,延迟时间D_1应不小于20 s,采样次数为32次。采用优化后的实验参数进行纯度分析,测得CL-20标准物质中有机杂质乙酸乙酯和MPIW的质量分数分别为0.03516%和0.156 2%,相对标准偏差(RSD)分别为0.91%和0.86%。     

保健食品中壮阳类西药成分的核磁共振氢谱定量分析

建立了保健食品中枸橼酸西地那非、他达拉非、伐地那非的核磁共振氢谱定量(1H q NMR)分析方法。采用布鲁克Avance DRX 500超导核磁共振波谱仪,以氘代二甲亚砜为溶剂,2,3,5-三碘苯甲酸为内标物,优化了仪器采集参数,并进行了方法验证。结果表明:当内标添加量为2 mg、内标与待测化合物摩尔比在1∶0.1~1∶1.2范围时,标准曲线线性良好,相关系数(r2)不小于0.999;枸橼酸西地那非、他达拉非、伐地那非的检出限分别为0.045,0.026,0.033 mg/m L,定量下限分别为0.218,0.128,0.159 mg/m L;日内精密度RSD值分别为0.38%,0.85%,0.34%;日间精密度RSD值分别为0.72%,1.2%,1.4%。利用所建立的方法对13种实际样品进行定量分析;并将测试结果与HPLC-DAD法测试结果进行比较,两种测试结果的RSD在1%~8%之间。     

Structural and spectral assignments of six anthraquinone derivatives from the mangrove fungus (ZSUH-36)

A new natural product named 6,8,1'-tri-O-methyl averantin (1) has been isolated together with five known anthraquinones 1'-O-methyl averantin (2), 6,8-di-O-methyl averufin (3) averufin (4), versicolorin C (5) and 6,8-di-O-methyl averufanin (6) from a mangrove endophytic fungus ZSUH-36 collected from the South China Sea. NMR techniques including COSY, HMQC, and HMBC were used to elucidate the structures of these compounds. We report the unambiguous assignments of the (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra of the new compound 6,8,1'-tri-O-methyl averantin(1).     

1H NMR assignment and secondary structure of recombinant RGD-hirudin

The conformation of a new recombinant RGD-hirudin, which has the activities of anti-thrombin and anti-platelet aggregation, was investigated by multi-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The 1H NMR spectra of this protein are assigned in a sequential manner by using a combination of 2D NMR techniques to demonstrate through-bond and through-space (<5 A) connectivities. The secondary structure of recombinant RGD-hirudin was deduced from chemical shift indices, sequential NOEs and 3J(HNalpha) coupling constants. The results show that the recombinant RGD-hirudin has two anti-parallel beta-sheets and no alpha-helix, and also that the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) binding motif of this protein is located at the end of a long arm, which consists of two anti-parallel beta-strands (residues 26-31 and 36-41). As the strands are connected by a beta-turn, the recombinant RGD-hirudin acquires high flexibility and inhibits platelet aggregation more effectively.     

The use of MPA amide for the assignment of absolute configuration of a sterically hindered cyclic secondary amine by 'mix and shake' NMR method

We present here a new method using methoxyphenylacetic acid (MPA) as the chiral derivatizing agent (CDA) for the assignment of absolute configuration of cyclic secondary amines. The MPA amides were prepared using the purification-free 'mix and shake' method. A detailed conformational analysis for the two diastereomeric amides was conducted by 2D NMR experiments and molecular mechanics calculations. We have established that, in the most stable conformation of each syn rotamer of MPA amides, the H-alpha in the MPA moiety is oriented toward the bulky substituent group at the asymmetric carbon in the chiral amine, presumably to avoid steric and/or electrostatic interactions. The observed NMR data were correlated with the conformational model to allow unambiguous assignment of absolute configuration of secondary amines. The results demonstrate that the MPA can be used as a useful CDA in the case of sterically crowded cyclic secondary amines from which the MTPA amides are usually difficult to make.     

南海红树林内生真菌Cephalosporium sp．（2090#）次级代谢产物研究

海洋微生物是寻找海洋药物先导化合物的一个新的源泉,人们已经从海洋微生物的次级代谢产物中分离得到了很多结构新颖或强药理活性的化合物[1]。我们在对中国南海红树林内生真菌的研究中,发现了大量的生物活性化合物,这也揭示了我国南海海洋真菌具有极大的药用开发前景[2-5]。红     

The application of qNMR for the determination of rosuvastatin in tablet form

In this study, quantative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) method was used to determine the content of rosuvastatin in tablet. Linearity, range, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision were determined in validation study of rosuvastatin. Furthermore, validation study of rosuvastatin was performed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Uncertainties of qNMR and HPLC methods were determined using per EURACHEM/CITAC Guide CG 4 (3th edition), quantifying uncertainty in analytical measurement. qNMR and HPLC methods were linear in the ranges of 0.10 - 5.00 mg/mL and 0.001 - 0.0995 mg/mL, respectively and these lineraties indicate very good linearity performance with regression coefficients (R2 value) above > 0.99. Moreover, LOD and LOQ values using qNMR method were observed as 0.25 mg/mL and 0.80 mg/mL, respectively. These values using HPLC method were found as 0.00051 µg/mL and 0.001695 µg/mL, respectively. The strengths and weaknesses of qNMR method and HPLC method were determined with spectral emphasis on the role of identical reference standards in qualitive and quantitative analyses. It was found that qNMR method is simple, efficient, reliable, and accurate method. Moreover, qNMR method is an easy, practical, and useful method for the validation and optimization of rosuvastatin in the tablet.     

Solid phase microextraction as a powerful alternative for screening of secondary metabolites in actinomycetes

Actinobacteria are one of the most promising producers of medically and industrially relevant secondary metabolites. However, screening of such compounds in actinobacteria growth demands simple, fast, and efficient extraction procedures that enable detection and precise quantification of biologically active compounds. In this regard, solid phase microextraction (SPME) emerges as an ideal extraction technique for screening of secondary metabolites in bacteria culture due to its non‐exhaustive, minimally invasive, and non‐destructive nature: its integrated sample preparation workflow; balanced coverage feature; metabolism quenching capabilities; and superior cleanup, as well as its versatility in configuration, which enables automation and high throughput applications. The current work provides a comparison of micro‐scale and direct immersion SPME (DI‐SPME) for screening of secondary metabolites, describes the optimization of the developed DI‐SPME method, and introduces the developed technique for mapping of target secondary metabolites as well as its direct coupling to mass spectrometry for such applications. The optimized DI‐SPME method provided higher amounts of extracted ions and intensity signals, yielding superior extraction and desorption efficiency as compared with micro‐scale extraction. Studied compounds presented stability on the coating for 24 h at room temperature. The DI‐SPME mapping approach revealed that lysolipin I and the lienomycin analog are distributed along the center and edges of the colony, respectively. Direct coupling of SPME to MS provided a similar ions profile as SPME‐LC‐MS while enabling a significant decrease in analysis time, demonstrating its suitability for such applications. DI‐SPME is herein presented as an alternative to micro‐scale extraction for screening of secondary metabolites in actinobacteria solid medium, as well as a feasible alternative to DESI‐IMS for mapping of biologic radial distribution of secondary metabolites and cell life cycle studies. Lastly, the direct coupling of DI‐SPME to MS is presented as a fast, powerful technique for high throughput analysis of secondary metabolites in this medium.     

Antimicrobial evaluation of selected naturally occurring oxyprenylated secondary metabolites

This study tested the antimicrobial activity of eight selected naturally occurring oxyprenylated secondary metabolites against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, S. epidermidis ATCC 35984, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. Results showed a moderate antimicrobial activity. The most active compounds were 3-(4-geranyloxyphenyl)-1-ethanol (4) and 3-(4-isopentenyloxyphenyl)-1-propanol (5) that were tested on mature and in-formation biofilms of all micro-organisms, moreover the cytotoxic activity was evaluated. Except for S. epidermidis, both compounds reduced significantly (p < 0.05) the microbial biofilm formation at 1/2 MIC and 1/4 MIC, in particular, compounds 4 and 5 at each concentration, inhibited E. coli biofilm formation to a greater extent, the biofilm formation was never more than 44% in respect to the control, moreover both compounds showed a low cytotoxic effect. Oxyprenylated derivatives may be of great interest for the development of novel antimicrobial therapeutic strategies and the synthesis of semi-synthetic analogues with anti-biofilm efficacy.     

Ethanol determination in frozen fruit pulps: an application of quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance

This study reports the chemical composition of five types of industrial frozen fruit pulps (acerola, cashew, grape, passion fruit and pineapple fruit pulps) and compares them with homemade pulps at two different stages of ripening. The fruit pulps were characterized by analyzing their metabolic profiles and determining their ethanol content using quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (qNMR). In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to extract more information from the NMR data. We detected ethanol in all industrial and homemade pulps; and acetic acid in cashew, grape and passion fruit industrial and homemade pulps. The ethanol content in some industrial pulps is above the level recommended by regulatory agencies and is near the levels of some post‐ripened homemade pulps. This study demonstrates that qNMR can be used to rapidly detect ethanol content in frozen fruit pulps and food derivatives. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

1H and 13C NMR assignments for two oxaphenalenones bacillosporin C and D from the mangrove endophytic fungus SBE-14

The complete (1)H and (13)C NMR assignments are reported for the novel natural product Bacillosporin D together with the known compound Bacillosporin C. These compounds containing seven rings were isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus SBE-14 from the South China Sea. 1D and 2D NMR experiments, including COSY, HMQC and HMBC were used to the determination of the structures and NMR assignments. It is proposed that 1 was biogenetically produced by transforming 2. Transforming a lactone to an anhydride is unusual in nature.     

1H and 13C NMR assignments for two anthraquinones and two xanthones from the mangrove fungus (ZSUH-36)

We report the unambiguous assignments of the (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra of one new natural product, namely, 6,8-di-O-methyl versiconol (1) together with one known anthraquinone aversin (2) and two xanthones 5-methoxysterigmatocystin (3) and sterigmatocystin (4). These compounds were all isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus ZSUH-36 from the South China Sea. 1D and 2D NMR experiments including COSY, HMQC and HMBC were used to elucidate the structures. Variations in the (1)H NMR spectrum of 6,8-di-O-methyl versiconol (1) were also observed in the temperature range 25-75 degrees C. In addition, the plausible biogenetic path from 1 to 2 is discussed.     

Direct Quantitation of Phytocannabinoids by One-Dimensional 1H qNMR and Two-Dimensional 1H-1H COSY qNMR in Complex Natural Mixtures

The widespread use of phytocannabinoids or cannabis extracts as ingredients in numerous types of products, in combination with the legal restrictions on THC content, has created a need for the development of new, rapid, and universal analytical methods for their quantitation that ideally could be applied without separation and standards. Based on previously described qNMR studies, we developed an expanded ¹H qNMR method and a novel 2D-COSY qNMR method for the rapid quantitation of ten major phytocannabinoids in cannabis plant extracts and cannabis-based products. The ¹H qNMR method was successfully developed for the quantitation of cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabinol (CBN), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabichromenic acid (CBCA), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (Δ9-THCA), Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC), cannabielsoin (CBE), and cannabidivarin (CBDV). Moreover, cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (Δ9-THCVA) can be distinguished from CBDA and Δ9-THCA respectively, while cannabigerovarin (CBGV) and Δ8-tetrahydrocannabivarin (Δ8-THCV) present the same ¹H-spectra as CBG and Δ8-THC, respectively. The COSY qNMR method was applied for the quantitation of CBD, CBDA, CBN, CBG/CBGA, and THC/THCA. The two methods were applied for the analysis of hemp plants; cannabis extracts; edible cannabis medium-chain triglycerides (MCT); and hemp seed oils and cosmetic products with cannabinoids. The ¹H-NMR method does not require the use of reference compounds, and it requires only a short time for analysis. However, complex extracts in ¹H-NMR may have a lot of signals, and quantitation with this method is often hampered by peak overlap, with 2D NMR providing a solution to this obstacle. The most important advantage of the COSY NMR quantitation method was the determination of the legality of cannabis plants, extracts, and edible oils based on their THC/THCA content, particularly in the cases of some samples for which the determination of THC/THCA content by ¹H qNMR was not feasible.     

A Novel qNMR Application for the Quantification of Vegetable Oils Used as Adulterants in Essential Oils

Essential oils (EOs) are more and more frequently adulterated due to their wide usage and large profit, for this reason accurate and precise authentication techniques are essential. This work aims at the application of qNMR as a versatile tool for the quantification of vegetable oils potentially usable as adulterants or diluents in EOs. This approach is based on the quantification of both ¹H and ¹³C glycerol backbone signals, which are actually present in each vegetable oil containing triglycerides. For the validation, binary mixtures of rosemary EO and corn oil (0.8–50%) were prepared. To verify the general feasibility of this technique, other different mixtures including lavender, citronella, orange and peanut, almond, sunflower, and soy seed oils were analyzed. The results showed that the efficacy of this approach does not depend on the specific combination of EO and vegetable oil, ensuring its versatility. The method was able to determine the adulterant, with a mean accuracy of 91.81 and 89.77% for calculations made on ¹H and ¹³C spectra, respectively. The high precision and accuracy here observed, make ¹H-qNMR competitive with other well-established techniques. Considering the current importance of quality control of EOs to avoid fraudulent practices, this work can be considered pioneering and promising.     

Standardless multicomponent qNMR analysis of compounds with overlapped resonances based on the combination of ICA and PULCON

A fast and reliable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method for quantitative analysis of targeted compounds with overlapped signals in complex mixtures has been established. The method is based on the combination of chemometric treatment for spectra deconvolution and the PULCON principle (pulse length based concentration determination) for quantification. Independent component analysis (ICA) (mutual information least dependent component analysis (MILCA) algorithm) was applied for spectra deconvolution in up to six component mixtures with known composition. The resolved matrices (independent components, ICs and ICA scores) were used for identification of analytes, calculating their relative concentrations and absolute integral intensity of selected resonances. The absolute analyte concentrations in multicomponent mixtures and authentic samples were then calculated using the PULCON principle. Instead of conventional application of absolute integral intensity in case of undisturbed signals, the multiplication of resolved IC absolute integral and its relative concentration in the mixture for each component was used. Correction factors that are required for quantification and are unique for each analyte were also estimated. The proposed method was applied for analysis of up to five components in lemon and orange juice samples with recoveries between 90% and 111%. The total duration of analysis is approximately 45 min including measurements, spectra decomposition and quantification. The results demonstrated that the proposed method is a promising tool for rapid simultaneous quantification of up to six components in case of spectral overlap and the absence of reference materials. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.