Determination of Quinoxalines and Their Two Main Metabolites in Environmental Water Samples by Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A sensitive high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of residues of carbadox, mequindox, olaquindox, quinocetone, cyadox, quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid, and 3-methylquinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid in environmental water samples. The samples were freeze-dried at ?80°C, re-dissolved in 1.0 mL methanol-water (5:95), then purified with N-propyl ethylenediamine. The separation of the analytes was performed on a column (150 × 2.1 mm i.d., 5.0 µm) using acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid as mobile phases. The target compounds were confirmed and quantified by tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The results showed that there were linear relationships between peak area and concentrations of these compounds with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.99. The average recoveries at the spiked levels of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 µ g L^?1 ranged from 68.7% to 109% with relative standard deviations less than 14% except cyadox. The limits of detection of the analytes were between 2.0 and 6.0 ng L^?1. This method meets the requirements for the determination of drug residues in environmental water samples.     

LC–MS–MS Quantification of Four Quinoxaline-1,4-Dioxides in Swine Feed

A sensitive and reliable method by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of carbadox, mequindox, olaquindox and quinocetone in swine feed. The analytes were extracted from swine feed with acetonitrile/water (60:40, v/v), and then further purified by solid-phase extraction using Oasis HLB cartridges. The mean recovery values ranged from 83–108%, and intra-day and inter-day variation were <10.8 and 9.6%, respectively. The limits of quantification for the four compounds were <20 μg kg^?1. This procedure is applicable for detecting the four quinoxaline-1,4-dioxides in swine feed.     

LC–MS–MS Quantification of Four Quinoxaline-1,4-Dioxides in Swine Feed

A sensitive and reliable method by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of carbadox, mequindox, olaquindox and quinocetone in swine feed. The analytes were extracted from swine feed with acetonitrile/water (60:40, v/v), and then further purified by solid-phase extraction using Oasis HLB cartridges. The mean recovery values ranged from 83–108%, and intra-day and inter-day variation were <10.8 and 9.6%, respectively. The limits of quantification for the four compounds were <20 μg kg⁻¹. This procedure is applicable for detecting the four quinoxaline-1,4-dioxides in swine feed.

     

A Validated Chiral LC Method for the Enantiomeric Separation of Nateglinide and the Quantitative Determination of Its l-Enantiomer

A simple and accurate chiral liquid chromatographic method was developed for the enantiomeric purity determination of d-nateglinide and quantitative determination of l-nateglinide in bulk drug samples. Good resolution (R _s  > 6.0) between d-enantiomer and l-enantiomer of nateglinide were achieved with Chiralpak AD-H (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm particle size) column using hexane and ethanol (90:10 v/v) as mobile phase at 25 °C temperature. Flow rate was kept as 1.0 mL min^?1 and elution was monitored at 210 nm. The effects of the mobile phase composition, the flow rate and the temperature on the chromatographic separation were investigated. Developed method is capable to detect (LOD) and quantitate (LOQ) l-nateglinide to the levels of 0.3 and 1.0 μg mL^?1 respectively, for 10 μL injection volume. The percentage RSD of the peak area of six replicate injections of l-nateglinide at LOQ concentration was 5.2. The percentage recoveries of l-nateglinide from d-nateglinide ranged from 97.9 to 99.7. The test solution and mobile phase was found to be stable up to 24 h after preparation. The developed method was validated with respect to LOD, LOQ, precision, linearity, accuracy, robustness and ruggedness.     

HPLC column-switching technique for sample preparation and fluorescence determination of propranolol in urine using fused-core columns in both dimensions

A new and fast high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column-switching method using fused-core columns in both dimensions for sample preconcentration and determination of propranolol in human urine has been developed. On-line sample pretreatment and propranolol preconcentration were performed on an Ascentis Express RP-C-18 guard column (5?×?4.6 mm), particle size, 2.7 μm, with mobile phase acetonitrile/water (5:95, v/v) at a flow rate of 2.0 mL min^?1 and at a temperature of 50 °C. Valve switch from pretreatment column to analytical column was set at 4.0 min in a back-flush mode. Separation of propranolol from other endogenous urine compounds was achieved on the fused-core column Ascentis Express RP-Amide (100?×?4.6 mm), particle size, 2.7 μm, with mobile phase acetonitrile/water solution of 0.5 % triethylamine, pH adjusted to 4.5 by means of glacial acetic acid (25:75, v/v), at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1 and at a temperature of 50 °C. Fluorescence excitation/emission detection wavelengths were set at 229/338 nm. A volume of 1,500 μL of filtered urine sample solution was injected directly into the column-switching HPLC system. The total analysis time including on-line sample pretreatment was less than 8 min. The experimentally determined limit of detection of the method was found to be 0.015 ng mL^?1.

The yjjN of E. coli codes for an l-galactonate dehydrogenase and can be used for quantification of l-galactonate and l-gulonate

Escherichia coli is able to utilize l-galactonate as a sole carbon source. A metabolic pathway for l-galactonate catabolism is described in E. coli, and it is known to be interconnected with d-galacturonate metabolism. The corresponding gene encoding the first enzyme in the l-galactonate pathway, l-galactonate-5-dehydrogenase, was suggested to be yjjN. However, l-galactonate dehydrogenase activity was never demonstrated with the yjjN gene product. Here, we show that YjjN is indeed an l-galactonate dehydrogenase having activity also for l-gulonate. The K _m and k _cat for l-galactonate were 19.5?±?0.6 mM and 0.51?±?0.03 s^?1, respectively. In addition, YjjN was applied for a quantitative detection of the both of these substances in a coupled assay. The detection limits for l-galactonate and l-gulonate were 1.65 and 10 μM, respectively.     

Enantiomeric LC Separation of Epinephrine on Amylose based sorbent

A simple, rapid, and robust chiral HPLC method has been developed and validated for separation of the enantiomers of epinephrine, l-1-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-(methylamino)ethanol, an antihypertensive drug, in the bulk drug. The enantiomers were resolved on an amylose-based stationary phase with n-hexane–2-propanol–methanol–trifluoroacetic acid–diethylamine 90:05:05:0.2:0.2 (v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. In the optimized method resolution between the enantiomers was not less than 3.0. The trifluoroacetic acid and diethylamine in the mobile phase were important for enhancing chromatographic efficiency and hence the resolution of the enantiomers. The method was extensively validated and proved to be robust. The calibration plot for the d enantiomer was highly linear over the concentration range 100–2,000 μg mL^?1. The limits of detection and quantification for the d enantiomer were 0.15 and 0.45 μg mL^?1, respectively. Recovery of the d enantiomer from bulk drug samples of epinephrine ranged between 99.5 and 101.5%. Epinephrine sample solution was stable for up to 48 h. The method was suitable for accurate quantitative determination of the d enantiomer in the bulk drug substance     

The Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating UHPLC-DAD Method for Determination of Perindopril l-Arginine in Bulk Substance and Pharmaceutical Dosage Form

A stability-indicating ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method with a diode array detector was developed and validated for the determination of cis/trans isomers of perindopril l-arginine in bulk substance and pharmaceutical dosage form. The separation was achieved on a Poroshell 120 Hilic (4.6 × 150 mm, 2.7 µm) column using a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile–0.1 % formic acid (20:80 v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. The injection volume was 5.0 µL and the wavelength of detection was controlled at 230 nm. The selectivity of the UHPLC-DAD method was confirmed by determining perindopril l-arginine in the presence of degradation products formed during acid–base hydrolysis and oxidation as well as degradation in the solid state, at an increased relative air humidity and in dry air. The method’s linearity was investigated in the ranges 0.40–1.40 µg mL^?1 for isomer I and 0.40–2.40 µg mL^?1 for isomer II of perindopril l-arginine. The UHPLC-DAD method met the precision and accuracy criteria for the determination of the isomers of perindopril l-arginine. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.1503 and 0.4555 µg mL^?1 for isomer I and 0.0356 and 0.1078 µg mL^?1 for isomer II, respectively.     

LC–MS–MS Simultaneous Determination of l-Dopa and Its Prodrug l-Dopa n-Pentyl Ester Hydrochloride in Rat Plasma

A sensitive, simple and rapid LC–MS–MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of l-dopa and l-dopa n-pentyl ester hydrochloride in rat plasma in the present study. The analytes were separated on a C₁₈ column (5 μm, 2.1 × 150 mm) with a security guard C₁₈ column (5 μm, 4 × 20 mm) and a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer was applied for detection. The method was linear over the concentration ranges of 25–5,000 ng mL^?1 for l-dopa and 12.5–2,500 ng mL^?1 for l-dopa n-pentyl ester hydrochloride. Finally, the method was successfully applied to support the pharmacokinetic study.     

An Improved and Validated LC Method for Resolution of Panthenol

An improved LC method was developed and validated for determination of enantiomeric purity of panthenol in bulk drugs. The method is based on derivatization of panthenol with 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride. Baseline separation with resolution >2.7 was achieved within 20 min on Kromasil CHI-DMB (250 × 4.6 mm) column using n-hexane:ethanol (95:5 v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1. The analytes were detected by their UV absorbance at 265 nm. The effects of ethanol, 2-propanol and temperature on enantioselectivity and resolution of enantiomers were evaluated. The method was extensively validated and proved to be robust. The recoveries were between 98.3 and 101.4% with <1.6% relative standard deviation. The regression equations for the derivatives of d-panthenol and l-panthenol were y ₁ = 18.01x ₁ ? 32.56 (r ₁ ²  = 0.9984) and y ₂ = 17.855x ₂ ? 28.16 (r ₂ ²  = 0.9990), respectively. The LOD and LOQ for the derivative of d-panthenol were 10.6 and 37.4 μg mL^?1 and for the derivative of l-panthenol were 12.1 and 40 μg mL^?1, respectively. The improved method was found to be simple, rapid, and sensitive for the determination of enantiomeric purity of panthenol in bulk drugs.     

Mesoporous ZnO-NiO architectures for use in a high-performance nonenzymatic glucose sensor

Mesoporous ZnO-NiO architectures were prepared by thermal annealing of zinc-nickel hydroxycarbonate composites. The resulting architectures are shown to be assembled by many mesoporous nanosheets, and this results in a large surface area and a strong synergy between the ZnO and NiO nanoparticles. The material obtained by annealing at 400 °C was used as an electrode that responds to glucose over a wide concentration range (from 0.5 μM to 6.4 mM), with a detection limit as low as 0.5 μM, fast response time (<3 s), and good sensitivity (120.5 μA?·?mM^?1?·?cm^?2). Figure

The mesoporous ZnO-NiO architecture by annealing at 400 °C was used as an electrode that responds to glucose over a wide concentration range (from 0.5 μM to 6.4 mM), with a detection limit as low as 0.5 μM, fast response time (<3 s), and good sensitivity (120.5 μA?·?mM^?1?·?cm^?2      

Ethanol Production from Starch Hydrolyzates using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zymomonas mobilis</Emphasis> and Glucoamylase Entrapped in Polyvinylalcohol Hydrogel

The glucoamylase from Aspergillus niger, immobilized into poly(vinylalcohol) hydrogel lens-shaped capsules LentiKats®, was used for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with Zymomonas mobilis in free form. This system was stable in both the repeated batch and continuous mode of SSF. The microorganism was found to adsorb on the capsules with immobilized enzyme. This increased the ethanol productivity of the repeated batch system with 5% w/v of immobilized glucoamylase almost 2.1 times (7.2 g l^?1 h^?1) compared to free enzyme–free microorganism system (3.5 g l^?1 h^?1). The continuous SSF with the immobilized glucoamylase (11.5% w/v) tested for 15 days had productivity 10 g l^?1 h^?1, which is comparable to continuous experiments on semi-defined glucose medium (10 g l^?1 h^?1). These two systems were stable in both glucoamylase activity and microorganism productivity.     

Enantioselective Separation and Determination of Carnosine in Rat Plasma by Fluorescence LC for Stereoselective Pharmacokinetic Studies

A sensitive fluorescence liquid chromatographic analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of carnosine enantiomers in rat plasma. The method was applied to pharmacokinetic studies. Chiral separation of carnosine enantiomers was achieved by pre-column derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde and the thiol N-acety-l-cysteine as derivating reagents. They were separated on an ODS column and detected by fluorescence detection (λ_ex = 350 nm, λ_em = 450 nm). γ-Aminobutyric acid was used as internal standard. The method was linear up to 6,000 ng mL^?1 for l-carnosine, 4,000 ng mL^?1 for d-carnosine. Low limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 40 ng mL^?1 for each isomer. The relative standard deviations obtained for intra- and inter-day precision were lower than 12% and the recoveries were higher than 75% for both enantiomers. The method was applied to a stereoselective study on the pharmacokinetics of carnosine after oral administration with a single dose (carnosine, 75 mg kg^?1 for each isomer) to a rat. The initial data indicated that l-carnosine had a larger value of the highest plasma concentration than d-carnosine (C _max 5,344 vs. 1,914 ng mL^?1), and that of l-carnosine had a lower value of AUC_(0?∞) and t _1/2(h) (AUC_(0?∞) 5,306 vs. 6,321 ng h mL^?1, t _1/2 1.43 vs. 3.37 h). Our results indicated that the pharmacokinetic of l-carnosine and d-carnosine revealed enantioselective properties significantly.     

Amperometric Detection of 3-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-l-alanine (l-Dopa) in Raw and Cooked Mucuna Bean Seeds Employing Micro-HPLC

Amperometric detection of 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-l-alanine (l-dopa) on a glassy carbon electrode at oxidation potential of +0.70 V in Mucuna pruriens after micro-high performance liquid chromatography separation is reported. Optimised eluent consisted of 0.87 mM 1-octane sulphonic acid sodium salt, 18.2 mM citric acid, and 82.8 mM sodium acetate with pH adjusted to 2.18 using 85% orthophosphoric acid. Detection of low concentrations of l-dopa up to 5.12 ng mL^?1 was achieved. The method was employed to determine l-dopa in raw and cooked beans after water extraction through a 0.45 μm membrane with no further sample treatment.     

Efficient Microbial Conversion of l-Tyrosine to l-DOPA by Brevundimonas sp. SGJ

l-DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine), the most widely used drug for the treatment of Parkinson??s disease, was produced in buffer using biomass of Brevundimonas sp. SGJ. The effects of enhancers, such as carrageenan, diatomaceous earth, and activated charcoal, on the l-DOPA production were evaluated to obtain the maximum yield. The optimal process conditions found were pH?8, 2?g?l^?1 cell mass, 2?g?l^?1 l-tyrosine, 0.04?g?l^?1 CuSO₄, 0.02?g?l^?1 l-ascorbic acid, 0.5?g?l^?1 carrageenan, and 40?°C temperature. In addition, repeated use of cells resulted in the highest yield of 3.81?g?l^?1 (95.2%) of l-DOPA with utilization of 4?g?l^?1 l-tyrosine, and the highest tyrosinase activity (9,201?U?mg^?1) was observed at 18?h of incubation. Furthermore, the produced l-DOPA was confirmed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography?Cmass spectroscopy. Kinetic studies showed significant values of Y _p/s, Q _s, and q _s after optimization of the process. Thus, Brevundimonas sp. SGJ could be an eventual new source for large-scale production of l-DOPA.     

Enhanced l-Lactic Acid Production from Biomass-Derived Xylose by a Mutant Bacillus coagulans

Xylose effective utilization is crucial for production of bulk chemicals from low-cost lignocellulosic substrates. In this study, an efficient l-lactate production process from xylose by a mutant Bacillus coagulans NL-CC-17 was demonstrated. The nutritional requirements for l-lactate production by B. coagulans NL-CC-17 were optimized statistically in shake flask fermentations. Corn steep liquor powder and yeast exact were identified as the most significant factors by the two-level Plackett–Burman design. Steepest ascent experiments were applied to approach the optimal region of the two factors, and a central composite design was employed to determine their optimal levels. The optimal medium was used to perform batch fermentation in a 3-l bioreactor. A maximum of 90.29 g l^?1? l-lactic acid was obtained from 100 g l^?1 xylose in 120 h. When using corn stove prehydrolysates as substrates, 23.49 g l^?1? l-lactic acid was obtained in 36 h and the yield was 83.09 %.     

Biochemical Characterization and Antitumor Study of l-Glutaminase from Bacillus cereus MTCC 1305

l-Glutaminase (E.C.3.5.2.1) extracellularly produced by Bacillus cereus MTCC 1305 was purified to apparent homogeneity with a fine band. The molecular weight of native enzyme and its subunit were found to be approximately 140 and 35 kDa, respectively, which indicates its homotetrameric nature. The substrate specificity test of this enzyme showed its specificity for l-glutamine. The purified enzyme showed maximum activity at optimum pH 7.5 and temperature 35 °C. The enzyme retained stability up to 50 and 20 % even after treatment at 50 and 55 °C, respectively, for 30 min. Monovalent cations (Na⁺, K⁺) and phosphate ion activated the enzyme activity, while divalent cations (Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, Hg²⁺, Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺) inhibited its activity. Reducing agents (cysteine, glutathione, dithiothreitol, l-ascorbic acid, and β-mercaptoethanol) stimulated its activity, whereas thiol-binding agents (iodoacetamide, p-chloromercuribenzoic acid) resulted in the inhibition of this enzyme. Kinetic parameters, K _m, V _max, K _cat, of purified enzyme were found to be 6.25 mM, 100 μmol/min/mg protein and 2.22?×?10² M^?1s^?1, respectively. The gradual inhibition in growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep-G2) cell lines was found with IC₅₀ value of 82.27 μg/ml in the presence of different doses of l-glutaminase (10–100 μg/ml).     

Improvement of the Production Efficiency of l-(+)-Tartaric Acid by Heterogeneous Whole-Cell Bioconversion

An Escherichia coli-engineered bacterium with cis-epoxysuccinate hydrolase (ESH) activity was used to catalyze the stereospecific hydrolysis of cis-epoxysuccinic acid to l-(+)-tartaric acid. The effect of the substrate composition on the production efficiency of l-(+)-tartaric acid was investigated. Based on the sodium-type homogeneous substrate system, a heterogeneous substrate system, composed of 1.2 M sodium-type substrate and 1.8 M calcium-type substrate, was designed to improve ESH catalytic efficiency. After process optimization, a catalytic efficiency of 9.37?×?10^?3 g U^?1 h^?1 was obtained with fed-batch mode in the heterogeneous substrate system, about a twofold increase compared to the traditional bioconversion process with Nocardia tartaricans cells. The scale-up tests were carried out in a 15-m³ stirred tank reactor, which indicated that the heterogeneous substrate system had great application prospect for the l-(+)-tartaric acid industrial production.     

Rapid screening and detection of XOD inhibitors from S. tamariscina by ultrafiltration LC-PDA–ESI-MS combined with HPCCC

Xanthine oxidase (XOD) catalyzes the metabolism of hypoxanthine and xanthine to uric acid, the overproduction of which could cause hyperuricemia, a risk factor for gout. Inhibition of XOD is a major treatment for gout, and biflavonoids have been found to act as XOD-inhibitory compounds. In this study, ultrafiltration liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection coupled to electrospray-ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UF-LC-PDA–ESI-MS) was used to screen and identify XOD inhibitors from S. tamariscina. High-performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC) was used to separate and isolate the active constituents of these XOD inhibitors. Furthermore, ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (TQ-MS) was used to determine the XOD-inhibitory activity of the obtained XOD inhibitors, and enzyme kinetics was performed with Lineweaver–Burk (LB) plots using xanthine as the substrate. As a result, two compounds in S. tamariscina were screened as XOD inhibitors: 65.31 mg amentoflavone and 0.76 mg robustaflavone were isolated from approximately 2.5 g?S. tamariscina by use of HPCCC. The purities of the two compounds obtained were over 98 % and 95 %, respectively, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Lineweaver–Burk plot analysis indicated that amentoflavone and robustaflavone were non-competitive inhibitors of XOD, and the IC ₅₀ values of amentoflavone and robustaflavone for XOD inhibition were 16.26 μg mL^?1 (30.22 μmol L^?1) and 11.98 μg mL^?1 (22.27 μmol L^?1), respectively. The IC ₅₀ value of allopurinol, used as the standard, was 7.49 μg mL^?1 (46.23 μmol L^?1). The results reveal that the method for systematic screening, identification, and isolation of bioactive components in S. tamariscina and for detecting their inhibitory activity using ultrafiltration LC–ESI-MS, HPCCC, and UPLC–TQ-MS is feasible and efficient, and could be expected to extend to screening and separation of other enzyme inhibitors. Graphical Abstract

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Chemiluminescence competitive indirect enzyme immunoassay for 20 fluoroquinolone residues in fish and shrimp based on a single-chain variable fragment

A chemiluminescent competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, based on a mutant single-chain variable fragment (scFv), was developed to detect a broad range of fluoroquinolones (FQs) in fish and shrimp matrices. In this study, the best scFvC4A9H1_mut2 was adopted, which showed 10-fold improved affinity to sarafloxacin (SAR), difloxacin (DIF), and trovafloxacin (TRO), while the affinity to other FQs was fully inherited from wild-type scFvC4A9H1. In the optimized generic test, scFvC4A9H1_mut2 in combination with norfloxacin–ovalbumin conjugate and horseradish peroxidase-labeled anti-c-myc 9E10 antibody showed 50 % binding inhibition (IC₅₀) at 0.12 μg kg^?1 for norfloxacin in buffer. Screening for the class of FQ antibiotics is accomplished using a simple, rapid extraction carried out with ethanol/acetic acid (99:1, v/v). This common extraction was able to detect 20 FQ residues such as s ciprofloxacin (CIP), danofloxacin, DIF, enoxacin, enrofloxacin (ENR), fleroxacin, amifloxacin, flumequine, levofloxacin, lomefloxacin hydrochloride, marbofloxacin, norfloxacin (NOR), ofloxacin, orbifloxacin, pazufloxacin, pefloxacin-d5 (PEF), prulifloxacin, SAR, sparfloxacin, and TRO in fish and shrimp. The limit of detection (LOD) for NOR was 0.2 μg kg^?1 and the LODs for CIP and ENR were all <0.2 μg kg^?1. Values of LODs inferred from the cross-reactivity data will range from approximately 0.23 μg kg^?1 for PEF to 2.1 μg kg^?1 for TRO. Field fish and shrimp samples were analyzed and compared to the results obtained from liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method. All five instances (from 0.25 to 15.6 μg kg^?1) in which FQs were present at concentrations near or above the assay LOD were identified as positive by the newly developed assay, demonstrating the usefulness of this assay as a screening tool.