Development and application of absolute quantitative detection by duplex chamber-based digital PCR of genetically modified maize events without pretreatment steps

The possibility of the absolute quantitation of GMO events by digital PCR was recently reported. However, most absolute quantitation methods based on the digital PCR required pretreatment steps. Meanwhile, singleplex detection could not meet the demand of the absolute quantitation of GMO events that is based on the ratio of foreign fragments and reference genes. Thus, to promote the absolute quantitative detection of different GMO events by digital PCR, we developed a quantitative detection method based on duplex digital PCR without pretreatment. Moreover, we tested 7 GMO events in our study to evaluate the fitness of our method. The optimized combination of foreign and reference primers, limit of quantitation (LOQ), limit of detection (LOD) and specificity were validated. The results showed that the LOQ of our method for different GMO events was 0.5%, while the LOD is 0.1%. Additionally, we found that duplex digital PCR could achieve the detection results with lower RSD compared with singleplex digital PCR. In summary, the duplex digital PCR detection system is a simple and stable way to achieve the absolute quantitation of different GMO events. Moreover, the LOQ and LOD indicated that this method is suitable for the daily detection and quantitation of GMO events.     

A lab-on-a-chip for rapid blood separation and quantification of hematocrit and serum analytes

In this work, a new lab-on-a-chip for rapid analysis of low volume blood samples was designed, fabricated and demonstrated for integration of serum separation, hematocrit evaluation, and protein quantitation. Blood separation was achieved using microchannel flow-based separation. A novel method for evaluating hematocrit from microfluidic flow-separated blood samples was developed using gray scale analysis of a point-and-shoot digital photograph of separated blood in a micochannel. Protein quantitation was subsequently performed in a high surface area-to-volume ratio microfluidic chemiluminescent immunoassay using cell depleted serum produced by microfluidic flow-based separation of whole blood samples. All three steps were achieved in a single microchannel with separation of blood samples and hematocrit evaluation in less than 1 min, and protein quantitation in 5 min.     

CE-LIF coupled with flow cytometry for high-throughput quantitation of fluorophores in single intact cells

We report a method of coupled CE-LIF detection with flow cytometry for high-throughput determination and quantitation of fluorophores in single intact K562/S (KS) cells. The membrane properties of KS cell including fluophore transport rate and apparent permeability coefficient were further quantitatively characterized. The method has advantages for accurate quantitation and unique capacity of high-throughput analysis. The strategy will be useful for the quantitation of fluorophores in the intact cells, such as measurement of multidrug resistance, quantitation of specific protein expression, and quantitative characterization of protein and enzyme functions.     

Packed columns vs. wall coated open tubular columns in quantitative analyses of polychlorinated biphenyls

This article describes and critically evaluates a complete method for the quantitation of PCB in sediment samples. The extraction and clean-up procedure is described. Packed column and capillary column results are compared. Capillary column quantitation yields lower values for total PCB loading. Preferences for capillary column quantitation are discussed and explained. Capillary quantitation is based on the combination of an external Aroclor standard and an internal decachlorobiphenyl standard for normalizing data. In light of the recent report of synthesis of all 209 PCB congeners a suggestion is made to use these as absolute standards to establish a bank of primary standard Aroclors.     

Evaluation of sample fractionation using micro-scale liquid-phase isoelectric focusing on mass spectrometric identification and quantitation of proteins in a SILAC experiment

Mass spectrometric methods based on stable isotopes have shown great promise for identification and quantitation of complex mixtures. Stable isotope labelling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) is a straightforward and accurate procedure for quantitation of proteins from cell lines, that are cultured in media containing the natural amino acid or its isotopically labelled analogue, giving rise to either 'light' or 'heavy' proteins. The two cell populations are pooled and treated as a single sample, which allows the use of various protein purification methods without introducing errors into the quantitative analysis. The quantitation of the proteins is based on the intensities of the light and heavy peptides. The increased number of peptides in a quantitative experiment arising from peptide pairs implies that prefractionation is critical prior to liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric (LC/MS) analysis to minimise signal suppression effects and errors in measurements of the intensity ratios. In this study, the effect of a prefractionation step on identification and quantitation of proteins in a SILAC experiment was evaluated. We show that micro-scale liquid-phase isoelectric focusing in the Micro Rotofor separates proteins into well-defined fractions and reduces the sample complexity. Furthermore, the fractionation enhanced the number of identified proteins and improved their quantitation.     

Validation of UV Spectrophotometric Method for Fexofenadine Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Formulations and Comparison with HPLC

Abstract

A simple, reproducible, accurate, and effective spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for the quantitation of the antihistamine fexofenadine in capsules and coated tablets. Ethanol was used as solvent and the absorbance at the wavelength of 220 nm was employed to the quantitation of the drug. The method validation was fulfilled through the evaluation of the analytical parameters of linearity, precision, accuracy, limits of detection, and quantitation and specificity. The method was linear (r=0.9999) at concentrations ranging from 8.0 to 20.0 µg ml^?1, precise (RSD intra‐day=0.29; 0.18; 0.39; RSD inter‐day=0.12 for capsules and RSD intra‐day=0.13; 0.16; 0.13; RSD inter‐day=0.13 for coated tablets), accurate (percentage recovery=99.97% for capsules and 100.51% for tablets), sensitive (limits of detection and quantitation of 0.10 and 0.29 µg ml^?1, respectively) and specific. The method was compared to a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, which was previously developed to the same drug. The results showed no significant difference between the methods in fexofenadine hydrochloride quantitation.     

Quantitation of zimelidine and norzimelidine in plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography

A method is described for the quantitation of new non-tricyclic antidepressant, zimelidine, and its pharmacologically active, N-demethylated metabolite, norzimelidine, in plasma. The method involves a single extraction of basified plasma with diethyl ether, concentration of the ethereal extract, chromatography on a high-performance liquid chromatograph and quantitation using a variable-wavelength UV detector. The respective geometric isomers of zimelidene and norzimelidine are used as internal standards for quantitation. Resolution is effected using a 5-micron silica gel column with an aqueous methanolic solution of ammonium nitrate as the mobile phase. The minimum quantitated amount was 25 ng and the coefficient of variation for the method did not exceed 7% in the range 25 to 1000 ng/ml for both compounds. The method has been applied in monitoring the plasma concentration of zimelidine and norzimelidine in plasma from depressed patients and an example of this application is presented.     

Analysis of Sources of Error in Quantitation of Purified DNA Fragments and Unpurified PCR Products by DNA Microchip Electrophoresis

We have investigated the accuracy and reproducibility of DNA quantitation on the DNA Lab-Chip and the relationship of these to the size and concentration of the DNA fragments. We found that quantitation of small DNA fragments, i.e. less than 200 bp, suffers from high relative error which can be improved by using an internal standard of similar size to the sample. The effects of trace chloride ion on quantitation error and sensitivity of the DNA Lab-Chip were also studied, and it was revealed that 0.2 mM chloride ion reduces quantitation sensitivity by 30% and increases the relative error. We also studied the effects of purification on quantitation errors in analysis of PCR products from cloning vector pUC118 and showed that use of an unpurified sample reduces chip sensitivity by 25%.Dedicated to Professor K. Jinno on the occasion of his 60^th birthday.Revised: 9 December 2004 and 17 January 2005     

TLC determination of mebendazol and pentoxifylline as residues on pharmaceutical equipment surfaces

This paper presents the applicability of thin-layer chromatographic methods with a subsequent densitometric or video densitometric quantitation for determination of residues in controlling pharmaceutical equipment cleanliness. Analytical methods were developed for monitoring residues of pentoxifylline at 10 mg/M2 and mebendazol at 1 mg/M2 on stainless steel surfaces. Simulated samples were prepared by addition of a calculated amount of pharmaceutical (as a solution) on a 35 x 35 cm stainless steel surface. After evaporation of solvent, the residues were wiped with wetted cotton. The cotton was extracted with dichloromethan-methanol (1 + 1). Filtered extract was concentrated by vacuum evaporation and an aliquot applied to the plate, where standards were also applied. In the narrow concentration range near the acceptable residue limits, linear calibration curve could be obtained for both substances. The mean recovery (n = 4) obtained by densitometric quantitation was 93.4% for pentoxifylline and 85.6% for mebendazol, with coefficients of variation of 3.5 and 8.3%, respectively. Results of video densitometric quantitation did not differ significantly. However, data acquisition and evaluation is faster compared with densitometry and allows better archiving possibilities as required by the regulatory authorities. Both quantitation modes can be applied to routine control of pharmaceutical equipment cleanliness.     

Evaluation of evaporative light-scattering detector for combinatorial library quantitation by reversed phase HPLC

A quantitation study using reversed phase HPLC with UV and evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) was conducted on 90 library standards selected from 15 small molecule combinatorial libraries (six standards from each library). This study assessed the quantitation errors using a single calibration curve for rapid purity analysis of combinatorial libraries. The average quantitation error of six standards from one library at 200 microM by UV was 13. 4%, 20.6%, and 60.3%, at 214, 220, and 254 nm, respectively. By ELSD, the average quantitation error of these six standards at 200 micro was only 7.7%. Applying this ELSD calibration curve to 84 standards from 14 structurally diverse libraries, an average quantitation error of 16.4% was obtained. The average quantitation error of all 90 standards from 15 libraries using 15 calibration curves was 18.5%.     

Simultaneous capillary GC of acids and sugars as their silyl(oxime) derivatives: Quantitation of chlorogenic acid,raffinose, and pectin substances

Our GC-MS method for the simultaneous quantitation of sugars and acids as their silyl(oxime) derivatives, from one solution by one injection, has been extended to the reproducible determination of high molecular weight compounds sensitive to decomposition yet requiring a high evaporation temperature (e.g. chlorogenic acid and rffinose) and for the quantitation of the decomposition products of pectin (i.e., for the determination of galacturonic acid at low ng levels in the presence of a 10–100 fold excess of glucose eluting just before the acid). The optimized GC procedure has been used for quantitation of the sugar and acid (including chlorogenic acid) composition of potato samples, and for the determination of the increasing amount of the decomposition products of pectin substances in apple pulp after different storage times.     

Analytical method for the accurate determination of tricothecenes in grains using LC-MS/MS: a comparison between MRM transition and MS3 quantitation

The current food crisis demands unambiguous determination of mycotoxin contamination in staple foods to achieve safer food for consumption. This paper describes the first accurate LC-MS/MS method developed to analyze tricothecenes in grains by applying multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transition and MS(3) quantitation strategies in tandem. The tricothecenes are nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, fusarenon X, 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, and HT-2 and T-2 toxins. Acetic acid and ammonium acetate were used to convert the analytes into their respective acetate adducts and ammonium adducts under negative and positive MS polarity conditions, respectively. The mycotoxins were separated by reversed-phase LC in a 13.5-min run, ionized using electrospray ionization, and detected by tandem mass spectrometry. Analyte-specific mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios were used to perform quantitation under MRM transition and MS(3) (linear ion trap) modes. Three experiments were made for each quantitation mode and matrix in batches over 6 days for recovery studies. The matrix effect was investigated at concentration levels of 20, 40, 80, 120, 160, and 200 μg kg(-1) (n = 3) in 5 g corn flour and rice flour. Extraction with acetonitrile provided a good overall recovery range of 90-108% (n = 3) at three levels of spiking concentration of 40, 80, and 120 μg kg(-1). A quantitation limit of 2-6 μg kg(-1) was achieved by applying an MRM transition quantitation strategy. Under MS(3) mode, a quantitation limit of 4-10 μg kg(-1) was achieved. Relative standard deviations of 2-10% and 2-11% were reported for MRM transition and MS(3) quantitation, respectively. The successful utilization of MS(3) enabled accurate analyte fragmentation pattern matching and its quantitation, leading to the development of analytical methods in fields that demand both analyte specificity and fragmentation fingerprint-matching capabilities that are unavailable under MRM transition.     

Use of a capillary electrophoresis instrument with laser-induced fluorescence detection for DNA quantitation. Comparison of YO-PRO-1 and PicoGreen assays

Highly selective and sensitive assays are required for detection and quantitation of the small masses of DNA typically encountered in clinical and forensic settings. High detection sensitivity is achieved using fluorescent labeling dyes and detection techniques such as spectrofluorometers, microplate readers and cytometers. This work describes the use of a laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detector in conjunction with a commercial capillary electrophoresis instrument for DNA quantitation. PicoGreen and YO-PRO-1, two fluorescent DNA labeling dyes, were used to assess the potential of the system for routine DNA analysis. Linearity, reproducibility, sensitivity, limits of detection and quantitation, and sample stability were examined for the two assays. The LIF detector response was found to be linear (R2 > 0.999) and reproducible (RSD < 9%) in both cases. The PicoGreen assay displayed lower limits of detection and quantitation (20 pg and 60 pg, respectively) than the YO-PRO-1 assay (60 pg and 260 pg, respectively). Although a small variation in fluorescence was observed for the DNA/dye complexes over time, quantitation was not significantly affected and the solutions were found to be relatively stable for 80 min. The advantages of the technique include a 4- to 40-fold reduction in the volume of sample required compared to traditional assays, a 2- to 20-fold reduction in the volume of reagents consumed, fast and automated analysis, and low cost (no specific instrumentation required).     

Determination of total and speciated sulfur content in petrochemical samples using a pulsed flame photometric detector

The pulsed flame photometric detector (PFPD) has the advantage of being able to measure the concentration of individual sulfur compounds and total sulfur content in a petrochemical sample in a single gas chromatography run. Because it is an equimolar response detector, the PFPD's sulfur response is independent of a compound's molecular structure, and this feature allows quantitation of the total or speciated sulfur content in complex samples using a single calibrant. This paper is a survey describing a variety of applications using the PFPD for sulfur quantitation in petrochemical matrices. Several different approaches to quantitation are described, and simple techniques for circumventing the quenching of the sulfur signal by coeluting hydrocarbon peaks are discussed. Examples from a range of real-world samples are presented.     

Simultaneous use of fluorescence,ultraviolet, and electrochemical detectors in high performance liquid chromatography-separation and identification of phenolic antioxidants and related compounds

Isocratic conditions are described for the separation, identification and quantitation of selected phenolic antioxidants and related compounds by high performance liquid chromatography on a reverse phase microparticulate ODS column. Mobile phases containing 0.05 M lithium perchlorate in aqueous methanol are used. Three detection systems: ultraviolet; fluorescence; and electrochemical detectors are connected in tandem. The use of these three detection systems in sequence as additional means for separation, identification, and quantitation is demonstrated. Other advantages of the system include speed of analyses and improved detection. The ? values and detector responses at 2 settings per detector for 12 compounds are reported.     

Determination of molecular parameters for 1,3-butadiene and propylene using infrared tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy

A technique has been developed for the determination of molecular parameters, including infrared absorption line positions, strengths, and nitrogen-broadened half-widths for 1,3-butadiene (C(4)H(6)) and propylene (C(3)H(6)). The parameters for these two molecules are required for quantitation using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS). These molecules have populations of highly overlapping infrared absorption lines in their room temperature spectra. The technique reported here provides a procedure for estimating the molecular parameters for these overlapping absorption lines from quantitative reference spectra taken with the TDLAS instrument at different pressures and concentrations. The system was developed for the quantitation of gaseous constituents in a single puff of cigarette smoke and this paper will describe the procedure and some of the factors that influence the accuracy of quantitation for 1,3-butadiene, including the approach taken to minimize the adverse effects of the absorption due to propylene in the same spectral region.     

TLC-densitometric determination of bisoprolol, labetalol and propafenone, as dabsyl derivatives, in pharmaceutical preparations

Summary This paper describes a TLC-densitometric procedure for identification and determination of bisoprolol, labetalol, and propafenone in pharmaceutical preparations. The compounds were derivatized with dabsyl chloride and chromatographed on silica gel by ascending development. The separation of the dabsylated drugs was followed by densitometric quantitation. The method was satisfactorily applied to pharmaceutical preparations. TheRSD of quantitation was between 1.6 and 2.3%.     

Deconvolution and quantitation of unresolved mixtures in liquid chromatographic-diode array detection using evolving factor analysis

Summary A recently developed self-modeling curve resolution method based in different factor analysis techniques has been applied for the first time to the study of liquid-chromatography-diode array data under situation where the separation of two components is not achieved. Two applications are reported: the resolution and quantitation of a coeluted mixture of carbamate pesticides pirimicarb and 1-naphthol, and the estimation of the concentration profiles of the double peak obtained in the elution of the triazine metabolite chlorodiamino-s-triazine. Different methods of quantitation are compared, including Evolving Factor Analysis and Rank annihilation. Quantitation from the area of the elution profiles once the component spectra have been transformed for their area contribution to the signal, gives a relative composition for pirimicarb and naphthol pesticides which agrees with the known sample composition. In the case of the unknown triazine mixture, an approximate quantitation of the two peaks obtained for this metabolite is obtained by assuming equal signal contribution or equal maximum absorbance of the individual spectra of the two detected components.     

Determination of sterol and triterpene alcohol acetates in natural products by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A partial separation of nine sterol acetates and seven triterpene alcohol acetates by reversed-phase liquid chromatography is described. Good results are obtained using acetonitrile-water (90:10, v/v) as mobile phase with an UV detector at 205 nm. The variation in sterol sensitivity shows that this technique is not suitable for quantitative analyses. A combination of this technique for the fractionation of the natural sterol mixture, gas-liquid chromatography for quantitation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for identification is necessary for the determination of sterol compounds contained in natural products. An example of the separation, identification and quantitation of sterol acetates from sunflower seed oil is given.     

NMR analysis of multiple samples using parallel coils: improved performance using reference deconvolution and multidimensional methods

Improvements in the Multiplex Sample NMR method are investigated to explore its capabilities of analyzing multiple samples simultaneously. Issues of quantitation and resolution in the multiple-coil probe are examined in one- and two-dimensional experiments. Improvements in quantitation are shown to result from the use of reference deconvolution for one-dimensional experiments, while the use of two-dimensional methods has much improved resolution and shows the potential for significantly increased parallelism. A multiplicative scheme is shown to be an easily implemented, effective method for generating individual sub-spectra from individual samples.