A Simple Method for Determination of Homologue Imidazolium Cations in Ionic Liquids Using IC with Direct Conductivity Detection

An investigation was carried out into the fast determination of five homologue imidazolium cations in ionic liquids by ion chromatography using a cation-exchange column and direct conductivity detection. Ethylenediamine, complex organic acid (citric acid, oxalic acid and tartaric acid) and organic modifiers (acetonitrile) were used as mobile phase. The influences of the eluent types, eluent concentration, eluent pH and column temperature on separation of the cations were discussed. Simultaneous separation and determination of the five homologue imidazolium cations in ionic liquids were achieved under an optimum condition. The optimized mobile phase was consisted of 0.25 mmol L^?1 ethylenediamine + 0.5 mmol L^?1 citric acid + 3% acetonitrile (v/v) (pH 4.1), set at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. The column temperature was 40 °C and detection limits were obtained in the range of 1.1–45.6 mg L^?1. The relative standard deviations of the chromatographic peak areas for the cations were <3.0% (n = 5). This method was successfully applied to separate imidazolium cations in ionic liquids produced by organic synthesis. The recoveries of spiked components were 92.5–101.9%.     

RP-LC Determination and Pharmacokinetic Study of Ferulic Acid and Isoferulic Acid in Rat Plasma After Taking Traditional Chinese Medicinal-Preparation: Guanxinning Lyophilizer

A sensitive, simple, and accurate method for determination and pharmacokinetic study of ferulic acid and isoferulic acid in rat plasma was developed using a reversed-phase column liquid chromatographic (RP-LC) method with UV detection. Sample preparations were carried out by protein precipitation with the addition of methanol, followed by evaporation to dryness. The resultant residue was then reconstituted in mobile phase and injected into a Kromasil C₁₈ column (250 × 4.6 mm i.d. with 5 μm particle size). The mobile phase was methanol-1% formic acid (33:67, v/v). The calibration plots were linear over the range 5.780–5780 ng·mL^?1 for ferulic acid and 1.740–348.0 ng·mL^?1 for isoferulic acid. Mean recoveries were 85.1% and 91.1%, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of within-day and between-day precision were not above 15% for both of the analytes. The limits of quantification were 5.780 ng·mL^?1 for ferulic acid and 1.740 ng·mL^?1 for isoferulic acid. This RP-LC method was used successfully in pharmacokinetic studies of ferulic acid and isoferulic acid in rat plasma after intravenous injection of Guanxinning Lyophilizer.     

Cholesteric Molecular Tweezer Artificial Receptor for Rapid and Highly Selective Detection of Ag+ in Food Samples

Chiral cholesteric molecular tweezer 7a was synthesized, and its recognition properties for Ag⁺, Al³⁺, Ca²⁺ etc., were investigated by UV and fluorescence spectra. The results showed that in ethanol/Tris (1/1, v/v, pH 7.0) buffer solution, the host molecular tweezer 7a had a specific recognition ability for Ag⁺, the detection limit was up to 1 × 10⁻⁶ mol/L, and other metal ions had little effect on Ag⁺ recognition. At the same time, the naked-eye detection of Ag⁺ was realized by the light red color of the complex solution. Furthermore, the mechanism of recognition of Ag⁺ by molecular tweezer 7a was studied by a nuclear magnetic titration test and computer molecular simulation, and a rapid detection method of Ag⁺ using host molecular tweezer 7a was established. Through the determination of Ag⁺ in milk powder, quinoa and other food samples, it was proved that this novel method had a good application prospect for the detection of Ag⁺ in food.     

RP-LC and HPTLC Methods for the Determination of Olmesartan Medoxomil and Hydrochlorothiazide in Combined Tablet Dosage Forms

Two new, rapid, precise, accurate and specific chromatographic methods were described for the simultaneous determination of olmesartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide in combined tablet dosage forms. The first method was based on reversed phase liquid chromatography using an Eurosphere 100 RP C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm ID, 5 μm). The mobile phase was methanol–0.05% o-phosphoric acid (60:40 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. Commercially available tablets and laboratory mixtures containing both drugs were assayed and detected using a UV detector at 270 nm. The second method involved silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ high performance thin layer chromatography and densitometric detection at 254 nm using acetonitrile–ethyl acetate–glacial acid (7:3:0.4 v/v/v) as the mobile phase. Calibration curves ranged between 200–600 and 125–375 ng spot^?1 for olmesartan and hydrochlorothiazide, respectively.     

Determination of Some Thiobarbiturates with Ion-Selective Membrane Electrodes

Abstract

A liquid membrane Ag⁺-selective electrode of our construction and a commercial solid membrane Ag⁺/S^2--selective electrode were used for the determination of thiobarbiturates by potentiometrie titration with AgNO₃ solution or by direct potentlometry. The potentio-setrio data correlated vd. th IR spectra allowed the elucidation of the reaction mechanism.     

Rapid and simultaneous determination of salvianolic acid A and salvianolic acid B by complex chromatography and study on related mechanism of coordination

Salvianolic acid A (Sal A) and salvianolic acid B (Sal B) are water-soluble phenolic acids in Danshen extract and they have high medicinal value. A rapid and novel complex high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of Sal A and Sal B within 10 min. The determination of Sal A and Sal B was carried out on a Waters Symmetry Shield RP18 column (5 μm, 3.9 mm × 150 mm), using methanol-deionized water (55:45, v/v, with 5 mmol L⁻¹ CaCl₂ and 1% acetic acid) as the mobile phase at the flow rate of 0.8 mL min⁻¹ within 10 min. The wavelength was set at 280 nm. It changed the peak sequence of Sal A and Sal B and improved their effect of determination by adding CaCl₂ in the mobile phase because Sal A and Sal B coordinated with Ca²⁺. The mechanism of coordination between Sal A, Sal B and Ca²⁺ has been studied by way of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and computer model. The possible structures of the complex and complex ratio are provided in this article. The experiments have facilitated the study of Sal A-Ca²⁺ complex, Sal B-Ca²⁺ complex and provide a theoretical basis for industrialized extraction of Sal A and Sal B in the future.     

Experimental and DFT study on the complexation of the silver cation with calix[4]arene-bis(t-octylbenzo-18-crown-6)

From extraction experiments and γ-activity measurements, the exchange extraction constant corresponding to the equilibrium Ag⁺ (aq) + 1·Cs⁺(org) ? 1·Ag⁺ (org) + Cs⁺ (aq) taking place in the two-phase water–phenyltrifluoromethyl sulfone (FS 13) system (1 = calix[4]arene-bis(t-octylbenzo-18-crown-6); aq = aqueous phase, org = FS 13 phase) was evaluated as logK _ex (Ag⁺, 1·Cs⁺) = ?1.5 ± 0.1. Further, the stability constant of the 1·Ag⁺ complex in FS 13 saturated with water was calculated for a temperature of 25 °C: log β _org(1·Ag⁺) = 10.1 ± 0.2. Finally, by using quantum mechanical DFT calculations, the most probable structure of the cationic complex species 1·Ag⁺ was derived. In the resulting 1·Ag⁺ complex, the “central” cation Ag⁺ is bound by eight bond interactions to six oxygen atoms from the respective 18-crown-6 moiety and to two carbons of the corresponding two benzene rings of the parent ligand 1 via cation-π interaction.     

Gibberellic Acid Increases Secondary Metabolite Production in Echinacea purpurea Hairy Roots

Gibberellic acid (GA₃) is reported to have diverse effects on hairy root cultures of many plant species; therefore, the effects of GA₃ on the growth, secondary metabolite production (caffeic acid derivatives and lignin), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity, and free radical scavenging activity of light-grown Echinacea purpurea L. hairy roots were investigated. Eight concentrations of GA₃, ranging from 0.005 to 1.0 μM, were added to shake flask cultures. The moderate GA₃ concentration, 0.025 μM, resulted in the highest concentrations of cichoric acid, caftaric acid, and chlorogenic acid, as well as increased PAL activity, cell viability, and free radical scavenging activity, while higher and lower GA₃ concentrations resulted in reduced levels compared to the control (lacking GA₃). The moderate GA₃ concentration also affected root morphogenesis; supplementation with 0.025 μM GA₃ resulted in the development of thick, dense, purple-colored roots, while roots exposed to the higher and lower concentrations of GA₃ were thin and off-white. This study demonstrates that supplementation with GA₃ may be an excellent strategy to optimize the production of secondary metabolites from E. purpurea hairy root cultures; however, the GA₃ concentration is a critical factor.     

Simultaneous Determination of Ibuprofen and Diphenhydramine Citrate in Tablets by Validated LC

A stability-indicating LC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of ibuprofen and diphenhydramine citrate in pharmaceutical dosage forms. The chromatographic separation was achieved on an Inertsil ODS 3V, 150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm, column. The mobile phase contained a mixture of 50 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer:acetonitrile:triethylamine:glacial acetic acid (55:45:0.2:0.2, v/v/v/v). This method allowed the determination of 2.85–9.14 mg mL^?1 of ibuprofen and 0.54–1.73 mg mL^?1 of diphenhydramine citrate, in a diluent consisting of pH 7.2, 50 mM potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer:acetonitrile (40:60, v/v). The flow rate was 1.2 mL min^?1 and the detection wavelength was 260 nm. The limit of detection for ibuprofen and diphenhydramine citrate was 1.72 and 0.54 μg mL^?1 and the limit of quantification was 5.73 and 1.64 μg mL^?1, respectively. This method was validated for accuracy, precision and linearity. The method was also found to be stability indicating.     

Antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles in situ growth on TEMPO-mediated oxidized bacterial cellulose

In order to improve the antimicrobial activity of bacterial cellulose (BC), the silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were in situ fabricated on the BC membranes, affording BC and Ag hybrid antimicrobial materials, BC + Ag, which possesses excellent antimicrobial performance. Typically, carboxyl groups were firstly introduced into BC by TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical)-mediated oxidation. Then, the carboxyl-functionalized BC was performed with ion-exchange reaction to change the sodium ions into Ag⁺ by immersing in AgNO₃ aqueous solution, generating Ag⁺ anchored BC. Finally, two types of distinct reductive reagents including NaBH₄ and sodium citrate were employed to transform Ag⁺ into Ag NPs to fabricate BC + Ag. The diameters of Ag NPs were determined to be 3.8 nm for NaBH₄-reduced BC + Ag, and 22.0 nm for sodium citrate-reduced one, respectively. The silver content of BC + Ag were determined to be 1.944 and 2.895 wt% for NaBH₄-reduced sample and sodium citrate-reduced one, respectively. Two types of BC + Ag both showed a slow and persistent Ag⁺ release profile, but the NaBH₄-reduced one released much more Ag⁺ than that of sodium citrate under the same measurement condition. In-depth antibacterial analysis via the disc diffusion and colony forming count method disclosed that BC + Ag exhibited strong bactericidal effects against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. And the antibacterial activity of NaBH₄-reduced BC + Ag was higher than the sodium citrate-reduced one. Overall, this study would further improve the antibacterial efficiency of BC + Ag.     

Determination of Veterinary Pharmaceuticals in Production Wastewater by HPTLC-Videodensitometry

An SPE-HPTLC method for simultaneous identification and quantification of seven pharmaceuticals in production wastewater was optimized and validated. The studied compounds were enrofloxacine, oxytetracycline, trimethoprim, sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine, sulfaguanidine and penicillin G/procaine. The method involves solid-phase extraction on hydrophilic-lipophilic balance cartridges with methanol and HPTLC analysis of extracts on CN modified chromatographic plates followed by videodensitometry at 254 and 366 nm. Optimization of chromatographic separation was performed by systematic variation of the mobile phase composition using genetic algorithm approach and the optimum mobile phase composition for TLC separation was 0.05 M H₂C₂O₄:methanol = 0.81:0.19 (v/v). Linearity of the method was demonstrated in the ranges from 1.5 to 15.0 μg L⁻¹ for enrofloxacine, 100–500 μg L⁻¹ for oxytetracycline, 150–600 μg L⁻¹ for trimethoprim, 300–1100 μg L⁻¹ for sulfaguanidine and 100–400 μg L⁻¹ for sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine and penicillin G/procaine with coefficients of determination higher than 0.991. Mean recoveries ranged from 74.6 to 117.1% and 55.1 to 108.0% for wellspring water and production wastewater, respectively. Only sulfaguanidine showed lower results. The described method has been applied to the determination of pharmaceuticals in wastewater samples from pharmaceutical industry.     

Rapid Determination of Water-Soluble and Fat-Soluble Vitamins in Commercial Formulations by MEEKC

Microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography has been successfully applied to the separation and determination of water-soluble vitamins (thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, cobalamin, ascorbic acid) and a fat-soluble vitamin (α-tocopherol acetate). The optimal microemulsion buffer contained sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) as surfactant, butan-1-ol as the co-surfactant, ethyl acetate as the oil and pH 9.2 tetraborate buffer, modified with 15% (v/v) 2-propanol. UV detection at 214 nm gave adequate sensitivity without interference from sample excipients. Under the optimized conditions, the vitamins were baseline separated in less than 7 min. Analytical curves of peak area versus concentration presented coefficients of determination (R ² ) > 0.99, acceptable limits of quantification between 8.40 and 16.23 μg mL^?1 were obtained. Vitamin levels in liquid formulation were quantified with intra-day precision better than 0.99% RSD for migration time and 1.19% RSD for peak area ratio. Recoveries ranged between 98.7 and 101.7%. The method was considered appropriate for rapid and routine analysis.     

Synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy of Escherichia coli at single-cell scale under silver-induced stress conditions

The present work was focused on elucidating biochemical changes in the model bacterium Escherichia coli exposed to ionic silver mediated stress, at a single-cell scale. In order to achieve this, in situ synchrotron Fourier-transform infrared (sFTIR) microspectroscopy was performed, for the first time, on individual cells by attenuated total reflectance (ATR) combined with the use of zinc-selenide hemisphere for high spatial resolution. In a first part, the potential of the method was evaluated on bacteria subjected to a lethal 100 μM AgNO₃ concentration for 2 h compared to untreated 100 % viable cells. Differences in cell composition were assessed for the C–H stretching and protein spectral regions, indicating that the inhibitory action was targeted against both fatty acids and proteins. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed morphological damages of the cell ultrastructure. The relevance of ATR-sFTIR microspectroscopy for highlighting the heterogeneity in Ag⁺-mediated effects within a given bacterial population was also pointed out. In a second part, cells were exposed to sub-lethal Ag⁺ concentrations (<10 μM AgNO₃) tested under “dynamic” growth mode: early addition vs. pulse in the mid-exponential phase, and compared to simultaneously batch-grown untreated bacteria or cells sampled just before the pulse, respectively. sFTIR microspectroscopy and TEM imaging were performed in close relation with growth kinetics characterization. No significant effect of the Ag⁺ pulses was detected, in accordance with macrokinetics data. For early-treated cells, effects on fatty acid composition were shown, although no major alteration of protein secondary structure was noticed. These partial effects were consistent with TEM observations and growth kinetics.

LC Determination and Pharmacokinetics Study of Mangiferin in Rat Plasma and Tissues

An LC method was developed for determination of mangiferin in rat plasma and tissues after oral administration of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract. Analysis was performed on a Gemini C₁₈ analytical column (250 × 4.6 mm, i.d.) with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–water (23:77, v/v) with 1% acetic acid and 1% tetrahydrofuran at a flow rate of 0.7 mL min^?1. Spinosin was used as internal standard and UV detector was set at 320 nm. The calibration curve of mangiferin in rat plasma and tissues showed excellent linear behaviors over the investigated concentration ranges with the value of R ² higher than 0.994. The within-day and between-day precisions for all samples were measured to be below 11.0%. The limit of quantitation was low enough for determination of mangiferin in all samples. After Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract was orally administered to rats, the main pharmacokinetic parameters of mangiferin T _max, C _max, T _0.5α , T _0.5β , AUC_0 ? T and Vc were 4.20 h, 9.52 μg mL^?1, 1.21 h, 1.71 h, 29.9 mg h L^?1 and 0.18 L kg^?1, respectively. Mangiferin was extensively distributed in most of the main tissues of rats. This validated method has been successfully applied to preliminary pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of mangiferin in rats.     

Structures of the silver complexes with lutidines according to the NMR data. Crystal structure of [AgNO3(3,5-Lut)2]

The silver(I) nitrate complexes with 2,3-, 2,4-, 2,6-, and 3,5-lutidine (Lut, dimethylpyridine C₇H₉N), [AgNO₃(Lut)₂], are synthesized and studied by multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, and ¹⁵N) in various solvents (chloroform, dimethyl sulfoxide, and acetonitrile). The influence of steric and electronic factors of the organic ligand on the parameters of the NMR spectra is revealed. It is shown that the ¹⁵N NMR spectra are the most informative. The structure of complex [AgNO₃(3,5-Lut)₂] is determined. The crystals are monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 14.599(1) Å, b = 8.422(1) Å, c = 12.954(1) Å, β = 99.60(1)°, V = 1570(2) ų, ρ_calcd = 1.625 g/cm³, Z = 4. The structure is built of discrete neutral complexes [AgNO₃(3,5-Lut)₂]. The coordination mode of the Ag⁺ ion includes two nitrogen atoms of two crystallographically equivalent lutidine ligands (Ag-N 2.194(5) Å, angle NAgN 147.6(3)°). The nitrate ion behaves as a weak chelating ligand with respect to the Ag⁺ ion (Ag…O 2.674(6) Å).     

Simultaneous LC Determination of Chlorogenic Acid and Hydrochlorthiazide in Zhenju Jiangya Tablets

A method has been developed to determine chlorogenic acid and hydrochlorothiazide simultaneously in Zhenju Jiangya tablets by HPLC using an isocratic mode and UV detection. A solution of acetonitrile-0.4% phosphoric acid (13:87, v/v) was used as mobile phase. Results showed that the two compounds were well separated. Chlorogenic acid and hydrochlorothiazide had good linearities in the range of 0.64～6.4 μg mL^?1 and 0.08～0.16 mg mL^?1, respectively with average recoveries of 96.5～99.3 and 97.7～101.0%.     

Optimization and Validation of an LC Method for the Determination of Cefdinir in Dosage Form and Human Urine

A simple and reliable liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the determination of cefdinir in human urine and capsule samples. A chromatographic separation was achieved on a C₁₈ column using a mobile phase consisting of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (10 mM, pH 4.5)–acetonitrile (90:10, v/v). Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 285 nm, based on peak area with linear calibration curve at a concentration range of 0.7–39 µg mL^?1. This method was successfully applied for the establishment of an urinary excretion pattern after oral dose.     

Quantitative Determination of Eight Major Constituents in the Traditional Chinese Medicinal Yi-Qi-Fu-Mai Preparation by LC

A high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of eight marker components, ginsenoside Rf, Rb₁, Rb₂, Rb₃, Rd, Rg₃, 20(S)-ginsenoside F₂ and schizandrin, present in traditional Chinese medicinal Yi-Qi-Fu-Mai preparations. Samples were prepared using a solid phase extraction procedure. Chromatographic separation was carried out on a Waters Symmetry C₁₈ column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 μm) by stepwise gradient elution with water (0.05% phosphoric acid, v/v) and acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Good linear relationships between were observed between peak areas and concentrations with r ² values above 0.9990 for all the analytes. Average recoveries for the eight markers ranged from 97.7 to 100.4%. This method was found to be rapid, sensitive, accurate, and could be readily applied to the quality assessment of Yi-Qi-Fu-Mai preparations.     

RP-LC Determination of Residual Monomers in Polycarboxylate Superplasticizers

A procedure was developed for the determination of residual monomers in polycarboxylate superplasticizer by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Seven kinds of residual monomers were quantitatively determined on a SinoChrom ODS-BP (C18) column and UV detector at 205 nm. The mobile phases which were used to determine micromolecular monomers were composed of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer solution (0.05 mol L^?1, pH = 3) in the ratio of 8:92 (v/v). While the mobile phases for long side-chain monomers testing were composed of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer solution (0.05 mol L^?1, pH = 6.5) in the ratio of 40:60 (v/v). The linear response ranged from 4.0 × 10^?6?C2.0 × 10^?3 mol L^?1. The detection limit was 0.12 × 10^?5?C0.8 × 10^?5 mol L^?1. Determination of real samples showed that relative standard deviation of high conversion rate samples was 3.1?C8.7% and standard addition recovery ratio was 91.5?C102.8%. While the relative standard deviation of low conversion rate samples was less than or close to 1% and the standard addition recovery ratio was 96.3?C103.1%.