Quantitative determination of 15 bioactive triterpenoid saponins in different parts of Acanthopanax henryi by HPLC with charged aerosol detection and confirmation by LC–ESI‐TOF‐MS

Triterpenoid saponins are difficult to analyze using high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to UV/vis spectrophotometry due to their lack of chromophores. This study describes the first analytical method for the determination of 15 triterpenoid saponins from the leaves, stems, root bark, and fruits of Acanthopanax henryi, using a high‐performance liquid chromatography with charged aerosol detection coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method. The separation was carried out on a Kinetex XB‐C18 column with an acetonitrile/water gradient as the mobile phase, followed by charged aerosol detection. The operating conditions of charged aerosol detection were set at 24 kPa for nitrogen pressure and 100 pA for the detection range. Liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is described for the identification of compounds in plant samples. The electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method involved the use of the [M + Na]⁺ and [M + NH₄]⁺ ions for compounds 1 – 15 in the positive ion mode with an extracted ion chromatogram. The developed method was fully validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision, repeatability, and recovery, then subsequently applied to evaluate the quality of A. henryi.     

On the determination of sulfur by charged particle activation analysis

An analytical method is described for the determination of trace amounts of sulfur by charged particle activation analysis. The method consists of proton irradiation followed by a rapid radiochemical separation of the product nuclide,^34m Cl. This procedure has been applied to a number of pure metal samples which range in sulfur content from 0.3 to 30 ppm. All analyses were repeated several times to ensure consistent results and to better evaluate experimental detection limits and systematic errors. The results indicate that sulfur determinations can be performed at a concentration of less than 1.0 ppm. Activation curves are presented for the reactions S(d,x)^34mCl, S(p,x)^34mCl, and the interfering reaction³⁵Cl(p, pn)^34mCl. In memoriam.     

Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of cobalt in biological samples and natural waters using a flow injection system with on-line preconcentration by ion-pair adsorption in a knotted reactor

An on-line flow injection preconcentration-ETAAS method is developed for trace determination of cobalt in biological materials and natural samples by ion-pair sorption on the inner walls of a PTFE knotted reactor. The ion-pair is formed between the negatively charged cobalt-nitroso-R-salt complex and the tetrabutylammonium counter-ion. An enhancement factor of 15, a sampling frequency of 17 and a concentration efficiency of 4 are obtained for a preconcentration time of 60 s and a sample loading flow rate of 5 mL min^–1. The detection limit (3σ) is 5 ng L^–1. The relative standard deviation at the 0.2 μg L^–1 level is 2.3%. The analytical results obtained for standard reference materials are in good agreement with the certified or indicated values and satisfactory recoveries of spiked cobalt in tap water are obtained.     

Combination of three analytical techniques for speciation of Al in environmental samples

An analytical scheme is proposed which combines three speciation techniques for determination of particular Al species in soil extracts and percolating waters. A cation-exchange fast protein liquid chromatography — inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (FPLC-ICP-AES) procedure, a microcolumn chelating ion-exchange chromatography- atomic absorption spectrometry (MCC-ETAAS) technique and the 8-hydroxyquinoline spectrophotometric method (8HQ-spectrophotometry) were employed. The FPLC-ICP-AES procedure offers determination of Al³⁺ (retention time 4.5 min) and Al(OH)²⁺ species (retention time 4.0 min) which are separated from Al(OH)⁺ ₂ (retention time 1.5min). AlF²⁺ coelutes with Al(OH)²⁺ species, while Al(SO₄)⁺, AlF⁺ ₂ and negatively charged Al organic complexes coelute with Al(OH)⁺ ₂ species. The MCC-ETAAS technique enables determination of the sum of positively charged monomeric aqua- and hydroxy-Al species plus sulphate- and fluoro-Al complexes. Employing the 8HQ-spectrophotometry the sum of positively charged monomeric aqua- and hydroxy-Al species plus sulphato- and most of the labile organic Al species are determined. The sensitivities of these selected techniques were adequate for speciation of Al in the samples analyzed. On the basis of the specific selectivity of a particular technique various groups of Al species may be determined. Thus, the comparison of analytical data from complementary procedures provides more comprehensive information on Al species present in soil extracts and percolating waters.     

Mapping disulfide bonds in insulin with the route 66 method: Selective cleavage of S-C bonds using alkali and alkaline earth metal enolate complexes

Simple and fast identification of disulfide linkages in insulin is demonstrated with a peptic digest using the Route 66 method. This is accomplished by collisional activation of singly and doubly charged cationic Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ complexes generated using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Collisional activation of doubly charged metal complexes of peptides with intermolecular disulfide linkages yields two sets of singly charged paired products separated by 66 mass units resulting from selective S-C bond cleavages. Highly selective elimination of 66 mass units, which corresponds to the molecular weight of hydrogen disulfide (H₂S₂), is observed from singly charged metal complexes of peptides with disulfide linkages. The mechanism proposed for these processes is initiated by formation of a metal-stabilized enolate at Cys, followed by cleavage of the S-C bond. Further activation of the products yields sequence information that facilitates locating the position of the disulfide linkages in the peptic digest fragments. For example, the doubly charged Ca²⁺ complex of the peptic digest product GIVEQCCASVCSL/FVNQHLCGSHL yields paired products separated by 66 mass units resulting from selective S-C bond cleavages at an intermolecular disulfide linkage under low-energy collision-induced dissociation. Further activation of the product comprising the A chain reveals the presence of a second disulfide bridge, an intramolecular linkage. Experimental and theoretical studies of the disulfide linked model peptides provide mechanistic details for the selective cleavage of the S-C bond.     

Doubly ionized ion emission in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy in air

The emission from doubly ionized species in laser-induced plasmas has not been properly investigated before since most analytical measurements were made at relatively long delays. This work proves that doubly ionized species, such as boron (B) III and iron (Fe) III, can exist during the first 150–200 ns of the plasma lifetime in plasmas produced in air by typical lasers with irradiances of 10⁹–10¹¹ W/cm². The emission from these ions was detected using both the double- and single-pulse excitations. The sum of the second ionization potential and the energy of corresponding excited states is approximately 30 eV. The presence of doubly charged ions in the early plasma was additionally confirmed by computer simulations using a collision-dominated plasma model. The emission from doubly ionized species may be used for analytical purpose. For example, in the spectrum from a B–Fe ore, the B III analytical line at 206.6 nm is free from Fe spectral interference thus enabling the online laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy sorting of ores into three products with high, medium, and low B₂O₃ contents.     

The use of delayed nuclear track counting for determining bismuth

The predominant use of the nuclear track technique (NTT) in analytical chemistry has been to measure the prompt charged particle emission from neutron induced reactions with stable or fissile nuclides of selected elements. This work describes the use of the NTT for determining bismuth via delayed alpha particle emission from the decay of²¹⁰P. This technique is sensitive and reliable since alpha track counting is highly efficient and can provide information, on elemental spatial distributions. Bismuth determinations in various materials by this technique appears possible to at least the 1.0 microgram per gram level.     

Simple approach to study biomolecule adsorption in polymeric microfluidic channels

Herein a simple analytical method is presented for the characterization of biomolecule adsorption on cyclo olefin polymer (COP, trade name: Zeonor^®) substrates which are widely used in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices. These Zeonor^® substrates do not possess native functional groups for specific reactions with biomolecules. Therefore, depending on the application, such substrates must be functionalized by surface chemistry methods to either enhance or suppress biomolecular adsorption. This work demonstrates a microfluidic method for evaluating the adsorption of antibodies and oligonucleotides surfaces. The method uses centrifugal microfluidic flow-through chips and can easily be implemented using common equipment such as a spin coater. The working principle is very simple. The user adds 40 L of the solution containing the sample to the starting side of a microfluidic channel, where it is moved through by centrifugal force. Some molecules are adsorbed in the channel. The sample is then collected at the other end in a small reservoir and the biomolecule concentration is measured. As a pilot application, we characterized the adsorption of goat anti-human IgG and a 20-mer DNA on Zeonor^®, and on three types of functionalized Zeonor: 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) modified surface with mainly positive charge, negatively charged surface with immobilized bovine serum albumin (BSA), and neutral, hydrogel-like film with polyethylene glycol (PEG) characteristics. This simple analytical approach adds to the fundamental understanding of the interaction forces in real, microfluidic systems. This method provides a straightforward and rapid way to screen surface compositions and chemistry, and relate these to their effects on the sensitivity and resistance to non-specific binding of bioassays using them. In an additional set of experiments, the surface area of the channels in this universal microfluidic chip was increased by precision milling of microscale trenches. This modified surface was then coated with APTES and tested for its potential to serve as a unique protein dilution feature.     

Motion‐Based,High‐Yielding,and Fast Separation of Different Charged Organics in Water

We report a self‐propelled Janus silica micromotor as a motion‐based analytical method for achieving fast target separation of polyelectrolyte microcapsules, enriching different charged organics with low molecular weights in water. The self‐propelled Janus silica micromotor catalytically decomposes a hydrogen peroxide fuel and moves along the direction of the catalyst face at a speed of 126.3 μm s^?1. Biotin‐functionalized Janus micromotors can specifically capture and rapidly transport streptavidin‐modified polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules, which could effectively enrich and separate different charged organics in water. The interior of the polyelectrolyte multilayer microcapsules were filled with a strong charged polyelectrolyte, and thus a Donnan equilibrium is favorable between the inner solution within the capsules and the bulk solution to entrap oppositely charged organics in water. The integration of these self‐propelled Janus silica micromotors and polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules into a lab‐on‐chip device that enables the separation and analysis of charged organics could be attractive for a diverse range of applications.     

Humidity independent mass spectrometry for gas phase chemical analysis via ambient proton transfer reaction

In this work, a humidity independent mass spectrometric method was developed for rapid analysis of gas phase chemicals. This method is based upon ambient proton transfer reaction between gas phase chemicals and charged water droplets, in a reaction chamber with nearly saturate humidity under atmospheric pressure. The humidity independent nature enables direct and rapid analysis of raw gas phase samples, avoiding time- and sample-consuming sample pretreatments in conventional mass spectrometry methods to control sample humidity. Acetone, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and meta-xylene were used to evaluate the analytical performance of present method. The limits of detection for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and meta-xylene are in the range of ∼0.1 to ∼0.3 ppbV; that of benzene is well below the present European Union permissible exposure limit for benzene vapor (5 μg m⁻³, ∼1.44 ppbV), with linear ranges of approximately two orders of magnitude. The majority of the homemade device contains a stainless steel tube as reaction chamber and an ultrasonic humidifier as the source of charged water droplets, which makes this cheap device easy to assemble and facile to operate. In addition, potential application of this method was illustrated by the real time identification of raw gas phase chemicals released from plants at different physiological stages.     

Enhancing the detection sensitivity of trace analysis of pharmaceutical genotoxic impurities by chemical derivatization and coordination ion spray-mass spectrometry

Many pharmaceutical genotoxic impurities are neutral molecules. Trace level analysis of these neutral analytes is hampered by their poor ionization efficiency in mass spectrometry (MS). Two analytical approaches including chemical derivatization and coordination ion spray-MS were developed to enhance neutral analyte detection sensitivity. The chemical derivatization approach converts analytes into highly ionizable or permanently charged derivatives, which become readily detectable by MS. The coordination ion spray-MS method, on the other hand, improves ionization by forming neutral-ion adducts with metal ions such as Na⁺, K⁺, or NH₄⁺ which are introduced into the electrospray ionization source. Both approaches have been proven to be able to enhance the detection sensitivity of neutral pharmaceuticals dramatically. This article demonstrates the successful applications of the two approaches in the analysis of four pharmaceutical genotoxic impurities identified in a single drug development program, of which two are non-volatile alkyl chlorides and the other two are epoxides.     

Fragmentation phase transition in atomic clusters II

We present a statistical fragmentation study of doubly charged alkali (Li, Na, K) and antimony clusters. The evaporation of one charged trimer is the most dominant decay channel (asymmetric fission) at low excitation energies. For small sodium clusters this was quite early found in molecular dynamical calculations by Landman et al. [1]. For doubly charged lithium clusters, we predict Li ₉ ⁺ to be the preferential dissociation channel. As already seen experimentally a more symmetric fission is found for doubly charged antimony clusters. This different behavior compared to the alkali metal clusters is in our model essentially due to a larger fissility of antimony. This is checked by repeating the calculations for Na ₅₂ ⁺⁺ with a bulk fissility parameter set artificially equal to the value of Sb.     

Experimental evidence for the formation of doubly charged oxide and hydroxide ions in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The formation of doubly charged polyatomic ions in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers was investigated using commercially available instruments. The species observed were ThO²⁺ and ThOH²⁺, which were found in similar amounts with the different instruments used in this study, when operated under routine analytical conditions. The signal ratios for ThO²⁺ were between 1.8 × 10^–4 and 4.2 × 10^–4 relative to the singly charged elemental ion and between 1.4 × 10^–2 and 2.2 × 10^–2 relative to the doubly charged elemental ion. The formation of ThOH²⁺ was between 1.1 × 10^–4 and 2.8 × 10^–4 relative to the singly charged elemental ion and between 0.72 × 10^–2 and 1.3 × 10^–2 relative to the doubly charged elemental ion. A mechanism is proposed for the formation of the doubly charged oxide and hydroxide ions that is based on the condensation of the doubly charged elemental ion with water or oxygen molecules in the interface region of the mass spectrometer. Received: 20 December 2000 / Revised: 19 March 2001 / Accepted: 22 March 2001     

Excitation and fragmentation of highly charged metal clusters in collisions with ions

We discuss the Coulomb fragmentation of highly charged metal clusters. The analogy with a classical conducting liquid drop is assessed from molecular dynamics calculations. Experimentally, the highly charged metal clusters are formed in collisions with highly charged ions (Xe²⁰⁺, Ar¹¹⁺, Ar⁸⁺, Ar³⁺, and O⁵⁺) at low velocity. We show new experimental data on the rate of emitted light charged particles that indicate an as yet unobserved fragmentation regime. Collisions of ions with metal clusters also offer a unique method to strongly excite the conducting electron gas within a short time of a few fs opening the possibility to study large amplitude electron dynamics and relaxation in microscopic systems.     

Determination of gallium originated from a gallium-based anticancer drug in human urine using ICP-MS

Urine analysis gives an insight into the excretion of the administered drug which is related to its reactivity and toxicity. In this work, the capability of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to measure ultratrace metal levels was utilized for rapid assaying of gallium originating from the novel gallium anticancer drug, tris(8-quinolinolato)gallium(III) (GaQ₃), in human urine. Sample dilution with 1% (v/v) HNO₃ as the only required pre-treatment was shown to prevent contamination of the sample introduction system and to reduce polyatomic interferences from sample components. The origin of the blank signal at masses of gallium isotopes, 71 and 69, was investigated using high-resolution ICP-MS and attributed, respectively, to the formation of ³⁶Ar³⁵Cl⁺ and ⁴⁰Ar³¹P⁺ ions and, tentatively, to a triplet of doubly charged ions of Ba, La, and Ce. The accuracy and precision performance was tested by evaluating a set of parameters for analytical method validation. The developed assay has been applied for the determination of gallium in urine samples spiked with GaQ₃. The achieved recoveries (95–102%) and quantification limit of 0.2 μg L⁻¹ emphasize the practical applicability of the presented analytical approach to monitor renal elimination of GaQ₃ at all dose levels in clinical trials that are currently in progress.     

Effect of electric field on ammonium perchlorate decomposition

A novel method of detecting the charge-carrying species in inorganic decomposable salts is described. In ammonium perchlorate it is observed that the charge-carrying species at temperatures 150 and 230°C are oppositely charged; i.e., they are negatively charged (ClO^?₄ ions) at 230°C and positively charged (H⁺ or NH⁺₄) at 150°C.     

Analytical Hartree-Fock electron densities for singly charged cations and anions

The Hartree-Fock (HF) electron density has an important property that it is identical to the unknown exact density to the first order in the perturbation theory. We generate the spherically averaged HF electron density ρ(r) by using the numerical HF method for the singly charged 53 cations from Li⁺ to Cs⁺ and 43 anions from H⁻ to I⁻ in their ground state. The resultant density is then accurately fitted into an analytical function F(r), which is expressed by a linear combination of basis functions r ⁿⁱ exp(−ζ _i r). The present analytical approximation F(r) has the following properties: (1) F(r) is nonnegative, (2) F(r) is normalized, (3) F(r) reproduces the HF moments <r ^k > (k=−2 to +6), (4) F(0) is equal to ρ(0), (5) F ^′(0) satisfies the cusp condition and (6) F(r) has the correct exponential decay in the long-range asymptotic region. The present results together with our previous ones for neutral atoms provide a compilation of accurate analytical approximations of the HF electron densities for all the neutral and singly charged atoms with the number of electrons N≤54. Received: 11 July 1997 / Accepted: 27 August 1997     

Electrostriction around colloid molecules and interfacial action of inhalation anesthetic: Volume function

Poly( -lysine) exists as a polyelectrolyte in an aqueous solution with charged -NH₃⁺ of the side-chain terminals at pH values below 10.5, while it loses the charges above this pH. Due to the electrostatic repulsion, the conformation of the charged form is random coil while that of the uncharged form is helix. The densities of each form were measured by an oscillation densimeter at several poly( -lysine · HBr) concentrations and the apparent molal volumes were estimated. By extrapolating the apparent molal volumes to infinite dilution, the partial molal volumes of each form at infinite dilution were obtained. When expressed by the partial molal volume per residue at infinite dilution, the values were 125.3 cm³ residue⁻¹ for the uncharged form and 112.8 cm³ residue⁻¹ for the charged form at 298.15°K. From the temperature dependence of the partial molal volume, the partial molal expansibilities were found to be 0.070 cm³ residue⁻¹ deg⁻¹ for the uncharged form and 0.106 cm³ residue⁻¹ deg⁻¹ for the charged form. The smaller partial molal expansibility of the uncharged form compared to the charged form is in agreement with the general pattern that hydrophobic macromolecules show smaller expansibility than hydrophilic macromolecules. An inhalation anesthetic, methoxyflurane, did not alter the volume of the uncharged form and expanded only the charged form. At the anesthetic concentration of 1.7 × 10⁻³ m, the partial molal volume of the charged poly( -lysine · HBr) was expanded by 0.27%. The partial molal volume of methoxyflurane in aqueous solution was 108.5 cm³ mole⁻¹ at 278.15°K while that of the pure liquid state was 113.1 cm³ mole⁻¹. The decrease of the partial molal volume of methoxyflurane in aqueous solution is attributable to the structuring of water molecules around the anesthetic. The partial molal volume of the anesthetic in the 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ m charged poly( -lysine · HBr) solution was 110.9 cm³ mole⁻¹. This increase of the partial molal volume of methoxyflurane in the peptide solution indicates that the anesthetic-water contact is partially destroyed by the binding.     

A simple method for determination of erythritol,maltitol, xylitol,and sorbitol in sugar‐free chocolates by capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

In this work, a novel and simple analytical method using capillary electrophoresis (CE) with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C⁴D) is proposed for the determination of the polyols erythritol, maltitol, xylitol, and sorbitol in sugar‐free chocolate. CE separation of the polyols was achieved in less than 6 min, and it was mediated by the interaction between the polyols and the borate ions in the background electrolyte, forming negatively charged borate esters. The extraction of the polyols from the samples was simply obtained using ultra‐pure water and ultrasonic energy. Linearity was assessed by calibration curves that showed R² varying from 0.9920 to 0.9976. The LOQs were 12.4, 15.9, 9.0, and 9.0 μg/g for erythritol, maltitol, xylitol, and sorbitol, respectively. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by recovery tests, and the obtained recoveries varied from 70 to 116% with standard deviations ranging from 0.2 to 19%. The CE‐C⁴D method was successfully applied for the determination of the studied polyols in commercial samples of sugar‐free chocolate.     

Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer Sensors Based on the Assemblies of Oppositely Charged Lanthanide/Gold Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solution

This work demonstrates luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) sensors based on lanthanide‐doped nanoparticles as donors (D) and gold nanoparticles as acceptors (A), combined through electrostatic interactions between the oppositely charged nanoparticles. Negatively charged lanthanide‐doped nanoparticles, YVO₄:Eu and LaPO₄:Ce,Tb, with high luminescence quantum yield and good water‐solubility, are synthesized through a polymer‐assisted hydrothermal method. Positively charged polyhedral and spherical gold nanoparticles exhibit surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands centered at 623 and 535 nm, respectively. These bands overlap well with the emission of the Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions within the lanthanide nanoparticles. Herein, the gold nanoparticles are synthesized through a seed‐mediated cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)‐assisted method. The assemblies of the oppositely charged donors and acceptors are developed into LRET‐based sensors exhibiting a donor quenching efficiency close to 100 %.