Improved performance of comprehensive two-dimensional HPLC separation of traditional Chinese medicines by using a silica monolithic column and normalization of peak heights

Performance of comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography system is greatly improved than we reported previously by using a silica monolithic column as for the second dimensional separation. Due to the increase of the elution speed on the second dimensional monolithic column, the first dimensional column efficiency and analysis rate can be greatly improved as comparing with conventionally second dimensional column. The developed system was applied to analysis of methanol extraction of two umbelliferae herbs Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. and Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels by using CN column as for the first dimensional separation and a silica monolithic ODS column for the second dimensional separation, and the obtained three-dimensional chromatograms were treated by normalization of peak heights with the value of the highest peak or setting a certain value using a software written in-house. It was observed that much more peaks for low-abundant components in TCM extract can clearly be detected here than we reported before, due to the large difference for the amount of components in TCMs' extract. With the above improvements in separation performance and data treatment, totally about 120 components in methanol extraction of Rhizoma chuanxiong and 100 in A. sinensis were separated with UV detection within 130 min. This result meant that both the number of peaks detected increase twice but the analysis time decrease twice if comparing with the previously reported result.     

Cardiac muscle sarcolemma chromatographic stationary phase and its potential application in drug screening

A new bioactive packing material for liquid chromatography, sarcolemma chromatography stationary phase (SCSP), is presented. Its surface characteristics are investigated, and it is found that the acceptors embedded in sarcolemma remained bioactive for more than a week. The retention behavior of antagonists and activators related to cardiac muscle sarcolemma on the SCSP chromatographic column shows the screening function of the SCSP column, and the retention behavior of the active components in the aether extract from the Chinese herb Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. on the SCSP column reveals, to a certain extent, the separation function of the SCSP column. These suggest that SCSP is a potentially useful material in drug screening.     

全二维微柱液相色谱-质谱鉴定人胃癌组织中的差异蛋白质

构建了以阳离子交换色谱-反相色谱(SCX-RPLC)为分离模式的新型全二维微柱液相色谱-质谱分离平台.采用了醋酸铵缓冲液梯度洗脱,实现了第一维肽段的分步洗脱,洗脱的肽段经富集除盐后通过接口进入反相色谱微柱,通过线性梯度实现第二维进一步分离,最后进入质谱进行检测.采用此平台分析了人胃癌组织与正常组织提取蛋白质信息,其中正常胃组织鉴定蛋白质数为537个,而癌症组织鉴定蛋白质数目为506个.对胃癌和正常组织两种提取蛋白质酶解产物的蛋白质检索结果进行比较分析,将鉴定的蛋白质按照物理性质进行分布,找出正常组织与癌症组织间蛋白质差异,筛选出一种可能发生变异的癌症特有蛋白.     

全二维液相色谱串联质谱用于银杏叶提取物成分分析的研究

建立了全二维液相色谱串联质谱分离分析模式,将质脂体色谱柱和ODS反相色谱柱作为二维分析色谱柱,二者通过一个连有两个0.5 mL定量环的八通阀耦联。质脂体色谱柱上的馏分在反相色谱柱上分离后,直接进入紫外-检测器,然后经分流器分流后进入大气压电离质谱。将该体系用于银杏叶提取物的组成研究,共检测到至少41个组分,结合紫外-可见光谱和质谱信息,其中13个组分初步鉴定为银杏内酯B、银杏内酯C、白果内酯、槲皮素芸香糖苷、槲皮素、槲皮素-3-O-β-D-葡萄糖基(1-2)-α-L-鼠李糖苷、槲皮素-3-O-β-D-葡萄糖苷、异鼠李素、山柰酚-3-O-β-D-芸香糖基(1-2)-α-L-鼠李糖苷、异鼠李素-3-O-β-D-芸香糖苷、山柰酚-3-O-β-D-葡萄糖苷、山柰酚和山柰酚-3-O-β-D-芸香糖苷。     

Simultaneous determination of ferulic acid and gastrodin of Tianshu Capsule in rat plasma by ultra‐fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and migraine rats

Tianshu Capsule, consisting of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort and Gastrodia elata Blume, is a widely used Traditional Chinese Medicine preparation for the treatment of migraine. Ferulic acid and gastrodin are main active constituents in Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort and Gastrodia elata Blume, and have been used as marker components for quality control of Tianshu Capsule. In this study, a selective, sensitive, and reliable ultra‐fast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for simultaneous determination of ferulic acid and gastrodin in rat plasma using geniposide as internal standard. The plasma samples were extracted by protein precipitation with methanol after acidification and separated on a Shim‐Pack XR‐ODS C₁₈ column (75 × 3.0 mm, 2.2 μm) using gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of water (containing 0.1% formic acid) and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. Detection was performed on 3200 QTRAP mass spectrometry equipped with turbo ion spray source in negative ionization mode. Validation parameters were within acceptable ranges. The validated method was applied to compare the pharmacokinetic profiles of ferulic acid and gastrodin in normal and migraine rats. Our results showed that there were remarkable differences in the pharmacokinetic properties of the analytes between the normal and migraine groups.     

Construction of on-line supercritical fluid extraction with reverse phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of capsaicin

A column-switching system, composed of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and reverse phase liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (RPLC/MS) was constructed for on-line extraction and reverse-phase separation of capsaicinoids in capsicum fruits.     

GC-MS fingerprints for discrimination of Ligusticum chuanxiong from Angelica

A GC-MS fingerprinting technique based on the essential oil components has been developed for the discrimination of chuanxiong against Chinese Angelica (Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels) or other herbs with similar compositions. The analytical performance of four different extraction methods for the separation of essential oil components have been compared and these include: ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), Soxhlet extraction (SHE) and hydro-distillation extraction (HDE). The results showed that UAE was the most effective extraction method, and the operational parameters of UAE were optimized. 3-Butylphthalide, Z-butylidenephthalide, senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, E-butylidenephthalide, senkyunolide A, neocnidilide, Z-ligustilide and E-ligustilide were tentatively identified in chromatograms of chuanxiong based on their GC-EI-MS data. Similarity coefficient calculations based on correlation methods have been performed on the GC-MS fingerprints. Using an authentic standard Chuanxiong as the reference, the similarity coefficients between the standard and all other chuanxiong samples ranged from 0.90 to 1.0 (with 1.0 being the perfect match), which as a group can be readily separated from the Angelica samples for which the similarity index against the chuanxiong standard ranged from 0.75 to 0.77. Conversely, when an authentic Angelica standard was used as the reference, the respective similarity coefficients fall in the range of 0.70-0.75 and 0.98-1.00 for the chuanxiong and Angelica sample groups. Our results thus demonstrate that the fingerprinting technique developed in the study can indeed discriminate the two herbs with high reliability.     

川芎水蒸气蒸馏和超临界CO2提取物化学成分的GC-MS分析鉴别

用水蒸气蒸馏和超临界CO2提取方法对川芎药材中的化学成分进行提取,用气相色谱-质谱联用技术(GC-MS)对提取物进行分析,分别鉴定出30和34个化合物,测定了其相对含量。 结果表明,水蒸气蒸馏和超临界CO2提取物的主要成分均为(Z)-藁本内酯。 超临界CO2提取方法能提取出较多的川芎药效物质,如丁基酞内酯、丁烯基酞内酯、川芎内酯A、(Z)-藁本内酯、(E)-藁本内酯和川芎内酯I。 而水蒸气蒸馏提取物中除了川芎药效物质外,还含有较多的萜烯类化合物。 结果表明,超临界CO2对川芎药效物质的提取比水蒸气蒸馏法的效率高。 通过对川芎中带不饱和侧链与饱和侧链内酯类化合物质谱裂解规律的解析归纳,鉴别了川芎中不饱和侧链内酯类化合物如(Z)-藁本内酯、(E)-藁本内酯、丁烯基酞内酯和川芎内酯I以及饱和侧链内酯类化合物如丁基酞内酯和川芎内酯A。     

高效液相色谱法分析啤酒花浸膏中的6种酸性成分

建立了啤酒花浸膏中6种酸性成分(合葎草酮、葎草酮、加葎草酮、合蛇麻酮、蛇麻酮、加蛇麻酮)的高效液相色谱分析方法.分别考察了酸的加入、有机相种类及柱温对色谱分离效果的影响.在室温条件下,以Hypersil ODS2柱(250 mm ×4.6 mm,5 μm)为分析柱,以乙腈-0.1％(v/v)磷酸水溶液(pH 2.2)(...     

Two-dimensional LC-MS analysis of components in Swertia franchetiana Smith

An off-line 2-D-LC approach was developed for the separation and identification of components in extracts of Swertia franchetiana Smith, which is a traditional Chinese medicine. An octadecylsilica column was used for further separation of fractions from a cyano column with UV and MS detection. In this method, a longer column was used in the second dimension to improve the separation ability, and "on-column focusing" was adopted to reduce sample loss and pollution on concentrating the fractions from the first dimension. More than 118 and 575 components were detected in the chloroform and n-butanol extracts by this method, respectively. In contrast, only 20 and 95 peaks were detected by the one-dimensional method. Most of the additionally detected compounds were of low-abundance components. Many compounds can be preliminarily identified according to their UV and mass spectra in the two-dimensional method. The obtained results not only demonstrated the powerful resolution of 2-D-LC, but also led to in-depth comprehension of the UV and mass spectra of complex samples.     

Scale-up study of high osmotic pressure chromatography for separation of poly(epsilon-caprolactone)

Methods to prepare fractions of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) with a narrow molecular mass distribution in large quantities have been examined using high osmotic pressure chromatography under the theta condition. Effects of column dimension and coupling columns in series on the separation resolution were studied. We found that use of a thicker column can improve the resolution if adverse effects of viscous fingering are avoided. We also demonstrated that coupling the columns results in a better separation if the second column does not adsorb high-molecular-mass components purified in the first column.     

Two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for the analysis of Lobelia chinensis Lour. using an ESI/APCI multimode ion source

A comprehensive approach for the separation and identification of components in a traditional Chinese medicine Lobelia chinensis Lour. was developed using 2D-HPLC coupled with an online photodiode array (PDA) detector and a mass spectrometer. The extract of L. chinensis Lour. was separated on a CN column in the first-dimensional HPLC, and then each of the collected fractions was further separated on an ODS column followed by an online PDA detector. After separation in the two different chromatographic modes, the eluents were delivered to a quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a multimode ion source of an ESI and an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (ESI/APCI). At least 536 components in L. chinensis Lour. extract were detected and 6 of them were identified as apigenin 7-O-rutinoside, luteolin, lobetyolinin, lobetyolin, diosmin, and linarin, respectively, according to their UV spectrum and mass spectrum. The results demonstrated the powerful resolution, high peak capacity, as well as the identification capability of the 2D-HPLC combined with PDA and ESI/APCI-MS for the analyses of complex samples.     

Comprehensive two-dimensional high performance liquid chromatography system with immobilized liposome chromatography column and monolithic column for separation of the traditional Chinese medicine Schisandra chinensis

A comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) separation is one that employs two separation dimensions (columns) and draws on all of the available resolving power from each of the dimensions of separate the components in a sample. In this study, a comprehensive 2D chromatography approach was developed for the separation and identification of membrane permeable compounds in a famous traditional Chinese medicine of Schisandra chinensis. The first dimensional column was the immobilized liposome chromatography (ILC) column, which mimics the biological membranes and can be used to study drug-membrane interactions in liquid chromatography. Using an automatic ten-port switching valve equipped with two sample loops, the section of the first-dimension was introduced in the second-dimension consist of a silica monolithic column. More than 40 components in Schisandra chinensis were resolved by using the developed separation system and among them 14 compounds were identified interacting with the ILC column based on their retention action, UV and mass data. With this comprehensive 2D-HPLC system, the three-dimensional chromatographic fingerprints of Schisandra chinensis were preliminarily established and processed by using principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis. The obtained information can distinguish the unacceptable samples of the quality control. The result demonstrated that the 2D biochromatography system has been demonstrated to have more advantages of finding strong binding bioactive components, providing an enhanced peak capacity, good sensitivity and powerful resolution biological fingerprinting analysis of complex TCMs, which was a useful means to control the quality of and to clarify the membrane permeability of the compounds in Schisandra chinensis.     

Separation and identification of compounds in Adinandra nitida by comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

A comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatographic (2D-LC) separation system based on the combination of a CN column and a Merck Chromolith Flash reversed-phase column was developed for the separation of components in Adinandra nitida, one type of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The two dimensions were connected by a ten-port, dual-position valve controlled automatically by software written in-house. The effluents were detected by both ultraviolet and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (MS). The calculated peak capacity of the 2D-LC–MS/MS system was above 1240. More than 57 components were resolved in the methanol extract from Adinandra nitida leaves, and five of these were identified based on their relative retention times, molecular weights and MS/MS spectra.     

全二维气相色谱/飞行时间质谱分析不同产地的川芎挥发油

建立了川芎挥发油的全二维气相色谱/飞行时间质谱(GC×GC/TOF MS)指纹图谱,并结合聚类分析评价了川芎药材的质量。4种萜类和苯酞类物质在DB-Petro×DB-17柱系统上实现了明显的族组分分离。从新都市的1个样品中分离出375种组分,其中相似度、反相似度皆大于800的化合物215个;根据质谱库检索和保留指数验证,或参照标准化合物及文献报道,从中定性了43个化合物。结合偏最小二乘法-判别分析,可以很好地将4个产区的挥发油样品加以区分,并找出20种差异最大的化合物,其中包括4种苯酞类物质。在此基础上,进一步应用正交偏最小二乘法,关联化学成分和抗氧化活性,结果发现,苯酞类物质(如藁本内酯、川芎内酯A和新蛇床内酯)对川芎挥发油样品地区差异的影响最大,其中彭州产川芎样品中苯酞类物质的含量最高。本文通过高分辨色谱技术研究了相邻产地的药物化学组成差异,并将化学指纹及生物学活性相关联,建立了系统的中药质量评价及活性化合物筛选研究模式。     

High resolution capillary gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of protein and non-protein amino acids,amino alcohols,and hydroxycarboxylic acids as their tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives

A simple, single-step derivatization technique is presented for capillary GC-FID and GC-MS separation and identification of common protein and non-protein constituents of natural peptides as their tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) derivatives. The tert-butyldimethyl-silylation of more than sixty compounds was accomplished with high yields and a single peak observed for each component. The TBDMS derivatives of both the protein and non-protein substances, moreover, exhibit excellent separation on apolar capillary columns and can be resolved completely using a polydimethylsiloxane or 5 % phenyl polydimethylsiloxane column and, complementarily, a 50 % phenyl polydimethylsiloxane column. Retention data and molar responses of the TBDMS derivatives on the polydimethylsiloxane column are compiled. Direct coupling of the 5 % phenyl polydimethylsiloxane column to an ion trap mass spectrometer enabled fast separation and identification of the investigated components, at nanomole to picomole levels, on the basis of retention and mass spectral data. The general usefulness of the method is demonstrated by research into new biologically active peptides isolated from entomopathogenic fungi.     

分子烙印亲和色谱与质谱联用实现中草药活性成分分离鉴定一体化

以骆驼蓬种籽中抗肿瘤活性化合物哈尔明及哈马灵的结构类似物哈尔满作为模 板,用非共价键法制备了对哈尔明及哈马灵具有强亲和性的分子烙印聚合物。此分 子烙印聚合物作为液相色谱固定相与大气压电离飞行时间质谱联用,直接分离鉴定 了草药骆驼蓬种籽甲醇粗提物中所含的哈尔明及哈灵两种抗肿瘤活性成分。实验结 果证明了通过分子烙印亲和色谱与质谱联用方法,快速有效地对中草药活性成分分 离鉴定是可能是。     

Separation of fresh tobacco smoke on a packed polar gas chromatographic column prior to on-line analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using a non-polar capillary column.

Gaseous samples of fresh tobacco smoke were injected on to a packed polar column (2,2-oxydipropionitrile) in all-glass chromatographic system. With the aid of a warm syringe, selected fractions were withdrawn from the bottom of the electron capture detector of the packed column for further injection into an efficient non-polar glass capillary column (SF-96), connectable on-line to a mass spectrometer. The method has permitted the separation and identification of some polar and non-polar components of tobacco smoke, which gave previously mixed, broad, tailing peaks when the smoke was injected directly into a non-polar capillary column.     

Resolution and identification of the protein components of the photosystem II antenna system of higher plants by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with electrospray-mass spectrometric detection

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) was interfaced to mass spectrometry (MS) with an electrospray ion (ESI) source for the separation and accurate molecular mass determination of the individual intrinsic membrane proteins that comprise the photosystem II (PS II) major light-harvesting complex (LHC II) and minor (CP24, CP26 and CP29) antenna system, whose molecular masses range between 22,000 and 29,000. PS II is a supramolecular complex intrinsic of the thylacoid membrane, which plays the important role in photosynthesis of capturing solar energy, and transferring it to photochemical reaction centers where energy conversion occurs. The protein components of the PS II major and minor antenna systems were extracted from spinach thylacoid membranes and separated using a butyl-silica column eluted by an acetonitrile gradient in 0.05% (v/v) aqueous trifluoroacetic acid. On-line electrospray MS allowed accurate molecular mass determination and identification of the protein components of PS II major and minor antenna system. The proposed RPLC-ESI-MS method holds several advantages over sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the conventional technique for studying membrane proteins, including a better protein separation, mass accuracy, speed and efficiency.     

Detection of low-abundance impurities in synthetic thyroid hormones by stationary phase optimized liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

The transfer of a gradient method to an isocratic or multistep gradient method employing stationary phase optimized liquid chromatography facilitated a reduction in analysis time by 50% and significantly improved the mass spectrometric detectability of impurities in synthetic thyroid hormones. Four column segments packed with different stationary phases were combined into a single chromatographic column, which allowed the separation and photometric as well as mass spectrometric detection of thyroid compounds in less than 30 min under isocratic- or step gradient elution conditions with 0.10% acetic acid/acetonitrile. Signal instability and baseline drift during detection by negative electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry were minimized by optimizing the spray parameters for each individual elution step. This resulted in improved detectabilities and higher mass spectral quality, especially for low-abundance components in the sample mixture. The method was applied to the separation and detection of the low-abundance impurities formed upon the thermal stressing of a sample of synthetic levothyroxine.