Simultaneous quantification of six major triterpenoid saponins in Schefflera kwangsiensis using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to orbitrap mass spectrometry

A simple and accurate analytical method was developed for simultaneous and quantitative analysis of six triterpenoid saponins in Schefflera kwangsiensis via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with mass spectrometry (MS) in this study. Separation was performed on a Thermo hypersil GOLD C₁₈ column (150 mm × 2.1 mm, 5 μm). A mobile phase consisting of methanol/acetonitrile/8 mM ammonium acetate in water was used with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The analytes were detected by MS with the electrospray ionisation (ESI) source combined with negative monitoring and full scan mode, and were analysed by extracted ion chromatography. This established HPLC-ESI-MS analysis demonstrated good linearity, sensitivity, stability, precision, accuracy and recovery. Therefore, this analytical method has great potential to be a novel tool to qualify S. kwangsiensis.     

Point‐to‐Plane Nonhomogeneous Electric‐Field‐Induced Simultaneous Formation of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) and Lipid Tubes

It is well‐known that homogeneous electric fields can be used to generate giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Herein we report an interesting phenomenon of formation of GUVs and lipid tubes simultaneously using a nonhomogeneous electric field generated by point‐to‐plane electrodes. The underlying mechanism was analyzed using finite element analysis. The two forces play main roles, that is, the pulling force (F) to drag GUVs into lipid tubes induced by fluid flow, and the critical force (Fc) to prevent GUVs from deforming into lipid tubes induced by electric fields. In the center area underneath the needle electrode, the GUVs were found because F is less than Fc in that region, whereas in the edge area the lipid tubes were obtained because F is larger than Fc. The diffusion coefficient of lipid in the tubes was found to be 4.45 μm² s^?1 using a fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) technique. The method demonstrated here is superior to conventional GUV or lipid tube fabrication methods, and has great potential in cell mimic or hollow material fabrication using GUVs and tubes as templates.     

Digital image-based flame emission spectrometry

A digital image-based flame emission spectrometric (DIB-FES) method for the quantitative chemical analysis is proposed here for the first time. The DIB-FES method employs a webcam to capture the digital images which are associated to a radiation emitted by the analyte into an air-butane flame. Since the detection by webcam is based on the RGB (red-green-blue) colour system, a novel mathematical model was developed in order to build DIB-FES analytical curves and estimate figures of merit for the proposed method. In this approach, each image is retrieved in the three R, G and B individual components and their values were used to define a position vector in RGB three-dimensional space. The norm of this vector is then adopted as the RGB-based value (analytical response) and it has revealed to be linearly related to the analyte concentration. The feasibility of the DIB-FES method is illustrated in three applications involving the determination of lithium, sodium and calcium in anti-depressive drug, physiological serum and water, respectively. In comparison with the traditional flame emission spectrometry (trad-FES), no statistic difference has been observed between the results by applying the paired t-test at the 95% confidence level. However, the DIB-FES method has offered the largest sensitivities and precision, as well as the smallest limits of detection and quantification for the three analytes. These advantageous characteristics are attributed to the trivariate nature of the detection by webcam.     

The Bis(ferrocenyl)phosphenium Ion Revisited

The bis(ferrocenyl)phosphenium ion, [Fc₂P]⁺, reported by Cowley et al. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1981 , 103, 714–715), was the only claimed donor‐free divalent phosphenium ion. Our examination of the molecular and electronic structure reveals that [Fc₂P]⁺ possesses significant intramolecular Fe???P contacts, which are predominantly electrostatic and moderate the Lewis acidity. Nonetheless, [Fc₂P]⁺ undergoes complex formation with the Lewis bases PPh₃ and IPr to give the donor–acceptor complexes [Fc₂P(PPh₃)]⁺ and [Fc₂P(IPr)]⁺ (IPr=1,3‐bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)imidazole‐2‐ylidene).     

The hierarchy of localization basins: a tool for the understanding of chemical bonding exemplified by the analysis of the VOx and VOx+ (x=1–4) systems

The hierarchy of the electron localization basins is a powerful tool of analysis of the bonding in molecules and solids within the “elfological” framework. It is a generalization of the molecular isodensity contour analysis originally proposed by Mezey. In this approach the basins are ordered with respect to the electron localization function values at the critical points which determine the reduction of the reducible localization domains. The procedure enabling the corresponding tree diagrams to be built is described and it is shown how the method can be used as a generator of mathematical definitions of chemical concepts. The possibility offered by this simple tool is illustrated by a study of the VO _x and VO _x ⁺ (x=1–4) oxides in their ground state and in some excited states. Received: 20 July 2000 / Accepted: 20 October 2000 / Published online: 23 January 2001     

Scope of partial least‐squares regression applied to the enantiomeric composition determination of ketoprofen from strongly overlapped chromatographic profiles

Valuable quantitative information could be obtained from strongly overlapped chromatographic profiles of two enantiomers by using proper chemometric methods. Complete separation profiles where the peaks are fully resolved are difficult to achieve in chiral separation methods, and this becomes a particularly severe problem in case that the analyst needs to measure the chiral purity, i.e., when one of the enantiomers is present in the sample in very low concentrations. In this report, we explore the scope of a multivariate chemometric technique based on unfolded partial least‐squares regression, as a mathematical tool to solve this quite frequent difficulty. This technique was applied to obtain quantitative results from partially overlapped chromatographic profiles of R‐ and S‐ketoprofen, with different values of enantioresolution factors (from 0.81 down to less than 0.2 resolution units), and also at several different S:R enantiomeric ratios. Enantiomeric purity below 1% was determined with excellent precision even from almost completely overlapped signals. All these assays were tested on the most demanding condition, i.e., when the minor peak elutes immediately after the main peak. The results were validated using univariate calibration of completely resolved profiles and the method applied to the determination of enantiomeric purity of commercial pharmaceuticals.     

Quantitative gas chromatographic analysis on support-coated open tubular capillary columns : I. Analysis of isomeric ethylphenols

Gas chromatographic methodology has been developed for quantitative analysis of samples of o-, m-, and p-ethylphenols. Samples are dissolved in a dichloromethane solution of the internal standard, anisole, and are then derivatized with N-trimethylsilylimidazole to form the silyl ethers. The samples are chromatographed with similarly prepared standards on a stainless-steel OV-17 support-coated open tubular (SCOT) column.Specificity, linearity, precision and stability of the samples are discussed, and chromatograms obtained on the SCOT column are compared to those obtained on a packed analytical column.This report describes one of the first quantitative gas chromatographic analytical methods to use a SCOT (capillary) column.     

Electronic Properties of Mono‐Substituted Tetraferrocenyl Porphyrins in Solution and on a Gold Surface: Assessment of the Influencing Factors for Photoelectrochemical Applications

Two unsymmetric meso‐tetraferrocenyl‐containing porphyrins of general formula Fc₃(FcCOR)Por (Fc=ferrocenyl, R=CH₃ or (CH₂)₅Br, Por=porphyrin) were prepared and characterized by a variety of spectroscopic methods, whereas their redox properties were investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) approaches. The mixed‐valence [Fc₃(FcCOR)Por]ⁿ⁺ (n=1,3) were investigated using spectroelectrochemical as well as chemical oxidation methods and corroborated with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Inter‐valence charge‐transfer (IVCT) transitions in [Fc₃(FcCOR)Por]⁺ were analyzed, and the resulting data matched closely previously reported complexes and were assigned as Robin–Day class II mixed‐valence compounds. Self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) of a thioacetyl derivative (Fc₃(FcCO(CH₂)₅SCOCH₃)Por) were also prepared and characterized. Photoelectrochemical properties of SAMs in different electrolyte systems were investigated by electrochemical techniques and photocurrent generation experiments, showing that the choice of electrolyte is critical for efficiency of redox‐active SAMs.     

Differentiation between weathered kerosene and diesel fuel using automatic thermal desorption‐GC‐MS analysis and the likelihood ratio approach

The identification of various petroleum products, which can be used to set a fire, is one of the tasks of a forensic examination. One of the analytical problems is differentiation of weathered kerosene and diesel fuel samples, analysed with automatic thermal desorption‐GC‐MS technique, because there are only small quantitative differences in their chemical compositions. The presented research showed that the observed differences in the analysed samples of kerosene and a diesel fuel, which were weathered at the time of burning, were systematic and significant. Therefore, it was possible to distinguish them on the basis of information about the relative content of n‐alkanes (C₁₁H₂₄–C₁₅H₃₂) when statistical methods (cluster analysis and likelihood ratio approach) were applied.     

A Tin(II) Chloride Based Reduction Method for Multiple-Metal Trace Analysis of Natural Waters

Based on tin(II) chloride reduction in basic medium, a method of general use is proposed for the estimation of the whole gamut of multiple trace metals in natural waters by the atomic absorption method. The quantitative aspects of the method related to variables such as pH of the medium, amount of reductant and operational conditions are studied as a function of absorption sensitivity. The proposed method utilizes only a 50.0 ml portion of the water sample and yields above 90 per cent recoveries for various metals from a single aliquot of the sample. The reported data pertain to the estimation of silver, chromium, copper, iron, lead, mercury, manganese, magnesium, nickel and strontium, reported as averaged over replicate measurements at +-2S confidence level. The precision in individual cases is found to be better than +1.8%.     

A Monte Carlo approach for estimating measurement uncertainty using standard spreadsheet software

Despite the importance of stating the measurement uncertainty in chemical analysis, concepts are still not widely applied by the broader scientific community. The Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement approves the use of both the partial derivative approach and the Monte Carlo approach. There are two limitations to the partial derivative approach. Firstly, it involves the computation of first-order derivatives of each component of the output quantity. This requires some mathematical skills and can be tedious if the mathematical model is complex. Secondly, it is not able to predict the probability distribution of the output quantity accurately if the input quantities are not normally distributed. Knowledge of the probability distribution is essential to determine the coverage interval. The Monte Carlo approach performs random sampling from probability distributions of the input quantities; hence, there is no need to compute first-order derivatives. In addition, it gives the probability density function of the output quantity as the end result, from which the coverage interval can be determined. Here we demonstrate how the Monte Carlo approach can be easily implemented to estimate measurement uncertainty using a standard spreadsheet software program such as Microsoft Excel. It is our aim to provide the analytical community with a tool to estimate measurement uncertainty using software that is already widely available and that is so simple to apply that it can even be used by students with basic computer skills and minimal mathematical knowledge.     

Heterobimetallische Vanadium- und Thallium-2-(dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl-Verbindungen

Zusammenfassung Synthesen und Eigenschaften von 2-(Dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl-Derivaten der Formel (FcN) _n VCl_3–n (FcN=2-(Dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl;n=1 (1), 2 (2), 3 (3)), die aus VCl₃·3THF und (FcN) Li (I) entstehen, werden mitgeteilt. WährendCp ₂VCl₂ (Cp=C₅H₅) mitI unter Bildung vonCp ₂ V(FcN) (4) reagiert, läßt sich VO (acac)₂ (acac=Anion des Acetylacetonates, C₅H₇O₂) in die 2-(Dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl-Verbindung des vierwertigen Vanadiums (FcN)VO(acac),5) überführen. Dagegen entsteht bei Umsetzungen von VOCl₂·2THF mitI das Organovanadium (III)-Derivat Li [(FcN)₂V(O)Cl] (6).Reaktionen von VCl₄·2THF,Cp ₂VCl₂, VOCl₃ undCpVOCl₂ mit (FcN)₃Tl (II) führen unter Bildung von (FcN)₂TlCl (7) zu thermisch instabilen vanadiumorganischen Verbindungen. Eine eingehende Charakterisierung von1–7 erfolgte durch Elementaranalysen, Ermittlung der effektiven magnetischen Momente, IR-, Massen- und NMR-Spektroskopie sowie, insbesondere hinsichtlich der Ausbildung möglicher Chelatstrukturen, durch UV/Vis und Mößbauer-Spektroskopie.

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Heterobimetallic 2-(dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl compounds of vanadium and thallium

Summary Syntheses and properties of 2-(dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenylderivatives of the composition (FcN) _n VCl_3–n (FcN=2-(dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl;n=1 (1), 2 (2), 3 (3)), which are formed from VCl₃·3THF and (FcN) Li (I), are reported. WhereasCp ₂VCl₂ (Cp=C₅H₅) reacts withI under formation ofCp ₂V(FcN) (4), VO(acac)₂ (acac=anion of acetylacetonate, C₅H₇O₂) can be transformed into the 2-(dimethylaminomethyl)-ferrocenyl compound of tetravalent vanadium (FcN)VO(acac),5). However, when VOCl₂·2THF reacts withI, the organovanadium(III)-derivative Li[(FcN)₂V(O)Cl] (6) is formed.Reactions of VCl₄·2THF,Cp ₂VCl₂, VOCl₃, andCpVOCl₂ with (FcN)₃Tl (II) lead to thermally instable vanadiumorganic compounds under formation of (FcN)₂TlCl (7). A detailed characterization of1–7 was carried out by elementary analysis, determination of effective magnetic moments, IR, mass and¹H NMR spectroscopy as well as — especially referring to the formation of possible chelate structures — by UV/Vis andMöbauer spectroscopy.

     

Different Complexation Behavior of P‐Functionalized Ferrocene Derivatives Towards SnCl2, SnCl4 and SnPh2Cl2: Auto‐ionization and Redox‐Type Reactions

The novel phosphonyl‐substituted ferrocene derivatives [Fe(η⁵‐Cp)(η⁵‐C₅H₃{P(O)(O‐iPr)₂}₂‐1,2)] ( Fc^1,2 ) and [Fe{η⁵‐C₅H₄P(O)(O‐iPr)₂}₂] ( Fc^1,1′ ) react with SnCl₂, SnCl₄, and SnPh₂Cl₂, giving the corresponding complexes [(Fc^1,2)₂SnCl][SnCl₃] ( 1 ), [{(Fc^1,1′)SnCl₂}_n] ( 2 ), [(Fc^1,1′)SnCl₄] ( 3 ), [{(Fc^1,1′)SnPh₂Cl₂}_n] ( 4 ), and [(Fc^1,2)SnCl₄] ( 5 ), respectively. The compounds are characterized by elemental analyses, ¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P, ¹¹⁹Sn NMR and IR spectroscopy, ³¹P and ¹¹⁹Sn CP‐MAS NMR spectroscopy, cyclovoltammetry, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and single‐crystal as well as powder X‐ray diffraction analyses. The experimental work is accompanied by DFT calculations, which help to shed light on the origin for the different reaction behavior of Fc^1,1′ and Fc^1,2 towards tin(II) chloride.     

Novel Bottom‐Up SERS Substrates for Quantitative and Parallelized Analytics

Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an emerging technology in the field of analytics. Due to the high sensitivity in connection with specific Raman molecular fingerprint information SERS can be used in a variety of analytical, bioanalytical, and biosensing applications. However, for the SERS effect substrates with metal nanostructures are needed. The broad application of this technology is greatly hampered by the lack of reliable and reproducible substrates. Usually the activity of a given substrate has to be determined by time‐consuming experiments such as calibration or ultramicroscopic studies. To use SERS as a standard analytical tool, cheap and reproducible substrates are required, preferably with a characterization technique that does not interfere with the subsequent measurements. Herein we introduce an innovative approach to produce low‐cost and large‐scale reproducible substrates for SERS applications, which allows easy and economical production of micropatterned SERS active surfaces on a large scale. This approach is based on an enzyme‐induced growth of silver nanostructures. The special structural feature of the enzymatically deposited silver nanoparticles prevents the breakdown of SERS activity even at high particle densities (particle density >60 %) that lead to a conductive layer. In contrast to other approaches, this substrate exhibits a relationship between electrical conductivity and the resulting SERS activity of a given spot. This enables the prediction of the SERS activity of the nanostructure ensemble and therewith the controllable and reproducible production of SERS substrates of enzymatic silver nanoparticles on a large scale, utilizing a simple measurement of the electrical conductivity. Furthermore, through a correlation between the conductivity and the SERS activity of the substrates it is possible to quantify SERS measurements with these substrates.     

Element analysis of inhomogeneous samples by laser ablation ICP mass spectrometry

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been used for the determination of selected elements in heterogeneous powdered soils. The precision of the method essentially depends on the homogeneity of the samples. Therefore the influence of sample inhomogeneity on the precision of analytical results has been checked. The statistical evaluation was carried out using a correlation function. In the context of the described experiments, it is necessary to analyze a volume of about 20 mm³ in order to obtain reliable information on the bulk composition of the heterogeneous samples. This corresponds to about 50 craters, each with a depth of 1 mm. The results can be used to calculate certain analytical parameters, particularly the sample homogeneity, depending on the necessary analytical volume and the representative mass for the quantitative analysis under previously defined conditions. In addition to these calculations, analytical experiments have been carried out which confirm the applicability of this approach.     

An efficient in vitro and in vivo HPLC method for hydnocarpin in nanomicelles formulation

For quantitative and other related bioactive studies of hydnocarpin, there is a need to establish an efficient, specific and sensitive analytical method (in vitro and in vivo). In this paper, an efficient HPLC method has been established and validated to analyze hydnocarpin in a nanomicelle formulation for the first time. Various chromatographic conditions for in vitro and in vivo determinations were investigated, with the application examined by pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution studies. The analysis was carried out using an HPLC system with a Waters symmetry C₁₈ column (4.6 × 150 mm, 5 µm) at 25°C with a detecting wavelength of 342 nm. Eluting at a rate of 1.0 mL/min, a 65% methanol and 35% acetic acid solution (0.1%) served as the mobile phase for the in vitro determinations while a 62% methanol and 38% acetic acid solution (0.1%) was used for in vivo analysis with isoliquiritigenin as internal standard. The established in vitro linearity range for hydnocarpin was 0.2–20 µg/mL (R² = 0.9996), with the biological (in vivo) samples following the same trend. The accuracy of the method was >99% (in vitro) and 92.4–105.3% (in vivo). Also, the precision met the acceptance criterion. These results indicate that the established method exhibited high specificity, accuracy, linearity and precision. Additionally, this efficient HPLC method was applied to pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution studies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of tandem mass spectrometry and high‐resolution mass spectrometry for the analysis of bupivacaine in plasma

Triple quadrupole mass spectrometers coupled with high performance liquid chromatography are workhorses in quantitative bioanalyses. They provide substantial benefits including reproducibility, sensitivity and selectivity for trace analysis. Selected reaction monitoring allows targeted assay development but datasets generated contain very limited information. Data mining and analysis of nontargeted high‐resolution mass spectrometry profiles of biological samples offer the opportunity to perform more exhaustive assessments, including quantitative and qualitative analysis. The objectives of this study were to test method precision and accuracy, to statistically compare bupivacaine drug concentration in real study samples and to verify if high‐resolution and accurate mass data collected in scan mode can actually permit retrospective data analysis, more specifically, extract metabolite related information. The precision and accuracy data presented using both instruments provided equivalent results. Overall, the accuracy ranged from 106.2 to 113.2% and the precision observed was from 1.0 to 3.7%. Statistical comparisons using a linear regression between both methods revealed a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.9996 and a slope of 1.02, demonstrating a very strong correlation between the two methods. Individual sample comparison showed differences from ?4.5 to 1.6%, well within the accepted analytical error. Moreover, post‐acquisition extracted ion chromatograms at m/z 233.1648 ± 5 ppm (M ? 56) and m/z 305.2224 ± 5 ppm (M + 16) revealed the presence of desbutyl‐bupivacaine and three distinct hydroxylated bupivacaine metabolites. Post‐acquisition analysis allowed us to produce semi‐quantitative evaluations of the concentration–time profiles for bupicavaine metabolites. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of electrophoretic patterns of arbitrarily primed PCR profiling

We present a mathematical algorithm for the analysis of electrophoretic patterns resulting from arbitrarily primed PCR profiling. The algorithm is based on the established mathematical procedures applied to the analysis of digital images of gel patterns. The algorithm includes (a) transformation of the image into a matrix form, (b) identification of every electrophoretic lane as a set of matrix columns that are further mathematically processed, (c) averaging of matrix columns corresponding to electrophoretic lanes that define lane representatives, (d) elimination of "smiling" bands, (e) solving the problem of a lane offset, and (f) removal of the background. Representation of individual electrophoretic lanes in the form of functions allows interlane comparisons and further mathematical analysis. Direct comparison of selected lanes was obtained by employing correlation analysis. Gel images were those obtained after arbitrarily primed PCR analysis of DNA that underwent damage induced by gamma radiation from a (60)Co source. The applied method proved to be useful for elimination of subjectivity of visual inspection. It offers the possibility to avoid overlooking important differences in case of suboptimal electrophoretic resolution. In addition, higher precision is achieved in the assessment of quantitative differences due to better insight into experimental artifacts. These simple mathematical methods offer an open-type algorithm, i.e., this algorithm enables easy implementation of different parameters that may be useful for other analytical needs.