Assessment of commutability for candidate certified reference material ERM-BB130 “chloramphenicol in pork”

Chloramphenicol (CAP), an effective antibiotic against many microorganisms, is meanwhile banned in the EU for treatment of food-producing animals due to adverse health effects. The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) is currently developing a certified reference material (CRM) for CAP in pork, intended for validation and method performance verifications of analytical methods. The material will be certified using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) methods and has a target CAP level around the minimum required performance limit (MRPL) of 0.3 μg/kg. To prove that the material can be applied as a quality control tool for screening methods, a commutability study was conducted, involving five commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits and one biosensor assay (BiaCore kit). Meat homogenates (cryo-milled wet tissue) with CAP concentrations around the MRPL and the candidate CRM (lyophilised powder) were measured by LC–MS/MS and GC–MS as well as the six screening methods. Pairwise method comparisons of results obtained for the two sample types showed that the CRM can successfully be applied as quality control (QC) sample to all six screening methods. The study suggests that ERM-BB130 is sufficiently commutable with the investigated assays and that laboratories applying one of the investigated kits therefore benefit from using ERM-BB130 to demonstrate the correctness of their results. However, differences among the assays were observed, either in the abundance of bias between screening and confirmatory LC and GC methods, the repeatability of test results, or goodness of fit between the methods.     

A simple protocol for the synthesis of α-substituted phosphonates

An efficient, easy-to-handle, and mild substitution reaction approach has been developed for the synthesis of phosphonate derivatives, which are very important in the field of industrial, agricultural, and medicinal chemistry. A large number of nucleophiles, including arylamines, alkylamines, heteroarylamines, primary amines and secondary amines, sulfides, and carbides were attempted to react with α-tosyloxyphosphonate 1. The reaction proceeded under catalyst-free and neat conditions and the corresponding phosphonates 2 were afforded in good yields.     

The role of certified reference materials in ensuring the quality of spectrochemical measurements – the present status in Romania

 The objective of quality assurance programme for spectrochemical measurements is to reduce the measurement errors to accepted limits. Reference materials are being widely used as measurement standards in the fields of industrial production, environmental protection and clinical chemistry, and are playing an important role in ensuring the quality of measurement results. This paper presents some aspects, practices and examples of the activity of the Reference Materials Laboratory of the National Institute of Metrology, Bucharest, in the field of spectrochemical measurements. An attempt to describe the role and use of reliable certified reference materials to ensure the quality of spectrochemical measurements is presented. A short review of the locally available certified reference materials used in spectrochemical measurements is given. The use of reference materials data in estimating the measurement uncertainty is discussed. An interlaboratory comparison, recently organized in Romania, is also presented as a useful response to the need for quality assurance of spectrochemical results. Received: 20 March 1999 / Accepted: 25 February 2000     

Distribution and forms of phosphorus in tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze Estuary and coast

The distribution and forms of phosphorus (P) were investigated in the tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze Estuary and coast. The total P contents in surface sediments range from 18.0 to 31.4 μmol · g-1 along the southern coast. The spatial and temporal distribution of P in tidal flats is closely related to the location and pollution resources, especially in association with the variation of hydrodynamic conditions. Significant variations in the forms of P in different sites were observed. P bonded with Ca(Ca-P) is the dominant mineral form in all surface sediments, organic P(Org-P) is lower. Most P is of unstable form, suggesting that P has larger potential activity. P accumulation is the main behavior process between water and sediment in the coastal environment of the Yangtze Estuary.     

Suitability of different containers for the sampling and storage of biogas and biomethane for the determination of the trace-level impurities – A review

The traceable and accurate measurement of biogas impurities is essential in order to robustly assess compliance with the specifications for biomethane being developed by CEN/TC408. An essential part of any procedure aiming to determinate the content of impurities is the sampling and the transfer of the sample to the laboratory. Key issues are the suitability of the sample container and minimising the losses of impurities during the sampling and analysis process. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art in biogas sampling with the focus on trace impurities. Most of the vessel suitability studies reviewed focused on raw biogas. Many parameters need to be studied when assessing the suitability of vessels for sampling and storage, among them, permeation through the walls, leaks through the valves or physical leaks, sorption losses and adsorption effects to the vessel walls, chemical reactions and the expected initial concentration level. The majority of these studies looked at siloxanes, for which sampling bags, canisters, impingers and sorbents have been reported to be fit-for-purpose in most cases, albeit with some limitations. We conclude that the optimum method requires a combination of different vessels to cover the wide range of impurities commonly found in biogas, which have a wide range of boiling points, polarities, water solubilities, and reactivities. The effects from all the parts of the sampling line must be considered and precautions must be undertaken to minimize these effects. More practical suitability tests, preferably using traceable reference gas mixtures, are needed to understand the influence of the containers and the sampling line on sample properties and to reduce the uncertainty of the measurement.     

Advances in the determination of hindered amine light stabilizers – A review

Within this paper we discuss analytical strategies for the characterization and quantitation of hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) an important sub-group of polymer additives. For the determination of monomeric HALS a range of mature and reliable techniques exists, allowing their determination in polymer extracts. If qualitative or semi-quantitative information suffices, certain techniques are capable of sampling directly from the polymer surface with limited or no sample preparation. Different strategies for the determination of complex oligomeric HALS in extracts from polymer samples are discussed. Here, approaches providing only a sum parameter including all HALS oligomers have been distinguished from more sophisticated technologies allowing the determination of single oligomers, their degradation and by-products. Particularly, the latter issue is facing increased interest as it provides important information for polymers aging studies. A tabulated overview provides comprehensive information on different analytical techniques suitable for HALS determination.     

Use of neutron activation analysis and LC–ICP-MS in the development of candidate reference materials for As species determination

Arsenic (As) is widely found in marine organisms, mainly as organic arsenical compounds. With the introduction of regulations for As species in foodstuffs and for environmental control, it has become more important to quantify the amount of arsenic species present. To address this concern new reference materials (RMs) for validation and quality assurance of As speciation measurements are being developed, including a tuna fish tissue and a robalo liver tissue. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) is used in this work as a proven analytical tool for As determinations and for validating the As mass fraction determined by liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LC–ICP-MS) in extracts of the candidate RMs and other fish samples including certified RMs. Various methods for the extraction of water-soluble As species were evaluated. The best results were acquired after methanol/acetone/water extraction yielding in 93 % extractable As in the tuna RM. This procedure was used for the LC–ICP-MS studies. The results demonstrate that INAA can account for 100 % of the distribution of As species in analytical processes. It complements LC–ICP-MS for the validation of the characterization of As species in the development of RMs for such species. Excellent agreement of measured results in certified RMs with the reported values confirms the validity of the applied procedures.     

Recent trends in the determination of biogenic amines in fermented beverages – A review

Biogenic amines (BA) are generally considered as a food hazard, even though there is not a threshold for these biomolecules in the European legislation, except for histamine in fishery products. These compounds are formed during the storage and processing of certain foods through microbiological activity, and when present in high concentrations, could have toxicological effects, causing health problems in consumers, especially to sensitive persons. This fact, in addition to the economical concern involved, makes it necessary to control the amounts of biogenic amines in foods. For all these reasons, literature on biogenic amines in different food products, especially in fermented beverages, is extensive. This review provides an overview of the most recent trends in the determination of biogenic amines in fermented beverages focusing on novelty, improvement and optimization of analytical methods. Hence, the different sample treatment procedures (including derivatization), the most important analytical techniques and the most frequent applications are described and discussed. Although biogenic amines have been determined in wine and other fermented beverages for decades, new advancements and technical possibilities have allowed to increase the accuracy and sensitivity of analytical methods, in order to overcome the challenges posed by the complex matrices and their high intrinsic variability. Thus, the different purposes of BA determination (food safety, production process or food microbiology research) and the most widely employed analytical techniques have been reviewed.     

The recent developments in dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for preconcentration and determination of inorganic analytes

Recently, increasing interest on the use of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) developed in 2006 by Rezaee has been found in the field of separation science. DLLME is miniaturized format of liquid–liquid extraction in which acceptor-to-donor phase ratio is greatly reduced compared with other methods. In the present review, the combination of DLLME with different analytical techniques such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), gas chromatography (GC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for preconcentration and determination of inorganic analytes in different types of samples will be discussed. Recent developments in DLLME, e.g., displacement-DLLME, the use of an auxiliary solvent for adjustment of density of extraction mixture, and the application of ionic liquid-based DLLME in determination of inorganic species even in the presence of high content of salts are presented in the present review. Finally, comparison of DLLME with the other liquid-phase microextraction approaches and limitations of this technique are provided.     

Spectrometric methods for the determination of chlorine in crude oil and petroleum derivatives — A review

Chlorine determination in crude oil is made in order to guarantee that the oil does not contain levels of this element that might cause damages in the oil processing equipment. In petroleum products, the determination of chlorine is made, for instance, to evaluate if there are proper concentrations of organochloride compounds, which are used as additives. Such determinations are currently performed following official guidelines from the ASTM International and from the United States Environmental Protection Agency as well as protocols indicated by the Universal Oil Products. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy plays an important role in many of these official methods. In contrast, other spectrometric methods based on optical and mass detection are plagued by limitations related to both the fundamental characteristics of non-metals and to the complex sample matrices, which reflects in the small number of articles devoted to these applications. In this review, the current status of the spectrometric methods, especially the role played by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, is evaluated in terms of the determination of chlorine in crude oil and petroleum derivatives. Comparison of the performance of the methods, limitations and potential new approaches to ensure proper spectrometric determinations of chlorine is indicated.     

Instability of the DNPH-formaldehyde derivative in the certified reference material BCR-551 stored at −70 °C but not at −20 °C

During the post-certification stability monitoring of the certified reference material (CRM) BCR-551 (DNPH derivatives dissolved in acetonitrile), a decreased concentration of one of the analytes of this CRM, the DNPH-formaldehyde derivative, was detected in reference samples (stored at ?70 °C), while the concentration of normal “on-sale” samples (stored at ?20 °C) remained stable. This behaviour is contrary to the expectation of better stability at lower temperatures. Apparently, the DNPH-formaldehyde derivative reacts with dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) remaining from the synthesis phase to produce two new substances. These substances have been identified as C₁₃H₁₂N₈O₈ (substance 1) and C₂₀H₁₆N₁₂O₁₂ (substance 2) which, based on their structure, are suggested to be produced consecutively: DNPH + DNPH-formaldehyde derivative → substance 1 and substance 1 + DNPH-formaldehyde derivative → substance 2. Since acetonitrile freezes at ?45 °C, reference samples are frozen at ?70 °C, while normal samples are still liquid at ?20 °C. We believe that this leads to a cryo-concentration of the solutes above the eutectic point and thus to an increased reaction rate in the reference samples. This case demonstrates that care should be taken when extrapolating stability results towards conditions that never have been tested, especially if phase transitions are involved, even at temperature as low as ?70 °C. Furthermore, a slower degradation rate at lower temperatures can be overcompensated by a higher concentration due to cryo-concentration above the eutectic temperature.     

A simple protocol for the synthesis of triazole-linked cyclic glycopeptidomimetics: a sequential Ugi-MCR and azide–alkyne cycloaddition approach

Sequential combination of Ugi-MCR and click chemistry has been employed for the synthesis of triazole linked cyclic glycopeptidomimetics. The protocol employs Poc-amino alkyl isonitriles, sugar-1-amines, azido acids, and simple aldehydes as precursors. The dual nature of the propargyloxycarbonyl (Poc) group was explored for amine protection as well as cycloaddition with an azide. All the cyclic glycopeptidomimetics are isolated and characterized.     

Endogenous and synthetic steroids in bovine urine – Preparation of in-house reference material,stability studies and results of a proficiency test

Within the framework of the German National Residue Control Plan a specific number of samples of animal origin have to be analysed for natural and synthetic steroids each year. As a measure of external quality control of the methods applied in routine analysis a proficiency test was carried out. To this end, in-house reference material containing incurred residues of 17α- and 17β-nortestosterone and 17α- and 17β-estradiol as well as fortified residues of 17α-methyltestosterone and 17α-trenbolone in bovine urine were produced. Before sending the proficiency test material to the participants, the homogeneity of all samples was tested and confirmed. Furthermore extensive short- and long-term stability studies were carried out.     

Efficient sonochemical protocol for the facile synthesis of dipyrimido-dihydropyridine and pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines in aqueous β-cyclodextrin

An economical and efficient synthesis of dipyrimido-dihydropyridines and pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidines is described using greener and recyclable β-cyclodextrin as a supramolecular catalyst in aqueous medium. The remarkable features of this method are mild reaction conditions, short reaction times, easy workup procedure, recyclability of the catalyst, and excellent yields of the products. The highly functional group tolerance and shorter reaction times make this method suitable for the synthesis of dihydropyridine and pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine derivatives with a wide substitution pattern.     

Analytical validity of the determination of mercury in whole blood and urine – Results of the German external assurance programme for toxicological analysis in biological materials

The determination of mercury concentrations in blood and urine is currently the best way of monitoring individual uptake of organic and inorganic mercury. In Germany these determinations must be carried out under the conditions of an external quality assurance programme. The German performance evaluation, based on reference values established by reference laboratories yields success rates in percent for the participants in the intercomparison programme of about 60%. A Canadian evaluation system based on two evaluations scores, yields success rates of 25–50% for “good performance” and of 65–80% for “acceptable performance”. The determination of mercury in blood and urine is at present not carried out with the necessary reliability.     

A simple strategy for the synthesis of Zn-IL-SBA-15 by sol–gel and the application in desulfurization

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - SBA-15 functionalized with both zinc ions and ionic liquids was simply synthesized by sol–gel method. The characterization results of Fourier...     

A peroxidase-based method for the determination of dopamine, adrenaline, and α-methyldopa in the presence of thyroid hormones in pharmaceutical forms

The analytical properties of two commercial plant peroxidases isolated from horseradish roots and soybean hulls in the catalysis of the transformation of some catecholamines were demonstrated in the absence and presence of thyroid hormones (l-thyroxine and 3,3′,5′-iodothyronine). For the first time the reactions of dopamine, adrenaline, and α-methyldopa oxidation with H₂O₂ catalysed by horseradish peroxidase with the addition of l-thyroxine as the amplification agent were studied and proposed as the indicator reactions for the simple and rapid enzymatic determination of the indicated catecholamines in their concentration ranges 0.5-300, 4-300, and 100-400 μM, respectively. The catalytic activity of the enzyme (characterized by the reaction rate) was controlled spectrophotometrically. The optimum conditions for the indicator reactions were thoroughly characterized. The mechanism of the stimulatory effect of l-thyroxine on the oxidation of the catecholamines was discussed. The developed enzymatic procedures were successfully applied for the determination of dopamine, adrenaline, and α-methyldopa in some pharmaceutical forms.     

Three-component reactions of phosphorus ylides,thiophenols, and acetyl chloride for the synthesis of (β-thioacrylates)

The facile synthesis of β-thioacrylates has been realized via direct three-component reactions of thiophenols, Wittig reagents, and acetyl chloride. Under transition metal-free conditions, a class of β-thioacrylates have been synthesized with fair to excellent yields via cascade C=C double bond and C(sp² Kano, T.; Shirozu, F.; Akakura, M.; Maruoka, K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 16068-16073.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar])-S bond formation.     

Pipette tip solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry for the determination of methamphetamine and amphetamine in human whole blood

Methamphetamine and amphetamine were extracted from human whole blood samples using pipette tip solid-phase extraction (SPE) with MonoTip C₁₈ tips, on which C₁₈-bonded monolithic silica gel was fixed. Human whole blood (0.1 mL) containing methamphetamine and amphetamine, with N-methylbenzylamine as an internal standard, was mixed with 0.4 mL of distilled water and 50 μL of 5 M sodium hydroxide solution. After centrifugation, the supernatant was extracted to the C₁₈ phase of the tip (pipette tip volume, 200 μL) by 25 repeated aspirating/dispensing cycles using a manual micropipettor. Analytes retained in the C₁₈ phase were eluted with methanol by five repeated aspirating/dispensing cycles. After derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride, analytes were measured by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring in the positive-ion electron impact mode. Recoveries of methamphetamine and amphetamine spiked into whole blood were more than 87.6 and 81.7%, respectively. Regression equations for methamphetamine and amphetamine showed excellent linearity in the range of 0.5–100 ng/0.1 mL. The limits of detection for methamphetamine and amphetamine were 0.15 and 0.11 ng/0.1 mL, respectively. Intra- and interday coefficients of variation for both stimulants were not greater than 9.6 and 13.8%, respectively. The determination of methamphetamine and amphetamine in autopsy whole blood samples is presented, and was shown to validate the present methodology.