Simultaneous identification of glucosinolates and phenolic compounds in a representative collection of vegetable Brassica rapa

Brassica raparapa group is widely distributed and consumed in northwestern Spain. The consumption of Brassica vegetables has been related to human health due to their phytochemicals, such as glucosinolates and phenolic compounds that induce a variety of physiological functions including antioxidant activity, enzymes regulation and apoptosis control and the cell cycle. For first time in Brassica crops, intact glucosinolates and phenolic compounds were simultaneously identified and characterized. Twelve intact glucosinolates, belonging to the three chemical classes, and more than 30 phenolic compounds were found in B. rapa leaves and young shoots (turnip greens and turnip tops) by LC–UV photodiode array detection (PAD)–electrospray ionization (ESI). The main naturally occurring phenolic compounds identified were flavonoids and derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acids. The majority of the flavonoids were kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin glycosylated and acylated with different hydroxycinnamic acids. Quantification of the main compounds by HPLC-PAD showed significant differences for most of compounds between plant organs. Total glucosinolate content value was 26.84 μmol g⁻¹ dw for turnip greens and 29.11 μmol g⁻¹ dw for turnip tops; gluconapin being the predominant glucosinolate (23.2 μmol g⁻¹ dw). Phenolic compounds were higher in turnip greens 51.71 μmol g⁻¹ dw than in turnip tops 38.99 μmol g⁻¹ dw, in which flavonols were always the major compounds.     

Quantitative analysis of flavonoids and phenolic acids in Arnica montana L. by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Arnica montana preparations have been used in Europe for centuries to treat skin disorders. Among the biologically active ingredients in the flower heads of the plant are sequiterpenes, flavonoids and phenolic acids. For the simultaneous determination of compounds belonging to the latter two groups a micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) method was developed and validated. By using an electrolyte solution containing 50 mM borax, 25 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 30% of acetonitrile the separation of seven flavonoids and four caffeic acid derivatives was feasible in less than 20 min. The optimized system was validated for repeatability (σ_rel ≤ 4.4%), precision (inter-day σ_rel ≤ 8.13%, intra-day σ_rel ≤ 4.32%), accuracy (recovery rates from 96.8 to 102.4%), sensitivity (limit of detection (LOD) ≤ 4.5 μg mL⁻¹) and linearity (R² ≥ 0.9996), and then successfully applied to assay several plant samples. In all of them the most dominant flavonoid was found to be quercetin 3-O-glucuronic acid, whereas 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid was the major phenolic acid; the total content of flavonoids and phenolic acids varied in the samples from 0.60 to 1.70%, and 1.03 to 2.24%, respectively.     

Preparation of stir cake sorptive extraction based on polymeric ionic liquid for the enrichment of benzimidazole anthelmintics in water,honey and milk samples

In this work, a new stir cake sorptive extraction (SCSE) using polymeric ionic liquid monolith as sorbent was prepared. The sorbent was obtained by in situ copolymerization of an ionic liquid, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoro methyl)sulfonyl]imide (AMII) and divinylbenzene (DB) in the presence of N,N-dimethylformamide. The influence of the content of ionic liquid and the porogen in the polymerization mixture on extraction performance was studied thoroughly. The physicochemical properties of the polymeric ionic liquid were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The usefulness of SCSE–AMIIDB was demonstrated by the enrichment of trace benzimidazole anthelmintics. Several parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated, and under the optimized conditions, a simple and effective method for the determination of trace benzimidazoles residues in water, milk and honey samples was established by coupling SCSE–AMIIDB with high performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection (SCSE–AMIIDB–HPLC/DAD). Results indicated that the limits of detection (S/N = 3) for target compounds were 0.020–0.072 μg L⁻¹, 0.035–0.10 μg L⁻¹ and 0.026–0.076 μg L⁻¹ in water, milk and honey samples, respectively. In addition, an acceptable reproducibility was achieved by evaluating the repeatability and intermediate precision with relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 9% and 11%, respectively. Finally, the established AMII–SCSE–HPLC/DAD method was successfully applied for the determination of benzimidazoles residues in milk, honey and environmental water samples. Recoveries obtained for the determination of benzimidazole anthelmintics in spiking samples ranged from 70.2% to 117.6%, with RSD below 12% in all cases.     

Determination of Phenolic Compounds by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis–Mass Spectrometry

A CZE-MS method was developed for the determination of several phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids). Since the analysis of these components necessitates the application of basic conditions for CZE separation and negative ionization mode for MS detection, the simplest choice was to use 0.5 M NH₄OH and IPA:water (1:1 v/v%) as the background electrolyte and sheath liquid, respectively. The LOD values ranged between 0.004–1.9 mg/L showing that there are relatively large differences in the ionization (and chemical) features of these compounds. The precision data were better than 0.75 RSD% for migration times and were between 5–8 RSD% for peak areas. In order to test the applicability of the developed method, a honey sample was analyzed.     

In-vial liquid–liquid microextraction-capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of phenolic acids in vegetable oils

An in-vial liquid–liquid microextraction method was developed for the selective extraction of the phenolic acids (caffeic, gallic, cinnamic, ferulic, chlorogenic, syringic, vanillic, benzoic, p-hydroxybenzoic, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic, o-coumaric, m-coumaric and p-coumaric) in vegetable oil samples. The optimised extraction conditions for 20 g sample were: volume of diluent (n-hexane), 2 mL; extractant, methanol: 5 mM sodium hydroxide (60:40; v/v); volume of extractant, 300 μL (twice); vortex, 1 min; centrifugation, 5 min. Recoveries for the studied phenolic acids were 80.1–119.5%. The simultaneous determination of the phenolic acid extracts was investigated by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Separations were carried out on a bare fused-silica capillary (50 μm i.d. × 40 cm length) involving 25 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 9.15) and 5% methanol as CE background electrolyte in the normal polarity mode, voltage of 30 kV, temperature of 25 °C, injection time of 4 s (50 mbar) and electropherograms were recorded at 200 nm. The phenolic acids were successfully separated in less than 10 min. The validated in-vial LLME-CE method was applied to the determination of phenolic acids in vegetable oil samples (extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, pure olive oil, walnut oil and grapeseed oil). The developed method shows significant advantages over the current methods as lengthy evaporation step is not required.     

Microwave-assisted phase-transfer catalysis for the rapid one-pot methylation and gas chromatographic determination of phenolics

Microwave-assisted phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) is reported for the first time, for the one-step extraction–derivatization–preconcentration and gas chromatographic determination of twenty phenols and ten phenolic acids. The well established phase-transfer catalytic methylation is largely accelerated when heating is replaced with the “greener” microwave irradiation. The overall procedure was thoroughly optimized and the analytes were determined by GC/MS. The method presented adequate analytical characteristics being more sensitive in analyzing phenols than phenolic acids. The limits of detection without any additional preconcentration steps (e.g. solvent evaporation) were adequate and ranged from 0.4 to 15.8 ng/mL while limits of quantitation were between 1.2 and 33.3 ng/mL. The method was applied to the determination of phenols, in spiked environmental samples and phenolic acids in aqueous infusions of commercially available pharmaceutical dry plants. The recoveries of fortified composite lake water samples and Mentha spicata aqueous infusions ranged from 89.3% to 117.3% for phenols and 93.3% to 115.2% for phenolic acids.     

A simple hollow fiber renewal liquid membrane extraction method for analysis of sulfonamides in honey samples with determination by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and precise analysis using hollow fiber renewal liquid membrane (HFRLM) extraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) is described for determination of five sulfonamides in honey samples. In this procedure, the organic solvent introduced directly into the sample matrix extracts the sulfonamides and carries them over the polypropylene porous membrane. An organic solvent is immobilized inside the polypropylene porous membrane, leading to a homogeneous phase. The stripping phase at higher pH in the lumen of the membrane promotes the ionization of the target compounds releasing them to this phase. The most important parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized by multivariable designs (pH and sample mass, pH and buffer for stripping phase, extraction temperature and time, type and volume of extractor solvent and use of salt to saturate the sample). Detection limits in the range of 5.1–27.4 μg kg⁻¹ and linearity coefficient of correlation higher than 0.987 were obtained for the target analytes. The results obtained for the proposed method show that HFRLM–LC–MS/MS can be used for determination of the five sulfonamides studied in honey samples with excellent precision, accuracy, practicality and short analysis time.     

Determination of polyphenolic compounds by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry in Thymus species

Polyphenolic compounds represent a wide group of phytochemicals, including well-known subgroups of phenolic acids, flavonoids, natural dyes, lignans etc., which are produced by plants. These natural bioactive compounds possess a variety of beneficial effects including antioxidant and anticarcinogenic activities, protection against coronary diseases as well as antimicrobial properties. Thymus species have already been reported as sources of different phenolic acids and flavonoids. Moreover, the composition and content of flavonoids in Thymus species play important role as taxonomic markers providing distinction of species. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with diode array detector (DAD) and on-line mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) method was used for analysis. The method was evaluated for a number of validation characteristics (repeatability and intermediate precision, LOD, LOQ, calibration range, and recovery). The polyphenolic pattern of five native Hungarian Thymus species (T. glabrescens Willd., T. pannonicus All., T. praecox Opiz, T. pulegioides L., and T. serpyllum L.) was characterized. The dominant compound was rosmarinic acid, which ranged between 83.49 μg g⁻¹ and 1.436 mg g⁻¹. Other phenolic acids (ferulic acid, caffeic acid and its other derivatives, chlorogenic acid and p-coumaric acids) were present in every examined Thymus species, as well as flavanones: naringenin, eriodictyol and dihydroquercetin; flavones: apigenin and apigenin-7-glucoside, flavonols: quercetin and rutin. The polyphenolic pattern was found to be a useful additional chemotaxonomic tool for classification purposes and determination of the locality of origin.     

Coacervative microextraction ultrasound-assisted back-extraction technique for determination of organophosphates pesticides in honey samples by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Coacervative microextraction ultrasound-assisted back-extraction technique (CME-UABE) is proposed for the first time for extracting and preconcentrating organophosphates pesticides (OPPs) from honey samples prior to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. The extraction/preconcentration technique is supported on the micellar organized medium based on non-ionic surfactant. To enable coupling the proposed technique with GC, it was required to back extract the analytes into hexane. Several variables including, surfactant type and concentration, equilibration temperature and time, matrix modifiers, pH and buffers nature were studied and optimized over the relative response of the analytes. The best working conditions were as follows: an aliquot of 10 mL 50 g L⁻¹ honey blend solution was conditioned by adding 100 μL 0.1 mol L⁻¹ hydrochloric acid (pH 2) and finally extracted with 100 μL Triton X-114 100 g L⁻¹ at 85 °C for 5 min using CME technique. Under optimal experimental conditions, the enrichment factor (EF) was 167 and limits of detection (LODs), calculated as three times the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N = 3), ranged between 0.03 and 0.47 ng g⁻¹. The method precision was evaluated over five replicates at 1 ng g⁻¹ with RSDs ≤9.5%. The calibration graphs were linear within the concentration range of 0.3–1000 ng g⁻¹ for chlorpirifos; and 1–1000 ng g⁻¹ for fenitrothion, parathion and methidathion, respectively. The coefficients of correlation were ≥0.9992. Validation of the methodology was performed by standard addition method at two concentration levels (2 and 20 ng g⁻¹). The recoveries were ≥90%, indicating satisfactory robustness of the methodology, which could be successfully applied for determination of OPPs in honey samples of different Argentinean regions. Two of the analyzed samples showed levels of methidathion ranged between 1.2 and 2.3 ng g⁻¹.     

Effects of the operation parameters on Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography separation of phenolic acids on zwitterionic monolithic capillary columns

Strongly polar phenolic acids are weakly retained and often poorly separated in reversed-phase (RP) liquid chromatography. We prepared zwitterionic polymethacrylate monolithic columns for micro-HPLC by in situ co-polymerization in fused-silica capillaries. The capillary monolithic columns prepared under optimized polymerization conditions show some similarities with the conventional particulate commercial ZIC-HILIC silica-based columns, however have higher retention and better separation selectivity under reversed-phase conditions, so that they can be employed for dual-mode HILIC-RP separations of phenolic acids on a single column. The capillary polymethacrylate monolithic sulfobetaine columns show excellent thermal stability and improved performance at temperatures 60–80 °C. The effects of the operation conditions on separation were investigated, including the type and the concentration of the organic solvent in the aqueous-organic mobile phase (acetonitrile and methanol), the ionic strength of the acetate buffer and temperature. While the retention in the RP mode decreases at higher temperatures in mobile phases with relatively low concentrations of acetonitrile, it is almost independent of temperature at HILIC conditions in highly organic mobile phases. The best separation efficiency can be achieved using relatively high acetate buffer ionic strength (20–30 mmol L⁻¹) and gradient elution with alternately increasing (HILIC mode) and decreasing (RP mode) concentration of aqueous buffer in aqueous acetonitrile. Applications of the monolithic sulfobetaine capillary columns in alternating HILIC-RP modes are demonstrated on the analysis of phenolic acids in a beer sample.     

Application of a quick,easy, cheap,effective, rugged and safe-based method for the simultaneous extraction of chlorophenols,alkylphenols, nitrophenols and cresols in agricultural soils,analyzed by using gas chromatography–triple quadrupole-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry

Due to the different physico-chemical properties of phenols, the development of a methodology for the simultaneous extraction and determination of phenolic compounds belonging to several families, such as chlorophenols (CPs), alkylphenols (APs), nitrophenols (NTPs) and cresols is difficult. This study shows the development and validation of a method for the analysis of 13 phenolic compounds (including CPs, APs, NTPs and cresols) in agricultural soils. For this purpose, a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS)-based procedure was developed, validated and applied to the analysis of real samples. A derivatization step prior to the final determination by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to a triple quadrupole analyzer operating in tandem mass spectrometry (QqQ-MS/MS) was performed by using acetic acid anhydride (AAA) and pyridine (Py). The optimized procedure was validated, obtaining average extraction recoveries in the range 69–103% (10 μg kg⁻¹), 65–98% (50 μg kg⁻¹), 76–112% (100 μg kg⁻¹) and 76–112% (300 μg kg⁻¹), with precision values (expressed as relative standard deviation, RSD) ≤ 22% (except for 4-chlorophenol) involving intra-day and inter-day studies. Furthermore, 15 real soil samples were analyzed by the proposed method in order to assess its applicability. Some phenolic compounds (e.g. 2,4,6-trichlorophenol or 4-tert-octylphenol) were found in the samples at trace levels (<10 μg kg⁻¹).     

Determination of antioxidants by a novel on-line HPLC-cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assay with post-column detection

A novel on-line HPLC-cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) method was developed for the selective determination of polyphenols (flavonoids, simple phenolic and hydroxycinnamic acids) in complex plant matrices. The method combines chromatographic separation, constituent analysis, and post-column identification of antioxidants in plant extracts. The separation of polyphenols was performed on a C18 column using gradient elution with two different mobile phase solutions, i.e., MeOH and 0.2% o-phosphoric acid. The HPLC-separated antioxidant polyphenols in the extracts react with copper(II)-neocuproine (Cu(II)-Nc) reagent in a post-column reaction coil to form a derivative. The reagent is reduced by antioxidants to the copper(I)-neocuproine (Cu(I)-Nc) chelate having maximum absorption at 450 nm. The negative peaks of antioxidant constituents were monitored by measuring the increase in absorbance due to Cu(I)-Nc. The detection limits of polyphenols at 450 nm (in the range of 0.17-3.46 μM) after post-column derivatization were comparable to those at 280 nm UV detection without derivatization. The developed method was successfully applied to the identification of antioxidant compounds in crude extracts of Camellia sinensis, Origanum marjorana and Mentha. The method is rapid, inexpensive, versatile, non-laborious, uses stable reagents, and enables the on-line qualitative and quantitative estimation of antioxidant constituents of complex plant samples.     

Quantification of organic acids in particulate matter by coupling of thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation with thermodesorption-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A quantitative method for the determination of organic acids in atmospheric particles is developed. The method couples a derivatisation step (thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation) and a Curie point pyrolyser as a thermal desorption technique and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (CPP-GC–MS). Among the reagents tested (tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), tetramethylammonium acetate (TMAAc) and phenyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (TMPAH)), the best performance was found using TMAAc as a derivatisation reagent for the reaction time of 4 s at 510 °C as heating temperature. Calibration was performed for a series of fatty acids (FA), dicarboxylic acids (DCA) and terpenoic acids (TA) under these conditions. Coefficients of determination (R²) were between 0.94 and 0.98. Limits of detection (LOD) were in the nanogram-range between 0.1 and 3.6 ng. The method is applied on atmospheric particle samples to obtain the quantification reproducibility and quantification limits. Reproducibility was determined in terms of relative standard deviations (RSD) for ambient aerosol samples collected by a high-volume-sampler (HVS, RSD = 6–45%, n = 10) and a Berner impactor (BI, RSD = 5–34%, n = 10). Based on 24 h sampling time the developed method enables quantification of all three classes of acids for both sampling techniques. Calibration data and presented volume concentrations are compared with literature data. A comparison with an off-line methylation-GC–MS using BF₃ as a derivatisation reagent and capillary electrophoresis coupled mass spectrometry (CE-MS) showed a good agreement. Minimal sample preparation is the main advantage of the developed method. Depending on the sensitivity requirements the present method can be a fast and simple alternative to GC–MS techniques with conventional sample preparation steps for semi-volatile organic acids.     

Conversion to isothiocyanates via dithiocarbamates for the determination of aromatic primary amines by headspace-solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography

A novel and highly selective method has been developed for the determination of aromatic primary amines by their conversion to dithiocarbamates by reaction with carbon disulphide, and then to isothiocyanates, which are volatile, by heating in the presence of a heavy metal ion. Zinc(II) was selected owing to its low toxicity and optimum yield of isothiocyanates. The latter were sampled by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) on divinylbenzene-carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane fibre, 50/30 μm. The HS-SPME procedure was optimized to provide adequate limits of detection in the analysis of aromatic amines in their real samples by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) or flame ionization detection (GC–FID). The method gave rectilinear calibration graph, correlation coefficient and limit of detection, respectively, over the range 0.08–100 μg L⁻¹, 0.9950–0.9990 and 25–240 ng L⁻¹ in gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and 0.01–10 mg L⁻¹, 0.9910–0.9991 and 0.8–3.0 μg L⁻¹ in gas chromatography–flame ionization detection. At two different levels, 10 and 40 μg L⁻¹, the range of intra-day RSD was 3.7–8.5% (GC–MS) and 3.3–9.2% (GC–FID), respectively. The proposed method is simple and rapid, and has been applied to determine aromatic primary amines in the environmental waters, food samples of ice cream powder and soft drinks concentrate, and food colours. The intra-day RSD in the analysis of real samples by GC–MS was in the range 3.6–6.2%. The food/colour samples were found to contain elevated levels of aniline and 2-toluidine.     

Determination of phosphorus using capillary electrophoresis and micro-high-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the quantification of nucleotides

We performed the quantification of phosphorus in deoxynucleotides using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and micro-HPLC (μHPLC) hyphenated with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). DNA and its component units have conventionally been determined by photometry; however, more selective and sensitive methods are needed for small biological samples. CE and μHPLC offer the advantages of good separation and small consumption of samples, and ICP-MS is a highly sensitive technique for the determination of a chemical element. Therefore, we have developed an interface device for combining CE and μHPLC with ICP-MS for quantifying nucleotides based on phosphorus content. The interface utilizes 4.5 μL/min for nebulizing and effective introduction of the sample into ICP. The samples of nucleotides and free phosphoric acid were well separated in the CE–ICP-MS measurement, and the calibration curves (1–100 μg/mL) of the nucleotides showed a linear (R² > 0.999) increase in intensity. Similarly, the samples of nucleotides were baseline separated using μHPLC–ICP-MS, and the calibration curves of the nucleotides were linear (R² > 0.998). The detection limits of these species and phosphorus in nucleotides using CE–ICP-MS and μHPLC–ICP-MS were 0.77–6.5 ng/mL and 4.0–6.5 ng/mL, respectively. These values were about one or two orders lower than those in a previous report. The sample volumes of these experiments were calculated to be about 10 nL and 50 nL per analysis. Therefore, these analytical methods have the potential to be useful for the determination of biological samples, such as DNA and RNA molecules.     

Air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method as a novel microextraction technique; Application in extraction and preconcentration of phthalate esters in aqueous sample followed by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection

A novel microextraction technique, air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction (AALLME), which is a new version of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method has been developed for extraction and preconcentration of phthalate esters, dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DNBP), and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), from aqueous samples prior to gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC–FID) analysis. In this method, much less volume of an organic solvent is used as extraction solvent in the absence of a disperser solvent. Fine organic droplets were formed by sucking and injecting of the mixture of aqueous sample solution and extraction solvent with a syringe for several times in a conical test tube. After extraction, phase separation was performed by centrifugation and the enriched analytes in the sedimented phase were determined by GC–FID. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed low limits of detection and quantification between 0.12–1.15 and 0.85–4 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Enrichment factors (EFs) and extraction recoveries (ERs) were in the ranges of 889–1022 and 89–102%, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for the extraction of 100 ng mL⁻¹ and 500 ng mL⁻¹ of each phthalate ester were less than 4% for intra-day (n = 6) and inter-days (n = 4) precision. Finally some aqueous samples were successfully analyzed using the proposed method and three analytes, DIBP, DNBP and DEHP, were determined in them at ng mL⁻¹ level.     

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry determination of free and conjugated estrogens in breast cancer patients before and after exemestane treatment

We report liquid chromatographic separation with tandem mass spectrometry determination of 12 endogenous estrogens and their intact conjugates in blood and urine and its application to study effects of exemestane treatment on estrogen generation and metabolism in postmenopausal women with estrogen-dependent breast cancer. A 0.5 mL aliquot of each urine or serum sample is fractionated with solid phase extraction to a fraction of free estrogen and another fraction of their conjugates. The reversed phase LC/MS/MS determines dansylated estrogens with positive ionization and intact conjugates with negative ionization. The method provides reproducible separation and limit of detection as low as 1 pg mL⁻¹ for free estrogens and 0.03 ng mg⁻¹ creatinine for the conjugates in serum and urine samples. The method enabled us to acquire unique concentration profiles of 12 endogenous estrogens and their intact conjugates in 30 breast cancer patients before and after one month of exemestane treatment. Exemestane suppressed total serum and urinary estrogens by 11–97% (P < 0.0001) and 8.7–91% (P < 0.0001), respectively. Specifically, these data show that exemestane preferentially suppressed E1, E1-3S, E1-3G, and E2-17G more than other estrogens. Linear regression analysis of estrogen concentrations before and after treatment showed correlation coefficients of 0.8385 (n = 289, P < 0.0001) and 0.8863 (n = 360, P < 0.0001). This study provides urinary and blood estrogen concentration profiles in breast cancer patients to demonstrate the effect of exemestane on estrogen generation, supporting inhibition of aromatase activity.     

Low-density extraction solvent-based solvent terminated dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of carbamate pesticides in water samples

A simple and fast method of low-density extraction solvent-based solvent terminated dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (ST-DLLME) was developed for the highly sensitive determination of carbamate pesticides in the water samples by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MSMS). After dispersing, the obtained emulsion cleared into two phases quickly when an aliquot of acetonitrile was introduced as a chemical demulsifier into the aqueous bulk. Therefore, the developed procedure does not need centrifugation to achieve phase separation. It was convenient for the usage of low-density extraction solvents in DLLME. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection for all target carbamate pesticides were in range of 0.001–0.50 ng mL⁻¹ and the precisions were in the range of 2.3–6.8% (RSDs, 2 ng mL⁻¹, n = 5). The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples and good spiked recoveries over the range of 94.5–104% were obtained.     

Fast,sensitive and highly discriminant gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method for profiling analysis of fatty acids in serum

A method for the determination of fatty acids in serum based on GC–MS (micro-SIS detection mode) has been developed and the separation and cis/trans isomers have been identified. A prior two-step extraction/derivatization procedure accelerated by ultrasound allows individual determination of esterified (EFAs) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), and shortening of the derivatization steps to 5 min for EFAs and 15 min for NEFAs. The total analysis time for 39 fatty acids was 61 min. The minimum LOD and LOQ values were 0.002 and 0.006 μg/ml, respectively. The proposed method was validated for EFAs and NEFAs using two different methods and the results show no statistical differences between the proposed method and those used as reference. The proposed derivatization–extraction methodology is suitable for fatty-acid analysis of human serum, and can be applied to nutritional and epidemiological studies.     

Development of an analytical procedure for the determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in environmental water samples by GC–ICP-MS

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants, which due to their widespread use are frequently present as pollutants in the environment. In the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) six PBDE congeners (BDE 28, BDE47, BDE 99, BDE 100, BDE 153 and BDE 154) are listed as priority substances. The uncertainty of the analytical method used for their determination in water samples at environmental quality standard (EQS) level (0.5 ng L⁻¹ for the ΣPBDEs) should be equal or less than 50% and the limit of quantification (LOQ) for ΣPBDEs below 0.15 ng L⁻¹. To meet these requirements, an analytical procedure for the determination of these six PBDEs in environmental water samples by gas chromatography–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC–ICP-MS) was developed. The acidification of water samples to pH 2 maintained the stability of PBDEs for at least 20 days. The use of Tris–citrate buffer enabled efficient desorption of PBDEs from suspended particulate matter (SPM) and humic acids (HA), and their further quantitative solvent extraction into 2 mL of iso-octane. When 300 mL of water sample was used for analysis and the organic phase concentrated to 25 μL, the expanded uncertainty for determination of PBDEs at EQS level was found to be around 40% (a coverage factor for a confidence level of 95%, k = 2), and the LOQ for the ΣPBDEs 0.109 ng L⁻¹. Finally, to demonstrate the applicability of the newly developed GC–ICP-MS procedure, PBDEs were determined in river and sea water samples.