Method development validation for corticoids in animal feed samples by liquid chromatography using a monolithic column

A LC method for corticosteroids (CC) determination in poultry feed using a Chromolith column and UV detection has been developed and validated. The method development involved the optimization of different hydro-organic mobile phases using methanol or ACN as organic modifiers, flow rate, and temperature. The optimum separation was achieved at 40 degrees C using ACN/water (21:79 v/v) as mobile phase and 3 mL/min flow rate, allowing the separation to baseline of four out of seven CC in about 10 min. Prior to LC, a sample preparation procedure previously assayed for anabolics was used. It includes a leaching process, saponification of the esters from fatty acids, and SPE. Method validation was carried out according to the EU criteria established for quantitative screening methods. The extraction efficiencies, decision limits (CCalpha), and detection capabilities (CCbeta) for these compounds were in the ranges of 86-92%, 27-36 microg/kg, and 33-43 microg/kg, respectively. The repeatability and the within-laboratory reproducibility at 1, 1.5, and 2 CCbeta concentration levels were smaller than 9.0, 5.0, and 4.2% and 9.4, 6.4, and 4.9%, respectively. The CV values of the robustness test were less than 3.8% and the accuracy was in the range of 98-103%. The proposed method was applied to other feed with satisfactory results.     

Phenolic molecules in virgin olive oils: a survey of their sensory properties, health effects, antioxidant activity and analytical methods. An overview of the last decade

Among vegetable oils, virgin olive oil (VOO) has nutritional and sensory characteristics that to make it unique and a basic component of the Mediterranean diet. The importance of VOO is mainly attributed both to its high content of oleic acid a balanced contribution quantity of polyunsaturated fatty acids and its richness in phenolic compounds, which act as natural antioxidants and may contribute to the prevention of several human diseases. The polar phenolic compounds of VOO belong to different classes: phenolic acids, phenyl ethyl alcohols, hydroxy-isochromans, flavonoids, lignans and secoiridoids. This latter family of compounds is characteristic of Oleaceae plants and secoiridoids are the main compounds of the phenolic fraction. Many agronomical and technological factors can affect the presence of phenols in VOO. Its shelf life is higher than other vegetable oils, mainly due to the presence of phenolic molecules having a catechol group, such as hydroxytyrosol and its secoiridoid derivatives. Several assays have been used to establish the antioxidant activity of these isolated phenolic compounds. Typical sensory gustative properties of VOO, such as bitterness and pungency, have been attributed to secoiridoid molecules. Considering the importance of the phenolic fraction of VOO, high performance analytical methods have been developed to characterize its complex phenolic pattern. The aim of this review is to realize a survey on phenolic compounds of virgin olive oils bearing in mind their chemical-analytical, healthy and sensory aspects. In particular, starting from the basic studies, the results of researches developed in the last ten years will be focused.     

Containerless reaction monitoring in ionic liquids by means of Raman microspectroscopy

Reaction monitoring by Raman microspectroscopy in levitated room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) droplets is reported. Due to their non-volatility, RTIL droplets are well-suited to act as wall-less microreactors. The droplets were produced by a piezoelectric flow-through microdispenser connected to an automated flow injection system and were levitated by an acoustic trap. Taking advantage of the flow system versatility, the sequence of reagents was easily changed to study a model organic reaction: the Knoevenagel condensation. The reaction was followed by Raman microspectrometry and the obtained spectra were analysed using multivariate curve resolution to retrieve the concentration profiles and pure spectra of reactants, intermediates and products involved in the reaction. In addition, information about solvation interactions was obtained by monitoring the desolvation process taking place when a volatile co-solvent evaporated from the droplet.     

LIF detection of peptides and proteins in CE

CE- and microchip-based separations coupled with LIF are powerful tools for the separation, detection and determination of biomolecules. CE with certain configurations has the potential to detect a small number of molecules or even a single molecule, thanks to the high spatial coherence of the laser source which permits the excitation of very small sample volumes with high efficiency. This review article discusses the use of LIF detection for the analysis of peptides and proteins in CE. The most common laser sources, basic instrumentation, derivatization modes and set-ups are briefly presented and special attention is paid to the different fluorogenic agents used for pre-, on- and postcapillary derivatization of the functional groups of these compounds. A table summarizing major applications of these derivatization reactions to the analysis of peptides and proteins in CE-LIF and a bibliography with 184 references are provided which covers papers published to the end of 2005.     

In between worlds: G.N. Lewis, the shared pair bond and its multifarious contexts

In this paper, I will look at the rather convoluted discovery process which gave birth to the concept of the shared electron pair bond as developed by G.N. Lewis, to be subsequently appropriated by the American founders of quantum chemistry, and highlight the complex relations between conceptual development and the different contexts in which ideas are created and presented. I will show how the successive installments of Lewis's model of the chemical bond were supported by and gained credence from an epistemological background in which Lewis explored the relations of chemistry to physics. Furthermore, they were shaped by the changing public contexts in which the successive metamorphoses of the ideas took place and their epistemological background was outlined and explored. The complexities which are always associated with a discovery process can therefore be illuminated if one pays attention to different interactive realms-the conceptual, epistemological, and the presentational one.     

Nanotomography in the chemical, biological and materials sciences

Nanotomography is a technique of growing importance in the investigation of the shape, size, distribution and elemental composition of a wide variety of materials that are of central interest to investigators in the physical and biological sciences. Nanospatial factors often hold the key to a deeper understanding of the properties of matter at the nanoscale level. With recent advances in tomography, it is possible to achieve experimental resolution in the nanometre range, and to determine with elemental specificity the three-dimensional distribution of materials. This critical review deals principally with electron tomography, but it also outlines the power and future potential of transmission X-ray tomography, and alludes to other related techniques.