Analysis of Bile Acids Profile in Human Serum by Ultrafiltration Clean-up and LC-MS/MS

Bile acids (BAs) are useful biomarkers for the diagnosis of many diseases. The pathologies related to bile acid synthesis are often expressed in the first years of life and may lead to serious liver injury. Here we present a sensitive and rapid method for the analysis of the main 14 bile acids in human serum by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The chromatographic separation is performed using a core–shell column which provides improved separation, highly desirable considering the small structural differences among the analytes. All isomeric BAs of interest were resolved in less than 9 min. Sample pretreatment consisted in ultrafiltration of serum after addition of methanol by means of centrifugal filter devices. The calculated LOQs ranged between 2 and 5 ng mL⁻¹ with linearity of the calibration curves in the 5–5,000 ng mL⁻¹ range for all the BAs. The extraction recoveries for all the analytes were higher than 80 %. Intra-day and inter-day coefficients of variation were all below 15 %. The method proposed has been validated and has been applied for the analysis of serum of pediatric patients. This simple procedure allowed minimal consumption of serum sample (about 100 μL) and a rapid assay, easily implementable in routine analysis.

     

Quasilinear Molecule par Excellence,SrCl2: Structure from High‐Temperature Gas‐Phase Electron Diffraction and Quantum‐Chemical Calculations—Computed Structures of SrCl2×Argon Complexes.

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Bond Length Alternation Observed Experimentally: The Case of 1H-Indazole

Bond length alternation is a chemical phenomenon in benzene rings fused to other rings, which has been mainly predicted theoretically. Its physical origin is still not clear and has generated discussion. Here, by using a strategy that combines microwave spectroscopy, custom-made synthesis and high-level ab initio calculations, we demonstrate that this phenomenon is clearly observed in the prototype indazole molecule isolated in the gas phase. The 1H-indazole conformer was detected by rotational spectroscopy, and its 17 isotopologues resulting from single and double heavy atom substitution (¹³C and ¹⁵N) were also unambiguously observed. Several experimental structures were determined and, in particular, the most useful semi-experimental equilibrium structure (r_e^SE), allowed determination of the heavy atom bond lengths to milli-Ångstrom precision. The experimentally determined bond length alternation is estimated to correspond to 60:40 contributions from the two resonant forms of 1H-indazole.     

Strong enhancement of the two-photon absorption of tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin diacid in water upon aggregation

A strong enhancement of the two-photon absorption (TPA) cross section of tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin diacid (H(4)TPPS(2-)) at various wavelengths when a J-type aggregate is formed in water with respect to the one observed for the H(4)TPPS(2-) monomer in a mixture of water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and urea is presented. The TPA properties are characterized by the open aperture Z-scan technique and the ultrafast two-photon absorption spectroscopy with white light continuum probe (TPA-WLCP) technique. The observed enhancement is discussed in terms of possible electronic cooperative effects in the aggregate.