An integrated on-chip sirtuin assay

A microchip-based assay to monitor the conversion of peptide substrates by human recombinant sirtuin 1 (hSIRT1) is presented. For this purpose a fused silica microchip consisting of a microfluidic separation structure with an integrated serpentine micromixer has been used. As substrate for the assay, we used a 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-labeled tetrapeptide derived from the amino acid sequence of p53, a known substrate of hSIRT1. The Fmoc group at the N-terminus resulting from solid-phase peptide synthesis enabled deep UV laser-induced fluorescence detection with excitation at 266 nm. The enzymatic reaction of 0.1 U/μL hSIRT1 was carried out within the serpentine micromixer using a 400 μM solution of the peptide in buffer. In order to reduce protein adsorption, the reaction channel was dynamically coated with hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. The substrate and the deacetylated product were separated by microchip electrophoresis on the same chip. The approach was successfully utilized to screen various SIRT inhibitors.     

Molecularly imprinted polymer coated on stainless steel fiber for solid-phase microextraction of chloroacetanilide herbicides in soybean and corn

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) with metolachlor as template was firstly coated on stainless steel fiber through chemical bonding strategy to solve the fragility problem of silica fiber substrate for solid-phase microextraction. The surface pretreatment of stainless steel fiber and the polymerization conditions were investigated systematically to enhance the preparation feasibility and MIP coating performance, and then a porous and highly cross-linked MIP coating with 14.8-μm thickness was obtained with over 200 times re-usability which was supported by non-fragile stainless steel fiber adoption. The MIP coating possessed specific selectivities to metolachlor, its metabolites and other chloroacetanilide herbicides with the factors of 1.1–4.6. Good extraction capacities of metolachlor, propisochlor and butachlor were found with MIP coating under quick adsorption and desorption kinetics, and the detection limits of 3.0, 9.6 and 38 μg L⁻¹ were achieved, respectively. Moreover, the MIP-coated stainless steel fiber was evaluated for trace metolachlor, propisochlor and butachlor extraction in the spiked soybean and corn samples, and the enrichment factors of 54–60, 27–31 and 15–20 were obtained, respectively.     

Synthesis and characterization of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/Poly(acrylic acid) semi-IPN nanocomposite microgels

A novel pH- and temperature-sensitive nanocomposite microgel based on linear Poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) and Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) crosslinked by inorganic clay was synthesized by a two-step method. First, PNIPA microgel was prepared via surfactant-free emulsion polymerization by using inorganic clay as a crosslinker, and then AAc monomer was polymerized within the PNIPA microgel. The structure and morphology of the microgel were confirmed by FTIR, WXRD and TEM. The results indicated that the exfoliated clay platelets were dispersed homogeneously in the PNIPA microgels and acted as a multifunctional crosslinker, while the linear PAAc polymer chains incorporated in the PNIPA microgel network to form a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) structure. The hydrodynamic diameters of the semi-IPN microgels ranged from 360 to 400 nm, which was much smaller than that of the conventional microgel prepared by using N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBA) as a chemical crosslinker, the later was about 740 nm. The semi-IPN microgels exhibited good pH- and temperature-sensitivity, which could respond independently to both pH and temperature changes.     

Facile domino access to chiral mono-, bi-, and tricyclic 2,3-dihydrofurans

The asymmetric domino Michael-S(N)2 reaction of various 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to α-bromonitroalkenes is described for the first time, employing readily available cinchona-derived bifunctional thioureas as organocatalysts. The novel transformations were highly regio-, chemo-, diastereo-, and enantioselective, which simultaneously gave the chiral tricyclic 2,3-dihydrofurans, bicyclic 2,3-dihydrofurans, and tetrasubstituted 2,3-dihydrofurans with two vicinal chiral carbon centers.     

Establishing a quality assurance plan for nucleic acid-based diagnostic laboratories: from planning to implementation

Nucleic acid-based technologies have opened new perspectives in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment in clinical medicine. To maintain patient confidence in this rapidly expanding field and to provide the highest standard of analysis, strict laboratory quality assurance procedures must be followed. While impressive break-through are taking place in this field, the need for an appropriate and suitable quality assurance (QA) plan for nucleic acid-based diagnostic laboratories must be a top priority. In this study, we developed a systematic QA plan for this kind of diagnostic laboratories that would enable us to assure the highest quality standards of their services. We focus on those labs that would like to start introducing a quality system for the first time and discuss the most appropriate ways to pave the way to implement a QA plan from the beginning. This QA plan is suitable for any nucleic acid-based techniques laboratory regardless of the field or services provided.     

High-throughput salting-out assisted liquid/liquid extraction with acetonitrile for the simultaneous determination of simvastatin and simvastatin acid in human plasma with liquid chromatography

Simvastatin (SS) is an effective cholesterol-lowering medicine, and is hydrolyzed to simvastatin acid (SSA) after oral administration. Due to SS and SSA inter-conversion and its pH and temperature dependence, SS and SSA quantitation is analytically challenging. Here we report a high-throughput salting-out assisted liquid/liquid extraction (SALLE) method with acetonitrile and mass spectrometry compatible salts for simultaneous LC-MS/MS analysis of SS and SSA. The sample preparation of a 96-well plate using SALLE was completed within 20 min, and the SALLE extract was diluted and injected into an LC-MS/MS system with a cycle time of 2.0 min/sample. The seamless interface of SALLE and LC-MS eliminated drying down step and thus potential sample exposure to room or higher temperature. The stability of SS and SSA in various concentration ratios in plasma was evaluated at room and low (4 °C) temperature and the low temperature (4 °C) was found necessary to maintain sample integrity. The short sample preparation time along with controlled temperature (2-4 °C) and acidity (pH 4.5) throughout sample preparation minimized the conversion of SS → SSA to ≤0.10% and the conversion of SSA → SS to 0.00% The method was validated with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 0.094 ng mL⁻¹ for both SS and SSA and a sample volume of 100 μL. The method was used for a bioequivalence study with 4048 samples. Incurred sample reproducibility (ISR) analysis of 362 samples from the study exceeded ISR requirement with 99% re-analysis results within 100 ± 20% of the original analysis results.     

Design and application of Hadamard-injectors coupled with gas and supercritical fluid sample collection systems in Hadamard transform-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A novel Hadamard transform-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HT-GC/MS) system equipped with on-line sample collection systems is described. A Hadamard-injector was successfully designed and then coupled with an on-line adsorption/desorption system for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and a supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) system, respectively, by HT-GC/MS. Six VOCs and three pesticides were used as model compounds. In the former case, an activated-charcoal trap was used to trap VOCs from the indoor air. After 10 L of indoor air had passed through the trap, the condensed components were heated and simultaneously injected into the GC column through the Hadamard-injector, based on Hadamard codes. In a second experiment, a sample of rice was spiked with three types of pesticides and the sample then extracted using a commercially available supercritical fluid extractor. After extraction, the extracted components were transferred to a holding tank and simultaneously injected into the GC column also using the Hadamard-injector. The findings show that, in both cases, the combination of on-line sample collection methods and the use of the Hadamard transform resulted in improved sensitivity and detection. Compared to the single injection used in most GC/MS systems, the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios were substantially improved after inverse Hadamard transformation of the encoded chromatogram.     

电化学衍生-高效液相色谱和荧光光度法检测花生酱中的黄曲霉毒素

建立了免疫亲和柱净化-柱后电化学衍生-高效液相色谱结合荧光光度法检测花生酱中4种黄曲霉毒素(B1、B2、G1和G2)的方法。样品经过体积分数为60%的甲醇提取,通过免疫亲和柱净化后,以KobraCell装置柱后衍生,高效液相色谱法分离定量。黄曲霉毒素B1、B2、G1和G2能达到完全的基线分离,检测限分别为0.5、0.15、0.5和0.15μg/kg,线性相关系数0.999,回收率可达74.2%～96.5%,相对标准偏差低于11%。该方法能够满足花生酱中黄曲霉毒素检测的需要。     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱测定猪肉中3种β-受体激动剂残留量

建立一种同时测定猪肉中3种β-受体激动剂残留量的高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱(HPLC-ESI-MS/MS)确证分析方法。样品经β-葡萄糖醛酸酶/芳基硫酸酯酶酶解、乙酸铵缓冲液提取和MCX固相萃取柱净化,采用Agilent ZorbaxSB-C18(2.1mm×150mm,3.5μm)色谱柱,0.1%的甲酸水溶液、甲醇和乙腈作为流动相进行洗脱,高效液相色谱分离,电喷雾离子源电离,正离子多反应监测模式进行检测,内标法定量。3种药物在0.05～1μg/kg浓度范围内线性良好,相关系数r均大于0.999,0.05、0.1、0.5μg/kg3个浓度水平的添加回收率在89.7%～106.7%之间,相对标准偏差为2.4%～8.6%,3种药物的定量限均为0.05μg/kg。方法适用于猪肉中β-受体激动剂残留的确证分析。     

Syntheses,Structural Characterization and Thermoanalysis of Transition-Metal Compounds Derived from 3,5-Dinitropyridone

Abstract  

Nine metal compounds of Mn(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) derived from dinitropyridone ligands (3,5-dinitropyrid-2-one, 2HDNP; 3,5-dinitropyrid-4-one, 4HDNP and 3,5-dinitropyrid-4-one-N- hydroxide, 4HDNPO) were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR and partly by TG-DSC. Three of which were further structurally characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. The structures of the three compounds, Mn(4DNP)₂(H₂O)₄, 4, Zn(4DNPO)₂(H₂O)₄, 8, and Cd(4DNPO)₂(H₂O)₄, 9, crystallize in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n and Z = 2, with a = 8.9281(9), b = 9.1053(9), c = 10.6881(11) Å, β = 97.9840(10)° for 4; a = 8.4154(7), b = 9.9806(8), c = 10.5695(8) Å, β = 97.3500(10)° for 8; a = 8.5072(7), b = 10.2254(8), c = 10.5075(8) Å, β = 96.6500(10)° for 9. All three complexes are octahedral consisting of four equatorial water molecules, and two nitrogen or oxygen donor ligands (DNP or DNPO). The abundant hydrogen-bonding and π-π stacking interactions seem to contribute to stabilization of the crystal structures of the compounds. The TG-DTG results revealed that the complexes showed a weight loss sequence corresponding to all coordinated water molecules, nitro groups, the breaking of the pyridine rings and finally the formation of metal oxides.