Determination of creatine and phosphocreatine in muscle biopsy samples by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A capillary electrophoresis method with contactless conductivity detection was evaluated as a new approach for quantification of creatine and phosphocreatine in human quadriceps femoris biopsy samples. The running buffers employed consisted of 1 M acetic acid at a pH of 2.3 for the determination of creatine and 50 mM 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid/30 mM histidine at a pH of 6.4 for the determination of phosphocreatine in the centrifuged muscle extracts. The limits of detection for creatine and phosphocreatine were found to be 2.5 and 1.0 μM, respectively. Creatine and phosphocreatine were determined in six human muscle biopsy samples and the results were found comparable to those of a standard enzymatic assay. The procedures developed for creatine and phosphocreatine also allow the determination of creatinine as well as adenosine diphosphate and adenosine triphosphate.     

Studies on azaspiracid biotoxins. I. Ultrafast high-resolution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry separations using monolithic columns

In this study, the performance of monolithic columns was evaluated for ultrafast liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analyses and for high-resolution separations of several azaspiracid biotoxin analogs. Because of their high permeability, monolithic columns offer a number of advantages over conventional packed columns; viz., very low backpressures and relatively flat van Deemter curves at high flow rates. That is, very high flow rates can be used for ultrafast analyses or, by using longer than normal columns, high-resolution separations are possible. In a series of experiments, we varied the mobile phase flow rates between 1 and 8 mL/min, and studied their impact on chromatographic parameters such as retention time, resolution, number of plates and pressure. The chromatographic run times could be reduced to ca. 30 s without a significant change in the separation efficiency. A signal intensity comparison revealed interesting differences between atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) in their flow-rate dependency. An explanation with respect to the behavior as of a mass-flow or a concentration-dependent device is given in the paper. Additionally, the column length was varied between 10 and 70 cm. As a result, the number of theoretical plates increased substantially. In the example shown in the report, an increase from 13 000 plates for a 10-cm column to 80 000 for a 70-cm column is demonstrated. In addition, the potential of the monolithic columns for high-resolution LC/MS separations is shown for a complex biotoxin mixture, which was separated on a 40-cm-long column.     

Photoinduced electron transfer between triplet erythrosin dianion and highly charged ionic quenchers

Abstract  

The lifetime of the lowest triplet state of the dianion erythrosin B depends on its concentration because of self-quenching. The self-quenching rate constants vary with the solution viscosity at room temperature. Dextrose was used to change the viscosity of aqueous solutions in the range 1 ≤ η ≤ 5.31 cP. Photoinduced electron transfer reactions between the triplet state of the erythrosin dianion and the highly charged ionic quenchers K₄[Fe(CN)₆] and K₄[Mo(CN)₈] were investigated in aqueous borate buffer solutions at pH 9.2 using flash photolysis. Electron transfer rates vary from 3.0 × 10⁸ to 1.4 × 10⁸ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ depending on viscosity.     

The first synthetic receptor for the RGD sequence

[structure: see text] The combination of an optimized arginine receptor unit with a semirigid linker carrying a strategically placed primary ammonium group leads to the first synthetic RGD receptor. It binds to the free RGD peptide as well as to cyclo(RGDfV) in water with association constants around 1000 M(-1). RGD mimetics such as benzamidine 6 are not recognized, rendering the new host a prototype of a new class of receptors selective for the true RGD sequence in peptides.