A sensitive confirmatory method for aflatoxins in maize based on liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method for measurement of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 in maize is described. Aflatoxins (AFs) were extracted from 1 g samples by using tri-portions of acetonitrile/water (80:20, v/v) (10 + 7 + 7 mL), and 2/5 of the extract diluted to 500 mL by water was cleaned up with a 100 mg Carbograph-4 cartridge. After the addition of the internal standard AFM1, the final extract was analyzed by LC/ESI-MS/MS in positive ion mode using multiple reaction monitoring with a triple-quadrupole instrument. A C(18) column thermostatted at 45 degrees C with a mobile phase gradient of acetonitrile/water with 2 mmol/L ammonium formate was used. Although the matrix suppression effect was negligible, quantitation was achieved by an external calibration procedure using matrix-matched standard solutions to improve accuracy. Sample recoveries at four spiking levels ranged from 81 to 101% (relative standard deviation (RSD) 相似文献   

Identification of phosphoproteins and determination of phosphorylation sites by zirconium dioxide enrichment and SELDI-MS/MS

Reversible protein phosphorylation mediated by protein kinases and phosphatases is the most studied post-translational modification. Efficient characterization of phosphoproteomes is hampered by (1) low stoechiometry, (2) the dynamic nature of the phosphorylation process and (3) the difficulties of mass spectrometry to identify phosphoproteins from complex mixtures and to determine their sites of phosphorylation. Combination of the phosphopeptide enrichment method with MALDI-TOFMS, or alternatively, with HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and MS(3) analysis was shown to be a step forward for the successful application of MS in the study of protein phosphorylation. In our study we used phosphopeptide enrichment performed in a simple single-tube experiment using zirconium dioxide (ZrO(2)). A simple protein mixture containing precipitated bovine milk caseins was enzymatically digested and the mixture of tryptic fragments was analysed before and after enrichment using nanoflow HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI)-MS/MS on QqTOF instruments to compare the efficiency of the two methods in the determination of phosphorylation sites. Both approaches confirm the high selectivity obtained by the use of batch-wise, ZrO(2)-based protocol using di-ammonium phosphate as the eluting buffer. More phosphorylation sites (five for beta-casein and three for alpha(S1)-casein) were characterized by SELDI-MS/MS than by nanoflow HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Therefore, ZrO(2)-based phosphopeptide enrichment combined with SELDI-MS/MS is an attractive alternative to previously reported approaches for the study of protein phosphorylation in mixtures of low complexity with the advance of fast in situ peptide purification. The method was limited to successful analysis of high-abundance proteins. Only one phosphorylation site was determined for the minor casein component alpha(S2)-casein by ESI-MS/MS and none for kappa-casein. Therefore an improvement in enrichment efficiency, especially for successful phosphoproteomic applications, is needed.     

Spectral and photophysical characterization of donor-pi-acceptor arylthienyl- and bithienyl-benzothiazole derivatives in solution and solid state

A comprehensive study has been made in solution at room temperature (293 K), low temperature (77 K), and in thin films (Zeonex matrixes) of the spectral and photophysical properties of six arylthienyl- and bithienyl-benzothiazole derivatives functionalized with different donor groups. Similar experiments have been carried out with two related precursors (containing the arylthienyl and aryl-bithienyl conjugated systems), and results are compared. Singlet-singlet and triplet-triplet absorption spectra, emission spectra together with lifetimes and quantum yields have been obtained, and from these data the rates for all the radiative and nonradiative processes determined, providing information on the dominant decay processes. The arylthienyl-benzothiazole derivatives show high fluorescence quantum yields (phi(F)) with negligible internal conversion (phi(IC)), whereas the bithienyl-benzothiazoles display lower but still significant phi(F) values, but now radiationless processes (phi(IC) and phi(ISC)) are competitive. A comparison with the analogous oligothiophenes is made. Singlet oxygen yields were also determined and the triplet energy transfer to (3)O2 to produce (1)O2 was found to be highly efficient with values of S(Delta)(= phi(Delta)/phi(T)) varying from 0.4 to 1.     

Liquid-crystalline rigid-core semiconductor oligothiophenes: influence of molecular structure on phase behaviour and thin-film properties

The design, synthesis and properties of liquid-crystalline semiconducting oligothiophenes containing dithienothiophene (DTT), benzothiadiazole (BTZ) and carbazole (CBZ) rigid cores are described. The effect of molecular structure (shape, size and substitution) on their thermal behaviour and electrical properties has been investigated. Polarised optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses have revealed highly ordered smectic mesophases for most of the newly synthesised compounds. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies performed at various temperatures have shown that the smectic order is retained in the crystalline state upon cooling across the transition temperature, affording cast films with a more favourable morphology for FET applications.     

Bond orders and atomic properties of the highly deformed halogenated fullerenes C60F18 and C60Cl30 derived from their charge densities

The experimental charge densities of the halogenated C(60) fullerenes C(60)F(18) and C(60)Cl(30) were determined from high-resolution X-ray data sets measured with conventional Mo(Kalpha) radiation at 20 K for C(60)Cl(30) and with synchrotron radiation at 92 K for the fluorine compound. Bond topological and atomic properties were analyzed by using Bader's AIM theory. For the different C--C bonds, which vary in lengths between 1.35 and 1.70 A bond orders n between n=2 and significantly below n=1 were calculated from the bond topological properties at the bond critical points (BCP's). The low bond orders are seen for 5/6 bonds with each contributing carbon carrying a halogen atom. By integration over Bader's zero flux basins in the electron density gradient vector field atomic properties were also obtained. In contrast to free C(60), in which all carbon atoms have a uniform volume of 11 A(3) and zero charge, atomic volumes vary roughly between 5 and 10 A(3) in the halogenated compounds. Almost zero atomic charges are also found in the Cl derivative but a charge separation up to +/-0.8 e exists between C and F in C(60)F(18) due to the higher fluorine electronegativity, which is also seen in the electrostatic potential for which the electronegativity difference between carbon and fluorine, and the addition to one hemisphere of the fullerene cage leads to a strong potential gradient along the C(60)F(18) molecule. From the summation over all atomic volumes it follows that the halogen addition does not only lead to a dramatic distortion of the C(60) cage but also to a significant shrinkage of its volume.     

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry determination of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in drinking and surface waters

A liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric method for analyzing organophophorus flame retardants and plasticizers in drinking and environmental waters was developed. Five alkyl phosphates, three chlorinated alkyl phosphates, two aryl phosphate and triphenylphosphine oxide were selected for this study. These compounds were extracted from water samples by a hydrophilic polymeric solid-phase extraction cartridge. Accuracy and precision were evaluated analyzing 0.5 L of water samples spiked at concentrations of 10 and 100 ng/L for drinking water and at 300 and 1000 ng/L for river water. Except for trimethyl phosphate, analyte recoveries were better than 80%, and were not dependent on the type of aqueous matrix in which they were dissolved. At the spike levels considered, within-day precision was between 3 and 12% for tap water and between 4 and 14% for river water, and estimated method quantification limits ranged from 0.2 to 3.9 ng/L. A short survey conducted by analyzing some river water samples (River Tiber) ascertained the presence of ten organophosphorus compounds at concentration levels ranging from a few nanograms per liter to 323 ng/L for tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate.     

Determination of aflatoxins in olive oil by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric with electrospray ionization (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method for determining the four naturally occurring aflatoxins (AFs) B1, B2, G1, and G2 in olive oil is proposed. AFs were extracted from oil sample by means of matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPDE), utilizing C18 as dispersing material. No further purification step, such as lipid removal, was performed. Aflatoxin M1, the hepatic metabolite of AFB1, was employed as internal standard. Olive oil extract was analyzed by LC/ESI-MS/MS in positive ionization mode, with multireaction monitoring acquisition. Due to a signal suppression ranging between 4 and 23%, quantitation was performed by matrix-matched calibration curves. The regression line coefficients of determination were above 0.9991. Sample recoveries ranged from 92 to 107%, with relative standard deviations below 13% for spiking levels between 0.5 and 5 ng g⁻¹; method quantification limits ranged between 0.04 and 0.12 ng g⁻¹. The developed LC/ESI-MS/MS method, although not as sensitive as LC coupled to fluorescence detection, is rapid, selective, accurate and precise, thus it can be used as confirmatory assay. The MSPDE appears suitable for application to other oleaginous matrices and for multiresidue investigation.     

Simultaneous determination of nine intense sweeteners in foodstuffs by high performance liquid chromatography and evaporative light scattering detection--development and single-laboratory validation

A high performance liquid chromatographic method with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) has been developed for the simultaneous determination of multiple sweeteners, i.e., acesulfame-K, alitame, aspartame, cyclamic acid, dulcin, neotame, neohesperidine dihydrochalcone, saccharin and sucralose in carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, canned or bottled fruits and yoghurt. The procedure involves an extraction of the nine sweeteners with a buffer solution, sample clean-up using solid-phase extraction cartridges followed by an HPLC-ELSD analysis. The trueness of the method was satisfactory with recoveries ranging from 93 to 109% for concentration levels around the maximum usable dosages for authorised sweeteners and from 100 to 112% for unauthorised compounds at concentration levels close to the limit of quantification (LOQs). Precision measures showed mean repeatability values of <4% (expressed as relative standard deviation) for highly concentrated samples and <5% at concentration levels close to the LOQs. Intermediate precision was in most cases <8%. The limits of detection (LODs) were below 15 microg g(-1) and the LOQs below 30 microg g(-1) in all three matrices. Only dulcin showed slightly higher values, i.e., LODs around 30 microg g(-1) and LOQs around 50 microg g(-1)     

Free-standing films of fluorinated surfactants as 2D matrices for organizing detergent-solubilized membrane proteins

The possibility of organizing detergent-solubilized membrane proteins in a plane within the core of Newton black films (NBFs) formed from fluorinated surfactants has been investigated. Fluorinated surfactants have the interesting characteristics of being poorly miscible with detergents and highly surface-active. As a result, when a membrane protein-the transmembrane domain of OmpA (tOmpA)-solubilized by the nonionic detergent C8E4 (tetraethylene glycol monooctyl ether) was injected under a monolayer of fluorinated surfactant, C8E4 and tOmpA/C8E4 complexes remained confined to the subphase. Vertical, macroscopic NBFs were drawn, and their structure was investigated by means of X-ray reflectivity. Depending on experimental conditions, the protein was shown to organize into either one or two monolayers stabilized by two monolayers of fluorinated surfactant. Two different mechanisms of protein insertion were investigated: (i) attachment of polyhistidine-tagged tOmpA/C8E4 complexes to nickel-bearing polar groups born by a fluorinated surfactant and (ii) spontaneous diffusion into the surfactant films. Possible applications are discussed.     

Dihydrofolate Reductase Inhibitors: The Pharmacophore as a Guide for Co-Crystal Screening

In this work, co-crystal screening was carried out for two important dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibitors, trimethoprim (TMP) and pyrimethamine (PMA), and for 2,4-diaminopyrimidine (DAP), which is the pharmacophore of these active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). The isomeric pyridinecarboxamides and two xanthines, theophylline (THEO) and caffeine (CAF), were used as co-formers in the same experimental conditions, in order to evaluate the potential for the pharmacophore to be used as a guide in the screening process. In silico co-crystal screening was carried out using BIOVIA COSMOquick and experimental screening was performed by mechanochemistry and supported by (solid + liquid) binary phase diagrams, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). The in silico prediction of low propensities for DAP, TMP and PMA to co-crystallize with pyridinecarboxamides was confirmed: a successful outcome was only observed for DAP + nicotinamide. Successful synthesis of multicomponent solid forms was achieved for all three target molecules with theophylline, with DAP co-crystals revealing a greater variety of stoichiometries. The crystalline structures of a (1:2) TMP:THEO co-crystal and of a (1:2:1) DAP:THEO:ethyl acetate solvate were solved. This work demonstrated the possible use of the pharmacophore of DHFR inhibitors as a guide for co-crystal screening, recognizing some similar trends in the outcome of association in the solid state and in the molecular aggregation in the co-crystals, characterized by the same supramolecular synthons.