Determination of acrolein in serum by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after pre‐column fluorogenic derivatization using 1,2‐diamino‐4,5‐dimethoxybenzene

Acrolein is a major unsaturated aldehyde that is generated during the lipid peroxidation process. The measurement of acrolein in biological samples should be useful to estimate the degree of lipid peroxidation and to evaluate the effect of hazardous properties of acrolein on human health. In this study, a highly sensitive and selective high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection method was developed for the determination of acrolein in human serum. The proposed method involves the pre‐column fluorogenic derivatization of acrolein with 1,2‐diamino‐4,5‐dimethoxybenzene (DDB) as a reagent. The fluorescent derivative of acrolein could be detected clearly without any interfering reagent blank peaks because DDB does not have intrinsic fluorescence itself, and the detection limit was 10 nM (signal‐to‐noise ratio = 3). The proposed method could selectively detect acrolein in human serum with a simple protein precipitation treatment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancement of peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence intensity by surfactants and its application to detect detergent

Enhancement of peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) intensity by a surfactant in the H₂O₂/bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)oxalate (TCPO)/rhodamine B system was described. The effects of 15 surfactants were evaluated by comparing the ratio of a relative CL intensity (RCI) with surfactant to that of the blank in each system. In preliminary study, H₂O₂/imidazole-HNO₃ buffer/TCPO/rhodamine B system was used to study the effects of surfactants on PO-CL intensity. Fourteen surfactants reduced the CL intensity at the 2% concentration, where their relative CL intensities ranged from 0.6 to 93.5%. Some of these phenomena may be caused by a notable change of pH that was occurred by adding the surfactant.Additionally, enhancement of PO-CL intensity was studied by using system (1) H₂O₂/TCPO/rhodamine B and (2) H₂O₂/imidazole-HNO₃ buffer/TCPO/systems. In the system 1, the favorable enhancement of CL intensity (ranged from 124 to 472%) was observed with 9 surfactants at the 0.5% concentration. This result suggested that several surfactants might play a role as a catalyst in the PO-CL reaction. There was no tendency to enhance CL intensity among the surfactant types. In the system 2, the enhancement of CL intensity was also observed by adding with 11 surfactants, which might be mainly caused by the fluorescent impurities of surfactants used.Furthermore, detection of detergent commercially available was applied by using the system 1.     

Novel solid-phase refolding method for preparation of scFv-immobilized polystyrene plates with high-antigen-binding activity

In the present study, we demonstrated site-specific immobilization and solid-phase refolding of single-chain Fv antibodies on hydrophilic polystyrene (phi-PS) plates that was mediated by novel polystyrene binding peptides (PS-tags: RIIIRRIRR), which were originally isolated and optimized in previous studies. Three PS-tag-fused scFvs, namely scFv-PS, scFv-(PS), and scFv-PSII, which were over-expressed in the insoluble fraction of Escherichia coli cells were denatured and site-specifically immobilized onto hydrophilic PS plates in the presence of 0.5~4 M urea and 0.1% Tween 20. The antigen-binding activity of the scFvs was efficiently recovered by washing the surface of the plate with PBS that contained 0.1% Tween 20 (PBST). The solid-phase refolding mediated by PS-tag was successfully applied to several scFvs such as mouse anti-CRP antibodies and an anti-RNase antibody, although further investigation of the versatility of scFv-PSII is needed. The maximal density of PS-tag-fused scFvs was increased more than 15-fold compared with a whole monoclonal antibody (mAb) immobilized on Maxisorp™ and, consequently, the sensitivity of PS-tag-fused scFvs for CRP in a sandwich ELISA was increased 25-fold. Thus, the novel, solid-phase, refolding method mediated by a PS-tag will be very useful for preparation of solid supports coated with recombinant antibody fragments, which can be used in immunoassays and immuno-separation.     

Evaluation of hair roots for detection of methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine abuse by use of an HPLC–chemiluminescence method

We describe the use of hair roots as a matrix for detection of methamphetamine (MP) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) abuse. The concentration of drugs was determined in rat hair roots, hair shafts, and plasma after a single administration of MP or MDMA, by use of an HPLC-peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) method involving column switching. Plasma and hair roots and shafts were collected from male Wistar rats before and after administration of MP (10 mg kg(-1), i.p.). In addition, the roots and shafts of pigmented and non-pigmented hair of male Lister hooded rats were collected after administration of MDMA (10 mg kg(-1), i.p.). The concentrations of MP and MDMA in plasma and hair were determined by use of the HPLC-PO-CL method, with satisfactory sensitivity and reproducibility. The concentration of MP in hair roots 1-14 days after administration ranged from 0.038 to 0.115 ng mg(-1) (n = 3). By use of the HPLC-PO-CL method, MP could be detected in hair roots for longer (up to 14 days) than it could be detected in conventional biological specimens, for example plasma (~1 day), and MDMA was detected in hair roots from 1 to 10 days after administration. The AUC(1-10) (ng day mg(-1)) for MDMA in roots of non-pigmented and pigmented hair was comparable (4.93 ± 2.09 vs. 6.67 ± 1.28, n = 3), whereas AUC(1-14) for hair shafts differed significantly (1.86 ± 0.93 vs. 4.58 ± 0.63, P < 0.05, n = 3). The window for detecting MP (or MDMA) in hair roots under our conditions was 1-14 (or 1-10) days.     

Synthesis of polyesters with pendant oxetane groups by the chemoselective alternating copolymerization of 3‐ethyl‐3‐(glycidyloxymethyl)oxetane with carboxylic anhydride and its photochemical reaction

The synthesis of polyesters with pendant oxetane groups by the chemoselective alternating copolymerization of 3‐ethyl‐3‐(glycidyloxymethyl)oxetane (EGMO) with carboxylic anhydride and the photochemical reaction of the resulting polymer was examined. The alternating copolymerization of EGMO with phthalic anhydride proceeded chemoselectively with quaternary onium salts under appropriate reaction conditions, and the corresponding soluble polymers with pendant oxetane groups with number‐average molecular weights of 4700–7200 were obtained in 72–87% yields. Furthermore, the photochemical reaction of the resulting polymers was examined with certain photoacid generators in the film state upon UV irradiation, and it was found that the photocrosslinking reaction of the pendant oxetane groups proceeded smoothly to give the insoluble polymers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1952–1961, 2003     

Preparation of microporous polymer-encapsulated Pd nanoparticles and their catalytic performance for hydrogenation and oxidation

Palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) encapsulated by conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) were prepared by the Pd-catalyzed polymerization followed by a thermal treatment with N₂ or H₂. The Pd catalysts were embedded in the porous network during polymerization and used as a precursor for the generation of Pd NPs in CMP. Although no Pd NPs were formed in the as-synthesized Pd/CMPs, Pd NPs with 1.6–3.5 nm size were formed after the thermal treatment. The obtained Pd/CMP-N₂ and -H₂ catalysts were highly selective in the hydrogenation of 4-nitrostyrene to 4-ethylnitrobenzene, whereas Pd NPs supported on carbon (Ketjen black) gave a fully reduced product, 4-ethylaniline. Substituents in CMP framework could change the catalytic activity of Pd NPs; hydroxy-substituted CMP encapsulated Pd NPs showed higher catalytic activity than Pd/CMP-H₂ for benzyl alcohol oxidation.     

A novel lophine-based fluorescence probe and its binding to human serum albumin

The binding of a lophine-based fluorescence probe, 4-[4-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl]benzoic acid methyl ester (DAPIM) with human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy under physiological conditions. While DAPIM shows extreme low fluorescence in aqueous solution, DAPIM binding with HSA emits strong fluorescence at 510 nm. The binding constant and binding number determined by Scatchard plot was 3.65 × 10⁶ M⁻¹ and 1.07, respectively. Competitive binding between DAPIM and other ligands such as warfarin, valproic acid, diazepam and oleic acid, were also studied fluorometrically. The results indicated that the primary binding site of DAPIM to HSA is site II at subdomain IIIA. DAPIM can be a useful fluorescence probe for the characterization of drug-binding sites. In addition to the interaction study, because the fluorescence intensity of DAPIM increased in proportion to HSA concentration, its potential in HSA assay for serum sample was also evaluated.     

HPLC Determination of Chlorpropamide in Human Serum by Fluorogenic Derivatization Based on the Suzuki Coupling Reaction with Phenylboronic Acid

A fluorogenic derivatization method for the determination of chlorpropamide in human serum was developed by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The Suzuki coupling reaction with a non-fluorescent reagent, phenylboronic acid (PBA), was employed to convert chlorpropamide into highly fluorescent biphenyl derivative. Chlorpropamide was extracted from human serum by liquid–liquid extraction with toluene after addition of hydrochloric acid, and subsequently reacted with PBA. Because the fluorogenic derivatization was highly selective for aryl halide, the proposed method allowed sensitive and selective detection of chlorpropamide with a detection limit (at a signal to noise ratio of 3) of 0.5 ng mL⁻¹. The sensitivity of our method was from 4 to 100 times better than HPLC–UV, gas chromatography, and LC-mass spectrometry.

     

HPLC Determination of Chlorpropamide in Human Serum by Fluorogenic Derivatization Based on the Suzuki Coupling Reaction with Phenylboronic Acid

A fluorogenic derivatization method for the determination of chlorpropamide in human serum was developed by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The Suzuki coupling reaction with a non-fluorescent reagent, phenylboronic acid (PBA), was employed to convert chlorpropamide into highly fluorescent biphenyl derivative. Chlorpropamide was extracted from human serum by liquid–liquid extraction with toluene after addition of hydrochloric acid, and subsequently reacted with PBA. Because the fluorogenic derivatization was highly selective for aryl halide, the proposed method allowed sensitive and selective detection of chlorpropamide with a detection limit (at a signal to noise ratio of 3) of 0.5 ng mL^?1. The sensitivity of our method was from 4 to 100 times better than HPLC–UV, gas chromatography, and LC-mass spectrometry.