Enzyme-linked electrochemical detection of DNA fragments amplified by PCR in the presence of a biotinylated deoxynucleoside triphosphate using disposable pencil graphite electrodes

Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly - In this report, we present a simple electrochemical detection protocol for the detection of specific PCR-amplified DNA fragments, based on...     

New MALDI matrices based on lithium salts for the analysis of hydrocarbons and wax esters

Lithium salts of organic aromatic acids (lithium benzoate, lithium salicylate, lithium vanillate, lithium 2,5‐dimethoxybenzoate, lithium 2,5‐dihydroxyterephthalate, lithium α‐cyano‐4‐hydroxycinnamate and lithium sinapate) were synthesized and tested as potential matrices for the matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)‐mass spectrometry analysis of hydrocarbons and wax esters. The analytes were desorbed using nitrogen laser (337.1 nm) and ionized via the attachment of a lithium cation, yielding [M + Li]⁺ adducts. The sample preparation and the experimental conditions were optimized for each matrix using stearyl behenate and n‐triacontane standards. The performance of the new matrices in terms of signal intensity and reproducibility, the mass range occupied by matrix ions and the laser power threshold were studied and compared with a previously recommended lithium 2,5‐dihydroxybenzoate matrix (LiDHB) (Cva?ka and Svato?, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2003, 17, 2203). Several of the new matrices performed better than LiDHB. Lithium vanillate offered a 2–3 times and 7–9 times higher signal for wax esters and hydrocarbons, respectively. Also, the signal reproducibility improved substantially, making this matrix a suitable candidate for imaging applications. In addition, the diffuse reflectance spectra and solubility of the synthesized compounds were investigated and discussed with respect to the compound's ability to serve as MALDI matrices. The applicability of selected matrices was tested on natural samples of wax esters and hydrocarbons. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of the first and second dehydroxylation of kaolinite

Raw material kaolin Sedlec Imperial and four types of rehydroxylated samples were used to study the processes of the first and second dehydroxylation of kaolinite by thermal analysis and IR spectroscopy. Activation energy (E _a) of these processes was calculated from DSC curves using five isoconversional methods. IR spectroscopy was used to compare structures of the original and rehydroxylated samples. It was proven that the structure of rehydroxylated metakaolinite can closely resemble that of the raw kaolinite under intensive hydrothermal treatment but does not reach the original structure. The E _a values of the second dehydroxylation reach 87–92 % of E _a values of the first dehydroxylation.     

LC-MS/MS determination of potential endocrine disruptors of cortico signalling in rivers and wastewaters

A targeted analytical method was established to determine a large number of chemicals known to interfere with the gluco- and mineralocorticoid signalling pathway. The analytes comprise 30 glucocorticoids and 9 mineralocorticoids. Ten out of these corticosteroids were primary metabolites. Additionally, 14 nonsteroids were included. These analytes represent a broader range of possible adverse modes of action than previously reported. For the simultaneous determination of these structurally diverse compounds, a single-step multimode solid-phase extraction and pre-concentration was applied. Extracts were separated by a short linear HPLC gradient (20 min) on a core shell RP column (2.7 μm particle size) and compounds identified and quantified by LC-MS/MS. The method provided excellent retention time reproducibility and detection limits in the low nanograms per litre range. Untreated hospital wastewater, wastewater treatment plant influent, treated effluent and river waters were analysed to demonstrate the applicability of the method. The results show that not all compounds were sufficiently eliminated by the wastewater treatment, resulting in the presence of several steroids (～20 ng/L) and nonsteroids in the final effluent, some of them at high concentrations up to 200 ng/L. Most of the detected mono-hydroxylated steroidal transformation products were found at significantly higher concentrations than their parent compounds. We therefore recommend to include these potentially bioactive metabolites in environmental toxicity assessment.     

Diversity synthesis of complex pyridines yields a probe of a neurotrophic signaling pathway

Recognizing the value of including complex pyridines in small-molecule screening collections, we developed a previously unexplored [2 + 2 + 2]-cycloaddition of silyl-tethered diynes with nitriles. The tether provides high regioselectivity, while the solvent THF allows catalytic CpCo(CO)(2) to be used without exogenous irradiation. One of the resulting bicyclic and monocyclic (desilylated) pyridines was identified as an inhibitor of neuregulin-induced neurite outgrowth (EC(50) = 0.30 microM) in a screen that probes a pathway likely to be involved in breast cancers and schizophrenia.     

Parallel synthesis of 3-amino-4H-quinolizin-4-ones, fused 3-amino-4H-pyrimidin-4-ones, and fused 3-amino-2H-pyran-2-ones

On the basis of the enaminone methodology, libraries of 3-amino-4H-quinolizin-4-ones, fused 3-amino-4H-pyrimidin-4-ones, and fused 3-amino-2H-pyran-2-ones were synthesized by the solid-phase and by the solution-phase parallel synthesis. The solution-phase approach turned out to be advantageous over the solid-phase approach. The solution-phase synthesis afforded, in most cases, analytically pure products in high yields, whereas the solid-phase approach gave products in poor yields and in low purity.     

Redox mediation at 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid self-assembled monolayers on gold

Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and digital simulation techniques were used to investigate quantitatively the mechanism of electron transfer (ET) through densely packed and well-ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid on gold, either pristine or modified by physically adsorbed glucose oxidase (GOx). In the presence of ferrocenylmethanol (FcMeOH) as a redox mediator, ET kinetics involving either solution-phase hydrophilic redox probes such as [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- or surface-immobilized GOx is greatly accelerated: [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- undergoes diffusion-controlled ET, while the enzymatic electrochemical conversion of glucose to gluconolactone is efficiently sustained by FcMeOH. Analysis of the results, also including the digital simulation of CV and EIS data, showed the prevalence of an ET mechanism according to the so-called membrane model that comprises the permeation of the redox mediator within the SAM and the intermolecular ET to the redox probe located outside the monolayer. The analysis of the catalytic current generated at the GOx/SAM electrode in the presence of glucose and FcMeOH allowed the high surface protein coverage suggested by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements to be confirmed.     

Oscillatory reactions involving hydrogen peroxide and thiosulfate-kinetics of the oxidation of tetrathionate by hydrogen peroxide

The reaction between tetrathionate and hydrogen peroxide forms an important part of several pH oscillators based on the oxidation of thiosulfate. The kinetics of this reaction were examined in a batch reactor by measurement of the initial pH values in the range from 8 to 10.5. Experimental data were evaluated by the method of initial reaction rates combined with the assumption of instantaneously equilibrated acid-base reactions. The rate-determining step was found to be of the first order with respect to tetrathionate, hydrogen peroxide, and OH- ions with the value of rate constant k = (1.50 +/- 0.03) x 10(2) (M2 s)(-1) at 25 degrees C. In the alkaline solution, no distinct catalytic effect of Cu2+ was observed in contrast to earlier assumptions. The waveform of measured pH over the course of the reaction indicates that thiosulfate is probably an intermediate because characteristics of the curves are very similar to those for the oxidation of thiosulfate. We also measured the time evolution of concentrations of major components by the attenuated total internal reflectance infrared spectroscopy to further elucidate the underlying reaction mechanism. These measurements confirm the suspected role of thiosulfate as an intermediate in the studied reaction and provide valuable detailed information on the time evolution of thiosulfate, sulfite, sulfate, tetrathionate, and trithionate. These experimental observations are included in a simple mechanism that accurately simulates the reaction course in an alkaline solution. The results provide considerable new insights into the nature of autocatalysis in the hydrogen peroxide-thiosulfate-Cu2+ reaction and suggest that a new role for Cu2+ in the oscillatory dynamics observed in a flow-through reactor needs to be found.