Electrophoretic screening of ligands under suppressed EOF with an inert phospholipid coating

The applicability of dual injection CE for affinity selection of biopolymers that contain multiple binding sites is demonstrated. The efficient analysis of biomolecules such as carbohydrates and proteins, as well as pharmaceuticals by CE requires the reduction or elimination of nonspecific interactions with the capillary surface. Phospholipids are integral components of cell membranes and aqueous phospholipid liquid crystals adopt a bilayer structure on fused-silica. This phospholipid surface does not interact significantly with the following biomolecules: serum albumin, the 96-110 heparin binding domain of amyloid precursor protein (APP), polydisperse glycosaminoglycans, and variable chain-length oligosaccharides. Pharmaceuticals including five anionic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, three cationic analgesics, and two cationic beta-blockers, also show minimal interaction with the surface. In addition, the use of a phospholipid coating suppresses EOF, which enables reversed-polarity separations, dual opposite injection CE, affinity screening via CE by dual opposite injection, and serial target-ligand injections.     

Analysis of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone from biological fluids as the oxime derivatives using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and testosterone (T) from biological fluids has been developed. Commercially available deuterated analogues were used as internal standards. Steroids were extracted from serum or testicular fluid with hexane/ethyl acetate, evaporated to dryness, and treated with hydroxylamine to form their oxime derivatives. Upon chromatographic separation, the compounds were quantified using selected reaction monitoring (SRM). For T, the [M+H](+) ion at m/z 304 and the fragment ion at m/z 124 were used as the precursor and product ions. For DHT the ion cluster [M+H+ACN](+) at m/z 347 and the dissociated ion [M+H](+) at m/z 306 were used as the precursor and product ions, respectively. The limits of detectability on-column were in the sub-femtomole range for both compounds and the intra-day coefficient of variation (CV) for analysis from serum was less than 7% for both compounds. Given its high reproducibility, sensitivity, and relative simplicity, this assay should be of use in determining androgen levels in biospecimens, particularly in settings where sample quantity or steroid concentration are low.     

Determination of methylcellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose food gums in food and food products: collaborative study

A collaborative study was performed to determine the reproducibility of a method for the determination of methylcellulose (MC) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) in food. These widely used food gums possess unusual solubility characteristics and cannot accurately be determined by existing dietary fiber methods. The new method uses the enzyme-digestion procedure of AOAC Official Method 991.43. Digestate solutions must be refrigerated to fully hydrate MC or HPMC. The chilled solutions are filtered and analyzed by size-exclusion liquid chromatography. Collaborating laboratories received 28 samples containing MC or HPMC in the range of 0-100%. The sample set included blind duplicates of 5 food matrixes (bread, milk, fish, potato, and powdered juice drink). Cochran and Grubbs tests were used to eliminate outliers. For food samples containing MC, values for within-laboratory precision, repeatability relative standard deviation (RSDr), ranged from 4.2 to 16%, and values for among-laboratories precision, reproducibility relative standard deviation (RSDR), ranged from 11 to 20%. For HPMC samples, RSDr values ranged from 6.4 to 27%, and RSDR values ranged from 17 to 39%. Recoveries of MC and HPMC from the food matrixes ranged from 78 to 101%. These results show acceptable precision and reproducibility for the determination of MC and HPMC, for which no Official AOAC Methods exist. It is recommended that this method be adopted as AOAC Official First Action.     

Coprecipitation with calcium hydroxide for determination of iron in fish otoliths by collision cell ICP-MS

A method has been described for the determination of iron from fish otoliths containing high levels of calcium by collision cell technology (CCT) ICP-MS. Iron (Fe) in otolith solutions was quantitatively coprecipitated with small amounts of calcium hydroxide by adding 1.0 M sodium hydroxide solution. The performance of CCT-ICP-MS pressurized with He/H(2) cell gas was investigated on the elimination of Ca-based spectral interferences at m/z 54, 56 and 57. Molecular ion interferences at m/z 54 and 56 were reduced by 2 orders of magnitude. However, the interferences at m/z 57 increased by the same amount in the presence of Ca in solutions owing to the formation of (40)Ca(16) OH(+) through reactions with H(2) in collision cell, indicating that (57)Fe was not suitable for the determination of Fe from otoliths. Results for (56)Fe suffered significantly from interferences of Ca-based molecular ions when the Ca concentration in solution exceeded 100 microg ml(-1), for which matrix-matched calibration was required for accurate determination. CCT with the aid of He/H(2) cell gas proved to be very effective in eliminating the interferences ((40)Ar(14)N(+) and (40)Ca(14)N(+)) at m/z 54. Presence of Ca up to 300 microg ml(-1) had virtually no effect on the ion signals of (54)Fe, which with low background signals, afforded accurate determination of Fe from otoliths by using aqueous external standards.     

A class of small molecules that inhibit TNFalpha-induced survival and death pathways via prevention of interactions between TNFalphaRI, TRADD, and RIP1

Small-molecule library screening to find compounds that inhibit TNFalpha-induced, but not interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta)-induced, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) expression in lung epithelial cells identified a class of triazoloquinoxalines. These compounds not only inhibited the TNFalpha-induced nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB) survival pathway but also blocked death-pathway activation. Such dual activity makes them unique against other known NFkappaB-pathway inhibitors that inhibit only a subset of TNFalpha signals leading to increased TNFalpha-induced cytotoxicity. Interestingly, these compounds inhibited association of TNFalpha receptor (TNFalphaR) I with TNFalphaR-associated death domain protein (TRADD) and receptor interacting protein 1 (RIP1), the initial intracellular signaling event following TNFalpha stimulation. Further study showed that they blocked ligand-dependent internalization of the TNFalpha-TNFalphaR complex, thereby inhibiting most of the TNFalpha-induced cellular responses. Thus, compounds with a triazoloquinoxaline scaffold could be a valuable tool to investigate small molecule-based anti-TNFalpha therapies.     

Rapid detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 spiked into food matrices

Food poisoning causes untold discomfort to many people each year. One of the primary culprits in food poisoning is Escherichia coli O157:H7. While most cases cause intestinal discomfort, up to 7% of the incidences lead to a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome which may be fatal. The traditional method for detection of E. coli O157:H7 in cases of food poisoning is to culture the food matrices and/or human stool. Additional performance-based antibody methods are also being used. The NRL array biosensor was developed to detect multiple antigens in multiple samples with little sample pretreatment in under 30 min. An assay for the specific detection of E. coli O157:H7 was developed, optimized and tested with a variety of spiked food matrices in this study. With no sample pre-enrichment, 5 × 10³ cells mL⁻¹ were detected in buffer in less than 30 min. Slight losses of sensitivity (1-5 × 10⁻⁴ cell mL⁻¹⁾ but not specificity occur in the presence of high levels of extraneous bacteria and in various food matrices (ground beef, turkey sausage, carcass wash, and apple juice). No significant difference was observed in the detection of E. coli O157:H7 in typical culture media (Luria Broth and Tryptic Soy Broth).     

The iromycins, a new family of pyridone metabolites from Streptomyces sp. I. Structure, NOS inhibitory activity, and biosynthesis

The iromycins A-D are members of a new family of rare alpha-pyridone metabolites. The isolation and structure elucidation of these microbial secondary metabolites from Streptomyces sp. Dra 17 revealed a N-heterocyclic core structure with two unusual side chains. Iromycins act as inhibitors of nitric oxide synthases (NOS), a protein family, which produces the crucial second messenger nitric oxide (NO). Importantly, these compounds inhibit selectively endothelial NOS rather than neuronal NOS and thus set prospects for both medical therapy and basic research. Feeding experiments with 13C- and 15N -labeled precursors indicated an uncommon type of polyketide biosynthesis and clearly ruled out an isoprenoid origin. A detoxification pathway of a particular secondary metabolite in the host strain is a rare observation and here we demonstrate it with the iromycin family.     

Alkoxy- and amidocarbonylation of functionalised aryl and heteroaryl halides catalysed by a Bedford palladacycle and dppf: a comparison with the primary Pd(II) precursors (PhCN)2PdCl2 and Pd(OAc)2

The versatility of a Bedford-type palladacycle , namely [{Pd(micro-Cl){kappa2-P,C-P(OC6H(2)-2,4-tBu2)(OC6H(3)-2,4-tBu2)2}}2], as a primary Pd source, in combination with the ligand bis-1,1'-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) has been established in carbonylation reactions of aryl and heteroaryl bromides with methanol, piperidine and related nucleophiles. Palladacycle has been compared with other primary Pd sources, e.g. (PhCN)2PdCl2 and Pd(OAc)2. The efficacy of the carbonylation processes appear to be linked to the [Pd] concentration, substrate : catalyst ratio, CO pressure and reaction temperature. In amidocarbonylation, double carbonylation is observed for certain organohalides. In the case of 2,5-dibromopyridine, regioselective amination (Hartwig-Buchwald type) also occurs as a side-reaction.