Platinum metallodrug-protein binding studies by capillary electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry: characterization of interactions between Pt(II) complexes and human serum albumin

Characterizing how platinum metallocomplexes bind to human serum albumin (HSA) is essential in evaluating anticancer drug candidates. Using cisplatin as a reference complex, the application of capillary electrophoresis (CE) to reliably assess drug/HSA interactions was validated. Since this complex is small compared to the size of the protein, the binding response could only be recognized when applying CE coupled to a (platinum) metal-specific mode of detection, namely inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This coupling allowed for confirmation of a specific affinity of cisplatin and novel Pt complexes to HSA, measurement of the kinetics of binding reactions, and determination of the number of drug molecules attached to the protein. As the cisplatin/HSA molar ratio increased, the reaction rate became faster with a maximum on the kinetic curve appearing at about 50 h of incubation at 20 times excess of cisplatin. The reaction was characterized as a pseudo-first order reaction with the rate constant k = 0.003 min(-1) at 37 degrees C. When incubated with a 20-fold excess of cisplatin, HSA bound up to 10 mol of Pt per mol of the protein. This is indicative for a strong metal-protein coordination occurring at several HSA sites other than the only protein cysteine residue. Structural analogs of cisplatin, bearing aminoalcohol ligands, showed comparable protein binding reactivity and stoichiometry but a common equilibrium was not reached even after one week of incubation. Also apparent was a two-step mechanism of the binding reaction. Results demonstrated the suitability of CE-ICP-MS as a rapid assay for high-throughput studying of drug/HSA interactions.     

Assignment of the 5,6-Double-Bond Configuration in Iloprost and Isoiloprost from 13C-NMR Shifts Determined by 2D Methods

The configurations of the 5,6-double bond in the carbacyclins iloprost ( 3 ; (E)) and isoiloprost ( 4 ; (Z)) are based on a complete assignment of the ¹³C and ¹H resonances determined by 1D and 2D ¹³C-NMR and ¹H-NMR methods.     

Feasibility of using solid sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for speciation analysis of volatile and non-volatile compounds of nickel and vanadium in crude oil

A method for the direct determination of volatile and non-volatile nickel and vanadium compounds in crude oil without previous treatment using direct solid sampling graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed. The crude oil samples were weighed directly onto solid sampling platforms using a microbalance and introduced into a transversely heated solid sampling graphite tube. In previous work of our group losses of volatile nickel and vanadium compounds have been detected, whereas other nickel and vanadium compounds were thermally stable up to 1300 and 1600 °C, respectively. In order to avoid this problem different chemical modifiers (conventional and permanent) have been investigated. With 400 μg of iridium as permanent modifier, the signal started to drop already after two atomization cycles, possibly because of an interaction of nickel (which is a catalyst poison) with iridium. Twenty micrograms of palladium applied in each determination was found to be optimum for both elements. The palladium was deposited on the platform and submitted to a drying step at 150 °C for 75 s. After that the sample was added onto the platform and submitted to the furnace program. The influence of sample mass on the linearity of the response and on potential measurement errors was also investigated using four samples with different nickel content. For the sample with the lowest nickel concentration the relationship between mass and integrated absorbance was found to be non-linear when a high sample mass was introduced. It was suspected that the modifier had not covered the entire platform surface, which resulted in analyte losses. This problem could be avoided by using 40 μL of 0.5 g L⁻¹ Pd with 0.05% Triton X-100. Calibration curves were established with and without modifier, with aqueous standards, oil-in-water emulsions and the certified reference material NIST SRM 1634c (trace metals in residual fuel oil). The sensitivity for aqueous standards and emulsions was close to that for SRM 1634c, making possible the use of aqueous standards for calibration. The limits of detection and quantification obtained for nickel and vanadium under this condition were found to be 0.02 and 0.06 μg g⁻¹, respectively, for both elements, based on 10 mg of sample. Nickel and vanadium were determined in the samples with (total Ni and V) and without the use of Pd (thermally stable compounds), and the concentration of volatile compounds was calculated by difference. The results were compared with those obtained by high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry by emulsion technique; no significant differences were found for total Ni and V at the 95% confidence level according to a Student's t-test.     

Semiquantitative analyses by secondary ion mass spectrometry using one fitting parameter

Summary A procedure for SIMS semiquantitative analysis, based on the use of one fitting-parameter, has been applied to metal and mineral standards with satisfactory results. Values of this parameter for various matrices are given, and prospects for analyses involving no reference elements are discussed. Analytical accuracies obtainable for individual elements are assessed in terms of matrix-independent error factors.

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Zusammenfassung Eine Methode zur semiquantitativen SIMS-Analyse, die im Gegensatz zu den aus der Literatur bekannten Verfahren nur einen Anpassungsparameter benötigt, wurde mit gutem Erfolg an Metall- und Mineralstandards getestet. Werte des Anpassungsparameters für verschiedene Matrices wurden angegeben und Aussichten für eine Weiterentwicklung dieser Methode in Richtung auf standardfreie Analysen wurden besprochen. Die analytische Richtigkeit für einige Elemente wurde mit Hilfe von matrixunabhängigen Fehlerfaktoren abgeschätzt.

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Presented at the International Symposium on Microchemical Techniques 1977, Davos, May 1977.     

Serum Chloride Optical Sensors Based on Dynamic Quenching of the Fluorescence of Photo-Immobilized Lucigenin

This article describes the preparation and performance of an optical sensor for continuous measurement of chloride at extracellular (serum) levels (20–200mM). The sensor is based on dynamic quenching of the fluorescence of lucigenin which was photo-immobilized on a hydrogel. Quenching occurs via a collisional mechanism, and the decrease in fluorescence intensity on exposure to 100mM chloride typically is –60%. It allows the determination of chloride in the 1 to 200mM concentration range, with a precision of ±3mM at 120mM. Bromide, iodide and salicylate act as interferents, while the effect of pH and oxygen is negligibly small. The sensor displays strong fluorescence intensity, excellent reproducibility, long-term stability, response times in the order of 2–5min, and is used in a commercial serum and blood chloride analyzer.Received January 21, 2003; accepted April 6, 2003 Published online July 28, 2003     

On-line determination of organophosphorus pesticides in water by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography with thermionic-selective detection

This paper describes the extraction of 49 organophosphorus pesti-cides (OPPs) from water samples using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Three fibers, including a 15-μm XAD-coated fiber, a 85-μm polyacrylate-coated fiber, and a 30-μm polydimethylsilox-ane-coated fiber (PDMS), were evaluated here. The effects of stirring and the addition of NaCl to the sample were examined for the polyacrylate-coated fiber. The precision of the technique was examined for all three fibers and the extraction kinetics were investigated using the XAD- and polyacrylate-coated fibers. With some exceptions, the XAD- and polyacrylate-coated fibers performed better than the PDMS-coated fiber. The superiority of the XAD-nd polyacrylate-coated fiber. The superiority of the XAD- and polyacrylate-coated fibers over the PDMS-coated fibers can be attribuibuted to the aromatic functionalities of the XAD and the polar functionalities in the polyacrylate. The relatively high percent RSDs indicate that the SPME technique needs to be further refined before it can be used for anything other than screening. A more effective form of agitation than mechanical stirring may be neccessary to reduce variability and achieve a faster equilibrium between the sample and the SPME fiber.     

Single-Molecule single crystals of isotactic polystyrene

Single-molecule single crystals were grown from amorphous droplets of fractionated isotactic polystyrene. The crystals were analyzed by electron microscopy and electron diffraction. The molecular mass distribution could be matched with a statistical analysis of single-molecule particles (amorphous and crystals). Proof was brought that single molecules of isotactic polystyrene do not reach equilibrium dimensions on crystallization, rather assume the lamellar morphology with chain-folded macroconformation, also known from crystallization of polymolecular crystals. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

1 This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. US Government contract No. DE-AC05-840R-21400.

     

The thermal properties of complex, nanophase-separated macromolecules as revealed by temperature-modulated calorimetry

Linear, flexible macromolecules are long recognized as phase structures limited to micrometer and nanometer dimensions with covalent bonds crossing the interfaces. This special, usually non-equilibrium structure leads to unique properties and a multitude of changes for different thermal and mechanical histories. Analyses that enable the study of these properties are temperature-modulated calorimetry and related techniques which allow the separation of equilibrium and non-equilibrium responses. Research on these topics is reviewed and combined to a model for the nanophases. The new approach to the complex nanophase systems yields a better understanding of the relationship between structure and thermodynamic properties. Special emphasis is placed on the size and surface effects on the glass and melting transitions, the development of rigid-amorphous phases, and the reversible melting within the globally metastable structure.