Analysis of berberine and total alkaloid content in cortex phellodendri by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) compared with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultra-visible spectrometric detection

This paper developed a rapid method using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to differentiate two species of Cortex Phellodendri (CP), Cortex Phellodendri Chinensis (PCS) and Cortex Phellodendri Amurensis (PAR), and to predict quantitatively the content of berberine and total alkaloid content in all Cortex Phellodendri samples. Three alkaloids, berberine, jatrorrhizine and palmatine were analyzed simultaneously with a Thermo ODS Hypersil column by gradient elution with a new mobile phase under high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). Berberine content determined by HPLC-DAD was exploited as a critical parameter for successful discrimination between them. Multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), second derivative and Savitsky-Golay (S.G.) were utilized together to correct the scattering effect and eliminate the baseline shift in all near infrared diffuse reflectance spectra as well as to enhance spectral features in order to give a better correlation with the results obtained by HPLC-DAD. With the use of principal component analysis (PCA), samples datasets were separated successfully into two different clusters corresponding to two species. Furthermore, a partial least squares (PLS) regression method was built on the correlation model. The results showed that the correlation coefficients of the prediction models were R = 0.996 for the berberine and R = 0.994 for total alkaloid content. The influences of water absorption bands present in the NIR spectra on the models were also investigated in order to explore the practicability of NIRS in routine use. The outcome showed that NIRS possibly acts as routine screening in the quality control of Chinese herbal medicine.     

Drug profiling using planar microelectrode arrays

Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) with evenly distributed multiple sensor spots have been designed for specific applications. Using the MEAs, we determined the relative profiles of potassium channel openers (KCOs) on cultured embryonic Sprague-Dawley rat cardiac myocytes. KCO, pinacidil (PIN), cromakalim (CROM), SDZ PCO400 (SDZ), or its vehicle, was added to the myocytes cumulatively. The action potential signal shapes in the presence of PIN and SDZ show that the changes in voltage over time and the magnitudes of the associated voltage change were reduced concentration-dependently. CROM affected sodium influx more than PIN and SDZ. The comparisons of changes in the rate of beating and propagation speed in the presence of KCOs were made using their corresponding pD(2) values (the negative log of EC(50)). All KCOs caused concentration-dependent reductions in the rate of beating and propagation speed, with SDZ being the most potent. In addition to the signal shapes, rate of beating, and propagation speed, the origin of excitation and the excitation pattern inside the culture can be also extracted. The results show that the present system can differentiate the effects of different KCOs on myocytes. It might be possible to utilise the MEA as a means to classify drug action based upon a combined interpretation of the three different datasets gained from the extracellular recordings. The combination of these observations might be used as 'drug signatures' when profiling drugs in the future.     

Patterned co-culture of primary hepatocytes and fibroblasts using polyelectrolyte multilayer templates

This paper describes the formation of patterned cell co-cultures using the layer-by-layer deposition of synthetic ionic polymers and without the aid of adhesive proteins/ligands such as collagen or fibronectin. In this study, we used synthetic polymers, namely poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC) and sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) as the polycation and polyanion, respectively, to build the multilayer films. We formed SPS patterns on polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) surfaces either by microcontact printing PDAC onto SPS surfaces or vice-versa. To create patterned co-cultures on PEMs, we capitalize on the preferential attachment and spreading of primary hepatocytes on SPS as opposed to PDAC surfaces. In contrast, fibroblasts readily attached to both PDAC and SPS surfaces, and as a result, we were able to obtain patterned co-cultures of fibroblast and primary hepatocytes on synthetic PEM surfaces. We characterized the morphology and hepatic-specific functions of the patterned cell co-cultures with microscopy and biochemical assays. Our results suggest an alternative approach to fabricating controlled co-cultures with specified cell-cell and cell-surface interactions; this approach provides flexibility in designing cell-specific surfaces for tissue engineering applications.     

Determination of molar absorptivity coefficients for major type-B trichothecenes and certification of calibrators for deoxynivalenol and nivalenol

This paper presents results from the European Commission-funded project Doncalibrant, the objective of which was to produce calibrators with certified mass fractions of the Fusarium toxins deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-Ac-DON), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-Ac-DON), and nivalenol (NIV), in acetonitrile. The calibrators, available in ampoules, were sufficiently homogeneous, with between-bottle variations (s _bb) of less than 2%. Long-term stability studies performed at four different temperatures between −18 and 40 °C revealed no significant negative trends (at a confidence level of 95%). Molar absorptivity coefficients (in L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹) were determined for all four toxins (DON: 6805 ± 126, NIV: 6955 ± 205, 3-Ac-DON: 6983 ± 141, 15-Ac-DON: 6935 ± 142) on the basis of a mini-interlaboratory exercise. The overall uncertainty of the calibrators’ target values for DON and NIV were evaluated on the basis of gravimetric preparation data and include uncertainty contributions from possible heterogeneity, storage, and transport. The Doncalibrant project resulted in the production of calibrators for DON (IRMM-315) and NIV (IRMM-316) in acetonitrile with certified mass fractions of 25.1 ± 1.2 μg g⁻¹ and 24.0 ± 1.1 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Both CRMs became commercially available from the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM, Geel, Belgium) at the beginning of 2007.     

Liquid chromatography—tandem mass spectrometry analysis of the DNA adducts of aristolochic acids

Electrophilic attack of aristolactam-nitrenium ion by the C7 position to the exocyclic amino group in the DNA bases led to the formation of the major adducts. In this study, liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was applied to the study of DNA adducts of aristolochic acid (AA). When DNA (bases and CT-DNA) was incubated with AA, dG-AAI, dG-AAII, dA-AAI, dA-AAII, dC-AAI, and dC-AAII were detected and characterized. The dC adducts of AA were identified for the first time. The soft ionization technology allowed detection of the intact DNA adducts. High-resolution MS and MS-MS capabilities of a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer were shown to be efficient for DNA adducts analysis. DNA-AA adducts showed characteristic fragmentation patterns in MS-MS analysis. The dissociative loss of 116 Da from the DNA-AA adducts, which resulted from internal hydrogen transfer and cleavage at the C-N glycosidic bond, provided a characteristic fragment for the structural elucidation.     

Formate as a CO surrogate for cascade processes: Rh-catalyzed cooperative decarbonylation and asymmetric Pauson-Khand-type cyclization reactions

A rhodium-(S)-xyl-BINAP complex-catalyzed tandem formate decarbonylation and [2 + 2 + 1] carbonylative cyclization is described; this cooperative process utilizes formate as a condensed CO source, and the newly developed cascade protocol can be extended to its enantioselective version, providing up to 94% ee of the cyclopentenone adducts.     

One-pot synthetic route to polymer-silica assembled capsule encased with nonionic drug molecule

A novel combinational drug delivery system, in which drug molecules could be dually encapsulated by soft (polymer) and hard (inorganic) vehicles has been successfully prepared via a simple one-pot synthesis; its improved chemotherapeutic efficacy has been verified through in vitro experiments.     

Silicon-phthalocyanine-cored fullerene dendrimers: synthesis and prolonged charge-separated states with dendrimer generations

Silicon-phthalocyanine-cored fullerodendrimers with up to eight fullerene substituents (SiPc-n C(60); n=2, 4, and 8) have been synthesized. Photophysical properties of newly synthesized SiPc-n C(60) have been investigated by time-resolved fluorescence and transient absorption analysis with pulsed laser light. Laser photolysis measurements suggest the occurrence of a charge-separation process from (1)SiPc* to the C(60) subunits. The nanosecond transient absorption spectra in the near-IR region indicate that the lifetimes of the formed radical ion pairs are prolonged on the order of SiPc-8 C(60)>SiPc-4 C(60)>SiPc-2 C(60), which may be related to the electron migration among the C(60) subunits. The usefulness of SiPc-n C(60) as light-harvesting systems, evaluated as a ratio of the rates of charge recombination to those of charge separation, increases markedly with the dendrimer generation.