A UFLC‐MS/MS method with a switching ionization mode for simultaneous quantitation of polygalaxanthone III,four ginsenosides and tumulosic acid in rat plasma: application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and Alzheimer's disease rats

A fast, sensitive and reliable ultra fast liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC‐MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantitation of polygalaxanthone III (POL), ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1), ginsenoside Rd (GRd), ginsenoside Re (GRe), ginsenoside Rg1 (GRg1) and tumulosic acid (TUM) in rat plasma after oral administration of Kai‐Xin‐San, which plays an important role for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The plasma samples were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction using ethyl acetate–isopropanol (1:1, v/v) with salidrdoside as internal standard (IS). Good chromatographic separation was achieved using gradient elution with the mobile phase consisting of methanol and 0.01% acetic acid in water. The tandem mass spectrometric detection was performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode on 4000Q UFLC‐MS/MS system with turbo ion spray source in a negative and positive switching ionization mode. The lower limits of quantification were 0.2–1.5 ng/ml for all the analytes. Both intra‐day and inter‐day precision and accuracy of analytes were well within acceptance criteria (±15%). The mean absolute extraction recoveries of analytes and IS from rat plasma were all more than 60.0%. The validated method has been successfully applied to comparing pharmacokinetic profiles of analytes in normal and AD rat plasma. The results indicated that no significant differences in pharmacokinetic parameters of GRe, GRg1 and TUM were observed between the two groups, while the absorption of POL and GRd in AD group were significantly higher than those in normal group; moreover, the GRb1 absorbed more rapidly in model group. The different characters of pharmacokinetics might be caused by pharmacological effects of the analytes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermogravimetry study of the pyrolytic characteristics and kinetics of macro-algae Macrocystis pyrifera residue

Macrocystis pyrifera is one important marine macro-algae, while its residues produced by industrial alginate extraction is a hot potato. To figure out whether its residue is suitable for pyrolysis for biofuel, the pyrolytic characteristics and kinetics of macro-algae M. pyrifera residue was investigated using thermogravimetric method from 50 to 800 °C in an inert argon atmosphere at different heating rates of 5, 10, 20, and 30 °C min^?1. The activation energy and pre-exponential factor was calculated by Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose, and Popescu methods, and the kinetic mechanism was deduced by Popescu method. The results showed that the primary devolatilization stage of M. pyrifera residue can be described by Jander function $ \left(\left[ {1 - \left( {1 - \alpha } \right)^{1/3} } \right]^{2}\right) $ . The average activation energy of M. pyrifera residue was 222.4 kJ mol^?1. The results suggested that the experimental results and kinetic parameters provided useful information for the design of pyrolytic processing system using M. pyrifera residue as feedstock.     

Excellent electrochemical performance of nitrogen-enriched hierarchical porous carbon electrodes prepared using nano-CaCO3 as template

Recently, tremendous research efforts have been concentrated on developing high-performance electrode materials to meet the ever-increasing energy and power demands in supercapacitors. Herein, we presented a high-capacity supercapacitor material based on nitrogen-enriched hierarchical porous carbons (NHPCs) synthesized by the carbonization of melamine formaldehyde resins using eco-friendly and inexpensive nano-CaCO₃ as template. The effects of carbonization temperature and template content on the porous structure and electrochemical characteristics were compared and discussed in detail. The prepared NHPCs possessed large surface area up to 834 m² g^?1 and high nitrogen content up to 20.94 wt %. As electrode material for supercapacitors, NHPCs exhibited superior electrochemical performances with high specific capacitance (190 F g^?1 at 20 A g^?1), outstanding rate capability (80 %), and excellent cycling stability (over 2,000 cycles at 5 A g^?1) in 1 M sulfuric acid media. The excellent electrochemical performances are due to the synergic effects of unique hierarchical porous microstructure, abundant nitrogen and oxygen functionalities, as well as high degree of graphitization framework.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of Novel Axially Chiral 2,2'-Bipyridine N,N'-Dioxides Bearing α-Amino Acid Residues and Their Applications in Enantioselective Allylation of Aromatic Aldehydes with Allyltrichlorosilane

A series of novel axially chiral 2,2′‐bipyridine N,N′‐dioxides bearing C₁ or C₂‐symmetry have been synthesized by the use of enantiopure α‐amino acids as chiral sources. The absolute stereochemistry of the axial chirality of these organocatalysts has been clearly assigned by means of CD measurements together with literature protocols. The reactivities and enantioselectivities of these organocatalysts have been examined in the reactions of aromatic aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilane, thus providing the desired products with moderate yields and enantioselectivies.     

复合酶酶解假酸浆黄酮苷抗氧化性研究

本文研究了复合酶酶解前后假酸浆提取物的抗氧化活性能力,并采用薄层色谱法(TLC)对酶解产物中总黄酮进行了分离,利用高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术对其鉴定分析。通过对DPPH自由基、羟自由基及超氧阴离子自由基清除能力实验,酶解液抗氧化性能显著高于假酸浆提取液;酶解液的薄层及HPLC-MS法初步鉴定出假酸浆中含有桑色素、二氢槲皮素和儿茶素三种黄酮。     

Optimization of mobile phase for the determination of Esomeprazole and related compounds and investigation of stress degradation by LC–MS

In this study, the objective was to investigate the degradation behavior of Esomeprazole under different recommended stress conditions according to International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use [1] by HPLC. Our research showed that the effect of mobile phase species on separation was significant for the determination of Esomeprazole and its related compounds. Successful separation of the drug from its related impurities and degradation products formed under different stress conditions was achieved using ammonium acetate buffer/ACN by a gradient elution. Compared with phosphate buffer/ACN, ammonium acetate buffer/ACN under same pH and gradient showed a great improvement in resolution due to the change of elution order. The drug was subjected to stress conditions including acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal conditions. Extensive degradation occurred in acidic and oxidative conditions, while mild degradation was observed in alkaline and photolytic conditions. Besides, it turned out the drug was extremely stable under thermal condition. The stability‐indicating LC–UV method was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, and robustness. The LC–MS method was also adopted for the characterization of degradation products. Based on the m/z values and fragmentation patterns, the degradation pathway of the drug has been proposed.     

Promotion effect of adsorbed water/OH on the catalytic performance of Ag/activated carbon catalysts for CO preferential oxidation in excess H2

Activated carbon (AC) supported silver catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method and their catalytic performance for CO preferential oxidation (PROX) in excess H₂ was evaluated. Ag/AC catalysts, after reduction in H₂ at low temperatures (≤200 °C) following heat treatment in He at 200 °C (He200H200), exhibited the best catalytic properties. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) results indicated that silver oxides were produced during heat treatment in He at 200 °C which were reduced to metal silver nanoparticles in H₂ at low temperatures (≤200 °C), simultaneously generating the adsorbed water/OH. CO conversion was enhanced 40% after water treatment following heat treatment in He at 600 °C. These results imply that the metal silver nanoparticles are the active species and the adsorbed water/OH has noticeable promotion effects on CO oxidation. However, the promotion effect is still limited compared to gold catalysts under the similar conditions, which may be the reason of low selectivity to CO oxidation in PROX over silver catalysts. The reported Ag/AC-S-He catalyst after He200H₂00 treatment displayed similar PROX of CO reaction properties to Ag/SiO₂. This means that Ag/AC catalyst is also an efficient low-temperature CO oxidation catalyst.     

Morphology-controlled electrochemical sensing amaranth at nanomolar levels using alumina

Different-shaped aluminas were readily prepared via hydrothermal reaction. It was found that the morphology and the electrochemical sensing properties of alumina were heavily dependent on the reaction time. When extending the reaction time from 6 h to 24 h, the obtained alumina samples changed from amorphous bumps to regular microfibers in diameter of 200 nm, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy observation revealed that longer reaction time was beneficial for the formation of porous and uniform fiber-like structures. Electrochemical tests proved that alumina microfibers were more active for the oxidation of amaranth and exhibited much higher enhancement effect, compared with alumina bumps. On the surface of alumina microfibers, the oxidation peak currents of amaranth increased remarkably. The influences of pH value, amount of alumina microfibers, and accumulation time on the signal enhancement of amaranth were discussed. As a result, a novel electrochemical method was developed for the detection of amaranth. The linear range was from 1 to 150 nM, and the detection limit was 0.75 nM after 1-min accumulation. The analytical application in drink samples was investigated, and the results consisted with the values that obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography.     

Experimental Evidence for Ion Accumulation Time Affecting Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Ophiopogons in Ophiopogon Extract by Hybrid Ion Trap Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

The qualitative and quantitative capability of the ion trap mass analyzer could be greatly affected by the accumulation time. However, the importance of the accumulation time has not so far been thoroughly explored. Here, the influence of ion accumulation time on qualitative and quantitative analysis of complicated components was systematically investigated based on the case study of 40 ophiopogonins in Ophiopogon extract by hybrid ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LCMS-IT-TOF). In this process, the accumulation time was set at 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 ms, respectively. The effect of accumulation time on qualitative analysis of ophiopogonins was studied by comparing the total ion current (TIC) of MS¹, TIC of MS², and the number and signal of fragmental ions. The results demonstrated that the signal could be greatly influenced by varying the accumulation time. The number and signal of the fragmental ions were increased significantly with a longer accumulation time in the range of 10–100 ms. Also, the effect of accumulation time on quantitative analysis of ophiopogonins was investigated by comparing the linearity, accuracy, and precision measured on LCMS-IT-TOF. Importantly, quantitative parameters could all be significantly improved by choosing an appropriate accumulation time.

     

Total Synthesis of α-Elvucitabine

Total synthesis of α-elvucitabine was achieved in 26% overall yield by a concise nine-step procedure starting from L-lyxose, with trimethylsilyl trifluoromethaneoulfonate (TMSOTf)–mediated stereocontrolled α-N-glycosidation and olefination through Barton–McCombie deoxygenation being the key steps, and the stereochemistry of the product was determined by nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy.