Extraction of quinolones from milk samples using bentonite/magnetite nanoparticles before determination by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection

In this work, bentonite magnetic nanoparticles synthesized by a typical coprecipitation method were used as the adsorbent for the magnetic solid‐phase extraction of six quinolones (ciprofloxacin, difloxacin, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin, sarafloxacin, and lomefloxacin) from milk samples followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection. Under the optimized conditions, the linear quantitation range for the six quinolones was 0.3–200 ng/mL, and the correlation coefficients of the calibration curves ranged from 0.9994 to 0.9999. The detection limit of the method was 0.1 ng/mL. Recoveries of quinolones from pure and low‐fat spiked milk samples varied from 80.4 to 92.7% and from 81.3 to 93.5%, respectively. These results demonstrated that the proposed method for the determination of six quinolones in milk samples was rapid, reliable, and efficient.     

Sample‐directed pseudotargeted method for the metabolic profiling analysis of rice seeds based on liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry

Rice is one of the most important food crops in the world. Metabolite composition in rice seeds varies significantly depending on genetic variety, climatic alternation and agricultural practice. Metabolomics is a powerful tool to reveal the metabolic response of rice to various conditions. In this work, a rice seed sample‐directed pseudotargeted metabolomics method was first established and validated based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. A total of 749 and 617 ion pairs in positive and negative modes were achieved, respectively. Among them, about 200 metabolites were identified or tentatively identified. The developed method showed better linearity and repeatability than those of non‐targeted metabolomics method. Good intra‐day and inter‐day precisions, recoveries and wide linear range were also obtained. Furthermore, the method was applied for the investigation of metabolic variation of rice seeds with two wild cultivars and their transgenic lines that were grown in two locations. Principal component analysis indicated that the effects of cultivar and location on metabolic variations were far more than those of gene modification. The nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test revealed that most metabolites were influenced by cultivar, location and gene modifications together.     

Rapid in situ growth of oriented titanium‐nickel oxide composite nanotubes arrays coated on a nitinol wire as a solid‐phase microextraction fiber coupled to HPLC–UV

An oriented titanium‐nickel oxide composite nanotubes coating was in situ grown on a nitinol wire by direct electrochemical anodization in ethylene glycol with ammonium fluoride and water for the first time. The morphology and composition of the resulting coating showed that the anodized nitinol wire provided a titania‐rich coating. The titanium‐nickel oxide composite nanotubes coated fiber was used for solid‐phase microextraction of different aromatic compounds coupled to high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. The titanium‐nickel oxide composite nanotubes coating exhibited high extraction capability, good selectivity, and rapid mass transfer for weakly polar UV filters. Thereafter the important parameters affecting extraction efficiency were investigated for solid‐phase microextraction of UV filters. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.1–300 μg/L for target UV filters with limits of detection of 0.019–0.082 μg/L. The intraday and interday precision of the proposed method with the single fiber were 5.3–7.2 and 5.9–7.9%, respectively, and the fiber‐to‐fiber reproducibility ranged from 6.3 to 8.9% for four fibers fabricated in different batches. Finally, its applicability was evaluated by the extraction and determination of target UV filters in environmental water samples.     

A dual-functional cadmium(II) coordination polymer as a luminescent sensor for selective sensing of iron(III) ions and detecting the temperature

A Cd(II) coordination polymer (1), {[Cd₂(Ccbp)₂(dca)Cl·3H₂O]·4H₂O} Ccbp^? = 4-carboxy-1-(3-carboxybenzyl)pyridin-1-ium and dca^? = dicyanamide, has been synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction and fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray structural analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. Complex 1 has a 2D network structure with uncoordinated functional groups. Its solid-state luminescence properties were measured at room temperature. Complex 1 exhibited a high sensitivity for Fe³⁺ in DMF solutions of mixed metal ions. In addition, the temperature-dependent luminescence properties of 1 have been investigated and show that the complex acts as a luminescent thermometer over a temperature range from 10 to 90 K.     

Reducing Space Charge Effects in a Linear Ion Trap by Rhombic Ion Excitation and Ejection

Space charge effects play important roles in ion trap operations, which typically limit the ion trapping capacity, dynamic range, mass accuracy, and resolving power of a quadrupole ion trap. In this study, a rhombic ion excitation and ejection method was proposed to minimize space charge effects in a linear ion trap. Instead of applying a single dipolar AC excitation signal, two dipolar AC excitation signals with the same frequency and amplitude but 90° phase difference were applied in the x- and y-directions of the linear ion trap, respectively. As a result, mass selective excited ions would circle around the ion cloud located at the center of the ion trap, rather than go through the ion cloud. In this work, excited ions were then axially ejected and detected, but this rhombic ion excitation method could also be applied to linear ion traps with ion radial ejection capabilities. Experiments show that space charge induced mass resolution degradation and mass shift could be alleviated with this method. For the experimental conditions in this work, space charge induced mass shift could be decreased by ~50%, and the mass resolving power could be improved by ~2 times at the same time.

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Poly(2‐oxazoline) hydrogels crosslinked with aliphatic bis(2‐oxazoline)s: Properties,cytotoxicity, and cell cultivation

A series of hydrogels from 2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline and three bis(2‐oxazoline) crosslinkers—1,4‐butylene‐2,2′‐bis(2‐oxazoline), 1,6‐hexamethylene‐2,2′‐bis(2‐oxazoline), and 1,8‐octamethylene‐2,2′‐bis(2‐oxazoline)—are prepared. The hydrogels differ by the length of aliphatic chain of crosslinker and by the percentage of crosslinker (2–10%). The influence of the type and the percentage of the crosslinker on swelling properties, mechanical properties, and state of water is studied. The equilibrium swelling degree in water ranges from 2 to 20. With a proper selection of the crosslinker, Young's modulus can be varied from 10 kPa to almost 100 kPa. To evaluate the potential for medical applications, the cytotoxicity of extracts and the contact toxicity toward murine fibroblasts are measured. The hydrogels with the crosslinker containing a shorter aliphatic exhibit low toxicity toward fibroblast cells. Moreover, the viability and the proliferation of pancreatic β‐cells incubated inside hydrogels for 12 days are analyzed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1548–1559     

Control of a photoswitching chelator by metal ions: DFT,NBO, and QTAIM analysis

Ability of aroylhydrazones to change conformation upon interaction with light makes them promising candidates for molecular switches. Isomerization can be controlled through complexation with selected metal ions which bind with different affinity. N′‐[1‐(2‐hydroxyphenyl)ethyliden]iso‐nicotinoylhydrazide (HAPI) is an example of a dual‐wavelenght photoswitching molecule, whose complexation with metal ions was recently experimentally investigated (Franks et al. J. Inorg. Chem. 2014, 53, 1397). In this contribution, complexes between HAPI and K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Cu⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺ ions were investigated using Density Functional Theory, Natural Bond Order analysis, and Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules. The most important parameters that determine complex stability are found to be ion radius and charge transferred from ligands to the ion: smaller ion radii and larger CT values characterize formation of more stable complexes. Our results explain experimentally observed effect of different metal ions on photoisomerization through determination of metal ion affinity (MIA): photoisomerization is inhibited if MIA exceeds 100 kcal/mol; for MIA between 50 and 100 kcal/mol excess of metal ions prevents isomerization, whereas in case of MIA below 50 kcal/mol metal ions have no influence on light–HAPI interaction. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Ex Vivo and In Vitro Studies on the Cytotoxicity and Immunomodulative Properties of Poly(2‐isopropenyl‐2‐oxazoline) as a New Type of Biomedical Polymer

Poly(2‐alkenyl‐2‐oxazoline)s are promising functional polymers for a variety of biomedical applications, such as drug delivery systems, peptide conjugates, or gene delivery. In this study, poly(2‐isopropenyl‐2‐oxazoline) (PIPOx) is prepared through free‐radical polymerization initiated with azobisisobutyronitrile. Reactive 2‐oxazoline units in the side chain support an addition reaction with different compounds containing a carboxylic group, which facilitates the preparation of polymers labeled with two different fluorescent dyes. The cytotoxicities of 2‐oxazoline monomers, PIPOx, and fluorescently labeled PIPOx are evaluated in vitro using an 3‐(4,5‐Dimethyldiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay and ex vivo using a cell proliferation assay with adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence. The cell uptake of labeled PIPOx is used to determine the colocalization of PIPOx with cell organelles that are part of the endocytic pathway. For the first time, it is shown that poly(2‐isopropenyl‐2‐oxazoline) is a biocompatible material and is suitable for biomedical applications; further, its immunomodulative properties are evaluated.

     

新型镍离子亲和色谱介质的制备及其性能考察

以氯甲基化聚苯乙烯交联微球(氯球)为载体基质、N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)为溶剂、N,N-二异丙基乙胺(DIEA)催化,将合成的Lys(Boc)-OEt、氯乙酸乙酯连接到微球上。经水解使羧基裸露,与Ni²⁺螯合,制得新型镍离子亲和色谱介质。将其应用于His-Lys-Tyr三肽及Phe-His-Thr三肽纯化研究。以不含组氨酸的六肽作为杂质模型,用所制备的镍离子亲和介质进行分离。结果表明,所制备的镍离子亲和介质对两个含组氨酸的三肽具有很好的亲和作用,并实现了与不含组氨酸六肽的分离。     

Preparation of water dispersible poly(methyl methacrylate)-based vesicles for facile persistent antibacterial applications

We report a facile strategy for incorporating persistent and effective antibacterial property into a widely used polymer, poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA), by copolymerizing methyl methacrylate(MMA) with 2-(tert-butylamino)ethyl methacrylate(TA) in one pot via atom transfer radical polymerization(ATRP). The subsequent self-assembly of the resultant poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-poly[(2-tert-butylamino)ethyl methacrylate](PMMA20-b-PTA15) diblock copolymer affords well-defined water-dispersible vesicles, which can be facilely sprayed on the walls in hospitals for effective inhibition and killing of bacteria. 1H-NMR and gel permeation chromatography(GPC) studies confirmed the successful synthesis of welldefined copolymer. Transmission electron microscopy(TEM), atomic force microscopy(AFM) and dynamic light scattering(DLS) studies proved the formation of vesicles with narrow size distribution. DLS studies revealed the excellent stability of vesicles at various temperatures. Antibacterial tests showed effective antibacterial activities of polymer vesicles against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Moreover, this strategy may be extended for preparing a wide range of polymeric materials for facile antibacterial applications in many fields.