Lipase-catalyzed solvent-free transesterification of wood sterols

Eighteen commercial lipase preparations, either immobilized or crude enzyme powders, were screened for the transesterification of wood sterols. The reactions were carried out in a solvent-free system, at the optimum temperature of the enzyme preparations as reported by the manufacturer and at the pressure of 2 mbar, with 5 or 10% in weight of the enzyme relative to the wood sterol content of the reacting mixture. Methyl esters of sunflower fatty acids were used as transesterifying agent. Of all the enzymes assayed, only Lipase TL from Pseudomonas stutzeri PL-836 (Meito Sangyo) exhibited any significant transesterifying capacity, 85 and 95% of conversion after 2 and 8 h of reaction, respectively, when 10% in weight of enzyme was used.     

Pressurized liquid extracts from Spirulina platensis microalga. Determination of their antioxidant activity and preliminary analysis by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

In this work, different extracts from the microalga Spirulina platensis are obtained using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and four different solvents (hexane, light petroleum, ethanol and water). Different extraction temperatures (115 and 170 degrees C) were tested using extraction times ranging from 9 to 15 min. The antioxidant activity of the different extracts is determined by means of an in vitro assay using a free radical method. Moreover, a new and fast method is developed using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with diode array detection (MEKC-DAD) to provide a preliminary analysis on the composition of the extracts. This combined application (i.e., in vitro assays plus MEKC-DAD) allowed the fast characterization of the extracts based on their antioxidant activity and the UV-vis spectra of the different compounds found in the extracts. To our knowledge, this work shows for the first time the great possibilities of the combined use of PLE-in vitro assay-MEKC-DAD to investigate natural sources of antioxidants.     

Characterization and de novo sequencing of Atlantic salmon vitellogenin protein by electrospray tandem and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

Vitellogenin (VTG) is a protein produced by the liver of oviparous animals in response to circulating estrogens. In the plasma of males and immature females, VTG is undetectable. VTG has been used as a biomarker for exposure to endocrine disruptors in many species. In the present study, characterization of intact Atlantic salmon VTG was effected using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI ToF MS). Tryptic digest peptides were analyzed by MALDI ToF MS to obtain a peptide mass fingerprint. De novo sequencing of the tryptic peptides used low-energy collisionally-induced dissociation (CID) in an electrospray ionization quadrupole-ToF orthogonal hybrid mass spectrometer (ESI Q-ToF MS/MS). The interpretation of the product-ion spectra obtained from the ESI Q-ToF MS/MS was done by Lutefisk, a computer-based software algorithm. The molecular mass of the intact protein was found to be 187335 Da. A total of 14 tryptic peptides were sequenced and compared with the complete rainbow trout VTG and the partial Atlantic salmon VTG sequences found in the Swiss-Prot database. De novo sequencing by CID MS/MS of 11 Atlantic salmon tryptic digest peptides with selected precursor ions at m/z 788.24, 700.20, 794.75, 834.31, 889.28, 819.79, 865.27, 843.81, 572.20, 573.66 and 561.68 showed high homology with the known sequence of rainbow trout VTG. The last two precursor peptide ions, found at m/z 573.66 and m/z 561.68, also specifically matched the known portion of the Atlantic salmon VTG sequence. Finally, three tryptic precursor peptide ions found at m/z 795.18, 893.28 and 791.05, provided product-ion spectra, which were exclusive to the unsequenced portion of the Atlantic salmon VTG.     

First- and second-order multivariate calibration applied to biological samples: determination of anti-inflammatories in serum and urine

First- and second-order multivariate calibration of fluorescence data have been compared as regards the determination of anti-inflammatories and metabolites in the biological fluids serum and urine. The simultaneous resolution of naproxen-salicylic acid mixtures in serum and naproxen-salicylic acid-salicyluric acid mixtures in urine was accomplished and employed for a discussion of the relative advantages of the applied chemometric tools. The analysis of second-order fluorescence excitation-emission matrices was performed using iteratively reweighted generalized rank annihilation method (IRGRAM), parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), and self-weighted alternating trilinear decomposition (SWATLD). The results were compared with first-order fluorescence emission data analyzed with partial least-squares regression (PLS). In all cases, the performance of the methods was improved through the formation of inclusion complexes of the analytes with beta-cyclodextrin. The concentration ranges in which the analytes could be determined were as follows: naproxen, 0-250 ng mL(-1) in serum and 0-200 ng mL(-1) in urine; salicylic acid, 0-500 ng mL(-1) in serum and 0-300 ng mL(-1) in urine, and salicyluric acid, 0-300 ng mL(-1) in urine.     

Assessment of Four Inter-Comparison Exercises in Organic Elemental Analysis

 Four inter-comparison exercises on organic elemental analysis were carried out between 1997 and 2001 by the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the University of Barcelona, together with the Microanalysis Service and the Institute of the Marine Sciences, which both belong to the CSIC in Barcelona, and the University of A Coru?a. More than sixty laboratories participated in these exercises. Here we describe the design and characteristics of the trials, the samples and the homogeneity tests applied. We report the results obtained for the analysis of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen, their statistical analysis, and the most relevant aspects of the technical discussion meetings. Received December 20, 2001; accepted March 18, 2002; published online July 22, 2002     

Interaction between indigo and adsorbed protein as a major factor causing backstaining during cellulase treatment of cotton fabrics

A model microassay system was developed to measure indigo backstaining on cotton fabrics in the presence of enzymes on a small laboratory scale. Backstaining indexes for 11 cellulase samples were measured, and the enzymes were ranked from lower to higher backstaining. Two multienzyme cellulase preparations were separated into fractions using chromatofocusing on a Mono P column. Adsorption ability and backstaining properties of purified enzyme fractions were studied. Evidence was obtained that protein adsorption on cotton fabrics is a crucial parameter causing backstaining (both for crude cellulase samples and purified enzyme components).     

Characterization of the O-4 phosphorylated and O-5 substituted Kdo reducing end group and sequencing of the core oligosaccharide of Aeromonas salmonicida ssp salmonicida lipopolysaccharide using tandem mass spectrometry

The molecular structure of the wild strain of the lipopolysaccharide core of Aeromonas salmonicida, ssp salmonicida has been sequenced using tandem mass spectrometry. The core oligosaccharide was determined to contain an O-4 phosphorylated and O-5 substituted Kdo reducing group, and its structure is proposed as the follows: [structure: see text] After the core oligosaccharide of LPS was released from the lipid A portion by conventional treatment with 1% acetic acid, we demonstrated the existence of a homogeneous mixture composed mainly of the native core oligosaccharide containing the Kdo with its O-4 phosphate group intact, and a degraded core oligosaccharide mixture, which eliminated the O-4 phosphate group with extreme facility. The precise molecular structure and glycone sequence of the homogeneous mixture of phosphorylated and dephosphorylated core oligosaccharides was determined by electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometric analysis. CID-MS/MS of the homogeneous mixture of permethylated core oligosaccharides afforded a series of diagnostic product ions which confirmed the established sequence of the glycones to be determined. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) tandem mass spectrometry reconfirmed the molecular structure of the dephosphorylated homogeneous permethylated mixture of the core oligosaccharides containing the diastereomeric 4,8- and 4,7-anhydro-alpha-keto acids.