Development of a mild mercaptoethanol extraction method for determination of mercury species in biological samples by HPLC–ICP-MS

A mild, efficient and convenient extraction method of using 2-mercaptoethanol contained extractant solution combined with an incubator shaker for determination of mercury species in biological samples by HPLC–ICP-MS has been developed. The effects of the concentration of 2-mercaptoethanol, the composition of the extractant solution and the shaking time on the efficiency of mercury extraction were evaluated. The optimization experiments indicated that the quantitative extraction of mercury species from biological samples could be achieved by using 0.1% (v/v) HCl, 0.1% (v/v) 2-mercapoethanol and 0.15% (m/v) KCl extractant solution in an incubator shaker for shaking overnight (about 12 h) at room temperature. The established method was validated by analysis of various biological certified reference materials, including NRCC DOLT-3 (dogfish liver), IAEA 436 (tuna fish), IAEA MA-B-3/TM (garfish filet), IAEA MA-M-2/TM (mussel tissue), GBW 08193 (bovine liver) and GBW 08572 (prawn). The analytical results of the reference materials were in good agreement with the certified or reference values of both methyl and total mercury, indicating that no distinguishable transformation between mercury species had occurred during the extraction and determination procedures. The limit of detection (LOD) for methyl (CH₃Hg⁺) and inorganic mercury (Hg²⁺) by the method are both as 0.2 μg L⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.s) for CH₃Hg⁺ and Hg²⁺ are 3.0% and 5.8%, respectively. The advantages of the developed extraction method are that (1) it is easy to operate in HPLC–ICP-MS for mercury species determination since the extracted solution can be directly injected into the HPLC column without pH adjustment and (2) the memory effect of mercury in the ICP-MS measurement system can be reduced.     

NMR and Excess Volumes Studies in DMF–Alcohol Mixtures

Chemical shifts of the alcohol and DMF protons in DMF–alcohol mixtures with the mole fraction of alcohol are reported in order to study the hydrogen bond interaction present in the mixtures. The densities of DMF–methanol mixture at 22°C are also measured. Excess volumes and excess chemical shifts are correlated by the Redlich–Kister equation. The relation between excess volumes and excess chemical shifts in the mixtures is discussed. It is found that the maximum excess chemical shifts ^E(CHO-OH) and ^E(CH₃-OH) are positioned at about mole fraction methanol = 0.57 for the DMF–methanol system, as is V ^E. The results show that the NMR spectral method offers a valuable approach to similar future studies of interactions in mixtures.     

Targeting cell surface receptors with ligand-conjugated nanocrystals

To explore the potential for use of ligand-conjugated nanocrystals to target cell surface receptors, ion channels, and transporters, we explored the ability of serotonin-labeled CdSe nanocrystals (SNACs) to interact with antidepressant-sensitive, human and Drosophila serotonin transporters (hSERT, dSERT) expressed in HeLa and HEK-293 cells. Unlike unconjugated nanocrystals, SNACs were found to dose-dependently inhibit transport of radiolabeled serotonin by hSERT and dSERT, with an estimated half-maximal activity (EC(50)) of 33 (dSERT) and 99 microM (hSERT). When serotonin was conjugated to the nanocrystal through a linker arm (LSNACs), the EC(50) for hSERT was determined to be 115 microM. Electrophysiology measurements indicated that LSNACs did not elicit currents from the serotonin-3 (5HT(3)) receptor but did produce currents when exposed to the transporter, which are similar to those elicited by antagonists. Moreover, fluorescent LSNACs were found to label SERT-transfected cells but did not label either nontransfected cells or transfected cells coincubated with the high-affinity SERT antagonist paroxetine. These findings support further consideration of ligand-conjugated nanocrystals as versatile probes of membrane proteins in living cells.     

Study on the supramolecular system of TAPP with cyclodextrins by polarography

The interaction of cyclodextrins with meso- Tetrakis (4-N-trimethylaminobenzyl) porphyrin (TAPP) in 0.1 mol l(-1) phosphate buffer (pH 7.0, 20 degrees C) has been studied by polarography. The TAPP can form the 1:1 inclusion complex with Sulfobutylether-beta-cyclodextrin (SBE-beta-CD) and1:2 inclusion complexes with other four cyclodextrins. A new expression, which is used to calculate the inclusion constant for1:2 inclusion complex by polarography, has been educed and testified firstly in this paper. Furthermore, the inclusion abilities of different kinds of cyclodextrins are compared. The result shows the inclusion ability of anionic cyclodextrin SBE-beta-CD with cationic porphyrin TAPP is very strong. It suggests that the charge attraction between CDs and TAPP plays an important role in the inclusion procedure except for the hydrophobic effect. The inclusion formation of anionic cyclodextrins with drugs can increase released rate of drugs at high pH; therefore, the suparmolecular data for the controlled release of the drugs that owned the similar properties as hematoporphyrin have been offered by polarography in this paper.     

甲基锍盐的合成

在四氟硼酸银存在下，分别以硫醚、硫醇、硫酚或过硫醚为原料与碘甲烷反应制备了相应的甲基锍盐。用１ＨＮＭＲ和１３ＣＮＭＲ表征产物的结构并提出了反应的机理。     

热处理对聚乙烯／炭黑导电复合体系形态结构及PTC特性的影响

借助ＷＡＸＤ、ＳＡＸＤ和ＤＳＣ等手段研究了炭黑与聚乙烯复合体系在不同热处理条件下的结晶行为及聚集态结构的大尺寸效应对ＰＴＣ特性的影响。由此提出，不仅结晶度大小，而且聚集大尺寸效应性能对ＰＴＣ行性有重要影响的新观点。     

二(2,4,4-三甲基戊基)膦酸萃取分离稀土元素(Ⅲ)的研究

本文研究了二(2,4,4-三甲基戊基)磷酸(Cyanex 272)的煤油溶液在不同介质(HCI,HNO_3)中对三价混合稀土的萃取分离性能.观测了平衡水相酸度对萃取平衡的影响,由酸度曲线求出相邻元素的平均分离系数,并考察了酸度对反萃取平衡的影响.比较了HCI和HNO_3介质中,Cyanex 272对混合稀土(Ⅲ)的萃取性能.     

Molecularly imprinted sol-gel nanotubes membrane for biochemical separations

In this study, we report a simple procedure for applying molecular imprinting functional groups to the inner surfaces of the template-synthesized sol-gel nanotubes for chemical separation of estrone. The silica nanotubes were synthesized within the pores of nanopore alumina template membranes using a sol-gel method by simultaneous hydrolysis of a silica monomer-imprinted molecule complex and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). A covalent imprinting strategy was employed by generating a sacrificial spacer through the reaction of the isocyanate group of 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate and a phenol moiety of estrone to form a thermally cleavable urethane bond. This allowed us to remove the imprinted estrone by simple thermal reaction and to simultaneously introduce functional groups into the cavity formed by the silica nanotubes. Experiments indicated that estrone could be bound selectively by such an approach and have a binding affinity of 864 +/- 137 (n = 3).     

Studies on the determination of diacetyl guanfubase A concentration in rabbit plasma and pharmacokinetics

A gas chromatographic method for monitoring diacetyl guanfubase A in plasma is described. The procedure involved a single solvent extraction of drug from rabbit plasma into ethyl acetate with guanfubase A as an internal standard. The extract was analyzed subsequently on a gas chromatograph equipped with a hydrogen flame ionization detector. The recovery was 86.43% +/- 6.90% (+/- SD); the RSD of within-day and between-day was 2.81%-5.26% and 5.22%-8.24%, respectively; the regression line was linear over the concentration range of 25-200 micrograms/mL, the limit of detection was 10 micrograms/mL. No endogeneous interference was found in chromatograms of the biological samples. This method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of diacetyl guanfubase A in rabbits.