LC-ESI-MS Determination of Bilobalide and Ginkgolides in Canine Plasma

A sensitive and selective method using liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection was developed for the quantification of bilobalide and ginkgolides in canine plasma. The analytes were extracted with diethyl ether-dichloromethane-isopropanol (6:3:1, v/v) after spiking the samples with daidzein (internal standard). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of the method was 2.5 μg L⁻¹ for ginkgolide B and 10.0 μg L⁻¹ for bilabolide, ginkgolide A and ginkgolide C. The accuracy of the method was within 15% of the actual values over a wide range of plasma concentrations. The intra-day and inter-day precision was better than 15% (R.S.D.). Finally, the LC-ESI-MS method was successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetics of ginkgolides and bilabolide after administration of Ginkgo biloba extracts to dogs.     

Characteristic sequences for DNA primary sequence

A DNA sequence can be identified with a word over an alphabet N = [A, C, G, T]. Characteristic sequences of a DNA sequence are given in term of classifications of bases of nucleic acids. Using the characteristic sequences, we construct a set of 2 x 2 matrices to represent DNA primary sequences, which are based on counting of the frequency of occurrence of all (0,1) triplets of characteristic sequences. Furthermore, the leading eigenvalues of these matrices are computed and considered as invariants for the DNA primary sequences. Similarity and dissimilarity analysis based on the characteristic sequences are given for eight exon-1 genes of beta-globin about eight species.     

An efficient procedure for protection of carbonyls in Brønsted acidic ionic liquid [Hmim]BF4

Protection of carbonyls as acetals or ketals using Brønsted acidic ionic liquid [Hmim]BF₄ as catalyst as well as solvent was investigated. Satisfactory results were obtained for the protection of carbonyls as cycloacetals or ketals with diols. The product can be separated conveniently from the reaction system, and the ionic liquid can be reused after removal of water.     

Racemization of chiral amino alcohols III: Effect of Mg or Ca addition on the activity and stability of the Co/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

The racemization of R-(-)-2-amino-1-butanol in a reaction using Co/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts and catalysts modified by Mg or Ca was investigated in this paper. Complete racemization was achieved with a yield of over 83% at using the Mg modified Co/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst under optimized reaction conditions of 170°C and 2.5 MPa of H₂. The catalysts were thoroughly characterized by XRD, XPS, TPR, SEM and TEM. The addition of Mg and Ca may be advantageous for dispersing and stabilizing the active species of the Co/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst, protecting from sintering, significantly improving its catalytic activity and stability.