Rapid separation and characterization of diterpenoid alkaloids in processed roots of Aconitum carmichaeli using ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid linear ion trap‐Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry

The lateral root of Aconitum carmichaeli, a popular traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat rheumatic diseases. For decades, diterpenoid alkaloids have dominated the phytochemical and biomedical research on this plant. In this study, a rapid and sensitive method based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap‐Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry was developed to characterize the diterpenoid alkaloids in Aconitum carmichaeli. Based on an optimized chromatographic condition, more than 120 diterpenoid alkaloids were separated with good resolution. Using a systematic strategy that combines high resolution separation, highly accurate mass measurements and a good understanding of the diagnostic fragment‐based fragmentation patterns, these diterpenoid alkaloids were identified or tentatively identified. The identification of these chemicals provided essential data for further phytochemical studies and toxicity research of Aconitum carmichaeli. Moreover, the ultra high performance liquid chromatography with linear ion trap‐Orbitrap mass spectrometry platform was an effective and accurate tool for rapid qualitative analysis of secondary metabolite productions from natural resources.     

Novel nanomaterials used for sample preparation for protein analysis

Sample preparation is of vital importance for proteomic analysis because of the high complexity of biological samples. The rapid development of novel nanomaterials with various compositions, morphologies, and proper surface modifications provides a category of powerful tools for the sample preparation for protein analysis. In this paper, we have summarized recent progresses for the applications of novel nanomaterials in sample preparation for the analysis of proteomes, especially for phosphoproteomes, glycoproteomes, and peptidoms. Several kinds of novel nanomaterials were also discussed for their use in other kinds of proteomics analysis.

Well‐Defined Flowerlike NdOCl Nanostructures: Nonaqueous Sol–Gel Synthesis,Nanoscale Characterization and Their Magnetic and Photoluminescence Properties

A facile nonaqueous solution route for the fabrication of NdOCl nanostructures based on a ligand‐exchange protocol and further thermal decomposition in organic medium, using only chloride salt as the neodymium source, is reported and the formation mechanism is proposed. The morphology, crystal structure, and chemical compositions of the sample were characterized at the nanoscale. XRD results and selected‐area electron diffraction patterns show that the sample is purely tetragonal NdOCl without any other impurity phases. TEM results show that the NdOCl nanostructures have a well‐defined flowerlike shape, which looks like a chrysanthemum just about to bloom. Magnetization measurements reveal that the NdOCl nanoflowers show room‐temperature ferromagnetism. The photoluminescence properties were also studied. These results are significant for fundamental research and promising applications of rare‐earth‐based nanostructures.     

A preliminary study on soil radon anomaly and its formation mechanism in karst area of southwest China

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Soil radon anomaly is a common phenomenon in karst areas. In this paper, the geochemical behavior of radium (Ra) in the process of carbonate rock...     

Solar Driven Gas Phase Advanced Oxidation Processes for Methane Removal - Challenges and Perspectives

Methane (CH₄) is a potent greenhouse gas and the second highest contributor to global warming. CH₄ emissions are still growing at an alarmingly high pace. To limit global warming to 1.5 °C, one of the most effective strategies is to reduce rapidly the CH₄ emissions by developing large-scale methane removal methods. The purpose of this perspective paper is threefold. (1) To highlight the technology gap dealing with low concentration CH₄ (at many emission sources and in the atmosphere). (2) To analyze the challenges and prospects of solar-driven gas phase advanced oxidation processes for CH₄ removal. And (3) to propose some ideas, which may help to develop solar-driven gas phase advanced oxidation processes and make them deployable at a climate significant scale.     

Density functional theory study on the reaction mechanism of Ni+-catalysed cyclohexane dehydrogenation

Structural Chemistry - A detailed theoretical analysis of the mechanism of chemical bond activation in cyclohexane catalysed by the atomic transition-metal cation Ni+ was performed by density...     

Solvent terminated natural deep eutectic solvent microextraction for concentration of curcuminoids in Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and turmeric tea

A novel solvent terminated microextraction method based on a natural deep eutectic solvent (L-menthol and lactic acid at a molar ratio of 1:2) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography was proposed, which was utilized for the separation and enrichment of bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin and curcumin in Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and turmeric tea. The effects of independent parameters on extraction efficiency were optimized by single-factor analysis. Subsequently, four predominated parameters affecting the extraction procedure, including extractant volume, salt concentration, demulsifier consumption, and demulsification time, were further evaluated by a central composite design. Under the optimized conditions, the linear ranges of calibration curves were 0.005–0.5 μg/mL for bisdemethoxycurcumin, 0.004–0.4 μg/mL for demethoxycurcumin, and 0.0045–0.45 μg/mL for curcumin, respectively. In addition, the developed method provided low detection limits (0.1–0.4 ng/mL) and high enrichment factors (279–350). Its intra-day and inter-day precision were carried out by relative standard deviation ranging from 2.2 to 9.2%. Finally, the applicability of this method was assessed by the analysis of Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and turmeric tea samples. The results showed that these samples were detected successfully and the spiked recoveries over the range of 85.3-108.9% with relative standard deviations of 1.6-8.9% were attained, indicating its high relative recoveries with good precision in real sample analysis.     

Localized surface plasmon resonance properties and biomedical applications of copper selenide nanomaterials

Nanomaterials with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) locating in the near-infrared region have broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine. However, the biggest problem that limits the biomedical application of such nanomaterials lies in two aspects: First, the potential long-term in vivo toxicity caused by the metabolism of many nanomaterials with LSPR effect; Second, most of current nanomaterials with LSPR effect are difficult to achieve LSPR wavelength tunability in the near-infrared region to adapt to different biomedical applications. Copper selenide nanomaterials are composed of selenium and copper, which are necessary nutrient elements for human life. Because of the active and flexible chemical properties of selenium and copper, copper selenide nanomaterials can not only be effectively degraded and utilized in human body, but also be endowed with various physicochemical properties by chemical modification or doping. Recently, copper selenide nanomaterials have shown unique properties such as LSPR in the near-infrared region, making them attractive for near-infrared thermal ablation, photoacoustic imaging, disease marker detection, multimode imaging, and so on. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, there is no review on the LSPR properties of copper selenide nanomaterials and its biomedical applications. This review first discusses the relationship between the physicochemical properties and the LSPR of copper selenide nanomaterials and then summarizes the latest progress in the application of copper selenide nanomaterials in biological detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. In addition, the advantages, and prospects of copper selenide nanomaterials in biomedicine are also highlighted.     

Cationic Nonporous Macrocyclic Organic Compounds for Multimedia Iodine Capture

Over the past two decades, progress in chemistry has generated various types of porous materials for removing iodine (¹²⁹I or ¹³¹I) that can be formed during nuclear energy generation or nuclear waste storage. However, most studies for iodine capture are based on the weak host-guest interactions of the porous materials. Here, we present two cationic nonporous macrocyclic organic compounds, namely, MOC-1 and MOC-2 , in which 6I^- and 8I⁻ were as counter anions, for highly efficient iodine capture. MOC-1 and MOC-2 were formed by reacting 1,1′-diamino-4,4′-bipyridylium di-iodide with 1,2-diformylbenzene or 1,3-diformylbenzene, respectively. The presence of a large number of I⁻ anions results in high I₂ affinity with uptake capacities up to 2.15 g ⋅ g⁻¹ for MOC-1 and 2.25 g ⋅ g⁻¹ for MOC-2 .     

真空中铝单丝电爆炸的实验研究

开展了铝单丝在负极性电流脉冲作用下电爆炸特性的研究.利用皮秒激光探针,搭建了阴影、纹影和干涉的光学诊断平台,得到了不镀膜铝丝典型的能量沉积过程,在电压崩溃时刻其沉积能量为2.4 eV/atom.为了增加金属丝内的沉积能量,开展了相同电参数及金属丝尺寸下的镀膜铝丝电爆炸实验,其沉积能量可达到5 eV/atom,实现了在电压崩溃之前铝丝完全气化(完全气化所需能量为4 eV/atom).阴影图像展示了高密度丝核区域的膨胀过程,不镀膜铝丝平均膨胀速度为2.2 km/s,而镀膜铝丝因为沉积能量大,其膨胀速度约为不镀膜铝丝的2.3倍,高密度区域膨胀速度为5 km/s.由于阴影不能反映低密度等离子体的膨胀,开展了平行双丝实验,通过测量自发光辐射,估算了低密度等离子体的膨胀速度.利用条纹相机拍摄了不镀膜铝丝电爆炸过程中自发光区域的图像.纹影图像清晰地展示了不镀膜铝丝在电爆炸过程中形成的核冕结构,而镀膜铝丝电爆炸过程中核冕结构得到了一定程度的抑制.从干涉图像计算了相移,在轴对称假设下对相移进行阿贝尔逆变换,重构了三维的铝原子数密度分布.