Pharmacokinetic comparison of five tanshinones in normal and arthritic rats after oral administration of Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan or its single herb extract by UPLC‐MS/MS

A fast, sensitive and reliable ultra performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous quantitation and pharmacokinetic study of five tanshinones (tanshinone I, tanshinone IIA, tanshinone IIB, dihydrotanshinone I, cryptotanshinone), the bio‐active ingredients of Huo Luo Xiao Ling Dan (HLXLD) in rat plasma. After liquid–liquid extraction, chromatographic separation was accomplished on a Shim‐pack XR‐ODS column (75 × 3.0 mm, 2.2 µm particles) and eluted with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile–0.05% formic acid aqueous solution (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min, and the total run time was 7.0 min. The detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry equipped with an electrospray ionization source in positive ionization and multiple reaction monitoring mode. The lower limits of quantification were 0.050–0.400 ng/mL for all the analytes. Linearity, precision and accuracy, the mean extraction recoveries and matrix effects all satisfied criteria for acceptance. This validated method was successfully applied to a comparative pharmacokinetic study of five bio‐active components in rat plasma after oral administration of HLXLD or Salvia miltiorrhiza extract in normal and arthritic rats. The results showed that there were different pharmacokinetic characteristics among different groups. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orientation-dependent deformation mechanisms of bcc niobium nanoparticles

Nanoparticles usually exhibit pronounced anisotropic properties, and a close insight into the atomic-scale deformation mechanisms is of great interest. In present study, atomic simulations are conducted to analyse the compression of bcc nanoparticles, and orientation-dependent features are addressed. It is revealed that surface morphology under indenter predominantly governs the initial elastic response. The loading curve follows the flat punch contact model in [1 1 0] compression, while it obeys the Hertzian contact model in [1 1 1] and [0 0 1] compressions. In plastic deformation regime, full dislocation gliding is dominated in [1 1 0] compression, while deformation twinning is prominent in [1 1 1] compression, and these two mechanisms coexist in [0 0 1] compression. Such deformation mechanisms are distinct from those in bulk crystals under nanoindentation and nanopillars under compression, and the major differences are also illuminated. Our results provide an atomic perspective on the mechanical behaviours of bcc nanoparticles and are helpful for the design of nanoparticle-based components and systems.     

Potential influence on drug efficacy from interaction of tartrazine and trypsin

The extent to which drugs combine with trypsin is influenced by the interaction of tartrazine and trypsin, which may cause overdose or underdose of drugs. Therefore, the interaction of tartrazine and trypsin is investigated by methods of spectrometry in this paper. The binding rate of tartrazine to trypsin is 80.95–95.71% at 310?K, and Hill’s coefficients are almost 1. The effect of tartrazine on trypsin structure was studied by synchronous and circular dichroism. The results showed that the binding of tartrazine and trypsin induced the conformational change of trypsin, and quenched the endogenous fluorescence in trypsin. The results of molecular docking revealed that tartrazine is located in the catalytic active site of trypsin, and is consistent with that of experimental calculation.     

Binding of caffeic acid to human serum albumin by the retention data and frontal analysis

A new mathematical model and frontal analysis were used to characterize the binding behavior of caffeic acid to human serum albumin (HSA) based on high‐performance affinity chromatography. The experiments were carried out by injecting various mole amounts of the drug onto an immobilized HSA column. They indicated that caffeic acid has only one type of binding site to HSA on which the association constant was 2.75 × 10⁴/m . The number of the binding site involving the interaction between caffeic acid and HSA was 69 nm . The data obtained by the frontal analysis appeared to present the same results for both the association constant and the number of binding sites. This new model based on the relationship between the mole amounts of injection and capacity factors assists understanding of drug–protein interaction. The proposed model also has the advantages of ligand saving and rapid operation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A cinnamoyl substituted Nile Red-based probe to detect hydrazine

Herein we discovered that a Nile Red-based probe with a cinnamoyl unit was highly selective and sensitive to N₂H₄. Hydrazinolysis by N₂H₄ would release a hydroxyl substituted Nile Red and result in remarkable fluorescence quench. Importantly, Cys/Hcy would not interrupt the N₂H₄ recognition. This is because, for this probe, the combination of the π-π conjugate system can stabilize the ethylene union, which results in the nucleophilic addition of the thiol group of Cys/Hcy becomes non-effective.     

Cauchy-type integral formula and Plemelj formula of hypermonogenic functions on unbounded domains

In this paper, we discuss the Cauchy-type integral formula of hypermonogenic functions on unbounded domains in real Clifford analysis, then we extend the Plemelj formula and Cauchy–Pompeiu formula of hypermonogenic functions on bounded domains to unbounded domains. We also deal with the Green-type formula on unbounded domains and get several important corollaries.     

LC–MS/MS法测定动物性食品中万古霉素残留

建立液相色谱–串联质谱(LC–MS/MS)法检测动物性食品中万古霉素药物残留的方法。用磷酸盐缓冲溶液对动物性食品中的万古霉素进行提取,经HLB固相萃取柱净化,采用电喷雾离子源,以正离子检测方式进行质谱分析。实验结果表明,万古霉素质量浓度在1~500μg/L范围内与色谱峰面积呈良好的线性,相关系数r=0.998。低、中、高3个质量浓度添加水平的回收率为84.8%~118.2%,相对标准偏差为2.2%~7.2%(n=5),检出限为2μg/kg。     

Microsensor Chip Integrated with Gold Nanoparticles‐Modified Ultramicroelectrode Array for Improved Electroanalytical Measurement of Copper Ions

This paper presents a microsensor chip integrated with a gold nanoparticles‐modified ultramicroelectrode array (UMEA) as the working electrode for the detection of copper ions in water. The microsensor chip was fabricated with Micro‐Electromechanical System technique. Gold nanoparticles were electrodeposited onto the surface of UMEA at a constant potential of ?0.3 V. The ratio d/R_b of interelectrode spacing (d) over the individual electrode’s radius (R_b) was investigated to improve the electrochemical performance. The UMEA with a d/R_b of 20 showed the best hemispherical diffusion mode, resulted in fast response time and high current response. The gold nanoparticles increased the active surface area of UMEA by not changing the geometries of UMEA, and the current response was increased further. Incorporating the optimized characteristic of UMEA and gold nanoparticles, the microsensor showed a good linear range from 0.5 to 200 µg L^?1 of copper ions in the acetate buffer solutions with the method of square wave stripping voltammetry. Compared with the gold nanoparticles‐modified disk electrode, the gold nanoparticles‐modified UMEA showed higher sensitivity (0.024 µA mm^?2 µg^?1 L) and lower limit of detection (0.2 µg L^?1). Water samples from river water and tap water were analyzed by the microsensor chip with recovery ranging from 100.7 % to 107.8 %.