Liquid phase microextraction with in situ derivatization for measurement of bisphenol A in river water sample by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A new method that involves liquid phase microextraction (LPME) with in situ derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is described for the determination of trace amounts of bisphenol A (BPA) in river water samples. The LPME conditions, such as the type of extraction solvent and the extraction time, are investigated. Then, the extract is directly injected into GC-MS. The detection limit and the quantification limit of BPA in river water sample are 2 and 10pgml(-1) (ppt), respectively. The calibration curve for BPA is linear with a correlation coefficient of >0.999 in the range of 10-10,000pgml(-1). The average recoveries of BPA in river water samples spiked with 100 and 1000pgml(-1) BPA are 104.1 (RSD: 8.9%) and 98.3 (RSD: 3.2%), respectively, with correction using the added surrogate standard, bisphenol A-(13)C(12). This simple, accurate, sensitive and selective analytical method may be applicable to the determination of trace amounts of BPA in liquid samples.     

Low-temperature heat capacity of heptacopper(II) complex [Cu7(μ3-Cl)2(μ3-OH)6-(d-pen-disulfide)3]

A single crystal calorimetry of a heptacopper(II) complex of [Cu₇(μ₃-Cl)₂(μ₃-OH)₆-(d-pen-disulfide)₃] which has a double-cubane structure supported by d-penicillaminedisulfides has been performed at low-temperature region below 8 K. This compound is a metal complex which contains seven Cu(II)s in a cluster unit. These Cu(II)s are magnetically coupled each other by strong intra-complex interactions. The heat capacities under magnetic fields exhibit Schottky type anomalies explained by the Zeeman splitting of the doublet ground state of the complex. The g-value of the ground state is evaluated as 1.86 from the systematic analysis of the Schottky peak under magnetic fields. The first excited state of the cluster seems to be separated at least by several Kelvins, which is consistent with the theoretical calculations and magnetic susceptibility results.     

Determination of trenbolone and zeranol in bovine muscle and liver by liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry

A sensitive and selective method using liquid chromatography (LC)-electrospray mass spectrometry for the determination of growth promoters, trenbolone and zeranol, in bovine muscle and liver has been developed. The LC separation was performed on a Zorbax XDB-C18 column (150x2.1 mm I.D.) using 0.005% acetic acid-acetonitrile (60:40, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow-rate of 0.2 ml/min. The positive ionization produced typical (M+H)+ molecular ions of alpha-trenbolone and beta-trenbolone. On the other hand, the negative mode produced (M-H)- ion of zeranol. The calibration graphs for alpha-trenbolone, beta-trenbolone and zeranol were rectilinear from 2.5 pg to 1.0 ng with selected ion monitoring. The drugs were extracted with 0.2% metaphosphoric acid-acetonitrile (6:4, v/v), and the extracts were cleaned up on a OASIS HLB (60 mg) cartridge. The recoveries of the hormones from bovine muscle fortified at 2 ng/g were 82.3-85.1%, and detection limits were 0.5 ng/g for each drug.     

Measurement of bisphenol A in human serum by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The purpose of this study is to establish an easy and accurate method for the determination of bisphenol A (BPA) in the human serum. The samples were applied to the C₁₈ solid phase extraction (SPE) column for clean up of samples. The BPA is conjugated with tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate as the counter ion in alkali solution. The ion paired BPA is moves from the aqueous phase to the organic phase as an ion paired extraction. BPA extracted from human serum were derivatized with pentafluorobenzyl bromide (PFBBr). The derivative was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC)/mass spectrometry (MS) using negative chemical ionization (NCI). The instrumental detection limit of BPA was 5 pg/ml (10 fg). The instrumental response between 0.01 and 100 pg/ml of BPA standards was linear (r²=0.998). The recovery of BPA spiked into human serum was 101.0±4.63 (1 pg/ml) and 100.9±3.75 (10 pg/ml), respectively. The concentration of BPA in the human serum from 20 individuals was 0.54 pg/ml.     

Large-Scale Production of Phospholipase D from Streptomyces racemochromogenes and Its Application to Soybean Lecithin Modification

Phospholipase D (PLD) catalyzes transphosphatidylation, causing inter-conversion of the polar head group of phospholipids and phospholipid hydrolysis. Previously, we cloned PLD103, a PLD with high transphosphatidylation activity, from Streptomyces racemochromogenes strain 10-3. Here, we report the construction of an expression system for the PLD103 gene using Streptomyces lividans as the host bacterium to achieve large-scale production. The phosphatidylcholine (PC) hydrolysis activity of S. lividans transformed with the expression plasmid containing the PLD103 gene was approximately 90-fold higher than that of the original strain. The recombinant PLD103 (rPLD103) found in the supernatant of the transformant culture medium was close to homogeneous. The rPLD103 was indistinguishable from the native enzyme in molecular mass and enzymatic properties. Additionally, rPLD103 had high transphosphatidylation activity on PC as a substrate in a simple aqueous one-phase reaction system and was able to modify the phospholipid content of soybean lecithin. Consequently, the expression system produces a stable supply of PLD, which can then be used in the production of phosphatidyl derivatives from lecithin.     

Highly phosphonated poly(N‐phenylacrylamide) for proton exchange membranes

A novel highly phosphonated poly(N‐phenylacrylamide) ( PDPAA ) with an ion‐exchange capacity (IEC) of 6.72 mequiv/g was synthesized by the radical polymerization of N‐[2,4‐bis(diethoxyphosphinoyl)phenyl]acrylamide ( DEPAA ), followed by the hydrolysis with trimethylsilyl bromide. Then, the crosslinked PDPAA membrane was successfully prepared by the electrophilic substitution reaction between the aromatic rings of PDPAA and the carbocation formed from hexamethoxymethylmelamine (CYMEL) as a crosslinker in the presence of methanesulfonic acid. The crosslinked PDPAA membrane had high oxidative stability against Fenton's reagent at room temperature. The proton conductivity of the crosslinked PDPAA membrane was 8.8 × 10^?2 S/cm at 95% relative humidity (RH) and 80 °C, which was comparable to Nafion 112. Under low RH, the crosslinked PDPAA membrane showed the proton conductivity of 1.9 × 10^?3 and 4.7 × 10^?5 S/cm at 50 and 30% RH, respectively. The proton conductivity of the crosslinked PDPAA membrane lied in the highest class among the reported phosphonated polymers, and, consequently, the very high local concentration of the acids of PDPAA (IEC = 6.72 mequiv/g) achieved high and effective proton conduction under high RH. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Heat capacities of a networked system of single-molecule magnet with three-dimensional structure

A magnetic-fields dependence of heat capacity of [Mn₅(hmp)₄(OH)₂{N(CN)₂}₆]2MeCN·2THF (hmp=hydroxymethylpyridinate) is investigated by the thermal relaxation calorimetry technique. This compound is a three-dimensional system consisting of Mn₄ single-molecule magnet (SMM) units and Mn²⁺ ions, which are linked by the dicyanamide ligands to form a coordination network structure. A sharp peak of C _p being associated with the formation of three-dimensional long-range order is observed around 1.96 K. The thermodynamic discussion based on the magnetic entropy suggests that both SMMs and Mn²⁺ ions are involved in the formation of the anitiferromagnetic spin ordering. However, this long-range ordering is very sensitive to the external magnetic fields which work to change the magnitude of the Zeeman splitting of the SMM levels. The behavior under magnetic fields is similar to that of the two-dimensional Mn₄-network system studied previously.     

Application of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to Multi-Element Analysis of Human Organs

Abstract

Elemental concentrations of internal organs (cerebrum, cerebellum, heart, spleen, liver and kidney) of Japanese were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Sixty-one elements were determined simultaneously, and concentrations of some trace elements in human organs, on which information are scarcely available in the literature, were obtained. The analytical values obtained by ICP-MS and those by other methods were compared and fairly good agreement was found for Cd, Zn and Fe. Moderate agreement was found for Se and Hg, but discrepancy was observed for Mg and Na. Unacceptable values were obtained for some elements, such as Ti, Sc or Ge, probably due to polyatomic molecular interference.     

Photorefractive effect in composites of ferroelectric liquid crystal and photoconductive polymer

The photorefractive effect in composites of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) and several photoconductive polymers was investigated. The photorefractivity of mixtures of photoconductive polymers and an FLC (polymer/FLC), as well as that of photoconductive‐polymer‐stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (PPS‐FLCs) was examined. The polymer/FLC samples exhibited two‐beam coupling gain coefficients of about 6～12 cm^?1 in a 5 µm gap cell. The photopolymerization of a methacrylate monomer in the FLC medium established a polymer‐stabilized state in which the alignment of FLC molecules was mechanically stabilized. The noise in a two‐beam coupling signal was reduced significantly in the PPS‐FLC samples.     

Partition coefficient of Ra in gypsum

A partition coefficient (λ) for Ra in gypsum was determined from coprecipitation experiment using oversaturation method. The λ-value derived for Ra was: λ _Ra = 0.32±0.15. Saturation state was estimated with the initial concentration of Ca and SO₄²⁻ in an experiment of the present study. Saturation index was calculated to be (0.49±0.02). This value was similar to those corresponds to analogous case where slow precipitation rate was kept in coprecipitation experiment for Sr in gypsum. Therefore, derived λ-value is thought to describe partition of Ra and Ca in solid phase and solution under an equilibrium condition without the effect of kinetic of precipitation. Determined λ-value was compared with those of other alkaline elements in sulfate minerals. The derived λ-value is smaller than that of Ra in barite and is similar to those of Sr in gypsum. This trend agrees with mechanical understanding for the size effect against partition coefficient.