Determination of organoarsenic species in blood plasma by HPLC–ICP MS

A study of arsenic speciation in blood plasma of patients undergoing renal dialysis has been performed using HPLC coupled with ICP MS. It was found that the only detectable arsenic species present in the plasma was arsenobetaine. The limit of detection using an injection volume of 175 µl was found to be 0.25 ng of arsenic as arsenobetaine. Spiking experiments demonstrated recoveries of approximately 100%. In the absence of certified reference materials or an alternative technique, we believe this was the best way to demonstrate that the method was reliable and accurate. Arsenobetaine concentrations in pre‐dialysis plasma were similar to those for the healthy volunteers, although after dialysis the concentrations were significantly reduced. It is thus concluded that, except for a few patients, dialysis removed the arsenobetaine efficiently (hence preventing an accumulation of arsenic) and that no biotransformations were occurring. The exceptions to this conclusion were in a few patients whose arsenobetaine levels increased marginally after dialysis, but this was attributed to the levels both pre‐ and post‐dialysis being very close to the detection limit. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超小尺寸聚焦硫量子点荧光传感探针的制备及传感应用

采用简单的组装-裂变法和透析后处理技术相结合的方法,制备了一种超小尺寸聚焦的荧光硫量子点(SQDs).采用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线能谱(EDX)、紫外-可见吸收光谱(UV-Vis)和荧光光谱对所制备的SQDs进行了表征.结果表明,平均粒径为2.2 nm的SQDs在水溶液中具有非激发波长依赖特性和光学稳定性.并且...     

Time evolution of near membrane layers

The near membrane layer is a region where the concentration of the substance transported across the membrane is significantly decreased. Its thickness is defined as a length over which the concentration drops k times with k being an arbitrary large number. The time evolution of such a layer is studied experimentally by means of the laser interferometric method. It is shown that within the experimental errors the thickness of the near membrane layer grows in time for any k as with the coefficient a being independent of the initial concentration and the membrane permeability. Time evolution of the near membrane layers is also analyzed theoretically. The regularities found experimentally are naturally described within the model which has been earlier developed by one of us. In particular, a scales as . Received 12 November 1999 and Received in final form 3 July 2000     

Binding equilibrium study between Mn( Ⅱ ) and HSA or BSA

The binding of Mn( Ⅱ ) to human serum albumin (HSA) or bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been studied by equilibrium dialysis at physiological pH (7. 43). The Scatchard analysis indicates that there are 1.8 and 1.9 strong binding sites of Mn( Ⅱ ) in HSA and BSA, respectively. The successive stability constants which are reported for the first time are obtained by non-linear least-squares methods fitting Bjerrum formula. For both Mn( Ⅱ )-HSA and Mn( Ⅱ )-BSA systems, the order of magnitude of K1 was found to be 104. The analyses of Hill plots and free energy coupling show that the positive cooperative effect was found in both Mn( Ⅱ )-HSA and Mn( Ⅱ )-BSA systems . The results of Mn ( Ⅱ ) competing with Cu ( Ⅱ ) 、 Zn(Ⅱ)、Cd( Ⅱ) or Ca( Ⅱ ) to bind to HSA or BSA further support the conjecture that there are two strong binding sites of Mn( Ⅱ) in both HSA and BSA. One is most probably located at the tripeptide segment of N- terminal sequence of HSA and BSA molecules involving four groups composed of n     

Electrostatic and electrokinetic contributions to the elastic moduli of a driven membrane

We discuss the electrostatic contribution to the elastic moduli of a cell or artificial membrane placed in an electrolyte and driven by a DC electric field. The field drives ion currents across the membrane, through specific channels, pumps or natural pores. In steady state, charges accumulate in the Debye layers close to the membrane, modifying the membrane elastic moduli. We first study a model of a membrane of zero thickness, later generalizing this treatment to allow for a finite thickness and finite dielectric constant. Our results clarify and extend the results presented by D. Lacoste, M. Cosentino Lagomarsino, and J.F. Joanny (EPL 77, 18006 (2007)), by providing a physical explanation for a destabilizing term proportional to k _⊥ ³ in the fluctuation spectrum, which we relate to a nonlinear (E²) electrokinetic effect called induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO). Recent studies of ICEO have focused on electrodes and polarizable particles, where an applied bulk field is perturbed by capacitive charging of the double layer and drives the flow along the field axis toward surface protrusions; in contrast, we predict “reverse” ICEO flows around driven membranes, due to curvature-induced tangential fields within a nonequilibrium double layer, which hydrodynamically enhance protrusions. We also consider the effect of incorporating the dynamics of a spatially dependent concentration field for the ion channels.     

Dialysis Nanoprecipitation of Polystyrene Nanoparticles

Using a facile dialysis nanoprecipitation method, nanoparticles of several hundred nanometers have been successfully generated from a “traditional,” non‐biodegradable polymer, that is, polystyrene. The effect of initial polymer concentration inside the dialysis membrane, as well as the polymer/solvent system and the ionic strength (electrolyte concentration) of the dialysis solution, on nanoparticle size is examined. A nucleation‐aggregation mechanism has been provided to explain the observed trends. Furthermore, we determine the zeta potential as a function of ionic strength for the generated nanoparticles and show that anionic charging may be present in the system.     

Preparation and transport properties of PPy/PVDF composite membrane

In this work, composite cation‐exchange membrane was prepared by chemical polymerization of pyrrole on the surface of the poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane using ferric ions. The changes in the surface morphologies of non‐modified and polymer‐modified PVDF membrane were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The ion‐exchange capacity, water uptake, and fixed group concentration of the composite membrane were investigated. The polypyrrole/PVDF composite membrane was used for the removal of copper (II), chromium (III), iron (III), and aluminum (III) ions from aqueous solution with Donnan dialysis experiments. The flux values (J) and recovery factors (RF) of Cu(II), Cr(III), Fe(III), and Al(III) were obtained. Because of the smaller ion charge and hydration volume, the transport of the Cu(II) ion is higher than that of the other metals. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

B cell-associated immune profiles in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD)

Most of the previous studies on immune dysregulation in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have focused on T cell immunity. We investigated B cell subpopulations in ESRD patients and the effect of hemodialysis (HD) on B cell-associated immune profiles in these patients. Forty-four ESRD [maintenance HD patients (n = 27) and pre-dialysis patients (n = 17)] and 27 healthy volunteers were included in this study. We determined the percentage of B cell subtypes, such as mature and immature B cells, memory B cells, and interleukin (IL)-10+ cells, as well as B cell-producing cytokines (IL-10, IL-4 and IL-21) by florescent activated cell sorting (FACS). B cell-associated gene expression was examined using real-time PCR and B cell producing cytokines (IL-10, IL-4 and IL-21) were determined using an enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The percentage of total B cells and mature B cells did not differ significantly among the three groups. The percentages of memory B cells were significantly higher in the pre-dialysis group than in the HD group (P < 0.01), but the percentage of immature B cells was significantly lower in the pre-dialysis group than in the other groups. The percentages of IL-10-expressing cells that were CD19+ or immature B cells did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) between the two subgroups within the ESRD group, but the serum IL-10 concentration was significantly lower in the pre-dialysis group (P < 0.01). The results of this study demonstrate significantly altered B cell-associated immunity. Specifically, an imbalance of immature and memory B cells in ESRD patients was observed, with this finding predominating in pre-dialysis patients.     

Preliminary Evaluation of the Asted XL Dialysis System Towards its Applicability In Ligand Binding Assays

Abstract

In ligand binding assays, the separation of bound and free fraction of the labeled ligand is very important. Dialysis is generally overlooked as separation technique since it requires large volumes and long analysis times. The availability of the ASTED-system (Automated Sequential Trace Enrichment of Dialysates) might open ways for a complete automation of immuno assays including the separation step.

A well-documented radio-immuno assay for 3-keto-desogestrel (Org3236) was used to test the potentials of this system. The tritiated analog of Org3236 not only served as label in the immuno assay but was also used to trace this compound in the entire procedure. The dialysis efficiency increased with the dialysis time and with the flush rate of the recipient solvent (tris-HCI or phosphate buffer). Addition of methanol to recipient solvent had spectacular effects on the recovery. With tris-HCI buffer, 0.18 mL/min and 1.0 mL recipient solvent 2.5% of the label was collected. Addition of 50% methanol resulted in a 5-fold increase to 12%. Replacement of buffer by 100% methanol resulted in another 5% increase in dialysis efficiency which was accompanied by a reduction in the antibody binding in the donor compartment due to denaturation of the antibody.

The commercial availability of other types of membranes is essential to find optimal conditions for each analyte. A serious problem is the carryover effect between subsequent samples. Roughly 0.25% of label was collected in the next run which may have a substantial impact on the accuracy and precision of the assay. Renewal of the dialysis membrane might exclude this carry-over effect but is not a serious option with the available instrumentation.

Automated dialysis systems can be very valuable for ligand binding assays as soon as membranes become available for the analytes of interest which provide high recoveries (>40%) in 1 mL recipient solvent. Moreover their carry-over effect should be negligible or eliminated by more efficient rinsing procedures of the entire dialysis system. Temperature control is favourable for the immuno assays as well as for the dialysis process in that the kinetics are temperature dependent.     

LC–MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of serum p‐cresyl sulfate and indoxyl sulfate in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis

p‐Cresol sulfate (pCS) and indoxyl sulfate (IS) are protein‐bound uremic toxins that accumulate in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). They are closely associated with the mortality rate of CKD and morbidity of cardiovascular disease. In the present study, we established a rapid method for determination of pCS and IS by HPLC‐MS/MS in serum samples from 205 CKD patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. In brief, serum was extracted by acetonitrile and spiked with hydrochlorothiazide. The prepared sample was eluted through HPLC column (Agilent Zorbax SB‐C₁₈, 3.5 μm, 2.1 × 100 mm) with a mobile phase of acetonitrile and 10 mm ammonium acetate solution (10:90, v/v) for subsequent detection of pCS and IS by MS/MS. The linearity ranged from 50 to 10,000 ng/mL for pCS (r > 0.99), and from 500 to 10,000 ng/mL for IS (r > 0.99). The lower limit of quantification was 50 ng/mL for pCS, and 500 ng/mL for IS. Relative standard deviation (RSD) of intra‐ and inter‐day precision was within ±15%. The results showed that pCS and IS levels were partially correlated with renal function in CKD patients, and IS was directly related to serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate.