Improved detection of multi-phosphorylated peptides in the presence of phosphoric acid in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

In contrast to lower phosphorylation states (e.g. the tryptic monophosphopeptide FQpSEEQQQTEDELQDK from bovine beta-casein), the specific detection of multi-phosphorylated peptides (e.g. the tetraphosphopeptide RELEELNVPGEIVEpSLpSpSpSEESITR from tryptic digestion of bovine beta-casein) has often been problematic for liquid chromatographic mass spectrometric (LC/MS) analysis owing to their high affinity for adsorption to exposed surfaces. We observed an enhancement in the overall detection of phosphopeptides on addition of phosphoric acid (0.1-1.0%) to the sample solution; a 10-fold increase in sensitivity was determined for the detection of two tryptic phosphopeptides and also a significant improvement in the detection of the tetraphosphopeptide. Using capillary LC with ion trap tandem MS for detection and identification, the achievable detection limits were 50 fmol and 50 pmol for the monophosphopeptide and the tetraphosphopeptide, respectively. Phosphoric acid is believed to act as a blocking agent to available silanol groups on both the silica capillary surface and the C(18)-bonded stationary phase silica surface.     

Steroid polyols from the Far-Eastern starfish Henricia sanguinolenta

A new polyhydroxylated steroid (20R,24S)-5-cholestane-3,6,15,24-tetraol and a known glycoside, laeviuscoloside G, was isolated from the Far-Eastern starfish Henricia sanguinolenta, collected in the sea of Okhotsk, and characterized.     

A twin optically-pumped far-infrared CH3OH laser for plasma diagnostics

A twin optically-pumped far-infrared CH₃OH laser has been constructed for use in plasma diagnostics. The antisymmetric doublet due to the Raman-type resonant two-photon transition is reproducibly observed at 118.8 m. With the 118.8-m line, it is obtained from the frequency separation of the anti-symmetric doublet that CH₃OH absorption line center is 16±1 MHz higher than the pump 9.7-m P(36) CO₂ laser line center. It is shown that the Raman-type resonant two-photon transition is useful in order to get several-MHz phase modulation for the far-infrared laser interferometer. Some preliminary performances of this twin laser for the modulated interferometer are described.This work was carried out under the collaborating research program at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464, Japan.     

Development in the area of UV-crosslinkable solvent-based pressure-sensitive adhesives with excellent shrinkage resistance

Solvent-based UV-crosslinkable pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) present a new class of products that offers the potential to produce a novel generation of ultraviolet cured self-adhesive products with excellent shrinkage resistance. A variety of solvent-based pressure-sensitive adhesives were prepared by synthesis in ethyl acetate with solid content on 50 wt.% with 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, acrylic acid, N-vinyl caprolactam and unsaturated photoinitiators: 4-acryloyloxy benzophenone, allyl benzoine and phenyl-(1-acryloyloxy)-cyclohexyl ketone. The main emphasis is given to the influence of viscosity and molecular mass of synthesized adhesive on their shrinkage. Further trials show the effect of the UV-crosslinking process with UV-lamp and comparison with acrylics PSA crosslinked with metal chelates aluminium acetylacetonate and titanium acetylacetonate on shrinkage. Further examinations describe the influence of various factors such as UV exposure time and UV dose on very relevant PSA performance such as shrinkage on coated PVC carrier.     

Plasma-chemical decomposition of methane during diamond synthesis

Using a mass spectrometric sampling method, we have observed the decomposition of CH₄ in an rf plasma usedfor diamond deposition. The gas samples were extracted through an orifice located downstream of the plasma zone and analyzed online. For the experiments a dilute mixture of H₂ and CH₄ containing 0.1–3% CH₄ has been used. CH₄ is converted to C₂H₂ and C₂H₄ quantitatively. Small amounts of heavier hydrocarbons are formed. A comparison of the experimental results with a recent kinetic model treating a purely thermal environment is made and the differences between our experiment and the model are explained. The role of acetylene as a species formed in an atmosphere rich in atomic hydrogen is proposed. The electron impact dissociation process is suggested as the rare-determining step in the plasma-chemical decomposition of methane.     

KINETICS OF IRREVERSIBLE MODIFICATION OF ENZYME ACTIVITY IN A SYSTEM OF COUPLED ENZYME ASSAY (Ⅱ)——BOTH PRIMARY AND AUXILIARY ENZYMES MODIFIED BY REAGENT Y

Following the previous paperr, we examined the kinetics of the irreversible modification of enzyme activity in coupled assay when the modifier reacted with both primary and auxiliary enzymes. It was shown that Tsou's kinetic method can also be used in the present situation in some conditions.     

In-gel deglycosylation of sodiumdodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-separated glycoproteins for carbohydrate estimation by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Mass determination by mass spectrometric methods (electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS)) of sodiumdodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)-separated proteins is a well known procedure and reliable protocols are available. In our efforts to use the established methods to determine the molecular mass of the disulfide bridged, heterodimeric glycoprotein GP3 and to determine the carbohydrate content of each protein subunit we developed an in-gel chemical deglycosylation method. For this purpose we established experimental conditions that allow maximum extraction of the high molecular mass protein subunits and developed a routine method to apply the HF-pyridine deglycosylation protocol to proteins isolated from polyacrylamide gel pieces. The novel protocol and extraction procedure described can be used to analyze O-glycosylated proteins up to 150 kDa after SDS-PAGE separation.     

Synthesis and network structure of ionic poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogels: Comparison of swelling degree with theory

At four different charge densities, ionic hydrogels based on N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm), acrylamide (AAm), and itaconic acid (IA) were synthesized by free-radical cross-linking copolymerization in water with N,N-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BAAm) as the cross-linker, ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiator, and N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylenediamine (TEMED) as the activator. The swelling behaviors of these hydrogels were analyzed in buffer solutions at various pH. It was observed that the swelling behavior of cross-linked ionic poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) [P(DMAAm-co-AAm)] hydrogels at different pHs agreed with the modified Flory-Rehner equation based both on the phantom network and affine network models and the ideal Donnan theory. In addition, the kinetics of swelling of the hydrogels was studied in pH 2, 5 and 9 buffer solutions. The swelling curves exhibited the characteristic features of transport process, apparently the Fickian diffusion of fast rates.     

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.