From By-Products to Fertilizer: Chemical Characterization Using UPLC-QToF-MS via Suspect and Non-Target Screening Strategies

The increasing demands of agriculture and the food market have resulted in intensive agricultural practices using synthetic fertilizers to maximize production. However, significant efforts have been made to implement more environmentally friendly procedures, such as composting, to overcome the adverse impact of these invasive practices. In the terms of this research, composting was applied to the production of two biofertilizers, using onion and mushroom by-products as raw materials respectively. The main purposes of this work were to identify the compounds that pass from the raw materials to the final products (onion-based and mushroom-based), as well as the characterization of the chemical profile of these final products following suspect and non-target screening workflows via UPLC-qToF-MS. Overall, 14 common compounds were identified in the onion and its final product, while 12 compounds were found in the mushroom and its corresponding product. These compounds belong to fatty acids, organic acids, and flavonoids, which could be beneficial to plant health. The determination of parameters, such as the pH, conductivity, organic matter, nitrogen content, and elemental analysis, were conducted for the overall characterization of the aforementioned products.     

新型发酵蔬菜制品乳酸菌发酵剂的筛选研究

从榨菜等一些自然腌制蔬菜制品中分离得到一些乳酸菌菌株,通过细胞形态及生理学特性观察研究,初步筛选出Lactobacillus 8株菌株,并进一步通过发酵产酸和细胞生长比较实验得到3株乳酸菌菌株Lact,2,Lact．6和Lact．8,通过菌株间不同配比和发酵榨菜验证实验,最后确定了榨菜发酵制品的最适发酵剂为Lact．2和Lact.8,最佳配比为1：1．     

High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry Identifies a Particular Ganglioside Pattern in Early Diabetic Kidney Disease of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Considering the valuable information provided by glycosphingolipids as molecular markers and the limited data available for their detection and characterization in patients suffering from Type 2 diabetic kidney disease (DKD), we developed and implemented a superior method based on high-resolution (HR) mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS (MS/MS) for the determination of gangliosides in the urine of DKD patients. This study was focused on: (i) testing of the HR MS and MS/MS feasibility and performances in mapping and sequencing of renal gangliosides in Type 2 DM patients; (ii) determination of the changes in the urine gangliosidome of DKD patients in different stages of the disease—normo-, micro-, and macroalbuminuria—in a comparative assay with healthy controls. Due to the high resolution and mass accuracy, the comparative MS screening revealed that the sialylation status of the ganglioside components; their modification by O-acetyl, CH₃COO⁻, O-fucosyl, and O-GalNAc; as well as the composition of the ceramide represent possible markers for early DKD detection, the assessment of disease progression, and follow-up treatment. Moreover, structural investigation by MS/MS demonstrated that GQ1d(d18:1/18:0), GT1α(d18:1/18:0) and GT1b(d18:1/18:0) isomers are associated with macroalbuminuria, meriting further investigation in relation to their role in DKD.     

Establishment of a Cell Model for Dynamic Monitoring of Intracellular Calcium Concentration and High-Throughput Screening of P2Y2 Regulators

P2Y receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for extracellular nucleotides. The P2Y2 receptor subtype is expressed in a variety of cell types and plays an important role in physiological and pathophysiological processes such as inflammatory responses and neuropathic pain. Based on this, the P2Y2 has been identified as an important drug target. The specificity of current P2Y2 receptor modulators is relatively poor, and currently, specific and efficient P2Y2 receptor modulators and efficient screening strategies are lacking. In this study, a cell model based on calcium-activated chloride channels (CaCCs) was established that can detect changes in intracellular calcium concentrations and can be used to high-throughput screen for P2Y2 receptor-specific regulators. This screening strategy is suitable for screening of most G-protein-coupled receptor regulators that mediate increases in intracellular calcium signals. The cell model consists of three components that include the endogenously expressed P2Y2 receptor protein, the exogenously expressed calcium-activated chloride channel Anoctamin-1 (Ano1), and a yellow fluorescent protein mutant expressed within the cell that is highly sensitive to iodine ions. This model will allow for high-throughput screening of GPCR regulators that mediate increased intracellular calcium signaling using the calcium-activated transport of iodide ions by Ano1. We verified the ability of the model to detect intracellular calcium ion concentration using fluorescence quenching kinetic experiments by applying existing P2Y2 agonists and inhibitors to validate the screening function of the model, and we also evaluated the performance of the model in the context of high-throughput screening studies. The experimental results revealed that the model could sensitively detect intracellular calcium ion concentration changes and that the model was accurate in regard to detecting P2Y2 modulators. The resultant value of the Z-factor was 0.69, thus indicating that the model possesses good sensitivity and specificity.     

In Silico and In Vitro Antimalarial Screening and Validation Targeting Plasmodium falciparum Plasmepsin V

Malaria chemotherapy is greatly threatened by the recent emergence and spread of resistance in the Plasmodium falciparum parasite against artemisinins and their partner drugs. Therefore, it is an urgent priority to develop new antimalarials. Plasmepsin V (PMV) is regarded as a superior drug target for its essential role in protein export. In this study, we performed virtual screening based on homology modeling of PMV structure, molecular docking and pharmacophore model analysis against a library with 1,535,478 compounds, which yielded 233 hits. Their antimalarial activities were assessed amongst four non-peptidomimetic compounds that demonstrated the promising inhibition of parasite growth, with mean IC₅₀ values of 6.67 μM, 5.10 μM, 12.55 μM and 8.31 μM. No significant affection to the viability of L929 cells was detected in these candidates. These four compounds displayed strong binding activities with the PfPMV model through H-bond, hydrophobic, halogen bond or π-π interactions in molecular docking, with binding scores under −9.0 kcal/mol. The experimental validation of molecule-protein interaction identified the binding of four compounds with multiple plasmepsins; however, only compound 47 showed interaction with plasmepsin V, which exhibited the potential to be developed as an active PfPMV inhibitor.     

采用毛细管电泳方法以凝血酶为靶筛选天然药物提取化合物

采用毛细管电泳(CE)法研究了凝血酶和水蛭素及肝素间的相互作用, 并测定了凝血酶和水蛭素的结合常数. 选择凝血酶为靶点, 建立了快速灵敏的从天然植物提取物中筛选出先导化合物的CE方法. 在接近生理环境的水溶液条件下, 研究了两色金鸡菊、肉苁蓉和黄蜀葵中天然植物提取物与凝血酶之间的相互作用; 与阴性对照和阳性对照相比, 从11个天然化合物中快速筛选出与凝血酶有相互作用的6个化合物, 提高了天然植物提取物药理活性筛选的效率.     

与入射线偏振光振动方向无关的低偏振度消偏器

消偏器是光纤传感器、光放大器等偏振敏感性光学系统中的关键器件,用于减小输入光的偏振度(DOP).设计了一种与入射线偏振光振动方向无关的低偏振度消偏器,该器件中利用人为的偏振相关延迟代替了保偏光纤的双折射,并在偏振相关型消偏器前增加了一个1/4波片,从而对任意方向振动的线偏振光具有相同的消偏能力,结构紧凑.对消偏性能随波片阶数、入射光中心波长和振动方向的变化作了数值计算.实验中采用半峰全宽为0.13 nm的光源,入射线偏振光在任意方向振动时,输出光偏振度小于2.6%,消偏器的插入损耗为0.6 dB,损耗起伏小于0.11 dB.实验和数值计算结果表明,该消偏器具有低偏振度、低插入损耗和适合于宽光谱应用的优点.     

食品接触材料中化合物的非靶向筛查技术研究进展

近年来,食品接触材料中的化合物迁移作为食品安全风险的重要来源受到越来越多的关注,推动了分析技术的快速发展。传统的靶向筛查技术只关注部分有意添加物或少量非有意添加物,无法对可能存在的其他大量物质进行扫描和具体分析。而非靶向筛查技术则可以覆盖所有能检出的成分,能提供尽可能全面的迁移物信息和数据,从而为针对食品接触材料的风险评估、立法和风险管理工作提供科学支撑。但现今针对食品接触材料的非靶向筛查分析技术仍存在不少挑战。该文集中对食品接触材料中化合物的非靶向筛查技术进行综述,全面梳理和介绍了食品接触材料中化合物提取和定性分析技术的进展;重点讨论了在质谱分析中,质谱库特别是开放质谱库、高分辨率质谱、开源工具、与食品接触材料相关的化学结构数据库、保留时间指数和碰撞截面积预测模型等在食品接触材料组分鉴定中的潜在作用,以期为行业利用这些资源和工具开展食品接触材料组分的非靶向筛查工作提供参考。     

基于大学物理实验的虚拟仪器探讨

本文对虚拟仪器的历史进行了回顾,并对虚拟实验的发展阶段进行了概括。在实际调研的基础上,总结了虚拟物理实验的现状,说明了其发展方向。