Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight analysis for the identification and the determination of resveratrol and its metabolites in mouse plasma

Resveratrol is a polyphenol that has numerous interesting biological properties, but, per os, it is quickly metabolized. Some of its metabolites are more concentrated than resveratrol, may have greater biological activities, and may act as a kind of store for resveratrol. Thus, to understand the biological impact of resveratrol on a physiological system, it is crucial to simultaneously analyze resveratrol and its metabolites in plasma. This study presents an analytical method based on UHPLC-Q-TOF mass spectrometry for the quantification of resveratrol and of its most common hydrophilic metabolites. The use of ¹³C- and D-labeled standards specific to each molecule led to a linear calibration curve on a larger concentration range than described previously. The use of high resolution mass spectrometry in the full scan mode enabled simultaneous identification and quantification of some hydrophilic metabolites not previously described in mice. In addition, UHPLC separation, allowing run times lower than 10 min, can be used in studies that requiring analysis of many samples.     

Effect of Ultra High Pressure Processing on the Particle Characteristics of Lotus-seed Starch

In this paper, the time dependent effects of various pressure treatments on the characteristics of lotus-seed starch which was modified by ultra-high pressure (UHP) were investigated. The results showed that the polarization cross of lotus-seed starch granules was weakening gradually with increasing the treatment time, which indicated the termination of their ordered crystallite structures. The morphologies of granules were collapsed once the UHP was kept at 500 MPa for 60 minutes. The particle size analysis demonstrated that the granule size and distribution of lotus-seed starches increased as the treatment time was prolonged. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the intensity of the feature diffraction peaks of starch decreased and eventually disappeared with increasing the treatment time, and B-type transformation pattern was observed. The Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) analysis of starch showed that the UHP is a physical modification processing because no new groups formed. The research showed that UHP processing at certain degree is capable to achieve the modification of lotus-seed starch. It is of significance for the deep processing of lotus-seed products.     

A Hemi‐metallocene Chromium Catalyst with Trimethylaluminum‐Free Methylaluminoxane for the Synthesis of Disentangled Ultra‐High Molecular Weight Polyethylene

Recently, it has been shown that by using a single‐site catalytic system having titanium as a metallic center, it is possible to tailor the entanglement density in the amorphous region of a semi‐crystalline ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). This route provides the possibility to make high‐modulus, high‐strength uniaxially and biaxially drawn tapes and films, without using any solvent during processing. In this publication, it is shown that a single‐site catalyst having chromium as metallic center, proposed by Enders and co‐workers, can also be tuned to provide control on the entanglement density during synthesis of the UHMWPE. However, to achieve the goal some modifications during the synthesis are required. The synthesized polymers can be processed in the solid state below the equilibrium melting temperature, resulting in uniaxially drawn tapes having tensile strength and modulus greater than 3.5 N/tex and 200 N/tex, respectively. Rheological studies have been performed to follow the increase in entanglement density in melt state with time.

     

免疫亲和柱净化-超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱法高灵敏测定尿液和血浆中3种鹅膏毒肽

建立了超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱高灵敏测定尿液和血浆中α-鹅膏毒肽、β-鹅膏毒肽和γ-鹅膏毒肽的方法。经过免疫亲和柱净化,尿液样品浓缩20倍、血浆样品浓缩10倍,以Kinetex Biphenyl色谱柱(100 mm×2.1 mm, 1.7 μm)作为分析柱,甲醇-0.005%(v/v)甲酸水溶液作为流动相进行梯度洗脱分离,电喷雾电离、负离子、多反应监测模式下检测,外标法定量。3种鹅膏毒肽的线性范围为0.1~200 ng/mL,相关系数(r)>0.999。尿液和血浆中3种鹅膏毒肽的基质效应和提取回收率分别为92%~108%和90%~103%,变异系数均小于13%。尿液中3种鹅膏毒肽的准确度为-9.4%~8.0%,重复性和中间精度分别为3.0%~14%和3.5%~18%,当取样量为2.00 mL时,方法的检出限均为0.002 ng/mL;血浆中3种鹅膏毒肽的准确度为-13%~8.0%,重复性和中间精度分别为3.9%~9.7%和5.5%~12%,当取样量为1.00 mL时,方法的检出限均为0.004 ng/mL。该法操作简单、灵敏、准确,已在中毒患者摄入野生蘑菇后138 h的尿液中检出0.0067 ng/mL α-鹅膏毒肽和0.0059 ng/mL β-鹅膏毒肽。该法已成功解决中毒患者尿液和血浆中超痕量鹅膏毒肽的检测难题,对于疑似中毒病人的早诊断、早治疗、降低死亡率都具有非常重要意义,也为今后开展此类毒素毒理作用及机体代谢规律的研究提供了可靠的技术支撑。     

Identification and quantification of anthocyanins,flavonoids, and phenolic acids in flowers of Rhododendron arboreum and evaluation of their antioxidant potential

The current study aimed to investigate the anthocyanins, non-anthocyanins (flavonoids and phenolic acids), and free radicals scavenging potential in the flowers of Rhododendron arboreum using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with ion mobility quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 25 constituents including nine anthocyanins, six phenolic acids, and ten flavonoids were identified in the flower extract. The major anthocyanins identified were cyanidin-3-O-β-galactoside ( 1 ), cyanidin-3-O-α-arabinoside ( 4 ), and cyanidin-3-O-rhamnoside ( 8 ), while quercetin glycosides were the main identified flavonoids in R. arboreum flowers. Additionally, ultra high performance liquid chromatography methods were developed and validated for the quantification of nine compounds (anthocyanins, flavonoid glycosides, and phenolic acids); five of them were quantified using internal standards. The extracts were analyzed for total phenolics (123.6 mg GAE/g), anthocyanin content (1.76% w/w), and evaluated for antioxidant properties against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (IC₅₀: 102.06 and 96.92 μg/mL) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation (112.25 and 45.59 μM TE/g) assays. The profiling of R. arboreum for anthocyanins is reported for the first time. The findings suggest that the flowers are a promising source of bioactive constituents and could be used as functional food, antioxidants, and nutraceuticals.     

超薄宽带平面聚焦超表面及其在高增益天线中的应用

针对相位梯度超表面在灵活操控电磁波与提高天线增益中的潜在应用,提出一种新型的宽带超表面单元,实现了在较宽频带范围内操控电磁波波前与提高天线增益.本文首先设计了一种圆环十字形对称单元来控制反射波的相移量,单元厚度为1 mm,尺寸为0.3λ_0(λ_0=20 mm),工作频段15—18 GHz,而后验证了由该单元组成的相位梯度超表面在15—18 GHz范围内对电磁波的奇异反射与聚焦特性.最后将设计的反射聚焦超表面应用于提高天线增益中,仿真与测试结果均表明,天线最高增益在15—18 GHz内平均增加了11 d B且-1 dB增益带宽为15—18 GHz(相对带宽为18.2%).由于厚度薄、重量轻、频带宽,设计的该单元拓展了相位梯度超表面在微波领域的应用,有望为高增益天线的实现提供新的方法.     

基于非靶向代谢组学的茄梨和红茄梨成熟期果皮代谢产物的差异分析

为了探究西洋梨品种茄梨及其红色芽变红茄梨成熟期果皮代谢产物差异,采用超高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术,对茄梨和红茄梨成熟期果皮进行非靶向代谢组学研究。通过主成分分析和正交偏最小二乘判别分析,构建了多变量统计分析模型,结合模型和变量重要性投影与最大差异倍数值,基于精确质量数、二级碎片以及同位素分布,使用PMDB(Plant Metabolome Database)数据库进行定性,筛选并鉴定出茄梨和红茄梨果皮中显著性变化(P<0.05, VIP(variable importance in project)≥1)的差异代谢物有83种,主要包括酚酸类、黄酮类和氨基酸类物质,涉及类黄酮代谢、氨基酸代谢、苯丙烷类代谢等代谢途径,其中53种物质含量上调,30种物质表达下调。通过KEGG(Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes)数据库进一步对差异代谢物质进行通路富集分析,差异代谢物主要分布在20条代谢途径中,P<0.05的代谢途径有6条,分别是类黄酮生物合成、黄酮和黄酮醇生物合成、苯丙烷生物合成、丁酸酯代谢、苯丙氨酸代谢、酪氨酸代谢。这些差异代谢物的变化可能是导致茄梨和红茄梨果皮色泽不同的原因。该研究从植物代谢组学角度初步揭示了茄梨和红茄梨成熟期果皮的代谢产物差异性。     

Fast and efficient immunoaffinity column cleanup and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative analysis of aflatoxins in baby food and feeds

An ultra high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed for the highly sensitive and selective determination of regulated aflatoxins. The extraction of aflatoxins from baby food matrices were performed using liquid–liquid extraction procedure followed by immunoaffinity column cleanup. The higher sensitivity for the determination of target aflatoxins was fulfilled by applying a preconcentration step with immunoaffinity columns after acetonitrile–water extraction. The enhanced selectivity was attained with the triple quadrupole mass analyzer operated in electrospray positive ionization mode. Method validation was tested in five different baby food matrices by recovery experiments. Satisfactory recoveries, between 92 and 103%, with relative standard deviations lower than 8% were achieved in all the tested matrices. The proposed method was found to be specific as no interference peaks were observed for blank samples. The limit of detection of the method was found to be in the range of 0.003–0.008 ng/mL. The validated method was fruitfully applied to the screening of aflatoxins in baby foods and feeds sample retailed in local markets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The obtained levels of all analyzed aflatoxins were below the regulation limits set by European Agency.     

Determination of carbapenems in water samples by UHPLC–MS/MS

A rapid and reliable method for the detection of five carbapenems (biapenem, imipenem, doripenem, meropenem, and faropenem) in water was developed and validated. After acidification of water samples with acetic acid, carbapenems were isolated using a Bond Elut PPL cartridge. The target compounds were separated using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with a chromatographic run time of 5 min and detected on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in positive electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring mode. Mean recoveries were in the range of 76.6–106.5%, with satisfactory intraday and interday relative standard deviations lower than 10.0 and 10.8%, respectively. The limits of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 0.05–0.2 µg/L and 0.1–0.5 µg/L, respectively, depending on the analyte. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of river samples and wastewater samples from swine farms, and no carbapenems were detected in the collected samples.     

参变过程中的群速延迟对晶体匹配长度的影响

基于能量守恒和三波耦合波方程,建立了超短脉冲在参变过程中二次谐波产生时的I类和II类相位匹配条件、基波与谐波之间的群速延迟时间、以及群速失配对晶体长度限制的理论基础。以负单轴非线性光学晶体CsLiB6O10为例,分析和数值计算了超短脉冲宽度为100fs时,谐波的群速匹配长度随基波波长变化的规律。研究结果表明在I类相位匹配条件下,基波波长为642nm时,群速延迟最小,相应的群速匹配晶体长度最长为19.1mm;在II类相位匹配条件下,基波波长为767nm,群速延迟最小,群速匹配长度最长为0.89mm。