Fermentation characteristics and the dynamic trend of chemical components during fermentation of Massa Medicata Fermentata

As a representative of traditionally fermented Chinese medicine, Massa Medicata Fermentata (MMF) shows the functions of invigorating the spleen and stomach and promoting digestion, which plays an important role in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. The fermentation mechanism and the key factors that affect the quality of MMF have not been revealed yet, which has become an urgent issue that limits its clinical application. This article aims to systematically and comprehensively reveal the transformation of physical properties and the dynamic trend of chemical components including substrate components, volatile components, and lactic acid as anaerobic fermentation product during MMF fermentation. Along with obvious hyphae growth observed for MMF, the weight of MMF decreased, and the moisture and temperature increased. Through the quantified 14 components from substrate, ferulic acid increased from 45.53 ± 6.94 to 141.89 ± 78.40 μg/g, while glycosides and phenolic acids declined except caffeic acid. Also, within the 66 volatile components analyzed, alcohols and acids increased, while aldehydes and ketones decreased. Lactic acid was not detected in the fermentation substrate, but an apparent increase in lactic acid content was observed along with the increased fermentation days, resulting in 2.54 ± 0.15 mg/g on day 8. Based on the tested components, the fermentation process of MMF was discriminated into three distinct stages by principal component analysis, and an optimal fermentation time of four days was proposed. The results of this study will be of great significance to clarify the characteristics of fermentation and conduce to improving quality standards of MMF.     

Forensic classification of ballpoint pen inks using high performance liquid chromatography and infrared spectroscopy with principal components analysis and linear discriminant analysis

Several varieties of blue ballpoint pen inks were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The chromatographic data extracted at four wavelengths (254, 279, 370 and 400 nm) was analyzed individually and at a combination of these wavelengths by the soft independent modeling of class analogies (SIMCA) technique using principal components analysis (PCA) to estimate the separation between the pen samples. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) measured the probability with which an observation could be assigned to a pen class. The best resolution was obtained by HPLC using data from all four wavelengths together, differentiating 96.4% pen pairs successfully using PCA and 97.9% pen samples by LDA. PCA separated 60.7% of the pen pairs and LDA provided a correct classification of 62.5% of the pens analyzed by IR. The results of this study indicate that HPLC coupled with chemometrics provided a better discrimination of ballpoint pen inks compared to IR. The need to develop a suitable IR method for analysing blue ballpoint pen inks has been emphasized and it is hoped that the development of such a method would indeed provide a valuable tool for the non-destructive analysis of blue ballpoint pen ink samples for forensic purposes.     

The effects of polymer chain rigidification, zeolite pore size and pore blockage on polyethersulfone (PES)-zeolite A mixed matrix membranes

The polyethersulfone (PES)-zeolite 3A, 4A and 5A mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated with a modified solution-casting procedure at high temperatures close to the glass transition temperatures (T_g) of polymer materials. The effects of membrane preparation methodology, zeolite loading and pore size of zeolite on the gas separation performance of these mixed matrix membranes were studied. SEM results show the interface between polymer and zeolite in MMMs experiencing natural cooling is better (i.e., less defective) than that in MMMs experiencing immediate quenching. The increment of glass transition temperature (T_g) of MMMs with zeolite loading confirms the polymer chain rigidification induced by zeolite. The experimental results indicate that a higher zeolite loading results in a decrease in gas permeability and an increase in gas pair selectivity. The unmodified Maxwell model fails to correctly predict the permeability decrease induced by polymer chain rigidification near the zeolite surface and the partial pore blockage of zeolites by the polymer chains. A new modified Maxwell model is therefore proposed. It takes the combined effects of chain rigidification and partial pore blockage of zeolites into calculation. The new model shows much consistent permeability and selectivity predication with experimental data. Surprisingly, an increase in zeolite pore size from 3 to 5 Å generally not only increase gas permeability, but also gas pair selectivity. The O₂/N₂ selectivity of PES-zeolite 3A and PES-zeolite 4A membranes is very similar, while the O₂/N₂ selectivity of PES-zeolite 5A membranes is much higher. This implies the blockage may narrow a part of zeolite 5A pores to approximately 4 Å, which can discriminate the gas pair of O₂ and N₂, and narrow a part of zeolites 3A and 4A pores to smaller sizes. It is concluded that the partial pore blockage of zeolites by the polymer chains has equivalent or more influence on the separation properties of mixed matrix membranes compared with that of the polymer chain rigidification.     

Chromatographic evaluation of perphenylcarbamoylated β-cyclodextrin bonded stationary phase for micro-high performance liquid chromatography and pressurized capillary electrochromatography

Application of mono (6^A-N-ethylenediamine-6^A-deoxy) perphenylcarbamoylated β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) bonded stationary phase (CSP) in micro-high performance liquid chromatography (micro-HPLC) and pressurized capillary electrochromatography (p-CEC) was firstly presented. A series of racemic α-amidophosphonates were resolved in reversed- and normal-phase modes on this CSP. The investigated chromatographic parameters include retention factor (k′), separation factor (α) and resolution (Rs) of solutes. In addition, the structural variation of the solutes and the experimental factors affecting chiral separations have been examined, including the percentage of alcohol modifier, the linear velocity (u) of the mobile phase, electrical field strength, etc. Baseline separation was achieved for most of the entities. Hydrophobic interaction, steric effect and π-π interaction contribute to the possible mechanism. Comparative results indicate that higher Rs value up to 3.1 was found in micro-HPLC, higher efficiency up to 29,970 in p-CEC.     

人尿中异黄酮的高效液相色谱分析

建立了测定人尿中异黄酮组分(大豆苷原、黄豆黄素、雌马酚、染料木黄酮)含量的反相高效液相色谱法。在尿样中加入黄酮作为内标,异黄酮经酶解后在pH=7.0中性条件下用乙酸乙酯(1∶1)提取,然后用0.02%TFA-M eOH-ACN三元梯度洗脱的方法分离异黄酮。在该条件下,大豆苷原、黄豆黄素、雌马酚、染料木黄酮的检出限分别为12.9 nmol/L、13.9 nmol/L、71.6 nmol/L和11.8 nmol/L;回收率均在89%以上。本方法具有测试步骤简单、准确度高、重现性好等优点,适合大批量样品测定。     

Evaluation of the limit of performance of an analytical method based on a statistical calculation of its critical concentrations according to ISO standard 11843: Application to routine control of banned veterinary drug residues in food according to European Decision 657/2002/EC

Traceability of the measurement of analytical parameters capable of evaluating the performance of methods is an important concept for the assessment of quality for the routine control, especially for residue monitoring of non-authorized medicinal substances in food from animal origin. The European Decision no. 657/2002/EC recommends to calculate two statistical limits, CCα and CCβ, which allow to evaluate the critical concentrations above which the method reliably distinguish and quantify a substance taking into account the variability of the method and the statistical risk to take a wrong decision. The calculation, which can be derived from the ISO standard no. 11843 is applied on a routine basis. An example displays a very simple way for evaluating the performance of an LC-MSMS method which has been validated a few years ago and is qualified onto a Micromass Quattro LCZ tandem mass spectrometer to monitor and confirm the nitrofuran metabolite residues in food from animal origin. Community Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Veterinary Drug Residue Control in Food from Animal Origin     

反相离子对高效液相色谱法测定母粉及母液中的杀鼠新

用反相离子对高效液相色谱法测定了杀鼠新母粉及母液中有效成份含量。采用Partisil-10ODS色谱柱，以甲醇：离子对溶液＝80：20（体积比）为流动相，离子对溶液为0.005mol/L四丁基铵磷酸盐（pH为7.5)的缓冲溶液，测定波长285nm。方法在0.025-0.15g/L范围内有很好的线性关系。杀鼠新母粉和母液的相对标准偏差分别为1.24%、0.77%(n=7)，回收率分别为：母粉,97.7%-99.8%；母液，98.5%-100.4%。     

温度对贮氢合金MlNi3.75Co0.65Mn0.4Al0.2动力学性能的影响

在-20℃～85℃的范围内系统地研究了温度对贮氢合金MINi3.75Co0.65Mn0.4Al0.2动力学性能的影响.结果表明:该贮氢合金电极的电化学反应电阻Rt,欧姆内阻Ro,阴极极化过电位,阳极极化过电位,阳极极化过程中的电化学反应过电位ηa和浓差极化过电位ηa均随温度的升高而减小,该电极的交换电流密度i0,对称因子β和电极中氢的扩散系数D随温度的升高而增大.当放电电流密度较低时,电化学反应是整个电极过程的速度控制步骤;当放电电流密度较高时,氢的扩散是整个电极过程的速度控制步骤;在中等放电电流密度下,电极过程由电化学过程和氢的扩散过程混合控制.该电极中电化学反应过程和氢扩散过程的活化能分别为28.1 kJ·mol-1和19.9 kJ·mol-1.     

The performance and application of a multidimensional system for gas chromatography

We have previously described [1] the design of a simple heart-cuttings device based on the Deans' principle of remote pressure switching [2]. Since that time, further work has been conducted to refine the design of the heart-cutting device and to develop complementary backflushing and cryofocusing units. This paper describes the results obtained from an intensive evaluation of the three modules in various combinations and considers parameters critical to the practical application of multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC).     

非晶态镍磷—镍钨磷双层组合镀层的耐蚀性能研究

本文对比研究了镍磷镀层、镍钨磷镀层及非晶态镍磷和镍钨磷双层组合镀层的耐蚀性能，分别进行了各种镀层的浸渍腐蚀实验，镀层的Ｘ射线衍射图象、镀层的扫描电镜图象、以及在工厂实际的腐蚀环境里进行的腐蚀实验。实验结果表明镍磷及镍钨磷双层组合镀层的耐 性优于镍磷镀层、镍钨磷镀层的耐蚀性。