A comparison of double-focusing sector field ICP-MS, ICP-OES and octopole collision cell ICP-MS for the high-accuracy determination of calcium in human serum

Human serum is routinely measured for total calcium content in clinical studies. A definitive high-accuracy and low-uncertainty method is required for reference measurements to underpin medical diagnoses. This study presents a novel octopole collision cell ICP-MS, high-accuracy, methodology and comparison of that technique with double-focusing sector field ICP-MS and an ICP-OES method. Double-matched isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) was employed for ICP-MS techniques and an exact matching bracketing technique using scandium as an internal standard was used for ICP-OES analysis. Medium resolution mode was utilised for double-focusing sector field ICP-MS analysis to resolve the dominant interferences on the ⁴⁴Ca/⁴²Ca isotope pair. Hydrogen reaction gas was employed to chemically resolve a number of polyatomic interferences predominantly through charge transfer reactions in the octopole collision cell. Comparison data presented for NIST CRM 909b human serum analysis from all three techniques demonstrates highest accuracy (99.6%) and lowest uncertainty (1.1%) for octopole collision cell ICP-MS. Data from ICP-OES using a non-IDMS technique produces comparably accurate data and low-uncertainties. The much higher total expanded uncertainties for double-focusing sector field ICP-MS compared with octopole collision cell data are explained by lower precision on the measurement of the ⁴⁴Ca/⁴²Ca isotope ratio. Data for octopole collision cell ICP-MS submitted for an international blind trial comparison (CCQM K-14) demonstrated excellent agreement with the mean of all participants with a low expanded uncertainty.     

Ab Initio High Pressure Investigations of InI

The high pressure behaviour of InI is studied by DFT‐calculations and compared with experimental data. The existence of a 5s² electron pair in In⁺ represents an unfavourable bonding situation for high symmetry structures because of effective closed shell repulsion. Since cations with a ns² electron pair are highly polarizable and the electronic situation is more favourable in the low symmetry structure InI prefers a TlI‐type structure at ambient pressure. A pressure induced transition to the more densely packed high symmetry CsCl‐type structure takes place at about 19 GPa according to our calculations. At ambient pressure the interactions are predominantly ionic. However with increasing pressure the distances between In⁺ cations in the TlI‐type structure diminish drastically, mainly due to the changing space requirement of the lone electron pair. Apart from ionic interactions further bonding interactions between the In⁺ cations occur. At elevated pressure the electron localization function (ELF) as well as the band structure diagrams suggest metallic bonding between the In⁺ within the zigzag chain, i. e. increasing bonding interactions between the In⁺ cations due to the electron pair and its s‐p‐mixing. At ambient pressure In‐In interactions are rather weak and the space requirement of the lone electron pair mainly determines the characteristic arrangement of the ions. At elevated pressure the In‐In interactions become stronger and stabilise themselves additionally the specific structural arrangement.     

聚硅氧烷涂敷的反相高效液相色谱固定相

用甲基乙烯基聚硅氧烷涂敷于硅烷化的微粒硅胶上，制备出一种新型的涂敷型反相高效液相色谱固定相。该固定相对极性、非极性和碱性化合物均有良好的分离能力，峰对称性好。对其恶性循环 了考察，连续使用三个月后，固定相的碳量和色谱性能仍保持不变。     

Drug metabolite cluster centers-based strategy for comprehensive profiling of Neomangiferin metabolites in vivo and in vitro and network pharmacology study on anti-inflammatory mechanism

Neomangiferin (NMF) is an extremely special xanthone that could be simultaneously attributed to C-glycoside and O-glycoside with a variety of biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antipyretic, and so on. So far as we know, the metabolism profiling has been insufficient until now. Herein, Drug Metabolite Cluster Centers (DMCCs)-based Strategy has been developed to profile the NMF metabolites in vivo and in vitro. Firstly, the DMCCs was proposed depending on literature-related and preliminary analysis results. Secondly, the specific metabolic rule was implemented to screen the metabolites of candidate DMCCs from the acquired Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole Exactive Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS) data by extracted ion chromatography (EIC) method. Thirdly, candidate metabolites were accurately and tentatively identified according to the pyrolysis law of mass spectrometry, literature reports, comparison of reference substances, and especially the diagnostic product ions (DPIs) deduced preliminarily. Finally, network pharmacology was adopted to elucidate the anti-inflammatory action mechanism of NMF on the basis of DMCCs. As a result, 3 critical metabolites including NMF, Mangiferin (MF) and Norathyriol (NA) were proposed as DMCCs, and a total of 61 NMF metabolites (NMF included) were finally screened and characterized coupled with 3 different biological sample preparation methods including solid phase extraction (SPE), acetonitrile precipitation and methanol precipitation. Among them, 32 metabolites were discovered in rat urine, 30 in rat plasma, 12 in rat liver, 9 metabolites in liver microsomes and 8 in rat faeces, respectively. Our results also illustrated that NMF primarily underwent deglucosylation, glucuronidation, methylation, sulfation, dihydroxylation and their composite reactions in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, network pharmacology analysis based on DMCCs revealed 85 common targets of disease-metabolites, and the key targets were TNF, EGFR, ESR1, PTGS2, HIF1A, IL-2, PRKCA and PRKCB. They exerted anti-inflammatory effects mainly through the pathways of inflammatory response, calcium-dependent protein kinase C activity, nitrogen metabolism, pathways in cancer and so on. In general, our study constructed a novel strategy to comprehensive elucidate the biotransformation pathways of NMF in vivo and in vitro, and provided vital reference for further understanding its anti-inflammatory action mechanism. Moreover, the established strategy could be generalized to the metabolism and action mechanism study of other natural products.     

Thermodynamic Properties and Melting Behavior of Bi–Sn–Zn Alloys

Summary. The partial and integral enthalpies of mixing of liquid Bi–Sn–Zn alloys were determined at 500°C by a drop calorimetric technique using a Calvet-type microcalorimeter. The ternary interaction parameters in the Bi–Sn–Zn system were fitted using the Redlich-Kister-Muggianu model for substitutional solutions, and isoenthalpy curves of the integral molar enthalpy of mixing at 500°C were constructed. Furthermore, a DSC technique was used to determine the liquidus temperatures in three sections (3, 5, and 7 at.% Zn) as well as the invariant reaction temperature of the ternary eutectic L ⇄ (Bi) + (Sn) + (Zn). The ternary eutectic reaction was found at 135°C.     

Trace determination of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using liquid chromatography with on-line electrochemical reduction and fluorescence detection

An efficient clean-up procedure coupled with a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with on-line electrochemical (EC) reduction and fluorescence detection (FLD) was developed to quantify nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in the airborne particulate. In this process, NPAHs were extracted ultrasonically followed by analysis by using a reversed phase column with an aqueous eluent containing 70% aqueous acetonitrile and sodium monocholoroacetate as a buffer solution. The extraction efficiencies were above 83% for 1-nitropyrene and 1,3-dinitropyrene (1,3-DNP) 1,6-DNP, and 1,8-DNP, and calibration graphs were linear with very good correlation coefficients (r>0.999) and the detection limits were in the range of 1.0-2.2 pg for dinitropyrenes and nitropyrene. The proposed method provides a relatively simple and convenient procedure for determining the NPAHs samples in airborne particulate.     

高富勒烯的提取,分离和分析

采用二硫化碳重结晶富勒烯混合物或二硫化碳二次抽提烟灰以提取高富勒烯（ｈｉｇｈｅｒｆｕｌｅｒｅｎｅｓ，Ｃｎ，ｎ＞７０）。产物经高效液相色谱分析，高富勒烯的含量从１％分别提高到４％和６％；经激光飞行时间质谱证明，产物中除含主要成分Ｃ６０和Ｃ７０以外，还含有Ｃ７６、Ｃ７８、Ｃ８２、Ｃ８４以及更高碳原子的富勒烯。     

Dielectric studies under high pressure on strongly polar liquid crystals exhibiting monolayer smectic A phase

Dielectric studies have been performed at elevated pressures on two compounds of a homologous series possessing a strongly polar terminal group and three phenyl rings in their molecular structure. This is the first high pressure dielectric study on such systems that exhibit a monolayer smectic A phase. Also notable is the fact that these compounds show a dual frequency response, a promising feature for fast liquid crystal display devices. The low frequency relaxation recorded in the nematic and smectic A phases is attributed to the reorientation of the molecules about the short axis. The temperature and pressure dependence of the relaxation frequency of this mode as well as the involved activation parameters are discussed. At a given relative temperature the relaxation frequency decreases as the pressure is increased. However, the parameter that characterizes the temperature dependences of the relaxation frequency, viz., the activation enthalpy, has a very weak dependence on pressure. In contrast, the activation volume shows a linear decrease with temperature.     

Quantitative determination of UV filters in sunscreen lotions using microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) has been applied to the separation of some UV filters (Eusolex 4360, Eusolex 6300, Eusolex OCR, Eusolex 2292, Eusolex 6007, Eusolex 9020, Eusolex HMS, Eusolex OS, and Eusolex 232) commonly used in sunscreen lotions. Use of a MEEKC buffer with a mixed surfactant system to stabilize the oil droplets and an organic modifier in the aqueous phase allowed separation of most of the selected analytes in a single run in a system fitted with a diode array detector recording three wavelengths (240 nm, 300 nm, and 380 nm) simultaneously. The microemulsion employed consisted of 2.25 g of SDS, 0.75 g of Brij 35, 6.6 g 1‐butanol, 0.8 g n‐octane, 17.5 g 2‐propanol, and 72.1 g of 10 mM borate buffer (pH 9.2). Detection limits from 0.65 to 6.0 μg/mL were obtained and the calibration plots were linear over at least one order of magnitude for all analytes. The developed method could be applied to the determination of UV filters in several sun protection products including lotions, milks, and oils. Comparison of the obtained data with those from an HPLC method described in the literature showed acceptable agreement.     

Cellulase Activity in Different Buffering Media During Waste Paper Hydrolysis by HPLC

The activity of cellulase has traditionally been described by pH and temperature; however, the buffering medium is also an important factor, Taking plain water as a reference medium, three kinds of buffer including KH₂PO₄/K₅HPO₄, citric acid/sodium citrate, and acetic acid/sodium acetate were adopted to survey their effects on the activity of cellulase. Chromatographic assays indicated that xylose, glucose, and cellobiose were the major products and that minor products such as cellotriose and cellotetraose were present in some cases. The activities of cellulase based on glucose production showed that the phosphate buffer acted as a deactivator for cellulase and each of the two organic acid buffers acted as activators for cellulase. The concentration of activation buffer should be high to reach a high cellulase activity; however, this effect would be compensated for by the product inhibition of cellulase. The highest activity obtained was 4.16 ± 0.08 (× 10^?3) IU mg^?1 for the citric acid/sodium citrate buffer under pH 4.80, 40 °C and an agitation speed of 150 rpm.