Electrochemical response of ascorbic acid at conducting and electrogenerated polymer modified electrodes for electroanalytical applications: a review

The present short review deals with electroanalytical aspects of electrochemical response of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) at conducting and electrogenerated polymer modified electrodes. Two main topics are considered: (i) electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbate at conducting polymer modified electrodes, leading to electroanalytical techniques for ascorbate assay, and (ii) retardation of ascorbate penetration through a layer of electrogenerated polymers, leading to permselective coatings and their diverse uses, especially for biosensing devices.     

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.     

Fast simultaneous determination of 23 veterinary drug residues in fish,poultry, and red meat by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

The misuses of veterinary drugs can result in the accumulation of residues in food of animal origin that can make its way to the final consumer. Herein we describe a simple method for the accurate determination of beta-lactams, quinolones, sulphonamides, and tetracyclines in fish, poultry, and red meat. No extraction cartridges were used; instead, the extraction process consisted of the addition of an organic solvents, shaking, centrifugation, and dilution. An extensive validation process demonstrated an excellent linearity (R² ≥ 0.99) for 23-drug residues. The recovery of drugs in different matrices at two concentration levels (n = 6) was in the range of 82–119%. The method was proved to be repeatable and reproducible with intra/inter-day measurements (RSDs lower than 20%). The quantification limits of drug residues were in the range of 0.8 to 45.3 ug/kg, which is well below the maximum residue limits set by most regulatory authorities. This method was successfully applied to the routine analysis of 20 fish, poultry, and red meat samples (n = 60).     

Comparative bioanalytical study of3H-deramciclane in dog plasma, using a gas chromatography-nitrogen-selective detection (GC-NPD), a new GC-radiochemical detection (GC-RD) and a liquid scintillation method

Summary A new, highly sensitive and selective gas chromatography method, using radiochemical detection (GC-DR) was developed for the selective determination of³H-labelled deramciclane and its N-desmethyl metabolite in dog plasma. Inter-day accuracy and precision, as well as system suitability of the GC-RD method was investigated during the method validation. The calibration curve was proved to be linear (r=0.9986) in a wide concentration range (13–1000 ngeqv mL⁻¹) The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 13.7 ngeqv mL⁻¹, and the limit of the detection (LOD) was 1 ngeqv mL⁻¹. Using this new GC-RD method, plasma levels of³H-labelled deramciclane and its metabolite were determined in dogs, after the administration of a single 10 mg kg⁻¹ oral dose. Pharmacokinetic curves and the calculated pharmacokinetic parameters were compared to those obtained using a previously elaborated gas chromatography-nitrogen selective detection method (GC-NPD) and to those obtained by measuring the plasma level of total radioactivity (liquid scintillation counting, LSC). Pharmacokinetic curves and the calculated pharmacokinetic parameters obtained with the two different gas chromatography detection methods (NPD and RD) showed good correlation. Comparison of these results to those acquired by total radioactivity measurement demonstrated that deramciclane was intensively metabolised. Moreover, the biological half-life (t ₁ ^2/β ) of the unknown metabolites proved to be more than a magnitude longer than the half-life of the parent compound or that of N-desmethyl metabolite. Presented at: Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 3–5, 1997.     

交替三线性分解算法与反相高效液相-二极管阵列检测方法相结合同时测定苯二酚的位置异构体

 利用交替三线性分解算法与反相高效液相 二极管阵列检测 (RP HPLC DAD)相结合 ,在洗脱时间为1 0 86min～ 1 399min(间隔 1 / 1 50min)、紫外吸收波长为 2 68nm～ 2 98nm(间隔 1nm)时对苯二酚位置异构体的重叠及光谱体系进行了分辨研究。分辨结果与实际结果一致。同时测定了水溶液中共存的邻苯二酚、间苯二酚和对苯二酚的含量 ,回收率分别为 (1 0 0 1± 1 0 ) % ,(99 4± 1 4) % ,(1 0 0 5± 1 7) %。研究结果表明 :该方法定量快速准确 ,实验操作步骤简单 ,解决了在干扰物存在条件下三者很难同时分辨的问题。     

Real-time onboard wind and windshear determination,part 2: Detection

This paper is concerned with windshear detection in connection with real-time wind identification (Ref. 1). It presents a comparative evaluation of two techniques, one based on the shear/downdraft factor and one based on the wind difference index. The comparison is done with reference to a particular microburst, that which caused the 1985 crash of Flight Delta 191 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.The shear/downdraft factor has the merit of combining the effects of the shear and the downdraft into a single entity. However, its effectiveness is hampered by the fact that, in a real situation, the windshear is accompanied by free-stream turbulence, which tends to blur the resulting signal. In turn, this results in undesirable nuisance warnings if the magnitude of the shear factor due to free-stream turbulence is temporarily larger than that due to true windshear. Therefore, proper filtering is necessary prior to using the shear/downdraft factor in detection and guidance. One effective way for achieving this goal is to average the shear/downdraft factor over a specified time interval . The effect of on the average shear/downdraft factor is studied.     

Real-time onboard wind and windshear determination,part 1: Identification

Standard wind identification techniques employed in the analysis of aircraft accidents are post-facto techniques; they are processed after the event has taken place and are based on the complete time histories of the DFDR/ATCR data along the entire trajectory. By contrast, real-time wind identification techniques are processed while the event is taking place; they are based solely on the knowledge of the preceding time histories of the DFDR/ATCR data.In this paper, a real-time wind identification technique is developed. First, a 3D-kinematic approach is employed in connection with the DFDR/ATCR data covering the time interval preceding the present time instant. The aircraft position, inertial velocity, and accelerometer bias are determined by matching the flight trajectory computed from the DFDR data with the flight trajectory available from the ATCR data. This leads to a least-square problem, which is solved analytically every seconds, with / small.With the inertial velocity and accelerometer bias known, an extrapolation process takes place so as to predict the inertial velocity profile over the subsequent -subinterval. At the end of this subinterval, the extrapolated inertial velocity and the newly identified inertial velocity are statistically reconciled and smoothed. Then, the process of identification, extrapolation, reconciliation, and smoothing is repeated. Subsequently, the wind is computed as the difference between the inertial velocity and the airspeed, which is available from the DFDR data. With the wind identified, windshear detection can take place (Ref. 1).As an example, the real-time wind identification technique is applied to Flight Delta 191, which crashed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on August 2, 1985. The numerical results show that the wind obtained via real-time identification is qualitatively and quantitatively close to the wind obtained via standard identification. This being the case, it is felt that real-time wind identification can be useful in windhsear detection and guidance, above all if the shear/downdraft factor signal is replaced by the wind difference signal (Ref. 1).This paper and its companion (Ref. 1) are based on Refs. 2–4.This research was supported by the Aviation Research and Education Foundation and by Texas Advanced Technology Program, Grant No. TATP-003604020.     

Analysis of basic hair dyes by HPLC with on-line post-column photochemical derivatisation

Summary A reversed phase liquid chromatographic method is proposed for the analysis of basic hair dyes (raw materials and colourant formulations). The performance of the method was enhanced by introducing post-column on-line photochemical derivatisation in combination with a Diode Array Detector. On-line photoderivatisation provided an effective way of selectively transforming the analytes to compounds with different spectral properties. For each analyte two characteristic UV-Visible spectra (photoreactor on and off) were obtained with the same mobile phase and this information in combination with the chromatographic data (k' at pH 3.0 and 4.5) enabled the unambiguous identification of both commonly used, approved, and banned basic hair dyes. Additionally, this approach was found useful to improve the method sensitivity, allowing the determination of analytes present in low concentration (0.03%) in complex commercial formulations.This work constitutes part of the thesis for the Dottorato di Ricerche of Roberto Gotti.     

A micro-scale method employing surface plasmon resonance detection for the determination of conditions for immunoaffinity chromatography of proteins

Summary The BIAcore^TM Biosensor System utilizes a detection principle known as Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) which, in simple terms, detects changes in the refractive index of a solution in contact with a gold film. The gold film is surface modified with carboxymethylated dextran to produce a hydrophillic matrix onto which macromolecules may be covalently immobilized. In this respect, the BIAcore^TM is similar to any other insoluble matrix, such as a chromatographic support. The SPR detection principle, however, allows one to directly visualize the interaction under study, in real time and without the need for reporter molecules such as enzyme-labels. In addition, the very small sample requirements, automated robotics unit and ease of data analysis suggest the potential use of the BIAcore^TM instrumentation for assay development and possibly process development, especially where bio-specific interactions such as immunoaffinity chromatography are used as a step in the process. In this report, we demonstrate the use of the BIAcore^TM SPR detector for the micro-scale determination of conditions for immunoaffinity chromatography of soluble complementreceptor 1, sCR1.     

A specific sensitive HPLC method for determination of plasma dopamine

Summary We describe here a sensitive, selective and rapid method to quantitate plasma catecholamines, especially dopamine, using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. This method requires a 10-minute run time and has a threshold for detection of 2 picograms, (10pg/ml).A number of commonly employed mobile phases for catecholamine analysis have been tested and have failed to detect dopamine in biological samples. Neither acetonitrile (3–7%) or methanol, (5–8%) in the mobile phase has produced consistently interpretable data either due to inability to detect or interference from co-eluting substances. Optimal detection was achieved with a mobile phase containing sodium acetate (6.8g), citric acid (5.9g), EDTA (48mg), di-n-butylamine (270l), Na-1-octane sulfate (850mg), methanol (100 ml) (amounts refer to 1 liter aqueous solution) (pH 4.3). The mobile phase was passed through a Waters 5 resolve C₁₈ column using a Waters 590 pump and m460 electrochemical detector and 740 data module, Flow rate was 0.9ml/min. Using this method, normal values in human and swine left ventricular myocardium and human and swine plasma have been established for norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine.