Development and Validation of Multi-Residue Method for Drugs Analysis in Human Feces by Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The use of veterinary drugs in animal production is a common practice to secure animal and human health. However, residues of administrated drugs could be present in animal food products. Levels of drugs in food of animal origin are regulated within the European Union. In recent years, residues have been detected not only in food, but also in the environmental elements such as water or soil, meaning that humans are involuntarily exposed to these substances. This article presents a multiclass method for the analysis of various therapeutic groups of pharmaceuticals in human feces. Pharmaceuticals are extracted from feces with an acid extraction solvent, and after filtration the extract was analyzed by HPLC–MS/MS. A limit of detection of 10 ng/g was achieved for 9 pharmaceuticals, with linearity over 0.99 and repeatability and reproducibility lower than 20%. The method was satisfactorily applied in 25 feces samples of individuals that had declared not to be under medical treatment for the last two months. Results indicate the presence of six different compounds at concentration between 10 and 456 ng/g. This preliminary study showed the involuntary exposure of human gut microbiota to active substances such as pharmaceuticals     

Elucidating structure and dynamics of crystalline α-zirconium phosphates intercalated with water and methanol by multinuclear solid-state MAS NMR: A comprehensive NMR approach

Solid-state NMR experiments on ²H, ³¹P, ¹³C, and ¹H nuclei, including ³¹P T₁, ¹H T₁, and ¹H T_1ρ measurements, as well as on the kinetics of proton-phosphorus cross-polarization have been performed to characterize the crystalline and amorphous α-zirconium phosphates, which were intercalated with D₂O and/or CD₃OD. The ¹³C{¹H} CP MAS NMR experiment performed for compound 1-CD ₃ OD (Zr (HPO₄)₂ ^. 0.2CD₃OD) with carbon cross-polarization via protons of phosphate groups has provided a prove that the methanol was intercalated into the interlayer spaces of this compound. The variable-temperature ²H solid-echo MAS NMR spectra of intercalated compounds demonstrated that the methanol molecules, in contrast to the mobile water, were immobile, keeping, however, free CD₃ rotations around the C₃-axis. It has been demonstrated that the intercalated species, D₂O and CD₃OD, do not affect the high-frequency motions of the phosphate groups. By utilizing local structural models that satisfy the constraints of the experimental data, it has been suggested that the immobile methanol molecules are located in the cavity between two neighboring layers of the zirconium phosphates. Thus, the present work illustrates the reliable criteria in a comprehensive NMR approach to structural and dynamic studies of such systems.     

The Surface Analysis Working Group at the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance,Metrology in Chemistry and Biology: A successful initiative by Martin Seah

Dr Martin Seah, NPL, was the initiator, founder, and first chairman of the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) at the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance, Metrology in Chemistry and Biology (CCQM) at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM), the international organization established by the Metre Convention. This tribute letter summarizes his achievements during his chairmanship and his long-running impact on the successful work of the group after his retirement.     

Nanoscale imaging of oxidized copper foil covered with chemical vapor deposition-grown graphene layers

Characterization of the geometrical and structural characteristics of oxidized Cu area in high resolution is crucial for tracking the change in morphology, exploring interactions between graphene layers and Cu substrates and revealing the mechanism for the orientation-dependent oxidation of Cu. Here, we reported experimental results on nanoscale imaging of natural oxidation of the polycrystalline Cu substrate coated by partial-coverage chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene stored in dryer under ambient conditions for up to 10 months. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), together with atomic force microscope (AFM), Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), was used for systematically studying the morphological and compositional changes at nanoscale during oxidation. The appearance of oxidized Cu substrates could be unambiguously distinguished from the unoxidized regions based on their distinctly different morphologies in SEM images, and the underlying mechanism was discussed in detail. By analyzing a millimeter-seized polycrystalline Cu substrate, we found that the oxidation of polycrystalline Cu substrate depends sensitively on both orientation of graphene layers and Cu substrates. Furthermore, the time-dependent oxidation evolution of Cu substrate was also established, and the oxidation rate was readily determined. The findings reported here will have important implications for developing protection coatings for Cu.     

Strukturelle Abwandlungen anN-Acetylneuraminsäure, 3

From methyl-5-acetylamino-7,8-anhydro-4,9-O-bis-(t-butyldimethylsilyl)-3,5-dideoxy--D-glycero-D-galacto-2-nonulopyranosidonic acid methylester (1) the derivatives1 a and1 b were obtained by removing the 9-O-(t-butyldimethylsilyl)group withBu ₄NF, followed by acetylation. Treatment of1 b with 80% acetic acid and acetanhydride/pyridine yields the 8-epi-N-acetylneuraminic acid derivative2 a and the 7-epi-N-acetylneuraminic acid derivative3 a in a ratio of 3:1 (Scheme 1). The structure elucidation of2 b was achieved by converting2 b via the 4,9-bis-O-(tBDMSi)-8-O-tosyl-derivative2 d into the epoxide1 (Scheme 2). Using the same sequence the epoxides4 and5 were transformed into theN-acetylneuraminic acid derivative6 a and the 7,8-bis-epi-N-acetylneuraminic acid derivative7 a (Scheme 3). After treatment with sodium hydroxide and 0.025m HCl and Dowex 50 H⁺ the 8-epi-, 7-epi- and 7,8-bis-epi-N-acetylneuraminic acids2,3, and7 were obtained. These three compounds were tested withCMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase.

Herrn KollegenK. Schlögl mit den besten Wünschen zum 60. Geburtstag.     

Gewinnung und Charakterisierung von nichtkeratinarmer Wolle — ein Modellpräparat für die Grundlagenerforschung von textilchemischen Ausrüstungsprozessen

The nonkeratinous proteins of wool can be partly or completely dissolved by controlled enzymatic digestion. A comparison between the keratose content of intact wool and that of wool which has been hydrolysed for 96 h with pronase confirms that specifically all the nonkeratinous components are dissolved out of the wool composite by pronase. The influence of microbial infection can be excluded.The residue of wool after the hydrolysis, i. e., a wool low in nonkeratinous proteins, has a higher internal volume, as measured by mercury porosimetry. The centrifugal swelling test shows that these wool samples also have increased hygroscopy.

     

Interactions between terminally substituted amino acids in an aqueous and a non-aqueous environment. Enthalpic interaction coefficients in water and in N,N-dimethylformamide at 25°C

Enthalpies of dilution of the N-acetyl amides of glycine, L-alanine, L-valine, L-leucine, and L-phenylalanine, dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as a solvent have been measured at 25°C. The results obtained have been analyzed to give the enthalpic interaction (or virial) coefficients of the solutes and these are compared with information previously obtained in aqueous systems. There are marked differences in the interaction properties in the two solvents and, while the additivity approach of Savage and Wood is applicable to the solutes in water it is not suitable for representing the interactions in DMF. A correlation is presented between the enthalpic second virial coefficients in DMF and the propensity of side-chains to be in proximity in globular proteins.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the hydrolysis of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) by a cellulase complex

TheSomogyi-Nelson colorimetric method is applied in a new manner more suitable for evaluating the kinetics of the enzyme hydrolysis of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) catalyzed by the cellulase complex. By means of selective inhibition of a chosen enzyme from the cellulase complex it became possible to trace the effect of the other enzymes included in its composition.

---

Kinetik und Mechanismus der Hydrolyse von Natriumcarboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) durch einen Cellulase-Komplex

Zusammenfassung Die kolorimetrische Methode nachSomogyi undNelson wird nach einem neuen Verfahren zur Verfolgung der Kinetik der hydrolytischen Spaltung von Natriumcarboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC), katalysiert durch den Cellulase-Komplex, angewandt. Durch selektive Inhibierung eines bestimmten Enzyms des Cellulase-Komplexes kann man die Wirkung der anderen zu seiner gesamten Zusammensetzung gehörenden Enzyme verfolgen.

---

Symbols Used E enzyme (E—cellulase;E—exo-cellobiohydrolase;E—-glucosidase) - [E] _w weight concentration of enzymeE - S substrate (Na-CMC—sodium carboxymethylcellulose) - [S]₀ weight concentration of substrateS - I inhibitor (I—lactose;I—calcium chloride;I—condurrite-B-epoxide) - P product (P—oligosaccharides;P—cellobiose;P—D-glucose) - P end product (K , K , K ) - DP degree of polymerization - DS degree of substitution - ES enzyme-substrate complex (E S, E S, E S) - EP enzyme-product complex (E P, E P) - EI enzyme-inhibitor complex (E I, E I, E I) - M _s molecular mass of substrateS - K _s substrate constant (K _s , K _s , K _s ) - K _I inhibitor constant (K _I , K _I , K _I ) - K _m Michaelis-Menten constant - k ₊₁,k ₊₂ (k ₊₂ ,k ₊₂ ,k ₊₂ ) forward rate constants - k _–1 reverse rate constant - ₀ initial rate of reaction - V maximal reaction rate - A change in absorbance - molar absorption coefficient - wavelength Herrn Prof. Dr.Hans Tuppy zum 60. Geburtstag herzlichst gewidmet.     

ImmobilizedE. coli Alkaline Phosphatase

We have immobilized E.coli alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) by linking it covalently to sepharose 4B. This preparation has several advantages over the soluble enzyme. The immobilized enzyme is easily separable from other constituents in incubation mixtures. The immobilized enzyme can be reused repeatedly and is more stable than the soluble enzyme to heat treatment in the presence of 10 mM Mg²⁺. The insoluble and soluble phosphatases removed 75 and77%, respectively, of the inorganic phosphorus from casein. The immobilized enzyme inactivated two enzymes believed to be active in the phosphorylated state, acyl-CoA : cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) by 39% and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase by 89%. The utility of immobilized alkaline phosphatase for studying the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of soluble or membrane-bound enzymes and proteins is discussed.