SPE–HPLC–MS/MS method for the trace analysis of tobacco‐specific N‐nitrosamines and 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanol in rabbit plasma using tetraazacalix[2]arene[2]triazine‐modified silica as a sorbent

Tobacco‐specific N‐nitrosamines (TSNAs), including N′‐nitrosonornicotine, 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone, N′‐nitrosoanatabine, and N′‐nitrosoanabasine, have been implicated as a source of carcinogenicity in tobacco and cigarette smoke. We present a rapid and effective method comprising SPE based on tetraazacalix[2]arene[2]triazine‐modified silica as sorbent and analysis with HPLC–MS/MS for the determination of TSNAs and 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanol (NNAL), a metabolite of 4‐(methylnitrosamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone, in rabbit plasma. The linear dynamic ranges were 10–2000 pg/mL for NNAL and 4–2000 pg/mL for the four TSNAs with good correlation coefficients (>0.9965). The LODs were in the range of 0.9–3.7 pg/mL, and the LOQs were between 2.9 and 12.3 pg/mL. The accuracies of the method were also evaluated and found to be in the range of 90.1–113.3%. This method is promising to be applied to the preconcentration and determination of TSNAs and NNAL in smoke and human body fluids.     

Quantitative Determination of Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) in Extracts of Biological Matrices by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A method was developed and validated to measure octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D₄)^? quantitatively by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) at low level in extracts of several biological matrices that include plasma, liver, lung, feces and fat from rats. The key to the successful determination lay in the use of extracts dried with anhydrous magnesium sulfate. This was necessary in view of the propensity of the methyl siloxane based GC-stationary phase to generate D₄ by its reaction with water present in the extracts. To enable quantiiation of D₄ at parts per billion (μg/L) levels, the base ion m/z 281 resulting from the loss of a methyl group from the parent molecule was selected for monitoring by SIM mode in GC-MS. The recovery of D₄ from any of the biological matrices was determined to be greater than 90% in three extractions. The D₄ response for the standards in GC-MS was linear (R² > 0.9900) and reproducible at concentrations ranging from 1—16,000 ng D₄/g solvent. Precision was less than 5%.     

Comparison of membrane assisted liquid–liquid microextraction devices applied to a series of volatile organic compounds in aqueous environmental matrices

An extraction device has been investigated for the separation and preconcentration of a series of volatile organic compounds (CHCl₃, CHCl₂Br, CHClBr₂ and CHBr₃) in aqueous matrices. The device consisted of a microporous membrane system utilising a hollow fibre tube filled with organic solvent directly immersed into the sample solution. The hollow fibre containing 160 µL organic solvent was immersed in a glass vial with 10 mL capacity, and the extraction took place through diffusive transport between the aqueous sample and the small amount of solvent. For validation of the method, some operational conditions, such as extraction solvent, temperature, stirring rate and separation time, were optimised. Limit of detection was at low ppb levels, with GC-MS analysis under selected ion monitoring (SIM), whereas enrichment factors between 22 and 35 were obtained. Good reproducibility with RSDs between 7.2% and 9.8% and large linear dynamic ranges with R ² between 0.996 and 0.998 were also achieved. In addition, the performance of the membrane assisted solvent extraction (MASE) system was compared with two existing configurations: a non-porous membrane separation device, as well as with a comparable microporous configuration. The comparison considered the extraction mechanism and the underlying transport processes. The application to real samples showed a good concordance with classical analytical methods.     

Forwarding and optical indices of 4-regular circulant networks

An all-to-all routing in a graph G is a set of oriented paths of G, with exactly one path for each ordered pair of vertices. The load of an edge under an all-to-all routing R is the number of times it is used (in either direction) by paths of R, and the maximum load of an edge is denoted by $\pi (G,R)$. The edge-forwarding index $\pi (G)$ is the minimum of $\pi (G,R)$ over all possible all-to-all routings R, and the arc-forwarding index $\overrightarrow{\pi }(G)$ is defined similarly by taking direction into consideration, where an arc is an ordered pair of adjacent vertices. Denote by $w(G,R)$ the minimum number of colours required to colour the paths of R such that any two paths having an edge in common receive distinct colours. The optical index $w(G)$ is defined to be the minimum of $w(G,R)$ over all possible R, and the directed optical index $\overrightarrow{w}(G)$ is defined similarly by requiring that any two paths having an arc in common receive distinct colours. In this paper we obtain lower and upper bounds on these four invariants for 4-regular circulant graphs with connection set $\{\pm 1,\pm s\}$, $1<s<n/2$. We give approximation algorithms with performance ratio a small constant for the corresponding forwarding index and routing and wavelength assignment problems for some families of 4-regular circulant graphs.     

Ionic liquids as stationary phases in gas chromatography: Determination of chlorobenzenes in soils

The present research focuses on the evaluation of different ionic liquid (IL) stationary phases in gas chromatography. The different IL columns were evaluated in terms of peak resolution (R_s) and peak symmetry for the separation of the chlorobenzenes. The determination of chlorobenzenes in soil samples by means of the optimal IL stationary phase (SLB‐IL82) is proposed as an application. Soil pretreatment was based on a simplified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe extraction procedure and a large injection volume via a programed temperature vaporizer working in solvent vent mode. The retention time of the chlorobenzenes increased as the polarity of the IL column decreased. SLB‐IL82 is the stationary phase that provides the best values as regards R_s and asymmetry factor. Soil sample blanks were spiked with the analytes before subjecting the sample to the extraction process. The existence of a matrix effect was checked and the analytical characteristics of the method were determined in a fortified garden soil sample. The method provided good linearity, good repeatability and reproducibility values, and the LODs were in the 0.1–4.7 μg/kg range. Two fortified soil samples were applied to validate the proposed methodology.     

Engineering of Supported Nanomaterials

This brief review analyzes the parameters that can be used to guide the generation of hierarchic systems that include inorganic and/or biological nanoscale objects. Importance of interface effects and geometrical factors are underlined. The mutual influence between the substrate and the deposited material is an important factor to determine the most appropriate set of parameters for the synthesis of nanomaterials with desirable properties for industrial applications.     

Solid-phase extraction techniques based on nanomaterials for mycotoxin analysis: An overview for food and agricultural products

Mycotoxin contamination is a globally concerned problem for food and agricultural products since it may directly or indirectly induce severe threats to human health. Sensitive and selective screening is an efficient strategy to prevent or reduce human and animal exposure to mycotoxins. However, enormous challenges exist in the determination of mycotoxins, arising from complex sample matrices, trace-level analytes, and the co-occurrence of diverse mycotoxins. Appropriate sample preparation is essential to isolate, purify, and enrich mycotoxins from complicated matrices, thus decreasing sample matrix effects and lowering detection limits. With the cross-disciplinary development, new solid-phase extraction strategies have been exploited and integrated with nanotechnology to meet the challenges of mycotoxin analysis. This review summarizes the advance and progress of solid-phase extraction techniques as the methodological solutions for mycotoxin analysis. Emphases are paid on nanomaterials fabricated as trapping media of solid-phase extraction techniques, including carbonaceous nanoparticles, metal/metal oxide-based nanoparticles, and nanoporous materials. Advantages and limitations are discussed, along with the potential prospects.     

An analysis of cross-correlations in an emerging market

We apply random matrix theory to compare correlation matrix estimators C$C$ obtained from emerging market data. The correlation matrices are constructed from 10 years of daily data for stocks listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange (JSE) from January 1993 to December 2002. We test the spectral properties of C$C$ against random matrix predictions and find some agreement between the distributions of eigenvalues, nearest neighbour spacings, distributions of eigenvector components and the inverse participation ratios for eigenvectors. We show that interpolating both missing data and illiquid trading days with a zero-order hold increases agreement with RMT predictions. For the more realistic estimation of correlations in an emerging market, we suggest a pairwise measured-data correlation matrix. For the data set used, this approach suggests greater temporal stability for the leading eigenvectors. An interpretation of eigenvectors in terms of trading strategies is given, as opposed to classification by economic sectors.     

Surface Roughness Characterization of Poly(methylmethacrylate) Films with Immobilized Eu(III) β-Diketonates by Fractal Analysis

The structural complexity of the 3-D surface of poly(methylmethacrylate) films with immobilized europium β-diketonates was studied by atomic force microscopy and fractal analysis. Fractal analysis of surface roughness revealed that the 3-D surface has fractal geometry at the nanometer scale. Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) as immobilization matrix is dense and uniform, and a tendency for formation of chain structures was observed. Fractal analysis can quantify key elements of 3-D surface roughness such as the fractal dimensions D _f determined by the morphological envelopes method of the Eu(DBM)₃ and Eu(DBM)₃ · dpp nanostructures, which are not taken into account by traditional surface statistical parameters.     

Polydimethylsiloxane: A General Matrix for High‐Performance Chromatographic NMR Spectroscopy

The detection and structural characterization of the components of a mixture is a challenging task. Therefore, the development of a facile and general method that enables both the separation and the structural characterization of the components is desired. Diffusion‐ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) with the aid of a matrix is a promising tool for this purpose. However, because the currently existing matrices only separate limited components, the application of the DOSY technique is restricted. Herein we introduce a new versatile matrix, poly(dimethylsiloxane), which can fully separate many mixtures of different structural types by liquid‐state NMR spectroscopy. With poly(dimethylsiloxane), liquid‐state chromatographic NMR spectroscopy could become a general approach for the structural elucidation of mixtures of compounds.