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.     

荧光法研究Ge-132对牛血清白蛋白Maillard反应的抑制作用

人体内氨基酸及蛋白质的非酶糖化反应(Maillard反应)与糖尿病及其并发症的关系已经引起广泛注意[1].有机锗化合物β-羧乙基锗倍半氧化物(Ge-132)具有预防糖尿病及调节糖代谢的作用[2].     

Fluorometric investigation of the interaction of bovine serum albumin with surfactants and 6-mercaptopurine

Fluorescence quenching in solutions of bovine serum albumin has been investigated in the presence of 6-mercaptopurine and ionic surfactants. Spectroscopic analysis of the emission quenching at different temperatures revealed that the quenching mechanism of bovine serum albumin by 6-mercaptopurine was dynamic quenching mechanism. The Stern–Volmer quenching model has been successfully applied, and the activation energy of the interaction between 6-mercaptopurine and bovine serum albumin as much as 4.26 kJ mol⁻¹ was calculated. The distance r between donor (bovine serum albumin) and acceptor (6-mercaptopurine) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The result of synchronous fluorescence spectra shows that the conformation of bovine serum albumin has been changed at the present of 6-mercaptopurine.     

Comparative DSC study of human and bovine serum albumin

The thermal denaturation process of bovine and human both fatty acid containing and fatty acid free albumins in aqueous solution was studied by use of differential scanning calorimetry. Human serum albumins were found to be more stable than their bovine counterparts. Fatty acid free albumins were characterized as generally less stable, more susceptible to aggregation, their unfolding endothermic transition was less cooperative and with the smaller degree of reversibility. Deconvolution analysis with using a non-two-state model with two component transitions showed essential differences in the thermodynamic parameters between all studied albumins, particularly regarding the high-temperature component transition.     

Two-dimensional capillary gas chromatography without intermediate trapping. Electron capture detector quantitation of an amino alcohol (KABI 2128) in serum after trifluoroacetylation

A two- dimensional gas chromatograph based on the Deans switching principle is described. The unit comprises two separate ovens, each containing a fused silica capillary column. The columns are joined in a specially designed manifold permitting heart cuts to be performed without significant decrease in efficiency. The switching speed and the retention time stability of the system made it possible to perform heart cuts of only a few seconds' duration. The system has been used under isothermal conditions for the determination of an amino alcohol (KABI 2128) in the low ng/ml range after trifluoroacetylation and with electron capture detection. A much shorter clean-up procedure could be used in combination with the two-dimensional gas chromatograph as compared to a method using a single glass capillary column.     

Binding of brucine to human serum albumin

The feature of brucine binding to human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated via fluorescence and UV/vis absorption spectroscopy. The results revealed that brucine caused the fluorescence quenching of HSA by the formation of brucine–HSA complex. The hydrophobic interaction plays a major role in stabilizing the complex; the binding site number n and apparent binding constant K_A, corresponding thermodynamic parameters the free energy change (ΔG), enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS) at different temperatures were calculated. The distance r between donor (HSA) and acceptor (brucine) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The effect of brucine on the conformation of HSA was analyzed using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and UV/vis absorption spectroscopy.     

Effects of pretreatments and modifiers on electrochemical properties of carbon paste electrodes

The electrochemical properties of carbon paste electrodes (CPEs), including unmodified and modified with protein and polycations, were investigated by impedance spectroscopy (IS) using ferricyanide and ferrocene monocarboxylic acid (FcMA) as redox probes. Various electrochemical pretreatments were applied to the unmodified CPE. The heterogeneous charge transfer rate constant of ferro/ferricyanide couple is enhanced by 2 to 10 times compared with that obtained at untreated electrodes. It was found that for ferricyanide the more suitable pretreatments are successive cyclic voltammetric scans, cathodization and a square wave-like stepping rather than high-potential anodization. However, the pretreatment only exhibits a slight effect on the kinetics of FcMA. At the CPEs containing modifier, the electron transfer rate of the redox couple depends more on the pH of electrolyte solution if ferro/ferricyanide is used. The results can be explained by the differently charged states of the CPEs that were caused by the protonation or deprotonation of the modifiers in various pH solutions and demonstrate the importance of the electrostatic interaction on the kinetics of the highly polar species such as ferricyanide. The different adsorptive behavior of ferricyanide and FcMA is also discussed.     

Determination of sulfates of androsterone and epiandrosterone in human serum using isotope diluted liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

A promising liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) for analysis of the sulfates of 5alpha-androgen, androsterone and epiandrosterone (A-S and EpiA-S) in human serum was developed. The method was used to assess one of the markers of 5alpha-reductase activity of males including patients with prostate cancer (PC). After deproteinization with acetonitrile, the androgen sulfates and the internal standard, [7,7,16,16-2H4]dehydroepiandrosterone-S, were extracted from human serum using a solid-phase extraction cartridge and washed with hexane. The extract was reconstituted and applied to the LC/ESI-MS system operated in the selected ion monitoring mode. The method was validated over the range 0.02-5 microg/mL (A-S) and 0.005-1.5 microg/mL (EpiA-S) using 10 microL of human serum. The method was a concise procedure without chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis of the conjugates, purification by high-performance liquid chromatography and/or derivatization, and proved to be satisfactory in its reproducibility and accuracy. The levels of these androgen sulfates tended to decrease during aging, and the A-S levels in the sera obtained from both healthy males and patients with PC were correlated with their EpiA-S levels.     

Voltammetric Detector for Liquid Chromatography: Determination of Triclosan in Rabbit Urine and Serum

A flow-electrolytic cell containing a strand of carbon fibers has been designed and characterized for use in a voltammetric detector for high-performance liquid chromatography. The detector was used for determination of triclosan (2,4,4-trichloro-2-hydroxydiphenyl ether) in rabbit serum and urine. Analysis of rabbit serum and urine 1 day and 1 to 5 days, respectively, after ingestion of oral triclosan revealed that the concentration of triclosan was higher than for control serum and urine. The concentration reached maximum levels after 6 h and 34 h or 44 h in serum and urine, respectively. When triclosan was determined in rabbit samples with the method proposed the results obtained were comparable with those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.     

Highly sensitive determination of haloperidol in human serum by capillary gas chromatography using a surface ionization detector

A method has been developed for highly sensitive determination of haloperidol in human serum involving a simple extraction procedure followed by gas chromatographic separation. Target components were separated from the extracting solvents with a Van den Berg type solventless sample injector before introduction Into a DB-1 capillary separation column. A surface ionization detector (SID), which has highly selective sensitivity for Substituted amines, was employed for quantitation using bromperidol as an internal standard. Chloroform proved to be the best extracting solvent, yielding a quantitative detection limit of 5 ng/ml (S/N = 2). Comparison of the response to target compounds obtained by the SID, FTD (flame thermionic detector), and FID (flame ionization detector) showed the SID to be superior.