Improved Calcium Ion-Selective Electrode Based on a Neutral Carrier

Abstract

The performance of a liquid-membrane electrode using a synthetic, neutral carrier in o-nitro-phenyl-n-octyl-ether as membrane component in a PVC matrix, in the presence of sodium tetra-phenyl-borate, is described. Selectivities, working range, lifetime and anion interference are discussed. The electrode makes possible the measurement of calcium ion activities in the range 10^?1M to 10^?6M in unbuffered and in the range 10^?1M to 10^?8M in calcium buffered systems respectively. The selectivities of calcium over protons, magnesium, sodium and zinc are 25,000, 26,000, 2,800 and 7,100, respectively, and are far superior than those reported for other calcium sensors.     

An Ionic Liquid Loaded β-Cyclodextrin-Cross-Linked Polymer as the Solid Phase Extraction Material Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography for the Determination of Rhodamine B in Food

A novel method for separation and determination of rhodamine B in food samples is described. The work is based on the utilization of an ionic liquid loaded β-cyclodextrin cross-linked polymer coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of rhodamine B. The inclusion interaction of the ionic liquid-β-cyclodextrin cross-linked polymer with rhodamine B was studied by FTIR. Under optimum conditions, the preconcentration factor achieved for this method was approximately 20. The linear range, detection limit, and relative standard deviation were 0.80 to 130.0 µg L^?1, 0.09 µg L^?1, and 0.66% (n = 3, concentration = 10.0 µg L^?1), respectively. The technique was successfully applied for determination of rhodamine B in food samples.     

Determination of sulfur and selected trace elements in metallothionein-like proteins using capillary electrophoresis hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with an octopole reaction cell

The determination of sulfur in biologically relevant samples such as metalloproteins is described. The analytical methodology used is based on robust on-line coupling between capillary electrophoresis (CE) and octopole reaction cell inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ORC–ICP–MS). Polyatomic ions that form in the plasma and interfere with the determination of S at mass 32 are minimised by addition of xenon to the collision cell. The method has been applied to the separation and simultaneous element-specific detection of sulfur, cadmium, copper, and zinc in commercially available metallothionein preparations (MT) and metallothionein-like proteins (MLP) extracted from liver samples of bream (Abramis brama L.) caught in the river Elbe, Germany. Instrumental detection limits have been calculated according to the German standard procedure DIN 32645 for the determination of sulfur and some simultaneously measured trace elements in aqueous solution. For sulfur detection limits down to 1.3 g L^–1 (³⁴S) and 3.2 g L^–1 (³²S) were derived. For the other trace elements determined simultaneously detection limits ranging from 300 ng L^–1 (⁵⁸Ni) to 500 ng L^–1 (⁶⁶Zn, ⁵⁵Mn) were achieved. For quantification of sulfur and cadmium in a commercially available MT preparation under hyphenated conditions the use of external calibration is suggested. Finally, the need for proper sample-preparation technique will be discussed.     

反相高效液相色谱法测定肾复康胶囊中的野黄芩苷和芦丁

建立了肾复康胶囊中野黄芩苷和芦丁的反相高效液相色谱测定方法。以甲醇-水为提取溶剂,采用超声提取法对样品进行前处理。以0.02 mol/L磷酸二氢钾缓冲溶液(含1.0％（体积分数）冰醋酸)-甲醇（体积比为63∶37）为流动相,于330 nm波长下检测,肾复康提取液中野黄芩苷和芦丁可达基线分离,分析时间在20 min内。野黄芩苷和芦丁在10 ~300 mg/L内,其峰面积与浓度之间线性关系良好,目标物的加标回收率大于98％。该方法适用于肾复康胶囊及相关药材中野黄芩苷和芦丁黄酮类化合物的测定和质量控制。     

草一光可湿性粉剂活性成分的反相高效液相色谱分析

采用反相高效液相色谱法同时测定15.5％草一光可湿性粉剂中的异丙甲草胶和苄嘧黄隆两种活性成分,以V（甲醇）：V（酸性水）=70：30作为流动相,采用ZORBAXSB-C18色谱柱。方法回收率达98.1％～102.6％,变异系数为0.4％～0.8％。     

新型环糊精手性色谱拆分材料的点击化学调控及拆分性能研究

通过点击化学方式对单叠氮环糊精进行衍生,引入具备不同作用位点的功能化基团,对环糊精手性分离性能进行调控.首先通过醚键将单叠氮环糊精接枝到硅胶表面,进一步通过Cu(I)催化的1,3-偶极环加成反应(点击化学)在环糊精小口端分别引入叔丁基、苯基、酯基和羟基基团,构建了4种新型环糊精手性固定相并通过红外光谱和元素分析对其进行了结构表征.通过高效液相色谱反相分离模式实现了异噁唑啉和丹磺酰氨基酸共16种对映体的手性拆分.酯基功能化的环糊精手性固定相对多数异噁唑啉类有良好的拆分效果,其中,2-氯苯基-异噁唑(2ClPh-OPr)分离度可达1.62.丹磺酰氨基酸类最佳分离pH值为5.0,叔丁基功能化固定相具有最好的分离效果,大部分样品可实现基线分离(Rs＞1.5).     

Charge‐Induced Unzipping of Isolated Proteins to a Defined Secondary Structure

Here we present a combined experimental and theoretical study on the secondary structure of isolated proteins as a function of charge state. In infrared spectra of the proteins ubiquitin and cytochrome c, amide I (C=O stretch) and amide II (N–H bend) bands can be found at positions that are typical for condensed‐phase proteins. For high charge states a new band appears, substantially red‐shifted from the amide II band observed at lower charge states. The observations are interpreted in terms of Coulomb‐driven transitions in secondary structures from mostly helical to extended C₅‐type hydrogen‐bonded structures. Support for this interpretation comes from simple energy considerations as well as from quantum chemical calculations on model peptides. This transition in secondary structure is most likely universal for isolated proteins that occur in mass spectrometric experiments.     

Columnar bis(pyridinium) ionic liquid crystals derived from 4-hydroxypyridine: synthesis,mesomorphism and emission properties

A series of flexibly linked bis(pyridinium) salts with various counterions (Br^?, PF₆^?, BF₄^? and OTf-) was designed and prepared starting from corresponding N-alkylated 4-pyridones precursors with mesogenic 3,4,5-tris(alkyloxy)benzyl moieties (alkyl = dodecyl or tetradecyl). These salts were investigated for their liquid crystalline properties by a combination of differential scanning calorimetry, polarising optical microscopy and temperature-dependent powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). Their thermal stability was checked by thermogravimetric analysis. All bis(pyridinium) salts, except the triflate salt with shorter terminal carbon chain, display an enantiotropic liquid crystalline behaviour with a hexagonal columnar (Col_h) phase assigned on the basis of its characteristic texture and XRD studies. It was found that these luminescent bis(pyridinium) salts show weak emission in dichloromethane solutions at room temperature and a pronounced red-shifted emission in solid state. The emission properties of these bis(pyridinium) salts do not depend significantly on the nature of counterion employed.     

Chemometric approach to the optimisation of LC-FL and GC-MS methods for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in some biological,food and environmental samples

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method and a liquid chromatography–fluorescence (LC-FL) detection method using experimental design and optimisation approach were improved for the quantitative determination of nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples. The obtained recoveries of nitrite and nitrate ions from samples based on both GC-MS and LC-FL results ranged from 98.5% to 98.9% for nitrite and 97.9% to 98.4% for nitrate. The precision of these methods, as indicated by the relative standard deviations (RSDs), was within the range from 2.4% to 3.6% for nitrite and 2.5% to 3.8% for nitrate, respectively. The limits of detection of nitrite and nitrate ions from samples based on GC-MS and LC-FL results ranged from 0.01 to 0.14 ng L^?1 for nitrite and 0.02 to 0.71 ng L^?1 for nitrate, respectively. The optimised isolation procedure by central composite design was successfully applied to real samples. The results revealed that the proposed procedure combined with GC-MS and LC-FL techniques is more sensitive, reliable and selective compared to the other methods available for the precise determination of trace levels of nitrite and nitrate in biological, food and environmental samples.     

Glucose/Ribitol Dehydrogenase and 16.9 kDa Class I Heat Shock Protein 1 as Novel Wheat Allergens in Baker’s Respiratory Allergy

Wheat allergens are responsible for symptoms in 60–70% of bakers with work-related allergy, and knowledge, at the molecular level, of this disorder is progressively accumulating. The aim of the present study is to investigate the panel of wheat IgE positivity in allergic Italian bakers, evaluating a possible contribution of novel wheat allergens included in the water/salt soluble fraction. The water/salt-soluble wheat flour proteins from the Italian wheat cultivar Bolero were separated by using 1-DE and 2-DE gel electrophoresis. IgE-binding proteins were detected using the pooled sera of 26 wheat allergic bakers by immunoblotting and directly recognized in Coomassie stained gel. After a preparative electrophoretic step, two enriched fractions were furtherly separated in 2-DE allowing for detection, by Coomassie, of three different proteins in the range of 21–27 kDa that were recognized by the pooled baker’s IgE. Recovered spots were analyzed by nanoHPLC Chip tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The immunodetected spots in 2D were subjected to mass spectrometry (MS) analysis identifying two new allergenic proteins: a glucose/ribitol dehydrogenase and a 16.9 kDa class I heat shock protein 1. Mass spectrometer testing of flour proteins of the wheat cultivars utilized by allergic bakers improves the identification of until now unknown occupational wheat allergens.