Synthesis and characterisation of PEG-peptide surfaces for proteolytic enzyme detection

Peptide surfaces were obtained by the covalent immobilisation of fluorescently labelled pentapeptides carboxyfluorescein–glycine–arginine–methionine–leucine–glycine, either directly or through a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) linker on modified silicon wafers. Each step during the preparation of the peptide surfaces was confirmed by several surface characterisation techniques. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to determine the surface composition, the wafers philicity was measured by contact angle and atomic force microscopy was used to investigate the surface morphology. Exposure of the peptide surfaces to trypsin resulted in the release of a fluorescently labelled peptide product, which allowed the kinetics of the enzymatic reaction to be followed with the aid of fluorescence spectroscopy. The electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry analysis of the post-digestion solution confirmed that the pentapeptides attached to the solid support undergo specific trypsin hydrolysis at the C-terminus of the arginine residues. Detailed surface analyses before and after the enzyme action was performed using ToF-SIMS. Because of the limited accessibility of the short peptide directly attached to the surface, a quantitative yield of enzymatic hydrolysis was observed only in case when the peptide was bound through the PEG linker. The insertion of the PEG linker increased the number of immobilised peptides and the rate of enzymatic digestion which consequently improved the quality of the enzyme assays. The described approach may be used for different peptide sequences designed for other proteases.

Quantitative analysis of phenobarbital in dosage form by thin-layer chromatography combined with densitometry

In this paper, a high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method combined with densitometry has been described. Chromatography was performed on silica gel Si 60F254 plates using dichloromethane-ethyl acetate-formic acid (9.5 +/- 0.5 +/- 0.1, v/v) mobile phase. This method has been successfully applied for the determination of phenobarbital in pharmaceuticals. Obtained results were comparable with traditionally used column high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. For the proposed procedure, linearity (r > 0.999), sensitivity (limit of detection 0.4 microg/spot), recovery (97.8-102.1%), and repeatability were found to be satisfactory. The HPTLC-densitometry method has many advantages, such as simplicity, reasonable sensitivity, rapidity, and low cost, and it can be successfully used in routine quality control of multidrug preparations containing barbiturates.     

Effectiveness of nitric oxide ozonation

Attempts to develop new technologies of NO _x (NO + NO₂) emission reduction are still carried out all around the world. One of the relatively new approaches is the application of ozone injection into the exhaust gas stream followed by the absorption process. Ozone is used to transform NO _x to higher nitrogen oxides which yield nitric acid with better effectiveness. The main objective of this paper was to study the influence of mole ratio (MR) O₃/NO used in the ozonation process of NO _x on the effectiveness of NO _x oxidation to higher oxides. The ozonation process was carried out in a flow reactor for concentrations of nitric oxide in the range of 1.5 × 10⁻⁵−7.7 × 10⁻⁵ mol dm⁻³ and varying O₃/NO mole ratios. Measurements were conducted with the use of a FTIR spectrometer. The results obtained prove that for MR higher than 1, the oxidation effectiveness of nitric oxides generally reaches 95 %, whereas for MR higher than 2, oxidation of NO _x to higher nitrogen oxides is completed.     

Densitometric Determination of Kinetics of Hydrolysis of Flavonoid Glycosides

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - In this paper we report the possibilities and advantages of HPTLC for investigation of the acid hydrolysis of six flavonoid...     

Kinetics of nitric oxide oxidation

Nitrogen oxides are nowadays a subject of global concern. Several types of nitrogen oxides exist in the environment: N₂O, NO, NO₂, N₂O₃, N₂O₄, N₂O₅. The abbreviation NO _x usually relates to nitric oxide NO, nitrogen dioxide NO₂, and nitrous oxide N₂O. The first two are harmful pollutants for both environment and human health, whereas the third is one of the greenhouse gases. Implementation of stringent NO _x emission regulations requires the development of new NO _x removal technologies from exhaust gases. One of many proposals for NO _x emission reduction is the application of an oxidizing agent which would transform NO _x to higher nitrogen oxides with higher solubility in water. The main objective of the paper was to present the rate constant of nitric oxide oxidation, determined in our studies.     

HPTLC-densitometric method of determination of oleanolic acid in the Lamii albi flos

HPTLC combined with densitometric method was used to determine the content of oleanolic acid in acetone extract from the Lamii albi flos L. The plant extract was separated on Si 60 HPTLC plates and determined with the use of two densitometric methods: measurement of fluorescence and absorbance. The content of oleanolic acid was statistically calculated. In a measurement of absorbance in 1 g of the dry Lamii albi flos L. 1458 microg of oleanolic acid was determined (0.147%). In a fluorescence method in 1 g of the plant material 1516 microg of oleanolic acid was determined (0.149%).     

Thin-Layer Chromatography of Phenolic Acids on Aminopropylsilica

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - The possibility of using aminopropylsilica TLC plates for determination of phenolic acids has been investigated. Eighteen phenolic...