Simultaneous determination of cinnamaldehyde and its metabolite in rat tissues by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Cinnamaldehyde (CA), an active ingredient isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Cortex Cinnamomi, has a wide range of bioactivities. To clarify the distribution characteristics of CA, a selective and sensitive method utilizing gas chromatography–mass spetrometry was initially developed for simultaneously determining the concentration of CA and its metabolite cinnamyl alcohol in rat tissues. Selected ion masses of m/z 131, 105 and 92 were chosen, and separation of the analytes was performed on a DB‐5 ms (30 m × 0.25 mm, 0.25 µm, thickness) capillary column by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The calibration curves demonstrated good linearity and reproducibility over the range of 20–2000 and 20–4000 ng/mL for various tissue samples. Recoveries ranged from 86.8 to 107.5%, while intra‐ and interday relative standard deviations were all <11.3%. The analysis method was successfully applied in tissue distribution studies for CA and cinnamyl alcohol. As CA and cinnamyl alcohol may inter‐convert to one another, simultaneous determination of both analytes provides a comparative and accurate data for tissue study. The concentrations of CA and cinnamyl alcohol remaining in spleen were the highest among the main organs, including heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and brain. In addition, there was no long‐term accumulation of CA in rat tissues. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and applications of graphene oxide aerogels in bone tissue regeneration: a review

Development of biocompatible porous supports is a promising strategy in the field of tissue engineering for the repair and regeneration of bone tissues with severe damage. Graphene oxide aerogels (GOAs) are excellent candidates for the manufacture of these systems due to their porosity, ability to imitate bone structure, and mechanical resistance, and according to their surface chemical reactivity, they can facilitate osseointegration, osteogenesis, osteoinduction and osteoconduction. In this review, synthesis of GOAs from the most primary source is described, and recent studies on the use of these functionalized carbonaceous foams as scaffolding for bone tissue regeneration are presented.     

In Vivo Biological Behavior of Polymer Scaffolds of Natural Origin in the Bone Repair Process

Autologous bone grafts, used mainly in extensive bone loss, are considered the gold standard treatment in regenerative medicine, but still have limitations mainly in relation to the amount of bone available, donor area, morbidity and creation of additional surgical area. This fact encourages tissue engineering in relation to the need to develop new biomaterials, from sources other than the individual himself. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of an elastin and collagen matrix on the bone repair process in critical size defects in rat calvaria. The animals (Wistar rats, n = 30) were submitted to a surgical procedure to create the bone defect and were divided into three groups: Control Group (CG, n = 10), defects filled with blood clot; E24/37 Group (E24/37, n = 10), defects filled with bovine elastin matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 37 °C and C24/25 Group (C24/25, n = 10), defects filled with porcine collagen matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 25 °C. Macroscopic and radiographic analyses demonstrated the absence of inflammatory signs and infection. Microtomographical 2D and 3D images showed centripetal bone growth and restricted margins of the bone defect. Histologically, the images confirmed the pattern of bone deposition at the margins of the remaining bone and without complete closure by bone tissue. In the morphometric analysis, the groups E24/37 and C24/25 (13.68 ± 1.44; 53.20 ± 4.47, respectively) showed statistically significant differences in relation to the CG (5.86 ± 2.87). It was concluded that the matrices used as scaffolds are biocompatible and increase the formation of new bone in a critical size defect, with greater formation in the polymer derived from the intestinal serous layer of porcine origin (C24/25).     

Oxidative Epigallocatechin Gallate Coating on Polymeric Substrates for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Plant derived flavonoids have not been well explored in tissue engineering applications due to difficulties in efficient formulations with biomaterials for controlled presentation. Here, the authors report that surface coating of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on polymeric substrates including poly (L‐lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers can be performed via oxidative polymerization of EGCG in the presence of cations, enabling regulation of biological functions of multiple cell types implicated in bone regeneration. EGCG coating on the PLLA nanofiber promotes osteogenic differentiation of adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) and is potent to suppress adipogenesis of ADSCs while significantly reduces osteoclastic maturation of murine macrophages. Moreover, EGCG coating serves as a protective layer for ADSCs against oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide. Finally, the in vivo implantation of EGCG‐coated nanofibers into a mouse calvarial defect model significantly promotes the bone regeneration (61.52 ± 28.10%) as compared to defect (17.48 ± 11.07%). Collectively, the results suggest that EGCG coating is a simple bioinspired surface modification of polymeric biomaterials and importantly can thus serve as a promising interface for tuning activities of multiple cell types associated with bone fracture healing.     

Applications of coupled LC-GC: A review

Although coupled liquid chromatographygas chromatography (LC-GC) was first demonstrated ten years ago, only in the last few years has there been a sudden surge of interest in the technique. Approximately 70% of the total number of LC-GC applications have been published in the last two years (1987–88) alone. This review categorizes LC-GC publications into four main application areas: fossil fuels, foods, environmental samples, biologiical/pharmaceutical samples, and miscellaneous samples. Multidimensional separations carried out using other coupled-column chromatographic techniques (such as supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with GC, and on-line trace enrichment-GC) have also been included in this review.     

火焰原子吸收光谱法测定生物样品中锌、铜和锰

生物样品经消化处理后,用火焰原子吸收光谱法测定样品中锌、铜和锰的含量,平均加标回收率为97.3%-102.4%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为0.65 %-1.40%.锌、铜和锰在给定范围内呈现良好的线性关系,相关系数分别为0.9994、0.9994和0.9983,方法简便,快速,结果可靠.     

Phase modulation in dipolar-coupled A2 spin systems: effect of maximum state mixing in H NMR in vivo

Coupling constants of nuclear spin systems can be determined from phase modulation of multiplet resonances. Strongly coupled systems such as citrate in prostatic tissue exhibit a more complex modulation than AX connectivities, because of substantial mixing of quantum states. An extreme limit is the coupling of n isochronous spins (A_n system). It is observable only for directly connected spins like the methylene protons of creatine and phosphocreatine which experience residual dipolar coupling in intact muscle tissue in vivo. We will demonstrate that phase modulation of this “pseudo-strong” system is quite simple compared to those of AB systems. Theory predicts that the spin-echo experiment yields conditions as in the case of weak interactions, in particular, the phase modulation depends linearly on the line splitting and the echo time.     

色质联用技术在毒物分析中的应用

从生物样品中检测未知物,一直以来是毒物分析中的一个难点。如何有效地提取目标化合物,并选择适合的检测手段将未知物筛选出来,GC-MS方法是快速筛选多种毒物和药物的一个简便、可靠的手段。随着MS技术的不断发展,更灵敏、更准确的特性将使其成为药物和毒物分析中必不可少的一门技术。     

生物检材中氯敌鼠的LC-MS分析

氯敌鼠(chlorophacinone)为第一代抗凝血杀鼠剂,主要是拮抗维生素K1的活性,阻碍凝血酶原的合成,损害微血管,降低血液凝固能力,因而造成皮下出血和内脏大量出血而引起死亡。中毒潜伏期3～5天,死亡高峰为4～6天。氯敌鼠由于中毒潜伏期长,体内检测有一定难度,特别是经过抢救以后,体内含量降低,因此需要高灵敏度的方法进行检验。生物检材中氯敌鼠的分析,国内外均有报道,检测方法多用有机溶剂提取,HPLC法和紫外导数法分析。中国刑警学院谭家镒等人,采用GDX101大孔树脂提取,紫外导数法进行测定。有关用硅胶柱提取,LC-MS测定的方法未见报道。     

Long range one-dimensional ordering of lead phthalocyanine monolayer on InSb(1 0 0) (4 × 2)/c(8 × 2)

Sub-monolayer and monolayer of lead phthalocyanine deposited on InSb(1 0 0) (4 × 2)/c(8 × 2) surface have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction. Molecules first adsorb on the indium rows of the (4 × 2)/c(8 × 2) structure in the [1 1 0] direction and diffuse at the surface in order to form two-dimensional islands. The molecule-substrate interaction stabilizes the PbPc molecules on the In rows. It weakens the interaction between molecules located in adjacent rows resulting in numerous gliding planes between the molecular chains, in the direction parallel to the rows. At monolayer completion, a long-range one-dimensional order is adopted by the molecules in the [1 1 0] direction.