Gas‐phase copper and silver complexes with phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides investigated using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Efforts to improve agricultural productivity have led to a growing dependency on organophosphorus pesticides. Phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides are organophosphorus pesticide subclasses with widespread application for the control of insects feeding on vegetables and fruits. However, even low doses of these pesticides can cause neurological problems in humans; thus, their determination and monitoring in agricultural foodstuffs is important for human health. Phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides may be poorly ionized during electrospray, adversely affecting limits of detection. These pesticides can form complexes with Cu²⁺ and Ag⁺, however, potentially improving ionization. In the present work, we used electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) to study fenitrothion, parathion, diazinon, and malathion coordination complexes with silver and copper ions. Stable 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 metal/pesticide complexes were detected. Mass spectra acquired from pesticide solutions containing Ag⁺ or Cu²⁺ showed a significant increase in signal‐to‐background ratio over those acquired from solutions containing only the pesticides, with Ag⁺ improving detection more effectively than Cu²⁺. Addition of Ag⁺ to a pesticide solution improved the limit of detection by ten times. The relative affinity of each pesticide for Ag⁺ was related to complex stability, following the order diazinon > malathion > fenitrothion > parathion. The formation of Ag⁺–pesticide complexes can significantly improve the detection of phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides using ESI/MS. The technique could potentially be used in reactive desorption electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry to detect phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides on fruit and vegetable skins. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orthogonal Activation of RNA‐Cleaving DNAzymes in Live Cells by Reactive Oxygen Species

RNA‐cleaving DNAzymes are useful tools for intracellular metal‐ion sensing and gene regulation. Incorporating stimuli‐responsive modifications into these DNAzymes enables their activities to be spatiotemporally and chemically controlled for more precise applications. Despite the successful development of many caged DNAzymes for light‐induced activation, DNAzymes that can be intracellularly activated by chemical inputs of biological importance, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), are still scarce. ROS like hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and hypochlorite (HClO) are critical mediators of oxidative stress‐related cell signaling and dysregulation including activation of immune system as well as progression of diseases and aging. Herein, we report ROS‐activable DNAzymes by introducing phenylboronate and phosphorothioate modifications to the Zn²⁺‐dependent 8–17 DNAzyme. These ROS‐activable DNAzymes were orthogonally activated by H₂O₂ and HClO inside live human and mouse cells.     

二乙氧基硫代磷酸酯类有机磷农药单链抗体的制备及广谱特异性

从分泌抗二乙氧基硫代磷酸酯类有机磷农药(DPPs)单克隆抗体(MAb)的杂交瘤细胞系(12C2)中提取了总RNA, 经RT-PCR反转录成cDNA, 设计带linker引物, 采用重叠延伸PCR制备单链抗体(scFv)基因, 将其克隆到噬菌体载体p3MH中, 构建成噬菌体单链抗体表达载体, 转化大肠杆菌表达出噬菌体表面展示scFv, 对经过Phage-ELISA鉴定的阳性克隆进行噬菌体外壳蛋白基因geneⅢ的去除, 用IPTG诱导其可溶性表达, 对表达产物进行SDS-PAGE, Western-Blot及ELISA鉴定, 并与亲本MAb进行性能对比. 结果表明, 可溶性表达的scFv分子量为27000; scFv与DPPs的交叉反应率比其亲本MAb提高了1.3~3.5倍, 表明其广谱特异性有所提高. 由于scFv与MAb相比具有诸多优点, 因此本研究为有机磷农药多残留检测方法的建立提供了一种更广谱、 更灵敏的新型识别分子.     

Desulfurization of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides via the sulfur‐by‐oxygen replacement induced by the hydroxyl radical during negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

While the occurrence of desulfurization of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides in solution is well established, this study represents the first attempt to investigate the basis of the unexpected desulfurization via the net sulfur‐by‐oxygen (S‐O) replacement during negative electrospray ionization (ESI). The current work, facilitated by quantitative mass deconvolution, demonstrates that considerable desulfurization can take place even under common negative ESI operating conditions. The extent of desulfurization is dependent on the molar phosphorothioate oligonucleotide‐to‐hydroxyl radical ratio, which is consistent with the corona discharge‐induced origin of the hydroxyl radical leading to the S‐O replacement. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that an increase of the high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) flow rate and the on‐column concentration of a phosphorothioate oligonucleotide, as well as a decrease of the electrospray voltage reduce the degree of desulfurization. Comparative LC‐tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) sequencing of a phosphorothioate oligonucleotide and its corresponding desulfurization product revealed evidence that the S‐O replacement occurs at multiple phosphorothioate internucleotide linkage sites. In practice, the most convenient and effective strategy for minimizing this P = O artifact is to increase the LC flow rate and the on‐column concentration of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides. Another approach to mitigate possible detrimental effects of the undesired desulfurization is to operate the ESI source at a very low electrospray voltage to diminish the corona discharge; however this will significantly compromise sensitivity when analyzing the low‐level P = O impurities in phosphorothioate oligonucleotides. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Air sampling of organophosphate triesters using SPME under non-equilibrium conditions

Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) was used to collect air samples of semi-volatile organophosphate triesters, a group of compounds that are commonly used as flame retardants/plasticisers and have therefore become ubiquitous indoor air pollutants. SPME is a simple sampling technique with several major advantages, including time-efficiency and low solvent consumption. Analyte losses also tend to be relatively low. In quantitative SPME, measurements are normally taken after the analyte has reached partitioning equilibrium between the fibre and the sample matrix. However, equilibrium sampling of semi-volatile compounds in air with SPME often takes several hours. Clearly, time-weighted average (TWA) sampling using SPME under non-equilibrium conditions could be considerably faster. So, in this study, the possibility of sampling organophosphate triesters under non-equilibrium conditions was tested. The most important variables proved to be the fibre coating and the air velocity during sampling. The highest uptake rate was obtained with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, 100 m). The rate for this fibre was 150-fold higher than obtained with PDMS/DVB and Carbowax/DVB, both 65 m. Contrary to theoretical expectations, the uptake rate appeared to be constant for all tested air velocities over the fibre surface >7 cm/s. These findings suggest that the uptake rate for non-equilibrium SPME sampling is independent of the sampling flow above this flow rate, which would considerably enhance the robustness and flexibility of the method. Applying this method for TWA sampling, with sampling periods of 1 h, detection limits lower than 2 ng/m³ for individual organophosphate esters were obtained.     

Miniaturized dynamic liquid-liquid extraction of organophosphate triesters from blood plasma using the hollow fibre-based XT-tube extractor

A miniaturized liquid–liquid extractor for bioanalytical sample preparation is described. The extractor consists of a polypropylene hollow fibre mounted inside polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubing by means of a cross (X) connector and a tee (T) connector. All parts are commercially available, inexpensive, and easily assembled. The aqueous sample, injected into a carrier flow, is pumped along the outside of the fibre and the organic phase, which also wets the pores of the hollow fibre wall, is pumped inside. Eight organophosphate triester (OPE) plasticisers/flame retardants were extracted from 50 µL spiked blood plasma that had been mixed with 50 µL formic acid to denature plasma proteins. The organic phase was a mixture of hexane and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). A high concentration of formic acid in the sample and of MTBE in the organic phase had positive effects on the recovery of some OPE. When investigating the recovery as a function of extraction time it was found that the extraction reached a maximum after 10 min, at a flow-rate of 15 µL min^–1. Recoveries varied between 40 and 80% with RSD around 4% for most compounds. The whole 150-µL extract was injected into a GC–MS system equipped with a programmed-temperature vaporization (PTV) injector. With the MS in selected-ion monitoring (SIM) mode, the LOD for triphenyl phosphate and 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate were 0.3 and 0.2 ng mL^–1, respectively. More than 40 plasma extractions were performed with the same fibre without any detectable change in extraction efficiency.     

硫代反义寡核苷酸药物FT19有关物质的分析

为了进行硫代反义寡核苷酸药物FT19的质量控制研究,建立了用阴离子交换高效液相色谱(AX-HPLC)和毛细管凝胶电泳(CGE)分析自行合成的FT19有关物质的方法。设计合成了FT19的硫代不完全序列(P=O)1和短序列(n-x)并将它们作为已知杂质。在AX-HPLC上,使用的分析柱为DNA Pac PA-100 (4 mm×250 mm);流动相A为10 mmol/L NaOH-0.1 mol/L NaCl,流动相B为10 mmol/L NaOH-3 mol/L NaCl;梯度洗脱条件为流动相B液在8 min内从60%升至100%;流速1 mL/min;柱温40 ℃;检测波长为260 nm。CGE所用毛细管规格为内径100 μm,总长度为31 cm,有效长度为20 cm;电泳缓冲溶液为三羟甲基氨基甲烷（Tris）-硼酸-7 mol/L尿素,pH 8.5;采用电动进样,进样电压-10 kV;分离胶为250 g/L的聚丙烯酰胺;检测波长为254 nm。结果表明,FT19与硫代不完全的(P=O)1序列在AX-HPLC上能够达到基线分离,与短序列(n-1)在CGE上能达到基线分离。说明AX-HPLC和CGE联合应用能够很好地分析FT19中的有关物质。     

Synthesis,Spectroscopic, and Antimicrobial Activity Studies of Novel 10-Substituted Camptothecin Phosphorothioate Analogs

Abstract

A series of title compounds 2 and 3 were efficiently synthesized via the condensation of 10–hydroxycamptothecin with various symmetric (O,O′-monoaryl)-thiophosphoryl chlorides and asymmetric (O-ethyl-O′-aryl)-thiophosphoryl chlorides in sodium hydroxide powder and acetonitrile system. The structures of title compounds 2 and 3 were confirmed by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ³¹P[¹H] NMR,and mass spectral data. These symmetric [(O,O′-monoaryl)-thiophosphoryl)]-(20S)-camptothecin (2a–f) and asymmetric [(O-ethyl-O′-aryl)-thiophosphoryl)]-(20S)-camptothecin (3a–f) compounds were also tested for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against some bacterial strains, namely, S. aureus, B. Simplex, E. acetylicum, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. flexenari, S. aureus, S. typhi, and some fungal strains Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus (molds), S. cerevisiae, C. albicans, T. longifucus, A. flavus, M. canis, F. solani, and C. glaberata (yeasts).

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the related elements to view the free supplemental file.     

Synthesis and Biological Activities of O-Alkyl,O-Aryl,O-{Z-[1-Phenyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)ethylidene]amino} Phosphorothioates

A series of title compounds 2 were efficiently synthesized via the condensation of 1-phenyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)ethanone oxime with various asymmetric thiophosphoryl chlorides in sodium hydroxide powder and acetonitrile system. The structures of title compounds 2 were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, ³¹P NMR, EI-MS, and elemental analysis. The results of preliminary bioassays indicated that the title compounds 2 possessed good to moderate insecticidal activity against aphides at the dosage of 250 mg/L, and some of them exhibited moderate fungicidal activities at the concentration of 100 mg/L.