Excretion pattern investigation of urinary normal and modified nucleosides of breast cancer patients by RP-HPLC and factor analysis method

Modified nucleosides, formed post-transcriptionally in RNA by a number of modification enzymes, are excreted in abnormal levels in the urine of patients with malignant tumors. To test their usefulness as tumor markers, and to compare them with the conventional tumor markers, a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method and a factor analysis method have been used to study the excretion pattern of nucleosides of breast cancer patients. A clear cut differentiation of the breast cancer group and the healthy individuals in two clusters without overlapping was obtained. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analysis of two trace alkaloid isomers in Strychnos nux-vomical by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

According to their molecular mass and ESI-MSn data, the trace alkaloid isomers pseudostrychnine and strychnine N-oxide in extracts of the total alkaloids from Strychnos nux-vomical were qualitatively analyzed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) method after rough silica gel-column chromatographic separation. We also investigated the relationship between their fragmentation mechanism and structures of the two alkaloid isomers. A new method for quickly and highly sensitively analyzing the two alkaloid isomers was proposed.

Improvements in the selectivity of electrochemical detectors for liquid chromatography and flow injection analysis using the self-assembled n-alkanethiol monolayer-modified au electrode

4-Aminophenol (4-AP), paracetamol (PRCT), norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine (DA) (all somewhat hydrophobic compounds) were HPLC electrochemically detected while the signals from uric acid (UA) and ascorbic acid (AA) (both hydrophilic compounds at the pH studied) were minimized, taking advantage of the permselectivity of the self-assembled n-alkanethiol monolayer (C-10-SAM)-modified Au electrodes based on solute polarity, The effects of various factors, such as the chain length of the n-alkanethiol modifier, modifying time, and pH value, on the permeability of C-10-SAM coatings were examined, The calibration curves, linear response ranges, detection limits, and reproducibilities of the EC detector for 4-AP, PRCT, NE, and DA were obtained, The result shows that the EC detector can be applied in the chromatographic detection of 4-AP, PRCT, NE, and DA in urine, effectively removing the influence of UA and AA in high concentrations existing in biological samples. As a result, a great improvement in the selectivity of EC detectors has been achieved by using Au electrodes coated with neutral n-alkanethiol monolayer.

ELECTROCATALYTIC OXIDATION AND ION-CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETECTION OF BR-, I-, SO32-, S2O32- AND SCN- AT A PLATINUM PARTICLE-BASED GLASSY-CARBON MODIFIED ELECTRODE

A modified method for dispersing platinum particles on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode was investigated. The ultramicro Pt particle-modified electrode obtained exhibited high catalytic stability and activity towards the oxidation of some halide ions (Br-, I-) and inorganic sulfur species (S2O32-, SO32- and SCN-). These anions were separated and detected by using ion chromatography and electrochemical detection via this novel dispersed Pt particles-GC working electrode. The detection limits were 20 ng/ml for Br-, 1.0 ng/ml for I-, 10 ng/ml for SO32- and 4.0 ng/ml for SCN-. This method was employed for the analysis of industrial and environmental waste waters.

Simultaneous determination of monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters in rat endbrain tissues by pre-column derivatization with high-performance liquid chromatographic fluorescence detection and mass spectrometric identification

A sensitive and efficient method for simultaneous determination of glutamic acid (Glu), gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA), dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) in rat endbrains was developed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection and on-line mass spectrometric identification following derivatization with 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (BCEOC). Different parameters which influenced derivatization and separation were optimized. The complete separation of five neurotransmitter (NT) derivatives was performed on a reversed-phase Hypersil BDS-C-18 column with a gradient elution. The rapid structure identification of five neurotransmitter derivatives was carried out by on-line mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI) source in positive ion mode, and the BCEOC-labeled derivatives were characterized by easy-to-interpret mass spectra. Stability of derivatives, repeatability, precision and accuracy were evaluated and the results were excellent for efficient HPLC analysis. The quantitative linear range of five neurotransmitters were 2.441-2 x 10(4) nM, and limits of detection were in the range of 0.398-1.258 nM (S/N = 3:1). The changes of their concentrations in endbrains of three rat groups were also studied using this HPLC fluorescence detection method. The results indicated that exhausting exercise could obviously influence the concentrations of neurotransmitters in rat endbrains. The established method exhibited excellent validity, high sensitivity and convenience, and provided a new technique for simultaneous analysis of monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters in rat brain. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of primary aromatic amines using precolumn derivatization by HPLC fluorescence detection and online MS identification

2-(2-Phenyl-1H-phenanthro-[9,10-d]imidazole-1-yl)-acetic acid (PPIA) and 2-(9-acridone)-acetic acid (AAA), two novel precolumn fluorescent derivatization reagents, have been developed and compared for analysis of primary aromatic amines by high performance liquid chromatographic fluorescence detection coupled with online mass spectrometric identification. PPIA and AAA react rapidly and smoothly with the aromatic amines on the basis of a condensation reaction using 1-ethyl-3-(3dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) as dehydrating catalyst to form stable derivatives with emission wavelengths at 380 and 440 nm, respectively. Taking six primary aromatic amines (aniline, 2-methylaniline, 2-methoxyaniline, 4-methylaniline, 4-chloroaniline, and 4-bromoaniline) as testing compounds, derivatization conditions such as coupling reagent, basic catalyst, reaction temperature and time, reaction solvent, and fluorescent labeling reagent concentration have also been investigated. With the better PPIA method, chromatographic separation of derivatized aromatic amines exhibited a good baseline resolution on an RP column. At the same time, by online mass spectrometric identification with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source in positive ion mode, the PPIA-labeled derivatives were characterized by easy-to-interpret mass spectra due to the prominent protonated molecular ion m/z [M + H](+) and specific fragment ions (MS/MS) m/z 335 and 295. The linear range is 24.41 fmol-200.0 pmol with correlation coefficients in the range of 0.9996-0.9999, and detection limits of PPIA-labeled aromatic amines are 0.12-0.21 nmol/L (S/N = 3). Method repeatability, precision, and recovery were evaluated and the results were excellent for the efficient HPLC analysis. The most important argument, however, was the high sensitivity and ease-of-handling of the PPIA method. Preliminary experiments with wastewater samples collected from the waterspout of a paper mill and its nearby soil where pollution with aromatic amines may be expected show that the method is highly validated with little interference in the chromatogram.

Comparative analysis of allantoin quercetin, and 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid in Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. Seed by HPLC-APCI-MS and CE

This paper describes the simultaneous determination of allantoin, quercetin, and 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (MTCCA) in Nitraria tangutorum Bobr seed by HPLC-APCI-MS and CE (capillary electrophoresis) methods. The final optimized chromatographic conditions were investigated in a reversed-phase Eclipse XDB-C8 column (150 x 4.6 mm, 5 mu m). A seventeen-minute gradient elution, (A: aqueous acetonitrile 20% (v/v); B: aqueous acetonitrile 60% (v/v); C: pure acetonitrile 100%) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min was selected for the separation of three natural products with diode array detection (DAD) at 220 nm. A CE experiment was carried out in a fused silica capillary with 32 mmol/L boric acid (pH 10), 32 mmol/L SDS and acetonitrile (10.0%, v/v). The applied potential and temperature was, respectively, set at 19 kV and 25 degrees C. After development, the validation was performed in parallel for HPLC and CE, with the same standards and sample to avoid differences due to the manipulation. The validation parameters of both techniques were adequate for the intended purpose.

Determination of alcohols by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection after pre-column derivatisation with carbazole-9-N-acetic acid and chromatographic behaviour of alcoholic derivatives

Alcohols were derivatised to their carbazole-9-N-acetic acid (CRA) esters with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC . HCl) as the dehydrating agent. Studies on derivatisation conditions indicated that the coupling reaction proceeded rapidly and smoothly in the presence of a base catalyst in acetonitrile to give the corresponding sensitively fluorescent derivatives. The retention behaviour of alcohol derivatives was investigated by varying mobile phase compositions (ACN-water and MeOH-water). The parameters from the equation log k'=A-BX were evaluated by retention data of derivatives using an isocratic elution with different mobile phases. The results indicated that the parameters derived allowed computation of retention factors in good agreement with experiments. At the same time, a general equation was derived that makes possible predictions of partition coefficient in binary mobile phases with different proportions of organic solvent to water based on some simple regression analysis. The LC separation for the derivatised alcohols containing higher carbon alcohols showed good reproducibility on a reversed-phase C-18 column with gradient elution. The detection limits (excitation at 335 nm, emission at 360 nm) for derivatised alcohols (signal-to-noise ratio=3:1) were in the range of 0.1-0.4 pg per injection. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

New method for analysis of Chinese herbal complex prescription and its application

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a great treasure of China, the analysis of which is an arduous task. The viewpoint that all chemical constituents of Chinese herbal complex prescription should be analyzed as a black box is elucidated for the first time. Intelligent multi-mode multi-column chromatographic system (IMMCC) with its hybrids is the basic method and HPLC Unified Method is the breakthrough for the black box analysis. Dang-Gui-Bu-Xue-Tang was selected as a typical TCM and a systematic separation method from non-aqueous mobile phase to pure water mobile phase was put forward in order to convert unknown sample to known sample. The a, c values and UV spectra of 66 components of Astragalus, 78 components of Angelica and 71 components of Dang-Gui-Bu-Xue-Tang were obtained. Intelligent optimization and peak identification method and software for complex samples were developed and the optimum multi-step multi-binary gradient curve of mobile phase for Astragalus was ascertained. The maximum error and minimum error of predicted retention time for all components of Astragalus are 8.62% and 0.05% respectively. All components of Astragalus were compared with those of Angelica and it is found that many components of Astragalus are the same as those of Angelica, while the contents of these components are different. Many components of Dang-Gui-Bu-Xue-Tang are also the same as those of Astragalus and Angelica with different contents.

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic investigation of urinary normal and modified nucleosides of cancer patients

Post-transcriptional modifications in RNA give rise to free modified ribonucleosides circulating in the blood stream and excreted in urine. Due to their abnormal levels in conjunction with several tumor diseases, they have been suggested as possible tumor markers. The developed RP-HPLC method has been applied to analyze the urinary nucleosides in 34 urinary samples from 15 kinds of cancer patients. The statistical analyses showed the urinary nucleoside excretion, especially modified nucleoside levels, in cancer patients were significantly higher than those in normal healthy volunteers. Factor analysis was used to classify the patients with cancer and normal healthy humans. It was found that using 15 urinary nucleoside levels or only five modified nucleoside levels as data vectors the factor analysis plot displayed two almost separate clusters representing each group. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.