Relationships between microcystins and environmental parameters in 30 subtropical shallow lakes along the Yangtze River, China

1. A survey of 30 subtropical shallow lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River area in China was conducted during July-September in 2003-2004 to study how environmental and biological variables were associated with the concentration of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin (MC). 2. Mean MC concentration in seasonally river-connected lakes (SL) was nearly 33 times that in permanently river-connected lakes (RL), and more than six times that in city lakes (NC) and non-urban lakes (NE) which were not connected to the Yangtze River. The highest MC (8.574 mu g L-1) was detected in Dianshan Lake. 3. MC-RR and MC-LR were the primary toxin variants in our data. MC-RR, MC-YR and MC-LR were significantly correlated with Ch1 a, biomass of cyanobacteria, Microcystis and Anabaena, indicating that microcystins were mainly produced by Microcystis and Anabaena sp. in these lakes. 4. Nonlinear interval maxima regression indicated that the relationships of Secchi depth, total nitrogen (TN) : total phosphorus UP) and NH4+ with MC were characterised by negative exponential curves. The relationships between MC and TN, TP, NO3- + NO2- were fitted well with a unimodal curve. 5. Multivariate analyses by principal component and classifying analysis indicated that MC was mainly affected by Microcystis among the biological factors, and was closely related with temperature among physicochernical factors.

In situ studies on the bioaccumulation of microcystins in the phytoplanktivorous silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) stocked in Lake Taihu with dense toxic Microcystis blooms

The phytoplanktivorous silver carp is an important biomanipulation fish to control cyanobacterial blooms and is also a food fish with the greatest production in China. The accumulation of the hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs) determined by LC-MS in various organs of silver carp was studied monthly in Lake Taihu dominated by toxic Microcystis aeruginosa. Average recoveries of spiked fish samples were 78% for MC-RR and 81% for MC-LR. The highest content of MCs was found in the intestine (97.48 mu g g(-1) DW), followed by liver (6.84 mu g g(-1) DW), kidney (4.8 8 mu g g(-1) DW) and blood (1.54 mu g g(-1) DW), and the annual mean MC content was in the order of intestine > liver > kidney > blood > muscle > spleen > gallbladder > gill. Silver carp could effectively ingest toxic Microcystis cells (up to 84.4% of total phytoplankton in gut contents), but showed fast growth (from 141 g to 1759 g in I year in mean weight). Silver carp accumulated less microcystins in liver than other animals in the same site or other fish from different water bodies at similar level of toxin ingestion. There was possible inhibition of the transportation of the most toxic MC-LR across the gutwall. Muscle of silver carp in Lake Taihu should not be consumed during period of dense Microcystis blooms while viscera were risky for consumption in more months. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

First report of aphantoxins in China - waterblooms of toxigenic Aphanizomenon flos-aquae in Lake Dianchi

The oligohaline cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (L.) Ralfs (A. flos-aquae) has been reported in several countries to produce paralytic shellfish poisons (PSPs) or protracted toxic effects. In the past years, A. flos-aquae blooms have occurred annually in the eutrophic Lake Dianchi (300 km(2) in area, located in southwestern China). Material from natural blooms dominated by A. flosaquae was collected and lyophilized. Acute toxicity testing was performed by mouse bioassay using extracts from the lyophilized material. Clear symptoms of PSPs, intoxications were observed. To confirm the production of PSPs, a strain of A. flos-aquae (DC-1) was isolated and maintained in culture. Histopathological effects were studied by examining the organ damages using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Slight hepatocytic damage with swollen mitochondria was found. The ultrastructural pulmonary lesions were characterized by distortied nuclei and indenting of karyotheca, together with degeneration and tumefaction of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. Control animals injected with acetic acid did not exhibit histopathological damage in any organ. Toxic effects of cultured algal cells on enzymatic systems in the mouse were studied using sublethal doses of extracts. Significant glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) increases, together with decrease of the glutathione (GSH) level, were measured. These results indicated a potential role of PSPs intoxicating and metabolizing in the test animals. HPLC-FLD and LC/MS analysis of extracts from cultured material demonstrated the PSP toxins produced by A. flos-aquae bloom. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting chemically and toxicologically confirmed PSP toxins related to A. flosaquae in China. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Seasonal dynamics of the hepatotoxic microcystins in various organs of four freshwater bivalves from the large eutrophic Lake Taihu of subtropical China and the risk to human consumption

So far, little is known on the distribution of hepatotoxic microcystin (MC) in various organs of bivalves, and there is no study on MC accumulation in bivalves from Chinese waters. Distribution pattern and seasonal dynamics of MC-LR, -YR and -RR in various organs (hepatopancreas, intestine, visceral mass, gill, foot, and rest) of four edible freshwater mussels (Anodonta woodiana, Hyriopsis cumingii, Cristaria plicata, and Lamprotula leai) were studied monthly during Oct. 2003-Sep. 2004 in Lake Taihu with toxic cyanobacterial blooms in the summer. Qualitative and quantitative determinations of MCs in the organs were done by LC-MS and HPLC. The major toxins were present in the hepatopancreas (45.5-55.4%), followed by visceral mass with substantial amount of gonad (27.6-35.5%), whereas gill and foot were the least (1.8-5.1%). The maximum MC contents in the hepatopancreas, intestine, visceral mass, gill, foot, and rest were 38.48, 20.65, 1.70, 0.64, 0.58, and 0.61 mu g/g DW, respectively. There were rather good positive correlation in MC contents between intestines and hepatopancreas of the four bivalves (r = 0.75-0.97, p < 0.05). There appeared to be positive correlations between the maximum MC content in the hepatopancreas and the delta(13)C (r = 0.919) or delta(15)N (r = 0.878) of the foot, indicating that the different MC content in the hepatopancreas might be due to different food ingestion. A glutathione (GSH) conjugate of MC-LR was also detected in the foot sample of C. plicata. Among the foot samples analyzed, 54% were above the provisional WHO tolerable daily intake (TDI) level, and the mean daily intakes from the four bivalves were 8-23.5 times the TDI value when the bivalves are eaten as a whole, suggesting the high risk of consuming bivalves in Lake Taihu. (C) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In vivo studies on toxin accumulation in liver and ultrastructural changes of hepatocytes of the phytoplanktivorous bighead carp i.p.-injected with extracted microcystins

Phytoplanktivorous bighead carp were injected i.p. with extracted microcystins (mainly MC-RR and -LR) at two doses, 200 and 500 MC-LReq. mu g kg(-1) bw, and the changes in extractable MCs in liver and in the ultrastructure of hepatocytes were studied at 1, 3, 12, 24 and 48 h after injection. Quantitative and qualitative determinations of MCs in the liver were conducted by HPLC and LC-MS, respectively. MC concentration in the liver reached the maxima at 12 It (2.89 mu g MCs g(-1) dry weight at the lower dose) or at 3 h (5.43 mu g MCs g(-1) dry weight at the higher dose) post-injection, followed by sharp declines afterwards, whereas the ultrastructural changes of hepatocytes in both dose groups suggest progressive increases in severity toward the directions of apoptosis and necrosis from I to 24 h, respectively. There were two new findings in fish: widening of intercellular spaces was among the early ultrastructural changes induced by MCs and ultrastructural recovery of hepatocytes was evident at 48 h post-injection in both dose groups. Both the present and previous studies suggest that with in vivo or in vitro exposure to microcystins, hepatocyte damage in fish tends to proceed toward the direction of apoptosis at lower MC concentrations but toward the direction of necrosis at high MC concentrations. The temporal dynamics of MCs in the liver suggest that bighead carp may have a mechanism to degrade or bind MC-LR actively after it enters the blood system. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolation and Characterization of a Methomyl-Degrading Paracoccus sp mdw-1

Methomyl, an extremely toxic pesticide, is widely used in agriculture. A strain named mdw-1 capable of degrading methomyl rapidly was successfully isolated from activated sludge in this study. It could utilize methomyl as the sole carbon or nitrogen source. The optimal temperature and medium pH for its growth and methomyl biodegradation were 30 degrees C and 7.0, respectively. It was identified as a Paracoccus sp. according to its morphological features, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and phylogenetic analysis based on the sequence of 16S rDNA. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that methomyl could be completely transformed to S-methyl-N-hydroxythioacetamidate in 10 h of incubation with the isolate mdw-1.

中药射干的化学成分研究

本学位论文由4章组成。第一章是论文的主体，报道了中药射干的化学成分研究。第二章是中药射干代用品川射干的化学成分研究，并附带报道了西番莲化学成分的研究结果。第三章是射干、川射干及西番莲提取物化学成分串联质谱分析的报道。第四章为综述，概述了射干及鸢尾属植物的化学成分和药理研究进展。 在第一和二章中分别报道了射干（Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC.）、川射干 （Iris tectorum Maxim.）及西番莲（Passiflora incarnate L.）化学成分的分离纯化与结构鉴定。采用正、反相硅胶柱层析、凝胶柱层析、薄层制备及HPLC等各种分离方法，从三种药用植物中共分离出68个不同的化合物，其中61个的结构得 得以鉴定，另外4个化合物的结构正在鉴定中，3个由于量少且有点杂质未作进一步的鉴定。 中药射干（Rhizoma Belamcandae）为射干植物的干燥根茎，从中共分离出53个化合物，通过红外、质谱及核磁共振等波谱方法鉴定了包括12个新化合物在内的48个，结构类型分别属于iridal型三萜及其新颖的二聚体、异黄酮、黄酮及黄酮醇、香豆素、甾体、芳香酸和脂肪酸及其甘油酯等。新化合物中有两个异黄酮类化合物，其结构分别鉴定为5,7,8,4′-四羟基-6-甲氧基异黄酮和5,6-二羟基-4′-甲氧基异黄酮-7-O-β-D-吡喃葡萄糖苷；八个新的iridal型三萜化合物分别鉴定为鸢尾烯（L）、16-甲氧基鸢尾烯、16-去羟基鸢尾烯、2-(E)-16-去羟基鸢尾烯、16-去羟基鸢尾烯B、3-乙酰基-16-去羟基鸢尾烯、iristectoroneL和iristectoroneM；两个结构骨架新颖的双三萜，分别命名为射干素A和射干素B，其分离纯化的困难以及结构的新颖和复杂突显出该论文的科学意义。除这些新化合物外，还有9个已知化合物为首次从中药射干中分离得到。此外，从中药射干的代用品川射干中分离得到7个已知化合物，主要是黄酮类成分及iridal型三萜化合物，其中1个三萜化合物为从射干中分离鉴定的新成分。另外还从西番莲中分离出8个化合物，鉴定了其中的6个，主要为黄酮碳苷。 第三章是关于射干、川射干及西番莲提取物化学成分的ESI-MS-MS分析，在初步探讨了从这些植物中分离鉴定出的一些异黄酮及黄酮碳苷的质谱裂解规律基础上，通过质谱和串联质谱分析，定性和半定量地检测了射干和川射干中主要的异黄酮成分以及西番莲中的黄酮碳苷成分，为这些药材品质的快速鉴定提供了一种简便方法。 第四章概述了射干及鸢尾属药用植物的化学和药理研究进展，特别是对其中异黄酮及三萜类成分的研究进展进行了深入系统的综述。 This dissertation is composed by four chapters. The first and second chapter reports the phytochemical investigation of three medicine plants, Belamcanda chinensis (L.)DC., Iris tectorum Maxim. and Passiflora incarnate L. Sixty eight different compounds were isolated and sixty one of them were identified. The third chapter described rapid ESI-MS-MS analysis of B. chinensis, I. tectorum, and P. incarnate. The forth part is a review about the progress of studies on the chemical constituents from Belamcanda chinensis and Iris species. Fifty-three compounds were isolated from Rhizoma Belamcandae, the rhizomes of B. chinensis by the methods of column chromatography (normal and reversed phase silica gel, Sephadex LH-20), preparative TLC and HPLC. On the basis of spectroscopic methods including IR, ESI-MS, 1-D and 2-D NMR, forty eight of them were identified as seventeen flavonoids, seventeen tritepenoids, one cumarin, five steroids and some benzene derivative etc. Among them, the structures of twelve new compounds were elucidated as 6-methoxy-5,7,8,4′-tetrahydryoxyisoflavoe, 4′-methoxy-5,6-dihydroxyisoflavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, iristectorene L, 16-methoxyisoiridogermanal, 16-dehydroxyisoiridogermanal, 2-(E)-16-dehydroxy isoiridogermanal, 16-dehydroxyiristectorene B, 3-acetyl-16-dehydroxyisoiridoger- manal, iristectorone L, iristectorone M, belamcandene A and belamcandene B. Last two new compounds are dimer of triterpenoids with a novel carbon skeleton. Beside the new compounds, nine known ones were isolated from this plant for the first time. Isolation of I. tectorum yielded seven compounds. On the basis of spectroscopic methods including ESI-MS, NMR and the comparison with authentic samples, three of them were determined as isoflavone, two of them were triterpenoids, and other two were β-sitosterol and apocynin. All of them are known compounds except one of iridal type triterpenoid, 16-dehydroxyiristectorene B, which also obtained from B. chinensis as a new compound. Isolation of P. incarnate yielded eight compounds. Six of them were determined on the basis of spectroscopic methods including ESI-MS, NMR and the comparison with authentic samples. Four of them are flavone-C-gluconside, and two are steroids. The third chapter describes the tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS-MS) analysis of the isoflavonoids from B. chinensis and I. tectorum, as well as C-glycosyl-flavonoide from P. incarnate, in order to explore the rapid methodology of validating the quality of the herbs. In addition, the fractionation rules of some iosflavonoids and C-glycosyl-flavonoids were discussed. The fourth chapter summarizes the research development on chemistry and pharmacology of medicine plants of B.chinensis and Iris species.

Separation of enantiomers by nanoliquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography using a bonded cellulose trisphenylcarbamate stationary phase

A cellulose trisphenylcarbamate-bonded chiral stationary phase was applied to nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) with nonaqueous and aqueous solutions as the mobile phases. Several chiral compounds were successfully resolved on the prepared phase by nano-LC. The applicability of nonaqueous CEC on a cellulose derivative stationary phase was investigated with the organic solvents methanol, hexane, 2-propanol, and tetrahydrofuran (THF) containing acetic acid, as well as triethylamine as the mobile phases. Enantiomers of warfarin and praziquantel were baseline-resolved with plate numbers of 82 300 and 38 800 plates/m, respectively, for the first eluting enantiomer. The influence of applied voltage, concentration of nonpolar solvent, apparent pH, and buffer concentration in the mobile phase on the electroosmotic flow (EOF) and the mobility of the enantiomers was evaluated. Enantioseparations of traps-stilbene oxide and praziquantel were also achieved in aqueous CEC with plate numbers of 111 100 and 107 400 plates/m, respectively, for the first eluting enantiomer. A comparison between nonaqueous CEC and aqueous CEC based on a cellulose trisphenylcarbamate stationary phase was discussed. Pressure-assisted CEC was examined for the chiral separation of praziquantel and faster analysis with high enantioselectivity was acquired with the proper pressurization of the inlet vial.

高效液相色谱-质谱法测定花生中的植物螯合肽

以镉胁迫花生为原料,建立了液相色谱-电喷雾电离质谱联用仪测定花生中的植物螯合肽的LC-MS方法。以C18反相柱为分析柱,1%三氟乙酸、乙腈为梯度洗脱淋洗液,能够检测出花生中的植物螯合肽。在本实验条件下,检出限为0.2 mg/L;线性范围在0.50～20.0 mg/L(r≥0.9974);回收率大于80%。方法灵敏度高,实用性强。应用本方法对实际花生样品中的PC4进行了定量分析。初步证实了花生中存在丙氨酸类植物螯合肽。结果表明,受镉胁迫的花生中均检出不同浓度的PC4。

The effect of nocodazole on the transfection efficiency of lipid-bilayer coated gold nanoparticles

Nonviral vectors are safer than viral systems for gene therapy applications. However, the limited efficacy always prevents their being widely used in clinical practice. Aside from searching new gene nonviral vectors, many researchers focus on finding out new substances to improve the transfection efficiency of existent vectors. In this work, we found a transfection enhancer, nocodazole (NCZ), for dimethyldioctadecylammonium (DODAB, a cationic lipid) bilayer coated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) mediated gene delivery. It was found that NCZ produces 3-fold transfection enhancement to HEK 293T cells assessed by flow cytometry (FCM). The result was further confirmed by luciferase assay, in which NCZ induced more than 5 times improvement in transfection efficiency after 48 h of transfection. The results from the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and FCM showed that NCZ did not affect the internalization of DODAB-AuNPs/DNA complexes. The trafficking of the complexes by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that the interrupted transportation of the complexes to the lysosomes contributed greatly to the transfection enhancement.

Acid effects on protein molecular weight determination

The acid effects of some proteins on measuring their molecular weights were studied using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry ( MALDI-TOF-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). It was found that the signal intensity was enhanced through adjusting the acid concentration in some protein samples. In this paper, both MALDI-MS and ESI-MS was applied to examine the molecular weights of several standard proteins. And the proper acid concentration was detected in these spectra. In the meanwhile, it demonstrates that some associations of proteins in solution can be preserved into the gas phase and observed by the "soft ionization" mass spectrometry.

人参四逆汤成分的研究

利用ESI/MS~n、LC/MS、MALDI-TOF/MS等技术,从人参四逆汤水煎液中分析和鉴定了10种二萜生物碱:苯甲酰中乌头碱benzoylmesaconitine、苯甲酰乌头碱henzoylaconitine、苯甲酰次乌头碱benzoylhypacoitine、尼奥灵neoline、附子灵fuziline、14-乙酰基塔拉地萨敏14-acetyl-talatisamine、苯甲酰次乌头碱亚油酸酯14-benzoylhypaconine-8-linoleate、苯甲酰去氧乌头碱亚油酸酯14-benzoydeoxyaconine-8-oleate、苯甲酰次乌头碱棕榈酸酯14-benzoylhypaconine-8-palmitate、塔拉地萨敏talatisamine和人参皂甙R_(a1)、R_(a2)、R_(b1)、R_(b2)、R_(b3)、R_c、R_d、R_e、R_(g1)、R_(g2)、R_(g3)、R_f等12种人参皂甙。脂肪酸酯型生物碱和苯甲酰类生物碱的提取组分有抗失血性休克作用和弱的正性肌力作用。人参皂甙的提取组分具有明显的负性肌力作用。

Studies of non-covalent protein complexes by MALDI methods

Several specific non-covalent protein complexes were successfully observed by matrix assisted desorption ionization mass spectrometry(MALDI MS). The methods described in this paper include the matrixes use of sinapinic acid(SA) and 6-aza-2-thiothymine (ATT) in neutral pH solution, as well as the improvement of two-layer sample preparation method to achieve a high sensitivity detection of stable non-covalent complexes, Myoglobin-heme complex was found simultaneously with the sinapinic acid matrix in the various pH solution(pH=2 or pH=5), The RNase S complex showed a striking intensity at the first shot, which was decreased with more laser shots. Most importantly, the observation of specific non-covalent complex in the brome mosaic virus(BMV) coat proteins would open up a new possibility to investigate the assembly and disassembly of viral capsids.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization of ginsenosides

Molecular weight of 8 ginsenosides and the component of total saponions in American ginseng have been determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). The average error of the molecular weight of each ginsenoside was found less than 0.05%. The results demonstrate that MALDI-MS is a very simple and useful method to measure the molecular weight of some high polar, thermal unstable small molecules with high sensitivity and reproducibility.

Synthesis, extraction and electronic structure of Ce@C-2n

In view of the growing interest in endohedral lanthanide fullerenes, Ce, as a typical +4 oxidation state lanthanide element, has been systematically studied. The synthesis, extraction and electronic structure of Ce@C-2n are investigated. Soot containing Ce@C-2n was synthesized in high yield by carbonizing CeO2-containing graphite rods and are back-burning the CeC2-enriched cathode deposit in a DC are plasma apparatus. Ce@C-2n, dominated by Ce@C-82, can be efficiently extracted from the insoluble part of the soot after toluene Soxhlet extraction by pyridine at high temperature and high pressure in a closed vessel. About 60% Ce@C-2n (2n = 82,80,78,76) and 35% Ce@C-82 can be enriched in the pyridine extract. This fact is identified by desorption electron impact mass spectrometry (DEI MS). The electronic structure of Ce@C-2n is analyzed by using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) of pyridine-free film. It is suggested that the encapsulated Ce atom is in a charge state close to +3 and was effectively protected from reaction with water and oxygen by the enclosing fullerene cage. Unlike theoretical expectation, the electronic state of Ce@C-82 is formally described as Ce+3@C-82(3-). (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.