Study of transaldolase deficiency in urine samples by capillary LC-MS/MS.
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Transaldolase (TAL) is a key enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). TAL deficiency is a newly recognized cause of liver cirrhosis. We have developed an ion-pair LC separation combined with negative ion electrospray MS/MS detection method to assess PPP metabolites in urine samples from TAL-deficient mice. Sedoheptulose 7-phosphate (S7P), C5-polyols D-arabitol and D-ribitol, and 6-phosphogluconate (6PG) levels were markedly increased in urine of TAL-deficient mice with respect to those of wild-type and heterozygote littermates. The detection limits of S7P, D-arabitol, and 6PG were 0.15 +/- 0.015 pmol, 3.5 +/- 0.41 pmol, and 0.61 +/- 0.055 pmol, respectively. The limit of quantitation was 0.4 +/- 0.024 nmol/ml for S7P, 1.6 +/- 0.11 nmol/ml for 6PG and 10 +/- 0.7 nmol/ml for D-arabitol. Additional metabolites, hexose 6-phosphates (m/z 259), D-ribose 5-phosphate and D-xylulose 5-phosphate (m/z 229), D-fructose 1,6-diphosphate (m/z 339), C6-polyols (m/z 181) and GSSG (m/z 611), that have been positively identified in mouse urine, showed similar levels in control and TAL-deficient mice. (+info)
Porous polyacrylamide monoliths in hydrophilic interaction capillary electrochromatography of oligosaccharides.
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Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) of oligosaccharides in porous polyacrylamide monoliths has been explored. While it is possible to alter separation capacity for various compounds by copolymerization of suitable separation ligands in the polymerization backbone, "blank" acrylamide matrix is also capable of sufficient resolution of oligosaccharides in the hydrophilic interaction mode. The "blank" acrylamide network, formed with a more rigid crosslinker, provides maximum efficiency for separations (routinely up to 350,000 theoretical plates/m for fluorescently-labeled oligosaccharides). These columns yield a high spatial resolution of the branched glycan isomers and large column permeabilities. From the structural point of view, some voids are observable in the monoliths at the mesoporous range (mean pore radius ca. 35 nm, surface area of 74 m2/g), as measured by intrusion porosimetry in the dry state. (+info)
1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced alterations of glutathione status in immortalized rat dopaminergic neurons.
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Decreased glutathione levels associated with increased oxidative stress are a hallmark of numerous neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease. GSH is an important molecule that serves as an anti-oxidant and is also a major determinant of cellular redox environment. Previous studies have demonstrated that neurotoxins can cause changes in reduced and oxidized GSH levels; however, information regarding steady state levels remains unexplored. The goal of this study was to characterize changes in cellular GSH levels and its regulatory enzymes in a dopaminergic cell line (N27) following treatment with the Parkinsonian toxin, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)). Cellular GSH levels were initially significantly decreased 12 h after treatment, but subsequently recovered to values greater than controls by 24 h. However, oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels were increased 24 h following treatment, concomitant with a decrease in GSH/GSSG ratio prior to cell death. In accordance with these changes, ROS levels were also increased, confirming the presence of oxidative stress. Decreased enzymatic activities of glutathione reductase and glutamate-cysteine ligase by 20-25% were observed at early time points and partly account for changes in GSH levels after MPP(+) exposure. Additionally, glutathione peroxidase activity was increased 24 h following treatment. MPP(+) treatment was not associated with increased efflux of glutathione to the medium. These data further elucidate the mechanisms underlying GSH depletion in response to the Parkinsonian toxin, MPP(+). (+info)
Analysis of [3',3'-d(2)]-nicotine and [3',3'-d(2)]-cotinine by capillary liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.
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A selective and sensitive LC/MS/MS assay was developed for the quantification of d(2)-nicotine and d(2)-cotinine in plasma of current and past smokers administered d(2)-nicotine. After solid phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction, HPLC separation was achieved on a capillary hydrophilic interaction chromatography phase column. The analytes were monitored by tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray positive ionization. Linear calibration curves were generated for d(2)-nicotine (0.03-6.0 ng/ml plasma) and d(2)-cotinine (0.15-25 ng/ml plasma). The lower limits of quantitation were 0.15 ng/ml and 0.25 ng/ml for d(2)-nicotine and d(2)-cotinine, respectively. The coefficient of variation was 3.7% for d(2)-nicotine and 2.5% for d(2)-cotinine. The method was applied to two ongoing studies of d(2)-nicotine metabolism in prior and current smokers. Preliminary analysis of a subset of subjects from these studies detected a significantly lower rate of nicotine conversion to cotinine by past smokers compared to current smokers. (+info)
Component and antioxidant properties of polysaccharide fractions isolated from Angelica sinensis (OLIV.) DIELS.
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An analytical method of high performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) was developed to simultaneously separate and identify the component monosaccharides of Angelica sinensis polysaccharide fractions (APFs), named APF1, APF2 and APF3. The predominant sugars in APFs were identified as arabinose, glucose, rhamnose, galactose and galacturonic acid as well as trace amount of mannose and glucuronic acid, and the fractionation altered significantly the distribution of component monosaccharides in APFs. APF3 was the most active fraction to effectively inhibit H(2)O(2)-caused decrease of cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) formation, and also reduced H(2)O(2)-caused decline of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and glutathione (GSH) depletion (p<0.05), followed by APF2 and APF1 in decreasing order. Furthermore, it was found that APFs (100 microg/ml) could protect macrophages by inhibiting the release of excess NO and reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by high concentrations of H(2)O(2) (0.8-1.6 mM). (+info)
Effect of decreasing column inner diameter and use of off-line two-dimensional chromatography on metabolite detection in complex mixtures.
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Capillary liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization to a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer was explored as a method for the analysis of polar anionic compounds in complex metabolome mixtures. A ternary mobile phase gradient, consisting of aqueous acidic, aqueous neutral and organic phases in combination with an aqueous compatible reversed-phase stationary phase allowed metabolites with a wide range of polarities to be resolved and detected. Detection limits in the full scan mode for glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates were from 0.9 to 36fmol. Using this system, 111+/-9 (n=3) metabolites were detected in Escherichia coli lysate samples. Reducing column I.D. from 50 to 25microm increased the number of metabolites detected to 156+/-17 (n=3). The improvement in number of metabolites detected was attributed to an increase in separation efficiency, an increase in sensitivity, and a decrease in adduct formation. Implementation of a second separation mode, strong anion exchange, to fractionate the sample prior to capillary RPLC increased the number of metabolites detected to 244+/-21 (n=3). This improvement was attributed to the increased peak capacity which decreased co-elution of molecules enabling more sensitive detection by mass spectrometry. This system was also applied to islets of Langerhans where more significant improvements in metabolite detection were observed. In islets, 391+/-33 small molecules were detected using the two-dimensional separation. The results demonstrate that column miniaturization and use of two-dimensional separations can yield a significant improvement in the coverage of the metabolome. (+info)
Evaluation of polymeric methacrylate-based monoliths in capillary electrochromatography for their potential to separate pharmaceutical compounds.
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Polymeric methacrylate-based monoliths are evaluated in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and pressurized capillary electrochromatography (p-CEC) for their potential in pharmaceutical analysis. Using a given polymerization mixture as a basis for the monolith synthesis, different mobile phase pH at constant organic modifier concentrations are tested in both CEC and p-CEC. The test set consists of basic, acidic, amphoteric, and neutral compounds, which are mainly pharmaceuticals. Because of the mainly hydrophobic character of the stationary phase, the interactions are largest when the compounds appear in an uncharged state, but some ion-exchange phenomena with negatively charged compounds can also be observed. In CEC, acidic substances are most retained at low pH. For amphoteric and neutral compounds, no preference regarding analyzing pH can be derived from these experiments. For basics, a high pH is chosen, but a reduced solvent strength is needed to enhance the retention of these compounds. The retention mechanism in p-CEC can also be assigned to both hydrophobic and ionic interactions. For acidic, amphoteric, and neutral compounds, acceptable retention is seen. For the basic compounds, the retention with a mobile phase containing 50% organic modifier is low, as in CEC. However, when the organic modifier content in the mobile phase is decreased, retention increases and the selectivity of the stationary phase is more pronounced. This mode of operation presents a possibility for separating some test mixtures, thus some potential for pharmaceutical analysis is seen. More efforts are needed to obtain higher efficiencies and better peak shapes, which might be solved by a further optimization of both the stationary phase synthesis and the mobile phase composition. (+info)
A novel chip device based on wired capillary packed with high performance polymer-based monolith for HPLC: reproducibility in preparation processes to obtain long columns.
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This report describes the development of novel wired chip devices for mu-HPLC analyses. The monolithic capillary column to be wired was prepared using a tri-functional epoxy monomer, tris(2,3-epoxypropyl)isocyanurate with a diamine, 4-[(4-aminocyclohexyl)methyl]cyclohexylamine. The prepared column was evaluated by SEM observation of the sectional structure of column and micro-HPLC. In addition, the reproducibility in the preparation of long capillary columns having nearly 1 m length was extensively examined for applications of novel wired chip devices. The authors demonstrated that the monolithic structure of the prepared long capillary could be finely controlled under the strictly maintained operational conditions and thus the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the column properties such as the number of theoretical plates, retention factor, and permeability could be well controlled to become less than 10%. Furthermore, the wired chip device column showed that its high performance was kept even after chip preparation. (+info)