Simultaneous Determination of Melamine, Ammelide, Ammeline, and Cyanuric Acid in Milk and Milk Products by Gas Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry

Objective To develop an analytical method for simultaneously qualitative and quantitative determination of melamine and triazine-related by-products including ammelide, ammeline, and cyanuric acid in milk and milk products by gas chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry （GC-MS/MS）. Methods Melamine and triazine-related by-products namely ammelide, ammeline and cyanuric acid in the samples were extracted in a solvent mixture of diethylamine, water, and acetonitrile （10：40：50, V/V/V）. After centrifugation, an aliquot of the supernatant was evaporated to dryness under a gentle stream of nitrogen gas, and then melamine and triazine-related by-products were derivatized using BSTFA with 1% TMCS. The derivatives of melamine and its analogues were determined by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry using multiple reactional monitoring （MRM） with 2, 6-Diamino-4-chloropyrimidine （DACP） being used as an internal standard. Results The linear detectable ranges were from 0.004 mg/kg to 1.6 mg/kg for melamine, ammelide, ammeline, and cyanuric acid with a correlation coefficient no less than 0.999. The recovery rates of the tour compounds in spiked blank milk powder at concentrations 0.5, 1, 2 mg/kg were between 61.4%-117.2%, and the relative standard deviation was no more than 11.5% （n=6）. The detection limits of melamine, ammelide, ammeline and cyanuric acid in milk powder were 0.002 mg/kg with a ratio of signal to noise of 3. Conclusion This GC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of melamine, ammelide, ammeline, and cyanuric acid in milk and milk products is sensitive and specific.

Detection of Genetically Modified Crops by Combination of Multiplex PCR and Low-density DNA Microarray

Objective To develop a technique for simultaneous detection of various target genes in Roundup Ready soybean by combining multiplex PCR and low-density DNA microarray. Methods Two sets of the multiplex PCR system were used to amplify the target genes in genetically modified （GM） soybean. Seventeen capture probes （PCR products） and 17 pairs of corresponding primers were designed according to the genetic characteristics of Rroundup Ready soybean （GTS40-3-2）, maize （MonS10, Nk603, GA21）, canola （T45, MS1/RF1）, and rice （SCK） in many identified GM crops. All of the probes were categorized and identified as species-specific probes. One negative probe and one positive control probe were used to assess the efficiency of all reactions, and therefore eliminate any false positive and negative results. After multiplex PCR reaction, amplicons were adulterated with Cy5-dUTP and hybridized with DNA microarray. The array was then scanned to display the specific hybridization signals of target genes. The assay was applied to the analysis of sample of certified transgenic soybean （Roundup Ready GTS40-3-2） and canola （MS1/RF1）. Results A combination technique of multiplex PCR and DNA microarray was successfully developed to identify multi-target genes in Roundup Ready soybean and MS 1/RF1 canola with a great specificity and reliability. Reliable identification of genetic characteristics of Roundup Ready of GM soybean from genetically modified crops was achieved at 0.5% transgenic events, indicating a high sensitivity. Conclusion A combination technique of multiplex PCR and low-density DNA microarray can reliably detect and identify the genetically modified crops.

Establishment of HIV-1 model cell line GHOST（3） with stable DRiP78 and NHERF1 knockdown

Chemokine receptors CXCR4 and CCR5 are indispensable co-receptors for HIV-1 entry into host cells. In our previous study, we identified that dopamine receptor-interacting protein 78（DRi P78） and Na＋-H＋ exchanger regulatory factor 1（NHERF1） are the CXCR4 and CCR5 homo- or hetero-dimerinteracting proteins. DRi P78 and NHERF1 are able to influence the co-receptor internalization and intracellular trafficking. Over-expression of NHERF1 affects the ligands or HIV-1 gp120-induced CCR5 internalization and HIV-1 production. It is reasonable to speculate that DRi P78 and NHERF1, as well as the signaling pathways involved in viral replication, would probably affect HIV-1 replication through regulating the co-receptors. In this present study, we designed two short hairpin RNAs（sh RNAs） targeting the DRi P78 and NHERF1, respectively, and constructed the p Lenti6/BLOCK-i T-DEST lentiviral plasmids expressing DRi P78 or NHERF1 sh RNA. The packaged lentiviruses were used to transduce the widely-applied HIV-1 model cell line GHOST（3）. Then, cells with stable knockdown were established through selecting transduced cells with Blasticidin. This study, for the first time, reported the establishment of the GHOST（3） with DRi P78 and NHERF1 knockdown, which is the first stable cell line with HIV-1 co-receptor-interacting molecular defects.