Liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight and ion trap mass spectrometry for qualitative analysis of herbal medicines

With the expansion of herbal medicine （HM） market, the issue on how to apply up-to- date analytical tools on qualitative analysis of HMs to assure their quality, safety and efficacy has been arousing great attention. Due to its inherent characteristics of accurate mass measurements and multiple stages analysis, the integrated strategy of liquid chromatography （LC） coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry （TOF-MS） and ion trap mass spectrometry （IT-MS） is well-suited to be performed as qualitative analysis tool in this field. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview on the potential of this integrated strategy, including the review of general features of LC-IT-MS and LC-TOF-MS, the advantages of their combination, the common procedures for structure elucidation, the potential of LC-hybrid-IT-TOF/MS and also the summary and discussion of the applications of the integrated strategy for HM qualitative analysis （2006-2011）. The advantages and future developments of LC coupled with IT and TOF-MS are highlighted.

Investigation on Non-covalent Complexes of Cyclodextrins with Li＋ in Gas Phase by Mass Spectrometry

To investigate the non-covalent interaction between cyclodextrins （CD） and lithium ion, a stoichiometry of α-CD, β-CD, heptakis（2,6-di-O-methyl）-β-CD （DM-β-CD）, or heptakis（2,3,6-tri-O-methyl）-β-CD （TM-β-CD） was mixed with lithium salt, respectively, and then incubated at room temperature for 10 min to reach the equilibrium. In posi- tive mode, the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry （ESI-MS） results demonstrated that lithium ion can conjugate to α-, β-, DM-β- or TM-β-CD and form 1：1 stoichiometric non-covalent complexes. The binding of the complexes was further confirmed by collision- induced dissociation. The dissociation constants Kdl of four complexes （Li＋α-CD, Li＋β- CD, Li＋DM-β-CD, and Li＋TM-β-CD） were determined by mass spectrometric titration. The results showed Kdl were 18.7, 26.7, 33.6, 30.5 μmol/L for the complexes of Li＋ with α-CD, β-CD, DM-β-CD, and TM-β-CD, respectively. Kdl for the Li＋ complexes of/3-CD is smaller than that of DM-β-CD due to its steric effect of the partial substituted -CH3. The Kdl for the Li＋ complexes of DM-β-CD is nearly in agreement with that of TM-β-CD, indicating Li＋ is more likely to locate in the small rim of DM-β-CD＇s hydrophobic cavity. The DFT results showed through electrostatic interaction, one Li＋ can strongly conjugate to four neighboring oxygen atoms. For the （α-CD＋Li）＋ complex, one Li＋ may also situate the small rim of α-CD＇s hydrophobic cavity to form a non-specific host-guest complex.

Current application of proteomics in biomarker discoveryfor inflammatory bowel disease

Recently, the field of proteomics has rapidly expanded in its application towards clinical research with objectives ranging from elucidating disease pathogenesis to discovering clinical biomarkers. As proteins govern and/or reflect underlying cellular processes, the study of proteomics provides an attractive avenue for research as it allows for the rapid identification of protein profiles in a biological sample. Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) encompasses several heterogeneous and chronic conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Proteomic technology provides a powerful means of addressing major challenges in IBD today, especially for identifying biomarkers to improve its diagnosis and management. This review will examine the current state of IBD proteomics research and its use in biomarker research. Furthermore, we also discuss the challenges of translating proteomic research into clinically relevant tools. The potential application of this growing field is enormous and is likely to provide significant insights towards improving our future understanding and management of IBD.

Analysis of the urinary peptidome associated with Helicobacter pylori infection

AIM： To investigate the relationship between urinary peptide changes and Helicobacter pylori （H. pylorl） infection using urinary peptidome profiling. METHODS： The study was performed in volunteers （n = 137） who gave informed consent. Urinary peptides were enriched by magnetic beads based weak cation exchange chromatography＇and spectrums acquired by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight （MALDI-TOF） mass spectrometry （MS）. ClinProTools bioinformatics software was used for statistical analysis and the recognition of peptide patterns. The marker peptides were identified by LTQ Obitrap XL tandem MS. RESULTS： Approximately 50 proteins or peptides which loaded onto the magnetic beads were detected by MAL-DI-TOF MS. By optimizing the parameters of the model, the Genetic Algorithm model had good recognition capability （97%） and positive predictive value （94%）. Based on the model, 2 markers with molecular masses of 6788 and 1912 Da were found that differentiated between H. pylori positive and negative volunteers. The m/z 1912 sequence was parsed as SKQFTSSTSYN- RGDSTF. The peptide was identified as isoform 1 of the fibrinogen a chain precursor, whose concentration in urine was markedly higher in H. pylori infected volunteers than in H. pylori non-infected ones. CONCLUSION： The appearance of urinary fibrinogen degradation products is caused by an active H. pyloriinduced process.

Sensitive and Rapid Quantification of Felodipine by High-performance Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS) and Its Pharmacokinetics in Healthy Chinese Volunteers

To investigate the pharmacokinetics of felodipine in the plasma of healthy Chinese volunteers, 30 healthy volunteers received a single oral dose of 5 mg of extended release felodipine tablets. The felodipine was extracted from the matrix with a liquid-liquid extract procedure and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring（MRM） mode using an electrospray ion source with positive ion detection. The method was validated over a felodipine concentration range of 0. 05-10.00 ng/mL in human plasma. Its main pharmacokinetic parameters values were： ρmax = （ 1.67 ± 0. 84 ） ng/mL, occurring at （ 3.93 3± 2. 49 ） h; the plasma elimination half-life： （23. 08 3± 9. 48） h and the area under the plasma concentration versus time curve： （29. 94 ± 14. 39） ng · h/mL. The validation results demonstrated that this method showed a satisfactory precision and accuracy across the calibration range. The procedure involved minimal drug administration, sample preparation, and a 2. 5-min chromatographic run time. It was well suited to clinical studies of the drug involving large numbers of samples.

Quantitative analysis of a novel antimicrobial peptide in rat plasma by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

We described the first results of a quantitative ultra performance liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry method for a novel antimicrobial peptide （phylloseptin, PSN-1）. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on a Waters bridged ethyl hybrid （BEH） C18 （50mm× 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm） column with acetonitrile-water （25：75, v/v） as isocratic mobile phase. Mass spectrometry detection was performed in the positive electrospray ionization mode and by monitoring of the transitions at m/z 679.6/120, 509.6/120 （PSN-1） and m/z 340.7/165 （Thymopentin, IS）. Protein precipitation was investigated and the recovery was satisfactory （above 82%）. The method was shown to be reproducible and reliable with intra-day precision below 5.3%, inter-day precision below 14.2%, and linear range from 0.02 to 2 lag/mL with r〉0.994. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of PSN-1 in rats after intravenous administration.

Proteomic analysis of gastric cancer and immunoblot validation of potential biomarkers

AIM： To search for and validate differentially expressed proteins in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.METHODS： We used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to search for differentially expressed proteins in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. A set of proteins was validated with immunoblotting.RESULTS： We identified 30 different proteins involved in various biological processes： metabolism, development, death, response to stress, cell cycle, cell communication, transport, and cell motility. Eight proteinswere chosen for further validation by immunoblotting. Our results show that gastrokine-1, 39S ribosomal protein L12 （mitochondrial precursor）, plasma cell-induced resident endoplasmic reticulum protein, and glutathione S-transferase mu 3 were significantly underexpressed in gastric adenocarcinoma relative to adjacent non-tumor tissue samples. On the other hand, sep- tin-2, ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 N, and transaldolase were significantly overexpressed. Translationally controlled tumor protein was shown to be differentially expressed only in patients with cancer of the gastric cardia/esophageal border.CONCLUSION： This work presents a set of possible diagnostic biomarkers, validated for the first time. It might contribute to the efforts of understanding gastric cancer carcinogenesis,

Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of valproic acid and its ene-metabolites in epilepsy patient plasma

A simple and high throughput method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of valproic acid and its two toxicant ene-metabolites, 2-enevalproic acid and 4-enevalproic acid in epilepsy patient plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Probenecid was used as in- ternal standard and solid-phase extraction was selected for sample preparation. A chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Poroshell SB-C18 column （50 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 2.7μm） by an optimized gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min. The total run time was 7 rain. Electrospray ionization was used in negative ion mode by multiple reaction monitoring of the precursor-to-product ion transitions at m/z 143.0→143.0 for valproic acid, m/z 140.9 →140.9 for 2-enevalproic acid and 4-enevalproic acid for their poor fragments, and m/z 283.9→239,9 for probenecid. The results showed good linearity ofvalproic acid, 2-enevalproic acid and 4-enevalproic acid in their respective linear ranges. The correlation coefficients were more than 0.998, The intra- and inter-day precision of the assay was less than 11.0% and the accuracy ranged from 2% to 12%. This analytical method was successfully applied to assay plasma concentrations of valproic acid and its two ene-metabolites in epilepsy patient plasma and used for therapeutic drug monitoring.

Experimental and Theoretical Study on Pyrolysis of Isopsoralen

The pyrolysis of isopsoralen was studied by synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry at low pressure. The pyrolysis products were detected at different photon energies, the ratios of products to precursor were measured at various pyrolysis temperatures. The experimental results demonstrate that the main pyrolysis products are primary CO and sequential CO elimination products （C10H602 and C9H60）. The decomposition channels of isopsoralen were also studied by the density functional theory, then rate constants for competing pathways were calculated by the transition state theory. The dominant decom- position channels of isopsoralen and the molecular structures for corresponding products were identified by combined experimental and theoretical studies.

Exploration of Nonlinear Modeling Techniques to Predict the Retention Time of Organic Pollutants in Natural Water and Wastewater

Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water; and, in almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities. Genetic algorithm and kernel partial least square （GA-KPLS） and Levenberg- Marquardt artificial neural network （L-M ANN） techniques were used to investigate the correlation between retention time （tR） and descriptors for 150 organic contaminants in natural water and wastewater, which are obtained by gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry （GC-TOF MS）. The L-M ANN model gave a significantly better performance than the GA-KPLS model. This indicates that L-M ANN can be used as an alternative modeling toot for quantitative structure-retention relationship （QSRR） studies.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the estimation of adefovir in human plasma:Application to a pharmacokinetic study

An analytical method based on solid phase extraction was developed and validated for analysis of adefovir in human plasma. Adefovir-d4 was used as an internal standard and Synergi MAX RP80A （150rnmx4.6mm. 41am） column provided the desired chromatographic separation of compounds followed by detection with mass spectrometry. The method used simple isocratic chromato- graphic condition and mass spectrometric detection in the positive ionization mode. The calibration cuives were linear over the range of 0.50-42.47 ng/mL with the lower limit of quantitation validated at 0.50 ng/mL. Matrix effect was assessed by post-column infusion experiment to monitor phospholipids and post- extraction addition experiment was performed. The degree of matrix effect for adefovir was determined as 7.5% and ion-enhancement in five different lots of human plasma was 7.1% and had no impact on study samples analysis with 4.5 rain run time. The intra- and inter-day precision values were within 7.7% and 7.8%, respectively, for adefovir at the lower limit of quantification level. Validated bioanalytical method was successfully applied to clinical sample analysis.

Accuracy of LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb age determination:An inter-laboratory comparison

LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb dating has been greatly advanced and widely applied in the past decade because it is a cheap and fast technique.The internal error of LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb dating can be better than 1%,but reproducibility(accuracy)is relatively poor.In order to quantitatively assess the accuracy of this technique,zircons from two dioritic rocks,a Mesozoic dioritic microgranular enclave(FS06)and a Neoproterozoic diorite(WC09-32),were dated independently in eight laboratories using SIMS and LA-ICPMS.Results of three SIMS analyses on FS06 and WC09-2 are indistinguishable within error and give a best estimate of the crystallization age of 132.2 and 760.5 Ma(reproducibility is^1%,2RSD),respectively.Zircon U-Pb ages determined by LA-ICPMS in six laboratories vary from 128.3±1.0 to 135.0±0.9 Ma(2SE)for FS06 and from 742.9±3.1 to777.8±4.7 Ma(2SE)for WC09-32,suggesting a reproducibility of^4%(2RSD).Uncertainty produced during LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb analyses comes from multiple sources,including uncertainty in the isotopic ratio measurements,uncertainty in the fractionation factor calculation using an external standard,uncertainty in the age determination as a result of common lead correction,age uncertainty of the external standards and uncertainty in the data reduction.Result of our study suggests that the uncertainty of LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb dating is approximately 4%(2RSD).The uncertainty in age determination must be considered in order to interpret LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb data rationally.

Chemical profiling of Jinqi Jiangtang tablets by HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS

AIM： To profile the chemical constituents in Jinqi Jiangtang tablets. METHOD： Based on the chromatographic retention behavior, fragmentation patterns of chemical components, and published lit- eratures, a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrnpole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry （HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF/MS） method was established to characterize and identify components in Jinqi Jiangtang tablets. RESULTS： A total of 52 chemical compounds, including eight iridoid glycosides, seven phenolic acids, twelve alkaloids, six fla- vonoids, and nineteen saponins, were identified in Jinqi Jiangtang tablets. CONCLUSION： The established method could serve as a powerful tool for structural characterization and quality control of this Chinese herbal preparation.

Inhibitory effect of eleven herbal extracts on advanced glycation end-products formation and aldose reductase activity

The formation of advanced glycation end-products （AGEs） and aldose reductase （AR） activity have been implicated in the development of diabetic complications. Our study sought to characterize the capacities of eleven herbal extracts against the formation of AGEs and the AR activity. An ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） method was used for the detection of AR activity and the screening of AR inhibitors in this research. The amount of sorbitol from each analyte was directly detected using the multiple reaction monitoring mode and the sorbitol level could be reduced via the addition of an inhibitor. Moreover, the BSA/glucose （fructose） system was applied to investigate their inhibitory activities of AGEs formation in glycation model reactions. Compared with other screened herbs used in our study, Flos Sophorae lrnrnaturus and Radix Scutellariae seemed to be more effective on inhibiting the formation of AGEs and AR activity. The inhibiting capacities of herbal extracts against AR activity and AGEs formation may be correlated with the bioactive components of the herbal extracts. The differences were correlated with the amount of polyphenol and flavonoid components. In the study, we have investigated the potential anti-hyperglycemic bioactivity of eleven herbal extracts in vitro, which could provide a reference for further in vivo research in the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications.

Reliable screening of pesticide residues in maternal and umbilical cord sera by gas chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry

The widespread use of pesticides induces heavy adverse effects on human health,especially for the pregnant women and the newborns.In this study,a screening method has been developed for the determination of multi-pesticides in maternal and umbilical cord sera.All pesticides in sera were collected using solid phase extraction(SPE),and analyzed by gas chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry(GC-QTOF MS).To set up the quality criteria,a database of 50 pesticides was created and the accurate masses of 3 up to 5 representative ions with their intensity ratios were included for each pesticide.In addition,a novel"identification points"(IPs)system relying on the accurate MS1 and MS2 spectra was used to interpret the data for each suspected pesticide.The methodology was then applied to a pair of maternal and umbilical cord sera.A total of six pesticide residues were screened out successfully.In conclusion,GC-QTOF MS combined with an accurate mass database seemed to be one of the most efficient tools for systematic pesticide analysis.

Urinary metabonomics of stomach cancer assessed by rapid resolution liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Background Stomach cancer is among the most commonly occurring malignancies worldwide. It would be beneficial to develop a urine-based assay whereby patients with undiagnosed stomach cancer could be screened and their cancer detected in the eadiest stages. Methods A urinary metabonomics method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to analyze urine samples from patients with stomach cancer and healthy controls. Results Statistical analysis revealed a clear separation of patients and healthy controls using the aforementioned methodology. Some significantly changed metabolites were identified. Conclusions Use of the metabonomics method in patients with stomach cancer could effectively detect distinct changes in urinary metabolites and had the capacity to detect cancer; therefore, it may be a valuable tool in earlier diagnosis. Furthermore, the detection and identification of altered metabolites in the current study may help elucidate possible mechanisms involved in stomach cancer.

Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients having amyloidogenic transthyretin deposition in osteoarthritic knee joints

Objective： Our aim was to investigate clinical and laboratory characteristics of osteoarthritic patients who had amyloid deposition in their knee joints. Methods： Synovial membranes were obtained from 36 patients with knee osteoarthritis （OA） who underwent joint replacement surgery. From this sample, the diagnosis of amyloid was deter- mined by Congo red staining, which demonstrated apple-green birefringence under a polarized microscope. All syn- ovial membranes were immunohistochemically characterized for the expressions of amyloid immunoglobulin light chain （AL-K and AL-,k）, serum amyloid-A （SAA）, amyloidogenic transthyretin （ATTR）, and amyloidogenic 152- microglobulin （A152M）. Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionizaton/time of flight mass spectrometry （MALDI-TOF MS） was used to analyze transthyretin （TTR） isoforms in the serum of each patient. Results： Nine cases （25%） were found to be amyloid-positive. Immunohistochemicaliy, eight cases （88.9%） had ATTR deposition, and one sample （11.1%） was shown to be AL-K-positive. MALDI-TOF MS identified that the TTR in the serum of the patients was unmodified wild-type TTR, TTR-Cys-S-S-Cys, and TTR-Cys-S-S-CysGly. The age at surgery and the disease duration were sig- nificantly higher in the ATTR-positive group than in the ATTR-negative group. Knee score and function score were significantly lower in the ATTR-positive group than in the ATTR-negative group. Conclusions： Amyloid deposition in synovial membranes of OA patients was found to be ATTR and AL-K. TTR in the serum of the patients was unmodified wild-type TTR together with two isoforms. The high age at surgery, long disease duration, and a deteriorated knee function were associated with ATTR amyloid deposition in the osteoarthritic knee joints.

A new analytical method for quantifying of sterane and hopane biomarkers

An analytical method for quantifying biomarker compounds of the sterane and the hopane existing in saturated hydrocarbons has been established by using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-flame ionization detector(GC×GC-FID) with optimized operating parameters. The new method achieves the quantification by using a GC×GC-FID system which is able to completely separate steranes from hopanes. The data obtained by the new method are of good repeatability and reliability. Compared with the original data, the relative standard deviations(RSDs) of 12 reference compounds are less than 5%. The RSDs of the quantitative results of the biomarkers based on seven separate analyses are also less than 5%. Compared with the traditional method of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS), the new method has a number of advantages, such as common internal standards(ISs), high resolution, no co-eluting peak, and no interference caused by diagnostic ion peaks. The new method provides petroleum geologists with an effective and scientific means in future researches.

Low temperature purification method for the determination of abamectin and ivermectin in edible oils by liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry

In this study, a method based on low temperature purification （LTP） coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （LC-MS/MS） was developed for the determination of abamectin （ABA） and ivermectin （IVR） in edible oils. ABA and IVR were extracted using conventional liquid-liquid extraction followed by purification via precipitation of interfering fatty components at low temperature without an additional cleanup step. LTP is simple, easy to use, labour-saving and cost effective, and requires reduced amounts of organic solvent. The linear ranges of ABA and IVR were 5- 1000 t^g/L using matrix-matched standards. Limits of detection （LOD） and limits of quantification （LOQ） were in the range of 0.1-0.4 i^g/kg and 0.3-1.3 p^g/kg, respectively. The LOQs were below the strictest maximum residue limits established by Codex Alimentarius Commission. Recoveries at three spiked levels of 10, 20 and 100 i^g/kg in peanut oil, corn oil, olive oil, soybean oil and lard ranged from 71.1% to 119.3% with relative standard deviations of 3.2%-10.3%, which were in agreement with those obtained by the solid phase extraction method. The proposed method was utilized in the analysis of 10 edible oil samples from local market and neither ABA nor IVR was detected. As far as we know, this is the first time that LTP is applied to the determination of avermectins in edible oils.

Lipidomic profiling analysis reveals the dynamics of phospholipid molecules in Arabidopsis thaliana seedling growth

High-throughput lipidomic profiling provides a sensitive approach for discovering minor lipid species. By using an advance in electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrome- try, a large set of phospholipid molecular species （126 species） with high resolution were identified from Arabidopsis seedling; of them 31 species are newly identified （16 are unique in plants）, including 13 species of phosphatidic acid （PA）, nine phosphati- dylcholine, six phosphatidylinositol and three phosphatidylser- ine. Further analysis of the lipidomic profile reveals dynamics of phospholipids and distinct species alterations during seedling development. PA molecules are found at the lowest levels in imbibition and follow an increasing trend during seedling growth, while phosphatidylethanolamine （PE） molecules show the opposite pattern with highest levels at imbibition and a general decreasing trend at later stages. Of PA molecular species, 34：2-, 34：3-, 36：4, 36：5-, 38：3- and 38：4-PA increase during radicle emergence, and 34：2- and 34：3-PA reach highest levels during hypocotyl and cotyledon emergence from the seed coat. Conversely, molecular species of PE show higher levels in imbibition and decrease in later stages. These results suggest the crucial roles of specific molecular species and homeostasis of phospholipid molecules in seedling growth and provide insights into the mechanisms of how phospholipid molecules are involved in regulating plant development.