Determination of Ten Kinds of Alpha-2 Agonists Residues in Animal Derived Food by UHPLC-Triple Quadrupole/Composite Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry

[Objectives]The paper was to establish an ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/linear ion trap complex mass spectrometry for the determination of 10 kinds ofα2-receptor agonists in animal derived food.[Methods]The samples were extracted with sodium carbonate buffer solution and ethyl acetate,and analyzed by mass spectrometry after solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography separation.[Results]Ten kinds ofα2-receptor agonists showed a good linear relationship in the range of 1-100μg/mL,with the average recovery of over 69%and the relative standard deviation less than 8.32%.The detection limit of 10 kinds of α_(2)-receptor agonists was up to 1μg/kg.[Conclusions]The method has good selectivity and strong anti-interference ability,and can meet the requirements of 10 kinds ofα2-receptor agonists residues in animal derived food.

Determination of Oleuropein in Cosmetics by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Triple Quadrupole Tandem Mass Spectrometry

An ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS)was established to quickly and accurately determine the content of oleuropein in cosmetics.The samples were extracted with methanol-aqueous solution,and the mobile phase with methanol-formic acid solution(0.1 mol/L)=40∶60 was separated by Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C18(2.1 mm×50 mm×1.8μm-Micron)column temperature 30℃,flow rate 0.3 mL/min.The MS end was detected by electrospray negative mode ionization(ESI-)and multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)mode.The results show a good linear relationship in the range of 0.002~5 mg/L,with a correlation coefficient R2 of 0.999,5.Method recovery range from 84.2%~107.6%and the relative standard deviation RSD is 5.8%.The detection time is 5 min,the detection limit is 0.000,6 mg/L,and the limit of quantification is 0.002 mg/L.This method has the advantages of convenient operation,low quantification limit,high precision and good repeatability,and is suitable for measuring the content of oleuropein in many kinds of cosmetics.

Research on accurate quantitation technique using liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and experiment optimization—take a novel diuretic as an example

Liquid chromatography coupled with the triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(LC-QQQ MS)technique is the most commonly used technique for quantitative analysis.It is widely used in pharmacology,targeted metabolomics,Chinese medicine quality control,and other research fields.The technique monitors only characteristic precursors and product ions through multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)mode and can detect targeted molecules in complex matrix with high specificity and sensitivity.In the present study,a diarylamide derivative diuretic was used as an example to introduce the method establishment and parameter optimization of this liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technique.Diuretic and its internal standard could be completely separated within a 5-min gradient,and the quantitative linear range was 1–1000 ng/mL with R2=0.9996 in practical samples.This study showed that the key to the method development for LC-QQQ MS was the selection of the LC mobile phase,the elution gradient,the declustering potential,and the collision energy of compounds in MS.

Dimension-Enhanced Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Ion Mobility-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Combined with Intelligent Peak Annotation for the Rapid Characterization of the Multiple Components from Seeds of Descurainia sophia

The complex composition of herbal metabolites necessitates the development of powerful analytical techniques aimed to identify the bioactive components.The seeds of Descurainia sophia(SDS)are utilized in China as a cough and asthma relieving agent.Herein,a dimension-enhanced integral approach,by combining ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC/IMQTOF-MS)and intelligent peak annotation,was developed to rapidly characterize the multicomponents from SDS.Good chromatographic separation was achieved within 38 min on a UPLC CSH C18(2.1×100 mm,1.7μm)column which was eluted by 0.1%formic acid in water(water phase)and acetonitrile(organic phase).Collision-induced dissociation-MS^(2)data were acquired by the data-independent high-definition MS^(E)(HDMS^(E))in both the negative and positive electrospray ionization modes.A major components knockout strategy was applied to improve the characterization of those minor ingredients by enhancing the injection volume.Moreover,a self-built chemistry library was established,which could be matched by the UNIFI software enabling automatic peak annotation of the obtained HDMS^(E)data.As a result of applying the intelligent peak annotation workflows and further confirmation process,a total of 53 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized from the SDS,including 29 flavonoids,one uridine derivative,four glucosides,one lignin,one phenolic compound,and 17 others.Notably,four-dimensional information related to the structure(e.g.,retention time,collision cross section,MS^(1)and MS^(2)data)was obtained for each component by the developed integral approach,and the results would greatly benefit the quality control of SDS.

Investigations on MoS_(2)plasma by infra-red pulsed laser irradiation in high vacuum

MoS_(2)targets were irradiated by infra-red(IR)pulsed laser in a high vacuum to determine hot plasma parameters,atomic,molecular and ion emission,and angular and charge state distributions.In this way,pulsed laser deposition(PLD)of thin films on graphene oxide substrates was also realized.An Nd:YAG laser,operating at the 1064 nm wavelength with a 5 ns pulse duration and up to a 1 J pulse energy,in a single pulse or at a 10 Hz repetition rate,was employed.Ablation yield was measured as a function of the laser fluence.Plasma was characterized using different analysis techniques,such as time-of-flight measurements,quadrupole mass spectrometry and fast CCD visible imaging.The so-produced films were characterized by composition,thickness,roughness,wetting ability,and morphology.When compared to the MoS_(2)targets,they show a slight decrease of S with respect to Mo,due to higher ablation yield,low fusion temperature and high sublimation in vacuum.The pulsed IR laser deposited Mo Sx(with 1<x<2)films are uniform,with a thickness of about 130 nm,a roughness of about 50 nm and a higher wettability than the MoS_(2)targets.Some potential applications of the pulsed IR laser-deposited Mo Sx films are also presented and discussed.

Banxia xiexin decoction prevents the development of gastric cancer

BACKGROUND In China banxia xiexin decoction(BXD)has been used in treating gastric cancer(GC)for thousands of years and BXD has a good role in reversing GC histopathology,but its chemical composition and action mechanism are still unknown.AIM To investigate the mechanism of action of BXD against GC based on transcriptomics,network pharmacology,in vivo and in vitro experiments.METHODS The transplanted tumor model was prepared,and the nude mouse were pathologically examined after administration,and hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed.The active ingredients of BXD were quality controlled and identified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole electrostatic field orbitrap mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS/MS),and traditional Chinese medicines systems pharmacology platform,drug bank and the Swiss target prediction platform to predict the relevant targets,the differentially expressed genes(DEGs)of GC were screened by RNA-seq sequencing,and the overlapping targets were analyzed to obtain the key targets and pathways.Cell Counting Kit-8,apoptosis assay,cell migration and Realtime fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used for in vitro experiments.RESULTS All dosing groups inhibited the growth of transplanted tumors in laboratory-bred strain nude,with the capecitabine group and the BXD medium-dose group being the best.A total of 29 compounds and 859 potential targets in BXD were identified by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS/MS and network pharmacology,RNA-seq sequencing found 4767 GC DEGs,which were combined with network pharmacology and analyzed 246 potential therapeutic targets were obtained and pathway results showed that BXD may against GC through the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(AKt)signaling pathway.In vitro cellular experiments confirmed that BXDcontaining serum and LY294002 could inhibit the proliferation of GC cells,promote apoptosis,and inhibit the migration of GC cells by decreasing the expression of EGFR,PIK3CA,IL6,BCL2 and AKT1 in the PI3K-Akt pathway in MGC-803 expression.CONCLUSION BXD has the effect of inhibiting tumor growth rate and delaying the development of GC.Its mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.

Analysis of Pharmacodynamic Substance Basis of Fufang Changtai in Treating Colorectal Cancer by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS Combined with Network Pharmacology

[Objectives] To systematically study the main active components of Fufang Changtai(FFCT) in the treatment of colorectal cancer(CRC), and to explore its mechanism of action. [Methods] The main chemical components of FFCT were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) combined with automatic analysis platform, and the main pharmacodynamic substances of FFCT were studied by network pharmacology method and its mechanism of action was explored. The binding degree between the active components and the core targets were verified by molecular docking technology. [Results] A total of 86 compounds were identified from FFCT, among which 26 compounds were Ginsenoside Rg3, Ginsenoside Rb1, Astragaloside III, etc. The key target pathway enrichment analysis showed that FFCT played its role in the treatment of CRC mainly through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. [Conclusions] This study comprehensively identified the FFCT components. Supplemented by network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, it is expected to provide a scientific theoretical basis and an important reference for FFCT therapeutic components identification, key target verification and mechanism of action in the treatment of CRC.

GLOBAL ANALYSIS OF THE METABOLITES OF CURCUMIN IN RATS BY ULTRA PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY COUPLED WITH QUADRUPOLE TIME OF-FLIGHT TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY

Curcumin,a safe natural yellow pigment with a wide range of pharmacological activities,is used both in herbal drugs and as a food coloring agents.Studies have shown that curcumin would suffer from extensive metabolism in vivoand the predominant metabolic pathways are reduction and conjugation.In order to comprehensively study the metabolism and enrich the metabolic profile of cxurcumin in vivo,we carried out this research.A systematic method with highly sensitive UPLC-Q/TOF-MS was established to analyze different biological samples of rats after

Inhibitory effects of HS014 on glutamate release in astrocytes chronically treated with morphine

Previous studies have confirmed that the number of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells significantly increases during morphine tolerance. However, morphine tolerance is reversed with melanocortin receptor antagonists, and analgesic action is enhanced accordingly. However, these mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, following addition of morphine to Wistar rat spinal cord astrocytes, glutamate levels in the supematant significantly increased （P 〈 0.05）. At 30-120 minutes following addition of intervention agent to spinal cord astrocytes, naloxone significantly increased glutamate release in morphine-tolerant model cells （P 〈 0.05）, while melanocortin receptor antagonist HS014 decreased glutamate release （P 〈 0.05）. Additional naloxone and HS014 to astrocytes significantly decreased glutamate release compared with additional naloxone alone （P 〈 0.01）. Results from the present study demonstrated that glutamate release was increased in spinal cord astrocytes co-cultured with morphine. Naloxone increased glutamate release, and HS014 reduced glutamate release.

Conversion of CO2 by non-Thermal Inductively-Coupled Plasma Catalysis

CO2 decomposition is a very strongly endothermic reaction where very high temperatures are required to thermally dissociate CO2.Radio frequency inductively-coupled plasma enables to selectively activate and dissociate CO2 at room temperature.Tuning the flow rate and the frequency of the radio frequency inductively-coupled plasma gives high yields of CO under mild conditions.Finally the discovery of a plasma catalytic effect has been demonstrated for CO2 dissociation that shows a significant increase of the CO yield by metallic meshes.The metallic meshes become catalysts under exposure to plasma to activate the recombination reaction of atomic O to yield O2,thereby reducing the reaction to convert CO back to CO2.Inductively-coupled hybrid plasma catalysis allows access to study and to utilize high CO2 conversion in a non-thermal plasma regime.This advance offers opportunities to investigate the possibility to use radio frequency inductively-coupled plasma to store superfluous renewable electricity into high-valuable CO in time where the price of renewable electricity is plunging.

Rapid Profiling and Characterization of the Multicomponents from the Root and Rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Ion Mobility-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry in Combination with Computational Peak Annotation Workflows

Herbal components characterization represents a challenging task because of the co-existing of multiple classes of naturally occurring compounds with wide spans of polarity,molecular mass,and the ubiquitous isomerism.The root and rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza have been utilized as a reputable traditional Chinese medicine Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma(Dan-Shen)in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.Herein,a dimensionenhanced ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry approach in combination with intelligent peak annotation workflows was established aimed to rapidly characterize the multicomponents from S.miltiorrhiza.Due to the sufficient optimization,satisfactory chromatography separation was enabled on an HSS T3 column within 33 min using 0.1%formic acid in water(A)and acetonitrile(B)as the mobile phase,while the data-independent HDMS^(E) in both the negative and positive electrospray ionization modes was utilized for the high-coverage MS^(2) data acquisition.Streamlined automatic peak annotation by searching an in-house library(recording 198 known compounds)followed by the subsequent confirming steps(e.g.,comparison with the reference compounds,fragmentation pathways analysis,and retention behavior comparison,etc.),allowed us to identify or tentatively characterize a total of 86 components(including 50 terpenoids,21 phenolic acids,and 15 others)from S.miltiorrhiza.Importantly,three-dimensional structure information,such as the retention time,MS^(1) and MS^(2) data,and collision cross section(CCS),was provided,which can facilitate the more reliable characterization of herbal components.

Characterization and quantitation of aristolochic acid analogs in different parts of Aristolochiae Fructus, using UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS and UHPLC-Qq Q-MS

Aristolochiae Fructus, a Chinese herbal medicine derived from the fruit of Aristolochia contorta Bge., contains nephrotoxic aristolochic acid analogues(AAAs). According to ancient medical texts, various medicinal parts of the fruit of A. contorta were ever used. In order to reveal which part could be safely and effectively used, it is necessary to analyze the chemical profiles of different medicinal parts. Herein we compared the chemical compositions and determined aristolochic acid I(AA-I) and aristolochic acid II(AA-II) in the four parts viz. outer pericarp, inner pericarp, septum, and seed. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography equipped with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-QTOF-MS) was applied for chemical profiling. Ultra-high performance liquid coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Qq Q-MS) was employed to quantify AA-I and AA-II in different parts. It was found that the chemical compositions of the four parts varied both qualitatively and quantitatively. A total of 10 AAAs, including 5 aristolochic acids and 5 aristolactams, together with 3 alkaloids, were unambiguously or tentatively identified by UHPLC-QTOF-MS. The quantitatively analytical results obtained by UHPLC-Qq Q-MS showed that AA-I and AA-II exclusively accumulate in the seeds of A. contorta. These findings provide supporting data for the rational selection of medicinal parts.

Urinary metabolomics analysis of the anti-depressive effects of Hemerocallis citrina extracts in a simulated microgravity-induced rat model of depression

We investigated the antidepressant-like activity of Hemerocallis citrine Baroni extract(HCE)in a simulated microgravity(SMG)-induced rat model of depression using a metabolomics method.A rat model,generated via 14 d of SMG induction,was validated from the reduced sucrose preference and the enhanced immobility time in the forced swimming test.HCE and paroxetine reversed certain metabolite profiles.Anti-depressant effects of HCE might involve the regulation of several metabolic pathways,such as phenylalanine,glutamic acid,and tryptophan metabolism and changes in energy metabolism.5-Hydroxytryptophan,hippuric acid,phenylacetylglycine,citric acid,3-hydroxykynurenine,cyclic AMP,and L-DOPA profiles were altered upon HCE and paroxetine administration.Furthermore,glutamic acid was only regulated in the HCE group,while xanthurenic acid and deoxyuridine were reversed in the positive group,suggesting differences in the mechanisms between the positive drugs and HCE in improving glutamic acid metabolism.This study provided a theoretical foundation for the application of HCE in depression therapy.

Analysis and Identification of Chemical Constituents of Fenugreek by UPLC-IT-MSn and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS

Fenugreek, a traditional Chinese medical plant, has been widely used as food ingredients because of its out- standing medicinal qualities. The hypoglycemic activity of fenugreek is one of its important pharmacological properties. Both of saponin and flavonoid components have the hypoglycemic activity and their contents in fenugreek are 4%--8% and 1% ---2%, respectively. This paper focused on these two types of components to carry out purification research and chemical analysis. The heating reflux extraction method and macroporous resin purification method were designed to prepare the saponins and the flavonoids components from defatted fenugreek seeds. Petroleum ether ultrasonic skim and 70% ethanol refluxing were used for the extraction of saponins and flavonoid from fenugreek. The column of DM130 macroporous resin and D101 macroporous resin were respectively used to prepare fenugreek saponin and flavonoid components, and the total contents of them were 78.56% and 62.28%, respectively. The saponin and flavonoids were subsequently analyzed by an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） along with an ultra-performance liquid chromatography and ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-IT-MS＂）. As a result, 57 saponins and 19 flavonoid compounds were characterized. The obtained results will provide a theory basis for further research on fenugreek, as well as research and development of hypogly- cemic new drugs.

Screening Safflower Injection for Constituents with Activity against Stroke Using Comprehensive Chemical Profiling Coupled with Network Pharmacology

Objective:This study aimed to explore safflower injection(SI)for constituents with activity against ischemic stroke using a combination of chemical analysis and a network pharmacology strategy.Materials and Methods:The main ingredients of SI were comprehensively identified using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry,and the core targets and pathways associated with stroke were predicted using PharmMapper and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis.Cytoscape software was used to visualize and analyze the active compound-target-pathway network of SI regulating ischemic stroke.Results:A total of76 chemical compounds were identified from the SI sample,including 63,which regulated 88 targets that were ultimately enriched in 12 key ischemia stroke-related signaling pathways.Kaempferol-3-O-sophoroside,kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside,carthamoside B6,neoeriocitrin,and6-hydroxykaempferol-3-O-rutinoside-6-O-glucoside were determined to be important for stroke treatment because they had a higher degree value in the network than other constituents did.Moreover,the characteristic components isolated from SI showed protective effect mainly by acting on multiple targets including AKT1,epidermal growth factor receptor,transforming growth factor-beta receptor(TGFBR),Ras homolog,mTORC1 binding,caspase 3,and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta,which were involved in different signaling pathways including phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt,mitogen-activated protein kinase,neurotrophin,ErbB,mechanistic target of rapamycin,and tumor necrosis factor.Conclusions:This study proposed a network pharmacology and chemical component profiling strategy for the systematic understanding of the therapeutic material basis of using SI against ischemic stroke.

Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Ion Mobility-Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry and Database-Driven Automatic Peak Annotation for the Rapid Profiling and Characterization of the Multicomponents from Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix(Fang-Ji)

Objective:Quality control of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)begins with the chemical basis elucidation.The root of Stephania tetrandra has long been utilized as an antirheumatic,analgesic,and diuretic TCM,Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix(STR;Fang-Ji).Powerful analytical strategies enabling its multicomponent characterization is still rare.Methods:A rapid,reliable,and enhanced profiling approach,by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion mobility/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS)and automatic peak annotation facilitated by computational matching of in-house library,was established and utilized to characterize the multicomponents from STR.A knockout strategy was utilized by automated valve switching to overcome the interference of predominant peaks.Results:Good chromatographic separation was achieved within 17 min on a reversed-phase BEH C18 column eluted with acetonitrile/0.1%ammonium hydroxide in water,while data-independent high-definition MS^(E)(HDMS^(E))in positive mode was applied to acquire the MS^(2)data by using a Vion TM IM-QTOF instrument,which in theory,could cover all the profiled precursor ions.An in-house library of 163 compounds was established and incorporated into the UNIFITM platform.By feat of these efforts,we were able to identify or tentatively characterize 76 alkaloids from the methanolic extract of STR,including 14 aporphine-type,four morphine-type,48 bisbenzylisoquinoline-type,seven tetrahydroprotoberberine-type,one protopine-type,one benzylisoquinoline-type,and one other.Four-dimensional information,such as the retention time,collision cross section(CCS),high-accuracy MS1 and MS2 data,for each component was provided.Conclusions:The systematic multicomponent characterization of STR was accomplished with high coverage,high degree of automation,and high reliability.