Solid-phase microextraction of endogenous metabolites from intact tissue validated using a Biocrates standard reference method kit

Improved analytical methods for the metabolomic profiling of tissue samples are constantly needed.Currently,conventional sample preparation methods often involve tissue biopsy and/or homogenization,which disrupts the endogenous metabolome.In this study,solid-phase microextraction(SPME)fibers were used to monitor changes in endogenous compounds in homogenized and intact ovine lung tissue.Following SPME,a Biocrates AbsoluteIDQ assay was applied to make a downstream targeted metabolomics analysis and confirm the advantages of in vivo SPME metabolomics.The AbsoluteIDQ kit enabled the targeted analysis of over 100 metabolites via solid-liquid extraction and SPME.Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between conventional liquid extractions from homogenized tissue and SPME results for both homogenized and intact tissue samples.In addition,principal component analysis revealed separated clustering among all the three sample groups,indicating changes in the metabolome due to tissue homogenization and the chosen sample preparation method.Furthermore,clear differences in free metabolites were observed when extractions were performed on the intact and homogenized tissue using identical SPME procedures.Specifically,a direct comparison showed that 47 statistically distinct metabolites were detected between the homogenized and intact lung tissue samples(P<0.05)using mixed-mode SPME fibers.These changes were probably due to the disruptive homogenization of the tissue.This study's findings highlight both the importance of sample preparation in tissue-based metabolomics studies and SPME's unique ability to perform minimally invasive extractions without tissue biopsy or homogenization while providing broad metabolite coverage.

Scalable solid-phase synthesis of defect-rich graphene for oxygen reduction electrocatalysis

Defect-engineered carbon materials have been emerged as promising electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)in metal-air batteries.Developing a facile strategy for the preparation of highly active nanocarbon electrocatalysts remains challenging.Herein,a low-cost and simple route is developed to synthesize defective graphene by pyrolyzing the mixture of glucose and carbon nitride.Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the graphene formation is ascribed to two-dimensional layered feature of carbon nitride,and high compatibility of carbon nitride/glucose systems.Structural measurements suggest that the graphene possesses rich edge and topological defects.The graphene catalyst exhibits higher power density than commercial Pt/C catalyst in a primary Zn-air battery.Combining experimental results and theoretical thermodynamic analysis,it is identified that graphitic nitrogen-modified topological defects at carbon framework edges are responsible for the decent ORR performance.The strategy presented in this work can be can be scaled up readily to fabricate defective carbon materials.

Carbon Doping Triggered Efficient Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution of Cross-Linked Porous Ru-MoO_(2) Via Solid-Phase Reaction Strategy

The defect-free structure of Mo-based materials is a“double-edged sword”,which endows the material with excellent stability,but limits its chemical versatility and application in electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction(HER).Carbon doping engineering is an attractive strategy to effectively improve the performance of Mo-based catalyst and maintain their stability.Herein,we report a cross-linked porous carbon-doped MoO_(2)(C–MoO_(2))-based catalyst Ru/C–MoO_(2) for electrochemical HER,which is prepared by the convenient redox solid-phase reaction(SPR)of porous RuO_(2)/Mo_(2)C composite precursor.Theoretical studies reveal that due to the presence of carbon atoms,the electronic structure of C–MoO_(2) has been properly adjusted,and the loaded small Ru nanoparticles provide a fast water dissociation rate and moderate H adsorption strength.In electrochemical studies under a pH-universal environment,Ru/C–MoO_(2) electrocatalyst exhibits a low overpotential at a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2) and has a low Tafel slope.Meanwhile,Ru/C-MoO_(2) has excellent stability for more than 100 h at an initial current density of 100 mA cm^(-2).

Comparison of different approaches for direct coupling of solid-phase microextraction to mass spectrometry for drugs of abuse analysis in plasma

The direct coupling of solid-phase microextraction(SPME)to mass spectrometry(MS)(SPME-MS)has proven to be an effective method for the fast screening and quantitative analysis of compounds in complex matrices such as blood and plasma.In recent years,our lab has developed three novel SPME-MS techniques:SPME-microfluidic open interface-MS(SPME-MOI-MS),coated blade spray-MS(CBS-MS),and SPME-probe electrospray ionization-MS(SPME-PESI-MS).The fast and high-throughput nature of these SPME-MS technologies makes them attractive options for point-of-care analysis and anti-doping testing.However,all these three techniques utilize different SPME geometries and were tested with different MS instruments.Lack of comparative data makes it difficult to determine which of these methodologies is the best option for any given application.This work fills this gap by making a comprehensive comparison of these three technologies with different SPME devices including SPME fibers,CBS blades,and SPME-PESI probes and SPME-liquid chromatography-MS(SPME-LC-MS)for the analysis of drugs of abuse using the same MS instrument.Furthermore,for the first time,we developed different desorption chambers for MOI-MS for coupling with SPME fibers,CBS blades,and SPME-PESI probes,thus illustrating the universality of this approach.In total,eight analytical methods were developed,with the experimental data showing that all the SPME-based methods provided good analytical performance with R^(2)of linearities larger than 0.9925,accuracies between 81%and 118%,and good precision with an RSD%≤13%.

Low temperature solid-phase sintering of sintered metal fibrous media with high specific surface area

A procedure of low temperature solid-phase sintering（LTSS） was carried out to fabricate sintered metal fibrous media（SMFM） with high specific surface area.Stainless steel fibers which were produced by cutting process were first plated with a coarse copper coating layer by electroless plating process.A low-temperature sintering process was then completed at about 800 °C for 1 h under the protection of hydrogen atmosphere.The results show that a novel SMFM with complex surface morphology and high specific surface area（0.2 m2/g） can be obtained in this way.The effect of sintering temperature on the surface morphology and specific surface area of SMFM was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller.The damage of micro-structure during the sintering process mainly contributed to the loss of specific surface area of SMFM and the optimal sintering temperature was 800 °C.

Solid-phase sintering process and forced convective heat transfer performance of porous-structured micro-channels

A solid-phase sintering process for the low-cost fabrication of composite micro-channels was developed. Three kinds of composite micro-channels with metallic porous structures were designed. The sintering process was studied and optimized to obtain porous-structured micro-channels with high porosity. The flow resistance and heat transfer performance in the composite micro-channels were investigated. The composite micro-channels show acceptable flow resistance, significant enhancement of heat transfer and dramatic improvement of flow boiling stability, which indicates a promising prospect for the application in forced convective heat transfer.

Determination of phthalate esters in fat-containing foods by packed nanofiber solid-phase extraction column and gas chromatography

A new method for simultaneous determination of four phthalate esters （ PAEs） in commercial fat-containing foods was developed by the combination of a packed nanofibers column based on solid-phase extraction with gas chromatography-flame ionization detector （ GC-FID ）. Conditions for obtaining optimum extraction efficiency such as extraction solvents, morphologies of adsorbent, ion strength and pH were investigated and optimized in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection （LODs） found for dibutyl phthalate （DBP） , butyl benzyl phthalate （BBP）, diethyl hexyl phthalate （DEHP） and di-n-octyl phthalate （DNOP） were 50, 25, 50 and 25 ng/g, respectively. Good linearity of four PAEs was achieved in the range of 50 to 4 000 ng/g. The proposed method was applied for analyzing different kinds of fat-containing samples. PAEs in commercial fat-containing samples can be highly extracted by a packed solid-phase extraction column of 5 mg polystyrene （ PS） nanofibers. The satisfactory average recoveries were obtained in the range of 96. 7% to 102. 3% , and the relative standard deviations （RSDs） below 5% were achieved. The proposed method reduces the organic solvent consumption, the complex and tedious procedures for sample pretreatment, and achieves high sensitivity and reproducibility for the investigated PAEs.

Chemiluminescence Determination of Benzoic Acid Using A Solid-Phase Verdigris Reactor

A new chemiluminescence flow system has been developed for sequential determina-tion of benzoic acid based on the reaction of the compound with copper carbonate entrapped in a solid-phase reactor. It was found that the unsaturated complex of Cu(II) and benzoic acid (1:1) has strong catalytic effect on the luminol-H2O2 chemiluminescence reaction. The calibration graph is linear over the range of 0.025 ~ 60 g/mL of benzoic acid, with a relative standard deviation of less than 3.0 %, and the detection limit is 0.01礸穖L-1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of benzoic acid content in different pharmaceutical formulations.

HPLC Determination of Captopril in Human Plasma with Pre-column Derivation and Solid-phase Extraction and Studies on Its Pharmacokinetic and Relative Bioavailability

A new pre-column derivation HPLC method with solid-phase extraction to determine captopril in human plasma was established. Derivation products were extracted by a solid-phase extraction method after the reagent, p-a-dibromoacetophenone(p-BPB), was added in the plasma samples. The samples were analyzed in a VP-ODS column with UV-detector. The calibration curve of captopril was linear within the range of 5~1000 ngmL-1 with r=0.9987, the recovery of this method was 98.652.04%, within day and between day RSD were no more than 3.4% and 8.4% respectively. To study the pharmacokinetics and the relative bioavailability of captopril tablets, two formulations of captopril tablets were given to 18 healthy male volunteers according to a randomized 2-way cross-over design with a 1-week washout period. The respective AUC0~6 , Cmax and Tmax values of the two formulations were 424.5125.7 and 439.4113.3 mghL-1; 505.9244.6 and 504.8172.2 mgL-1; 0.6620.181 and 0.5280.176 h. Results from statistics analysis showed that there were no significant difference between the AUC0~6 , Cmax and Tmax values of the two formulations, The relative bioavailability of tablets I with respect to II was 96.114.6% from AUC0~6 measurement. Bioequivalance was observed between the two tablets.

Comparison of Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction with Simultaneous Steam Distillation Extraction for the Analysis of the Volatile Constituents in Chinese Apricot

Volatile constituents in fully mature fruits of apricot （Prunus armeniaca L.） cultivar Xinshiji were extracted using headspace solid-phase microextraction （HS-SPME） and simultaneous steam distillation extraction （SSDE） and then analyzed using capillary gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 70 components were identified by HSSPME, including 20 esters, 19 hydrocarbons, 5 alcohols, 5 ketones, 4 acids, 4 lactones, 3 aldehydes, and 10 miscellaneous components, with the esters being the dominant constituent. On the basis of the odor unit values, it is believed that the following compounds probably contributed to the fresh apricot odor： hexyl acetate, β-ionone, butyl acetate, （E）-2-hexenal, linalool, limonene, γ-decalactone, and hexanal. A total of 49 components were also detected by SSDE, including 13 hydrocarbons, 9 alcohols, 7 aldehydes, 9 esters, 4 ketones, 4 lactones, 2 acids, and 1 miscellaneous component, of which the monoterpene alcohols were the dominant constituents. It could be judged from the odor unit values that the following compounds were the major contributors to boiled apricot aroma： β-ionone, linalool, hexyl acetate, γ-dodecalactone, γ- decalactone, （E）-2-hexenal, hexanal, γ-octalactone, phenylacetaldehyde, butyl acetate, limonene, α-terpineol, and δ-decalactone. The results show that HS-SPME is a simple, rapid, and solvent-free method, which is an alternative to the classical SSDE.

Synthesis of a highly hydrophobic cyclic decapeptide by solid-phase synthesis of linear peptide and cyclization in solution

A general method was described to synthesize a highly hydrophobic cyclic peptide,cyclo[LWLWLWLWLQ]where underlines indicate D-configuration of the amino acid,by a two-step solid-phase/solution synthesis strategy.The linear decapeptide was assembled by standard Boc chemistry on solid-phase and subsequently cyclized in solution with high efficiency and reproducibility. In subsequent purification by semi-preparative HPLC,50%(v/v) DMF/H_2O was employed as the solvent to overcome the difficulty of solubilization...

Solid-phase synthesis of Cu2MoS4 nanoparticles for degradation of methyl blue under a halogen-tungsten lamp

The Cu_2MoS_4 nanoparticles were prepared using a relatively simple and convenient solid-phase process, which was applied for the first time. The crystalline structure, morphology, and optical properties of Cu_2MoS_4 nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and UV-vis spectrophotometry. Cu_2MoS_4 nanoparticles having a band gap of 1.66 eV exhibits good photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue, which indicates that this simple process may be critical to facilitate the cheap production of photocatalysts.

Use of packed-fiber solid-phase extraction for sample clean-up and preconcentration of vitamin B_(12) before determination

A rapid and simple preconcentration step applying packed-fiber solid-phase extraction columns has been investigated to vitamin B12. The extraction performance of the new method was investigated preliminarily on vitamin functional drink. The analysis used a reversed-phase C18 column, with a photo-diode array detector at 220 nm. The samples were preconcentrated with packed-fiber solid-phase extraction columns. Good linearity was observed in vitamin functional drink. The repeatability of extraction performance, expressed as relative standard deviations, was from 3.5% to 4.3%. The limit of detection （LOD） is 5 ng mL^-1 （S/N = 3）. Finally, the method had been applied for the determination of vitamin B12 in vitamin functional drink.

Comparison of simultaneous distillation extraction and solid-phase micro-extraction for determination of volatile constituents in tobacco flavor

The volatile and semi-volatile components in tobacco flavor additives were extracted by both simultaneous distillation extraction and solid-phase micro-extraction. Extraction conditions for solid-phase micro-extraction were optimized with information theory. Then, detection were accomplished by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Characteristic of each method was compared. Qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis of 6# tobacco flavor sample were accomplished through both simultaneous distillation extraction and solid-phase micro-extraction. The experimental results show that solid-phase micro-extraction method is the first choice for qualitative analysis and simultaneous distillation extraction is another good selection for quantitative analysis. By means of simultaneous distillation extraction, 20 components are identified, accounting for 92.77% of the total peak areas. Through solid-phase micro-extraction, there are 17 components identified accounting for 91.49% of the total peak areas. The main aromatic components in 6# tobacco flavor sample are propanoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, ethyl ester, menthol and menthyl acetate. The presented method has been successfully used for quality control of tobacco flavor.

Fast determination of multi-mycotoxins in corn by dispersive solid-phase extraction coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A fast analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 9 mycotoxins, including alfatoxins （B1, B2, G1, and G2）, fumonisins （B1, B2 and B3）, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol in corn using dispersive solid-phase extraction method and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem quadrupole time-of-lfight mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） was developed and validated. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile-water （84：16, v：v, containing 1% acetic acid） using ultrasonic extraction. The extracts were puriifed with a dispersive SPE method using C18 as a cleaning agent. The ifnal clear extracts were dried by nitrogen blowing and subsequently redissolved in methanol-water （5：5, v：v）. The samples were then analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS with 0.1% formic acid in ammonium acetate-methanol as mobile phase. The mean recoveries were ranged from 68.0 to 120.0%, and the relative standard deviation （RSD） ranged from 0.18 to 6.29%. Limits of detections ranged from 0.05 to 50 μg kg？1, and limits of quantiifcation ranged from 0.1 to 200 μg kg？1, which were below the legal limits set by the European Union for the legislated mycotoxins. The developed method was applied to 130 corn samples. Among the mycotoxins studied, alfatoxins B1 and fumonisins B1, B2 and B3 were the most predominant mycotoxins, and their concentrations were 0–593.12, 0–2.01×104, 0–6.94×103 and 0–3.05×103 μg kg–1, respectively.

Preparation of polypyrrole/nanosilica composite for solid-phase microextraction of bisphenol and phthalates migrated from containers to eye drops and injection solutions

This paper describes the electrodeposition of polyphosphate-doped polypyrrole/nanosilica nano-composite coating on steel wire for direct solid-phase microextraction of bisphenol A and five phthalates. We optimized influencing parameters on the extraction efficiency and morphology of the nanocomposite such as deposition potential, concentration of pyrrole and polyphosphate, deposition time and the nanosilica amount. Under the optimized conditions, characterization of the nanocomposite was inves-tigated by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Also, the factors related to the solid-phase microextraction method including desorption temperature and time, extrac-tion temperature and time, ionic strength and pH were studied in detail. Subsequently, the proposed method was validated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry by thermal desorption and acceptable figures of merit were obtained. The linearity of the calibration curves was between 0.01 and 50 ng/mL with acceptable correlation coefficients (0.9956-0.9987) and limits of detection were in the range 0.002-0.01 ng/mL. Relative standard deviations in terms of intra-day and inter-day by five replicate analyses from aqueous solutions containing 0.1 ng/mL of target analytes were in the range 3.3%-5.4% and 5%-7.1%, respectively. Fiber-to-fiber reproducibilities were measured for three different fibers prepared in the same conditions and the results were between 7.3% and 9.8%. Also, extraction recoveries at two different concentrations were ≥96%. Finally, the suitability of the proposed method was demonstrated through its application to the analysis of some eye drops and injection solutions.

Time-frequency analysis of Li solid-phase diffusion in spherical active particles under typical discharge modes

Li transient concentration distribution in spherical active material particles can affect the maximum power density and the safe operating regime of the electric vehicles(EVs). On one hand, the quasiexact/exact solution obtained in the time/frequency domain is time-consuming and just as a reference value for approximate solutions;on the other hand, calculation errors and application range of approximate solutions not only rely on approximate algorithms but also on discharge modes. For the purpose to track the transient dynamics for Li solid-phase diffusion in spherical active particles with a tolerable error range and for a wide applicable range, it is necessary to choose optimal approximate algorithms in terms of discharge modes and the nature of active material particles. In this study, approximation methods,such as diffusion length method, polynomial profile approximation method, Padé approximation method,pseudo steady state method, eigenfunction-based Galerkin collocation method, and separation of variables method for solving Li solid-phase diffusion in spherical active particles are compared from calculation fundamentals to algorithm implementation. Furthermore, these approximate solutions are quantitatively compared to the quasi-exact/exact solution in the time/frequency domain under typical discharge modes, i.e., start-up, slow-down, and speed-up. The results obtained from the viewpoint of time-frequency analysis offer a theoretical foundation on how to track Li transient concentration profile in spherical active particles with a high precision and for a wide application range. In turn, optimal solutions of Li solid diffusion equations for spherical active particles can improve the reliability in predicting safe operating regime and estimating maximum power for automotive batteries.

Organic acids and inorganic anions in Bayer liquors by ion chromatography after solid-phase extraction

A method for the simultaneous separation and determination of organic acids and inorganic anions in Bayer liquors was developed by gradient ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection. Formate, acetate, propionate, oxalate, succinate, glutarate, fluoride, chloride and sulfate were separated and determined in 33 min. The samples were pretreated with solid-phase extraction, which has high selectivity for removing a large number of metallic ions in the Bayer liquors, and filtered with a 0.45 μm filter membrane before being injected into the ion chromatographic system. The separation of six organic acids and three inorganic anions was achieved on an IonPac AS11-HC column with KOH as the eluent, and the detection was performed by a conductivity detection mode. No interference is found in the presence of fluorate, chlorate and sulphate when organic acids are determined. The calibration graphs of peak area for all the analytes are linear over a wide range. The relative standard derivation of the peak area of analytes is less than 2.14%. Under optimum conditions the detection ranges from 0.2 to 100.0 mg/L. The average recoveries of the added standards are between 94.3% and 102.8%.

Solid-phase extraction of trace Au(Ⅲ) with SDG and determination by the catalytic spectrophotometric method

The new catalytic kinetic spectrophotometric method for Au（III） determination was developed and validated. It was based on the catalytic effect of gold on the oxidation of sudan red III by ammonium peroxodisulfate （（NH4）2S2O8） with nitrilo triacetic acid as an activator in microemulsion and H2SO4 medium. Under optimum conditions, there was the linearity of the calibration curve in the concentration range from 0 to 20 μg/L Au（Ⅲ） at 520 nm. The relative standard deviation was 3.0% with a correlation coefficient of 0.9986. The detection limit achieved was 9.75 × 10^-5 μg/mL. A new method using a column packed with sulfhydryl dextrose gel （SDG） as a solid-phase extractant has been developed for the preconcentration and separation of Au（Ⅲ） ions. The method has been applied to the determination of trace gold with satisfactory results.

Solid-phase Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Films by Rapid Thermal Annealing

The morphous silicon films prepared by PECVD at substrate temperatures of 30℃ have been crystallized by rapid thermal annealing method, the budget of time-temperature in the annealing process is 600℃ for 120s, 850℃ for 120s, and 950℃ for 120s. The results indicate the crystallization at 850℃ and 950℃ are better as shown in micro-Raman scattering and scanning electronic microscope.