ANALYSIS OF VOLATILE CONSTITUENTS OF CHINESE MEDICINAL HERBS BY FLASH DISTILLATION/CAPILLARY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROMETRY

In present work,the volatile constituents of Curcuma longa L.,A.lancea (Thunb.) DC.,Foeniculum vulgare Mill,and Cinnamomun cassia Presl.have been analyzed by flash distillation/capillary gas chro-matography/mass spectrometry.The results are consistent with those obtained by conventional steam distillation extraction method.The optimum condition of flash distillation has been studied.The experimental results showed that this new technique proved to be a simple,rapid and efficient tool for microanalysis of volatile constituents of Chinese medicinal herbs.

Detection of Tocopherol in Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.) Using Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector

The variation among Chinese genotypes of Brassica napus L. for seed tocopherols content and their analysis using gas chromatography has not been comprehensively reported till to date. In the present study, the tocopherol contents of four Chinese genotypes of Brassica napus L., namely, Gaoyou 605, Zhejiang 619, Zheshuang 758, and Zheshuang 72, were evaluated using three modified sample preparation protocols （P1, P2, and P3） for tocopherol extraction. These methods were distinguished as follows. Protocol one （P1） included the evaporation of solvent after extraction without silylation. Protocol two （P2） followed the direct supernatant collection after overnight extraction without drying and silylation. Protocol three （P3） included trimethylsilylation with N,O-bis（trimethylsilyl） trifluoroacetamide. Genotypic comparison of tocopherol and its isoforms revealed that Gaoyou 605 was dominant over the other genotypes with （140.5＋ 10.5）, （316.2＋ 9.2）, and （559.1＋ 24.3） ~tg g-~ of seed meal ct-, 7-, and total （T-） tocopherol, respectively, and a 0.44＋0.04 ^- to 7-tocopherol ratio. The comparison of the sample preparation protocols, on the other hand, suggests that P3 is the most suitable method for the tocopherol extraction from Brassica oilseeds and for the analysis of tocopherols using gas chromatography flame ionization detector （GC-FID）. Trimethylsilylation is the key step differentiating P3 from P1 and P2. Variations detected in tocopherol contents among the Chinese rapeseed （B. napus） genotypes signify the need to quantify a wide range of rapeseed germplasm for seed tocopherol dynamics in short and crop improvement in long.

Effective and inexpensive gas chromatography method for detection of trace level SO_2 in H_2 fuel

Gas chromatography （GC） analysis of sulfer dioxide is challenging because SO2 is a highly mobile and chemically active molecule. For the conventional GC method with flame photometric detector （FPD） and direct-injection, it is often ineffective particularly when the SO2 level is as low as on the trace level. In this paper, a modified GC system integrated with an adsorption-desorption device was developed to detect the trace SO2 impurity in H2 fuel. Adsorbent GDX-502 is used in the adsorber to adsorb/collect SO2 from the sample gas and desorb/release it in a concentrated flow so that the conventional GC at downstream could detect it with an acceptable accuracy.

Determination of Trihalomethanes in Water Samples Using Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography

The chlorination process is one of the water treatment method used for the disinfection of water. The disinfection by products are trihalomethanes such as chloroform, dichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform. A headspace solid-phase microextraction method has been developed for determination oftrihalomethanes in water samples. The experimental parameters such as the stirring rate, extraction time, extraction temperature and desorption time were investigated. The linearity, detection limits and percentage recovery were evaluated. The optimum conditions were stirring rate 800 rpm/min, extraction time 6 min, extraction temperature 20 ~C, desorption time 2.5 min and desorption temperature 220 ~C. The detection limits were 0.01 ~g/L and the recoveries were in the range of 86-110 %, The proposed method was successfully applied to determination of THM4 in tap water samples. The THM4 contents were varied depending on the sample sites and the season. The total THM4 contents in cool, summer and rainy season were in the range of 27.58-41.89, 32.06-60.73 and 46.26-69.87 p.g/L, respectively. Confirmation of the detected compounds in water samples were performed by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. The mass spectra of the target compounds in water samples is in good agreement with trihalomethanes standard spectra.

Application Progress of Headspace Gas Chromatography in Analytical Chemistry

This paper briefly expounds the basic principle and classification of headspace gas chromatography,summarizes its application in food analysis,environmental analysis and medical analysis,and forecasts the application prospect of headspace gas chromatography in analytical chemistry in the future.

Coupling a Gas Chromatography Unit to an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer

Although the eminent threat of a terrorist group detonating an improvised nuclear device (IND) in an urban environment is low, it is crucial that countries develop modern nuclear forensic capabilities to expedite response in a post-detonation scenario. In particular, new instruments need to be created to shorten dissolution time, expedite chemical separation, and improve forensic analysis of the nuclear melt glass that is created during the detonation of the device. To expedite this process, an instrument was designed to thermally couple a gas chromatograph (GC) to a time-of-flight inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ICPTOFMS) In order to couple these two instruments, another instrument was designed to provide an isothermal atmosphere between the GC and TOFICPMS to expedite rapid gas separations processes. By using gas separations instead of the current wet chemistry processes, the required separation and analysis time of the melt glass significantly decreases. The new instrument would also provide a more detailed analysis of the elemental and isotopic composition of the melt glass. By completing these tasks simultaneously, this significantly decreases the required time to conduct these separations and improves the elemental and isotopic analysis.

Supercritical fluid extraction and gas chromatography analysis of arsenic species from solid matrices

A method in combination with derivatization-supercritical fluid extraction（SFE） and gas chromatography（GC） for the speciation and quantitative determination of dimethylarsinate（DMA）, monomethylarsonate（MMA） and inorganic arsenic in solid matrices was investigated. Thioglycolic acid methyl ester（TGM） and thioglycolic acid ethyl ester（TGE） were evaluated as derivatization reagents. The effects of pressure, temperature, flow rate of supercritical CO_2, extraction time, modifier and microemulsion on the efficiency of extraction were systematically investigated. The procedure was applied to the analysis of real soil and sediment samples. Results showed that TGE was more effective for arsenic speciation as a derivatization reagent. Modifying supercritical CO_2 with methanol can greatly improve the extraction efficiency. Further, the addition of microemulsion containing surfactant Triton X-100 can further enhance recoveries of arsenic species. The optimum extraction conditions were 100 ℃, 30 MPa, 10 min static and 25 min dynamic extraction with 5%（v/v） methanol, and surfactant modified supercritical CO_2. Detection limits in solid matrices were 0.15, 0.3 and 1.2 mg/kg for DMA, MMA and inorganic arsenic,respectively. The method was validated by the recovery data. The resulting method was fast, easy to perform and selective in the extraction and detection of various arsenic species in solid matrices.

Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry for Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Essential Oil from Curcuma wenyujin Rhizomes

Objectives:A rapid and sensitive gas chromatography–mass spectrometry(GC–MS)method for quantitative and qualitative analysis of essential oil from Curcuma wenyujin rhizomes was established.Methods:The essential oil of C.wenyujin rhizomes was extracted by supercritical CO2 extraction(SFE).Six main bioactive compounds(eucalyptol,β-elemene,curzerene,germacrone,curdione,and curcumol)were analyzed in selected ion monitoring mode(SIM).Results:Curzerene is not originally present in C.wenyujin rhizomes,but is a product of the transformation of furanodiene at high temperature.The six target components demonstrated good linearity(R2>0.9979)over a relatively wide concentration range.The interday and intraday variations had relative standard deviation values less than 5%and the average recovery ranged from 96.95%to 100.04%.The limit of quantitation ranged from 0.032 to 0.235μg/mL.The developed method was successfully used to analyze the six compounds in 17 samples collected from different origins.Significant variation was observed for the concentrations of the six compounds.In addition,51 constituents were identified in C.wenyujin rhizome essential oil,consisting of 87.66%of the total essential oil,including curdione,curzerene,dehydrocurdione,germacrone,1,4-bis(2-benzimidazoyl)benzene,neocurdione,curcumenone,andβ-elemene.Conclusions:The proposed method will be useful in the quality control of C.wenyujin rhizome essential oil production.

THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF THE ENANTIOMER RESOLUTION OF TFA-Ala-OMe, TFA-Ala-Ala-OMe, AND TFA-Ala-Ala-Ala-OMe BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ON CHIRASIL-VAL

TFA-Ala-OMe, TFA-Ala-Ala-OMe, and TFA-Ala-Ala-Ala-OMe can be separated into 1, 2, and 4 enantiomeric pairs, respectively, by GC on the chiral stationary phase Chirasil-Val. The selectivity of the chiral stationary phase for the different stereoisomers is controlled by both interaction enthalpy and interaction entropy. The interaction enthalpy is approximately proportional to the number of Ala units. Although the whole molecule is involved in the interaction, the C-terminus plays an important role. The elution order of DDD- and LLL-TFA-Ala-Ala-Ala-OMe is opposite to the order of the enhalpy values, and the ratio of net retention data t’r(DDD)/t’r(LLL) is increased with increasing temperature. By lowering the temperature, peak crossing of the enantiomeric pair has been observed. Below the isoselective temperature Tiso’ the order of elution is ruled by the enthalpy of interaction, above Tiso by the entropy of interaction.

Determination of selected semi-volatile organic compounds in water using automated online solid-phase extraction with large-volume injection/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A rapid,sensitive,and cost-effective analyticalmethod was developed for the analysis of selected semivolatileorganic compounds in water.The method used anautomated online solid-phase extraction technique coupledwith programmed-temperature vaporization large-volumeinjection gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.Thewater samples were extracted by using a fully automatedmobile rack system based on x-y-z robotic techniquesusing syringes and disposable 96-well extraction plates.The method was validated for the analysis of 30 semivolatileanalytes in drinking water,groundwater,andsurface water.For a sample volume of 10 mL,the linearcalibrations ranged from 0.01 or 0.05 to 2.5μg·L^(-1),and themethod detection limits were less than 0.1μg·L^(-1).For thereagent water samples fortified at 1.0μg·L^(-1)and2.0μg·L^(-1),the obtained mean absolute recoveries were70%-130%with relative standard deviations of less than20%for most analytes.For the drinking water,groundwater,and surface water samples fortified at 1.0μg·L^(-1),theobtained mean absolute recoveries were 50%-130%withrelative standard deviations of less than 20%for mostanalytes.The new method demonstrated three advantages:1)no manipulation except the fortification of surrogatestandards prior to extraction;2)significant cost reductionassociated with sample collection,shipping,storage,andpreparation;and 3)reduced exposure to hazardous solventsand other chemicals.As a result,this new automatedmethod can be used as an effective approach for screeningand/or compliance monitoring of selected semi-volatileorganic compounds in water.

Simultaneous Determination of Halogen Compounds and Sulfur Oxides in Flue Gas by Ion Chromatography

Ion chromatography （IC） is a suitable analytical method for the determination of anions. As analytical methods for the halogen compounds in flue gas, those of bromine compound, fluorine compound, chlorine （Cl2） and hydrogen chloride （HCI） are listed in JIS. However, IC has not been adopted in JIS except for HCI and C12. Because the carbon dioxide in flue gas is absorbed in a 0.1 M sodium hydroxide solution as an absorber, it is interfered with the measurement of F^- and Cl^- ions. This paper describes the development of the pretreatment equipment for the flue gas analysis by IC, and its applications to real flue gas analysis. The F^-, Cl^-, Br^- and SO4^2- in the absorbing solution can be clearly separated by IC using the pretreatment equipment. The halogen compounds and sulfur oxides in flue gas can be simultaneously determined by IC.

Efficient Separation of Ar and Kr from Environmental Samples for Trace Radioactive Noble Gas Detection

Radioactive noble-gas isotopes, SSKr （half-life tl/2=10.8 y）, 39Ar （tl/2=269 y）, and SlKr （t1/2-229,000 y）, are ideal tracers and can be detected by atom trap trace analysis （ATTA）, a laser-based technique, from environmental samples like air and groundwater. Prior to ATTA measurements, it is necessary to efficiently extract krypton and argon gases from samples. Using a combination of cryogenic distillation, titanium chemical reaction and gas chromatography, we demonstrate that we can recover both krypton and argon gases from 1-10 L ＂air-like＂ samples with yields in excess of 90% and 98%, respectively, which meet well the requirements for ATTA measurements. A group of testing samples are analyzed to verify the performance of the system, including two groundwater samples obtained from north China plain.

Study on the analysis and distribution of dimethylsulfoxide in the Jiaozhou Bay

A chemoreduction-purge-and-trap gas chromatographic method has been developed for the deter-mination of trace dimethylsulfoxide （DMSO） in seawater. In the analysis procedure, DMSO was first reduced to dimethylsufide （DMS） by sodium borohydride and then the produced DMS was analyzed using the purge-and-trap technique coupled with gas chromatographic separation and flame photometric detection. Under the optimum conditions, 97% DMSO was reduced in the standard solution samples with a standard deviation of 5% （n=5）. The detection limit of DMSO was 2.7 pmol of sulfur, corresponding to a concentration of 0.75 nmol/L for a 40 ml sample. This method was applied to determine the dissolved DMSO （DMSOd） and particulate DMSO （DMSOp） con- centrations in the surface seawater of the Jiaozhou Bay, and the results showed that the DMSOd and DMSOp concentrations varied from 16.8 to 921.1 nmol/L （mean：165.2 nmol/L） and from 8.0 to 162.4 nmol/L （mean： 57.7 nmol/L）, respectively. The high concentrations of DMSOp were generally found in productive regions. Consequently, a significant correlation was found between the concentrations of DMSOp and chlorophyll a, suggesting that phytoplankton biomass might play an important role in controlling the distribution of DMSOp in the bay. Moreover, in the study area, the concentrations of DMSOd were significantly correlated with the levels of DMS, implying that the production of DMSOd is mainly via photochemical and biological oxidation of DMS.

Principal Component Analysis （PCA） on Multivariate Data of Lard Analysis in Cooking Oil

Discrimination of fatty acids （FAs） of lard in used cooking oil is important in halal determination. The aim of this study was to find the information related to the changes FAs of lard when frying in cooking oil. Quantitative analysis of FAs composition extracted from a series of experiments which involving frying cooking oil spiked with lard at three different parameters; concentration of spiked lard, heating temperatures and period of frying. The samples were analyzed using Gas Chromatography （GC） and Principal Components Analysis （PCA） technique. Multivariate data from chromatograms of FAs were standardized and computed using Unscrambler X10 into covariance matrix and eigenvectors correspond to Principal Components （PCs）. Results have shown that the first and second PCs contribute to the FAs mapping which can be visualized by scores and loading plots to discriminate FAs of lard in used cooking oil

Exhaled breath analysis in hepatology: State-of-the-art and perspectives

Liver disease is characterized by breath exhalation of peculiar volatile organic compounds(VOCs).Thanks to the availability of sensitive technologies for breath analysis,this empiric approach has recently gained increasing attention in the context of hepatology,following the good results obtained in other fields of medicine.After the first studies that led to the identification of selected VOCs for pathophysiological purposes,subsequent research has progressively turned towards the comprehensive assessment of exhaled breath for potential clinical application.Specific VOC patterns were found to discriminate subjects with liver cirrhosis,to rate disease severity,and,eventually,to forecast adverse clinical outcomes even beyond existing scores.Preliminary results suggest that breath analysis could be useful also for detecting and staging hepatic encephalopathy and for predicting steatohepatitis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.However,clinical translation is still hampered by a number of methodological limitations,including the lack of standardization and the consequent poor comparability between studies and the absence of external validation of obtained results.Given the low-cost and easy execution at bedside of the new technologies(e-nose),larger and well-structured studies are expected in order to provide the adequate level of evidence to support VOC analysis in clinical practice.

Sex Pheromone Components of the Female Black Cutworm Moth in China: Identification and Field Trials

The sex pheromone blend of a China strain of the black cutworm moth Agrotis ypsilon （Rottemberg） （Lepidoptera： Noctuidae） was investigated. Chemical analysis of pheromone gland extracts of 3-day-old females showed that individual isolated glands contained only very small amounts of pheromone. The high-resolution gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry （GC-MS） analysis showed the presence of Cis-7-dodecenyl acetate （Z7-12：Ac, A）, Cis-9-tetradecenyl acetate （Z9-14：Ac, B）, Cis- 11-hexadecenyl acetate （Z 11 - 16 ：Ac, C）, Cis-8-dodecenyl acetate （Z8-12：Ac, E） and Cis-5-decenyl acetate （Z5-10：Ac, D） in biologically active pheromone gland extracts. An extract of one gland from a day 3 female gave the following values for the gland components： 0.245±0.098ng for Z7-12：Ac, 0.080±0.031ng for Z9-14：Ac, 0.089±0.033ng for Z11-16：Ac, 0.085±0.031ng for Z5-10：Ac, 0.105±0.065ng for Z8-12：Ac per female. The percentages of Z7-12：Ac, Z9-14：Ac, Z11-16：Ac, Z5-10：Ac and ZS-12：Ac in pheromone gland extracts from individual females were （meaniSE） 40.451±13.66, 13.176±5.279, 14.943±5.142, 14.392±6.10 and 17.225±9.792 respectively, and the percentages of Z7-12：Ac, Z9-14：Ac and Z11-16：Ac were 58.75±9.429, 18.91±7.539 and 22.34±7.209. Field trials indicated that each single component of sex pheromone was non-effective and captured no males. The lures baited with duality compound of AB （3 ： 1） had a certain attraction to males, the mean captured number was 2.6. The attraction ability of the lures baited with ternary compound of ABC （3 ： 1 ：1） to males added significantly, the mean captured number per trap was 7.40, which was 2.8 times of duality compound of AB （3 ： 1）. The contents of sex pheromone could obviously affect its capture ability to males, the mean captured number was the highest at the dosage of 200 μg.

Protective Effect of Distillate and Redistillate of Cow’s Urine in Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes Challenged With Established Genotoxic Chemicals

Objective From the ancient period cow’urine has been used as a medicine. In Veda, cow’urine was compared to the nectar. In Susrut, several medicinal properties of cow’ urine have been mentioned and are known to cause weight loss, reversal of certain cardiac and kidney problems, indigestion, stomach ache, edema, etc. However, the literature and scripture did not mention the antigenotoxic properties of cow’urine. Methods In the present investigation, the antigenotoxic/ antioxidant properties of cow’ urine distillate and redistillate were studied in vitro. The antioxidant status and volatile fatty acid levels were determined. Actinomycin-D (0.1ol/L) and hydrogen peroxide (150 mol/L) were used for inducing DNA strand break with 0.1% DMSO as negative control. Dose for the antigenotoxic effect of cow’ urine was chosen from the dose response study carried out earlier. Results Both actinomycin-D and H2O2 caused statistically significant DNA unwinding of 80% & 75% respectively (P<0.001) as revealed by fluorimetric analysis of DNA unwinding (FADU), and the damage could be protected with the redistilled cow urine distillate (1, 50 & 100 ) in simultaneous treatment with genotoxic chemicals. Conclusion The redistillate of cowurine was found to possess total antioxidant status of around 2.6 mmol, contributed mainly by volatile fatty acids (1500 mg/L) as revealed by the GC-MS studies. These fatty acids and other antioxidants might cause the observed protective effects.

Genotoxicity of Pesticide Waste Contaminated Soil and Its Leachate

Objective Improper land disposal of hazardous waste can result in leaching of hazardous constituents which may contaminate ground and surface water leading to adverse impact on human health and environment consequences. The present study utilized mammalian cell culture for the genotoxicity assessment of waste and its leachate. Methods Genotoxic potential and chemical analysis of pesticide derived tarry waste contaminated soil extract and its leachate was assessed using in vitro human lymphocyte cultures and GC-MS. Results The investigation revealed that the soil extract could cause significant to highly significant genotoxicity in the form of DNA strand break at 25 mL (P<0.01), 50 mL, 100 mL and 200 mL (P<0.001) and chromosomal aberration at 25 mL (P<0.01) and 50 mL and 100 mL (P<0.001). The leachate could cause significant DNA strand break and chromosomal aberration only at 100 mL and 200 mL (P<0.01) dose levels. Conclusion The genotoxicity observed is attributed to carbaril and tetra methyl naphthyl carbamate, the major ingredients of the extracts, as revealed by GC-MS.

吡螨胺的气相色谱定量分析

本文以５％ＱＦ－１为固定液，邻苯二甲酸二正戊酯为内标气相色谱法定量分析吡螨胺。该方法线性相关系数为０９９９９，变异系数为０４２％，平均回收率为９９７３％。

Determination of Xenon in Air by a Pulse-discharge Helium Ionization Detector

A pulse-discharge helium ionization detector（Valco, PD-D3-I） was used to measure xenon concentration in air. The dependences of the detector relative response on various gas chromatograph parameters were investigated. Based on the well prepared gas connections for the detector system and optimized gas chromatography（GC） working conditions, the atmospheric xenon concentration could be measured by the cheap GC method with a detection level of 0.7×10-9（parts by volume）. Moreover, the xenon concentration in the ground level air around our laboratory was measured with the result of 0.085×10-6（parts by volume） and RSD of 0.91%.