Determination of amino acid neurotransmitters in human cerebrospinal fluid and saliva by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

Synthesis of a Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Imaging Catecholamines via a Tandem Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution

A near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe NS667 was developed using a novel synthetic strategy by integrating an electron-rich 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline (THQ) into the scaffold from NS510, which binds to catecholamines with high affinity. The fluorophore core was constructed with a tandem nucleophilic aromatic substitution. Upon binding to catecholamines, the fluorescence of this probe shifted, with the emission in the NIR region. Live cell imaging results demonstrate that NS667 can effectively image norepinephrine in chromaffin cells with shifted fluorescence, which highlights the potential of the probe for neuroimaging in tissues.

Role of Iron Phthalocyanine Coordination in Catecholamines Detection

Catecholamines are an important class of neurotransmitters responsible for regularizing, controlling, and treating neural diseases. Based on control and diseases treatment, the development of methodology and dives to sensing is a promissory technology area. This work evaluated the role of iron phthalocyanine coordination (FePc) with the specific groups from catecholamine molecules (L-dopa, dopamine, epinephrine, and the amino acid tyrosine) and the effect of this coordination on electrochemical behavior. The in situ coordination analysis was performed through isotherms π-A of FePc Langmuir films in the absence and presence of catecholamines. The π-A isotherm indicates a strong interaction between FePc monolayer and L-Dopa and DA, which present a catechol group and a side chain with a protonated amino group (-NH3+). These strong interactions with catechol and amine groups were confirmed by characterization at the molecular level using the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) from a Langmuir–Schaefer monolayer deposited onto Ag surfaces. The electrochemical measurements present a similar tendency, with lower oxidation potential observed to DA>L-Dopa>Ep. The results corroborate that the coordination of the analyte on the electron mediator surface plays an essential role in an electrochemical sensing application. The FePc LS film was applied as a sensor in tablet drug samples, showing a uniformity of content of 96% for detecting active compounds present in the L-Dopa drug samples.

Stochastic biosensors based on N- and S-doped graphene for the enantioanalysis of aspartic acid in biological samples

Metabolomics plays a very important role in cancer mechanism and also in the early diagnosis of cancer. The enantioanalysis of aminoacids found in biological samples may favor the development of new screening tests for the early diagnosis of cancer. Two stochastic biosensors, based on the immobilization of α-hemolysin and hemin in exfoliated reduced graphene modified with nitrogen and sulphur, were proposed for the enantioanalysis of aspartic acid in biological samples (whole blood, urine, saliva, and tissue). The proposed biosensors showed low limits of quantification, high sensitivity, and large linear concentration ranges. The recoveries of d- and l-aspartic acid in biological samples were higher than 95.00%, with a relative standard deviation lower than 1.00%.

Stochastic biosensors based on N- and S-doped graphene modified with hemin or α-hemolysin contributed to establishing the metabolomics of gastric cancer by performing the enantioanalysis of aspartic acid in different biological samples.

Non-separative method based on a single quadrupole mass spectrometer for the semi-quantitative determination of amino acids in saliva samples. A preliminary study

Amino acids have been of great interest in clinical studies since variation in their concentration may provide information about different disorders. For the first time, a non-separative method based on single quadrupole mass spectrometry (qMS) for the simultaneous semiquantitative determination of sixteen amino acids in saliva samples has been developed. The method includes derivatisation of amino acids with ethyl chloroformate-pyridine-ethanol to obtain volatile products, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and further analysis using a programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) coupled to qMS. This method could be applied to the analysis of a great number of saliva samples, limiting the use of separative methods only when abnormal concentrations of amino acids were found, reducing analysis time and cost. The results obtained in the determination of amino acids using the non-separative method were compared to those obtained when a separative method based on gas chromatography (GC) was used, providing values of average relative predictive error (E %) ranging between 2 and 48%. Repeatability and reproducibility were tested, obtaining relative standard deviation (RSD) values equal to or lower than 11% and 16%, respectively. Detection limits were in the range of 0.076-8.747 mg L^-1 for the non-separative method.

Capillary electrophoresis of small ions and molecules in less conventional human body fluid samples: A review

In recent years, advances in sensitive analytical techniques have encouraged the analysis of various compounds in biological fluids. While blood serum, blood plasma and urine still remain the golden standards in clinical, toxicological and forensic science, analyses of other body fluids, such as breast milk, exhaled breath condensate, sweat, saliva, amniotic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, or capillary blood in form of dried blood spots are becoming more popular. This review article focuses on capillary electrophoresis and microchip electrophoresis of small ions and molecules (e.g. inorganic cations/anions, basic/acidic drugs, small acids/bases, amino acids, peptides and other low molecular weight analytes) in various less conventional human body fluids and hopes to stimulate further interest in the field.

A High-Affinity Fluorescent Sensor for Catecholamine: Application to Monitoring Norepinephrine Exocytosis

A fluorescent sensor for catecholamines, NS510, is presented. The sensor is based on a quinolone fluorophore incorporating a boronic acid recognition element that gives it high affinity for catecholamines and a turn-on response to norepinephrine. The sensor results in punctate staining of norepinephrine-enriched chromaffin cells visualized using confocal microscopy indicating that it stains the norepinephrine in secretory vesicles. Amperometry in conjunction with total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy demonstrates that the sensor can be used to observe destaining of individual chromaffin granules upon exocytosis. NS510 is the highest affinity fluorescent norepinephrine sensor currently available and can be used for measuring catecholamines in live-cell assays.

Electrochemical recognition of taurine biomarker in unprocessed human plasma samples using silver nanoparticlebased nanocomposite: A new platform for early stage diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases of the nervous system

The rapid and accurate determination of the level of taurine biomarker in various tissues and body fluids can be of great interest in the early diagnosis of several important pathologies and diseases. In the present study, an innovative electrochemical interface for quantitation of taurine based on ternary signal amplification strategy was fabricated. In this work, silver nanoparticles were electrodeposited onto green and biocompatible nanocomposite containing α-cyclodextrin as conductive matrix. Therefore, a double layer film based on α-cyclodextrin and silver nanoparticles was exploited to develop a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for detection of taurine. Fully electrochemical methodology was used to prepare a transducer on a glassy carbon electrode which provided a high surface area towards sensitive detection of taurine biomarker. The surface morphology of electrode surface was characterized by high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The proposed sensing platform provides a simple tool for taurine detection. The calibration curve for taurine concentration was linear in 0.7 nM to 0.1 mM with low limit of quantification of 0.7 nM. The practical analytical utility of the modified electrode was illustrated by determination of taurine in unprocessed human plasma samples with recovery of 90.8% to 104%.

A Two-Input Fluorescent Logic Gate for Glutamate and Zinc

The direct visualization of neurotransmitters is a continuing problem in neuroscience; however, functional fluorescent sensors for organic analytes are still rare. Herein, we describe a fluorescent sensor for glutamate and zinc ions. The sensor acts as a fluorescent logic gate, giving a turn-off response to glutamate or zinc ion alone. The combination of analytes produces a large increase in fluorescence. This type of sensor will aid in the study of neurotransmission, in this case, for neurons that copackage high concentrations of zinc and glutamate.

Bioanalytical Application of Amino Acid Detection by Capillary Electrophoresis

This chapter illustrates the usefulness of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the analysis of amino acids, and both normal and chiral separations are covered. In order to provide a general description of the main results and challenges in the biomedical field, some relevant applications and reviews on CE of amino acids are tabulated. Furthermore, some detailed experimental procedures are shown, regarding the CE analysis of amino acids in body fluids, in microdialysate, and released upon hydrolysis of proteins. In particular, the protocols will deal with the following compounds: (1) underivatized aminoacids in blood; (2) γ-Aminobutyric acid, glutamate, and L-Aspartate derivatized with Naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde; (3) hydrolysate from bovine serum albumine derivatized with phenylisothiocyanate. By examining these applications on real matrices, the capillary electrophoresis efficiency as tool for Amino Acid analysis can be ascertained.

Salivary proteomics and biomarkers in neurology and psychiatry

Biomarkers are greatly needed in the fields of neurology and psychiatry, to provide objective and earlier diagnoses of CNS conditions. Proteomics and other omics MS-based technologies are tools currently being utilized in much recent CNS research. Saliva is an interesting alternative biomaterial for the proteomic study of CNS disorders, with several advantages. Collection is noninvasive and saliva has many proteins. It is easier to collect than blood and can be collected by professionals without formal medical training. For psychiatric and neurological patients, supplying a saliva sample is less anxiety-provoking than providing a blood sample, and is less embarrassing than producing a urine specimen. The use of saliva as a biomaterial has been researched for the diagnosis of and greater understanding of several CNS conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases, autism, and depression. Salivary biomarkers could be used to rule out nonpsychiatric conditions that are often mistaken for psychiatric/neurological conditions, such as fibromyalgia, and potentially to assess cognitive ability in individuals with compromised brain function. As MS and omics technology advances, the sensitivity and utility of assessing CNS conditions using distal human biomaterials such as saliva is becoming increasingly possible.

Drop-by-drop chemical reaction and sample introduction for capillary electrophoresis

In this paper, we report a novel sample introduction and chemical reaction strategy by drop-by-drop inkjet injection for an electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA). This method makes it possible to achieve an on-line introduction of reactant solutions by alternately ejecting small plugs, with an overlapping region of the plugs for mixing the reactants by electrophoresis, supporting chemical reactions, followed by electrophoretic separation of the final compounds. As a proof-of-concept of the method, the EMMA of an inkjetted mixture of 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-F) and amino acids was carried out as a model chemical reaction. The product NBD-amino acids were quantified by detection with laser induced fluorescence. The optimal conditions for the procedure were: inkjet driving voltage: +40-44 V; pulse width: 20-24 μs; drop-by-drop injection of reactant solutions: alternately 2 drops × 25 times for the amino acid solution and the NBD-F solution; zone overlapping voltage and time: 3 kV and 2 s; incubation time after overlapping: 5 min; separation voltage: 18 kV. Under the optimized conditions, a significant enhancement in sensitivity and a sensitive quantitative analysis were realized. The results obtained were comparable with those using the off-line labeling method. This method is rapid, cost-effective, and readily automated for EMMA.

Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid γ-aminobutyric acid by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

The measurement of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is suitable for investigating various neurological disorders. In this study, a sensitive and selective method for free GABA quantification in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been standardised. This method is based on CE with LIF detection using 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-F) as a derivatisating agent. The reaction conditions (NBD-F concentration, pH, temperature and reaction time) and the electrophoretic parameters (run buffer composition and pH and separation voltage) were optimised to obtain the maximum derivatisation efficiency and electrophoretic resolution. The best resolution was obtained using 200 mM sodium borate, 10 mM SDS, 8.5 mM β-CD, pH 10 and 20 kV voltage. The method was linear in the concentration range of 2.5-1000 nM with good inter- and intra-assay precision values. The effects of CSF handling on free GABA concentrations were also evaluated. Our results show that the time delay between CSF collection and freezing strongly increases the CSF GABA values. Age-related reference values were established in 55 paediatric controls. The influence of antiepileptic therapy on free CSF GABA was studied in 38 neuropaediatric patients. Significantly, higher GABA values were obtained in patients taking valproic acid or vigabatrin therapy, which are antiepileptic drugs that modulate GABA metabolism.

ExoSensor 517: a dual-analyte fluorescent chemosensor for visualizing neurotransmitter exocytosis

A dual-analyte fluorescent chemosensor (ExoSensor 517) for the direct visualization of neurotransmitters released upon exocytosis is presented. The sensor exploits the high concentration of neurotransmitters (e.g., glutamate, norepinephrine, and dopamine) and the pH gradient between the vesicle and synaptic cleft. The cooperative recognition elements require both binding and a change in environmental pH to afford a fluorescence response which makes ExoSensor 517 one of the first integrated molecular logic gates to be used for biological applications.

Determination of neurotransmitter amino acids in mouse central nervous system by CE-LIF

An MEKC method with LIF detection has been developed for the determination of seven neurotransmitter amino acids (NAAs) using 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(N-hydroxysuccinimidyl butyric ester)difluoroboradiaza-S-indacene as the labeling reagent. After derivatization at room temperature for 30 min, the seven target NAAs including glycine, alanine, γ-aminobutyric acid, taurine, glutamine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid were separated in running buffer, which consisted of 70 mM pH 4.00 H3 PO4 /Na3 PO4 buffer, 5.5 mM cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and 20% v/v acetonitrile within 17 min. The LODs were 2 ~ 14 × 10(-10) M without interference from other coexisting amino acids. The proposed method has been applied to the analysis of NAAs in the central nervous systems of healthy mice and those with Alzheimer's disease with recoveries of 92-104%.

The use of ethylene glycol solution as the running buffer for highly efficient microchip-based electrophoresis in unmodified cyclic olefin copolymer microchips

An ethylene glycol solution was used as the electrophoretic running buffer in unmodified cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) microchips to minimize the interactions between the analytes and the hydrophobic walls of the plastic microchannels, enhance the resolution of the analytes and eliminate the uncontrollable dispersion caused by uneven liquid levels and non-uniform surfaces of the separation channels. Five amino acids that were labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) were used as model analytes to examine the separation efficiency. The effects of ethylene glycol concentration, pH and sodium tetraborate concentration were systematically investigated. The five FITC-labeled amino acids were effectively resolved using a COC microchip with an effective length of 2.5 cm under optimum conditions, which included using a running buffer of 20 mmol/L sodium tetraborate in ethylene glycol:water (80:20, v/v), pH 6.7. A theoretical plate number of 4.8 × 10(5)/m was obtained for aspartic acid. The system exhibited good repeatability, and the relative standard deviations (n=5) of the peak areas and migration times were no more than 3.4% and 0.7%, respectively. Furthermore, the system was successfully applied to elucidate these five amino acids in human saliva.

Analysis of chiral amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid samples linked to different stages of Alzheimer disease

Chiral micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection (chiral-MEKC-LIF) was used to investigate D- and L-amino acid contents in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples related to different Alzheimer disease (AD) stages. CSF samples were taken from (i) control subjects (S1 pool), (ii) subjects showing a mild cognitive impairment who remained stable (S2 pool), (iii) subjects showing an mild cognitive impairment that progressed to AD (S3 pool) and (iv) subjects diagnosed with AD (S4 pool). The optimized procedure only needed 10 μL of CSF and it included sample cleaning, derivatization with FITC and chiral-MEKC-LIF separation. Eighteen standard amino acids were baseline separated with efficiencies up to 703,000 plates/m, high sensitivity (LODs in the nM range) and good resolution (values ranging from 2.6 to 9.5). Using this method, L-Arg, L-Leu, L-Gln, γ-aminobutyric acid, L-Ser, D-Ser, L-Ala, Gly, L-Lys, L-Glu and L-Asp were detected in all the CSF samples. S3 and S4 samples (i.e. AD subjects) showed significant lower amounts of L-Arg L-Lys, L-Glu and L-Asp compared to the non-AD S1 and S2 samples, showing in the S4 group the lowest amounts of L-Arg L-Lys, L-Glu and L-Asp. Moreover, γ-aminobutyric acid was significantly higher in AD subjects with the highest amount also found for S4. No significant differences were observed for the rest of amino acids including D-Ser. Based on the obtained chiral-MEKC-LIF data, it was possible to correctly classify all the samples into the four groups. These results demonstrate that the use of enantioselective procedures as the one developed in this work can provide some new light on the investigations of AD, including the discovery of new biomarkers related to different stages of AD.

Review of recent advances in analytical techniques for the determination of neurotransmitters

Methods and advances for monitoring neurotransmitters in vivo or for tissue analysis of neurotransmitters over the last five years are reviewed. The review is organized primarily by neurotransmitter type. Transmitter and related compounds may be monitored by either in vivo sampling coupled to analytical methods or implanted sensors. Sampling is primarily performed using microdialysis, but low-flow push-pull perfusion may offer advantages of spatial resolution while minimizing the tissue disruption associated with higher flow rates. Analytical techniques coupled to these sampling methods include liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, enzyme assays, sensors, and mass spectrometry. Methods for the detection of amino acid, monoamine, neuropeptide, acetylcholine, nucleoside, and soluble gas neurotransmitters have been developed and improved upon. Advances in the speed and sensitivity of these methods have enabled improvements in temporal resolution and increased the number of compounds detectable. Similar advances have enabled improved detection at tissue samples, with a substantial emphasis on single cell and other small samples. Sensors provide excellent temporal and spatial resolution for in vivo monitoring. Advances in application to catecholamines, indoleamines, and amino acids have been prominent. Improvements in stability, sensitivity, and selectivity of the sensors have been of paramount interest.