Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Triple Quadruple Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-TQ/MS) for Evaluation of Biogenic Amines in Wine

Rapid Analysis of Seven Polyamines in Nephotettix cincticeps by Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

A fast, simple, and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of seven polyamines in Nephotettix cincticeps was developed based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-3Q-MS) together with liquid phase extraction. Polyamines in insect samples were extracted with HClO4 solution and then were separated and detected by UPLC-3Q-MS, which was equipped with a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography column, within 5 min without any derivatization procedure. The method has been successfully used to detect 7 polyamines in healthy and difluormethylornithine-treated adults of Nephotettix cincticeps with a method limit of detection and the method limit of quantitation of 24-139 pg/mg and 82-464 pg/mg, respectively, an intraday and interday relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5) of 1.97-6.00% and 2.08-5.92% respectively, and a recovery of 86-115%. The success of this study provided a reliable method for the rapid and high-throughput detection of polyamines in the insect sample.

Phytochemical Profiling, In Vitro and In Silico Anti-Microbial and Anti-Cancer Activity Evaluations and Staph GyraseB and h-TOP-IIβ Receptor-Docking Studies of Major Constituents of Zygophyllum coccineum L. Aqueous-Ethanolic Extract and Its Subsequent Fractions: An Approach to Validate Traditional Phytomedicinal Knowledge

Zygophyllum coccineum, an edible halophytic plant, is part of the traditional medicine chest in the Mediterranean region for symptomatic relief of diabetes, hypertension, wound healing, burns, infections, and rheumatoid arthritis pain. The current study aimed to characterize Z. coccineum phytoconstituents, and the evaluations of the anti-microbial-biofilm, and anti-cancers bioactivities of the plant’s mother liquor, i.e., aqueous-ethanolic extract, and its subsequent fractions. The in silico receptors interaction feasibility of Z. coccineum major constituents with Staph GyraseB, and human topoisomerase-IIβ (h-TOP-IIβ) were conducted to confirm the plant’s anti-microbial and anti-cancer biological activities. Thirty-eight secondary metabolites of flavonoids, stilbene, phenolic acids, alkaloids, and coumarin classes identified by LC-ESI-TOF-MS spectrometric analysis, and tiliroside (kaempferol-3-O-(6′′′′-p-coumaroyl)-glucoside, 19.8%), zygophyloside-F (12.78%), zygophyloside-G (9.67%), and isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside (4.75%) were identified as the major constituents. A superior biofilm obliteration activity established the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) for the chloroform fraction at 3.9–15.63 µg/mL, as compared to the positive controls (15.63–31.25 µg/mL) against all the microbial strains that produced the biofilm under study, except the Aspergillus fumigatus. The aqueous-ethanolic extract showed cytotoxic effects with IC₅₀ values at 3.47, 3.19, and 2.27 µg/mL against MCF-7, HCT-116, and HepG2 cell-lines, respectively, together with the inhibition of h-TOP-IIβ with IC₅₀ value at 45.05 ng/mL in comparison to its standard referral inhibitor (staurosporine, IC₅₀, 135.33 ng/mL). This conclusively established the anti-cancer activity of the aqueous-ethanolic extract that also validated by in silico receptor-binding predicted energy levels and receptor-site docking feasibility of the major constituents of the plant’s extract. The study helped to authenticate some of the traditional phytomedicinal properties of the anti-infectious nature of the plant.

Study on the shift of ultraviolet spectra in aqueous solution with variations of the solution concentration

In this study, we mainly focused on predictable regularities of the red shift of ultraviolet spectra for β-phenylethylamine (PEA), NaCl and NaOH in aqueous solution. The absorption peaks of the UV spectra near 191 nm of NaCl, NaOH and PEA in aqueous solution moved in the direction of a red shift while the molar absorption coefficient at the peak increased regularly with the increasing solution concentration. These shifts were obtained for solutions with concentrations ranging from 3.68 to 1000 mmol/L for NaCl, from 0.762 to 2000 mmol/L for NaOH, and from 0.0515 to 8.91 mmol/L for PEA. The plots of the logarithm of the solution concentration for NaCl and PEA versus the absorbance at 191 nm and at the peak were linear, and the plots of the logarithm of the solution concentration for NaCl and PEA versus the wavelength at the peak (shifted from 191 nm) were also linear. In addition, the plots of the logarithm of the solution concentration for NaOH that ranged from 0.762 to 1.96 mmol/L versus the absorbance at 191 nm and at the peak were linear as well as the plots of the logarithm of the solution concentration for NaOH that ranged from 1.96 to 2000 mmol/L versus the wavelength at the peak. The slopes of the absorbance at 191 nm of PEA, NaCl and NaOH were somewhat similar to the absorbance at the peak separately, whereas the slopes of the wavelengths at the peak were different from them. Finally, in order to obtain the predictable regularity of the red shift of the UV spectrum for the mixture, 22 ternary mixtures were prepared. The results indicate that the inhibiting effect of hydroxide ions (OH-) caused the wavelength near 206 nm to remain unchanged when the solution concentration of NaOH in the mixture was more than 0.762 mmol/L.

Interpol review of controlled substances 2016-2019

This review paper covers the forensic-relevant literature in controlled substances from 2016 to 2019 as a part of the 19th Interpol International Forensic Science Managers Symposium. The review papers are also available at the Interpol website at: https://www.interpol.int/content/download/14458/file/Interpol%20Review%20Papers%202019.pdf.

Simultaneous determination of eight arginine-related metabolites in cellular extracts using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, sensitive, and rapid liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of arginine and its pathway-related metabolites (ornithine, proline, citrulline, glutamate, agmatine, spermidine, and spermine) in cellular extracts. Cells were lysed and cellular proteins precipitated by the addition of acetonitrile followed by ultra-sonication. Supernatants were analyzed using a Chromolith High Resolution RP-18 endcapped column (100 × 4.6 mm, 1.15 μm, 150 Å), with mobile phases of 0.1% formic acid solution and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile. Detection was carried out in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Calibration curves showed linearity (r² > 0.99) for all metabolites over the calibration ranges used. The intra- and inter-day precision was less than 13.5%, and the accuracy was between 91.3 and 114.7%. The method developed in this study was successfully applied to measure arginine and its pathway-related metabolites, which are related to nitric oxide synthase/arginase pathways in mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). The ability to simultaneously measure arginine and its pathway-related metabolites is valuable for better understanding local and systemic inflammatory processes.

Analysis of Seven Biogenic Amines and Two Amino Acids in Wines Using Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography

A low-cost, simple, and fast method utilizing micellar electrokinetic chromatography for the simultaneous determination of seven biogenic amines and two amino acids was developed. A background electrolyte containing 5 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.7) and 20 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate was used. The optimal separation of nine investigated analytes was achieved in 11 min, with limits of detection (S/N = 3) ranging from 0.11 to 0.61 µM. The linear ranges for all analytes were observed between 0.55 and 10.0 μM (R2 > 0.990). The developed approach was extended to the analysis of analytes in commercial wine and beer samples. The recoveries of the proposed method ranged from 98.8% to 115.6%.