Determination of plasma, urine, and bovine serum albumin low-molecular-weight carbonyl levels by capillary gas chromatography with electron-capture and mass-selective detection

An Improved GC-MS Method for Malondialdehyde (MDA) Detection: Avoiding the Effects of Nitrite in Foods

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is one of the representative end products under lipid peroxidation, indicating the degree of lipid oxidation in foods. However, compounds in pickled products, especially the nitrite in salted lean pork can react with MDA under the acidic condition, leads to the loss of MDA and an underestimation on lipid oxidation through the conventional assay. In this study, the quantification for MDA in the sample containing sodium nitrite were found lacking accuracy by the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay and chromatography assay based on alkaline hydrolysis as the reaction between them were difficult to be completely inhibited. Among other trials, the improvement GC-MS analysis utilizing deuterium substituted MDA (MDA-d₂) as an internal standard and applying perfluorophenylhydrazine (PFPH) as a derivative reagent can reduce the deviations from the presence of nitrite in the salted lean pork meat and the recovery is between 93.9% and 98.4% and coefficient of variation for the intermediate precision is between 1.1 and 3.5% using the method. The advanced gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) assay also has a very low detection limit (0.25 ng/mL) with both hydrolysis types.

Chromatographic determination of low-molecular mass unsaturated aliphatic aldehydes with peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection after fluorescence labeling with 4-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-hydrazino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole

A highly sensitive, selective and reproducible chromatographic method is described for determination of low-molecular mass unsaturated aliphatic aldehydes in human serum. The method combines fluorescent labeling using 4-(N,N-Dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-hydrazino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole with peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence. The derivatives were separated on a reversed-phase column C8 isocratically using a mixture of acetonitrile and 90mM imidazole-HNO3 buffer (pH 6.4, 1:1, % v/v). The calibration ranges were: 20-420nM for methylglyoxal, 16-320nM for acrolein, 15-360nM for crotonaldehyde and 20-320nM for trans-2-hexenal. The detection limits were ranged from 4.4 to 6.5nM (88-130fmol/injection), the recovery results were within the range of 87.4-103.8% and the intra and inter-day precision results were lower than 5.5%. The proposed validated method has been successfully applied to healthy, diabetic and rheumatic arthritis patients' sera with simple pretreatment method. In conclusion, this new method is suitable for routine analysis of large numbers of clinical samples for assessment of the oxidative stress state in patients.

Theoretical analysis and experimental evaluation of headspace in-drop derivatisation single-drop microextraction using aldehydes as model analytes

In-drop derivatisation single-drop microextraction approach can constitute, to a certain degree, a low-cost reasonable alternative to the well-known on-fibre solid-phase microextraction. The headspace mode integrates extraction, preconcentration and derivatisation into a single step from the headspace of a sample. In this study, two low-molecular-weight aldehydes are derivatised in a hanging drop containing 2,4,6-trichlorophenylhydrazine, in a headspace single-drop microextraction configuration system. The single organic drop, dispersed in gas phase, is well covered in this study as a locale of the main reaction. The measurement of diffusion and kinetic parameters and their relationship were designed to reveal, for the first time, inherent mechanistic aspects in such an analytical system. The two-film theory of mass transfer is used to discuss the mechanism along with the calculation of characteristic times and specific rates of absorption. All these, together with certain experimental data may ascertain whether the overall process is reaction rate dependent or limited by mass transfer in the gas phase, at the air-water and air-organic interface or in the organic phase. The descriptors of mass transfer and chemical reaction in a single drop are critically reviewed and reconsidered and the practical aspects for the analysis of volatile organic compounds are highlighted. Relative standard deviations for both aldehydes were 3.4% (n=5) and 4.9% (n=5) for 1 microM of hexanal and 0.3 microM of formaldehyde, respectively. Detection limits for aqueous samples were 0.1 and 0.03 microM for formaldehyde and hexanal, respectively.

Improved method for the in vitro assessment of antioxidant activity of plant extracts by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–electron capture detection

The simultaneous monitoring of malondialdehyde, pentanal and hexanal, final products of lipid peroxidation is reported, using a headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) technique with on-fibre derivatisation. The aldehydes are extracted and subjected to on-sorbent derivatisation into stable hydrazones with 2,4,6-trichlorophenylhydrazine (TCPH) and analyzed. The degree of inhibition of oxidation is performed by monitoring the chlorinated hydrazones after thermal desorption, by gas chromatography-electron capture detection. The procedure was employed to evaluate in vitro the antioxidant activity of Hypericum perforatum L. extracts and of the well-known antioxidant vitamin E following induction of oxidation of sunflower oil, as a model lipid system. Prior to the measurement of antioxidant activity, the optimal process conditions, i.e. headspace volume, temperature, agitation, extraction/derivatisation time and desorption time and temperature were properly established. Aqueous extracts of H. perforatum L. exhibited the highest antioxidative effect. The method is shown to be promising for screening purposes for antioxidant substances and natural extracts.