A novel method for the simultaneous analysis of seven biothiols in rice (Oryza sativa L.) using hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Tentative identification of phytochelatins, their derivatives, and Cd-phytochelatin complexes in Ocimum basilicum L. roots by Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry

An unprecedented and direct PS-MS (paper spray ionization mass spectrometry) method was proposed for the detection of native peptides, that is, glutathiones (GSHs), homoglutathiones (hGSHs), and phytochelatins (PCs), in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) roots before and after cadmium exposure. The roots were submitted to cold maceration followed by sonication with formic acid as the extractor solvent for sample preparation. PS-MS was used to analyze such extracts in the positive mode, and the results allowed for the detection of several GSHs, hGSHs, and PCs. Some of these PCs were not distinguished in the control samples, that is, basil roots not exposed to cadmium. Other PCs were noticed in both types of roots, uncontaminated and cadmium-contaminated, but the intensities were higher in the former samples. Moreover, long-time exposure to cadmium stimulated the formation of some of these PCs and their cadmium complexes. The results, therefore, provided some crucial insights into the defense mechanism of plants against an external stress condition due to exposure to a toxic heavy metal. The present study represents a promising alternative to investigate other crucial physiological processes in plants submitted to assorted stress conditions.

Phytochelatin-Mediated Cultivar-Dependent Cd Accumulations of Lactuca sativa and Implication for Cd Pollution-Safe Cultivars Screening

Cd pollution-safe cultivar (Cd-PSC) is a feasible strategy to minimize Cd contamination in leafy vegetables. The shoot Cd concentrations of 23 Lactuca sativa cultivars under Cd stress ranged from 0.124 to 2.155 mg·kg-1 with a maximum cultivar difference of 8 folds. Typical Cd-PSC C16 (L) and high-Cd-accumulating cultivar C13 (H) were screened to investigate the mechanisms of Cd accumulations in L. sativa through determining Cd concentrations, Cd subcellular distributions, phytochelatin profiles, and phytochelatin biosynthesis-related genes' expressions. Higher Cd distribution in a heat stable fraction in C13 (H) indicated that the high Cd accumulation trait of C13 (H) mainly depended on the Cd-phytochelatin complexes. Root phytochelatin concentrations were significantly elevated in C13 (H) (5.83 folds) than in C16 (L) (2.69 folds) (p < 0.05) under Cd stress. Significantly downregulated expressions of glutathione S-transferase rather than the regulation of phytochelatin synthesis genes in the root of C13 (H) might be responsible for sufficient glutathione supply for phytochelatins synthesis. These findings suggested that phytochelatin elevation in C13 (H) would favor the Cd root to shoot transportation, which provides new insights into the phytochelatin-related cultivar-dependent Cd accumulating characteristic in L. sativa.

Pd-Fe3O4 Janus nanozyme with rational design for ultrasensitive colorimetric detection of biothiols

Although nanozyme-based colorimetric assays have been broadly used for biosensing, some limitations such as low catalytic activity of nanozyme, poor sensitivity to analytes and lack of understanding the structure-activity relationship remain unsolved. In this work, we developed an ultrasensitive colorimetric method for biothiols detection based on density functional theory-assisted design of janus Pd-Fe₃O₄ nanozyme. The Pd-Fe₃O₄ dumbbell-like nanoparticles (DBNPs) prepared by seed-mediated approach shows a uniform heterodimeric nanostructure. Ultrasensitive biothiols detection is achieved from two aspects. On one hand, due to the synergistic effect between Pd and Fe₃O₄ in the dumbbell structure, Pd-Fe₃O₄ DBNPs show enhanced peroxidase-mimic activity compared to the individual components. On the other hand, when the target biothiols molecule is present, its inhibition effect on the janus Pd-Fe₃O₄ nanozyme is also significantly enhanced. The above results are confirmed both in experiment and theoretical calculation. Based on the rational design, a simple, highly selective and urtrasensitive colorimetric and quantitative assay for biothiols is developed. The limit of detection (LOD) can reach as low as 3.1 nM in aqueous solution. This assay is also successfully applied to the detection of biothiols in real urine samples. Moreover, the Pd-Fe₃O₄ nanozyme is used to discriminate biothiols levels in normal and cancer cells with high sensitivity at the cell density of 15,000/mL, which demonstrates its great potential in biological and clinical analysis. This work not only shows the great promise of janus bimetallic nanozymes' excellent functionalities but also provides rational guidelines to design high-performance nanozymes for biosensing and biomedical applications.

Voltammetric Determination of Cysteine (2-amino-3-mercaptopropanoic acid, CySH) by Means of 4,4'-biphenol as a Homogeneous Mediator

In the present research, 4,4′-biphenol was used as a homogeneous mediator for determining cysteine (CySH) on a Glassy Carbon Electrode (GCE). To describe the electrochemical properties of 4,4′-biphenol and to examine its electrocatalytic impacts on cysteine oxidation, both Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) were employed. Our findings revealed that 4,4′-biphenol could significantly accelerate the reactions related to electron transfer to CySH. Moreover, the diffusion coefficient of CySH and its reaction with the catalytic constant of 4,4′-diphenoquinone was estimated via chronoamperometry technique. The results showed that cysteine concentration range of 10-1000 μM led to linear increases in the oxidation peaks, thus to providing a detection of 0.99 μM with R² = 0.993. A Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) of 2.5% was achieved after performing 7 cysteine replicates (100 μM), and CySH was successfully determined in real serum samples through the proposed approach.

Characterization and quantification of thiol-peptides in Arabidopsis thaliana using combined dilution and high sensitivity HPLC-ESI-MS-MS

Although thiol-peptide compounds, such as reduced glutathione (GSH), γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-EC), and phytochelatins, play fundamental roles in plants, their analytical determination and characterization is still somewhat problematic, mainly due to their high polarity and oxidation propensity. Thus, in this work a reliable and sensitive HPLC-ESI-MS-MS method was developed, in order to simultaneously assay, within 14-min instrumental runs, γ-EC, GSH, and phytochelatins up to phytochelatin 4. This analytical method was validated in shoot and root extracts of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae) and guaranteed accurate quantification by using specific isotope labelled-internal standards for both GSH and phytochelatins, as well as standards for external calibration. Good linearities in the method performance were observed (R > 0.99), with a dynamic range over three orders of magnitude in thiol-peptide concentrations. In MRM mode, the detection sensitivity of the thiol-peptides was equal to approximately 16, 6, 7, 13, 10 fmol for γ-EC, GSH, phytochelatin 2, phytochelatin 3, and phytochelatin 4, respectively (20 μl injection each). The reproducibility of the method was confirmed by high intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision values. The recovery rates were estimated approximately in the range of 73.8-91.0% and the matrix effect evaluation revealed that all analytes exhibited ionization suppression. The use of stable isotope-labelled analogs of the thiol-peptides as internal standards was particularly worthy of note: it offered the considerable advantage of overcoming the consequences of matrix effect and thiol-peptide loss through sample preparation, by normalizing the analyte signal during the quantification process. Thus, by validating the method's sensitivity, accuracy, precision, reproducibility, stability, recovery, and matrix effect, data reliability and robustness were ensured.

Sodium chloride decreases cadmium accumulation and changes the response of metabolites to cadmium stress in the halophyte Carpobrotus rossii

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Salinity affects the bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) in soils and Cd accumulation in plants, but the associated mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the metabolic response to NaCl and Cd and the relationship between metabolites and Cd accumulation in the halophyte Carpobrotus rossii, which has potential for Cd phytoextraction.

METHODS

Plants were grown in nutrient solution with 0-400 mm NaCl in the presence of 5 or 15 µm Cd, with varied or constant solution Cd2+ activity. Plant growth and Cd uptake were measured, and the accumulation of peptides, and organic and amino acids in plant tissues were assessed.

KEY RESULTS

The addition of NaCl to Cd-containing solutions improved plant growth along with 70-87 % less shoot Cd accumulation, resulting from decreases in Cd root uptake and root-to-shoot translocation irrespective of Cd2+ activity in solutions. Moreover, Cd exposure increased the concentration of phytochelatins, which correlated positively with Cd concentrations in plants regardless of NaCl addition. In comparison, Cd inhibited the synthesis of organic acids in shoots and roots in the absence of NaCl, but increased it in shoots in the presence of NaCl. While Cd increased the concentrations of amino acids in plant shoots, the effect of NaCl on the synthesis of amino acids was inconsistent.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data provide the first evidence that NaCl decreased Cd shoot accumulation in C. rossii by decreasing Cd root uptake and root-to-shoot translocation even under constant Cd2+ activity. The present study also supports the important role of peptides and organic acids, particular of phytochelatins, in Cd tolerance and accumulation although the changes of those metabolites was not the main reason for the decreased Cd accumulation.

Chemosensors for biogenic amines and biothiols

There is burgeoning interest among supramolecular chemists to develop novel molecular systems to detect biogenic amines and bio-thiols in aqueous and non-aqueous media due to their potential role in biological processes. Biogenic amines are biologically important targets because of their involvement in the energy metabolism of human biological systems and their requirement is met through food and nutrition. However, the increasing instances of serious health problems due to food toxicity have raised the quality of food nowadays. Biogenic amines have been frequently considered as the markers or primary quality parameters of foods like antioxidant properties, freshness and spoilage. For instance, these amines such as spermine, spermidine, cadavarine, etc. may originate during microbial decarboxylation of amino acids of fermented foods/beverages. These amines may also react with nitrite available in certain meat products and concomitantly produce carcinogenic nitrosamine compounds. On the other hand, it is also well established that biothiols, particularly, thiol amino acids, provide the basic characteristics to food including flavor, color and texture that determine its acceptability. For instance, the reduction of thiol groups produces hydrogen sulfide which reduces flavour as in rotten eggs and spoiled fish, and the presence of hydrogen sulfide in fish is indicative of spoilage. Thus, biogenic amines and bio-thiols have attracted the profound interest of researchers as analytical tools for their quantification. Much scientific and technological information is issued every year, where the establishment of precise interactions of biogenic amines and bio-thiols with other molecules is sought in aqueous and non-aqueous media. This review summarizes the optical chemosensors developed for the selective detection of biogenic amines and bio-thiols.

Quantification of homocysteine and cysteine by derivatization with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography

A simple and rapid assay using pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) as a derivatizing reagent was developed for the simultaneous determination of homocysteine (Hcy) and cysteine (Cys) in human plasma. Derivatization with PLP affords UV-absorbing tetrahydrothiazine and thiazolidine derivatives of Hcy and Cys, respectively. Separation of these derivatives was achieved in 5 min using a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, followed by UV detection at 330 nm. Linearity in detector response was observed over the range of 0.25-20 μM for Hcy and 10-300 μM for Cys. The limit of quantification (LOQ) values for Hcy and Cys were 0.25 and 2.5 μM, respectively. The method was successfully applied to plasma samples donated by apparently healthy volunteers.

Robust method for the analysis of phytochelatins in rice by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry based on polymeric column materials

A sensitive and robust high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method for the identification and quantification of glutathione and phytochelatins from rice was developed. Homogenized samples were extracted with water containing 100 mM dithiothreitol, and solid-phase extraction using polymer anion exchange resin was employed for sample purification. Chromatography was performed on a polymeric column with acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase at the flow rate of 300 μL/min. The limit of quantitation was 6-100 nM. This assay showed excellent linearity for both glutathione and phytochelatins over physiological normal ranges, with correlation coefficients (r) > 0.9976. Recoveries for four biothiols were within the range of 76-118%, within relative standard deviations less than 15%. The intraday precision (n = 7) was 2.1-13.3%, and the interday precision over 15 days was 4.3-15.2%. The optimized method was applied to analyze tissue samples from rice grown using nutrient solutions with three different cadmium concentrations (0, 50, and 100 μM). With increasing cadmium concentrations, the content of phytochelatin 2 and phytochelatin 3 in rice roots increased, in contrast to most phytochelatins, and the content of glutathione in rice stems and roots decreased significantly.

Determination of Phytochelatins in Rice by Stable Isotope Labeling Coupled with Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

A highly sensitive method was developed for the detection of phytochelatins (PCs) in rice by stable isotope labeling coupled with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (IL-LC-ESI-MS/MS) analysis. A pair of isotope-labeling reagents [ω-bromoacetonylquinolinium bromide (BQB) and BQB-d(7)] were used to label PCs in plant sample and standard PCs, respectively, and then combined prior to LC/MS analysis. The heavy labeled standards were used as the internal standards for quantitation to minimize the matrix and ion suppression effects in MS analysis. In addition, the ionization efficiency of PCs was greatly enhanced through the introduction of a permanent charged moiety of quaternary ammonium of BQB into PCs. The detection sensitivities of PCs upon BQB labeling improved by 14-750-fold, and therefore, PCs can be quantitated using only 5 mg of plant tissue. Furthermore, under cadmium (Cd) stress, we found that the contents of PCs in rice dramatically increased with the increased concentrations and treatment time of Cd. It was worth noting that PC5 was first identified and quantitated in rice tissues under Cd stress in the current study. Taken together, this IL-LC-ESI-MS/MS method demonstrated to be a promising strategy in detection of PCs in plants with high sensitivity and reliability.