Characterization and Correlation of Microbiota and Higher Alcohols Based on Metagenomic and Metabolite Profiling during Rice-Flavor Baijiu Fermentation

Higher alcohol, as an inevitable product of fermentation, plays an important role in the flavor and quality of Baijiu. However, the relationship between the complex microbial metabolism and the formation of higher alcohols in rice-flavor Baijiu was not clear. To investigate the relationship between microorganisms and higher alcohol production, two fermentation mashes inoculated with starters from Heyuan Jinhuangtian Liquor Co., Ltd. (Heyuan, China) as JM and Guangdong Changleshao Co., Ltd. (Meizhou, China) as CM, respectively, with significant differences in higher alcohol profiles during rice-flavor Baijiu fermentation were selected. In general, higher alcohols presented a rapid accumulation during the early fermentation stages, especially in JM, with higher and faster increases than those in CM. As for their precursors including amino acids, pyruvic acid and ketoacids, complex variations were observed during the fermentation. Metagenomic results indicated that Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Rhizopus microsporus were the microorganisms present throughout the brewing process in JM and CM, and the relative abundance of R. microsporus in JM was significantly higher than that in CM. The results of higher alcohol metabolism in JM may contribute to the regulation of higher alcohols in rice-flavor Baijiu.

Chemotaxonomy of Five South American Species of the Triatoma genus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) Based on Their Cuticle Hydrocarbon Pattern

The Triatoma sordida subcomplex traditionally included four triatomine species, T. sordida, Triatoma garciabesi, Triatoma guasayana, and Triatoma patagonica, distributed in the Southern Cone of South America. These species have a large intraspecific variability together with an overall similarity, making difficult to establish their taxonomic status. Many cytogenetic, morphometric, and molecular markers have been applied to address this. Recent studies have posed concerns on the inclusion of T. guasayana and T. patagonica within the subcomplex. Also, T. sordida from Argentina has been designed as a new species, Triatoma rosai. Using the cuticular hydrocarbon pattern as chemotaxonomic marker, the relationships among several populations of these species were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography and linear discriminant analysis along 25 collection sites in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. T. sordida and T. rosai populations were differentially clustered in two CHC-based groups: "Group 1" included T. sordida from Eastern Brazil, Eastern Paraguay, and the Bolivian populations from La Paz and Izozog G1; "Group 2" included T. rosai, and T. sordida from Izozog G2 (Bolivia), and Western Paraguay. Whereas T. garciabesi remained closely related to T. sordida and T. rosai, T. guasayana, and T. patagonica were clearly separated from the species of the T. sordida subcomplex. Our results agree with those from other several techniques suggesting that the taxonomy of the T. sordida subcomplex should be revised.

Amphiphilic tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate as gas chromatographic stationary phase for high-resolution separations of challenging isomers and analysis of lavender essential oil

This work presents the investigation of using tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate as the stationary phase for gas chromatography separations of isomers with different varieties and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of a wide range of components in lavender essential oil. Its capillary column exhibited moderate polarity and column efficiency of 4000 plates/m determined by n-dodecane at 120°C. As demonstrated, it showed outstanding separation performance toward challenging isomers such as xylenes, alkanes, phenols, and anilines and a wide range of components in essential oils with distinct advantages over the commercial polyethylene glycol and polysiloxane columns. Moreover, its capillary columns displayed excellent repeatability and reproducibility with the RSD values of the retention times in the range of 0.02-0.07% for run-to-run, 0.14-0.22% for day-to-day, and 2.5-4.3% for column-to-column. Its application to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the lavender essential oil proved its good potential for practical gas chromatography analyses. To our knowledge, this work presents the first example of employing tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate for chromatographic analyses and demonstrates its promising future in this field.

Separation Performance of Capillary Gas Chromatography Based on Monohydroxycucurbit[7]Uril Incorporated Into Sol-Gels as the Stationary Phase

A novel monohydroxycucurbit[7]uril-based stationary phase for capillary gas chromatography (GC) has been produced. For this, a capillary column coating was made using a sol–gel technique, incorporating synthesized monohydroxycucurbit[7]uril [(OH)Q[7]] and hydroxy-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (OH-PDMS) into the sol–gel network through hydrolysis and polycondensation and chemical sol–gel grafting to the inner wall of a fused-silica tube. The preparation method may produce a coating with greater integrity, which gives the prepared column a higher separation efficiency and better selectivity toward analytes than a reported stationary phase based on neat cucurbit[n]urils (Q[n]s). The prepared (OH)Q[7]/PDMS column had 3,225 theoretical plates per meter determined using naphthalene at 120°C and exhibited a weakly polar nature. The (OH)Q[7]/PDMS column has high resolution over a broad spectrum of analytes with symmetrical peak shapes and exhibited better separation performance than commercial capillary columns and reported columns based on neat Q[n]s that failed to resolve some critical analytes. Moreover, the column also showed good thermal stability up to 300°C and separation repeatability with relative standard deviation values in the range of 0.01–0.11% for intraday, 0.11–0.32% for interday and 0.29–0.58% for column-to-column. In addition, the energy effect on the retention of analytes on the (OH)Q[7]/PDMS stationary phase was investigated. The results indicated that retention on the column was determined mainly by the enthalpy change. As demonstrated, the proposed coating method can address some disadvantages that exist with the reported Q[n]s columns and combine the full advantages of (OH)Q[7] with the sol–gel coating method while achieving outstanding GC separation performance.

Amphiphilic Block Copolymer PCL-PEG-PCL as Stationary Phase for Capillary Gas Chromatographic Separations

This work presents the first example of utilization of amphiphilic block copolymer PCL-PEG-PCL as a stationary phase for capillary gas chromatographic (GC) separations. The PCL-PEG-PCL capillary column fabricated by static coating provides a high column efficiency of 3951 plates/m for n-dodecane at 120 °C. McReynolds constants and Abraham system constants were also determined in order to evaluate the polarity and possible molecular interactions of the PCL-PEG-PCL stationary phase. Its selectivity and resolving capability were investigated by using a complex mixture covering analytes of diverse types and positional, structural, and cis-/trans-isomers. Impressively, it exhibits high resolution performance for aliphatic and aromatic isomers with diverse polarity, including those critical isomers such as butanol, dichlorobenzene, dimethylnaphthalene, xylenol, dichlorobenzaldehyde, and toluidine. Moreover, it was applied for the determination of isomer impurities in real samples, suggesting its potential for practical use. The superior separation performance demonstrates the potential of PCL-PEG-PCL and related block copolymers as stationary phases in GC and other separation technologies.

Modified Gas Chromatographic Method to Determine Monoacylglycerol and Diacylglycerol Contents in Edible Fats and Oils

Monoacylglycerol (MAG) and diacylglycerol (DAG) are minor components of edible fats and oils, and they relate to the quality of these foods. The AOCS official method Cd 11b-91 has been used to determine MAG and DAG contents in fats and oils. There are, however, difficulties in the determination of MAG and DAG using this analytical procedure. Therefore, we improved this method by modifying the trimethylsilyl derivatization procedure and replacing the internal standard (IS) material. In our modified method, TMS-HT (mixture of hexamethyldisilazane and trimethylchlorosilane) was used for derivatization of MAG and DAG, which was followed by liquid-liquid extraction with water and n-hexane solution containing the IS, tricaprin. Using the modified method, we demonstrated superior repeatability in comparison with that of the AOCS method by reducing procedural difficulties. The relative standard deviation of distearin peak areas was 1.8% or 2.9% in the modified method, while it was 5.6% in the AOCS method. In addition, capillary columns, such as DB-1ht and DB-5ht could be used in this method.

Interaction between hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and biphasic calcium phosphate after steam sterilisation: capillary gas chromatography studies

The purpose of this study was to check the chemical stability of an injectable bone substitute (IBS) composed of a 50/50 w/w mixture of 2.92% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) solution in deionized water containing biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) granules (60% hydroxyapatite/40% beta-tricalcium phosphate w/w). After separation of the organic and mineral phases, capillary gas chromatography (GC) was used to study the possible modification of HPMC due to the contact with BCP granules following steam sterilisation and 32 days storage at room temperature. HPMC was extracted from IBS in aqueous medium, and a dialytic method was then used to extract calcium phosphate salts from the HPMC. The percentage of HPMC extracted from BCP was 98.5%+/-0.5%, as measured by UV. GC showed no chemical modifications after steam sterilisation and storage.

The Application of Chemical Derivatization in Forensic Drug Chemistry for Gas and High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Methods of Analysis

The analyses of solid-dosage forensic drug samples can be enhanced by chemical derivatization followed by gas chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography. Using these techniques permits improved detection and chromatography of some illicit drugs and their manufacturing by-products. This review focuses on the use of chemical derivatization in conjunction with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection, gas chromatography-electron capture detection, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection and high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection in the analysis of illicit drug samples. These drugs include the amphetamines, barbiturates, cannabis, fentanyls, opium, and hallucinogens. Discussion on sensitivity enhancement and determination of enantiomeric composition using gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography is included. An entire section is devoted to the chemical derivatization and chromatographic analyses of manufacturing by-products found in illicit amphetamine and methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine samples. This review also includes a section that describes practical elements and experimental design associated with chemical derivatization-chromatographic analyses..