Liquid chromatographic determination of ethyl alcohol in body fluids

A high-performance liquid chromatographic technique for ethyl alcohol determination in body fluids is proposed. Ethyl alcohol is quantitatively converted into acetaldehyde-phenylhydrazone by oxidation in the presence of alcohol dehydrogenase, nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide and phenylhydrazine. The derivative is suitable for reversed-phase liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection at 276 nm. The limits of linearity, detection and quantification as well as accuracy and reproducibility were investigated in water, serum and whole blood. Analytical responses were linear within the 0.008 to 5 g/l range, and the limit of quantification was 0.02 g/l both in aqueous standard and in biological matrix assays. Mean analytical recovery of ethyl alcohol in blood serum averaged 98.2±4.2%, imprecision (CV%) at 0.80 g/l was 2.2%, and the limit of quantification was 0.02 g/l. Serum concentrations of persons that avoided alcoholic beverages for a week were less than the limit of quantification. Ethyl alcohol concentrations in serum and whole blood compared well with those obtained by headspace gas chromatography. This simple and reliable procedure, which was also used for a urine assay, could be suitable for validation of the screening procedures used to monitor ethanol abuse.     

蔬菜中农药残留检测技术研究进展

对目前蔬菜中农药残留分析检测方法及其前处理过程以及快速检测技术作了综述。固相萃取(SPE)、超临界流体萃取(SFE)等新的萃取方法已逐渐代替了液一液萃取(LLE)等传统提取方法。色谱技术是农药残留分析中的重要手段。毛细管气相色谱(CGC)、高效液相色谱(HPLC)及其联用技术是现阶段农药残留分析中的主要检测方法。并指出了今后该领域的研究方向。     

High performance separation technologies and spectroscopic tools for plant extract characterization in phytomics

The review is concerned with fast analytical methods for the qualitative and quantitative determination of plant constituents and phytopharmaceutical products. Emphasis is put on the determination of leading compounds, the role of the stationary phase in the analysis of sugars, phenolic compounds, proteins or DNA-mutations and the use of non-standard analytical tools such as micro high performance liquid chromatography (μ-LC) or near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIR) next to conventional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Finally the importance of spectroscopic methods such as mass spectrometry (MS) in phytomics will be discussed giving examples for HPLC-MS and μ-HPLC-MS hyphenation. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Determination of vitamin A, vitamin A precursors and cytoprotective carotenoids in animal and human blood

In the past few years, considerable progress has been made in the investigation of the function of retinoids and carotenoids in higher animals and human including their role in cytoprotection. This has resulted in a considerable development in the analytical methods in the field of carotenoids and retinoids in biological materials. We have developed a method for the qualitative and quantitative determination of retinol and carotenoids in animal and human blood, using straight-phase liquid chromatography. Details of this work are presented jointly with a brief review of other analytical methods of these compounds.     

A new photometric assay for blood alcohol

The proposed method for ethanol determination is based on the simultaneous oxidation of ethanol and reduction of nitrosodimethylaniline to a quinonediimine derivative in the presence of NAD and horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Quinonediimine formed in this reaction is coupled with salicylamide and the absorbance of the resulting blue indaniline dye is measured. The new method yields identical results when compared with the currently used methods for the determination of blood alcohol (i.e., with the conventional enzymatic method, Widmark's method, and gas chromatography). Its main advantage is high sensitivity, little consumption of both enzyme and coenzyme, and the measurement in the visible range of the spectrum.     

Ethanol biosensors based on alcohol oxidase

The detection and quantification of ethanol with high sensitivity, selectivity and accuracy is required in many different areas. A variety of methods and strategies have been reported for the determination of this analyte including gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, refractometry and spectrophotometry, among other. The use of the enzyme alcohol oxidase (AOX) on the analysis of ethanol in complex samples allows a considerable enhancement in specificity. This paper reviews the state of the art on ethanol determination based on AOX sensors, using either electrochemical electrodes or immobilised enzyme reactors. Almost all AOX-based ethanol sensors developed so far are based on the monitoring of O2 consumption or H2O2 formation. This has been mostly achieved using amperometric electrodes set at appropriate potentials namely, -600 mV for O2 monitoring or +600 mV for H2O2 monitoring. Mediated and non-mediated bienzymatic systems have also been assembled using AOX coupled to horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Different types of electrodes have been proposed for the detection of ethanol, namely, membrane electrode, carbon paste electrodes, screen-printed electrodes and self-assembled monolayers. Another approach to work with this sensitive enzyme is to use high amounts of AOX in order to create an enzyme reservoir, a strategy which can be implemented using immobilised enzyme reactors. These reactors can be combined with a colorimetric detection in a flow-injection analysis system or with electrochemical transducers.     

Alcohol biosensing by polyamidoamine (PAMAM)/cysteamine/alcohol oxidase‐modified gold electrode

A highly stable and sensitive amperometric alcohol biosensor was developed by immobilizing alcohol oxidase (AOX) through Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers on a cysteamine‐modified gold electrode surface. Ethanol determination is based on the consumption of dissolved oxygen content due to the enzymatic reaction. The decrease in oxygen level was monitored at ?0.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl and correlated with ethanol concentration. Optimization of variables affecting the system was performed. The optimized ethanol biosensor showed a wide linearity from 0.025 to 1.0 mM with 100 s response time and detection limit of (LOD) 0.016 mM. In the characterization studies, besides linearity some parameters such as operational and storage stability, reproducibility, repeatability, and substrate specificity were studied in detail. Stability studies showed a good preservation of the bioanalytical properties of the sensor, 67% of its initial sensitivity was kept after 1 month storage at 4°C. The analytical characteristics of the system were also evaluated for alcohol determination in flow injection analysis (FIA) mode. Finally, proposed biosensor was applied for ethanol analysis in various alcoholic beverage as well as offline monitoring of alcohol production through the yeast cultivation. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010     

Isotachophoresis of nucleic acid constituents

Determination methods for purine and pyrimidine bases, nucleosides, nucleotides and related compounds using analytical capillary isotachophoresis are reviewed. First, the isotachophoretic characterization of these compounds, as well as methods for sample preparation prior to analysis, and the different ways of detecting unknown substances in complex biological systems are described. Then applications of isotachophoretic analysis in medical diagnosis and biomedical research are reviewed. In particular, the analysis of purines, pyrimidines, nucleosides and related compounds in blood and serum for the diagnosis and treatment of inherited diseases and cancer is described. Selected applications of nucleotide analysis in biomedical research using different tissue extracts are also reviewed, and some examples of nucleotide-dependent enzymic reactions, which were performed by means of analytical isotachophoresis, are presented.     

Analytical methods to determine phytoestrogenic compounds

The analytical methods for the determination of phytoestrogenic compounds in edible plants, plant products and biological matrices are reviewed. The detection, qualitative and quantitative methods based on different chromatographic separations of gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with various detections by ultraviolet absorption (UV), electrochemical detection (ED), fluorescence detection, mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), as well as non-chromatographic immunoassay are each extensively examined and compared. An overview on phytoestrogen chemistry, bioactivities and health effects, plant precursors, metabolism and sample preparation is also presented.     

Separation and identification methods for metalloproteinase inhibitors

Metalloproteinase inhibitors are being explored for the treatment of a wide variety of human diseases including cancers, arthritis, cardiovascular disorders, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and central nervous system illnesses. This review provides an overview of various analytical sample preparation, separation, detection, and identification techniques employed for the quantitative and qualitative determination of these inhibitor compounds. Special emphasis is placed on biological sample preparation by automated solid-phase extraction, liquid–liquid extraction, and protein precipitation by centrifugation or filtration. Other sample preparation methodologies are also evaluated. Applications of high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis to the quantitative determination of metalloproteinase inhibitors are described. Examples of qualitative analysis of metalloproteinase inhibitors by hyphenated liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance are also presented. The advantages and limitations of these separation and identification methodologies as well as other less frequently employed techniques are assessed and discussed.