May 16th 2024
Scientists from the Lunan Pharmaceutical Group explored the use of UHPLC-MS/MS to test the effects of Shouhui Tongbian capsules (SHTBs) on slow transit constipation (STC).
Characterizing Red Chicory Polyphenols
November 7th 2017Polyphenols are a well-known group of antioxidants widely diffused as secondary metabolites in plants, vegetables, and fruit. The Column spoke to Nicola Marchetti from the Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Ferrara in Ferrara, Italy, about his research into the characterization of polyphenols in red chicory using high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS).
Evaluating Substance Use via Wastewater Analysis: An Overview of Analytical Workflows
October 1st 2017Wastewater analysis has become an established approach for retrieving additional epidemiological information about the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco at the population level. Here, we present an overview of the recent analytical frameworks and workflows for target and suspect analyses using low- and high-resolution mass spectrometry and discuss the latest advances in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE).
The Role of LC–MS in Lipidomics
May 1st 2017Lipidomics, the analysis of lipids by mass spectrometric methods, revolutionized lipid science (1). It provides detailed quantitative information on hundreds of lipid species and opens new possibilities to gain an insight into lipid biology. This helps not only to explain the vital role of lipid species as membrane building blocks, but also to unravel their bioactive functions. Thus, lipid species can act as signaling molecules and modulate membrane properties, which are essential for organelle and membrane protein function. Moreover, the first examples demonstrated their potential as novel biomarkers to monitor human health.
That Old Devil Called Tasmanian
February 7th 2017A cross-disciplinary team of researchers in Tasmania from the fields of separation science, proteomics and metabolomics, immunology and zoology are on a mission to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction using metabolic fingerprinting of serum to identify biomarkers for Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). The Column spoke to Naama Karu, Rodrigo Hamede Ross, and Richard Wilson to find out more.
LC–MS Characterization of Mesquite Flour Constituents
January 18th 2017Using a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) method in conjunction with two complementary types of chromatographic retention modes - reversed phase and aqueous normal phase - various compounds present in mesquite flour extracts were identified. Because of the diverse types of chemical constituents found in such natural product extracts, a single chromatographic mode may not be sufficient for a comprehensive characterization. However, the combination of reversed-phase and aqueous normal phase LC can encompass a wide range of analyte polarity. This characterization of the composition of mesquite flour could be used in future studies to elucidate the beneficial health effects of its consumption.
Statistics for Analysts Who Hate Statistics, Part IV: Clustering
January 1st 2017Part IV of this series takes a closer look at clustering. Clustering can be very useful at observing your data when the sample dimensionality is large. This is a barbarian term meaning that diversity among your samples may be wide. In that case, the space reduction provided by principal component analysis (PCA) is not always convincing, because the simplification provided by a single two-dimensional plot erases too much information. Clustering allows you to preserve more information.
Nontargeted Metabolite Profiling in Next-Generation Plant Breeding: A Case Study in Malting Barley
October 1st 2016The power of nontargeted metabolite profiling is illustrated in a study focused on the determination of molecular markers in malting barley that are predictive of desirable malting quality for brewing applications. The metabolite extraction, detection, and analysis methods are high throughput and reproducible, and therefore, this approach represents a practical addition to the plant breeder’s molecular toolbox.
The development of various analytical MS methods to investigate the chemical composition of liquids used in electronic cigarettes and characterize their quality is presented in this study.
Positive Impacts of HPLC Innovations on Clinical Diagnostic Analysis
April 1st 2016The last decade has seen a series of advances in the field of liquid chromatography that have resulted in improvements for many clinical diagnostic services. These innovations have included the expansion of superficially porous particle columns, new or improved stationary phase options, and “user-friendly” multiple-channel HPLC instrument options that allow sequential analysis-a boon for low and moderate throughput laboratories with limited hardware. As a result, diagnostic services are able to offer faster turn-around-times and measure analytes in patient types and disease states that were previously problematic. This article presents examples of the impact these innovations have had in a number of hospital settings.
Nontargeted Metabolite Profiling in Next-Generation Plant Breeding: A Case Study in Malting Barley
December 1st 2015Non-targeted metabolite profiling by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS) is a powerful technique to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental influence on metabolic phenotype in plants. The approach offers an unbiased and in-depth analysis that can reveal molecular markers of desirable phenotypic traits which can be complementary to genetic markers in plant breeding efforts. Here, the power of non-targeted metabolite profiling is illustrated in a study focused on the determination of molecular markers in malting barley that are predictive of desirable malting quality for brewing applications.
Solvent Assisted Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Screening and Quantification of Counterfeit Drugs
July 1st 2015Experiments presented here demonstrate the suitability of LC–SAI-MS for the detection and quantification of pharmaceuticals, with limits of detection in the low parts-per-trillion range. A comparison of LC–ESI-MS to LC–SAI-MS also yielded favorable results for SAI.