Assessment of tropane alkaloid levels in Brazilian buckwheat flour products: A novel LC-UHPLC-MS/MS approach using solid-liquid extraction at low temperature.

In recent years, the monitoring of tropane alkaloids, specifically hyoscyamine and scopolamine, in food has become a pressing concern. This is due to increasing reports of food contamination with these compounds worldwide, raising awareness about the potential risks associated with their consumption. A novel method is proposed here for the determination of the sum of (+)-hyoscyamine, (-)-hyoscyamine, and (-)-scopolamine in buckwheat-based matrices, using solid-liquid extraction at low temperature and quantification by bidimensional chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The validated method presented a linear response in the concentration range of 2.5-15 µg kg-1 (r > 0.99). The precision and accuracy were in the ranges from 0.8 to 11.0 % and from 96 to 103 %, respectively. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 2.5 µg kg-1. No contamination was found at levels above the LOQ in any of the 18 samples analyzed (buckwheat flour, grains, and gluten-free mix).

Magnetic nanoparticles coated with cyclodextrins and citrate for irinotecan delivery.

In the present work, we study the role of different components in the formation of more stable iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs): ß-cyclodextrin (BCD), 2-hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HP) and citrate anion. MNPs formulations were characterized by FTIR, particles size measurements, zeta potential based on dynamic light scattering principle technique, X-ray powder pattern diffraction, XPS spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that cyclodextrins and citrate plays a key role in order to obtain a lower size of coated MNPs and proved to be an efficient strategy to obtain a more stable colloidal dispersion, avoiding the nanoparticles oxidation, enhancing the irinotecan incorporation and release. Furthermore, citrate-coated BCD-MNPs showed the same cytotoxicity of the free IRI.