Glucosepane is associated with changes to structural and physical properties of collagen fibrils.

Collagen glycation, and in particular the formation of advanced glycation end-product (AGE) crosslinks, plays a central role in the ageing process and in many of the long-term complications of diabetes. Glucosepane, the most abundant and relevant AGE crosslink, has been suggested to increase the stiffness of tissue and reduce its solubility, although no evidence is available concerning the mechanisms. We have used a combination of computational and experimental techniques to study a collagen-rich tissue with a relatively simple organisation to further our understanding of the impact of glucosepane on the structural and physical properties of collagen fibrils. Our work shows that glucosepane levels increase dramatically in aged tendon tissue and are associated with the reduced density of collagen packing and increased porosity to water molecules. Our studies provide the basis to understand many of the tissue dysfunctions associated with ageing and diabetes across a range of different tissues types.

Automated derivatization and fluorimetric determination of biogenic amines in milk by zone fluidics coupled to liquid chromatography.

A novel zone-fluidics/high pressure liquid chromatographic (ZF-HPLC) method is described for the simultaneous determination of six biogenic monoamines, in the presence of hexylamine as internal standard. Automated on-line derivatization of the analytes with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde/cyanide ions was performed using the ZF concept and the derivatives were injected on the HPLC column for separation/detection. The influence of the ZF operation conditions on the derivatization reaction was investigated. The isoindoles formed were separated on a Kromasil C18 column (250 mm × 4 mm i.d., 5 µm), using an isocratic mobile phase of methanol/water (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1). Monitoring and quantification was carried out by fluorescence detection at 424/494 nm. The limits of detection were at the pg level with a sample volume of 20 µL. The whole procedure was evaluated and fully validated for the determination of biogenic amines in milk samples.

Study of the naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde pre-column derivatization of biogenic mono- and diamines in mixture and fluorescence-HPLC determination.

A new fluorescence-HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight biogenic monoamines (histamine, methylamine, tyramine, ethylamine, propylamine, tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, isoamylamine) and two biogenic diamines (putrescine, cadaverine) in the presence of heptylamine as the internal standard. The amines were pre-column derivatized with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde in the presence of cyanide ion as the nucleophile. The effect of the derivatization reaction conditions on the reaction yield was investigated. The derivatives were separated on an Inertsil ODS-3 column (250 × 4mm i.d., 5 µm) using gradient elution and detected fluorimetrically at excitation and emission wavelengths of 424 and 494 nm, respectively. Limits of detection between 0.002 and 0.4 ng, injected on-column (10-µL loop), were achieved. The within- and between-day relative standard deviations ranged between 0.2-3.4% and 0.3-4.8%, respectively. The utility of the method in assaying biogenic mono- and diamine mixtures in Greek cheeses is demonstrated. Ultrasound-assisted liquid-liquid extraction was applied prior to derivatization.

Separation and determination of nimesulide related substances for quality control purposes by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method has been developed and validated for the determination of nimesulide related compounds in pharmaceutical formulations. Electrophoretic separation of six European Pharmacopoeia (EP) impurities (A-F) was performed using a fused silica capillary (L(eff.)=50 cm, L(tot.)=57 cm, 50 microm i.d.) with a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 25 mM borate buffer (pH 9.5), 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate and phi=3% (v/v) acetonitrile. The influence of several factors (surfactant and buffer concentration, pH, organic modifier, applied voltage, capillary temperature and injection time) was studied. The method was suitably validated with respect to linearity, limit of detection and quantification, accuracy, precision and selectivity. The calibration curves obtained for the six compounds were linear over the range 5-12 microgml(-1) (0.05-0.12%). The relative standard deviations (s(r)) of intra- and inter-day experiments were less than 5.0%. The detection limits ranged between 0.7 and 1.6 microgml(-1) depending on the impurity. The proposed method was applied successfully to the quantification of nimesulide impurities in its pharmaceutical formulation.