Development of an ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction method for the determination of phthalate esters in water samples.

Ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction (IL-DLLME) was coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) for the determination of four phthalate esters, including butyl benzyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in water samples. The mixture of ionic liquid (IL) and dispersive solvent was rapidly injected into 10 mL aqueous sample. Then, IL phase was separated by centrifugation and was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet. The factors influencing the extraction efficiency, such as type and volume of IL, disperse solvent, extraction time, centrifuging time and ionic strength, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the extraction recoveries by the proposed ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction for the four phthalates ranged from 83.0 to 91.7%. The relative standard deviations were between 7.8 and 15%. The limits of quantification for four phthalates were between 10.6 and 28.5 µg/L. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of PAEs in tap, lake and treated wastewater samples.

[TPX2 expression and its significance in squamous cell carcinoma of lung].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of targeting protein for Xklp2 (TPX2) and its significance in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung. METHOD: Two SCC cell lines and 4 immortalized bronchial epithelial cell lines (as a precancerous model) were examined by Western blot for TPX2 expression. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis for TPX2 was also performed using tumor tissues from 21 patients with SCC of the lung. The expression of TPX2 was studied by immunohistochemistry (using tissue microarray) on paraffin-embedded sections of pulmonary SCC and corresponding precancerous lesions from a group of 319 patients. RESULTS: TPX2 was variably expressed in all the cell lines studied. Compared with matched controls using normal lung tissue, high level of TPX2 mRNA was detected in 16 of the 21 SCC tumor tissue samples analyzed. Immunohistochemical study showed that TPX2 was mainly present in tumor tissues but not in normal controls. The expression of TPX2 correlated with tumor grade, stage and nodal status. As for precancerous lesions, the level of TPX2 was also increased, in accordance with the degree of dysplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Expression of TPX2 may play a role in carcinogenesis of bronchial epithelium and tumor progression of pulmonary SCC. It may also represent a potential biomarker for surveillance of SCC of lung.

[Clinical features and prognosis of multiple primary tumors of lung combined with other organs--report of 281 cases].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Along with the progress of tumor diagnosis, the detection of multiple primary tumors (MPT) of the lung combined with other organs is increasing, but their clinical features and prognosis are unclear yet. This study was to investigate clinical features and prognosis of MPT of the lung combined with other organs. METHODS: Of the 281 patients with MPT of the lung combined with other organs, treated in our hospital from Jan. 1990 to Dec. 2000, 115 had lung cancer diagnosed first (Group A), 116 had other cancers diagnosed first (Group B). Clinical features and prognosis of the patients were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in sex distribution between the 2 groups (P=0.51). At the diagnosis of the first cancer of MPT, the median age of the patients was significantly older in Group A than in Group B (62.5 years vs. 54.5 years, P=0.02), while at the diagnosis of the second cancer, it showed no significant difference between the 2 groups (64.5 years vs. 63.5 years, P=0.08). The interval between first and second primary tumors was significantly shorter in Group A than in Group B (36.0 months vs. 49.0 months, P<0.001). The proportion of stage I-II lung cancer was significantly higher in Group A than in Group B (83.9% vs. 63.7%, P<0.01). Since the diagnosis of first primary cancer, the medium survival time was shorter in Group A than in Group B (69.0 months vs. 87.5 months), and the 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in Group A than in Group B (59.0% vs. 70.0%, P<0.001). Since the diagnosis of second primary cancer, no significant difference in medium survival time and 5-year survival rate was observed between the two groups (25.0 months vs. 28.0 months, 10.5% vs. 13.5%, P=0.92). Second primary cancers occurred in the lung, upper respiratory tract, breast, esophagus, colon, rectum, stomach, and cervix. Smoking was a significant risk factor in the development of MPT of the lung combined with upper respiratory tract. CONCLUSIONS: Lung cancer is closely correlated to upper respiratory tract tumors among MPTs of the lung combined with other organs, and smoking is a potential risk factor. Compared with the patients who had lung cancer diagnosed first, the patients who had other cancers diagnosed first are younger at the first diagnosis, and have longer interval between first and second primary tumors, with better prognosis.