Disparities and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine policies in three representative European countries.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) vaccine policies disparities and effectiveness in Germany, Denmark and Bulgaria, with a view to providing lessons for global vaccination and response to possible outbreak risks. METHODS: This study analyzed big data through public information on the official websites of the Ministries of Health of the European Union, Germany, Denmark and Bulgaria and the official websites of the World Health Organization. We systematically summarized the COVID-19 vaccine policies of the three countries, and selected the following six indicators for cross-cutting vaccination comparisons: COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per 100 people, COVID-19 vaccination rate, the share of people with fully vaccinated, the share of people only partly vaccinated, cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases per million, cumulative confirmed COVID-19 deaths per million. Meanwhile, we selected the following four indicators for measuring the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine policy implementation: daily cases per million, daily deaths per million, the effective reproduction rate (Rt), the moving-average case fatality rate (CFR). RESULTS: Although these three EU countries had the same start time for vaccination, and the COVID-19 vaccine supply was coordinated by the EU, there are still differences in vaccination priorities, vaccination types, and vaccine appointment methods. Compared to Germany and Denmark, Bulgaria had the least efficient vaccination efforts and the worst vaccination coverage, with a vaccination rate of just over 30% as of June 2023, and the maximum daily deaths per million since vaccination began in the country was more than three times that of the other two countries. From the perspective of implementation effect, vaccination has a certain effect on reducing infection rate and death rate, but the spread of new mutant strains obviously aggravates the severity of the epidemic and reduces the effectiveness of the vaccine. Among them, the spread of the Omicron mutant strain had the most serious impact on the three countries, showing an obvious epidemic peak. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding vaccination coverage has played a positive role in reducing COVID-19 infection and mortality rates and stabilizing Rt. Priority vaccination strategies targeting older people and at-risk groups have been shown to be effective in reducing COVID-19 case severity and mortality in the population. However, the emergence and spread of new variant strains, and the relaxation of epidemic prevention policies, still led to multiple outbreaks peaking. In addition, vaccine hesitancy, mistrust in government and ill-prepared health systems are hampering vaccination efforts. Among the notable ones are divergent types of responses to vaccine safety issue could fuel mistrust and hesitancy around vaccination. At this stage, it is also necessary to continue to include COVID-19 vaccination in priority vaccination plans and promote booster vaccination to prevent severe illness and death. Improving the fairness of vaccine distribution and reducing the degree of vaccine hesitancy are the focus of future vaccination work.

Comparison of COVID-19 vaccine policies and their effectiveness in Korea, Japan, and Singapore.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)vaccine policies and effectiveness in Korea, Japan, and Singapore, thereby providing empirical experience for vaccination and response to similar public health emergencies. METHODS: The study systematically summarized the COVID-19 vaccine policies in Korea, Japan, and Singapore through public information from the Our World in Data website and the official websites of the Ministries of Health in these three countries.Total vaccinations, COVID-19 vaccination rates, rates of fully vaccinated, rates of boostervaccinated, and total confifirmed cases were selected for cross-sectional comparison of COVID-19 vaccination in these three countries. Combining the basic characteristics of these three countries, daily cases per million, daily deaths per million, and the effective reproduction rate were calculated to measure the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine policies implementation in each of these three countries RESULTS: The countermeasures against the COVID-19 in Korea, Japan, and Singapore, although seemingly different on the surface, have all taken an aggressive approach. There are large similarities in the timing of the start of COVID-19 vaccination, the type of vaccine, how vaccine appointments are made, and whether vaccination are free, and all had high vaccination rates. A systematic comparison of the anti-epidemic practices in the three East Asian countries revealed that all three countries experienced more than one outbreak spike due to the spread of new mutant strains after the start of mass vaccination with COVID-19 vaccination, but that vaccination played a positive role in reducing the number of deaths and stabilizing the effective reproduction rate. CONCLUSIONS: This study comparatively analyzed the COVID-19 vaccine policies and their effects in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, and found that there is a common set of logical combinations behind the seemingly different strategies of these three countries. Therefore, in the process of combating COVID-19, countries can learn from the successful experience of combating the epidemic and continue to strengthen the implementation of vaccination programs, as well as adjusting public perceptions to reduce the level of vaccine hesitancy, enhance the motivation for vaccination, and improve the coverage of COVID-19 vaccine based on different cultural factors, which remains the direction for future development.

Prognostic value of the NLR combined with CIP2A in the serum of patients with colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of CIP2A (cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A) and the NLR (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio) in the serum of patients with CRC (colorectal cancer) after resection. METHODS: The clinicopathological data of 61 patients who underwent resection between January 2012 and December 2013 were collected. The NLR and CIP2A were divided into low score groups (0) and high score groups (1) with 2.03 and 6.07 as the optimal cut-off value according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. To identify the COCN (combination of CIP2A and the NLR) score, we added CIP2A and NLR points together and categorized CRC patients into three groups. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to identify the overall survival (OS) rates of the different groups. Finally, a ROC curve was plotted to evaluate the prognostic efficacy of COCN. RESULTS: The CIP2A was associated with location (P = 0.046) and CEA (P = 0.037) in patients with CRC. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that the 5-year OS of patients with low level of serum CIP2A was better than that of high level. The 5-year OS of the patients in the low NLR group was better than that of those in the high NLR group. The COCN score was associated with CEA (P < 0.001) and CA19-9 (P = 0.001). The 5-year OS of the patients in the COCN 0 group was highest, followed by that of those in the COCN 1 and COCN 2 groups. Age, N stage and M stage were factors associated with 5-year OS according to the univariate and multivariate analyses (P < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) for COCN was largest, indicating that COCN has better prognostic power than CIP2A or the NLR alone. CONCLUSION: COCN could be used as a better prognostic biomarker for CRC than the NLR or CIP2A alone.

Ecological comparison of six countries in two waves of COVID-19.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide experience and evidence support for countries to deal with similar public health emergencies such as COVID-19 by comparing and analyzing the measures taken by six countries in epidemic prevention and control. Methods: This study extracted public data on COVID-19 from the official website of various countries and used ecological comparative research methods to compare the specific situation of indicators such as daily tests per thousand people, stringency index, and total vaccinations per hundred people in countries. Results: The cumulative death toll in China, Germany and Australia was significantly lower than that in the United States, South Africa and Italy. Expanding the scale of testing has helped control the spread of the epidemic to some extent. When the epidemic situation is severe, the stringency index increases, and when the epidemic situation tends to ease, the stringency index decreases. Increased vaccination rates, while helping to build an immune barrier, still need to be used in conjunction with non-drug interventions. Conclusion: The implementation of non-drug interventions and vaccine measures greatly affected the epidemic prevention and control effect. In responding to public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 epidemic, countries should draw on international experience, closely align with their national conditions, follow the laws of epidemiology, actively take non-drug intervention measures, and vigorously promote vaccine research and development and vaccination.

Removal of Cadmium(II) by hydrated manganese dioxide: behaviour and mechanism at different pH.

Homogeneous precipitation was proposed to prepare hydrated manganese dioxide (HMO) with KMnO4 as oxidant, NaCl as reductant and HNO3 as reaction auxiliary. HMO was applied to remove Cd(II) and the effect of contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent dose and pH value on adsorption efficiency were investigated. The removal mechanisms at various pH values were analysed in detail. Adsorption thermodynamics parameters were calculated as ΔG < 0, ΔH > 0 and ΔS > 0, which meant that the adsorption process was endothermic. The result of adsorption kinetics indicated the adsorption process conformed to pseudo-second-order kinetics. When adsorbing Cd(II) with initial concentration equaling 100 mg·L-1, the activation energy (Ea) was 62.740 kJ·mol-1. The Langmuir model could describe adsorption behaviour on HMO better than the Freundlich model, indicating that the adsorption sites of HMO were homogeneous and that single-layer adsorption was a dominant way in this process. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cd(II) on MnO2 calculated by the Langmuir model was 267 mg·g-1. The adsorbent HMO could be recycled and reused for several times with a high efficiency above 70% by adding HCl. SEM, EDS, FTIR and XPS were used to analyse the mechanisms of removal of Cd(II) at pH = 3,7 and 10. The mechanisms included electrostatic attraction, ion exchange and chemical precipitation. With pH increasing, the zeta potential decreased and the surface negative charge increased, promoting Cd(II) removal through enhanced electrostatic attraction. Meanwhile, ion exchange mechanisms including inner-sphere complexation and outer-sphere complexation occurred during adsorption process at different pH.

AuNPs/graphdiyne self-powered sensing platform for sensitive detection of microRNA with DNAzyme walker for signal amplification.

A novel self-powered biosensor is engineered by the integration of DNAzyme walker and AuNPs/graphdiyne biosensing interface, realizing sensitive detection of target microRNA. The cleverly constructed DNAzyme walker with outstanding signal transduction ability to obtain an amplified signal response. In addition, the AuNPs/graphdiyne significantly improves electron transport speed of biosensing interface for improving the sensitivity of biosensor. A dynamic linear range of 0.05 fM-10 pM with a low detection limit of 0.015 fM (S/N = 3) is obtained by utilizing the self-powered biosensor. Meanwhile, the developed self-powered biosensor is capable of assaying miRNA-21 in human serum samples with satisfactory recoveries. This strategy provides a valid method for the sensitive microRNA detection, and shows great potential in point-care detection of tumor biomarker.

Superior graphdiyne self-powered biosensing platform with highly sensitivity and reliability for dual-mode detection of MicroRNA by integrating T7 Exonuclease and 3D DNA walker induced rolling circle amplification.

A highly sensitivity self-powered biosensor is developed based on T7 exonuclease (T7 Exo) and 3D DNA walker induced rolling circle amplification (RCA) for electrochemical/colorimetric dual-mode detection of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) with improved reliability. Taking its advantage of fascinating properties, such as high structure defects and good conductivity, graphdiyne is prepared and used to prepare high-performance enzyme biofuel cell. T7 Exo-assisted 3D DNA walker target recognition triggers RCA reaction to obtain a significantly amplified signal response. A capacitor is integrated to the enzyme biofuel cell to further amplify the electrochemical output signal of the self-powered biosensor. In detection system, glucose oxidase catalyzes glucose oxidation to produce hydrogen peroxide, and 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) is then catalyzed to generate colored products, so as to achieve the colorimetric detection of the target. Analysis signals of diverse modes are recorded independently. Consequently, detection of microRNA with improved reliability and wider signal response range are achieved by electrochemical/colorimetric dual-mode with detection limits of 0.15 and 33 fM (S/N = 3) respectively. In addition, the proposed self-powered biosensor successfully applied for the detection of miRNA-21 in human serum samples, confirming its practical applicability in clinical diagnosis. It is powerfully anticipated the proposed self-powered biosensor possesses great potential to be applied to other biomedical domains.

All-carbon sandwich-type self-powered biosensor for ultrasensitive detection of femtomolar miRNA-141.

The latest research shows that the expression level of microRNA-141 can predict the number of prostate cancer cells in the human body and has become an important biomarker. In this paper, an all-carbon sandwich self-powered biosensor based on graphene and carbon cloth is constructed for the highly sensitive detection of the prostate tumor marker miRNA-141. First, gold nanoparticles modified carbon cloth is applied for substrate electrode, and bilirubin oxidase is then immobilized on it to prepare the biocathode of the biofuel cell. Then, aptamer 1 is immobilized on gold nanoparticles-modified carbon cloth as the electrode substrate. The bioconjugate is prepared by immobilizing the aptamer 2-glucose oxidase complex on gold nanoparticles/graphene. In the biofuel cell-based self-powered sensing system, when the target microRNA-141 is present, it undergoes complementary base pairing with aptamer 1 and aptamer 2, and the bioconjugates are immobilized on the anode to form the sandwich structure. The enzyme on the anode undergoes an oxidation reaction to catalyze the reduction of oxygen, and the electrochemical respond of the system increases significantly. The results show that the concentration of microRNA-141 is proportional to the open-circuit voltage value ranging from 0.0001 to 1000 pmol/L with a detection limit of 50 amol/L (S/N = 3). The method has high sensitivity and excellent selectivity and can be applied to sensitively detect tumor marker microRNA-141 in biological matrix.

Dihydromyricetin incorporated active films based on konjac glucomannan and gellan gum.

Active composite films were developed by incorporating different concentration of dihydromyricetin (DMY) into konjac glucomannan (KGM)/gellan gum (GG) matrix. Physicochemical, mechanical, released behaviour, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of composite films were investigated. The results from the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that DMY which well-dispersed in the KGM/GG matrix interacted with matrix through hydrogen bonds. The obtained films presented predominant thermostability, good water resistance property, excellent ultraviolet light barrier ability and sustained controlled release behaviour. In particular, the incorporation of DMY remarkably enhanced the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the films. Overall, the fabricated KGM/GG-DMY composite films have a promising application in the fields of food packaging.

Electrochemical behavior and voltammetric determination of norfloxacin at glassy carbon electrode modified with multi walled carbon nanotubes/Nafion.

A simple and rapid electrochemical method is developed for the determination of trace-level norfloxacin, based on the excellent properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The MWCNTs/Nafion film-coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) is constructed and the electrochemical behavior of norfloxacin at the electrode is investigated in detail. The results indicate that MWCNTs modified glassy carbon electrode exhibited efficiently electrocatalytic oxidation for norfloxacin (NFX) with relatively high sensitivity, stability and life time. Under conditions of cyclic voltammetry, the current for oxidation of selected analyte is enhanced significantly in comparison to the bare GCE. The electrocatalytic behavior is further exploited as a sensitive detection scheme for the analyte determinations by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). Under optimized condition in voltammetric method the concentration calibration range and detection limit (S/N=3) are 0.1-100 micromol/L and 5 x 10(-8)mol/L for NFX. The proposed method was successfully applied to NFX determination in tablets. The analytical performance of this sensor has been evaluated for detection of the analyte in urine as a real sample.

Sensitive voltammetric determination of tyrosine using multi-walled carbon nanotubes/4-aminobenzeresulfonic acid film-coated glassy carbon electrode.

A chemically modified electrode is constructed based on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)/4-aminobenzeresulfonic acid (4-ABSA) film-coated glassy carbon electrode. The electrocatalytic oxidation of tyrosine (Tyr) is investigated on the surface of the MWNTs/4-ABSA-modified electrode using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The prepared modified electrode shows voltammetric responses with high sensitivity and selectivity for Tyr in optimal conditions, which makes it very suitable for sub-micromolar detection of Tyr. A sensitive oxidation peak at +0.64 V is employed to determine Tyr. Good linear relationship between the oxidation peak current and the Tyr concentration in the range of 1x10(-7) to 5x10(-5) mol/L is obtained in phosphate buffer solution with pH 7.0. By use of modified electrode, the voltammetric detection limit for Tyr in DPV measurements is 8x10(-8) mol/L (S/N=3). Good sensitivity, selectivity and stability of the low-cost modified electrode make it very suitable for the determination of trace amounts of Tyr in pharmaceutical and clinical preparations.

Ultra-trace determination of S-nitrosothiols in blood samples by spectrofluorimetry with 8-(3',4'-diaminophenyl)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacene.

Increasing evidence suggests that S-nitrosothiols (RSNO) may represent naturally occurring nitric oxide (NO) surrogates and function as intermediates in NO metabolism. In this work, a simple, sensitive, and selective micromethod is developed and validated for quantification of RSNO. A fluorescent probe 8-(3',4'-diaminophenyl)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacence (DABODIPY) is firstly used to label RSNO. The derivatization reaction is performed in aqueous medium at 30 degrees C for 15min in the presence of 6x10(-5)molL(-1)Hg2+ and the derivative is detected by fluorescence at lambda(ex)/lambda(em)=500/510nm. A linear function of concentration in the range of (2.0-600.0)x10(-8)molL(-1) is observed with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 and detection limit of 1.2x10(-9)molL(-1) (S/N=3). This technique has been successfully applied to quantify RSNO in some human blood samples including healthy persons and patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

A Cross-Disciplinary Successful Aging Intervention and Evaluation: Comparison of Person-to-Person and Digital-Assisted Approaches.

Background: Successful aging has been the paradigm of old-age life. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate a cross-disciplinary intervention program using two approaches for community-based older adults in Taichung, Taiwan. Methods: The content of the intervention included successful aging concepts and preparation, physical activity, chronic disease and health management, dietary and nutrition information, cognitive training, emotional awareness and coping skills, family relationship and resilience, legal concepts regarding financial protection, and Internet use. The traditional person-to-person (P2P) intervention approach was implemented among participants at urban centers, and the personal-and-digital (P&D) intervention approach was implemented among participants at rural centers; before the P&D group received the intervention, participants were assessed as the control group for comparison. Results: Healthy behavior and nutrition improved for the P2P group, although not significantly. Strategies for adapting to old age and reducing ineffective coping were significantly improved in the P2P group. The ability to search for health information improved in the P&D group, and knowledge of finance-related law increased in the P2P group. Conclusion: A continuous, well-designed and evidence-based intervention program is beneficial for improving the health of older adults, or at least delaying its decline.

Determination of nitric oxide in hydrophytes using poly(methacrylic acid-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolith microextraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a bioactive molecule that has recently emerged as a cellular messenger in numerous physiological processes in plants. A novel high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method combined with poly(methacrylic acid-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) (MAA-EGDMA) monolith microextraction (PMME) is developed for sensitive determination of NO in hydrophytes. NO is derivatized using a fluorescent probe, 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(3',4'-diaminophenyl)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacene (DAMBO), and then the derivatives are extracted with PMME and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The conditions for the derivatization and the subsequent extraction of NO derivatives are optimized in detail. The detection limit (S/N=3) of NO is determined to be 2x10(-12)mol L(-1). Close correlation coefficient and excellent method reproducibility are obtained for the analyte over a linear range of 9x10(-11)-4.5x10(-8)mol L(-1). The inter- and intraday relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) are less than 5%. The proposed method is successfully applied to the determination of NO levels in hydrophytes samples.

Investigation of the effect of tanshinone IIA on nitric oxide production in human vascular endothelial cells by fluorescence imaging.

Nitric oxide (NO) has been proved to be a potent vasodilator that played an important role in regulating vascular tones. Tanshinone, one of the active components of Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza, was used widely in clinics in China for treating cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to sensitively and specifically investigate the effects of tanshinone IIA, one important pharmacological constituent of tanshinone, on the release of NO from human vascular endothelial cells (HVECs) by fluorescence imaging with an excellent fluorescent probe 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-2,6-dicarbethoxy-8-(3',4'-diaminophenyl)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacence (TMDCDABODIPY). After cells were incubated with tanshinone IIA, TMDCDABODIPY was employed to label NO. Following the tagging, real-time imaging of NO release from the cells was performed with inverted fluorescence microscope. The results of the experiments showed that tanshinone IIA could induce NO production significantly enhanced in HVECs. The activation of NO by tanshinone IIA may be employed therapeutically in modulating NO production in HVECs.

A disposable electrochemical immunosensor for carcinoembryonic antigen based on nano-Au/multi-walled carbon nanotubes-chitosans nanocomposite film modified glassy carbon electrode.

In this paper, a disposable electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) based on Au nanoparticles (AuNPs)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-chitosans (Chits) composite film was developed. MWCNTs-Chits homogeneous composite was first dispersed in acetic acid solution and then the AuNPs was in situ synthesized at the composite. The mixture was dripped on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and then CEA antibody (anti-CEA) was immobilized on the resulted modified electrode to construct the immunosensor. The stepwise assembly process of the immunosensor was characterized by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) studies demonstrated that the formation of antibody-antigen complexes decreased peak current of [Fe(CN)(6)](3-/4-) redox pair at the AuNPs/MWCNTs-Chits/GCE. The optimization of the pH of supporting electrolyte, the incubation temperature and time were studied in detail. Under optimal conditions, the peak current of DPV of the immunosensor decreased linearly with increasing CEA concentration in two ranges of 0.3-2.5 and 2.5-20 ng mL(-1), with a detection limit of 0.01 ng mL(-1) (S/N=3). This electrochemical immunoassay combines the specificity of the immunological reaction with the sensitivity of the AuNPs and MWCNTs amplified electrochemical detection. It would be valuable for diagnosis and monitoring of carcinoma.

The investigation of the interactions between CdSe quantum dots and human serum albumin by resonance Rayleigh scattering and second-order scattering spectra.

Human serum albumin (HSA) was the most abundant protein in human plasma and has significant physiological function. In Tris-HCl buffer solution (pH 7.4), water-soluble semiconductor CdSe quantum dots (QDs) reacted with HSA and the products resulted in a great enhancement of the intensity of resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) and second-order scattering (SOS). Based on this, a new method was developed to investigate the interactions between QDs and HSA. The parameters with regard to determination were optimized, and the reaction mechanism was discussed. Under optimal conditions, the increments of scattering intensity (DeltaI) were directly proportional to the concentrations of HSA in the range of 0.4-48.0 micromol L(-1). The detection limits were 0.10 micromol L(-1) for RRS method and 0.25 micromol L(-1) for SOS method. The proposed method was sensitive, simple and rapid. It has been successfully applied to the determination of HSA in human urine samples. Analytical results obtained with this novel assay were satisfactory.

Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of hemoglobin on carbon ionic liquid electrode.

Hemoglobin in agarose was successfully immobilized on a carbon ionic liquid electrode and the direct electrochemical behavior of hemoglobin was investigated. Room temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate was used as the modifier. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to characterize the hemoglobin on the modified electrode. The results showed that the immobilized hemoglobin retained its bioelectrocatalytic activity. The electrochemistry of hemoglobin provided an opportunity to manufacture a third generation of biosensors. Experimental conditions influencing the biosensor performances such as pH, and potential were optimized and assessed. Under the optimal conditions, hydrogen peroxide was detected in the concentration range from 2x10(-6) to 1.2x10(-3)M with a detection limit of 0.2 microM at S/N=3. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant was 1.495 mM. The biosensor exhibited some advantages, such as short time respond, high sensitivity, good reproducibility and long-term stability.

Electrochemical behavior and voltammetric determination of tryptophan based on 4-aminobenzoic acid polymer film modified glassy carbon electrode.

Herein, a novel electrochemical method was developed for the determination of tryptophan based on the poly(4-aminobenzoic acid) film modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrochemical behaviors of tryptophan at the modified electrode were investigated. It was found that the oxidation peak current of tryptophan at the modified GCE was greatly improved compared with that at the bare GCE. The effects of supporting electrolyte, pH value, scan rate, accumulation potential and time were examined. The oxidation peak current of tryptophan was proportional to its concentration over the range from 1.0 x 10(-6) to 1.0 x 10(-4)mol L(-1). The limit of detection was evaluated to be 2.0 x 10(-7)mol L(-1). The proposed method was sensitive and simple. It was successfully employed to determine tryptophan in pharmaceutical samples.

Ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection for sensitive determination of biogenic amines in rice wine samples.

Ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection was used for the extraction and determination of three biogenic amines including octopamine, tyramine and phenethylamine in rice wine samples. Fluorescence probe 2,6-dimethyl-4-quinolinecarboxylic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester was applied for derivatization of biogenic amines. Acetonitrile and 1-octanol were used as disperser solvent and extraction solvent, respectively. Extraction conditions including the type of extraction solvent, the volume of extraction solvent, ultrasonication time and centrifuging time were optimized. After extraction and centrifuging, analyte was injected rapidly into high-performance liquid chromatography and then detected with fluorescence. The calibration graph of the proposed method was linear in the range of 5-500 microg mL(-1) (octopamine and tyramine) and 0.025-2.5 microg mL(-1) (phenethylamine). The relative standard deviations were 2.4-3.2% (n=6) and the limits of detection were in the range of 0.02-5 ng mL(-1). The method was applied to analyze the rice wine samples and spiked recoveries in the range of 95.42-104.56% were obtained. The results showed that ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was a very simple, rapid, sensitive and efficient analytical method for the determination of trace amount of biogenic amines.