Determination of sterols using liquid chromatography with off-line surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

A new method, reversed phase liquid chromatography with off-line surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (RPLC-SALDI MS) for the determination of brassicasterol (BR), cholesterol (CH), stigmasterol (ST), campesterol (CA) and ß-sitosterol (SI) in oil samples has been developed. The sample preparation consisted of alkaline saponification followed by extraction of the unsaponificable fraction with diethyl ether. The recovery of the sterols ranged from 91 to 95% with RSD less than 4%. Separation of the five major sterols on a C18 column using methanol-water gradient was achieved in about 10min. An on-line UV detector was employed for the initial sterol detection prior to effluent deposition using a laboratory-built spotter with 1:73 splitter. Off-line SALDI MS was then applied for mass determination/identification and quantification of the separated sterols. Ionization of the nonpolar analytes was achieved by silver ion cationization with silver nanoparticles used as the SALDI matrix providing limits of detection 12, 6 and 11fmol for CH, ST and SI, respectively. Because of the incorporated splitter, the effective limits of detection of the RPLC-SALDI MS analysis were 4, 3 and 4pmol (or 0.08, 0.06 and 0.08µg/mL) for CH, ST and SI, respectively. For quantification, 6-ketocholestanol (KE) was used as the internal standard. The method has been applied for the identification and quantification of sterols in olive, linseed and sunflower oil samples. The described off-line coupling of RPLC to SALDI MS represents an alternative to GC-MS for analysis of nonpolar compounds.

Enzyme digestion of entrapped single-DNA molecules in nanopores.

The real-time digestion of entrapped single-DNA molecules by λ-exonuclease in nanoporous alumina membranes was observed using an epifluorescence microscope. The alumina membrane provides pL (∼ 10(-12)L) containers for confining single-DNA molecules without immobilization. When one end of the DNA molecule was inserted into a nanopore, it was possible to monitor the digestion process outside, near and inside the pore, where the individual DNA molecules exhibited different characteristic digestion modes. The digestion rates calculated from the decrease in fluorescence intensity showed different values according to the location of the individual molecules. Entrapment rather than immobilization allows the DNA strand to be fully exposed to the enzyme and the reaction buffer. These results confirm that the enzymatic digestion of DNA molecules is affected by their three-dimensional (3D) environment.

Entrapment of individual DNA molecules and nanoparticles in porous alumina membranes.

Depth-resolved fluorescence imaging allows the motion of single DNA molecules and single nanoparticles at the liquid/solid interface to be recorded in real time. Porous alumina membranes were employed as model chromatographic packing material. Using a suitable pH and ionic strength, adsorptive interactions are suppressed. The effects of 3-dimensional topography, specifically the presence of nanopores, on DNA and nanoparticle migration across the surface are, thus, revealed. The residence times and the number of immobilized DNA molecules or particles increased as the pores size increased. Yet, we found that the pore diameter must be significantly larger than the particle diameter or the DNA short radius before entrapment can occur. Furthermore, the depth distribution of particles does not conform to one-dimensional diffusion in the pores, probably because of collisions with the walls. These observations provide new insights into conventional liquid chromatography as well as size-exclusion chromatography and membrane separations.

In-Situ probing of the biotic-abiotic boundary of plants by laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (LDI-TOF) mass spectrometry was applied for the direct analysis of cuticular waxes on intact plant tissues. Cuticular wax compounds were ionized by laser desorption in the presence of colloidal silver. Silver-adduct ions were detected on samples from Arabidopsis thaliana and from maize. Good spot-to-spot reproducibility indicated homogeneous coverage of the sample by the fine colloidal material. The results were consistent with GC-MS analyses of cuticular extracts, thus confirming the feasibility of direct analysis based on this protocol. Molecular masses of the adduct ions correspond well with the known composition of cuticular waxes. Moreover, LDI-TOF gave good estimates of the relative local abundances of a given compound. However, bias was found in cases where compounds with different ionization efficiencies were analyzed.

High-throughput screening of kinase inhibitors by multiplex capillary electrophoresis with UV absorption detection.

Protein kinases play a major role in the transformation of cells and are often used as molecular targets for the new generation of anticancer drugs. We present a novel technique for high-throughput screening of inhibitors of protein kinases. The technique involves the use of multiplexed capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the rapid separation of the peptides, phosphopeptides, and various inhibitors. By means of UV detection, diversified peptides with native amino acid sequences and their phosphorylated counterparts can be directly analyzed without the need for radioactive or fluorescence labeling. The effects of different inhibitors and their IC(50) value were determined using three different situations involving the use of a single purified kinase, two purified kinases, and crude cell extracts, respectively. The results suggest that multiplexed CE/UV may prove to be a straightforward and general approach for high-throughput screening of compound libraries to find potent and selective inhibitors of the various protein kinases.