Multicolor ELISA based on alkaline phosphatase-triggered growth of Au nanorods.

Seed-mediated synthesis of gold nanorods (AuNRs) has been widely used for diverse applications in the past decade. In this work, this synthetic process is demonstrated for multicolor biosensing for the first time. Our investigation reveals that ascorbic acid acts as a key factor to mediate the growth of AuNRs. This phenomenon is incorporated into the alkaline phosphatase (ALP)-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system based on the fact that ALP can catalyze the conversion of ascorbic acid-phosphate into ascorbic acid with high efficiency. This allows us to develop a multicolor ELISA approach for sensitive detection of disease biomarkers with the naked eye. We show the proof-of-concept multicolor ELISA for the detection of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in human serum. The results show that different colors are presented in response to different concentrations of PSA, and a detection limit of 3 × 10(-15) g mL(-1) in human serum was achieved. The proposed multicolor ELISA could be a good supplement to conventional ELISA for POC diagnostics.

Topological insulator bismuth selenide as a theranostic platform for simultaneous cancer imaging and therapy.

Employing theranostic nanoparticles, which combine both therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities in one dose, has promise to propel the biomedical field toward personalized medicine. Here we investigate the theranostic properties of topological insulator bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) in in vivo and in vitro system for the first time. We show that Bi2Se3 nanoplates can absorb near-infrared (NIR) laser light and effectively convert laser energy into heat. Such photothermal conversion property may be due to the unique physical properties of topological insulators. Furthermore, localized and irreversible photothermal ablation of tumors in the mouse model is successfully achieved by using Bi2Se3 nanoplates and NIR laser irradiation. In addition, we also demonstrate that Bi2Se3 nanoplates exhibit strong X-ray attenuation and can be utilized for enhanced X-ray computed tomography imaging of tumor tissue in vivo. This study highlights Bi2Se3 nanoplates could serve as a promising platform for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Study on the electrochemical catalytic properties of the topological insulator Bi2Se3.

In this work, the electrochemical catalytic properties of the topological insulator bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) were first studied. In the presence of Bi2Se3 the reduction current of dissolved O2 could be significantly enhanced. The electron transfer resistivity (Rct) was greatly reduced at the Bi2Se3-PVP modified electrode as evidenced by the electrochemical impedance spectrometry, implying that the topological insulator Bi2Se3 could facilitate the electron transfer at the interface due to the excellent surface conductivity. Based on the high electrochemical catalytic activity for the reduction of dissolved O2, the Bi2Se3-PVP modified electrode was used to detect glucose with the modification of glucose oxidase, and applied for the detection of glucose in human blood serum.

Analysis of 16 phthalic acid esters in food simulants from plastic food contact materials by LC-ESI-MS/MS.

An RP LC-ESI-MS/MS method for the determination of the migration of 16 primary phthalic acid esters from plastic samples has been developed using distilled water, 3% acetic acid, 10% alcohol, and olive oil as food simulants. Detection limits were 1.6-18.5 µg/kg in distilled water, 1.4-17.3 µg/kg in 3% acetic acid, 1.4-19.2 µg/kg in 10% alcohol, and 31.9-390.8 µg/kg in olive oil. The RSDs were in the range of 0.07-11.28%. The real plastic products inspection showed that only few analyzed samples were phthalates contaminated. Bis-2-ethylhexyl ester and dibutyl phthalate were the common items migrated from the plastic products into food and feeds, but the migration concentrations were far below the limits set by European Union (1.5 mg/kg for bis-2-ethylhexyl ester and 0.3 mg/kg for dibutyl phthalate).

Simple colorimetric bacterial detection and high-throughput drug screening based on a graphene-enzyme complex.

A simple, colorimetric, sensitive, cost-effective and high-throughput system based on a positively charged graphene oxide-enzyme complex was developed for bacterial detection and drug screening.

Field enhancement sample stacking for analysis of organic acids in traditional Chinese medicine by capillary electrophoresis.

A technique known as field enhancement sample stacking (FESS) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation has been developed to analyze and detect organic acids in the three traditional Chinese medicines (such as Portulaca oleracea L., Crataegus pinnatifida and Aloe vera L.). In FESS, a reverse electrode polarity-stacking mode (REPSM) was applied as on-line preconcentration strategy. Under the optimized condition, the baseline separation of eight organic acids (linolenic acid, lauric acid, p-coumaric acid, ascorbic acid, benzoic acid, caffeic acid, succinic acid and fumaric acid) could be achieved within 20 min. Validation parameters of this method (such as detection limits, linearity and precision) were also evaluated. The detection limits ranged from 0.4 to 60 ng/mL. The results indicated that the proposed method was effective for the separation of mixtures of organic acids. Satisfactory recoveries were also obtained in the analysis of these organic acids in the above traditional Chinese medicine samples.

Separation and purification of ergosterol and stigmasterol in Anoectochilus roxburghii (wall) Lindl by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

Ergosterol and stigmasterol are the most common phytosterols in the traditional Chinese medicine. They are two major sterol compounds in Anoectochilus roxburghii (wall) Lindl (A. roxburghii) and have been proved to have many important biological activities. A method by using high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) has been successfully developed for separation and purification of ergosterol and stigmasterol in A. roxburghii simultaneously in this paper. The optimum conditions used in this method were as follows: The two-phase solvent system consisted of n-hexane-ethylacetate-butanol-methanol-water (3.5:0.3:0.5:2.5:0.3, v/v); the rotation speed was 900 rpm; the flow rate of the lower phase was 1.5 mL/min. About 36.5 mg of ergosterol and 43.6 mg of stigmasterol were obtained from 100 g of A. roxburghii. The purity of ergosterol and stigmasterol was examined to be 92.0 and 95.5%, respectively, by using HPLC. The chemical structures of these components were identified by UV spectra, FT-IR, MS, (1) H-NMR and (13) C-NMR. The results demonstrated that high-speed counter-current chromatography was a feasible method to separate and purify ergosterol and stigmasterol from the herb. This separation and purification method was more effective than many other conventional techniques.

A strategy for development of electrochemical DNA biosensor based on site-specific DNA cleavage of restriction endonuclease.

A new strategy for development of electrochemical DNA biosensor based on site-specific DNA cleavage of restriction endonuclease and using quantum dots as reporter was reported in this paper. The biosensor was fabricated by immobilizing a capture hairpin probe, thiolated single strand DNA labeled with biotin group, on a gold electrode. BfuCI nuclease, which is able to specifically cleave only double strand DNA but not single strand DNA, was used to reduce background current and improve the sensitivity. We demonstrated that the capture hairpin probe can be cleaved by BfuCI nuclease in the absence of target DNA, but cannot be cleaved in the presence of target DNA. The difference before and after enzymatic cleavage was then monitored by electrochemical method after the quantum dots were dissolved from the hybrids. Our results suggested that the usage of BfuCI nuclease obviously improved the sensitivity and selectivity of the biosensor. We successfully applied this method to the sequence-selective discrimination between perfectly matched and mismatched target DNA including a single-base mismatched target DNA, and detected as low as 3.3 × 10(-14) M of complementary target DNA. Furthermore, our above strategy was also verified with fluorescent method by designing a fluorescent molecular beacon (MB), which combined the capture hairpin probe and a pair of fluorophore (TAMRA) and quencher (DABCYL). The fluorescent results are consistent with that of electroanalysis, further indicating that the proposed new strategy indeed works as we expected.

Determination of protoberberine alkaloids in medicinal plants based on acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence system.

A simple method was established to determine protoberberine alkaloids in Cortex Phellodendri and Rhizoma Coptidis based on an acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence (CL) system. The optimum conditions for the CL reaction between protoberberine alkaloids and potassium permanganate were studied in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the linear response ranges for berberine, palmatine and jatrorrhizine were 0.038-7.27, 0.031-18.1 and 0.012-3.61 µg/mL with detection limits of 0.005, 0.004 and 0.0007 µg/mL, respectively. This method was successfully applied to determine the content of protoberberine alkaloids (calculated using berberine as an index) in Cortex Phellodendri and Rhizoma Coptidis. In addition, a possible mechanism of this CL reaction was proposed on the basis of the investigation of CL, UV and fluorescent spectra of protoberberine alkaloids in acidic solution containing potassium permanganate.

An improved facile method for extraction and determination of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris by focused microwave-assisted extraction coupled with GC-MS.

An improved fast method for extraction of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris based on the use of focus microwave-assisted extraction (FMAE) is proposed. Under optimized conditions, four steroidal saponins were extracted from Tribulus terrestris and identified by GC-MS, which are Tigogenin (TG), Gitogenin (GG), Hecogenin (HG) and Neohecogenin (NG). One of the most important steroidal saponins, namely TG was quantified finally. The recovery of TG was in the range of 86.7-91.9% with RSD<5.2%. The convention heating reflux extraction was also conducted in order to validate the reliability of this new FMAE method. The yield of total steroidal saponins was 90.3% in a one-step FMAE, while the yield of 65.0% was achieved during heating reflux extraction, and the extraction time was reduced from 3 h to 5 min by using less solvent. The method was successfully applied to analyze the steroidal saponins of Tribulus terrestris from different areas of occurrence. The difference in chromatographic characteristics of steroidal saponins was proved to be related to the different areas of occurrence. The results showed that FMAE-GC-MS is a simple, rapid, solvent-saving method for the extraction and determination of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris.

[Determination of four amino acids in tea by capillary zone electrophoresis and direct ultraviolet detection without derivatization].

Abstract: Four important amino acids, arginine (Arg), tryptophane (Trp), phenylalanine (Phe) and tyrosine (Tyr) in tea samples with different fermentation processes were simultaneously determined by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using direct ultraviolet detection (UV) at 190 nm. Under the conditions of 20 kV of separation voltage and 25 degrees C of temperature, Arg, Trp, Phe and Tyr were separated successfully within 8 min in 25 mmol/L sodium borate-boric acid (pH 10.0) with the detection limits of 5.0, 1.0, 0.3 and 0.5 mg/L for Arg, Trp, Phe and Tyr, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of migration time (n = 7) were all lower than 2.8% and the RSDs of peak electric current (n = 7) were lower than 4.0%. The method was applied in the determination of Arg, Trp, Phe and Tyr in eleven tea samples. The results were satisfactory. This method can provide beneficial reference to evaluation quality of tea.

On-line preconcentration and quantitative analysis of peptide hormone of brain and intestine using on-column transient isotachophoresis coupled with capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

A new approach was described to achieve very sensitive analysis of peptide hormone of brain and intestine by capillary electrophoresis coupled with a transient isotachophoresis (tITP) preconcentration method. The system used was electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) as detector and equipped with a sheath flow configuration. The effects of sample matrix, pH and concentration of leading electrolyte (LE), sample injection time, and ESI-MS instrumental parameters on the efficiency of the sample stacking were investigated in detail. Under the optimized conditions, lower than micromole (0.01 microM) concentrations of the peptides were easily detected. Compared to traditional hydrodynamic injection methods, about 40-230-fold increase in detection sensitivity was obtained by this technique. A distinguishing feature of the described approach is that the background electrolyte can serve as terminating electrolyte (TE), which simplifies the process of the experiments. The method was further evaluated by the analysis of low concentration active peptide mixtures spiked in hypothalamus tissue of the rat.

Identification and quantitation of auxins in plants by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry.

Auxin is an important phylohormone, which regulates specific physiological responses such as division, elongation and differentiation of cells. A new method using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-ITMS) has been developed for identification and quantitation of four auxins. Under the optimum conditions, four auxins (indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-propionic acid, indole-3-butyric acid and 1-naphthylacetic acid) were completely separated and quantitated within 7 min with a minimum detection limit of 8.0 ng mL(-1) with relative standard deviations lower than 5.0%. This method also has been applied to analysis of auxins in Chinese cabbage where, even with a complicated serious background perturbation due to the natural biological matrix, the mean recoveries ranged from 77.5% to 99.8%. Finally, we discuss the MS-relevant properties of the identified auxins in detail.

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography coupling with field amplified sample injection and electroosmotic flow suppressant for analysis of some quinolizidine alkaloids.

A new rapid and reproducible method using microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) combining field amplified sample injection and electroosmotic flow suppressant for the analysis of five quinolizidine alkaloids is developed in this paper. For the separation of five quinolizidine alkaloids, a running buffer composed of 1.2% (v/v) 1-butanol, 0.6% (v/v) ethyl acetate and 98.2% (v/v) 1 mM Na(2)B(4)O(7)-2 mM NaH(2)PO(4) buffer solution containing 21 mM sodium cholate (SC) (pH 6.5) was developed. The resolution of the analytes was improved significantly by adding a divalent cation (e.g., Mg(2+)) to the running buffer as an electroosmotic flow modification. In order to analyze trace quinolizidine alkaloids in traditional Chinese herbal medicines, field amplified sample injection (FASI) was applied to increase the detection sensitivity. The detection limits (defined as S/N=3) for the analytes could be as low as 0.0001 microg/mL. This method was applied for the determination of quinolizidine alkaloids in real samples with simple extraction procedures, and the assay results were satisfactory.

Determination of peptide hormones of brain and intestine by CE with ESI-MS detection.

A new method for the determination of the peptide hormones of brain and intestine based on CE coupling with a DAD and ESI-MS was established. Several electrophoretic and ESI-MS parameters were investigated in detail, such as electrolyte nature and concentration, organic solvent and sheath liquid compositions, nebulization gas pressure and the ESI capillary voltage. Optimized conditions were achieved with 25 mM formic acid-ammonium formate (pH 2.9) as the optimal electrolyte, 2 mM formic acid in 80% methanol in water as the sheath liquid, and 20 kV applied voltage. Under the optimized conditions, four protonated peptides were separated by CE and selectively detected by a quadrupole mass spectrometer with a sheath flow ESI interface. LODs for the four peptides (neurotensin hexapeptide, neurotensin, cholecystokinin tetrapeptide, and pentagastrin) were in the range of 0.10-0.60 micromol/L at an S/N of 3. The RSDs (n = 8) of the method were 0.70-1.5% for migration times and 1.6-6.1% for peak areas. This method is simple, rapid, and selective compared with RIA and ELISA techniques, and has been applied to the analysis of rat hypothalamus tissue.

Identification of beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and ergosterin in A. roxburghii using supercritical fluid extraction followed by liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ion trap mass spectrometry.

beta-Sitosterol and stigmasterol are the most common phytosterols in traditional Chinese medicine. They have been proved to have many important bioactivities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and ergosterol coexisting in A. roxburghii herbs can be simultaneously extracted by a supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) procedure; then a simple high-performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC/APCI/MS) method was developed for simultaneous identification and determination of these three compounds. The ion trap MS/MS detector was equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source operating in the positive ion mode, APCI(+). The linear responses were obtained in the concentration range of 0.50-150 microg/mL (r = 0.9999) for ergosterol, 5-400 microg/mL (r = 0.9999) for stigmasterol, and 10-2000 microg/mL (r = 0.9998) for beta-sitosterol. An orthogonal L(9) (3(3)) test design was employed for optimization of the SFE process. Under the optimized conditions, i.e. pressure of 25 mPa, temperature of 45 degrees C and ethanol as modifier, the concentrations of sterols in the extract were found to be 2.89% (g/g) for beta-sitosterol, 3.56% (g/g) for stigmasterol and 2.96% (g/g) for ergosterin. The SFE method was also compared with a previously developed Soxhlet extraction. The SFE method produced higher yields of sterols than that of the Soxhlet extraction. The proposed method has been successfully used for identification and quantitation of beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and ergosterin in a real A. roxburghii sample.

Use of liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry for identification of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid in Anoectochilus roxburghii (wall.) Lindl.

Oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) are the two important bioactive compounds in Anoectochilus roxburghii (wall) Lindl (A. roxburghii), which has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine. So far, there has been no report to indicate that A. roxburghii contains these two bioactive compounds. It is necessary to develop an effective method to extract and analyze OA and UA in A. roxburghii. In this paper, a quantitative method, consisting of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) followed by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-APCI-IT-MS) analysis, was developed for identification of OA and UA in A. roxburghii. The extraction was carried out by using CO(2) as the supercritical fluid and ethanol as the modifier before LC separation. The mobile phase used for LC separation consisted of acetic acid (1%, v/v), water (15%, v/v) and methanol (84%, v/v), and the elution was performed at a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min. The mass spectrometer was operated in APCI(+) mode with selected ion monitoring (SIM) to quantify OA and UA at m/z 439.4. Under optimum conditions, the linear responses of OA and UA were obtained in the concentration range of 0.5-80 (r = 0.9992) and 0.5-50 microg/ml (r = 0.9989) with the detection limits of 0.125 and 0.085 microg/ml, respectively. The proposed method has been used for the identification and quantitation of OA and UA in a real A. roxburghii sample.

A new method for fabrication of an integrated indium tin oxide electrode on electrophoresis microchips with amperometric detection and its application for determination of synephrine and hesperidin in pericarpium citri reticulatae.

A new, simple, and fast method to integrate indium tin oxide electrode in an amperometric detection (AD) microchip is introduced. Without the help of photoresist and complicated apparatus, the microchip could be fabricated in most laboratories in a very short time by this method. The experiment indicated that the microchip was stable and had good reproducibility. On this microchip, a new method was established to separate and determine synephrine and hesperidin, which are the main electroactively bioactive ingredients of pericarpium citri reticulatae, by AD. Under the optimal conditions, the two compounds could be completely separated within 5.5 min and the detection limits were 0.13 and 0.57 microg/mL, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully used to determine synephrine and hesperidin in real pericarpium citri reticulatae sample, and the results show that the proposed method is sensitive, reliable, fast, and economical.

Separation and determination of flavonoids in Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection.

Five flavonoids (catechin, hyperoside, quercitrin, quercetin, and rutin) were separated and determined by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection. Effects of several important factors, such as the pH and concentration of running buffer, separation voltage, injection time, and detection potential were investigated to determine the optimum conditions. The five flavonoids were baseline separated within 20 min in a 60 cm length capillary at a separation voltage of 19.5 kV with a running buffer consisting of 60 mmoL/L Na2B4O7 - 120 mmoL/L NaH2PO4 (pH = 8.8). The relationship between peak current and analyte concentration was linear over about two orders of magnitude with detection limits (S/N = 3) ranging from 0.02 to 0.05 microg/mL for all compounds. This method was successfully used to determine the above five flavonoids in Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. with relatively simple extraction procedures, and the assay results were satisfactory.

Simultaneous determination of allantoin, choline and L-arginine in Rhizoma Dioscoreae by capillary electrophoresis.

A rapid, easy and reproducible capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for the simultaneous determination of allantoin, choline and arginine in Rhizoma Dioscoreae was developed first time. Under the optimum condition, the three analytes could be well separated within 5 min in a 70 cm (60 cm effective length) x 75 microm i.d. capillary. The relative standard deviations for both migration time and peak height were less than 3.20%. The linear response range was 5.0-150, 0.9-100 and 1.0-200 microg/ml for arginine, choline and allantoin, respectively. The detection limit of three components was 2.0, 0.4 and 0.5 microg/ml for arginine, choline and allantoin, respectively. Contents of arginine, choline and allantoin in the crude drug of Rhizoma Dioscoreae could be easily determined by the proposed method with satisfactory results.