A novel ionic liquid-modified organic-polymer monolith as the sorbent for in-tube solid-phase microextraction of acidic food additives.

A novel ionic liquid-modified organic-polymer monolithic capillary column was prepared and used for in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of acidic food additives. The primary amino group of 1-aminopropyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride was reacted with the epoxide group of glycidyl methacrylate. The as-prepared new monomer was then copolymerized in situ with acrylamide and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-8000 and PEG-10,000 as porogens. The extraction performance of the developed monolithic sorbent was evaluated for benzoic acid, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, cinnamic acid, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and 3-(trifluoromethyl)-cinnamic acid. Such a sorbent, bearing hydrophobic and anion-exchange groups, had high extraction efficiency towards the test compounds. The adsorption capacities for the analytes dissolved in water ranged from 0.18 to 1.74 µg cm(-1). Good linear calibration curves (R(2) > 0.99) were obtained, and the limits of detection (S/N = 3) for the analytes were found to be in the range 1.2-13.5 ng mL(-1). The recoveries of five acidic food additives spiked in Coca-Cola beverage samples ranged from 85.4 % to 98.3 %, with RSD less than 6.9 %. The excellent applicability of the ionic liquid (IL)-modified monolithic column was further tested by the determination of benzoic acid content in Sprite samples, further illustrating its good potential for analyzing food additives in complex samples.

The effect of increased oxidative stress and ferritin in reducing the effectiveness of therapy in chronic hepatitis C patients.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients have higher oxidative stress and ferritin than healthy individuals. However, the level of oxidative stress in CHC patients during treatment with peginterferon alpha-2a and ribavirin is not clear. The aims of our study are to investigate changes of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS; indicated oxidative stress), total antioxidant status (TAS) and ferritin in CHC patients during therapy and to identify the correlation of these factors and the effectiveness of therapy. METHODS: Sixty CHC patients were selected and were prescribed 180 µg of peginteferon alpha-2a once a week and a daily dose of 1000 to 1200 mg ribavirin for 6 months. Throughout the treatment course, blood samples were taken to determine TBARS, TAS, and liver inflammation profiles including ferritin, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT). RESULTS: The level of TBARS increased before the 12th week of therapy. Additionally, the levels of TBARS were higher in non-rapid virological response (RVR) patients compared with RVR (p<0.01) in baseline and therapy at the 24th week. TAS was lower during therapy than at baseline. Levels of TAS were significantly higher in sustained virological response (SVR) patients than in non-SVR (p<0.01) in the 4th week post-therapy. We also found a positive correlation between the level of ferritin and liver inflammation during treatment (p<0.01). The levels of ferritin and ALT were lower in SVR than in non-SVR patients in the 4th week of post-therapy (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that decreased ferritin, decreased TBARS and increased TAS status may improve the efficacy of treatment.