Differences in binding kinetics, bond strength and adduct formation between Pt-based drugs and S- or N-donor groups: A comparative study using mass spectrometry techniques.

Pt-S and Pt-N interactions resulting from the coordination of cisplatin, oxaliplatin and carboplatin to two synthetic peptides that differ from each other in one amino acid (Met or His) have been thoroughly studied in this work. The degree of Pt-binding was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after the separation of the Pt-complexes from the unreacted drugs by size exclusion chromatography. Cisplatin and oxaliplatin showed high affinity for the peptides from the first hours of incubation, although the peptides required longer incubation times to obtain the same platination degrees with cisplatin than with oxaliplatin. Once the reactions reached their maximum binding degrees, the complexes with oxaliplatin began to dissociate, revealing binding reversibility, while a pseudo steady-state was observed for cisplatin until the last day of incubation. Conversely, the equilibrium was not reached for carboplatin and the His-peptide after 30 days, showing a binding degree of 16%, versus 78% for the Met-peptide. The S-donor group also presented an important influence on the reactivity and the adduct formation. The reaction rate for the Met-peptide was faster than the hydrolysis of oxaliplatin and carboplatin, and all the drugs, except oxaliplatin, were able to coordinate up to 3 different donor groups, which were identified by nanospray mass spectrometry. Since structural characterization of metal-complexes often represents an analytical challenge during electrophoretic separations, the strength of Pt-Met and Pt-His bonds was also evaluated under these conditions. The nature of the electrophoretic agents and the incubation times used were the parameters that most affected the stability. Higher Pt losses were found for the Met-peptide (35-90%) than for the His-peptide (16-48%), indicating that Pt-Met bonds were kinetically preferred while Pt-His interactions were thermodynamically favored.

An approach for quantification of platinum distribution in tissues by LA-ICP-MS imaging using isotope dilution analysis.

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been revealed as a convenient technique for trace elemental imaging in tissue sections, providing elemental 2D distribution at a quantitative level. For quantification purposes, in the last years several approaches have been proposed in the literature such as the use of CRMs or matrix matched standards. The use of Isotope Dilution (ID) for quantification by LA-ICP-MS has been also described, being mainly useful for bulk analysis but not feasible for spatial measurements so far. In this work, a quantification method based on ID analysis was developed by printing isotope-enriched inks onto kidney slices from rats treated with antitumoral Pt-based drugs using a commercial ink-jet device, in order to perform an elemental quantification in different areas from bio-images. For the ID experiments 194Pt enriched platinum was used. The methodology was validated by deposition of natural Pt standard droplets with a known amount of Pt onto the surface of a control tissue, where could be quantified even 50pg of Pt, with recoveries higher than 90%. The amount of Pt present in the whole kidney slices was quantified for cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin-treated rats. The results obtained were in accordance with those previously reported. The amount of Pt distributed between the medullar and cortical areas was also quantified, observing different behavior for the three drugs.

Development of a high analytical performance-tyrosinase biosensor based on a composite graphite-Teflon electrode modified with gold nanoparticles.

The design of a new tyrosinase biosensor with improved stability and sensitivity is reported. The biosensor design is based on the construction of a graphite-Teflon composite electrode matrix in which the enzyme and colloidal gold nanoparticles are incorporated by simple physical inclusion. Experimental variables such as the colloidal gold loading into the composite matrix, the enzyme loading and the potential applied to the bioelectrode were optimized. The Tyr-Au(coll)-graphite-Teflon biosensor exhibited suitable amperometric responses at -0.10 V for the different phenolic compounds tested (catechol; phenol; 3,4-dimethylphenol; 4-chloro-3-methylphenol; 4-chlorophenol; 4-chloro-2-methylphenol; 3-methylphenol and 4-methylphenol). The limits of detection obtained were 3 nM for catechol, 3.3 microM for 4-chloro-2-methylphenol, and approximately 20 nM for the rest of phenolic compounds. The presence of colloidal gold into the composite matrix gives rise to enhanced kinetics of both the enzyme reaction and the electrochemical reduction of the corresponding o-quinones at the electrode surface, thus allowing the achievement of a high sensitivity. The biosensor exhibited an excellent renewability by simple polishing, with a lifetime of at least 39 days without apparent loss of the immobilized enzyme activity. The usefulness of the biosensor for the analysis of real samples was evaluated by performing the estimation of the content of phenolic compounds in water samples of different characteristics.

Graphite-Teflon composite bienzyme amperometric biosensors for monitoring of alcohols.

Composite graphite-Teflon electrodes, in which the enzymes alcohol oxidase (AOD) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP), as well as the mediator ferrocene, are incorporated into the electrode matrix, are reported for the reliable monitoring of alcohols in food and beverages. The bienzyme electrodes are constructed by simple physical inclusion of the enzymes and the mediator in the bulk of graphite-70% Teflon rigid cylindrical pellets. The composite biosensors are robust and reusable because of the renewability of the electrode surface by polishing. Reproducible amperometric responses at 0.00 V were obtained with different electrodes constructed from the same pellet and from different pellets. No significant loss of the enzymes activities was found after at least 3 months of storage at 0 degrees C. The detection limits obtained by amperometry in stirred solutions can be advantageously compared with those achieved with commercial sensors for alcohols. The bienzyme electrodes are suitable to be used under flow-injection conditions, as well as for amperometric detection in HPLC. The bioelectrodes were employed for the determination of ethanol in beers, wines and liquors, using both batch- and flow-injection modes, and for the determination of methanol in wines and liquors by HPLC with amperometric detection. Only a dilution of the beverages was needed as sample treatment in all cases.

Composite electrochemical biosensors: a comparison of three different electrode matrices for the construction of amperometric tyrosinase biosensors.

A comparison of the behaviour of three different rigid composite matrices for the construction of amperometric tyrosinase biosensors, which are widely used for the detection of phenolic compounds, is reported. The composite electrode matrices were, graphite-Teflon; reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC)-epoxy resin; and graphite-ethylene/propylene/diene (EPD) terpolymer. After optimization of the experimental conditions, different aspects regarding the stability of the three composite tyrosinase electrode designs were considered and compared. A better reproducibility of the amperometric responses was found with the graphite-EPD electrodes, whereas a longer useful lifetime was observed for the graphite-Teflon electrodes. The kinetic parameters of the tyrosinase reaction were calculated for eight different phenolic compounds, as well as their corresponding calibration plots. The general trend in sensitivity was graphite-EPD>graphite-Teflon>>RVC-epoxy resin. A correlation between sensitivity and the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme reaction for each phenolic substrate was found. Furthermore, differences in the sensitivity order for the phenolic compounds were observed among the three biocomposite electrodes, which suggests that the nature of the electrode matrix influences the interactions in the tyrosinase catalytic cycle.

Nail changes in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. A prospective controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: To study the frequency of nail changes in a population of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients and to evaluate the specificity of these findings by comparison with HIV-negative control subjects. DESIGN: Prospective controlled study. Nail changes were recorded by a standardized clinical examination (curvature, nail plate, color, onychomycosis). In case of clinical diagnosis of onychomycosis, mycological culture was performed. SETTING: Primary care university hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 155 HIV-1-positive patients and 103 healthy HIV-negative control subjects of comparable age and sex ratio. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Clinical examination findings. RESULTS: Nail symptoms were present in 67.7% of HIV-positive patients vs 34.0% of controls (P << .001). The following symptoms were significantly more frequent in the HIV group: clubbing (5.8%) (P < .05), transverse lines (7.1%) (P < .01), onychoschizia (7.1%) (P < .05), leukonychia (14.3%) (P < .001), and longitudinal melanonychia (14.8%) (P < .01). The main finding was onychomycosis in 30.3% of patients vs 12.6% of controls (P < .001). Trichophyton rubrum was present in 48% of onychomycoses and unusual Candida species were also recorded. Multiple fungi were frequently cultured in a single patient. The mean CD4+ cell count was lower in patients with onychomycosis and the frequency of onychomycosis increased in advanced stages of HIV disease. Acquired total leukonychia of the 20 nails was present in 4% of patients. CONCLUSION: Nail symptoms are much more frequent in patients with HIV than in healthy controls, and some of them could be linked to the level of immunosuppression.

Thiol-free reducing agents in electrophoretic separations and FASP proteolytic digestions for the analysis of metal-binding proteins.

The analysis of the complexes between metal-based chemotherapeutic drugs and proteins in biological samples, such as cisplatin or oxaliplatin, can be a challenge due to metal strong reactivity towards S-donor molecules such as dithiothreitol (DTT) or ß-mercaptoethanol (BME), usually employed as reducing agents in electrophoretic separations and proteolytic digestions for LC-MS/MS analysis.•This protocol describes the use of the thiol-free reducing trialkylphosphines, such as tributylphosphine (TBP) and tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) as suitable reagents for the preservation of the metal-protein complexes during OFFGEL-IEF and SDS-PAGE separations, respectively.•Moreover, the filter-aided sample preparation (FASP) method is presented as an advantageous option to perform tryptic in-solution digestions of metal-protein complexes in combination with OFFGEL-IEF separations.•The FASP procedure allows including previous reduction and alkylation steps in addition to proteolysis, ensuring the preservation of the metal-protein complexes. The limited time that proteins remain in contact with the reducing agent, either TBP or even DTT, during FASP could be a key factor for its extraordinary performance on the digestion of metal-protein complexes.

Combining TBP-based rOFFGEL-IEF with FASP and nLC-ESI-LTQ-MS/MS for the analysis of cisplatin-binding proteins in rat kidney.

In this work, a methodology based on a reducing IEF separation in combination with a FASP tryptic digestion able to maintain the integrity of cisplatin-protein complexes has been developed. The method is based on OFFGEL-IEF under conditions provided by the thiol-free reducing agent TBP, which allowed the separation of cisplatin-binding proteins in liquid fractions. The FASP procedure is applied as an intermediate stage between the IEF separation and MS analysis where the proteins are retained and concentrated in a commercially available ultrafiltration device. The filter unit acts as a proteomic reactor for detergent removal, buffer exchange, chemical modification (reduction and alkylation) and protein digestion. Finally, purified peptides are recovered by centrifugation. This procedure provides efficiencies comparable to standard in-solution digestion and the risk of platinum-complexes loss is minimized due to the fact that reagents employed along the process are subsequently eliminated before the following step. The stability of platinum-protein complexes under the FASP tryptic digestion, either using TBP or DTT as reducing agents, was maintained, allowing the identification of several platinum-containing peptides from cisplatin-HSA. This methodology was applied to the separation of platinum-enriched protein fractions obtained by SEC-ICP-MS in a kidney tissue extract from a rat treated with cisplatin, followed by further identification by nLC-ESI-LTQ-MS/MS after FASP tryptic digestion of selected platinum-containing liquid fractions.

TCEP-based rSDS-PAGE AND nLC-ESI-LTQ-MS/MS for oxaliplatin metalloproteomic analysis.

In this work, the reactivity of the citostatic drugs such as oxaliplatin, cisplatin and carboplatin towards proteins and the stability of Pt-protein complexes along their storage were evaluated. Neither native-PAGE nor nrSDS-PAGE seems to be suitable for the separation of carboplatin-binding proteins. A reducing electrophoretic separation procedure able to maintain the integrity of oxaliplatin-protein complexes has been developed. The method is based on SDS-PAGE under conditions provided by the thiol-free reducing agent tris (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP), which allowed the separation of oxaliplatin-binding proteins in narrow bands with almost quantitative recoveries. Different amounts of platinum-bound protein bands covering the range 0.3-2.0 µg were excised and mineralised for platinum determination, showing good linearity. Limits of detection for a mixture of five standard proteins (transferrin, albumin, carbonic anhydrase, myoglobin and cytochrome c) incubated with oxaliplatin were within the range 11.0-44.0 pg of platinum, which were satisfactory for their application to biological samples. The suitability of the TCEP-based SDS-PAGE for the separation of platinum-enriched protein fractions of a kidney cytosol from a rat treated with oxaliplatin was demonstrated. The identification of high Pt to protein ratio cytosolic fractions was carried out by separating the cytosolic platinum-binding proteins by SEC-ICP-MS. Several cytosolic renal proteins were identified in those gel bands containing platinum-enriched protein fractions using nLC-ESI-LTQ-MS/MS after in-gel digested with trypsin. In addition, fractions containing platinum-enriched proteins with lower theorical molecular weight were directly analysed by nLC-ESI-LTQ-MS/MS after in-solution tryptic digestion allowing protein identification.

A comparison of different strategies for the construction of amperometric enzyme biosensors using gold nanoparticle-modified electrodes.

A comparison of the analytical performances of several enzyme biosensor designs, based on the use of different tailored gold nanoparticle-modified electrode surfaces, is discussed. Glucose oxidase (GOx) and the redox mediator tetrathiafulvalene were coimmobilized in all cases by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. The biosensor designs tested were based on the use of (i) colloidal gold (Au(coll)) bound on cysteamine (Cyst) monolayers self-assembled on a gold disk electrode (AuE) and (ii) glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) modified with electrodeposited gold nanoparticles (nAu). The results obtained with these designs were compared with those provided by a GOx/Cyst-AuE and a GOx/MPA-AuE. In the second case (ii), configurations based on direct immobilization of GOx on nAu (GOx/nAu-GCE) or on Cyst or MPA self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) previously bound on gold nanoparticles (GOx/Cyst-nAu-GCE or GOx/MPA-nAu-GCE, respectively) were compared. The analytical characteristics of glucose calibration plots and the kinetic parameters of the enzyme reaction were compared for all of the biosensors tested. The GOx/Au(coll)-Cyst-AuE design showed a sensitivity for glucose determination higher than that achieved with GOx/Cyst-AuE and GOx/Au(coll)-Cyst/Cyst-AuE and similar to that achieved with GOx/MPA-AuE. Moreover, the useful lifetime of one single GOx/Au(coll)-Cyst-AuE was 28 days, remarkably longer than that of the other GOx biosensor designs.

Molecularly imprinted polymers for on-line clean up and preconcentration of chloramphenicol prior to its voltammetric determination.

The performance of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as a selective solid-phase extraction sorbent for the clean-up and preconcentration of the antibiotic chloramphenicol is described. The MIP was prepared using chloramphenicol as the template, (diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate as the functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linking monomer, and using tetrahydrofuran as the solvent. Detection of chloramphenicol was carried out by square-wave voltammetry at electrochemically activated carbon fiber microelectrodes. Chloramphenicol was eluted from the MIP microcolumn with methanol. Different experimental variables (sample pH, eluent volume, analyte and eluent flow rates and sample volume) associated with the rebinding/elution process were optimized. For a 250 mL sample, a nominal enrichment factor of 500 was attained, and for a chloramphenicol concentration of 3.0x10(-8) mol L(-1) (9.7 microg L(-1)) a recovery of 96+/-4% was obtained. A range of linearity for chloramphenicol between 3.0x10(-8) and 1.0x10(-5) mol L(-1) was obtained by loading 17 mL of analyte solutions of different concentration, eluting with 0.5 mL methanol, evaporating under a stream of nitrogen and dissolving the residue in phosphate buffer of pH 7.8. The MIP selectivity was evaluated by checking several substances with similar molecular structures to that of chloramphenicol. The applicability of the MIP for both clean up and preconcentration was demonstrated by determining chloramphenicol in ophthalmic solutions and spiked milk at different concentration levels.