Junyan Xu

Two-dimensional liquid chromatography separation of peptides using reversed-phase/weak cation-exchange mixed-mode column in first dimension

Selection of a first-dimensional separation method is very important in proteomic studies performed with two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC), since reversed-phase chromatography (RPLC) is usually chosen as the second-dimensional separation method in most studies. In this paper, we assess the potential use of mixed-mode reversed-phase/weak cation-exchange (RP/WCX) chromatography in 2D-LC proteomic studies. First, a new RP/WCX mixed-mode stationary phase (named C18WCX) was synthesized based on the polar-copolymerized approach, and a C18WCX column with separation efficiency comparative to conventional C18 columns was developed. This new mixed-mode column primarily provides hydrophobic interactions under acidic condition, but can offer hydrophobic and cation-exchange interactions under neutral and weak basic conditions. An off-line 2D-RP/WCX-RPLC system was established using the C18WCX column with a mobile phase of pH 6.5 in the first dimension and a C18 column with a mobile phase of pH 3.0 in the second dimension. The orthogonality of this two-dimensional system, evaluated through the separation of 123 tryptic peptides, was shown to be higher than that of the conventional 2D-RP-RPLC approach. Applying this 2D-LC method to rat brain samples, we identified 1031 proteins and 4397 unique peptides. In addition, this new two-dimensional method improved the identification of basic peptides. Therefore, we propose that this novel 2D-RP/WCX-RPLC system can be used as an alternative approach for the two-dimensional separation of peptides.

Influence of Sb doping on the structural and optical properties of tin oxide nanocrystals

The influence of Sb doping on the structural and optical properties of the SnO2 nanocrystals and films were investigated. An unusual enhancement in near infrared absorption was found in the SnO2 nanocrystals with increasing Sb doping content, and the maximum absorption shifted to shorter wavelength.

Short-chain peptides identification of scorpion Buthus martensi Karsch venom by employing high orthogonal 2D-HPLC system and tandem mass spectrometry.

Scorpion venom contains a considerable variety of neurotoxic peptides that can act on ionic channels. Here, we describe an orthogonal 2D‐reversed phase/hydrophilic interaction chromatography system (RPLC/HILIC) and use it to separate short‐chain peptides from Asian scorpion Buthus martensi Karsch (BmK) venom in a high throughput format. Due to its high orthogonality and efficiency, 18 homogenous peptides were purified and sequence identified by MS/MS with collision‐induced dissociation. Among them, four peptides were discovered, which only have evidence at transcript‐level, were first purified from crude venom in this study. Two peptides named BmKK2‐b and Martentoxin‐b were found the new cleaved chains of known BmKK2 and Martentoxin. In addition, two novel peptides named BmKK12 and BmKK16 in this paper were sequenced by de novo MS/MS, which we predict, are members of potassium channel toxin α‐KTx 17 subfamily by homology to other known peptides found in the Swiss‐Prot protein database.

BmK-YA, an Enkephalin-Like Peptide in Scorpion Venom

By screening extracts of venom from the Asian scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK) for their abilities to activate opioid receptors, we have identified BmK-YA, an amidated peptide containing an enkephalin-like sequence. BmK-YA is encoded by a precursor that displays a signal sequence and contains four copies of BmK-YA sequences and four of His4-BmK-YA, all flanked by single amino acid residues. BmK-YA and His4-BmK-YA are amidated and thus fulfill the characteristics expected of bioactive peptides. BmK-YA can activate mammalian opioid receptors with selectivity for the δ subtype while His4-BmK-YA is inactive at opioid receptors. The discovery of BmK-YA suggests that scorpion venom may represent a novel source of bioactive molecules targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and reveal additional insights on the evolution of the opioid precursors.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-solid phase extraction directly combined with protein precipitation for the determination of triptorelin in plasma.

Peptide drugs play a critical role in therapeutic treatment. However, as the complexity of plasma, determination of peptide drugs using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is a daunting task. To solve this problem, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-solid phase extraction (HILIC-SPE) directly combined with protein precipitation (PPT) was developed for the selective extraction of triptorelin from plasma. The extracts were analyzed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC). Proteins, phospholipids and highly polar interferences could be removed from plasma by the efficient combination of PPT, HILIC-SPE and RPLC-MS/MS. This method was evaluated by matrix effect, recovery and process efficiency at different concentration levels (50, 500 and 5,000 ng/mL) of triptorelin. Furthermore, the performance of HILIC-SPE was compared with that of reversed-phase C18 SPE and hydrophilic lipophilic balance (Oasis HLB) SPE. Among them, HILIC-SPE provided the minimum matrix effect (ranging from 96.02% to 103.41%), the maximum recovery (ranging from 80.68% to 90.54%) and the satisfactory process efficiency (ranging from 82.83% to 92.95%). The validated method was successfully applied to determine triptorelin in rat plasma.

Application of matrix solid-phase dispersion methodology to the extraction of endogenous peptides from porcine hypothalamus samples for MS and LC–MS analysis

In this study, we investigated a novel application of matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) methodology for the extraction of endogenous peptides from porcine hypothalamus tissue samples. Several experimental factors of the MSPD procedure were examined. Finally, silica-based octadecyl was chosen as dispersing material and blended with 0.25 g porcine hypothalamus at a ratio of 5, and 10 mL of 60% acetonitrile with 0.2% formic acid in water was chosen as the extraction and elution solvent. This MSPD extraction method was compared to the classic acid extraction method. More peaks were observed in the MSPD extracts (74±5) by MALDI-TOF MS than in acid extracts (34±5). Moreover, 14 potential endogenous peptides were identified in the MSPD extracts after nanoLC-MS/MS analysis, while only 2 endogenous peptides in the acid extracts. These results indicated that MSPD could be employed as a simple and efficient method for the extraction of endogenous peptides from tissues.

Orthogonal separation and identification of long-chain peptides from scorpion Buthus martensi Karsch venom by using two-dimensional mixed-mode reversed phase-reversed phase chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.

Peptide components of scorpion venom have been employed as useful pharmacological tools in the study of ion channel function. The isolation of individual components is necessary for determination of their biological significance. Here, we have described a novel reversed phase (RP)/ion exchange stationary phase, Click oligo ethylene glycol (Click OEG), and the chromatographic efficiency of its mixed-mode sorbent in peptide separation experiments. The Click OEG presents a mixed-mode RP/weak anion-exchange type stationary phase at pH 3.5 and mixed-mode RP/weak cation-exchange type stationary phase at pH 6.0, and it was suitable for separation of long-chain peptides in scorpion venom. Subsequently, a two dimensional mixed-mode RP-RP system based Click OEG and C18 with different pH values in two dimensions was developed for orthogonal separation of scorpion venom. Furthermore, two fractions were analyzed in depth, and 11 long-chain peptides were purified and sequences were identified by using tandem mass spectrometry incorporating the tryptic approach. Among these, we isolated six novel peptides including one peptide with a new sequence and five transcript-level peptides, and speculated on their possible bioactivities.