Lenka Česlová

Characterization of prenylflavonoids and hop bitter acids in various classes of Czech beers and hop extracts using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Hops contain a wide range of polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant properties divided in various chemical classes. These compounds are detected in hop extracts and also in beer as its main product. Based on the careful optimization of column type, column packing, mobile phase composition and gradient steepness, two high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) methods have been developed. The first method using Purospher Star RP-8e column and the gradient of aqueous acetonitrile containing 0.3% formic acid is optimized for the separation of low polar polyphenolic compounds, while the second one with Zorbax SB-CN column is used for more polar hops and beer components. In this work, more compounds are detected in comparison to previous reports. In total, 49 low polar and 37 polar compounds are detected in studied samples and their molecular weights are determined based on atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectra. Some compounds are identified based on the interpretation of their full scan and tandem APCI mass spectra, retention behavior and UV spectra, while the full structure elucidation of other species still requires further research. The quantitation of xanthohumol related prenylflavonoids and bitter acids is done with two detection techniques (APCI-MS and UV detection) providing comparable results. Both compound classes (i.e., prenylflavonoids and bitter acids) are separated and quantitated in a single HPLC run, where numerous other polyphenolics are detected as well.

Fast gradient HPLC/MS separation of phenolics in green tea to monitor their degradation

The degradation of catechins and other phenolics in green tea infusions were monitored using fast HPLC/MS separation. The final separation was performed within 2.5min using Ascentis Express C18 column (50mm×2.1mm i.d.) packed with 2μm porous shell particles. Degradation was studied in relation to the temperature of water (70, 80, 90°C) and the standing time of the infusion (up to 6h). Along with chromatographic separation, the antioxidant properties of the infusions were monitored using two spectrophotometric methods. During staying of green tea infusion, the degradation of some catechins probably to gallic acid was observed. Finally, the influence of tea bag storage on antioxidant properties of green tea was evaluated. Rapid degradation of antioxidants after 3weeks was observed. The principal component analysis, factor analysis and discriminant analysis were used for the statistical evaluation of obtained experimental data.

Effect of gradient steepness on the kinetic performance limits and peak compression for reversed-phase gradient separations of small molecules

The effect of gradient steepness on the kinetic performance limits and peak compression effects has been assessed in gradient mode for the separation of phenol derivatives using columns packed with 2.6μm core-shell particles. The effect of mobile-phase velocity on peak capacity was measured on a column with fixed length while maintaining the retention factor at the moment of elution and the peak-compression factor constant. Next, the performance limits were determined at the maximum system pressure of 100MPa while varying the gradient steepness. For the separation of small molecules applying a linear gradient with a broad span, the best performance limits in terms of peak capacity and analysis time were obtained applying a gradient-time-to-column-dead-time (tG/t0) ratio of 12. The magnitude of the peak-compression factor was assessed by comparing the isocratic performance with that in gradient mode applying different gradient times. Therefore, the retention factors for different analytes were determined in gradient mode and the mobile-phase composition in isocratic mode was tuned such that the difference in retention factor was smaller than 2%. Peak-compression factors were quantitatively determined between 0.95 and 0.65 depending on gradient steepness and the gradient retention factor.

Selective isolation of hydrophobin SC3 by solid‐phase extraction with polytetrafluoroethylene microparticles and subsequent mass spectrometric analysis

Hydrophobins are small proteins that play a role in a number of processes during the filamentous fungi growth and development. These proteins are characterized by the self-assembly of their molecules into an amphipathic membrane at hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces. Isolation and purification of hydrophobins generally present a challenge in their analysis. Hydrophobin SC3 from Schizophyllum commune was selected as a representative of class I hydrophobins in this work. A novel procedure for selective and effective isolation of hydrophobin SC3 based on solid-phase extraction with polytetrafluoroethylene microparticles loaded in a small self-made microcolumn is reported. The tailored binding of hydrophobins to polytetrafluoroethylene followed by harsh elution conditions resulted in a highly specific isolation of hydrophobin SC3 from the model mixture of ten proteins. The presented isolation protocol can have a positive impact on the analysis and utilization of these proteins including all class I hydrophobins. Hydrophobin SC3 was further subjected to reduction of its highly stable disulfide bonds and to chymotryptic digestion followed by mass spectrometric analysis. The isolation and digestion protocols presented in this work make the analysis of these highly hydrophobic and compact proteins possible.

A study of the thermodynamics of retention of block (co)oligomers using high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Chromatographic behavior of block (co)oligomers of oxyethylene (EO) and oxypropylene (PO) surfactants in reversed-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) was investigated. The retention of EO/PO block (co)oligomers depends on the distribution of the individual monomer repeat units, but the sequence of the individual blocks also plays a (less significant) role. The enthalpic and entropic contributions of the EO and PO repeat units to the retention were determined from the data measured at changing temperature. In RP-HPLC, the effect of the repeat PO units on separation is higher than the influence of the repeat EO units. In addition to the enthalpic contributions, the retention is significantly influenced by the entropy (possibly by the change of conformation and solvation of adsorbed molecules); dual molar mass distribution according to the number of EO and PO units complicates correct assignment of the chromatographic peaks to the individual (co)oligomers in complex samples based only on the chromatographic retention data. In spite of imperfect chromatographic separation, HPLC coupled with positive ion mode atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry allow identifying unambiguously the dual monomer distribution in the samples of EO-PO block (co)oligomers.

Identification of combined conjugation of nabumetone phase I metabolites with glucuronic acid and glycine in minipig biotransformation using coupling high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was applied for the analysis of nabumetone metabolites during the biotransformation in minipigs. In addition to known phase I metabolites, the identification of phase II metabolites was achieved on the basis of their full-scan mass spectra and subsequent MS(n) analysis using both positive-ion and negative-ion ESI mode. Some phase I metabolites are conjugated with both glucuronide acid and glycine, which is quite unusual type of phase II metabolite not presented so far for nabumetone. These metabolites were found in small intestine content, but they were absent in minipigs urine.

Development of extraction method for characterization of free and bonded polyphenols in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown in Czech Republic using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Complete characterizations of free and bonded phenolic compounds, presented in four cultivars of barley from two regions of Czech Republic, were achieved, using optimized solvent extraction and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The optimization of extraction of free polyphenols was performed using Box-Behnken design and response surface methodology. The intra-day and extra-day precision of developed method were below 6% and 12%, respectively. The isolation of polyphenols bonded to the cell wall structure was carried out by a hydrolysis process. In all cultivars, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric and ferulic acids were the most abundant compounds. Their average amounts in barley samples were 17.6, 15.2 and 54.4% (m/m), respectively. The highest amount of these compounds was found in the bonded form, proving the importance of this procedure for the correct characterization of total polyphenols in food matrices.