Lucia Catucci

Use of cyclodextrins as modifiers of fluorescence in the detection of mycotoxins

Cyclodextrins, cyclic oligosaccharides composed of amylose subunits, are known to interact with mycotoxins. The interactions may be useful to analytical chemists by altering the properties of the mycotoxin of interest, namely the chromatographic properties, electrophoretic properties, fluorescence, or absorption of these fungal metabolites. Practical applications of these effects have been the incorporation of cyclodextrins into high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis methods for mycotoxin detection. Specific mycotoxins include those with a native fluorescence such as the aflatoxins, ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEN) as well as those that can be rendered fluorescent through derivatization, such as T-2 toxin. The literature describing the applications of cyclodextrins in mycotoxin analysis is reviewed and an attempt to extend the use of cyclodextrins to the detection of labelled T-2 toxin is presented. Twenty cyclodextrins were evaluated for their ability to enhance the fluorescence emission of T-2 toxin derivatized with pyrene-1-carbonyl cyanide (T2-Pyr). This evaluation revealed that heptakis (2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (DIMEB), in particular, enhanced T2-Pyr fluorescence. DIMEB was used as a buffer modifier in a capillary electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) method for detecting T-2 in maize. Because of the effects that certain cyclodextrins have, especially under aqueous conditions, they may make useful additives for a variety of mycotoxin analytical methods.

Instrumental and multivariate statistical analyses for the characterisation of the geographical origin of Apulian virgin olive oils.

In this paper, virgin olive oils (VOOs) coming from three different geographic origins of Apulia, were analysed for free acidity, peroxide value, spectrophotometric indexes, chlorophyll content, sterol, fatty acid, and triacylglycerol compositions. In order to predict the geographical origin of VOOs, different multivariate approaches were applied. By performing principal component analysis (PCA) a modest natural grouping of the VOOs was observed on the basis of their origin, and consequently three supervised techniques, i.e., general discriminant analysis (GDA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) were used and the results were compared. In particular, the best prediction ability was produced by applying GDA (average prediction ability of 82.5%), even if interesting results were obtained also by applying the other two classification techniques, i.e., 77.2% and 75.5% for PLS-DA and SIMCA, respectively.

Non-targeted 1H NMR fingerprinting and multivariate statistical analyses for the characterisation of the geographical origin of Italian sweet cherries.

In this study, non-targeted (1)H NMR fingerprinting was used in combination with multivariate statistical techniques for the classification of Italian sweet cherries based on their different geographical origins (Emilia Romagna and Puglia). As classification techniques, Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA), Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) were carried out and the results were compared. For LDA, before performing a refined selection of the number/combination of variables, two different strategies for a preliminary reduction of the variable number were tested. The best average recognition and CV prediction abilities (both 100.0%) were obtained for all the LDA models, although PLS-DA also showed remarkable performances (94.6%). All the statistical models were validated by observing the prediction abilities with respect to an external set of cherry samples. The best result (94.9%) was obtained with LDA by performing a best subset selection procedure on a set of 30 principal components previously selected by a stepwise decorrelation. The metabolites that mostly contributed to the classification performances of such LDA model, were found to be malate, glucose, fructose, glutamine and succinate.

Herbicides affect fluorescence and electron transfer activity of spinach chloroplasts, thylakoid membranes and isolated Photosystem II

In this work, studies on the effects produced by atrazine, terbutryn or diuron onto spinach photosynthetic materials were performed by observing changes in fluorescence emission and in electron transfer activities of the bio-samples in the presence of such herbicides; chloroplasts, thylakoids, Photosystem II-enriched thylakoids (BBYs) and isolated Photosystem II (PSII) were employed. This approach evidenced differences in the herbicide-photosynthetic material interactions going up-down from chloroplasts to proteins. Rapid emission increments were detected for chloroplasts and thylakoids, in particular in the presence of terbutryn; no remarkable emission increment was recorded when BBYs or PSII were used for this assay. The dependences of the chloroplast and thylakoid emission intensities upon herbicide concentration were investigated with responses even at concentrations below 10(-7)M. The influence of lowering the temperature was also tested, and the stabilizing effects on the resistances of the bio-samples against herbicides were recorded. Furthermore, Hill Reaction-based colorimetric assays were performed to monitor the electron transfer activities of the bio-samples in the presence of herbicides, after brief incubations. As a result, chloroplasts and thylakoids resulted to be sensitive tools in responding to concentrations even lower than 10(-7)M of most herbicides; nevertheless, an interesting sensitivity to herbicides was also observed for PSII.

Electronic nose and isotope ratio mass spectrometry in combination with chemometrics for the characterization of the geographical origin of Italian sweet cherries.

Sweet cherries from two Italian regions, Apulia and Emilia Romagna, were analysed using electronic nose (EN) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), with the aim of distinguishing them according to their geographic origin. The data were elaborated by statistical techniques, examining the EN and IRMS datasets both separately and in combination. Preliminary exploratory overviews were performed and then linear discriminant analyses (LDA) were used for classification. Regarding EN, different approaches for variable selection were tested, and the most suitable strategies were highlighted. The LDA classification results were expressed in terms of recognition and prediction abilities and it was found that both EN and IRMS performed well, with IRMS showing better cross-validated prediction ability (91.0%); the EN-IRMS combination gave slightly better results (92.3%). In order to validate the final results, the models were tested using an external set of samples with excellent results.

Aggregation processes and photophysical properties of chlorophyll a in aqueous solutions modulated by the presence of cyclodextrins

In the present paper we report the preliminary results on the behaviour of chlorophyll a (Chl a), the main photosynthetic amphiphilic pigment of green plants, in water and aqueous solutions of cyclodextrins (α-cyclodextrin, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-γ-cyclodextrin). In particular our study was aimed to understand the influence of CDs on solubility and aggregation of Chl a in water and to get information on the interactions between different cyclodextrins and the pigment. The role played by different CDs in affecting the photoactivity of the chlorophyll, with particular attention to the quantum yield of the singlet oxygen production, has been also discussed. The study was carried out by using different spectroscopic (UV–Vis, fluorescence, circular dichroism, time resolved absorption and luminescence) and calorimetric (ITC) techniques.

Determination of ochratoxin A in wine by means of immunoaffinity and aminopropyl solid-phase column cleanup and fluorometric detection.

A new analytical method for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in red wine has been developed by using a double-extract cleanup and a fluorometric measurement after spectral deconvolution. Wine samples were diluted with a solution containing 1% polyethylene glycol and 5% sodium hydrogencarbonate, filtered, and purified by immunoaffinity and aminopropyl solid-phase column. OTA contents in the purified extract were determined by a spectrofluorometer (excitation wavelength, 330 nm; emission wavelength, 470 nm) after deconvolution of fluorescence spectra. Average recoveries from wine samples spiked with OTA at levels ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 ng/mL were 94.5-105.4% with relative standard deviations (RSD) of <15% (n = 4). The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.2 ng/mL, and the total time of analysis was 30 min. The developed method was tested on 18 red wine samples (naturally contaminated and spiked with OTA at levels ranging from 0.4 to 3.0 ng/mL) and compared with AOAC Official Method 2001.01, based on immunoaffinity column cleanup and HPLC with fluorescence detector. A good correlation (r(2) = 0.9765) was observed between OTA levels obtained with the two methods, highlighting the reliability of the proposed method, the main advantage of which is the simple OTA determination by a benchtop fluorometer with evident reductions of cost and time of analysis.

Tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrin Supramolecular Complexes with Cyclodextrins in Aqueous Solution

Abstract The formation of inclusion complexes of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin and heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin with 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (TpyP) has been studied in aqueous buffer solution (phosphate buffer pH = 7 and I = 0.01 M) to give a structural and spectroscopic characterization of a new class of potential sensitizers for photodynamic therapy. The interaction was investigated by a combination of UV/Vis absorption, fluorescence anisotropy, time-resolved fluorescence and circular dichroism. The experimental results point to the presence of the pigment in water in a monomeric complexed form. The fluorescence anisotropy measurements suggest that TpyP forms 1:1 complexes with heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, while 1:2 complexes are obtained with heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin.

Hybrid assemblies of fluorescent nanocrystals and membrane proteins in liposomes.

Because of the growing potential of nanoparticles in biological and medical applications, tuning and directing their properties toward a high compatibility with the aqueous biological milieu is of remarkable relevance. Moreover, the capability to combine nanocrystals (NCs) with biomolecules, such as proteins, offers great opportunities to design hybrid systems for both nanobiotechnology and biomedical technology. Here we report on the application of the micelle-to-vesicle transition (MVT) method for incorporation of hydrophobic, red-emitting CdSe@ZnS NCs into the bilayer of liposomes. This method enabled the construction of a novel hybrid proteo-NC-liposome containing, as model membrane protein, the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Electron microscopy confirmed the insertion of NCs within the lipid bilayer without significantly altering the structure of the unilamellar vesicles. The resulting aqueous NC-liposome suspensions showed low turbidity and kept unaltered the wavelengths of absorbance and emission peaks of the native NCs. A relative NC fluorescence quantum yield up to 8% was preserved after their incorporation in liposomes. Interestingly, in proteo-NC-liposomes, RC is not denatured by Cd-based NCs, retaining its structural and functional integrity as shown by absorption spectra and flash-induced charge recombination kinetics. The outlined strategy can be extended in principle to any suitably sized hydrophobic NC with similar surface chemistry and to any integral protein complex. Furthermore, the proposed approach could be used in nanomedicine for the realization of theranostic systems and provides new, interesting perspectives for understanding the interactions between integral membrane proteins and nanoparticles, i.e., in nanotoxicology studies.

The effects of increasing NaCl concentration on the stability of inclusion complexes in aqueous solution

Equilibrium constants and standard molar enthalpies of reaction were determined by titration calorimetry for the reaction of 1-butanol with 2-hydroxypropyl-b-cyclodextrin (HP-b-CD) in aqueous solution at different concentrations of NaCl (0-1.9 M). The standard molar free energy and entropy changes associated to the complexation were calculated from the corresponding equilibrium constants, K, and standard enthalpies determined experimentally. In NaCl solutions the inclusion complexes ButOH/HP-b-CD are more stable than in water and their stability increases at increasing NaCl concentration; otherwise, the standard molar enthalpy associated to the formation of the complexes does not change with the increasing of salt concentration. The dependence of K on NaCl concentration were used to evaluate the number of water molecules displaced from the hydration shells of HP-b-CD and ButOH in forming complexes.