Xingya Xue

Study on the retention equation in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) is an effective technique for separating polar compounds. But its retention equation has not been studied systematically yet. In this study, an appropriate retention equation was established by using eight nucleosides as model analytes and by comparing four retention models on six different HILIC columns. As a result, retention equation Ink = a + b x InC(B) + cxC(B) could be quantitatively described the retention factors with good accuracy in HILIC mode. Based on this equation, the retention times of eight nucleosides under the conditions by other mobile phase can be predicted on each column. All of the predicted relative errors of retention times were smaller than 5%. The established retention model was also successfully applied to predict retention times of the real Traditional Chinese Medicine-Carthaus tinctorius L. sample.

Novel two-dimensional reversed-phase liquid chromatography/hydrophilic interaction chromatography, an excellent orthogonal system for practical analysis

A novel two-dimensional reversed-phase liquid chromatography/hydrophilic interaction chromatography (2D-RPLC/HILIC) system is developed with the introduction of the click beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) stationary phase. The offline system shows excellent abilities for the separation of polar and medium-polarity components in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It facilitates us not only to separate components that cannot be resolved by uni-dimensional chromatography, but also to achieve much more efficient detection of components with low abundance. The orthogonality of this new system is excellent. A simple geometric approach is developed to characterize the practical orthogonality of 2D-LC in the analysis of complex unknown samples. The mathematical characterization results are in good accordance with the experimental findings, and both demonstrate that the proposed 2D-RPLC/HILIC system is a powerful tool for the separation of polar and medium-polarity complex samples. This system may have a great potential for the separation of peptides and metabolomic compounds with similar polarity.

Systematic screening and characterization of tertiary and quaternary alkaloids from corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) is an effective technique for analysis of complex samples with offering rapid, efficient separation in combination with accurate mass measurement and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). This paper exploits this technique to identify the alkaloids in corydalis yanhusuo, an important antalgic Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The mass spectral fragmentation behavior of one tertiary alkaloid and two quaternary alkaloids was studied in detail. Low-abundance product ions of tertiary and quaternary alkaloids were investigated and compared between each other. Sixteen alkaloids were screened out by using a systematic screening method developed in our laboratory; structures of eight therein were identified by characteristic UV absorption spectrum and positive ion mode of Q-TOF-MS/MS; and two of them were discovered for the first time in corydalis yanhusuo to our knowledge. This research demonstrates the potential of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS in structural characterization and identification of components in traditional Chinese herbal medicines.

Quantitative structure-property relationships for octanol-air partition coefficients of polychlorinated biphenyls

Based on nine quantum chemical descriptors computed by PM3 Hamiltonian, using partial least squares analysis, a significant quantitative structure-property relationship for the logarithm of octanol-air partition coefficients (logK(OA)) of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was obtained. The cross-validated Q2cum value of the model is 0.962, indicating a good predictive ability. The intermolecular dispersive interactions and thus the size of the PCB molecules play a key role in governing log K(OA). The greater the size of PCB molecules, the greater the logK(OA) values. Increasing ELUMO (the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) values of the PCBs leads to decreasing logK(OA) values, indicating possible interactions between PCB and octanol molecules. Increasing Q(Cl)+, (the most positive net atomic charges on a chlorine atom) and Q(C)- (the largest negative net atomic charge on a carbon atom) values of PCBs results in decreasing lg K(OA) values, implying possible intermolecular electrostatic interactions between octanol and PCB molecules.

Lysophosphatidylcholine profiling of plasma: discrimination of isomers and discovery of lung cancer biomarkers

Lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs) are a class of compounds that have a constant polar head, and fatty acyls of different chain lengths, position, degrees of saturation, and double bond location in human plasma. LysoPCs levels can be a clinical diagnostic indicator that reveals pathophysiological changes. In this work, a method was developed to discriminate between different types of lysoPCs using reversed phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry, using mass spectrometry MSE. Isomeric lysoPCs were distinguished based on retention time and the peak intensity ratio of product ions, and 14 pairs of lysoPCs regioisomers were identified in human plasma. The plasma samples of 12 lung cancer patients and 12 healthy persons were collected and analyzed by principal component analysis to generate metabolic profiles of the identified lysoPCs. Both electrospray ionization ESI+ and ESI− results showed that all lung cancer patients had the same five lysoPC metabolic abnormalities, specifically in sn-1 lyso16:0, sn-2 lysoPC 16:0, sn-1 lysoPC 18:0, sn-1 lysoPC 18:1 and sn-1 lysoPC 18:2. Thus, the function of isomers with different fatty acyl positions may be related to lung cancer, and this may help elucidate the mechanism of the disease.

Structural characterization of iridoid glucosides by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry

The mass spectral fragmentation behavior of ten iridoid glucosides (IGs) has been studied using electrospray ionization (ESI), collision-induced dissociation (CID), and quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MS/MS). In the negative ESI mass spectra, the deprotonated [M-H](-) ion was observed for all of the ten IGs except gardoside methyl ester, while the formate adduct [M+HCOO](-) ion appeared to be favored by the presence of a methyl ester or a lactone group in the C-4 position when formic acid was added to the mobile phase. The CID MS/MS spectra of the [M-H](-) ions have been used for structural elucidation. Ring cleavages of the aglycone moiety have been observed in the MS/MS spectra, corresponding to (1,4)F(-), (2,6)F(-), (2,7)F(-), and (2,7)F(0) (-) ions, based on accurate mass measurements and the elemental compositions of the product ions. These characteristic ions gave valuable information on the basic structural skeletons. Furthermore, on the basis of the relative abundances of the fragment ions (1,4)F(-) and (2,7)F(-), different sub-classes, such as cyclopentane-type and 7,8-cyclopentene-type IGs, can be differentiated. Ring cleavage of the sugar moieties was also observed, yielding useful information for their characterization. In addition, the neutral losses, such as H(2)O, CO(2), CH(3)OH, CH(3)COOH, and glucosidic units, have proved useful for confirming the presence of functional substituents in the structures of the IGs. Based on the fragmentation patterns of these standard IGs, twelve IGs have been characterized in an extract of Hedyotis diffusa Willd. by means of ultra-performance liquid chromatography/Q-TOF MS/MS, of which six have been unambiguously identified and the other six have been tentatively identified.

Facile synthesis of mesoporous SBA-15 silica spheres and its application for high-performance liquid chromatography

Micrometer-sized mesoporous SBA-15 silica spheres have been synthesized using triblock copolymer poly(ethyleneoxide)-block-poly(propyleneoxide)-block-poly(ethyleneoxide) (EO(20)PO(70)EO(20)) as structure-directing agent with the assistance of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene and KCl. By controlling the composition of synthesis gel, SBA-15 silica spheres with particle size in the range of 2-4.5 microm could be facilely obtained. The obtained SBA-15 silica spheres were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and N(2) physisorption technique. Dimethyloctadecylchlorosilane modified mesoporous SBA-15 silica with diameter of 4.5 microm was explored as stationary phase in high-performance liquid chromatography, and its chromatographic characteristics for separation of some small molecules and relatively large bio-molecules have been studied.

Analysis of highly polar metabolites in human plasma by ultra-performance hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry

Highly polar metabolites are abundant in human plasma. Analysis of these compounds by standard reverse-phase chromatography is difficult. Highly polar metabolites were extracted by a two-step method. They were analyzed by ultra-performance hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) coupled to quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometer detection technology. The middle and low polar fraction were also analyzed using a standard C18 column. Data were extracted by Markerlynx, and analyzed by multivariate statistical methods to discriminate human plasma samples by sex and age. The results not only showed good classification of samples by sex and age, but also revealed new potential biomarkers not revealed by standard RPLC/MS analysis. This study showed that HILIC is an effective technique to analyze highly polar metabolites for metabonomic studies.

Click oligo(ethylene glycol): An excellent orthogonal stationary phase to C18 for two-dimensional reversed-phase/reversed-phase liquid chromatography

A novel click oligo(ethylene glycol) (Click OEG) stationary phase was proposed for constructing two-dimensional reversed-phase/reversed-phase liquid chromatography system (2D-RP/RPLC) combined with C18. The new stationary phase was prepared by immobilization of oligo(ethylene glycol) on silica support via click chemistry. And the resulting material was characterized by FT-IR, solid state CP/MAS 13C NMR and elemental analysis. The investigation on orthogonality between Click OEG and C18 was performed by geometric approach with a set of test solutes. The orthogonality reached 68.94%, which is much higher than other combinations. An offline 2DLC system consisted of Click OEG and C18 was constructed and applied to the analysis of a kind of traditional Chinese medicine Lignum Dalbergiae Odoriferae. Excellent separation results validated the high orthogonality between the Click OEG and C18 in the practical separation of complex samples.

Purification and preparation of compounds from an extract of Scutellaria barbata D. Don using preparative parallel high performance liquid chromatography.

Preparative parallel high performance liquid chromatography combined with solvent partition and other pretreatments were adopted to separate and purify compounds from an extract of Scutellaria barbata D. Don. Mass-triggered fraction collection allowed the rapid and precise isolation of target compounds. Twelve compounds were isolated from the extract of S. barbata D. Don, their purity in area percent was determined by HPLC analysis, and the structures of seven compounds were further identified with HPLC/ESI-MS, (1)H NMR, and( 13)C NMR, among which 4-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-but-3-en-2-one, acacetin-7-diglucuronide, and luteolin-7-diglucuronide were the first to be identified from this plant. The results demonstrated that multi-channel parallel preparative HPLC/UV/MS is an efficient method for isolation and purification of compounds from natural products.