Determination of aflatoxins in food using LC/MS/MS

 A liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometric method is described for the determination of aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂ in food with the use of aflatoxin M₁ as an internal standard. The method works well with matrices such as those of figs and peanuts, but there are problems with spices, due to limitations of the clean-up method used. Received: 15 October 1997     

Distribution of organochlorine pesticides in the northern South China Sea: implications for land outflow and air-sea exchange

The South China Sea (SCS) is surrounded by developing countries in Southeast Asia, where persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), are still used legally or illegally, and are of concern. Yet little is known about the distribution of OCPs in the water and atmosphere over SCS, as well as their air-sea equilibrium status and time trends. In this study, ship-board air samples and surface seawater collected in the northern SCS between September 6 and 22, 2005 were analyzed for selected OCPs. The measured OCP concentrations in the atmosphere over the northern SCS were influenced by proximity to source regions and air mass origins. The highest atmospheric OCP concentrations were found at sampling sites adjacent to continental South China. OCPs in surface seawater showed significant spatial variations, with the highest concentration observed in a water sample from off Vietnam. The coastal currents were suggested to play a key role in the delivery of waterborne OCPs in the northern SCS. Time trend, land outflow, and air-sea exchange of selected OCPs in the SCS were investigated, by comparison of this dataset with historical data.     

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae alcohol acetyl transferase Atf1p is localized in lipid particles

The yeast alcohol acetyl transferase I, Atf1p, is responsible for the major part of volatile acetate ester production in fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Some of these esters, such as ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate, are important for the fruity flavours of wine, beer and other fermented beverages. In order to reveal the subcellular localization of Atf1p and further unravel the possible physiological role of this protein, ATF1::GFP fusion constructs were overexpressed in brewer's yeast. The transformant strain showed a significant increase in acetate ester formation, similar to that of an ATF1 overexpression strain, indicating that the Atf1p-GFP fusion protein was active. UV fluorescence microscopy revealed that the fusion protein was localized in small, sphere-like organelles. These organelles could be selectively stained by the fluorescent dye Nile red, indicating that they contained high amounts of neutral lipids and/or sterols, a specific characteristic of yeast lipid particles. Purification of lipid particles from wild type and ATF1 deletion cells confirmed that the Atf1p-GFP fusion protein was located in these organelles. Furthermore, a clear alcohol acetyl transferase activity could be measured in the purified lipid particles of both wild type and transformed cells. The localization of Atf1p in lipid particles may indicate that Atf1p has a specific role in the lipid and/or sterol metabolism that takes place in these particles.     

Physicochemical Properties of Microencapsulated ω‐3 Salmon Oil with Egg White Powder

The objective of this study was to produce microencapsulated omega(ω)‐3 fatty acids (PUFAs) fortified egg white (EW) powders and to characterize their nutritional and physical properties. Stable emulsions (E‐SO‐EW) containing 3.43 (g/100 g) salmon oil (SO), 56.21 (g/100 g) EW, and 40.36 (g/100 g) water and a control (E‐EW) containing EW and water were prepared. E‐SO‐EW and E‐EW were separately spray dried at 130, 140, and 150 °C inlet air temperatures. This resulted in 3 microencapsulated SO fortified EW powders (SO‐EW), and 3 dried EW powders (DEW). The powders were analyzed for microencapsulation efficiency (ME), color, fatty acids methyl esters, protein, fat, moisture, ash, amino acids, minerals, microstructure, and particle size. The EPA and DHA content of SO and the ME of the powders were not affected by the inlet air temperature. The crude protein content of SO‐EW powders was approximately 24 (g/100 g) lower than dried EW powders. Leucine was the most abundant essential amino acid found in all the powders. Most of the powders’ median particle size ranged from 15 to 30 μm. The study demonstrated that microencapsulated ω‐3 salmon oil with high quality EW protein can be produced by spray drying.     

Mannans as stabilizers of oil-in-water beverage emulsions

The stabilizing effect of spruce galactoglucomannan (GGM) on a model beverage emulsion system was studied and compared to that of guar gum and locust bean gum galactomannans, konjac glucomannan, and corn arabinoxylan. In addition, guar gum was enzymatically modified in order to examine the effect of the degree of polymerization and the degree of substitution of galactomannans on emulsion stability. Use of GGM increased the turbidity of emulsions both immediately after preparation and after storage of up to 14 days at room temperature. GGM emulsions had higher turbidity than the emulsions containing other mannans. The initial turbidity increased with increasing GGM content, but after 14 days storage at room temperature, the turbidity was the highest for GGM/oil ratio of 0.10:1 when ethanol-precipitated GGM was used. Increasing the storage temperature to +45 °C led to rapid emulsion breakdown, but a decrease in storage temperature increased emulsion stability after 14 days. Confocal microscopy showed that the average particle size in the bottom part of GGM emulsions stored for 14 days was smaller than 1 μm. A low degree of polymerization and a high degree of substitution of the modified galactomannans were associated with a decrease in emulsion turbidity.     

PBDEs in the atmosphere of three locations in western Europe

Atmospheric concentrations of PBDEs (108 samples in total) were measured at 2 rural/semirural sites in England and 1 remote site on the west coast of Ireland in the years 2001 and 2000, respectively. Detailed analysis of the factors affecting concentrations is performed. The United Kingdom (UK) has been a major producer and user of PBDEs. Concentrations of sigmaPBDEs at Mace Head (MH), Ireland ranged between 0.22 and 5.0 pg m(-3) with a mean of 2.6 pg m(-3) and were controlled primarily by advection. sigmaPBDEs concentrations at Hazelrigg (HR), northwest England, ranged between 2.8 and 37 pg m(-3) with a mean of 12 pg m(-3) and at Chilton (CH), southwest England between 3.4 and 33 pg m(-3) with a mean of 11 pg m(-3). The average mixture of PBDEs in air was similar to that of commercial penta-BDE products. Movement of air over local/regional sources influenced concentrations of PBDEs at all sites, particularly at MH. At the two English sites during the summer, concentrations of PBDEs were strongly influenced bytemperature, indicating that air-surface exchange processes play an important role. Advection became more influential during winter, particularly at CH, where a different congener profile was observed in some samples as ambient air temperatures decreased and PBDE concentrations increased. It is hypothesized that this was due to increased emissions from diffuse combustion sources.     

Cation deficiency associated with the chemical exfoliation of lithium cobalt oxide

Compositional changes associated with the chemical exfoliation of lithium cobalt oxide, a layered transition metal oxide, are discussed. Starting from a layered bulk structure, lithium cobalt oxide can undergo chemical exfoliation through a two-step method: treatment with a protic acid, then treatment with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (this intercalates the layered structure and yields exfoliated nanosheets). This work provides an in-depth analysis of compositional and structural changes occurring to the powder upon the first step to exfoliation, treatment with acid, revealing variations in vacancies and valence changes depending on the conditions used. Through coupled analysis of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy data, we illustrate that both lithium and cobalt ions are diffusing out the structure along with the dissolution of full unit cells. As such, nanosheets accessed from the bulk by this exfoliation process should not be considered simply as divisions of the original unit cell. This work provides fundamental insights on the stability of LiCoO₂ and the exfoliation of layered transition metal oxides, beyond the access of individual nanosheets, and is vital to determining structure-property relationships of chemically exfoliated nanosheets (eg, changes in valency which dictate catalytic activity, magnetic susceptibility, etc).     

Bioactive Alkaloids from Plants Poisonous to Livestock in North America

Plants produce a multiplicity of chemical compounds which have a variety of uses including flavors, fragrances, insecticides, dyes, poisons, and pharmaceutical agents. In this review, we focus on plant alkaloids from the genera Delphinium, Lupinus, Conium, Nicotiana, Veratrum, and selected plant endophyte derived alkaloids. Alkaloids discussed include norditerpenoid alkaloids which act as antagonists to block the ligand binding sites of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and cause acute toxicosis in adult animals which can result in death. The inhibition of fetal movement and resulting fetal defects caused by quinolizidine and piperidine alkaloids, the inhibition of the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway by Veratrum alkaloids, and compounds derived from fungal endophytes that form symbioses with plant hosts will be also be discussed. The bioactivity of these alkaloids makes them useful tools for research and in human and veterinary medicine or potentially harmful toxins.     

Remote sensing for detection and monitoring of vegetation affected by oil spills

This study is aimed at demonstrating the application of vegetation spectral techniques for detection and monitoring of the impact of oil spills on vegetation. Vegetation spectral reflectance from Landsat 8 data were used in the calculation of five vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), adjusted resistant vegetation index 2 (ARVI2), green-infrared index (G-NIR) and green-shortwave infrared (G-SWIR) from the spill sites (SS) and non-spill sites (NSS) in 2013 (pre-oil spill), 2014 (oil spill date) and 2015 (post-oil spill) for statistical comparison. The result shows that NDVI, SAVI, ARVI2, G-NIR and G-SWIR indicated a certain level of significant difference between vegetation condition at the SS and the NSS in December 2013. In December 2014 vegetation conditions indicated higher level of significant difference between the vegetation at the SS and NSS as follows where NDVI, SAVI and ARVI2 with p-value 0.005, G-NIR – p-value 0.01 and G-SWIR p-value 0.05. Similarly, in January 2015 a very significant difference with p-value <0.005. Three indices NDVI, ARVI2 and G-NIR indicated highly significant difference in vegetation conditions with p-value <0.005 between December 2013 and December 2014 at the same sites. Post-spill analysis shows that NDVI and ARVI2 indicated low level of significance difference p-value <0.05 suggesting subtle change in vegetation conditions between December 2014 and January 2015. This technique may help with the real time detection, response and monitoring of oil spills from pipelines for mitigation of pollution at the affected sites in mangrove forests.     

Engineering Next Generation Cyclized Peptide Ligands for Light-Controlled Capture and Release of Therapeutic Proteins

Photo-affinity adsorbents (i.e., translucent matrices functionalized with ligands featuring light-controlled biorecognition) represent a futuristic technology for purifying labile biologics. In this study, a framework for prototyping photo-affinity adsorbents comprising azobenzene-cyclized peptides (ACPs) conjugated to translucent porous beads (ChemMatrix) is presented. This approach combines computational and experimental tools for designing ACPs and investigating their light-controlled isomerization kinetics and protein biorecognition. First, a modular design for tailoring ACP's conformation, facilitating sequencing, and streamlining the in silico modeling of cis/trans isomers and their differential protein binding is introduced. Then, a spectroscopic system for measuring the photo-isomerization kinetics of ACPs on ChemMatrix beads is reported; using this device, it is demonstrated that the isomerization at different light intensities is correlated to the cyclization geometry, specifically the energy difference of trans versus cis isomers as calculated in silico. Also, a microfluidic device for sorting ACP-ChemMatrix beads to select and validate photo-affinity ligands using Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (VCAM-1) as target protein and cyclo_AZOB[GVHAKQHRN-K*]-G-ChemMatrix as model photo-affinity adsorbent is presented. The proposed ACPs exhibit rapid and defined light-controlled isomerization and biorecognition. Controlling the adsorption and release of VCAM-1 using light demonstrates the potential of photo-affinity adsorbents for targets whose biochemical liability poses challenges to its purification.