Quantitative analysis of quercetin using Raman spectroscopy

Spectroscopic probe to contribution of physicochemical transformations in the toxicity of aged ZnO NPs to Chlorella vulgaris: new insight into the variation of toxicity of ZnO NPs under aging process

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are one of the most abundantly applied nanomaterials in nanotechnology-based industries and they may cause unexpected environmental and health risks with their physicochemical transformations in the environment. Currently, there is still a lack of the in-depth understanding of the toxicity of aged ZnO NPs to aquatic organisms, particularly demanding quantitative analysis of the physicochemical transformations to distinguish their contributions in the toxicity assessment. For this purpose, therefore, we initiated the study of the toxicity of aged ZnO NPs to the model aquatic microalga, i.e. Chlorella vulgaris, and with the aid of spectroscopic tools for characterization and quantification of the physicochemical transformations, we scrutinized the toxicity variations for ZnO NPs with different aging times. As a result, we found that the toxicity altered in an abnormal manner with the aging time, i.e. the toxicity of aged ZnO NPs for 30 days showed the higher toxicity to the green alga than the fresh ZnO NPs or the ZnO NPs aged for longer time (e.g. 120 and 210 days). Through spectroscopic tools such as XRD, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, we made both the qualitative and quantitative assessments of the physicochemical changes of the ZnO NPs, and confirmed that in the early stage, the toxicity mainly stemmed from the release of zinc ions, but with longer aging time, the neoformation of the nanoparticles played the critical role, leading to the overall reduced toxicity due to the less toxic hydrozincite and zinc hydroxide in the transformed compounds.

Moles quantification in liquid samples by Raman spectroscopy

The mole is a unit of measurement that expresses amounts of a chemical substance. Its importance lies in that the mass and the number of molecules of a substance can be determined with this value. In this work, we suggest a mathematical expression that relates the number of moles of the sample studied with the Raman signal and the experimental parameters used. In other words, with this mathematical expression it is possible to obtain quantitative information in a simple manner from Raman spectra. We have applied this method to different samples and we have observed an excellent correlation between the experimental and expected data.

Direct Fluorescent Detection of a Polymethoxyflavone in Cell Culture and Mouse Tissue

Convenient detection methods for bioactive food compounds and their metabolites in biological samples are needed to better understand their mechanism of actions. Herein, we developed a novel approach to directly monitor and visualize the distribution of 5,3',4'-tridemethylnobiletin (TDN), a unique polymethoxyflavone metabolite derived from citrus polymethoxyflavone, in biological samples such as cultured cells and mouse colonic tissues. Our results showed that a fluorescent conjugate could be formed between TDN and 2-aminoethyl diphenyl borate (DPBA) under simple reaction conditions, which was confirmed by both Raman spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy. We further demonstrated the application of DPBA-based conjugation reaction in the characterization of TDN in different biological samples including floating cells, adherent cells, and animal tissues. This is the first report demonstrating direct fluorescent detection of polymethoxyflavone in biological samples.

Separation/preconcentration and determination of quercetin in food samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop -flow injection spectrophotometry

A new dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop (DLLME-SFOD)-flow injection spectrophotometry (FI) method for the separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of quercetin was developed. 1-Undecanol and methanol was used as the extraction and disperser solvent, respectively. The factors influencing the extraction by DLLME-SFOD such as the volume of the extraction and disperser solvents, pH and concentration of salt were optimized. The optimal conditions were found to be; volume of the extraction solvent, 80 μL; the volume of the disperser solvent, 100 μL; and the pH of the sample, 3. The linear dynamic range and detection limit were 5.0 × 10(-8)-5.0 × 10(-7) mol L(-1) and 1 × 10(-8) mol L(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) at 6.1 × 10(-8) mol L(-1) level of quercetin (n = 10) was found to be 2.8 %. The method was successfully applied to the determination of quercetin in the apple, grape, onion and tomato samples. Figureᅟ

A novel solid fluorescence method for the fast determination of quercetin in biological samples based on the quercetin-Al(III) complex imprinted polymer

In this work, a novel solid fluorescence method was proposed and applied to the fast determination of quercetin in urine and onion skin samples by using metal coordination imprinted polymer membrane, which was regarded as a recognition element. The quercetin-Al(III) imprinted polymer was immobilized in the microporous polypropylene fiber membrane via consecutive in situ polymerization. The CIP membrane had the porous, loose and layer upon layer structure. The CIP membrane was characterized by electron microscope photographs, infrared spectra, thermogravimetric analysis and solvent-resistant investigation. The extraction conditions including extraction solvent, extraction time, desorption solvent were optimized. Compared with MIP and NIP membrane, CIP membrane had been proved to be peculiar selective for quercetin even in presence of the structurally similar compounds such as kaempferol, rutin, naringenin and alpinetin. The CIP membrane was characteristic of high selectivity, stable and sensitive response to quercetin in polar environment. Under the optimum condition, there was a linear relationship between the state fluorescent response and the concentration of quercetin. The linear calibration range was over 0.02 mg L(-1)-0.80 mg L(-1) with a detection limit of 5 μg L(-1). The method was characteristic of flexible and good repeatability with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.1%. The proposed method was also successfully applied for the determination of quercetin in urine and onion skin samples without complicated pretreatment. The recoveries were 84.0-112.4% and RSDs varied from 1.5% to 6.8%. The results obtained by the proposed method agreed well with those obtained by HPLC method.

A Portable Spectrum Measurement System Based on Laser-Raman and Fluoresce Spectrum for Cooking Oil Analysis

A system based on spectrum analysis for cooking oil testing which combining laser-induced-fluorescence and laser-Raman technology is established. Several oil samples are testing by this system. The measurement results show that, there are rich information for fluorescence and Raman spectrum for the oil samples and there are obvious difference between the fluoresce spectrums for these samples, which can be used as a reference for oil pollution classification and recognition. This technology can be used for in-situ monitoring equipments.