Simultaneous quantitative determination of alloxan, GSH and GSSG by HPlc. Estimation of the frequency of redox cycling between alloxan and dialuric acid

Simple, Sensitive, and Rapid Voltammetric Detection of Alloxan on Glassy Carbon Electrodes

Alloxan is a chemical generally administered to rats to induce diabetes mellitus, and pharmaceutical industries test the efficacy of their diabetic products on these rats. Alloxan is in a redox cycle with dialuric acid; hence, direct estimation of alloxan may not represent the actual concentration of the same in a given matrix. Also, in recent times, alloxan is added to food materials, especially to the all-purpose flour (maida) to bring softness and white color to the flour. Hence, consumption of food items made from such flour could induce diabetic mellitus in individuals, making it imperative to develop an accurate estimation of alloxan in food items. Herein, a voltammetric-based technique is developed to quantify the alloxan in refined wheat flour (maida) using an unmodified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrochemical method offers rapid sensing while the use of an unmodified GCE surface offers repeatability and reproducibility between measurements. First, alloxan is converted to its stable adduct alloxazine by the reaction with o-phenylenediamine. The alloxazine adduct is electrochemically active, and the concentration of alloxan is estimated as a function of alloxazine formed using the voltammetric technique. The common shortfall in alloxan detection mainly involves its short half-life (∼a minute) whereas the alloxazine adduct formed is stable over a period of time. Using the current approach, alloxan concentration ranging from 10 to 600 μM is detected with a sensitivity of 0.0116 μA/μM. A low limit of detection of 1.95 μM with a precision of 1.2% is achieved using the above method. Real sample analysis revealed the presence of alloxan in all-purpose flour (maida-refined wheat flour) and bread purchased from the local market to the values of 35.76 and 25.03 μM, respectively. The same is confirmed using the gold-standard colorimetric technique.

Design of a Sensitive and Selective Voltammetric Sensor Based on a Cationic Surfactant-Modified Carbon Paste Electrode for the Determination of Alloxan

Alloxan (AL) is a toxic glucose analogue that acts as a potent diabetogenic inducer by selectively destroying the insulin-producing β-cells of the pancreas. Hence, a sensitive and selective cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-immobilized carbon paste electrode was utilized for the analysis of AL in the existence of anthrone. The CTAB-modified carbon paste electrode in contrast with the bare carbon paste electrode showed a magnificent behavior for the electrocatalytic oxidation of AL by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) methods. CV studies reveal a quasi-reversible diffusion-controlled process in the potential window of -0.5 to 0.4 V at an optimum pH of 6.5 in 0.2 M phosphate buffer solution. The electrode materials were characterized by CV, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Under optimized experimental conditions, low detection limits of 1.09 and 3.64 μM were obtained in a linear dynamic range of 5-80 μM and from 8 to 90 μM by DPV and CV methods, respectively. The performance of the modified electrode is impressive in terms of least charge transfer resistance (R ct), surface concentration (Γ), and heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k 0). A 50-fold excess concentration of other potential interferants such as food additives and other organic species present in the human body does not significantly alter the peak potential and peak current of AL. The analytical application of the modified sensor was appraised by determining AL in the spiked refined flour sample. The modified sensor with a swift fabrication procedure exhibited enduring stability, adequate reproducibility, and acceptable repeatability.

Determination of alloxan by fluorometric high-performance liquid chromatography

A fluorometric, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method that allows quantitation of low levels of alloxan has been described. The method involved derivatization of alloxan with 500-200,000-fold excess of 1, 2-phenylenediamine (PD) in 0.1 M acetate buffer, pH 4.5 for 15 min at room temperature. The fluorescent product alloxazine (excitation: 382 nm; emission: 435 nm) was then analyzed by RP-HPLC using an Eclipse XDB-C18 (4.6 x 150 mm) column and a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in 15/85 (v/v) acetonitrile/water at a flow of 1 mL/min (injection volume: 20 microL). The method is robust, and as low as 0.1 pmol of the analyte could be successfully detected and quantified. Following a minimal pre-treatment such as ultrafiltration (molecular weight cut-off 5000 Da) or protein precipitation using perchloric acid, acetonitrile, or phosphotungstic acid, the method is suitable for analysis of alloxan in complex physiological fluids (e.g. fetal bovine serum) and tissue homogenates (e.g. heart and kidney). The method has been rigorously evaluated and adapted in the laboratory for routine analysis and determination of alloxan added to cell cultures.

Alloxan-dialuric acid cycling: a complex redox mechanism

Time-resolved kinetic studies involving the reactions of alloxan (A.H(2)O) with the reducing species superoxide and carbon dioxide radical anions and the reaction of dialuric acid (HA(-)) with sulphate radicals showed that the same radical (AH(.)) was formed either by the one-electron reduction of alloxan or by the one-electron oxidation of dialuric acid. A mechanism including several reversible reactions was proposed and validated. A detailed kinetic analysis yields the following bimolecular rate constants: k(A.H(2)O + [image omitted] ) < 10(5) m ( -1 ) s(-1), k(A.H(2)O + O(2) (-))=(3.4+/-0.5)x10(6) m ( -1 ) s(-1), k(HA(-)+[image omitted] )=(8+/-1)x10(7) m ( -1 ) s(-1) and k(AH(.)+AH(.))=(1.7+/-0.8)x10(8) m ( -1 ) s(-1). From these values, the redox potentials E degrees (A.H(2)O,H(+)/AH(.))=(-290+/-20) mV, E degrees (AH(.)/HA(-))=(277+/-20) mV and E degrees (A.H(2)O,H(+)/HA(-))=(-15+/-20) mV, were obtained.

Analysis of glutathione in supernatants and lysates of a human proximal tubular cell line from perfusion culture upon intoxication with cadmium chloride by HPLC and LC-ESI-MS

A simple and highly effective reversed-phase (RP) high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method is described for analysing glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) in out-flowing supernatants and lysates of perfusion cell cultures of human kidney cells (HK-2 cells) continuously exposed to cadmium chloride (CdCl2), which is a well-known nephrotoxin. The developed linear liquid chromatographic gradient employs monolithic poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) (PS/DVB) as a stationary phase and is adaptable for coupling to mass spectrometry via an electrospray ionisation interface (LC-ESI/MS), which is carried out in case of co-eluting peaks. This study presents a quantitative assay of glutathione over the time of experiment and cell lysates at the end of the experiment. The assay of out-flowing supernatants has the potential to be applied as an online assay in high time resolution. Glutathione (reduced and oxidised, GSH and GSSG) is chosen as an indicator for toxic effects in the cultured cells. In principle it is possible to show the concentration of glutathione as a function of time in an investigation of exposure of the HK-2 cell line to CdCl2. In addition to glutathione analysis, well-established assays of cell death such as enzyme release and cell viability are performed to obtain information about the number of living cells. Toxicity of 5 microM CdCl2 is manifested in all of the assays applied. Fast (<7 min) and highly reproducible (max. aberration 4.7%) determination of glutathione could be achieved.

Ascorbate-mediated Iron Release from Ferritin in the Presence of Alloxan

Release of iron from ferritin requires reduction of ferric to ferrous iron. The iron can participate in the diabetogenic action of alloxan. We investigated the ability of ascorbate to catalyze the release of iron from ferritin in the presence of alloxan. Incubation of ferritin with ascorbate alone elicited iron release (33 nmol/10 min) and the generation of ascorbate free radical, suggesting a direct role for ascorbate in iron reduction. Iron release by ascorbate significantly increased in the presence of alloxan, but alloxan alone was unable to release measurable amounts of iron from ferritin. Superoxide dismutase significantly inhibited ascorbate-mediated iron release in the presence of alloxan, whereas catalase did not. The amount of alloxan radical (A.(-)) generated in reaction systems containing both ascorbate and alloxan decreased significantly upon addition of ferritin, suggesting that A.(-) is directly involved in iron reduction. Although release of iron from ferritin and generation of A.(-) were also observed in reactions containing GSH and alloxan, the amount of iron released in these reactions was not totally dependent on the amount of A.(-) present, suggesting that other reductants in addition to A.(-) (such as dialuric acid) may be involved in iron release mediated by GSH and alloxan. These results suggest that A.(-) is the main reductant involved in ascorbate-mediated iron release from ferritin in the presence of alloxan and that both dialuric acid and A.(-) contribute to GSH/alloxan-mediated iron release.

Transformation of barbituric acid into alloxan by hydroxyl radicals: interaction with melatonin and with other hydroxyl radical scavengers

Barbituric acid (2,4,6-pyrimidinetrione) can be transformed by a non-enzymatic hydroxylation into alloxan (2,4,5,6-pyrimidinetetrone). This transformation can be used as a reaction indicating the formation of hydroxyl radicals (.OH). This conversion was detected using HPLC. Formation of .OH was demonstrated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy combined with spin-trapping techniques. It was shown that .OH generated via the Fenton reaction abstracts first a hydrogen atom from barbituric acid (BA) and forms intermediately a paramagnetic derivative of BA. After a second attack by another .OH, the BA radical is transformed into dialuric acid (DA), which autoxidizes via the alloxan radical (.ALX) to ALX. Superoxide radicals (.O2-) are formed during autoxidation of DA and.ALX. They are able to regenerate ferrous ions. As a result, traces of iron salts are capable of catalyzing the conversion of large amounts of BA into ALX. Several scavengers of .OH were tested with regard to their efficiency in preventing the transformation of BA into ALX. Of all the scavengers analyzed, melatonin was shown to be one of the most potent compounds.