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Inborn errors of monoamine neurotransmitter metabolism are rare diseases characterized by nonspecific neurological symptoms. These symptoms appear in early childhood and correspond to movement disorders, epilepsy, sleep disorders and/or mental disability. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers have been identified and validated to allow specific diagnosis of these diseases. Biomarkers of inborn errors of monoamine neurotransmitter metabolites are divided in two groups: monoamine neurotransmitter metabolites and pterins. Biomarkers quantification in cerebrospinal fluid is based on high-performance liquid chromatography separation coupled to electrochemical detection, fluorescence detection, or mass spectrometry. The following article reviews the advances in the proposed routine methods for the measurement of these analytes in cerebrospinal fluid. The purpose of this review is to compare the various proposed methods in terms of sample preparation, chromatographic conditions and detection modes. Despite the broad range of proposed methods, quantification of inborn errors of monoamine neurotransmitter biomarkers remains a great challenge, given the complexity of biological fluids and the low amounts of analytes that are present in cerebrospinal fluid.

Despite recent technological developments in analytical chemistry, separation and direct characterization of transient intermediates remain an analytical challenge. Among these, separation and direct characterization of quinonoid dihydrobiopterin (qH2Bip), a transient intermediate of tetrahydrobiopterin (H4Bip)-dependent hydroxylation reactions, essential in living organisms, with important and varied human pathophysiological impacts, are a clear illustration. H4Bip regeneration may be impaired by competitive nonenzymatic autoxidation reactions, such as isomerization of qH2Bip into a more stable 7,8-H2Bip (H2Bip) isomer, and subsequent nonenzymatic oxidation reactions. The quinonoid qH2Bip intermediate thus plays a key role in H4Bip-dependent hydroxylation reactions. However, only a few experimental results have indirectly confirmed this finding while revealing the difficulty of isolating qH2Bip from H4Bip-containing solutions. As a result, no current H4Bip assay method allows this isomer to be quantified even by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Here, we report isolation, structural characterization, and abundance of qH2Bip formed upon H4Bip autoxidation using three methods integrated into MS/MS. First, we characterized the structure of the two observed H2B isomers using IR photodissociation spectroscopy in conjunction with quantum chemical calculations. Then, we used differential ion mobility spectrometry to fully separate all oxidized forms of H4Bip including qH2Bip. These data are consistent and show that qH2Bip can also be unambiguously identified thanks to its specific MS/MS transition. This finding paves the way for the quantification of qH2Bip with MS/MS methods. Most importantly, the half-life value of this intermediate is nearly equivalent to that of H4Bip (tens of minutes), suggesting that an accurate method of H4Bip analysis should include the quantification of qH2Bip.

Inborn errors of monoamine neurotransmitter metabolism are rare genetic diseases classified as catecholamine and serotonin metabolism disorders or neurotransmitter transportopathies. To diagnose these orphan diseases, monoamine metabolites have been identified and validated as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers: 5-hydroxy-tryptophane, 5-hydroxy-indol-acetic acid, 3-ortho-methyl-DOPA, homovanillic acid, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol. The present work presents a UHPLC-MS/MS method developed for the quantification of these metabolites in CSF and compares it with a previously described UHPLC with fluorescence detection (UHPLC-FD) method. MS/MS detection was performed in positive electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring mode. The UHPLC-MS/MS and UHPLC-FD methods were validated in terms of accuracy, linearity, precision and matrix effect. The lower limits of quantification (LLOQ) ranged between 0.5 and 10 nm and between 1 and 5 nm for the UHPLC-MS/MS method and the UHPLC-FD one, respectively. We verified the applicability of both methods by analyzing 30 CSF samples. The measured concentrations were comparable with the reference values described in the literature. The two methods allowed pathological samples to be distinguished from healthy ones for clinical diagnosis. UHPLC-MS/MS and UHPLC-FD methods exhibited very close LLOQs. As the UHPLC-MS/MS method is more selective, it allows faster analysis with a run time of 6 min per run vs. 10 min for the UHPLC-FD method.

The aerial parts of Momordica charantia L. are very often used in traditional Congolese medicine for their multiple virtues. Our study focused on the identification of a well-known antidiabetic molecule: the charantine and also the antidiabetic properties of the ethanol extract of M. charantia L. After being treated with MSTFA (N-Methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide) and using gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry, the analysis of the extract of the leafy stem of M. charantia L., var abreviata, harvested in Brazzaville (Congo) led to the identification of a recognized antidiabetic molecule stigmasterol glucoside or β sitosterol: the charantine. When testing the ethanolic extract on albino Wistar rats that were made diabetic by injecting the streptozotocin, this reduces glycemia significantly by 51.62% after three hours. The significant results of the antidiabetic tests and the identification of the charantine in the plant justify its use in the traditional medicine in Congo Brazzaville. Key words: Momordica charantia L, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, charantine, antidiabetic.

Inborn errors of dopamine and serotonin metabolism are diseases caused by deficiencies in enzymes belonging to metabolic pathways. The specific diagnosis of these inborn illnesses is based on the identification and quantification of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), especially: 5-hydroxy-tryptophane (5-HTP), 5-hydroxy-indol-acetic acid (5-HIAA), 3-ortho-methyl-DOPA (3-OMD), homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG). In the present work, we propose a novel ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method coupled to fluorescence detection (FD) to quantify simultaneously the five dopamine and serotonin metabolites. This method efficiently separates the five molecules in less than 10 min. A complete validation of the proposed method was performed in terms of accuracy, linearity, precision, and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ). Depending on the compound, the obtained LLOQs are between 1 nM and 5 nM, thus allowing to measure concentrations as low as in CSF samples. We also verified the method applicability by analyzing 10 CSF samples in triplicates. The obtained results showed satisfactory repeatability and an ability of this method to clearly distinguish healthy samples from pathologic samples, hence, demonstrating, the method suitability for diagnosing inborn errors of dopamine and serotonin metabolism. Therefore, the proposed UHPLC-FD method appears as a reliable alternative to the current gold standard for the quantification of these biomarkers, which is based on UHPLC coupled to electrochemical detection (ECD).

Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba genus that causes several diseases namely, amoebic keratitis which is a painful sight threatening eyes disease. Its treatment is difficult and the exploration for new drugs is very important. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the chemical composition of the Essential Oils (EO) obtained from leaves and flowers and aerial parts of Ammoides pusilla by an alternative method “Hydrodistillation’’. Identification and quantification were realized by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID). The main components of leaves and flowers and aerials parts were thymol (39.6% and 33.05%), γ-terpinene (28.97% and 28.19%), p-cymene (13.69% and 15.31%) and thymol methyl ether (7.33% and 8.91%), respectively. The antiparasitic activity of the EO was evaluated against Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff by the Alamar Blue® assay. Results showed that Ammoides pusilla amoebicidal activity from leaves and flowers essential oil (IC50 = 65.32 ± 5.43 μg/mL) was more important than those of aerial parts EO (IC50 = 97.18 ± 1.43 μg/ml).

We propose here a new approach to the evaluation of two-dimensional and, more generally, multidimensional separations based on topological methods. We consider the apex plot as a graph, which could further be treated using a topological tool: the measure of distances between the nearest neighbors (NND). Orthogonality can be thus defined as the quality of peak dispersion in normalized separation space, which is characterized by two factors describing the population of distances between nearest neighbors: the lengths (di(o)) of distances and the degree of similarity of all lengths. Orthogonality grows with the increase of both factors. The NND values were used to calculate a number of new descriptors. They inform about the extent of peak distribution, like the arithmetic mean (A̅(o)) of NNDs, as well as about the homogeneity of peak distribution, like the geometric mean (G̅(o)) and the harmonic mean (H̅(o)). Our new, NND-based approach was compared with another recently published method of orthogonality evaluation: the fractal dimensionality (DF). The comparison shows that the geometric mean (G̅(o)) is the descriptor behaving in the most similar way to dimensionality (DF) and the harmonic mean (H̅(o)) displays superior sensitivity to the shortest, critical distances between peaks. The latter descriptor (H̅(o)) can be considered as sufficient to describe the degree of orthogonality based on NND. The method developed is precise, simple, easy to implement, and possible to use for the description of separations in a true or virtual system of any number of dimensions.

In this paper we propose a method for the evaluation of real separation quality in multidimensional separations based on the nearest neighbor distances (NND). This approach allows us to overcome the principal drawback of the orthogonality measurement which does not evaluate how good the real separation obtained with one system is, especially when compared to another one. Separation quality evaluation takes into account the distances (di(s)) between peaks in whole separation space. The distances between nearest neighbors were calculated in resolution scaled analysis space to overcome statistically different peak widths in each dimension. The obtained separation quality is ranked by harmonic mean (H̅(s)) of the distances di(s). The extent of peak spreading, described by arithmetic mean (A̅(s)), gives an appreciation of the effective analysis space of 2D separation. The classifications of systems obtained with the same retention data using separation quality and orthogonality approaches show important differences in ranking orders depending on two different targets of these evaluations: the separation potential of a 2D system and the divergence of selectivity between both separation directions. This study shows separation quality and orthogonality merit to be evaluated in parallel for the same systems. The other new threshold descriptor, minimal limit distance (dilim) derived from resolution dependent peak capacity scale, was used to predict the separation quality as a function of desired resolution. We also introduce here a composed descriptor for 2D systems: the optimality coefficient (Oc), which may be useful in the 2D separation optimization process. It takes into account the maximization of homogeneity of peak spreading (H̅(s)/A̅(s)) and the minimization of effective analysis space (or compactness, dilim/A̅(s)) terms.

A series of reversed phases bonded with several functional groups was investigated for separation of anthraquinone derivatives, following the previous work, dedicated to the selectivity of octadecyl silica bonded phases. Considering wide diversity of substitutions in hydrophobic anthraquinone skeleton, interactions like dipole-dipole, π-π or H-bond acceptor/donor, as well as inclusion complexes formation can be employed to improve separation. In this study, several phases with grafts like cyano, nitro, aromatic, PEG, diol, calixarene and cyclodextrin were used with water-acetonitrile gradient for separation of thirty anthraquinoids' standards. The evaluation of performances was measured using the symmetry parameter and the number of critical pairs of peaks formed. The results point out the aromatic and calixarene bonded silica as the most interesting in terms of symmetry and critical pairs number. Finally we tested the performance of Caltrex Resorcinaren, Pursuit XRs DP and Luna Phenyl-Hexyl on real samples of anthraquinone natural dye extracted from a red thread taken from a 15th C. tapestry. We observed and compared the retention behaviour of some new anthraquinoids additional to our standards set and showing behaviour particular to substituted anthraquinone carboxylic acids.

A comparison of chromatograms obtained in a series of separation conditions for a given complex mixture may be done with a series of chromatographic descriptors. In this study, we used two descriptors: the number of critical pairs and symmetry of peaks, further rescaled and converted to the corresponding critical pairs' coefficient (CPc) and symmetry coefficient (Sc). Considering the difficulty of appreciating global separation quality using CPc and Sc criteria separately, as their respective values are usually uncorrelated, a double-criteria cross-evaluation system was required. For that purpose we tested the commonly used multi-criteria decision-making method – Derringer's desirability function (D) – as well as the recently introduced sum of ranking differences (SRD). To facilitate the graphical comparison of both approaches, the desirability function (D) was used in the inverse form (Dinv). The advantages and drawbacks of both evaluation methods, especially the respective under- or over-evaluation of outliers, caused us to introduce a new ranking approach, separation system suitability (3S). The obtained suitability rankings for the three tested approaches (Dinv, SRD and 3S) are different; nevertheless, 3S appears to be the most balanced and the easiest to interpret as well. The approach developed for selection of suitable systems was applied to the problem of separation of complex mixtures through the analysis of a series of standards of anthraquinone derivatives. To judge the pertinence of this evaluation, a sample containing a number of natural anthraquinones extracted from the bark of Indian mulberry (Morinda citrifolia) was analysed. In conclusion, the proposed methodology for the cross-evaluation of the series of chromatograms using single specific descriptors (CPc and Sc) through a global composite descriptor (3S) significantly simplifies the decision that separation systems are the most suitable for the separation of complex target mixtures of compounds.