Natural products solid-phase extractions

Five synthetic and five natural colorants were identified and quantified in lyo-philized dairy products and fatty foods using an automatic method based on solid phase extraction using a stationary phase followed by RP-HPLC C,g columns for the sequential retention of colorants and diode array detection. Lyophilization of the samples coupled with the separation procedure provided clean extracts despite the complexity of the food matrices and preserved the sample for at least 2 months without changes in colorant concentrations. The detection limits achieved for the colorants were found in a wide range from 0.03 to 75 pg/g of the lyophilized sample, according to the limits established by the European Union. ... 

Experiments to identify disinfection by-products (DBFs) have been carried out using two different procedures. In the first, natural waters (e.g., river, lake) are reacted with the disinfectant, either in a pilot plant, an actual treatment plant, or in a controlled laboratory smdy. fii the second type of procedure, aquatic humic material is isolated and reacted with the disinfectant in purified water in a controlled laboratory study. This latter type of study is relevant because humic material is an important precursor of THMs and other DBFs. Aquatic humic material is present in nearly all natural waters, and isolated humic material reacts with disinfectants to produce most of the same DBFs found from natural waters. Because DBFs are typically formed at low levels (ng/L-pg/L), samples are usually concentrated to allow for DBF detection. Concentration methods that are commonly used include solid phase extraction (SFE), solid phase microextraction (SFME), liquid-liquid extraction, and XAD resin extraction (for larger quantities of water) [9]. 

Dereplication and characterization The characteristic binding profile of a compound on a number of solid phase extraction resins can be used for comparative and dereplication purposes. Compounds that bind differently to the same media must be different, and if a series of extracts is suspected of containing the same unknown natural product (e.g., all the extracts possess the same biological activity), the fact that they all exhibit the same binding profile might lead to a decision to first isolate the component from one of the extracts, then use that as a standard with which to examine the other extracts. 

Solid phase extraction provides the opportunity to carry out very small-scale chromatographic separations using a variety of stationary phases (also discussed in Chapter 1). Two separation systems commonly used by this author, which are suitable for most natural products including most marine natural products are as follows ... 

The quinoline scaffold and derivatives occur in a large number of natural products and drug-like compounds. A method for microwave-assisted synthesis of 2-aminoquinolines has been described by Wilson et al. [62]. The process involves rapid microwave irradiation of secondary amines and aldehydes to form enamines, then addition of 2-azidobenzophenones with subsequent irradiation to produce the 2-aminoquinoline derivatives (Scheme 10.27). Purification of the products was accomplished in a streamlined manner by using solid-phase extraction techniques to produce the desired compounds in high yields and purity. Direct comparison of the reaction under thermal and microwave conditions, using identical stoichiometry and sealed reaction vessels, showed the latter resulted in improved yield. 

Scheme 1.7 Synthesis of natural product-like molecules with unprecedented scaffold diversity. Initially, building blocks were added iteratively to a fluorous-tagged linker, with intermediates purified by fluorous-solid phase extraction. Metathesis cascades were used to reprogramme the scaffolds and to release final products from the fluorous-tagged linker. Reagents and conditions. (1) Grubbs first-generation catalyst, 21a 23% 21b 56% (2) fluorous-tagged Hoveyda-Grubbs second-generation eatalyst, 21c 33%.

Valcarcel and co-workers proposed in 2003 an automatic system for the determination of riboflavin in lyophilized food products using a solid-phase extraction process that included columns filled with cotton or silica C18 for the sequential retention of synthetic colorants and natural colorants, respectively (Gonzalez et al. 2003). In this case riboflavin was assessed as an authorized natural colorant for total estimation of this class of compounds. The analytical characteristics of this methodology are summarized in Table 18.3. 

LC-MS finds wide application in the analysis of compounds that are not amenable to GC-MS, i.e. compounds that are highly polar, ionic and thermo-labile, as well as (bio)macromolecules. In environmental applications, LC-MS is applied, often in combination with off-line or on-line solid-phase extraction, to identify pesticides, herbicides, surfactants and other environmental contaminants. LC-MS plays a role in the confirmation of the presence of antibiotic residues in meat, milk and other food products. Furthermore, there is a substantial role for LC-MS in the detection and identification of new compounds in extracts from natural products and the process control of fermentation broths for industrial production of such compounds, e.g. for medicinal use. LC-MS technology is also widely applied in the characterization of peptides and proteins, e.g. rapid molecular-mass determination, peptide mapping, peptide sequencing and the study of protein conformation and noncovalent interactions of drugs, peptides and other compounds with proteins and DNA. However, the most important application area... 

Flash chromatography is widely employed for the purification of crude products obtained by synthesis at a research laboratory scale (several grams) or isolated as extracts from natural products or fermentations. The solid support is based on silica gel, and the mobile phase is usually a mixture of a hydrocarbon, such as hexane or heptane, with an organic modifier, e.g. ethyl acetate, driven by low pressure air. (Recently the comparison of flash chromatography with countercurrent chromatography (CCC), a technique particularly adapted to preparative purposes, has been studied for the separation of nonchiral compounds [90].)... 

---