• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2008

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for the quantitative determination of lercanidipine in human plasma. After addition of internal standard (amlodipine), plasma was precipitated with acetonitrile and the supernatant was evaporated. The residues were dissolved in 50 % acetonitrile and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Using MS/MS with multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) mode, lercanindipine were selectively detected without severe interference from human plasma. The standard calibration curve for lercanidipine was linear (r = 0.9994) over the concentration range 0.05-20.0 ng/mL in human plasma. The intra- and inter-day precision over the concentration range of lercanidipine was lower than 11.7 % (correlation of variance, CV), and accuracy was between 94.4-114.8 %. This method has been successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of lercanidipine in human plasma.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.101-108
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• 2009

The bioequivalence of two pioglitazone tablets, Actos$^{(R)}$ tablet (Takeda Chemical Industries, reference drug) and Pioglitazone tablet (Boryung Company, test drug) was evaluated according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration. Twenty-eight healthy male Korean volunteers received each medicine (pioglitazone dose of 30 mg) in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study with one week washout interval. After drug administration, blood samples were collected at specific time intervals from 0-36 hours. The plasma concentrations of pioglitazone were determined by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The total chromatographic run time was 5 min and calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 5-2000 ng/mL for pioglitazone. The method was validated for selectivity, sensitivity, linearity, accuracy and precision. The pharmacokinetic parameters were determined from the plasma concentration-time profiles of both formulations. The primary calculated pharmacokinetic parameters were compared statistically to evaluate bioequivalence between the two preparations. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for Pioglitazone tablet and Actos$^{(R)}$ tablet were log0.9422~log1.1040 and log0.9200~log1.1556, respectively. Based on the statistical considerations, we can conclude that the test drug, Pioglitazone tablet was bioequivalent to the reference drug, Actos$^{(R)}$ tablet.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.191-200
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• 2008

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are emerging contaminants in aquatic environmental samples. Therefore, it required rapidly and certainly analytical method for pharmaceuticals which are existed in environment. In this study, Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with electrospray ionization (ESI) was used to measure the concentrations of 7 pharmaceuticals (quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid, diclofenac-Na, naproxen, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid, talniflumate) from environmental water or aquatic samples simultaneously. Effective sample clean-up by solid-phase extraction (SPE) prior to LC-MS/MS analysis is necessary. For further purification, Mixed Cation eXchange (MCX) and Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Balance (HLB) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges were used to eliminate the remaining interferences. LODs (Limits of Detection) and MDLs (Method Detection Limits) for the spiked sample in fresh water were in the range of 0.05~1.50 pg/mL and 0.17~4.90 pg/mL, respectively. The absolute recovery in the concentration of 1.0 ng/mL were between 81.9 and 116.3%. The acidic pharmaceuticals were detected in concentrations of 0.018~16.925 ng/mL in aquatic environmental samples.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.331-338
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• 2007

Licorice, Glycyrrhizae Radix is widely used as a herbal medicines and a dietary supplements in East Asia. We employed high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry to determine liquiritin and glycyrrhizin in the Glycyrrhizae Radix. Liquiritin and glycyrrhizin in Glycyrrhizae Radix were ionized by positive ion pneumatically assisted electrospray and detected by HPLC-MS/MS in the multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using precursor ${\rightarrow}$ product ion combinations at m/z $436.2{\rightarrow}257.0$ and $823.4{\rightarrow}453.4$, respectively. The assay had a calibration range from 10 to 3,000 ng/mL. The limits of detection (LOD) of the liquiritin and glycyrrhizin were 0.4 ng/mL and 0.01 ng/mL, respectively. The reproducibility and repeatability (relative standard deviation) at different analyte concentrations varied from 103 to 113 % and 0.95 to 1.8 %, respectively. According to the above results, HPLC-MS/MS method permits assignment of tentative structures such as liquiritin and glycyrrhizin in the Glycyrrhizae Radix.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.476-482
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the acrylamide content in frozen food products after cooking. Twenty samples of bread (Group 1) and 30 samples of processed tuberous and corn vegetable products (Group 2) were selected. Acrylamide levels were quantified using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The frozen food samples were heated using the air fryer cooking method according to the product packaging and were compared to ready-to-eat French fries (Group 3). The results showed that the acrylamide content was the highest in group 3, followed by that in group 2 and group 1. The acrylamide content of all the samples was found to be within the domestic recommended standard of 1 mg/kg. However, when the samples that exceeded EU benchmark level (0.5 mg/kg) were selected and cooked using the deep-fat frying method according to the product packaging, one of them showed the acrylamide content of 1.83 mg/kg, which exceeded the domestic recommended standard. The present study highlights the need for continued evaluation and management to reduce acrylamide contents in frozen foods, as increasing domestic exposure to acrylamide is concerning.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.281-292
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: Human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocyte (CM) hold great promise as a cellular source of CM for cardiac function restoration in ischemic heart disease. However, the use of animal-derived xenogeneic substances during the biomanufacturing of hiPSC-CM can induce inadvertent immune responses or chronic inflammation, followed by tumorigenicity. In this study, we aimed to reveal the effects of xenogeneic substances on the functional properties and potential immunogenicity of hiPSC-CM during differentiation, demonstrating the quality and safety of hiPSC-based cell therapy. Methods and Results: We successfully generated hiPSC-CM in the presence and absence of xenogeneic substances (xeno-containing (XC) and xeno-free (XF) conditions, respectively), and compared their characteristics, including the contractile functions and glycan profiles. Compared to XC-hiPSC-CM, XF-hiPSC-CM showed early onset of myocyte contractile beating and maturation, with a high expression of cardiac lineage-specific genes (ACTC1, TNNT2, and RYR2) by using MEA and RT-qPCR. We quantified N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), a xenogeneic sialic acid, in hiPSC-CM using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and liquid chromatography-multiple reaction monitoring-mass spectrometry. Neu5Gc was incorporated into the glycans of hiPSC-CM during xeno-containing differentiation, whereas it was barely detected in XF-hiPSC-CM. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that the electrophysiological function and glycan profiles of hiPSC-CM can be affected by the presence of xenogeneic substances during their differentiation and maturation. To ensure quality control and safety in hiPSC-based cell therapy, xenogeneic substances should be excluded from the biomanufacturing process.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.688-699
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• 2023

We set up this study to understand the underlying mechanisms of reduced ceramides on immune cells in acute rejection (AR). The concentrations of ceramides and sphingomyelins were measured in the sera from hepatic transplant patients, skin graft mice and hepatocyte transplant mice by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Serum concentrations of C24 ceramide, C24:1 ceramide, C16:0 sphingomyelin, and C18:1 sphingomyelin were lower in liver transplantation (LT) recipients with than without AR. Comparisons with the results of LT patients with infection and cardiac transplant patients with cardiac allograft vasculopathy in humans and in mouse skin graft and hepatocyte transplant models suggested that the reduced C24 and C24:1 ceramides were specifically involved in AR. A ceramide synthase inhibitor, fumonisin B₁ exacerbated allogeneic immune responses in vitro and in vivo, and reduced tolerogenic dendritic cells (tDCs), while increased P3-like plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) in the draining lymph nodes from allogeneic skin graft mice. The results of mixed lymphocyte reactions with ceranib-2, an inhibitor of ceramidase, and C24 ceramide also support that increasing ceramide concentrations could benefit transplant recipients with AR. The results suggest increasing ceramides as novel therapeutic target for AR, where reduced ceramides were associated with the changes in DC subsets, in particular tDCs.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.467-476
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• 2023

Schisandra chinensis (S. chinensis) is a deciduous broad-leaved cave plant belonging to the Schisandraceae family and is widely distributed in East Asia including Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan. It has been reported that the main components contained in S. chinensis include lignan compounds and triterpenoid compounds. To distinguish the characteristics of S. chinensis by production region of Korea, a discriminant was established by performing metabolite profiling and principal component analysis, a multivariate statistical analysis technique. As a result, 16 types of triterpenoids, 9 types of lignan, and 1 type each of flavonoid, phenylpropanoid, and fatty acid were identified. In addition, through multivariate statistical analysis, it was confirmed that the four groups in Danyang, Moongyeong, Geochang, and Pyeongchang were divided, by applying the s-plot model of orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. Biomarkers were identified: lanostane, cycloartane, schiartane triterpenoid, and dibenzocyclo-octadiene lignan were identified as chemical markers, respectively.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.430-441
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• 2023

Velvet antler is widely used as a traditional medicine, and numerous studies have demonstrated its tremendous nutritional and medicinal values including immunity-enhancing effects. This study aimed to investigate different deer velvet extracts (Sample 1: raw extract, Sample 2: dried extract, and Sample 3: freeze-dried extract) for proximate composition, uronic acid, sulfated glycosaminoglycan, sialic acid, collagen levels, and chemical components using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-light mass spectrometry. In addition, we evaluated the cytotoxic effect of the deer velvet extracts on BV2 microglia, HT22 hippocampal cells, HaCaT keratinocytes, and RAW264.7 macrophages using the cell viability MTT assay. Furthermore, we evaluated acute toxicity of the deer velvet extracts at different doses (0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg) administered orally to both male and female ICR mice for 14 d (five mice per group). After treatment, we evaluated general toxicity, survival rate, body weight changes, mortality, clinical signs, and necropsy findings in the experimental mice based on OECD guidelines. The results suggested that in vitro treatment with the evaluated extracts had no cytotoxic effect in HaCaT keratinocytes cells, whereas Sample-2 had a cytotoxic effect at 500 and 1000 ㎍/mL on HT22 hippocampal cells and RAW264.7 macrophages. Sample 3 was also cytotoxic at concentrations of 500 and 1000 ㎍/mL to RAW264.7 and BV2 microglial cells. However, the mice treated in vivo with the velvet extracts at doses of 500-2000 mg/kg BW showed no clinical signs, mortality, or necropsy findings, indicating that the LD50 is higher than this dosage. These findings indicate that there were no toxicological abnormalities connected with the deer velvet extract treatment in mice. However, further human and animal studies are needed before sufficient safety information is available to justify its use in humans.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2009

Patulin, a mycotoxin mainly produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus, is found in various foods. In the present, a maximum acceptable level for patulin is established at $50{\mu}g/kg(ppb)$ in apple juices and apple concentrates in Korea. But patulin may be detected in foods produced with other fruits. In the present study, patulin contamination was analyzed in 520 samples of fruit juices and beverages, and 50 samples of fruit juice concentrates. High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) was applied to quantitatively analyze patulin levels in samples and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC/MS/MS) was used to remove false positive results. The results showed that three samples of 520 fruit juices and beverages and five samples of 50 fruit juice concentrates were contaminated by patulin, $9.8-18.0{\mu}g/kg$ and $4.7-18.2{\mu}g/kg$ respectively. Contaminated samples were produced with apple, orange or pear. This indicates that it is necessary to extend the regulatory range of patulin. In the other hands, the present study confirmed the effectiveness of LC/MS/MS analytical method to remove false positive results.