Preferential uptake of polyunsaturated fatty acids by colorectal cancer cells

Although a growing body of evidence suggests that colorectal cancer (CRC) is associated with alterations of fatty acid (FA) profiles in serum and tumor tissues, available data about polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in CRC patients are inconclusive. Our study showed that CRC tissues contained more PUFAs than normal large intestinal mucosa. However, serum levels of PUFAs in CRC patients were lower than in healthy controls. To explain the mechanism of PUFA alterations in CRC, we measured FA uptake by the colon cancer cells and normal colon cells. The levels of PUFAs in colon cancer cell culture medium decreased significantly with incubation time, while no changes were observed in the medium in which normal colon cells were incubated. Our findings suggest that the alterations in tumor and serum PUFA profiles result from preferential uptake of these FAs by cancer cells; indeed, PUFAs are essential for formation of cell membrane phospholipids during rapid proliferation of cancer cells. This observation puts into question potential benefits of PUFA supplementation in CRC patients

Study of the Interactions of Ionic Liquids in IC by QSRR

The nature of ionic liquids (ILs) facilitates their analysis by ion chromatography which, unlike conventional high-performance liquid chromatography, enables analysis both of cations and anions. This paper describes a pioneering ion-chromatographic investigation of IL cations and statistical evaluation of quantitative structure–retention relationships with the objective of predicting the molecular mechanism responsible for retention. Eleven ionic liquid imidazolium and pyridinium cations were analyzed on a CS15 cation-exchange column by isocratic elution with acetonitrile–methanesulfonic acid mixtures. Structural descriptors of the cations obtained from molecular modeling were used to describe their hydrophobicity as determined by chromatography. The most statistically significant were three-term QSRR regression equations relating log kw to analyte n-octanol–water partition coefficient (log P), dipole moment (μ), solvent accessible surface area (ASAS), and hydration energy (HE). They indicate the important role of both hydrophobic and polar the retention of ILs on the CS15 column

Application of Chromatographic and Electrophoretic Methods for the Analysis of Imidazolium and Pyridinium Cations as Used in Ionic Liquids

Interest in ionic liquids for their potential in different chemical processes isconstantly increasing, as they are claimed to be environmentally benign – excellent, non-volatile solvents for a wide range of applications. The wide applicability of thesecompounds also demands reliable, relatively simple and reproducible analytical techniques.These methods must be applicable not only to different technical or natural matrices but alsoto the very low concentrations that are likely to be present in biological and environmentalsystems. In this review, therefore, methods for separating and analysing imidazolium- andpyridinium-type ionic liquids in aqueous matrices using high performance liquidchromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) are examined. The techniquesfor identifying ionic liquids are meant primarily to track the concentrations of ionic liquidsas residues not only in products and wastes but also in biological or environmental samples.The application of hyphenated techniques in this field is intended to selectively separate thequaternary entity from other cationic and non-ionic species present in the matrix, and toenable its fine-scale quantification. Nowadays, methods developed for cation analysis arebased mostly on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, ionchromatography, ion-pair chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, where variousbuffered mobile phases are used