Journal of Automated Methods & Management in Chemistry 

About: Journal of Automated Methods & Management in Chemistry is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Detection limit & High-performance liquid chromatography. It has an ISSN identifier of 1463-9246. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 1573 publications have been published receiving 13311 citations.

An evaluation of the Waters Pico-Tag system for the amino-acid analysis of food materials.

Abstract: The Pico-Tag method, recently described by Heinrikson and Meredith and developed commercially by Waters Associates, is an integrated technique for amino-acid analysis. Phenylisothiocyanate (PITC, or Edman’s reagent) is used for pre-column derivatization, while reversed-phase gradient elution high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separates the phenylthiocarbamyl (PTC) derivatives which are detected by their UV absorbance. Figure illustrates the chemistry of the derivatization reaction. Cohen, Tarvin and Bidlingmeyer [2] from Waters Associates have reviewed the potential of the Pico-Tag method.

Capture-SELEX: Selection of DNA Aptamers for Aminoglycoside Antibiotics.

Abstract: Small organic molecules are challenging targets for an aptamer selection using the SELEX technology (SELEX—Systematic Evolution of Ligans by EXponential enrichment). Often they are not suitable for immobilization on solid surfaces, which is a common procedure in known aptamer selection methods. The Capture-SELEX procedure allows the selection of DNA aptamers for solute targets. A special SELEX library was constructed with the aim to immobilize this library on magnetic beads or other surfaces. For this purpose a docking sequence was incorporated into the random region of the library enabling hybridization to a complementary oligo fixed on magnetic beads. Oligonucleotides of the library which exhibit high affinity to the target and a secondary structure fitting to the target are released from the beads for binding to the target during the aptamer selection process. The oligonucleotides of these binding complexes were amplified, purified, and immobilized via the docking sequence to the magnetic beads as the starting point of the following selection round. Based on this Capture-SELEX procedure, the successful DNA aptamer selection for the aminoglycoside antibiotic kanamycin A as a small molecule target is described.

Tetracyclines in Food and Feedingstuffs: From Regulation to Analytical Methods, Bacterial Resistance, and Environmental and Health Implications.

Abstract: Antibiotics are widely used as growth promoters in animal husbandry; among them, the tetracyclines are a chemical group of relevance, due to their wide use in agriculture, surpassing in quantities applied almost every other antibiotic family. Seeing the considerable amounts of tetracyclines used worldwide, monitoring of these antibiotics is paramount. Advances must be made in the analysis of antibiotics to assess correct usage and dosage of tetracyclines in food and feedstuffs and possible residues in pertinent environmental samples. The tetracyclines are still considered a clinically relevant group of antibiotics, though dissemination of tolerance and resistance determinants have limited their use. This review focuses on four different aspects: (i) tetracyclines, usage, dosages, and regulatory issues that govern their food-related application, with particular attention to the prohibitions and restrictions that several countries have enforced in recent years by agencies from both the United States and the European Union, (ii) analytical methods for tetracyclines, determination, and residues thereof in feedstuffs and related matrices with an emphasis on the most relevant and novel techniques, including both screening and confirmatory methods, (iii) tetracycline resistance and tetracycline-resistant bacteria in feedstuff, and (iv) environmental and health risks accompanying the use of tetracyclines in animal nutrition. In the last two cases, we discuss the more relevant undesirable effects that tetracyclines exert over bacterial communities and nontarget species including unwanted effects in farmers.

A Simple Spectrophotometric Method for the Determination of Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances in Fried Fast Foods

Abstract: A simple and highly sensitive spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as a marker for lipid peroxidation in fried fast foods. The method uses the reaction of malondialdehyde (MDA) and TBA in the glacial acetic acid medium. The method was precise, sensitive, and highly reproducible for quantitative determination of TBARS. The precision of extractions and analytical procedure was very high as compared to the reported methods. The method was used to determine the TBARS contents in the fried fast foods such as Shami kebab, samosa, fried bread, and potato chips. Shami kebab, samosa, and potato chips have higher amount of TBARS in glacial acetic acid-water extraction system than their corresponding pure glacial acetic acid and vice versa in fried bread samples. The method can successfully be used for the determination of TBARS in other food matrices, especially in quality control of food industries.

Antioxidant Activity of Three Honey Samples in relation with Their Biochemical Components.

Abstract: The antioxidant activities based on the free radical scavenging, reducing power, and bleaching inhibition were investigated for the three commonly used honeys in Malaysia, namely, tualang, gelam, and acacia honey. The antioxidant capacity of the honey samples was correlated with their biochemical constituents such as total phenol, total flavonoid content, and total water-soluble vitamins (vitamin B1, B2, B3, B9, B12, and vitamin C). The total flavonoid content of honey samples was strongly correlated with the three antioxidative processes (r = 0.9276-0.9910). In contrast, the total water-soluble vitamins was found to be well correlated with the free radical scavenging activity (r = 0.8226). Vitamin B3 was likely to be in the highest concentration, which covered for 69-80% of the total vitamin content. A number of five phenolic acids, three flavonoids, and two organic acids had also been detected from the honey samples using UPLC-MS/MS, without sugar-removal procedure.