Thermophilic bacteria of four genera in contrast to the commonly used production strains such as Bacillus subtilis, produce homologs other than menaquinone (MK) with seven isoprene units. The number of isoprene units and the configuration of double bonds are essential factors for their biological activity. The goal was to obtain a strain of bacteria that produces a wide range of MK homologs and only all-trans geometrical isomers, which was the strain G. kaustophilus. Using off-line two-dimensional LC-tandem MS in columns with the RP18 phase and the COSMOSIL cholester phase (separation according to the geometric configuration of double bonds) it was shown that thermophilic bacteria grown at different temperatures produce only all-trans isomers of menaquinones from MK-5 (menaquinone with five isoprenyl units) to MK-15 (fifteen isoprenyl units). Therefore, G. kaustophilus appears to be a biotechnologically important strain produces only trans isomers and additionally homologs from 5 to 15 isoprene units.

Carboxylative enzymes are involved in many pathways and their regulation plays a crucial role in many of these pathways. In particular, γ-glutamylcarboxylase (GGCX) converts glutamate residues (Glu) into γ-carboxyglutamate (Gla) of the vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDPs) activating them. VKDPs include at least 17 proteins involved in processes such as blood coagulation, blood vessels calcification, and bone mineralization. VKDPs are activated by the reduced form of vitamin K, naturally occurring as vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and K2 (menaquinones, MKs). Among these, MK7 is the most efficient in terms of bioavailability and biological effect. Similarly to other trans isomers, it is produced by natural fermentation or chemically in both trans and cis. However, the efficacy of the biological effect of the different isomers and the impact on humans are unknown. Our study assessed carboxylative efficacy of trans and cis MK7 and compared it with other vitamin K isomers, evaluating both the expression of residues of carboxylated Gla-protein by western blot analysis and using a cell-free system to determine the GGCX activity by HPLC. Trans MK7H2 showed a higher ability to carboxylate the 70 KDa GLA-protein, previously inhibited in vitro by warfarin treatment. However, cis MK7 also induced a carboxylation activity albeit of a small extent. The data were confirmed chromatographically, in which a slight carboxylative activity of cis MK7H2 was demonstrated, comparable with both K1H2 and oxidized trans MK7 but less than trans MK7H2 . For the first time, a difference of biological activity between cis and trans configuration of menaquinone-7 has been reported.

We present an approach for the elucidation of C=C bond position and cis/trans isomers, which is achieved by the reaction of ambient water radical cations and double bonds, followed by the fragmentation of epoxide radical cations to generate diagnostic ions in tandem mass spectrometry. Hexenol double bond positional isomers and cis/trans isomers which exhibit different properties and biological functions are characterized as a proof of concept. The merits of the approach include the simplicity of experimental setup, rapid derivatization (within seconds), the obviation of organic solvents, as well as easy spectral interpretation.

Crystal structures for a series of bis-(acetyl-acetonato)oxovanadium(IV) complexes containing N-donor pyridyl ligands are reported, namely, bis-(acetyl-acetonato-κ2 O,O\')oxido(pyridine-κN)vanadium(IV), [V(C5H7O2)2O(C5H5N)], 1, bis-(acetyl-acetonato-κ2 O,O\')oxido(pyridine-4-carbo-nitrile-κN)vanadium(IV), [V(C5H7O2)2O(C6H4N2)], 2, and bis-(acetyl-acetonato-κ2 O,O\')(4-meth-oxy-pyridine-κN)oxidovanadium(IV), [V(C5H7O2)2O(C6H7NO)], 3, Compounds 1-3 have the formulae VO(C5H7O2)2 L, where L = pyridine (1), 4-cyano-pyridine (2), and 4-meth-oxy-pyridine (3). Compound 1 was previously reported [Meicheng et al. (1984 ▸). Kexue Tongbao, 29, 759-764 and DaSilva, Spiazzi, Bortolotto & Burrow (2007). Acta Crystallogr., E63, m2422] and redetermined here at cryogenic temperatures. Compounds 1 and 2 as pyridine and 4-cyano-pyridine adducts, respectively, crystallize as distorted octa-hedral structures with the oxo and pyridyl ligands trans to one another. A crystallographic twofold axis runs through the O-V-N bonds. Compound 3 containing a 4-meth-oxy-pyridine ligand crystallizes as a distorted octa-hedral structure with the oxo and pyridyl ligands cis to one other, removing the twofold symmetry seen in the other complexes.

For the first time, the cis/trans isomer content of menaquinone-7 in food products has been identified and marked. A novel method of marking isomers of vitamin K2MK-7 in dietary supplements was developed and validated. Five different isomers of cis/trans vitamin K2MK-7 were identified. Identification of cis/trans isomers was performed by HRMS-QTOF, whereas their quantities were determined by using CAD and DAD detectors. In the majority of cases, the content of biologically active all trans vitamin K2MK-7 was below its declared content. The content of all trans K2MK-7 was in the range between 5.5 and 49 µg in pills. In one of the studied supplements, this vitamin was not found, regardless of the claim on the product label. The content of cis/trans isomers in certain dietary supplements exceeded the content of all trans K2MK-7 by up to 3.7 times.

A new vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detector for gas chromatography was recently developed and applied to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis. VUV detection features full spectral acquisition in a wavelength range of 115-240nm, where virtually all chemical species absorb. VUV absorption spectra of 37 FAMEs, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated types were recorded. Unsaturated FAMEs show significantly different gas phase absorption profiles than saturated ones, and these classes can be easily distinguished with the VUV detector. Another advantage includes differentiating cis/trans-isomeric FAMEs (e.g. oleic acid methyl ester and linoleic acid methyl ester isomers) and the ability to use VUV data analysis software for deconvolution of co-eluting signals. As a universal detector, VUV also provides high specificity, sensitivity, and a fast data acquisition rate, making it a powerful tool for fatty acid screening when combined with gas chromatography. The fatty acid profile of several food oil samples (olive, canola, vegetable, corn, sunflower and peanut oils) were analyzed in this study to demonstrate applicability to real world samples.

The optimization of a porous structure to ensure good separation performances is always a significant issue in high-performance liquid chromatography column design. Recently we reported the homogeneous embedment of Ag nanoparticles in periodic mesoporous silica monolith and the application of such Ag nanoparticles embedded silica monolith for the high-performance liquid chromatography separation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons. However, the separation performance remains to be improved and the retention mechanism as compared with the Ag ion high-performance liquid chromatography technique still needs to be clarified. In this research, Ag nanoparticles were introduced into a macro/mesoporous silica monolith with optimized pore parameters for high-performance liquid chromatography separations. Baseline separation of benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, and pyrene was achieved with the theoretical plate number for analyte naphthalene as 36,000 m(-1). Its separation function was further extended to cis/trans isomers of aromatic compounds where cis/trans stilbenes were chosen as a benchmark. Good separation of cis/trans-stilbene with separation factor as 7 and theoretical plate number as 76,000 m(-1) for cis-stilbene was obtained. The trans isomer, however, is retained more strongly, which contradicts the long- established retention rule of Ag ion chromatography. Such behavior of Ag nanoparticles embedded in a silica column can be attributed to the differences in the molecular geometric configuration of cis/trans stilbenes.