A rapid and simple method was optimized and validated for the separation and quantification of paraquat, a frequently used herbicide and a leading cause of fatal poisoning worldwide, at trace levels with UV-Vis spectrophotometry in plasma and urine samples by direct magnetic solid-phase extraction. Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were used as the magnetic solid-phase extraction agents and the paraquat absorbed on NPs was eluted using NaOH and ascorbic acid. Upon optimization, paraquat could be extracted and concentrated from various samples by 35-fold. The linear range, limit of detection (LOD), correlation coefficient (R), and relative standard deviation (RSD) could reach 15.0–400.0 μg/L, 12.2 μg/L, 0.9987, and 0.65% (n = 5, c = 40.0 μg/L), respectively. The Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs could be reused up to five times. The method was successfully applied to the determination of paraquat in urine and plasma at different hemoperfusion numbers in a local hospital for the patient of paraquat poisoning. The experiment result could not only enable immediate medical intervention but also benefit patients' survival.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a family of seven-transmembrane receptors, are among the most important drug targets with over half of all marketed drugs targeting the family. However, only a handful of easily druggable GPCRs are successfully targeted by pharmaceuticals. Efforts to shift this intensive focus to other, more recalcitrant GPCR targets will increasingly draw on new information such as structural details, which have until recently proven tremendously challenging to gather for this class of protein receptors due to the difficulties in obtaining diffraction-quality crystals. Recently, the development and application of lipidic cubic phase (LCP) technology has reduced one major hurdle for crystallization of GPCRs, with 22 unique receptors being structurally characterized from LCP grown crystals over the span of seven years. This review focuses on the technological improvements for LCP that have led to its successful utilization on the GPCR family, including the most recent combination of LCP with the X-ray free-electron laser that dramatically reduces requirements on crystal size, and holds significant promise for shortening timelines for structure determination and for accessing previously unattainable structures such as those of signaling complexes.
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