Publication details
Sub-picomole high-performance liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric determination of glutathione in the maize (Zea mays L.) kernels exposed to cadmium.
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2004 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Analytica Chimica Acta |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Macromolecular chemistry |
| Keywords | glutathione; HPLC/MS; voltammetry; Zea mays L. |
| Description | Changes in fresh weight, overall protein amounts (Bradford method), cadmium concentration (DPASV) and glutathione content (HPLC/MS) were studied in maize kernels cultivated for five days at three different cadmium concentrations (0, 10 and 100 uM CdCl2). A highly sensitive HPLC/MS for determination of glutathione on a reversed-phase Atlantis dC18 chromatographic column (150 mm 2.1 mm, 3 um particle size) in an isocratic mode with acetonitrile - 0.01% TFA (5:95, flow rate 0.1 mL/min) was applied. Cadmium concentration was measured by differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPASV) after deposition on HMDE at potential --0.7 V (accumulation time 180 s, acetate buffer of pH 3.6) using an AUTOLAB with a VA-Stand 663 and a three-electrode system consisting of a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) as a working electrode with area 0.4 mm2, an Ag/AgCl/3 M KCl as a reference electrode and a Pt-wire as an auxiliary electrode. Maize kernels exposed to the highest cadmium concentration (100 uM) germinated formerly and much better. Rapid increase of fresh weight probably relates with more intensive uptake of water in order to decrease cadmium concentration. An intensive preservation of homeostasis of Cd ions in germinating plants by defending mechanisms might explain differences of uptake rate of cadmium. The linear increase of GSH content with exposure time at all studied concentration suggests the defending mechanisms might be triggered by concentrations of a heavy metal. |