No abstract

Cell membrane ligand-affinity assay is a useful tool for screening the active compounds from natural products. However, in traditional cell membrane ligand-affinity assays, natural products need to be refluxed, before being analyzed. This process consumes considerable time and energy and cannot be used for screening natural products that contain thermally unstable compounds. Therefore, an efficient analytical method is required. In this study, chitosan-based matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction was combined with cell membrane magnetic bead ligand-affinity assay to form a novel method for identifying the active compounds in Fructus Cnidii such as osthole and imperatorin. When compared with traditional cell membrane ligand-affinity assays, this assay requires less energy, extraction time (7 min), solvent volume (1.2 mL), and fewer natural products (40 mg). This indicates that the chitosan-based matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction assisted cell membrane magnetic beads ligand-affinity assay is an alternative analytical method for studying natural products.