高分辨质谱技术在中药分析中的研究进展

中药分析涉及中药物质基础研究、药物代谢、中药质量控制等多个领域,是中药现代化研究的基础。随着现代化分析技术的发展,中药分析研究取得了极大的进展。针对中药成分复杂、代谢过程多样、目标物浓度低等难点,高分辨质谱技术凭借精确质量数、高分辨率及高灵敏度的优点在中药分析中具有显著优势。该文对高分辨质谱技术在中药分析中的应用进行了综述,重点介绍了四极杆飞行时间质谱、静电场轨道阱质谱、傅里叶变换离子回旋共振质谱和离子淌度串联质谱等质谱技术的发展,以及高分辨质谱在中药化学成分鉴定、中药化合物代谢研究、中药植物代谢组学研究以及中药有害化学成分检测中的研究进展。同时,对高分辨质谱在中药分析中的应用进行了展望,以期促进中药现代化发展。     

离子淌度质谱技术及其应用研究进展

离子迁移谱是一种以气相离子在电场和气流共同作用下发生迁移时的淌度来表征化合物的技术。离子淌度质谱提供了新一维度的离子淌度分离和测量信息,除按照质荷比区分离子外,还可根据离子尺寸和形状进行分离。其与色谱技术联用,可获取包括保留时间、迁移时间、质荷比和响应强度在内的四维数据,在提高传统质谱数据准确性和特异性的同时,还可计算离子的碰撞横截面积,从而获得样品的结构信息。该文综述了近年来离子淌度质谱技术在公共安全、毒品检测、食品安全、环境监测、药物分析以及生物大分子等领域的研究进展,并对该技术的应用前景和发展趋势进行了展望,以期为相关领域的科技人员提供理论支持和技术参考。     

基于诊断离子策略的超高压液相色谱-线性离子阱-轨道离子阱质谱联用技术解析中药虎杖的化学成分

建立了基于超高压液相色谱-电喷雾-高分辨质谱联用技术(UHPLC-ESI-HRMS)的中药虎杖化学成分的快速定性分析方法.采用Waters UPLC C₁₈色谱柱,乙腈-甲酸水系统梯度洗脱,采用ESI-LTQ-Orbitrap高分辨杂交质谱技术负离子采集,线性离子阱质谱进行多级质谱碎裂,轨道离子阱高分辨检测,获取多维质谱数据.利用代表性成分的诊断离子进行搜寻,结合质谱偶电子规律、氮规律、不饱和度和同位素峰等信息,参阅文献,总结主要成分的裂解规律,对主要峰进行指认与鉴定.结果显示,整个分析过程在10 min内完成,该方法分离良好,灵敏度高.对虎杖根中的34种成分进行了结构分析,研究从中药虎杖中发现了多种酚酸取代二苯乙烯苷、酚酸取代蒽醌苷和蒽醌硫酸盐衍生物等成分.研究结果表明本方法为虎杖的后续化学成分研究、相关产品的质量控制和药效物质基础的研究提供了一种高效、可靠的检测手段.     

中药复方六神丸中多类成分的多维液质系统筛查和鉴定

中药复方中成分复杂,通常包含不同类别的多种化合物。因此,建立无靶标的筛查和鉴定中药复方的分析模式是十分必要的。本研究采用液相色谱/飞行时间质谱(HPLC/TOF-MS)和液相色谱/离子阱多级质谱(HPLC/IonTrapMSn)的多维液质联用系统筛查和鉴定中药复方六神丸中的多类化学成分。在优化的液质条件下,飞行时间质谱对六神丸质谱信息中的每个色谱峰进行了精确分子量测定,并匹配出可能的化学组成;再结合离子阱质谱提供的多级碎片结构信息对其进行结构解析,最后采用相应的标准品进行确证。本研究共鉴定出六神丸中分别来源于蟾酥、麝香和牛黄三味药材的25种化合物,为复杂体系的多类别成分分析提供了一种有效、可靠的新模式。     

诊断离子技术在中药质谱分析中的应用

诊断离子是指在质谱碰撞过程中产生的能够代表某一类成分特征裂解行为的碎片离子。以诊断离子为基础,通过手动或自动过滤的方式对复杂中药样品中化学成分的结构类型进行快速判断、辅助化学成分的鉴定,是目前广泛采用的数据后处理方法。相比于质量亏损过滤、中性丢失过滤和分子网络等数据处理技术,诊断离子技术可以鉴定含有未知取代基的成分,且可在一定程度上消除大量杂质和共流出成分产生的干扰,在中药非靶向鉴定中具有独特的优势。该文对近十年来诊断离子技术在黄酮类、生物碱类、苯丙素类、酚酸类、萜类、甾体类等中药不同类型化学成分质谱鉴定中的应用进行总结,并对其后续发展进行了讨论和展望。     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱法分析姜黄中微量的姜黄素类化合物

建立了同时检测中药姜黄中3种微量的姜黄素类化合物的高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱分析方法。姜黄根茎经乙醇超声提取后,无需其他处理可直接进样分析。以Microsorb C18色谱柱(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm)分离,乙腈和0.1%甲酸水梯度洗脱,在多反应监测模式(MRM)下对目标成分进行定性分析。利用质谱碎裂规律,分别对每个目标成分同时监测8个母离子/特征子离子对的反应过程,首次从姜黄中发现了3个微量的姜黄素类化合物成分。一次性完成了目标成分的同时定性,方法的检出限为0.2 μg/L。结果表明,该方法具有简便、快速、准确、灵敏度高的优点,适用于中药复杂体系中姜黄素类化合物的分析检测。     

基于UFLC－IT－TOF MS分析技术的妇科再造丸化学成分研究

大品种妇科再造丸由42味中药组成,对多种妇科疾病具有显著疗效。但其组方复杂,化学成分尚未被充分阐明,质量控制水平较低。该研究建立了一种采用超快速液相色谱－离子阱飞行时间质谱联用技术（UFLC－IT－TOF MS）快速鉴定妇科再造丸化学成分的方法,系统研究了其化学物质基础。采用COSMOSIL C18色谱柱（3.0 mm × 150 mm,2.6 μm）进行分离,以0.4%乙酸和乙腈为流动相梯度洗脱;采用电喷雾离子源（ESI）在正负离子模式下采集妇科再造丸MS1、MS2和MS3的碎片信息。通过推导质谱裂解规律,与对照品、文献数据和单味药材图谱比对等方式,共鉴定出155种化学成分,包括萜类成分47个,酚及酚酸类成分43个,黄酮类成分39个,生物碱类成分14个,苯酞类成分8个,其他类成分4个,其中133个成分首次在妇科再造丸中发现。该研究进一步阐明了妇科再造丸的化学成分组成,为其质量标准的提高及药效物质的阐明提供了丰富信息。     

二维液相色谱-质谱联用分离中药复方葛根芩连汤中的有效成分

建立了二维液相色谱-质谱联用方法分离中药复方葛根芩连汤的成分。以CN柱作第一维色谱柱,水和甲醇梯度洗脱分离;以ODS柱作第二维色谱柱,20 mmol/L乙酸铵缓冲液和乙腈梯度洗脱分离;质谱检测采用电喷雾电离/大气压化学电离（ESI/APCI）复合离子源,正负离子扫描。实验结果表明搭建的二维液相色谱的峰容量显著高于一维色谱,分离效率得到了明显的提高。以第一维色谱的第3个流分为例,对其二维分离进行仔细分析,发现质谱比紫外光谱检测到的组分多,质谱中采用负离子模式比正离子模式检测到的组分多。表明搭建的二维液相色谱-质谱分离平台分离效果好,提高了液相色谱的峰容量和分离效率。该方法操作简便,可作为中药等复杂体系分离分析的有效手段。     

芦丁的电喷雾离子阱质谱分析

研究了芦丁在电喷雾离子阱质谱(ESI-MS)下的主要特征碎片离子及其裂解规律。应用电喷雾离子阱质谱技术研究芦丁的结构和正、负离子扫描条件下芦丁的主要特征碎片离子及其裂解规律。芦丁在正、负离子模式下均可得到较好的质谱信息,在正离子模式下,容易与Na+形成[M+Na]+的准分子离子,并裂解形成碎片m/z 605,487,331,325,313,185等,在负离子模式下,形成[M-H]-的准分子离子,并进一步碎裂形成碎片m/z 301,283,257,255,229,227,211等。分别阐明了芦丁在正、负离子模式下的电喷雾质谱碎裂规律,并对主要特征碎片离子进行归属,为进一步芦丁的结构优化和修饰提供了有价值的依据。     

非手性-手性色谱-预测多反应监测法分析中药毛前胡的化学成分

中药毛前胡为伞形科植物短片藁本Ligusticum brachylobum Franch.的干燥根,主要用于治疗风热咳嗽痰多、痰热喘满、咯痰黄稠等证,富含香豆素类化学成分,含有多组对映异构体和非对映异构体。为了深入研究毛前胡的化学成分组成,特别是对映异构体的组成,研究建立了非手性-手性色谱-预测多反应监测法(achiral-chiral-LC predictive MRM),同步实现毛前胡化学成分的化学选择性和立体选择性分离,以及高灵敏度定性分析。非手性色谱和手性液相色谱-串联质谱系统结合了RP-C₁₈色谱柱的高效化学选择性分离能力以及手性色谱柱的立体选择性优势,有效避免了中心切割非手性-手性二维液相色谱构造复杂、重现性难以满足定量要求等缺陷。采用小内径核-壳型RP-C₁₈色谱柱作为前端化学分离柱,实现结构类似香豆素的高效化学选择性分离;采用反相大内径AD-RH手性色谱柱,实现对映异构体的手性拆分;采用预测多反应监测模式,实现化学成分的高灵敏度检出;利用增强子离子扫描模式(EPI)采集各色谱峰的二级质谱信息,鉴定化学结构。通过定量离子对、定性离子对及两者的比值,判定是否为对映异构体。利用所构建的非手性-手性色谱耦联系统从毛前胡中共鉴定出60个化学成分,其中8对香豆素对映异构体得到了良好分离。本研究为毛前胡以及含有对映异构体中药的深入定性、定量分析提供可靠的方法。     

Real-time reaction monitoring using ion mobility-mass spectrometry

The potential of ion mobility (IM) spectrometry in combination with mass spectrometry (MS) for real-time reaction monitoring is reported. The combined IM-MS approach using electrospray ionization affords gas-phase analyte characterization based on both mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio and gas-phase ion mobility (drift time). The use of IM-MS analysis is demonstrated for the monitoring of the reaction products formed when 7-fluoro-6-hydroxy-2-methylindole is deprotonated by aqueous sodium hydroxide. Real-time reaction monitoring was carried out over a period of several hours, with the reaction mixture sampled and analysed at intervals of several minutes. Product ion relative intensity is enhanced selectively in the ion mobility-selected mass spectrum, compared to mass spectrometry alone. The combined IM-MS approach has potential as a rapid and selective technique to aid pharmaceutical process control and for the elucidation of reaction mechanism.     

Rapid detection and identification of impurities in ten 2-naphthalenamines using an atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe in conjunction with ion mobility mass spectrometry

The atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe (ASAP), in conjunction with ion mobility time-of-flight mass spectrometry (IM-ToF-MS), has been applied to the impurity profiling study of ten 2-naphthalenamines. The impurity profiles achieved by ASAP-IM-MS were compared with those obtained by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS). All the impurities at the level of 0.1 area % and above, except for one, detected by LC-ESI-MS, were also found by ASAP-IMS analyses. In addition, one non-polar compound was detected by ASAP-IM-MS alone. The IM-MS plot of ion drift time versus m/z values offered sufficient separation between the impurities with different m/z. Therefore, instead of LC as a separation tool, IM-MS is able to provide fingerprint profiling for the ten samples analysed. The time of each analysis has been reduced from 25 min by LC-MS to less than 3 min by ASAP-IM-MS. When collision energy was applied for the selected precursor ion in the transfer T-wave, a clean MS/MS spectrum was obtained for structural elucidation of unknown impurities. The hyphenation of ASAP and IM-MS techniques represents a highly efficient approach for rapid detection and identification of impurities generated in complex reactions involved in pharmaceutical development.     

Profiling and imaging of tissues by imaging ion mobility-mass spectrometry

Molecular profiling and imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) of tissues can often result in complex spectra that are difficult to interpret without additional information about specific signals. This report describes increasing data dimensionality in IMS by combining two-dimensional separations at each spatial location on the basis of imaging ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS). Analyte ions are separated on the basis of both ion-neutral collision cross section and m/z, which provides rapid separation of isobaric, but structurally distinct ions. The advantages of imaging using ion mobility prior to MS analysis are demonstrated for profiling of human glioma and selective lipid imaging from rat brain.     

Evidence for structural variants of a- and b-type peptide fragment ions using combined ion mobility/mass spectrometry

Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) of peptides plays a key role in the field of proteomics, and an understanding of the fragmentation mechanisms involved is vital for data interpretation. Not all the fragment ions observed by low-energy collision-induced dissociation of protonated peptides are readily explained by the generally accepted structures for a- and b-ions. The possibility of a macrocyclic structure for b-type ions has been recently proposed. In this study, we have undertaken investigations of linear protonated YAGFL-NH(2), N-acetylated-YAGFL-NH(2), and cyclo-(YAGFL) peptides and their fragments using a combination of ion mobility (IM) separation and mass spectrometry. The use of IM in this work both gives insight into relative structural forms of the ion species and crucial separation of isobaric species. Our study provides compelling evidence for the formation of a stable macrocyclic structure for the b(5) ion generated by fragmentation of protonated linear YAGFL-NH(2). Additionally we demonstrate that the a(4) ion fragment of protonated YAGFL-NH(2) has at least two structures; one of which is attributable to a macrocyclic structure on the basis of its subsequent fragmentation. More generally, this work emphasizes the value of combined IM-MS/MS in probing the detailed fragmentation mechanisms of peptide ions, and illustrates the use of combined ion mobility/collisional activation/mass spectrometry analysis in achieving an effective enhancement of the resolution of the mobility separator.     

Determination of testosterone and epitestosterone glucuronides in urine by ultra performance liquid chromatography-ion mobility-mass spectrometry

UPLC-ion mobility spectrometry separations combined with mass spectrometry (UPLC-IM-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-IM-MS/MS) have been investigated for the simultaneous determination of testosterone and epitestosterone glucuronides in urine. The glucuronide epimers of testosterone and epitestosterone were separated by ion mobility spectrometry prior to mass analysis on the basis of differences in their collision cross sections, which have been measured in nitrogen. Combining ion mobility separation with UPLC/MS enhances the analysis of these low-abundance steroids in urine by selective interrogation of specific retention time, mass-to-charge and mobility regions. Detection limits for the UPLC-IM-MS/MS analysis of TG and ETG were 9.9 ng mL(-1) and 98 ng mL(-1) respectively, equivalent to 0.7 ng mL(-1) and 7.4 ng mL(-1) in urine, with linear dynamic ranges corresponding to 0.7-108 ng mL(-1) and 7.4-147 ng mL(-1) in urine. Repeatability (%RSD) for urine extracts was 0.64% and 2.31% for TG and ETG respectively.     

CCSfind: A tool for chemically informed LC-IM-MS database building

In addition to providing critical knowledge of the accurate mass of ions, ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) delivers complementary data relating to the conformation and size of ions in the form of an ion mobility spectrum and derived parameters, namely, the ion's mobility (K) and the IM-derived collision cross section (CCS). However, the maximum amount of information obtained in IM-MS measurements is not currently transferred into analytical databases including the full mobility spectra (CCS distributions) as well as capturing of additional ion species (e.g., adducts) into the same compound entry. We introduce CCSfind, a new tool for building comprehensive databases from experimental IM-MS measurements of small molecules. CCSfind allows predicted ion species to be chosen for input chemical formulae, which are then targeted by CCSfind after parsing open source mzML input files to provide a unified set of results within a single data processing step. CCSfind can handle both chromatographically separated isomers and IM separation of isomeric ions (e.g., “protomers” or conformers of the same ion species) with simple user control over the output for new database entries in SQL format. Files of up to 1 GB can be processed in less than 2 min on a desktop computer with 32 GB RAM with computational time scaling linearly with the size of the input mzML file or the number of input molecular formulae. Results are manually reviewed, annotated with experimental settings, before committing the database where the full dataset can be retrieved.     

Structural resolution of carbohydrate positional and structural isomers based on gas-phase ion mobility-mass spectrometry

This report describes the rapid characterization of positional and structural carbohydrate isomers based on structural separations provided by ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS). Many of the diseases associated with glycoprotein variation can be more effectively treated with earlier detection substantiating the need for high-throughput methodologies for glycan characterization. This remains particularly difficult due to heterogeneity, branching, and large size of carbohydrate moieties which creates the potential for numerous isobaric positional and structural isomers that are difficult to characterize using conventional MS methods. IM-MS provides rapid (μs to ms) structural separations by IM and subsequent identification by MS which presents a means for characterization of positional and structural carbohydrate isomers. To chart the structural variation observed in IM-MS, the ion-neutral collision cross sections for over 300 carbohydrates are reported. This diversity can also be varied through the utility of using different alkali metals to tune separation selectivity via alkali metal-carbohydrate coordination. Furthermore, the advantages of combining either pre- and/or post-IM fragmentation prior to MS analysis is demonstrated for enhanced confidence in carbohydrate identification.     

在线二维液相色谱技术在中药研究中的应用进展

中药的组成复杂,其化学成分的表征和识别一直是中药研究的基础和关键。在线二维液相色谱是基于两种分离模式构建的色谱分析技术,主要包括中心切割二维液相色谱和全二维液相色谱两种模式,因二者具有更高的峰容量而在中药研究中备受青睐。该文对在线二维液相色谱技术的概念和特点进行了讨论,并对二维液相色谱在中药研究中的应用进行了综述,以期为该技术在中药质量控制、物质基础表征、活性成分筛选等研究方面提供一定参考。     

The novel use of gas chromatography-ion mobility-time of flight mass spectrometry with secondary electrospray ionization for complex mixture analysis

Increasing the dimensionality of an analysis enables more detailed and comprehensive investigations of complex mixtures. One dimensional separation techniques like gas chromatography (GC) and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) provide limited chemical information about complex mixtures. The combination of GC, ion mobility spectrometry, and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-IM-TOFMS) provides three-dimensional separation of complex mixtures. In this work, a hybrid GC-IM-TOFMS with a secondary electrospray ionization (SESI) source provided four types of analytical information: GC retention time, ion mobility drift time, mass-to-charge ratios, and ion intensity. The use of secondary electrospray ionization enables efficient and soft ionization of gaseous sample vapors at atmospheric pressure. Several complex mixtures, including lavender and peppermint essential oils, were analyzed by GC-SESI-IM-TOFMS. The resulting 3D data from these mixtures, each containing greater than 50 components, were plotted as 3D projections. In particular, post-processed data plotted in three dimensions showed that many mass selected GC peaks were resolved into different ion mobility peaks. This technique shows clear promise for further in-depth analyses of complex chemical and biological mixtures.     

Enhancements in travelling wave ion mobility resolution

The use of ion mobility separation to determine the collision cross-section of a gas-phase ion can provide valuable structural information. The introduction of travelling-wave ion mobility within a quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometer has afforded routine collision cross-section measurements to be performed on a range of ionic species differing in gas-phase size/structure and molecular weight at physiologically relevant concentrations. Herein we discuss the technical advances in the second-generation travelling-wave ion mobility separator, which result in up to a four-fold increase in mobility resolution. This improvement is demonstrated using two reverse peptides (mw 490 Da), small ruthenium-containing anticancer drugs (mw 427 Da), a cisplatin-modified protein (mw 8776 Da) and the noncovalent tetradecameric chaperone complex GroEL (mw 802 kDa). What is also shown are that the collision cross-sections determined using the second-generation mobility separator correlate well with the previous generation and theoretically derived values.