Average mass approach to stable isotope dilution mass spectrometry

The application of the fundamental equation for isotopic dilution mass spectrometry to real samples often requires using approximations which can lead to significant errors. A new approach relating the composition of isotopic mixtures to the average mass of the mass spectral pattern is presented. The fundamental equations are completely general; they should be applicable to a wide range of problems and may provide improved accuracy and precision in some cases.     

Quantification of intracellular homocysteine by stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A precise and accurate stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of intracellular homocysteine has been developed. An internal standard, [(2)H(8)]-homocystine, was added to cell pellets from EA.hy 926 cells grown in culture under low and high folate concentrations. D,L-dithiothreitol was used to reduce cellular homocystine to homocysteine. Cellular proteins were precipitated by the addition of formic acid in acetonitrile. After centrifugation, a portion of the supernatant was analyzed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Using a Supelcosil cyano column with an Applied Biosystems API 4000 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, the SRM transitions for homocysteine (m/z 136 to m/z 90) and [(2)H(4)]-homocysteine (m/z 140 to m/z 94) were monitored. The method was validated by conducting five replicate analyses on three different days at four different concentrations (concentrations at the lower limit of quantitation and expected lower quartile, mid-range and upper quartile). The limit of detection was 2 ng/10(6) EA.hy 926 cells. Using this method, the intracellular homocysteine concentration in EA.hy 926 cells ranged from 10 to 36 ng/10(6) cells.     

Determination of dithiocarbamate fungicide residues by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and stable isotope dilution assay

A rapid and very sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) method for the simultaneous determination of dithiocarbamate (DTC) fungicide residues in fruits and vegetables was developed. The surface extraction of samples used an alkaline buffer consisting of sodium hydrogen carbonate and DL-penicillamine. The three DTC subclasses, i.e. dimethyldithiocarbamates (DMDs), ethylenebis(dithiocarbamates) (EBDs), and propylenebis(dithiocarbamates) (PBDs), were separated on a Sequant ZIC-pHILIC column using an acetonitrile/10 mM ammonia gradient. Because of the instability of DTC residues extracted from plant samples, a stable isotope dilution assay was applied. For each DTC subclass, the limits of detection and quantification were approximately 0.03 mg kg(-1) and 0.05 mg kg(-1), respectively. Recoveries from grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and rucola, spiked in the range of 0.01-0.9 mg kg(-1), averaged between 90 and 100%.     

Pantothenic acid quantification by a stable isotope dilution assay based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A stable isotope dilution assay for the quantification of free and total pantothenic acid has been developed by using [13C3,15N]-pantothenic acid as the internal standard. The three-dimensional specificity of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry enabled unequivocal determination of the vitamin. Due to the very simple extraction and clean-up procedure, free pantothenic acid could be analysed within 2 h, which is much faster than by microbiological or gas chromatographic assays. For quantification of total pantothenic acid, the vitamin was liberated from its conjugates by an overnight incubation with pigeon liver pantetheinase and alkaline phosphatase. In analyses of corn flour, the intra-assay coefficient of variation was 8.5% (n = 5) and 15.3% (n = 4) for free and total pantothenic acid, respectively. When pantothenic acid was added to corn starch at a level of 6 mg kg(-1), a recovery of 97.5% was found. Application of the stable isotope dilution assay to whole egg powder, hazel nuts and corn revealed similar data compared to those listed in nutrition data bases, whereas the content in mushrooms and porcine liver determined by the newly developed assay appeared to be lower and that of cocoa higher than reported in the literature.     

Calibration graphs in isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Isotope-based quantitation is routinely employed in chemical measurements. Whereas most analysts seek for methods with linear theoretical response functions, a unique feature that distinguishes isotope dilution from many other analytical methods is the inherent possibility for a nonlinear theoretical response curve. Most implementations of isotope dilution calibration today either eliminate the nonlinearity by employing internal standards with markedly different molecular weight or they employ empirical polynomial fits. Here we show that the exact curvature of any isotope dilution curve can be obtained from three-parameter rational function, y = f(q) = (a₀ + a₁q)/(1 + a₂q), known as the Padé[1,1] approximant. The use of this function allows eliminating an unnecessary source of error in isotope dilution analysis when faced with nonlinear calibration curves. In addition, fitting with Padé model can be done using linear least squares.     

Simultaneous determination of stable isotopically labelled L-histidine and urocanic acid in human plasma by stable isotope dilution mass spectrometry.

A capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for the simultaneous determination of stable isotopically labelled L-histidine (L-[3,3-2H2,1',3'-15N2]histidine, L-His-[M + 4]) and urocanic acid ([3-2H,1',3'-15N2]urocanic acid, UA-[M + 3]) in human plasma was developed using DL-[2,3,3,5'-2H4,2'-13C,1',3'-15N2]histidine (DL-His-[M + 7]) and [2,3,5'-2H3,2'-13C,1',3'-15N2]urocanic acid (UA-[M + 6]) as internal standards. L-Histidine and urocanic acid were derivatized to alpha N-(trifluoroacetyl)-imN-(ethoxycarbonyl)-L-histidine n-butyl ester and imN-(ethoxycarbonyl)urocanic acid n-butyl ester. Quantification was carried out by selected ion monitoring of the molecular ions of the respective derivatives of L-His-[M + 4], DL-His-[M + 7], UA-[M + 3] and UA-[M + 6]. The sensitivity, specificity, precision and accuracy of the method were demonstrated to be satisfactory for measuring plasma concentrations of L-His-[M + 4] and UA-[M + 3] following administration of trace amounts of L-His-[M + 4] to humans.     

Determination of fission product ruthenium by isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Isotope dilution mass spectrometry using enriched isotope⁹⁶Ru as a spike was applied to the determination of ruthenium as a fission product. Ruthenium in the solution was oxidized to RuO₄ by Ce/IV/ and separated from coexisting metal elements by distillation. Silica-gel technique was employed to enhance ion current of ruthenium in the mass spectrometric measurement. The lower detection limit was 0.005 g ml^–1 and the relative standard deviations /n=3/ for 1.2 and 0.05 g ml^–1 of ruthenium were 0.2 and 0.5%, respectively.     

稳定同位素稀释离子色谱-三重四极杆质谱法测定血浆和尿液中的氟乙酸

建立了离子色谱-三重四极杆质谱测定血浆和尿液样品中氟乙酸（MFA）的方法。血浆样品经高氯酸超声提取,尿液样品经高氯酸酸化,血浆和尿液提取液在pH 0.5~1.0条件下用叔丁基甲醚（MTBE）萃取,萃取液经氮吹浓缩后溶于0.1%（v/v）氨水溶液。以Ionpac AS 19型阴离子色谱柱为分析柱,在线自动产生的氢氧化钾作为淋洗液进行梯度分离,柱流出液经阴离子抑制器抑制后进入质谱系统。采用电喷雾电离源,在负离子、多离子监测（MRM）模式下检测,¹³C₂-氟乙酸稳定同位素内标法定量。血浆和尿液样品中氟乙酸的平均加标回收率为96.2%~120%,相对标准偏差为1.1%~13.1%（n=6）,方法的检出限（S/N=3）分别为0.03 μg/L和0.1 μg/L。该法简单、灵敏、准确,可用于生物样品中氟乙酸的检测。     

Quantification of N-acetyl- and N-glycolylneuraminic acids by a stable isotope dilution assay using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The present report describes a method for the quantification of N-acetyl- and N-glycolylneuraminic acids without any derivatization, using their (13)C(3)-isotopologues as internal standards and a C(18) reversed-phase column modified by decylboronic acid which allows for the first time a complete chromatographic separation between the two analytes. The method is based on high-performance liquid chromatographic coupled with electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometry. The limit of quantification of the method is 0.1mg/L (2.0ng on column) for both analytes. The calibration curves are linear for both sialic acids over the range of 0.1-80mg/L (2.0-1600ng on column) with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.997. The proposed method was applied to the quantitative determination of sialic acids released from fetuin as a model of glycoproteins.     

Direct quantitative determination of cyanamide by stable isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Cyanamide is a multifunctional agrochemical used, for example, as a pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer. Recent research has revealed that cyanamide is a natural product biosynthesized in a leguminous plant, hairy vetch (Vicia villosa). In the present study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) equipped with a capillary column for amines was used for direct quantitative determination of cyanamide. Quantitative signals for ((14)N(2))cyanamide, ((15)N(2))cyanamide (internal standard for stable isotope dilution method), and m-(trifluoromethyl)benzonitrile (internal standard for correcting errors in GC-MS analysis) were recorded as peak areas on mass chromatograms at m/z 42 (A(42)), 44 (A(44)), and 171 (A(IS)), respectively. Total cyanamide content, ((14)N(2))cyanamide plus ((15)N(2))cyanamide, was determined as a function of (A(42)+A(44))/A(IS). Contents of ((14)N(2))cyanamide and ((15)N(2))cyanamide were then calculated by multiplying the total cyanamide content by A(42)/(A(42)+A(44)) and A(44)/(A(42)+A(44)), respectively. The limit of detection for the total cyanamide content by the GC-MS analysis was around 1ng. The molar ratio of ((14)N(2))cyanamide to ((15)N(2))cyanamide in the injected sample was equal to the observed A(42)/A(44) value in the range from 0.1 to 5. It was, therefore, possible to use the stable isotope dilution method to quantify the natural cyanamide content in samples; i.e., the natural cyanamide content was derived by subtracting the A(42)/A(44) ratio of the internal standard from the A(42)/A(44) ratio of sample spiked with internal standard, and then multiplying the resulting difference by the amount of added ((15)N(2))cyanamide (SID-GC-MS method). This method successfully gave a reasonable value for the natural cyanamide content in hairy vetch, concurring with the value obtained by a conventional method in which cyanamide was derivatized to a photometrically active compound 4-cyanimido-1,2-naphthoquinone and analyzed with reversed-phase HPLC (CNQ-HPLC method). The determination range of cyanamide in the SID-GC-MS method was almost the same as that in the CNQ-HPLC method; however, the SID-GC-MS method was much simpler than the CNQ-HPLC method.     

Quantification of ochratoxin A in foods by a stable isotope dilution assay using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) was developed for quantification of the mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) by using [2H5]-OTA as internal standard. The synthesis of labelled OTA was accomplished by acid hydrolysis of unlabelled OTA and subsequent coupling one of the products, ochratoxin alpha, to [2H5]-L-phenylalanine. The mycotoxin was quantified in foods by LC-tandem MS after extraction with buffers containing [2H5]-OTA and clean-up by immuno affinity chromatography or by solid phase extraction on silica. The method showed a sufficient sensitivity with a low detection and quantification limit of 0.5 and 1.4 microg/kg, respectively, and good precision in inter-assay studies showing a CV (n = 3) of 3.6%. The analysis of certified reference materials resulted in a low bias of 2.1% from the certified values and revealed excellent accuracy of the new method. To prove the suitability of SIDA. OTA was quantified in a number of food samples and resulted mainly in not detectable OTA contents. However, three samples of raisins exceeded the legal limit of 10 microg/kg and highlighted the need for further controlling the contamination with the mycotoxin.     

稳定同位素稀释超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定饲料中氟虫腈及其代谢物

建立了超高效液相色谱-串联质谱测定饲料中氟虫腈及其代谢物氟甲腈、氟虫腈硫醚和氟虫腈砜的方法。样品经纯水和乙腈超声提取后加入氯化钠盐析,采用QuEChERS技术净化,以Waters HSS T3 C₁₈色谱柱分离,甲醇和纯水为流动相进行梯度洗脱,在多反应监测、负离子模式下进行检测,内标法定量。氟虫腈及其代谢物在各自的范围内呈良好的线性关系,相关系数均大于0.9998;氟虫腈及其代谢物的检出限和定量限分别为0.05 μg/kg和0.2 μg/kg,加标回收率为92.3%~105.4%,相对标准偏差为0.9%~2.3%（n=5）。该法样品前处理过程简单,净化效果好,灵敏度高,适用于各种饲料中氟虫腈及其代谢物含量的测定。     

Determination of epoxidized soybean oil by gas chromatography/single quadrupole and tandem mass spectrometry stable isotope dilution assay

PVC lids of glass jars often contain epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO), able to migrate and contaminate food. To establish a stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA), the 13C18-labelled internal standard ethyl 9,10,12,13-diepoxyoctadecanoate (13C(18:2E)Et) was synthesized, providing after sample preparation the same retention time as methyl 9,10,12,13-diepoxyoctadecanoate ((18:2E)Me), commonly used as a marker for ESBO in gas chromatographic (GC) analysis. For eleven different food matrices, the GC capillary columns VF-17ms, DB1701 and DB1 were tested with single quadrupole (GC/MS) as well as tandem mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS/MS). Overall, the VF-17ms column coupled with MS/MS detection showed the best results in terms of separation and sensitivity. The method validation for the matrix spiked olive oil resulted in a limit of detection (LOD) of 5 mg kg-1, a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 11 mg kg-1, a mean recovery (n=5, c=106.5 mg kg-1) of 99.7+/-5.5%, with a repeatability (within-run precision) of 6.0%. By means of GC/MS an LOQ of 21 mg kg-1 and a mean recovery (n=5, c=106.5 mg kg-1) of 103.3+/-0.8% with a repeatability of 0.9% were determined.     

Determination of lead in fresh and canned pineapple by isotope dilution mass spectrometry and isotope systematics

Pineapple stored in welded and soldered can was analysed for lead to assess the extent to which it is contaminated during processing and storage. To avoid contamination during analysis the samples were prepared in clean laboratory using ultra-clean procedures. The lead concentration was determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry and the sources of lead were identified by their isotopic signature and quantified by isotope systematics. The results showed that the lead concentration in pineapple stored in the soldered cans (ca. 150 ng g^?1) was about 2.5 times that found in the welded cans and 60–80% of this lead was traced to the soldered joint using isotope systematics. The edible portion of a fresh pineapple contained < 0.85 ng g^?1 lead, showing that even pineapple in welded cans may be contaminated 80 times more than the natural level.     

氨基酸-稳定同位素稀释质谱法用于合成肽段准确含量分析

建立了氨基酸同位素稀释液相色谱-串联质谱法准确测定合成肽段绝对含量的方法。实验中对合成肽段的纯度进行了表征,色谱纯度表征结果为99%以上,质谱纯度为90%以上。在肽段溶液中加入13C标记的氨基酸后进行酸溶液水解时间的优化,水解后的氨基酸直接经液相色谱分离和质谱检测,结果表明肽段中的被测氨基酸在150 ℃、6 mol/L HCl溶液水解4～6 h就可以达到水解平衡。每个肽段选择两个或两个以上的被测氨基酸,测得随机选择的5种合成肽段的绝对含量为62.07%～88.18%,测定结果的相对标准偏差小于8%,相对误差小于5%,均满足定量要求。除常用的被测氨基酸苯丙氨酸、缬氨酸、异亮氨酸外,还考察了选择赖氨酸和精氨酸作为被测氨基酸的可行性,实验结果表明增加精氨酸为被测氨基酸是可行的,从而进一步增加了方法的普适性。该方法的建立避免了色谱法定量时氨基酸衍生化处理带来的副反应影响及操作繁琐等问题,提高了肽段含量测定的准确度和精密度,为肽段含量的准确测定提供了一种新的方法。     

Measurement of oleic acid in human plasma by isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Summary A method for the quantitative determination of oleic acid in human plasma by isotope-dilution mass spectrometric technique is described. For the measurement of the fatty acid concentration (1-¹³C) oleic acid is added to the plasma sample. The fatty acids are extracted with n-hexane. Portions of the extract are esterified by the boron trifluoridemethanol method or stable isotope methylation. The methyl ester derivatives of the fatty acids are separated and detected by GC-MS with the mass spectrometer set to m/z 296 and 297. For the measurement of oleic acid after stable isotope methylation the m/z 299 and m/z 300 are monitored. The amounts of oleic acid in the plasma are calculated from the isotope ratios measured by selected ion monitoring. The recovery of the methylation step and the precision and accuracy of the GC-MS method are presented and discussed.     

Determination of cellular redox status by stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of glutathione and glutathione disulfide

Oxidation of glutathione (GSH) to glutathione disulfide (GSSG) occurs during cellular oxidative stress. The redox potential of the 2GSH/GSSG couple, which is determined by the Nernst equation, provides a means to assess cellular redox status. It is difficult to accurately quantify GSH and GSSG due to the ease with which GSH is oxidized to GSSG during sample preparation. To overcome this problem, a stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (LC/MRM-MS) method has been developed using 4-fluoro-7-sulfamoylbenzofurazan (ABD-F) derivatization. ABD-F derivatization of the GSH thiol group was rapid, quantitative, and occurred at room temperature. The LC/MRM-MS method, which requires no sample clean-up, was validated within the calibration ranges of 5 to 400 nmol/mL in cell lysates for GSH and 0.5 to 40 nmol/mL in cell lysates for GSSG. Calibration curves prepared by adding known concentrations of GSH and GSSG to cell lysates were parallel to the standard curve prepared in buffers. GSH and GSSG concentrations were determined in two monocyte/macrophage RAW 267.4 cell lines with or without 15-LOX-1 expression (R15LO and RMock cells, respectively) after treatment with the bifunctional electrophile 4-oxo-2(E)-nonenal (ONE). R15LO cells synthesized much higher concentrations of the lipid hydroperoxide, 15(S)-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HPETE), which undergoes homolytic decomposition to ONE. GSH was depleted by ONE treatment in both RMock and R15LO cells, leading to significant increases in their redox potentials. However, R15LO cells had higher GSH concentrations (most likely through increased GSH biosynthesis) and had increased resistance to ONE-mediated GSH depletion than RMock cells. Consequently, R15LO cells had lower reduction potentials at all concentrations of ONE. GSSG concentrations were higher in R15LO cells after ONE treatment when compared with the ONE-treated RMock cells. This suggests that increased expression of 15(S)-HPETE modulates the activity of cellular GSH reductases or the transporters involved in removal of GSSG.