气相色谱-四极杆飞行时间质谱准确鉴定常见水果蔬菜中的农药残留

建立了一种新型农药多残留检测方法。采用气相色谱-四极杆飞行时间质谱（GC-QTOF MS）结合Carbon NH₂柱固相萃取净化可对不同类别的152种农药残留进行准确的鉴定。一级（MS¹）精确质量数据库评价3~5个特征离子,以3个及以上特征离子检出且离子丰度比（Q/q_i）合适作为一级质谱定性依据。对部分特征离子数不足及特征离子检出情况不符合条件的农药进行二级（MS²）确证,应用二级谱图库检索及镜像结果对比分析实现疑似农药确证。本文对梨、甘蓝、番茄3种代表性果蔬在5.0和10.0 μg/kg 2个添加水平的152种农药进行测定,回收率在70%~120%范围的比例分别为甘蓝91.45 %、94.08%,番茄88.20%、88.80%,梨86.84%、92.10%。本方法为常见果蔬中农药残留的准确判断提供了可靠依据,扩大了分析范围。     

Rapid simultaneous screening and identification of multiple pesticide residues in vegetables

A method for the rapid simultaneous screening and identification of multiple pesticide residues in vegetables was established using a novel database and gas chromatography in combination with hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC–QTOF MS). A total of 187 pesticides with different chemical species were measured by GC–QTOF MS to create the database, which collected the retention time and exact masses of ions from the first-stage mass spectrum (MS¹ spectrum) and second-stage mass spectrum (MS² spectrum) for each pesticide. The workflow of the created database consisted of “MS¹ screening” for possible pesticides by chemical formula match and “MS² identification” for structural confirmation of product ion by accurate mass measurement. To evaluate the applicability of the database, a spinach matrix was prepared by solid phase extraction, spiked with a mixture of 50 pesticides at seven concentrations between 0.1 and 10 ppb, and analyzed by GC–QTOF MS. It was found that all of the 50 pesticides with concentrations as low as 5 ppb were detected in the “MS¹ screening” step and accurate masses were identified with errors less than 2.5 mDa in the “MS² identification” step, indicating high sensitivity, accuracy, selectivity and specificity. Finally, to validate the applicability, the new method was applied to four fresh celery, rape, scallion and spinach vegetables from a local market. As a result, a total of 13 pesticides were found, with 11 in celery, 9 in rape, 3 in scallion and 2 in spinach. In conclusion, GC–QTOF MS combined with an exact mass database is one of the most efficient tools for the analysis of pesticide residues in vegetables.     

气相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱和气相色谱-串联质谱对水果、蔬菜中208种农药残留筛查确证能力的对比

对比研究了气相色谱-串联质谱(GC-MS/MS)与气相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱(GC-QTOF/MS)在水果、蔬菜中208种农药多残留检测中基质效应及方法学效能的差异,提出两种仪器在农药残留检测方面的特点和适用范围,为残留检测分析提供参考。在苹果、柑橘、番茄、黄瓜4种基质,3个添加浓度(5.0、10.0和20.0 μg/kg)下,两种仪器中均有93.0%以上的农药回收率在70%~120%范围内且相对标准偏差(RSD)≤20%(n=5)。检测灵敏度方面,绝大部分农药在两种仪器的检出限均低于5.0 μg/kg,满足各国农药残留限量的要求,且GC-MS/MS灵敏度更高,线性范围更宽,定量能力更加准确。筛查确证方面,GC-QTOF/MS在快速、高通量筛查、准确定性及非目标化合物鉴定等方面表现出了优势。     

Matching unknown empirical formulas to chemical structure using LC/MS TOF accurate mass and database searching: example of unknown pesticides on tomato skins

Traditionally, the screening of unknown pesticides in food has been accomplished by GC/MS methods using conventional library searching routines. However, many of the new polar and thermally labile pesticides and their degradates are more readily and easily analyzed by LC/MS methods and no searchable libraries currently exist (with the exception of some user libraries, which are limited). Therefore, there is a need for LC/MS approaches to detect unknown non-target pesticides in food. This report develops an identification scheme using a combination of LC/MS time-of-flight (accurate mass) and LC/MS ion trap MS (MS/MS) with searching of empirical formulas generated through accurate mass and a ChemIndex database or Merck Index database. The approach is different than conventional library searching of fragment ions. The concept here consists of four parts. First is the initial detection of a possible unknown pesticide in actual market-place vegetable extracts (tomato skins) using accurate mass and generating empirical formulas. Second is searching either the Merck Index database on CD (10,000 compounds) or the ChemIndex (77,000 compounds) for possible structures. Third is MS/MS of the unknown pesticide in the tomato-skin extract followed by fragment ion identification using chemical drawing software and comparison with accurate-mass ion fragments. Fourth is the verification with authentic standards, if available. Three examples of unknown, non-target pesticides are shown using a tomato-skin extract from an actual market place sample. Limitations of the approach are discussed including the use of A + 2 isotope signatures, extended databases, lack of authentic standards, and natural product unknowns in food extracts.     

MassBank: a public repository for sharing mass spectral data for life sciences

MassBank is the first public repository of mass spectra of small chemical compounds for life sciences (<3000 Da). The database contains 605 electron‐ionization mass spectrometry(EI‐MS), 137 fast atom bombardment MS and 9276 electrospray ionization (ESI)‐MSⁿ data of 2337 authentic compounds of metabolites, 11 545 EI‐MS and 834 other‐MS data of 10 286 volatile natural and synthetic compounds, and 3045 ESI‐MS² data of 679 synthetic drugs contributed by 16 research groups (January 2010). ESI‐MS² data were analyzed under nonstandardized, independent experimental conditions. MassBank is a distributed database. Each research group provides data from its own MassBank data servers distributed on the Internet. MassBank users can access either all of the MassBank data or a subset of the data by specifying one or more experimental conditions. In a spectral search to retrieve mass spectra similar to a query mass spectrum, the similarity score is calculated by a weighted cosine correlation in which weighting exponents on peak intensity and the mass‐to‐charge ratio are optimized to the ESI‐MS² data. MassBank also provides a merged spectrum for each compound prepared by merging the analyzed ESI‐MS² data on an identical compound under different collision‐induced dissociation conditions. Data merging has significantly improved the precision of the identification of a chemical compound by 21–23% at a similarity score of 0.6. Thus, MassBank is useful for the identification of chemical compounds and the publication of experimental data. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

QuEChERS-液相色谱-质谱法快速筛查和确证大米中205种农药残留

结合QuEChERS法与液相色谱-三重四极杆复合线性离子阱质谱(LC-Q-TRAP/MS)技术,建立了大米中205种农药残留的快速筛查确证方法。大米样品经乙腈提取,N-丙基乙二胺(PSA)、无水MgSO₄和C₁₈吸附剂净化后,采用多反应监测-信息关联采集-增强子离子(MRM-IDA-EPI)扫描方式及谱库检索技术,通过对化合物的保留时间、离子对以及高灵敏度的EPI谱库检索比对,完成了205种农药的筛查与确证,并采用外标法定量,实现了大米样品中205种农药的定性和定量分析。结果表明,所有农药的线性相关系数均大于0.995;方法的定量限在0.5~10.0 μg/kg之间。在10、50 μg/kg两个添加水平下,205种农药的平均回收率在62.4%~127.1%之间;相对标准偏差(RSD)在1.0%~20.0%之间。该方法能够对大米样品进行实际检测,且检测时间不超过20 min。该方法快速、准确、灵敏度高,适合于大米中农药残留的快速、全面筛查和确证分析。     

应用超高效液相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱建立茶叶中农药残留的筛查与确证方法

基于超高效液相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱(UPLC-QTOF-MS),使用UNIFI软件建立91种农药残留的筛查与确证方法,进行定性方法验证并应用于流通市场中茶叶的筛查检测。通过对收集的农药认证标准物质(CRM)分析,构建91种农药化合物的质谱数据库。样品经乙腈提取,固相萃取柱净化,Acquity BEH C18色谱柱分离,在MS^E模式下进行全信息采集(ESI+), UNIFI软件对数据进行匹配分析。设置保留时间最大偏差为±0.1 min,精确质量偏差阈值为±5×10^-6,可识别加合物形式包括[M+H]⁺、[M+Na]⁺、[M+K]⁺、[M+NH₄]⁺。参照SANTE/11813/2017指南进行定性方法学验证。在21份茶叶样品中添加混合标准溶液至4个水平(0.01、0.05、0.10、0.20 mg/kg),确定每种农药在茶叶样品中的筛查检出限(SDL),共评估了1911种农药/样品组合。发现有66种农药的SDL为0.01 mg/kg, 8种农药的SDL为0.05 mg/kg, 1种农药的SDL为0.10 mg/kg, 3种农药的SDL为0.20 mg/kg,共有13种农药的SDL大于0.20 mg/kg。一种农药在筛查检测中存在基质抑制效应。最后,应用建立的方法分析了流通市场中22份茶叶样品的农药残留情况,从6份茶叶样品中筛查检测出6种农药化合物,经人工鉴定均为阳性。该法为茶叶中农药残留的高通量筛查检测提供了参考。     

Gas‐phase copper and silver complexes with phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides investigated using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Efforts to improve agricultural productivity have led to a growing dependency on organophosphorus pesticides. Phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides are organophosphorus pesticide subclasses with widespread application for the control of insects feeding on vegetables and fruits. However, even low doses of these pesticides can cause neurological problems in humans; thus, their determination and monitoring in agricultural foodstuffs is important for human health. Phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides may be poorly ionized during electrospray, adversely affecting limits of detection. These pesticides can form complexes with Cu²⁺ and Ag⁺, however, potentially improving ionization. In the present work, we used electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) to study fenitrothion, parathion, diazinon, and malathion coordination complexes with silver and copper ions. Stable 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 metal/pesticide complexes were detected. Mass spectra acquired from pesticide solutions containing Ag⁺ or Cu²⁺ showed a significant increase in signal‐to‐background ratio over those acquired from solutions containing only the pesticides, with Ag⁺ improving detection more effectively than Cu²⁺. Addition of Ag⁺ to a pesticide solution improved the limit of detection by ten times. The relative affinity of each pesticide for Ag⁺ was related to complex stability, following the order diazinon > malathion > fenitrothion > parathion. The formation of Ag⁺–pesticide complexes can significantly improve the detection of phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides using ESI/MS. The technique could potentially be used in reactive desorption electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry to detect phosphorothioate and phosphorodithioate pesticides on fruit and vegetable skins. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Screening of pesticides in blood with liquid chromatography–linear ion trap mass spectrometry

In clinical or forensic toxicology, general unknown screening procedures are used to identify as many xenobiotics as possible, belonging to numerous chemical classes. We present here a general unknown screening procedure based on liquid chromatography coupled with use of a single linear ion trap mass spectrometer, and focus on the identification of pesticides and/or metabolites in whole blood. After solid-phase extraction (SPE), the compounds of interest were separated using a reversed-phase column and identified by the mass spectrometer operated first in the full-scan mass spectrometry (MS) mode, in the positive and negative polarities, followed by MS² and MS³ scanning of ions selected in data-dependent acquisition. The total scan time was 2.45 s. Two mass spectral libraries (MS² and MS³), each of 450 spectra, were created for the 320 pesticides and metabolites detected after injection of pure solutions. Robustness of the spectra and matrix effects were studied and were satisfactory for the present application. Detection limits for the 320 compounds were studied by extracting 1 mL spiked blood at concentrations between 10 μg/L and 10 mg/L. If necessary, it was possible to decrease the detection limits of some compounds by 10–100-fold by scanning MS² in only one polarity, owing to a shorter total scan time. However, at the same time, the detection specificity decreased as no confirmation could be recorded in the following MS³ scan and no information could be registered in the other polarity. So, in these rare cases, confirmation by another method was required.     

Combined use of liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry in systematic screening of pesticides and other contaminants in water samples

As a suitable way for routine screening of pesticides and control of other organic contaminants in water, the combination of liquid chromatography triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (LC–QqQ-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography–hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–QTOF-MS) has been applied to the analysis of 63 surface and waste water samples after conventional solid-phase extraction (SPE). The extracts were screened for 43 pesticides or degradation products by LC–QqQ-MS/MS achieving limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.04 to 2 ng L⁻¹. Of the 43 selected pesticides, 33 were detected in water samples. The ESI–QTOF MS instrument was run using two simultaneous acquisition functions with low and high collision energy (MS^E approach) and acquiring the full mass spectra. A home-made database containing more than 1100 organic pollutants was used for substance identification. Around 250 of these compounds were available at the laboratory as reference standards. Five pesticides and 3 of their degradation products, different to those selected in the QqQ method, were detected by QqTOF-MS. Thirteen pharmaceuticals and two drugs of abuse were also identified in the samples. In practice, the sample preparation proved to be suitable for both techniques and for a wide variety of substances with different polarity. Mutual confirmation and evidence of co-occurrence of several other organic contaminants were the main advantages of the combination of both techniques.     

气相色谱-四极杆高分辨飞行时间质谱分析复杂芳烃体系中的苯甲醛、苯甲醇、苯乙酮与苯乙醛

建立了气相色谱-四极杆高分辨飞行时间串联质谱分析复杂芳烃体系样品中苯甲醛、苯甲醇、苯乙酮与苯乙醛的方法。该方法通过使用高分辨质谱得到目标化合物特征离子的精确质量数,结合色谱保留时间,有效排除了复杂芳烃体系样品本底中碎片离子的干扰,提高了定性与定量分析的准确性。使用目标化合物特征离子的质谱峰面积作为定量计算依据。苯甲醛、苯甲醇、苯乙酮与苯乙醛在各自的质量浓度范围内呈现良好的线性响应,回收率为87.97%~103.01%,定量限分别为0.04、0.10、0.08与0.03 mg/L,检出限分别为0.01、0.03、0.02与0.01 mg/L。对3份实际样品中的苯甲醛、苯甲醇、苯乙酮与苯乙醛进行了定量分析。本研究为气相色谱-四极杆高分辨飞行时间质谱技术应用于复杂体系中的微量杂质分析提供了一种新的思路和手段。通过精确的质量分辨和测定可以降低对色谱分离的依赖,弥补传统气相色谱-四极杆低分辨质谱技术的不足。     

Rapid detection of pesticides not amenable to multi-residue methods by flow injection–tandem mass spectrometry

Flow injection combined with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was investigated for the rapid detection of highly polar pesticides that are not amenable to multi-residue methods because they do not partition into organic solvents and require dedicated chromatographic conditions. The pesticides included in this study were amitrole, chlormequat, cyromazine, daminozide, diquat, ethephon, fosetyl-Al, glufosinate, glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid, maleic hydrazide, mepiquat and paraquat. The composition of the flow-injection solvent was optimized to achieve maximum MS/MS sensitivity. Instrumental limits of detection varied between <0.05 and 1 pg. Fruit, vegetable, cereal, milk and kidney samples were extracted with water (1 % formic acid in case of paraquat/diquat) and ten times diluted in either methanol/0.1 % formic acid, methanol/0.1 % ammonia or acetonitrile/0.1 % ammonia, depending on the pesticide. The ion suppression observed depended strongly on both the matrix and the pesticide. This could be largely compensated for by matrix-matched calibration, but more accurate quantification was obtained by using isotopically labelled standards (commercially available for most of the pesticides studied). The method detection limits ranged from 0.02 mg/kg for chlormequat and mepiquat to 2 mg/kg for maleic hydrazide and were 0.05–0.2 mg/kg for most other pesticide/matrix combinations. This was sufficiently low to test compliance with EU maximum residue limits for many relevant pesticide/commodity combinations. The method substantially reduces the liquid chromatography–MS/MS capacity demand which for many laboratories is prohibitive for inclusion of these pesticides in their monitoring and surveillance programmes. Figure

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Multiresidue screening of pesticides in foods using retention time locking, GC-AED, database search, and GC/MS identification

Fruit and vegetable extracts were screened for over 400 pesticides by gas chromatography with atomic emission detection (GC-AED) and an experimental database. A technique called retention time locking was used to match GC-AED and GC with mass spectrometry (MS) retention times to those of the database. Samples were analyzed for sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorine by GC-AED. Possible pesticides were suggested by database search and identified by GC/MS. Forty-four pesticide standards were analyzed to determine the precision of retention time matching and the accuracy of the database search. Analytical retention times matched database retention times within 0.32 min. Using elemental criteria, the database search identified the correct compound for 41 of 44 pesticide standards. For blind spikes of fruit and vegetable extracts, the database suggested 22 of 26 spiked pesticides as matches. Nineteen were identified by GC/MS. The combination of retention time locking, GC-AED, database search, and GC/MS can be a powerful tool for identifying pesticides in a complex matrix.     

Screening and quantification of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables making use of gas chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization

An atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source has been used to enhance the potential of gas chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS) for screening and quantification purposes in pesticide residue analysis. A screening method developed in our laboratory for around 130 pesticides has been applied to fruit and vegetable samples, including strawberries, oranges, apples, carrots, lettuces, courgettes, red peppers, and tomatoes. Samples were analyzed together with quality control samples (at 0.05 mg/kg) for each matrix and for matrix-matched calibration standards. The screening strategy consisted in first rapid searching and detection, and then a refined identification step using the QTOF capabilities (MS^E and accurate mass). Identification was based on the presence of one characteristic m/z ion (Q) obtained with the low collision energy function and at least one fragment ion (q) obtained with the high collision energy function, both with mass errors of less than 5 ppm, and an ion intensity ratio (q/Q) within the tolerances permitted. Following this strategy, 15 of 130 pesticides were identified in the samples. Afterwards, the quantitation capabilities were tested by performing a quantitative validation for those pesticides detected in the samples. To this aim, five matrices were selected (orange, apple, tomato, lettuce, and carrot) and spiked at two concentrations (0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg), and quantification was done using matrix-matched calibration standards (relative responses versus triphenyl phosphate used as an internal standard). Acceptable average recoveries and relative standard deviations were obtained for many but not all pesticide–matrix combinations. These figures allowed us to perform a retrospective quantification of positives found in the screening without the need for additional analysis. Taking advantage of the accurate-mass full-spectrum data provided by QTOF MS, we searched for a higher number of compounds (up to 416 pesticides) in a second stage by performing extra data processing without any new sample injection. Several more pesticides were detected, confirmed, and/or tentatively identified when the reference standard was unavailable, illustrating in this way the potential of gas chromatography–QTOF MS to detect pesticides in addition to the ones targeted in quantitative analysis of pesticides in food matrices. Figure

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A Pseudo MS<Superscript>3</Superscript> Approach for Identification of Disulfide-Bonded Proteins: Uncommon Product Ions and Database Search

It has previously been reported that disulfide and backbone bonds of native intact proteins can be concurrently cleaved using electrospray ionization (ESI) and collision-induced dissociation (CID) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). However, the cleavages of disulfide bonds result in different cysteine modifications in product ions, making it difficult to identify the disulfide-bonded proteins via database search. To solve this identification problem, we have developed a pseudo MS³ approach by combining nozzle-skimmer dissociation (NSD) and CID on a quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer using chicken lysozyme as a model. Although many of the product ions were similar to those typically seen in MS/MS spectra of enzymatically derived peptides, additional uncommon product ions were detected including c_i-1 ions (the i^th residue being aspartic acid, arginine, lysine and dehydroalanine) as well as those from a scrambled sequence. The formation of these uncommon types of product ions, likely caused by the lack of mobile protons, were proposed to involve bond rearrangements via a six-membered ring transition state and/or salt bridge(s). A search of 20 pseudo MS³ spectra against the Gallus gallus (chicken) database using Batch-Tag, a program originally designed for bottom up MS/MS analysis, identified chicken lysozyme as the only hit with the expectation values less than 0.02 for 12 of the spectra. The pseudo MS³ approach may help to identify disulfide-bonded proteins and determine the associated post-translational modifications (PTMs); the confidence in the identification may be improved by incorporating the fragmentation characteristics into currently available search programs.     

Regioisomer characterization of triacylglycerols by non‐aqueous reversed‐phase liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry using silver nitrate as a postcolumn reagent

Triacylglycerols (TAGs) provide a challenge for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis because of their complexity. In particular, for dietary, nutritional and metabolic purposes, the positional placement of fatty acids on the glycerol backbone of TAGs is a crucial aspect. To solve this problem, we have investigated the TAGs' fragmentation patterns using an ion trap mass spectrometer. A series of pure regioisomeric pairs of TAGs (POP/PPO, POO/OPO and OSO/SOO) were cationized by Ag⁺ after their separation by non‐aqueous reversed‐phase liquid chromatography (NARP‐LC) before MS to improve MS sensitivity. Electrospray ionization–MS (ESI‐MS) conditions were optimized in order to produce characteristic [M + Ag + AgNO₃]⁺ ions from each TAG, which were then fragmented to produce MS/MS spectra and then fragmented further to produce up to MS⁵ spectra. The observation of ions produced by LC‐MS⁵ of on‐line Ag⁺‐cationized TAG provided unambiguous information on the fatty acid distribution on the glycerol backbone. These strategies of MS to MS⁵ experiments were applied to identify components and to determine the regiospecificity of TAG within a complex mixture of lipids in natural oils. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

液相色谱/线性离子阱-静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法快速筛查葡萄酒中的合成色素

基于液相色谱/线性离子阱-静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱(LC/LTQ-orbitrap MS)技术构建了合成色素的质谱数据库,利用精确质量数和该数据库中二级质谱图的匹配度分析筛查,建立了葡萄酒中15种水溶性合成色素的快速筛查方法。葡萄酒样品通过弱阴离子交换柱进行净化后经苯基色谱柱分离,然后用LTQ-orbitrap MS对样品中的色素进行筛查和定量检测。结果显示,葡萄酒中15种色素的检出限在0.00040~0.18 mg/L之间,3个加标水平的回收率在43.1%~127%之间,平均相对标准偏差均小于10%。加标样品的二级质谱图与数据库中标准样品二级质谱图的匹配度均达到98%以上。该方法可在无标准物质的情况下对葡萄酒中的15种合成色素进行筛查检测。     

Ultra‐performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) and UPLC/MSE analysis of RNA oligonucleotides

Fast and efficient ultra‐performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) analysis of short interfering RNA oligonucleotides was used for identity confirmation of the target sequence‐related impurities. Multiple truncated oligonucleotides and metabolites were identified based on the accurate mass, and their presumed sequence was confirmed by MS/MS and MS^E (alternating low and elevated collision energy scanning modes) methods. Based on the resulting fragmentation of native and chemically modified oligonucleotides, it was found that the MS^E technique is as efficient as the traditional MS/MS method, yet MS^E is more general, faster, and capable of producing higher signal intensities of fragment ions. Fragmentation patterns of modified oligonucleotides were investigated using RNA 2′‐ribose substitutions, phosphorothioate RNA, and LNA modifications. The developed sequence confirmation method that uses the MS^E approach was applied to the analysis of in vitro hydrolyzed RNA oligonucleotide. The target RNA and metabolites, including the structural isomers, were resolved by UPLC, and their identity was confirmed by MS^E. Simultaneous RNA truncations from both termini were observed. The UPLC quadrupole time‐of‐flight (QTOF) MS/MS and MS^E methods were shown to be an effective tool for the analysis and sequence confirmation of complex oligonucleotide mixtures. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assisted inhibition effect of acetylcholinesterase with n-octylphosphonic acid and application in high sensitive detection of organophosphorous pesticides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry

A simple and practical approach to improve the sensitivity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-inhibited method has been developed for monitoring organophosphorous (OP) pesticide residues. In this work, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry (MALDI-FTMS) was used to detect AChE activity. Due to its good salt-tolerance and low sample consumption, MALDI-FTMS facilitates rapid and high-throughput screening of OP pesticides. Here we describe a new method to obtain low detection limits via employing external reagents. Among candidate compounds, n-octylphosphonic acid (n-Octyl-PA) displays assistant effect to enhance AChE inhibition by OP pesticides. In presence of n-Octyl-PA, the percentages of AChE inhibition still kept correlation with OP pesticide concentrations. The detection limits were improved significantly even by 10²–10³ folds in comparison with conventional enzyme-inhibited methods. Different detection limits of OP pesticides with different toxicities were as low as 0.005 μg L⁻¹ for high toxic pesticides and 0.05 μg L⁻¹ for low toxic pesticides. Besides, the reliability of results from this method to analyze cowpea samples had been demonstrated by liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The application of this commercial available assistant agent shows great promise to detect OP compounds in complicated biological matrix and broadens the mind for high sensitivity detection of OP pesticide residues in agricultural products.     

Chemical composition database establishment and metabolite profiling analysis of Yangyin qingfei decoction

The chemical fingerprinting and metabolite profile in a rat plasma sample after intragastric administration of Yangyin qingfei decoction (YYQFD, 14 g/kg) were investigated. First, YYQFD was analyzed by UPLC/Q‐TOF MS to establish the chemical composition database by comparing their retention behavior, accurate molecular mass and MS² data with those of references or known compounds in the literature. In this database, 100 chemical constituents with information on retention time, molecular mass, molecular formula, MS² data and compound name were identified, which can provide compound information for further metabolite profiling studies. Furthermore, 64 compounds including 37 prototypes and 27 metabolites were detected in the dosed rat plasma sample, and the metabolic pathways of YYQFD were hydrolyzation, hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, glucuronidation, glucosylation, sulfation and mixed modes. Among the five component herbs in the YYQFD, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizome and Fritillariae Thunbergii bulbs were actively metabolized, contributing 16 and 7 metabolites, respectively. It is suggested that chemical characterization and metabolite profiling studies are valuable to elucidate the material basis of herbal preparations.