Determination of gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents in biological and environmental samples: A review

The development of analytical methods and strategies to determine gadolinium and its complexes in biological and environmental matrices is evaluated in this review.     

Quantum chemical electron impact mass spectrum prediction for de novo structure elucidation: Assessment against experimental reference data and comparison to competitive fragmentation modeling

We investigate the success of the quantum chemical electron impact mass spectrum (QCEIMS) method in predicting the electron impact mass spectra of a diverse test set of 61 small molecules selected to be representative of common fragmentations and reactions in electron impact mass spectra. Comparison with experimental spectra is performed using the standard matching algorithms, and the relative ranking position of the actual molecule matching the spectra within the NIST‐11 library is examined. We find that the correct spectrum is ranked in the top two matches from structural isomers in more than 50% of the cases. QCEIMS, thus, reproduces the distribution of peaks sufficiently well to identify the compounds, with the RMSD and mean absolute difference between appropriately normalized predicted and experimental spectra being at most 9% and 3% respectively, even though the most intense peaks are often qualitatively poorly reproduced. We also compare the QCEIMS method to competitive fragmentation modeling for electron ionization, a training‐based mass spectrum prediction method, and remarkably we find the QCEIMS performs equivalently or better. We conclude that QCEIMS will be very useful for those who wish to identify new compounds which are not well represented in the mass spectral databases.     

Simultaneous analysis of bisphenol A based compounds and other monomers leaching from resin‐based dental materials by UHPLC–MS/MS

Resin‐based dental materials have raised debates concerning their safety and biocompatibility, resulting in a growing necessity of profound knowledge on the quantity of released compounds into the oral cavity. In this context, the aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive and reliable procedure based on liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry for the simultaneous analysis of various leached compounds (including bisphenol A based compounds) in samples from in vitro experiments. Different experiments were performed to determine the optimal analytical parameters, comprising mass spectrometry parameters, chromatographic separation conditions, and sample preparation. Four internal standards were used as follows: deuterated diethyl phthalate and bisphenol A (commercially available), and deuterated analogues of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate and urethane dimethacrylate (custom‐made). The optimized method was validated for linearity of the calibration curves and the associated correlation coefficient, lower limit of quantification, higher limit of quantification, and intra‐ and interassay accuracy and precision. Additionally, the developed liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was applied to the analysis of leaching compounds from four resin‐based dental materials. The results indicated that this method is suitable for the analysis of different target compounds leaching from dental materials. This method might serve as a valuable basis for quick and accurate quantification of leached compounds from resin‐based dental materials in biological samples.     

Origin and Prediction of Highly Specific Bond Cleavage Sites in the Thermal Activation of Intact Protein Ions

Predicting the fragmentation patterns of proteins would be beneficial for the reliable identification of intact proteins by mass spectrometry. However, the ability to accurately make such predictions remains elusive. An approach to predict the specific cleavage sites in whole proteins resulting from collision-induced dissociation by use of an improved electrostatic model for calculating the proton configurations of highly-charged protein ions is reported. Using ubiquitin, cytochrome c, lysozyme and β-lactoglobulin as prototypical proteins, this approach can be used to predict the fragmentation patterns of intact proteins. For sufficiently highly charged proteins, specific cleavages occur near the first low-basicity amino acid residues that are protonated with increasing charge state. Hybrid QM/QM′ (QM=quantum mechanics) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and energy-resolved collision-induced dissociation measurements indicated that the barrier to the specific dissociation of the protonated amide backbone bond is significantly lower than competitive charge remote fragmentation. Unlike highly charged peptides, the protons at low-basicity sites in highly charged protein ions can be confined to a limited sequence of low-basicity amino acid residues by electrostatic repulsion, which results in highly specific fragmentation near the site of protonation. This research suggests that the optimal charge states to form specific sequence ions of intact proteins in higher abundances than the use of less specific ion dissociation methods can be predicted a priori.     

Mass‐Spectrometric Observation of Counter Anion Production in SU‐8 Exposed to UV Light and its Use for Dill C Parameter Determination

Photopolymerization is a phenomenon that is the basis of much of today's microfabrication technology and intense research is conducted to improve its control and the characteristics of end products for a variety of applications. The design of microscopic structures often relies on the accurate knowledge and modeling of photopolymer's behavior upon exposure, i.e. the Dill parameters, for each radiation species of interest and therefore the development of flexible characterization techniques is of great importance. SU‐8 is a popular compound that is representative of a whole class that relies on cationic polymerization, where an acid is obtained via photolysis of an onium salt during exposure. Here we report on the observation of SbF₆^? via laser desorption mass spectrometry on SU‐8 exposed to UV light at the wavelength of 365 nm and demonstrate that the yield of this counter‐anion as a function of exposure is consistent with the Dill C parameter value available in the literature. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 967–972     

Mechanisms of Cobalt/Phosphine-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions

>The combination of CoCl₂ with bidentate phosphines is known to catalyze challenging cross-coupling and Heck-type reactions, but the mechanisms of these valuable transformations have not been established. Here, we use electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry to intercept the species formed in these reactions. Our results indicate that a sequence of transmetalation, reductive elimination, and redox disproportionation convert the cobalt(II) precatalyst into low-valent cobalt complexes. These species readily transfer single electrons to alkyl bromides, which thereupon dissociate into alkyl radicals and Br⁻. In cross-coupling reactions, the alkyl radicals add to the cobalt catalyst to form observable heteroleptic complexes, which release the coupling products through reductive eliminations. In the Heck-type reactions, the low abundance of newly formed ionic species renders the analysis more difficult. Nonetheless, our results also point to the occurrence of single-electron transfer processes and the involvement of radicals in these transformations.     

X-ray emission for Ar11+ ions impacting on various targets in the collisions near the Bohr velocity

X-ray emission from the collisions of 3 MeV Ar¹¹⁺ ions with V, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn is investigated. Both the x-rays of the target atom and projectile are observed simultaneously. The x-ray yield is extracted from the original count. The inner-shell ionization cross section is estimated by the binary encounter approximation model and compared with the experimental result. The remarkable result is that the Ar K-shell x-ray yield is diminished with the target atomic number increasing, which is completely opposite to the theoretical calculation. That is interpreted by the competitive consumption of the energy loss for the ionization of inner-shell electrons between the projectile and target atom.     

Spin polarization and temperature dependence of electron effective mass in quantum wires

The electron effective mass in GaAs quantum wires has been estimated by using a full dynamical random-phase approximation to examine its properties versus spin polarization, temperature, and carrier density. A decrease of mass with spin polarization is seen. The minority mass increases with the polarization while the majority mass decreases and this behaviour is seen for all densities. A maximal enhancement of mass at moderate temperature around 25 K is also presented. These calculations show a qualitative consistence with results in two-dimensional systems and help to control the electronic transport in quantum wires.     

Hydrothermal synthesis,thermal decomposition and optical properties of Fe2F5(H2O)(Htaz)(taz)(Hdma)

Crystal structure of Fe₂F₅(H₂O)(Htaz)(taz)(Hdma) which crystallizes in the triclinic system space group $\text{P}\overline{1}$ with unit cell parameters a = 8.8392(5) Å, b = 9.1948(5) Å, c = 9.5877(5) Å, α = 82.070(3)°, β = 63.699(3)°, γ = 89.202(3)°, Z = 2, and V = 690.91(7) ų, was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions at 393 K for 72 h, by a mixture of FeF₂/FeF₃, 1,2,4-triazole molecule (Htaz), and hydrofluoric acid solution (HF 4%) in dimethylformamide solvent (DMF). The main feature of this material is the coexistence of two oxidation states for iron atoms (Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺) in the unit cell, which associate by opposite fluorine corners of FeF₅N and FeF₂N₄ octahedra, and/or triazole molecule which originates the 2D produces material. The structure determination, performed from single crystal X-ray diffraction data, lead to the R₁/_WR₂ reliability factors 0.031/0.087. Thermal stability studies (TG/DTG/DTA) show that the decomposition provides in the temperature range 473–773 K and no mass loss was detected before 473 K. Mass spectrometry (MS) has been used. The optical absorption of the solid was measured at the corresponding λ_max using UV–vis diffuse-reflectance spectrum.     

Novel thionin-functionalised core shell magnetic nanoparticles for dispersive solid-phase extraction of Hg(II) in food and water samples

To develop an accurate and precise method for separation and pre-concentration of Hg(II), a novel thionin functionalised core shell structure magnetic material has been prepared and characterised. The extraction ability of the material was evaluated by magnetic solid-phase extraction coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry determination of Hg(II) in food and water samples. Combining the advantages of magnetic separation with selective extraction of thionin towards Hg(II), the material exhibits enhanced enrich selectivity and efficiency for Hg(II). The experimental parameters influencing Hg(II) extraction efficiency, including pH of the aqueous solution, the dosage of the adsorbent, extraction time and sample volume, were systematically investigated. Under the optimised conditions, concentration of Hg(II) at 1.0 μg L^?1 can be successfully enriched by the material without the interference of the common co-existing ions. The enrichment factor and adsorption capacity were 250 and 75.2 mg g^?1, and precise of the method was confirmed by analysing the spiked food, water samples and standard water reference samples with the recoveries of 92.5–101.8%.