Behaviors of Leucine and Isoleucine in Ion Mobility‐Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

In this study, ion mobility separation coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (IM‐tandem MS) was utilized to investigate the ionization behaviors of two amino acids including leucine and isoleucine. Under the electrospray ionization (ESI) mode, two protonation sites in each molecular sturcture caused two forms of protomer. One arose from the amino being protonated (amino‐protomer) and the other from the carboxyl being protonated (carboxyl‐protomer). In the two‐dimensional (drift time, m/z) spectrum, the protomers had the same mass, but the distinguishable drift times and fragmentation patterns. For the characterization purpose, the theoretical collision cross section (CCS) values of the protomers were calculated and proven to be consistent with the experimental. Moreover, the quantified relationship between the amino acids and their protomers was evaluated. It showed that the abundance of the carboxyl‐protomer was proportional to the concentration of the amino acid, whereas that of the amino‐protomer did not have the same trend. Under the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mode, only the carboxyl‐protomer was observed. In addition, the amino‐protomer and the cluster ions observed under ESI were absent completely. The results demonstrate that the ionization mode impacts heavily on the ionization behaviors of leucine and isoleucine not only on the form of therir protomers but also on the quantified relationship.     

Study of the coupling reaction of pyridine in the gas phase

The coupling reaction of pyridine in the gas phase to form bipyridyl and terpyridyl has been studied by electron ionization using an ion trap mass spectrometer. In contrast to the difficulty in carrying out electrophilic substitutions at carbon atoms in the pyridine ring under highly acidic solvent conditions, reactions in the gas phase overcame the conjugate acidification of pyridine in the solvent phase, thus decreasing the hardness of this electrophilic coupling. Through product ion mass spectra of the ion at m/z 157, we have shown that this ion was protonated bipyridyl rather than the ion/molecule adduct. A computational study of the heat of formation surface also supported the formation of polypyridyls through the electrophilic substitution of pyridine. We have confirmed the reaction through a study of pyridine-d(5) coupling in the gas phase.     

Facile Spray-Coating for Fabrication of Superhydrophobic SiO2/PVDF Nanocomposite Coating on Paper Surface

A facile and low-cost superhydrophobic nanocomposite coating on paper surface was fabricated through one-step simply spraying dispersion, using hydrophobic silica nanoparticles as a filter (SiNPs) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as a film-forming material. Hydrophobic SiNPs were fabricated via co-hydropholysis and condensation of TEOS and long-chain alkyl silane based on a simple sol-gel process, and the surface chemical structure of SiNPs was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. The wettability and morphology of the coating surface were measured by contact angle (CA) measurement and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The influence of the mass ratio of hydrophobic SiNPs to PVDF (M(SiNPs:PVDF)) on the superhydrophobicity of paper surface was studied. The results showed that when M(SiNPs:PVDF) was 3:1, the water CA was 156.0 ± 1.0° for the nanocomposite coating with micro/nano-hierarchical structure on paper surface. Further, such superhydrophobic nanocomposite coatings on paper surface showed little adhesive property with water. In addition, the prepared superhydrophobic nanocomposite coating could be applied in other substrates, such as wood, aluminum sheet, stainless steel, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), etc.     

电喷雾质谱法研究细胞色素Tb5及其F35Y突变体蛋白 肽链和辅基的相互作用

本文通过牛肝线粒体细胞色素Tb5和它的F35Y突变体蛋白相对分子质量的外标法测定,得到细胞色素Tb5全蛋白的相对分子质量为10077.5脱辅基蛋白的相对分子质量为9461.4F35Y突变体蛋白的相对分子质量为10093.6,它的脱辅基蛋白的相对分子质量为9477.5,不同nozzle电压下的电喷雾质谱结果表明,该电压的大小明显影响蛋白肽链与血红素辅基之间的非共价结合,随着电压的降低,全蛋白谱峰的强度逐渐增大,然而,过低的电压导致了Na^+,K^+离子加合峰相对强度的增加,而不利于谱图分析。同时,考察到细胞色素Tb5在甲醇溶液和酸性溶液中的变性行为,因此选择nozzle电压70V,10%的甲醇水溶液和pH=7为得到全蛋白质谱峰的最佳条件。相同实验条件下得到的野生型CytTb5和F35Y突变体全蛋白的质谱峰相比较,其相对丰度有悬殊的差异,表明F35Y突变体蛋白的血红素结合能力明显低于野生型蛋白。通过解离出的Hemeb的分子离子峰进行解析,证明铁仍以三价离子存在于血红素辅基中。     

Rapid Discrimination of Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ by Electrospray Ionization–Ion Mobility–High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

A common idea is that some dishonest businessmen often disguise Citrus reticulata Blanco varieties as Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’, which places consumers at risk of economic losses. In this work, we combined high-resolution ion mobility (U-shaped mobility analyzer) with high-resolution mass spectrometry to rapidly distinguish Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ from other Citrus species. The samples were analyzed directly through simple extraction and the analytes were separated in one second. It only took about 1 min to perform a cycle of sample analysis and data acquisition. The results showed that polymethoxylated flavones and their isomers were separated easily by the ion mobility analyzer and preliminarily identified according to the accurate mass. Moreover, the collision cross-section values of all analytes, which could be used as auxiliary parameters to characterize and identify the compounds in the samples, were measured. Twenty-four samples were grouped as two clusters by multivariate analysis, which meant that Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ could be effectively differentiated. It was confirmed that the developed method had the potential to rapidly separate polymethoxylated flavones and distinguish between Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ and other Citrus reticulata Blanco varieties.     

Research on Heavy Metal Pollution in Soil within the Upper Reaches of Lancang River

为了解澜沧江中上游流域矿区的开采和利用对周围生态环境的影响因素,通过选择对该矿区中3种重金属污染物Pb、Cd、Mn进行了调查和实验.确定澜沧江中上游流域的相应采样面,通过湿消化法处理样品,原子吸收光谱法测定了重金属的含量,并作了重金属污染评价.结果表明,澜沧江中上游流域矿区土壤Cd平均值为21.89 mg/kg,超标率为100％,土壤中重金属含量由高到低为Cd,Mn,Pb,重金属之间相关性不显著(P＞0.05).研究区土壤已经被严重污染,单项污染指数由高到低为Cd(21),Pb(0.87),Mn(0.81).可见澜沧江中上游流域矿区土壤中Pb、Cd、Mn的污染已经呈现出了危害人群健康的趋势,其中Pb、Cd污染最严重,对于重金属污染应采取综合治理措施.     

Comparison of Hair Fatty Alcohols by N‐Alkylpyridinium Isotope Quaternization and Matrix‐assisted Laser Desorption/ionization Mass Spectrometry for Drug Abuse Monitoring

Based on our previous report on N‐alkylpyridinium isotope quaternization (NAPIQ) for the analysis of alcoholic and α,β‐unsaturated ketone compounds, we have further applied NAPIQ method in the screening of hair lipids in drug abusers. Relative isotopic quantification was used for comparison of fatty alcohols between normal and drug abuse group. The NAPIQ strategy was proven to be a high‐throughput method in the metabolic comparison studies of different group samples. The attached N‐cationic pyridinium significantly improved the detection sensitivity for these fatty alcohols in matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometric (MALDI‐FTMS) analysis. The experimental results showed that the levels of fatty alcohols in the hair of heroin abuse group decreased significantly compared with the normal groups, which may be the results of the inducing of peroxidation enzyme. NAPIQ was proven to be an effective and alternative method in the research of fatty alcoholic metabolism for drug abuse monitoring.     

Rapid Detection of Irreversible Acetylcholineasterase Inhibitor by Mass Spectrometry Assay

Here we developed a rapid method to detect acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry (MALDI‐FTMS) for screening irreversible AChE inhibitors. Due to its good salt‐tolerance and low sample consumption, MALDI‐FTMS could facilitate rapid detection, especially detection in real application. AChE activity was determined through calculating abundance of substrate and product in mass spectrometry. By this approach, we investigated the relation of organophosphorous (OP) concentrations and AChE inhibition. Shown in different inhibition curves from different OP pesticides, enzyme inhibitions still kept good correlation with concentration of OPs. Finally, this AChE‐inhibited method was applied to screen whole bloods of four decedents and discuss their death reason. In contrast to healthy persons, three of decedents showed low AChE activity, and probably died for irreversible AChE inhibitors. Through the following detecting in GC‐MS/MS, the possible death reason of these three decedents was confirmed, and another decedent actually died for sumicidin, a non‐AChE inhibitor. It demonstrated that screening irreversible AChE inhibitors by detecting enzyme activity in MALDI‐FTMS provided fast and accurate analysis results and excluded another toxicants not functioning on AChE. This method offered alternative choices for indicating the existence of enzyme inhibitors.