Feasibility of ultra-high performance liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for accurate determination of primary and secondary phthalate metabolites in urine samples

Phthalates (PAEs) are ubiquitous toxic chemical compounds. During the last few years, some phthalate metabolites (MPAEs) have been proposed as appropriate biomarkers in human urine samples to determine PAE human intake and exposure. So, it is necessary to have fast, easy, robust and validated analytical methods to determine selected MPAEs in urine human samples. Two different instrumental methods based on gas (GC) and ultra-high performance liquid (UHPLC) chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) have been optimized, characterized and validated for the simultaneous determination of nine primary and secondary phthalate metabolites in urine samples. Both instrumental methods have similar sensitivity (detection limits ranged from 0.03 to 8.89 pg μL⁻¹ and from 0.06 to 0.49 pg μL⁻¹ in GC–MS and UHPLC–MS², respectively), precision (repeatability, expressed as relative standard deviation, which was lower than 8.4% in both systems, except for 5OH-MEHP in the case of GC–MS) and accuracy. But some advantages of the UHPLC–MS² method, such as more selectivity and lower time in the chromatographic runs (6.8 min vs. 28.5 min), have caused the UHPLC–MS² method to be chosen to analyze the twenty one human urine samples from the general Spanish population. Regarding these samples, MEP showed the highest median concentration (68.6 μg L⁻¹), followed by MiBP (23.3 μg L⁻¹), 5cx-MEPP (22.5 μg L⁻¹) and MBP (19.3 μg L⁻¹). MMP (6.99 μg L⁻¹), 5oxo-MEHP (6.15 μg L⁻¹), 5OH-MEHP (5.30 μg L⁻¹) and MEHP (4.40 μg L⁻¹) showed intermediate levels. Finally, the lowest levels were found for MBzP (2.55 μg L⁻¹). These data are within the same order of magnitude as those found in other similar populations.     

Determination of methylmercury in marine sediment samples: Method validation and occurrence data

The determination of methylmercury (MeHg) in sediment samples is a difficult task due to the extremely low MeHg/THg (total mercury) ratio and species interconversion. Here, we present the method validation of a cost-effective fit-for-purpose analytical procedure for the measurement of MeHg in sediments, which is based on aqueous phase ethylation, followed by purge and trap and hyphenated gas chromatography–pyrolysis–atomic fluorescence spectrometry (GC–Py–AFS) separation and detection. Four different extraction techniques, namely acid and alkaline leaching followed by solvent extraction and evaporation, microwave-assisted extraction with 2-mercaptoethanol, and acid leaching, solvent extraction and back extraction into sodium thiosulfate, were examined regarding their potential to selectively extract MeHg from estuarine sediment IAEA-405 certified reference material (CRM). The procedure based on acid leaching with HNO₃/CuSO₄, solvent extraction and back extraction into Na₂S₂O₃ yielded the highest extraction recovery, i.e., 94 ± 3% and offered the possibility to perform the extraction of a large number of samples in a short time, by eliminating the evaporation step. The artifact formation of MeHg was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC–ICP–MS), using isotopically enriched Me²⁰¹Hg and ²⁰²Hg and it was found to be nonexistent. A full validation approach in line with ISO 17025 and Eurachem guidelines was followed. With this in mind, blanks, selectivity, working range (1–800 pg), linearity (0.9995), recovery (94–96%), repeatability (3%), intermediate precision (4%), limit of detection (0.45 pg) and limit of quantification (0.85 pg) were systematically assessed with CRM IAEA-405. The uncertainty budget was calculated and the major contribution to the combined uncertainty (16.24%, k = 2) was found to arise from the uncertainty associated with recovery (74.1%). Demonstration of traceability of measurement results is also presented. The validated measurement procedure was applied to the determination of MeHg incurred in sediments from a highly polluted and scarcely studied area in the Caribbean region.     

High-throughput characterization of sediment organic matter by pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and multivariate curve resolution: A promising analytical tool in (paleo)limnology

Molecular-level chemical information about organic matter (OM) in sediments helps to establish the sources of OM and the prevalent degradation/diagenetic processes, both essential for understanding the cycling of carbon (C) and of the elements associated with OM (toxic trace metals and nutrients) in lake ecosystems. Ideally, analytical methods for characterizing OM should allow high sample throughput, consume small amounts of sample and yield relevant chemical information, which are essential for multidisciplinary, high-temporal resolution and/or large spatial scale investigations. We have developed a high-throughput analytical method based on pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and automated data processing to characterize sedimentary OM in sediments. Our method consumes 200 μg of freeze-dried and ground sediment sample. Pyrolysis was performed at 450 °C, which was found to avoid degradation of specific biomarkers (e.g., lignin compounds, fresh carbohydrates/cellulose) compared to 650 °C, which is in the range of temperatures commonly applied for environmental samples. The optimization was conducted using the top ten sediment samples of an annually resolved sediment record (containing 16–18% and 1.3–1.9% of total carbon and nitrogen, respectively). Several hundred pyrolytic compound peaks were detected of which over 200 were identified, which represent different classes of organic compounds (i.e., n-alkanes, n-alkenes, 2-ketones, carboxylic acids, carbohydrates, proteins, other N compounds, (methoxy)phenols, (poly)aromatics, chlorophyll and steroids/hopanoids). Technical reproducibility measured as relative standard deviation of the identified peaks in triplicate analyses was 5.5 ± 4.3%, with 90% of the RSD values within 10% and 98% within 15%. Finally, a multivariate calibration model was calculated between the pyrolytic degradation compounds and the sediment depth (i.e., sediment age), which is a function of degradation processes and changes in OM source type. This allowed validation of the Py–GC/MS dataset against fundamental processes involved in OM cycling in aquatic ecosystems.     

Recent progress in applications of graphene oxide for gas sensing: A review

This paper is a review of the recent progress on gas sensors using graphene oxide (GO). GO is not a new material but its unique features have recently been of interest for gas sensing applications, and not just as an intermediate for reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Graphene and RGO have been well known gas-sensing materials, but GO is also an attractive sensing material that has been well studied these last few years. The functional groups on GO nanosheets play important roles in adsorbing gas molecules, and the electric or optical properties of GO materials change with exposure to certain gases. Addition of metal nanoparticles and metal oxide nanocomposites is an effective way to make GO materials selective and sensitive to analyte gases. In this paper, several applications of GO based sensors are summarized for detection of water vapor, NO₂, H₂, NH₃, H₂S, and organic vapors. Also binding energies of gas molecules onto graphene and the oxygenous functional groups are summarized, and problems and possible solutions are discussed for the GO-based gas sensors.     

Novel application of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the characterization of drying oils in art: Elucidation on the composition of original paint materials used by Edvard Munch (1863–1944)

Modern oil paints, introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, differ from those classically used in antiquity in their chemical and compositional features. The main ingredients were still traditional drying oils, often used in mixtures with less expensive oils and added with several classes of additives. Consequently, detailed lipid profiling, together with the study of lipid degradation processes, is essential for the knowledge and the conservation of paint materials used in modern and contemporary art.     

Modeling hydrate formation conditions in the presence of electrolytes and polar inhibitor solutions

In this paper, a new predictive model is proposed for prediction of gas hydrate formation conditions in the presence of single and mixed electrolytes and solutions containing both electrolyte and a polar inhibitor such as monoethylene glycol (MEG), diethylene glycol (DEG) and triethylene glycol (TEG). The proposed model is based on the γ–φ approach, which uses modified Patel–Teja equation of state (VPT EOS) for characterizing the vapor phase, the solid solution theory by van der Waals and Platteeuw for modeling the hydrate phase, the non-electrolyte NRTL-NRF local composition model and Pitzer–Debye–Huckel equation as short-range and long-range contributions to calculate water activity in single electrolyte solutions. Also, the Margules equation was used to determine the activity of water in solutions containing polar inhibitor (glycols). The model predictions are in acceptable agreement with experimental data. For single electrolyte solutions, the model predictions are similar to available models, while for mixtures of electrolytes and mixtures of electrolytes and inhibitors, the proposed model gives significantly better predictions. In addition, the absolute average deviation of hydrate formation pressures (AADP) for 144 experimental data in solutions containing single electrolyte is 5.86% and for 190 experimental data in mixed electrolytes solutions is 5.23%. Furthermore, the proposed model has an AADP of 14.13%, 5.82% and 5.28% in solutions containing (Electrolyte + MEG), (Electrolyte + DEG) and (Electrolyte + TEG), respectively.     

二苯胺取代吖啶衍生物发光材料的合成、表征及电致发光性能

设计合成了2个苯胺取代吖啶衍生物N3,N3,N6,N6-四苯基吖啶基-3,6-二胺(1)和N3,N3,N6,N6-四对甲苯基吖啶基-3,6-二胺(2),通过化学修饰在吖啶核的两端引入二苯胺取代基可以调节化合物的能级和堆积结构等性质,从而使这些吖啶衍生物具有良好的发光性能,可用于制备电致发光器件.基于吖啶衍生物为掺杂发光材料制备的电致发光器件均呈现绿光发射,器件开启电压较低(2.4 V),以化合物1和2制备的器件最高功率效率分别为4.9和8.2 lm/W.考察了其光物理、电化学、热学和荧光量子效率等性能.结果表明,化合物1和2具有较高的量子效率及匹配的能级结构,这是获得较高电致发光效率的基础.     

卵巢癌、成熟型畸胎瘤与正常血液样本中挥发性组分的研究

采用顶空固相微萃取(HS-SPME)与气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用技术,对12例卵巢癌、17例成熟型畸胎瘤与16例正常血液样本的挥发性组分进行研究,对影响提取效果的实验因素进行了优化.在最优条件下共检出28种挥发性组分,以各组分峰面积为变量,用SIMCA-P软件进行偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA),3组样本被明显区分.同时,依据PLS-DA载荷图得到8种具有显著性差异的标志物,其中己醛、蘑菇醇的变化与其在肝癌、肺癌患者血液中的变化一致,可作为诊断卵巢癌和成熟型畸胎瘤的挥发性生物标志物.     

纳米通道单分子检测低噪音电流放大器系统的研究

研制了一种新型微电流放大器系统,用于检测琢-Hemolysin生物蛋白纳米通道在单分子检测实验中所产生的微弱电流信号(<100 pA)。在1 mol/L KCl、10 mmol/L Tris-HCl,1 mmol/L EDTA的缓冲液(pH 8.0)中测定了DNA-PEG-DNA交联物与纳米通道的穿越和碰撞信号。实验中使用3 kHz贝塞尔滤波器和100 kHz模数转换器来对电流进行采样。结果表明,此放大器系统能够有效降低电流记录过程中的噪音,有利于分辨待测物分子与纳米通道作用所产生的较小阻断的电流信号(<10 pA)。     

2,6-二苯基苯酚及其聚合物的合成与应用进展

2,6-二苯基苯酚是一种重要的精细化工中间体,随着经济的发展和科学技术的不断进步,它及其聚合物的用量和用途都在不断扩大拓宽。本文主要介绍了近年来它及其聚合物不同的合成路线及其优缺点,对它们在吸附材料、工程塑料、抗氧化剂、气体分离膜等方面的应用研究进展进行了总结,并对它们的应用前景进行了展望。