Enzyme class identification in cleaning products by hydrolysis followed by derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde, HPLC and linear discriminant analysis

The enzymes present in raw materials of the cleaning industry (enzyme industrial concentrates) and in household cleaners were isolated by precipitation with acetone and hydrolyzed with HCl. The resulting amino acids were derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde, and the derivatives were separated by HPLC. The peaks of 14 amino acids were observed using a C18 column and a multi-segmented gradient of acetonitrile-water in the presence of a 5 mM citric/citrate buffer of pH 6.5. Using either normalized peak areas (divided by the sum of the peak areas of the chromatogram) or ratios of pairs of peak areas as predictor variables, linear discriminant analysis models, capable of predicting the enzyme class, including proteases, lipases, amylases and cellulases, were constructed. For this purpose, both enzyme industrial concentrates and detergent bases spiked with them were included in the training set. In all cases, the enzymes of the evaluation set, including industrial concentrates, spiked detergent bases and commercial cleaners were correctly classified with assignment probabilities higher than 99%.     

Linkage position and residue identification of disaccharides by tandem mass spectrometry and linear discriminant analysis

The discrimination of isomeric disaccharides with different linkage types and different monosaccharide residues--glucose (Glc), galactose (Gal), and mannose (Man) at the non-reducing end--was investigated with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Conventional matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-MS has strong interference peaks from matrix ions in the low mass region (<500 Da). This greatly limits the application of MALDI-MS for the analysis of small molecules such as saccharides. We solved this problem by using LDI with acidic fullerene matrix, which gives a very clean background in the low-mass region. Disaccharides with different linkage types give different tandem mass spectral profiles from various cross-ring fragmentation pathways. Disaccharides with the same linkage type but with three different kinds of monosaccharide residues bear the same fragmentation profiles. However, the relative ratios of the fragment ion intensities were found to be distinctly different among the three disaccharide isomers. By employing statistical tools such as LDA to classify the tandem mass spectra, disaccharide isomers with either different linkages or different monosaccharide residues were successfully classified.     

Characterization of novel hydrolysis products of carbapenems by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Carbapenems, including meropenem and imipenem, exhibit low stability against acid or base reagents. The fragmentation behavior of meropenem and its acid hydrolysis products was investigated by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and ion trap tandem multi‐stage mass spectrometry in both positive and negative ion mode. Only one neutral loss of CO₂ was observed from the precursor ion to the MS⁴ product ions for the acid hydrolysis product and this behavior did not correspond to that expected for the previously accepted 1‐pyrroline or 2‐pyrroline structure with two carbonyl acid units. The unknown product was then proposed to be 2‐(4‐(5‐(dimethylcarbamoyl)pyrrolidin‐3‐ylthio)‐5‐imino‐3‐methyl‐6‐oxotetrahydro‐2H‐pyran‐2‐yl)‐3‐hydroxybutanoic acid on the basis of the multi‐stage mass spectrometric and accurate mass data. A similar acid hydrolysis product of imipenem was also identified by mass spectrometry, confirming that these carbapenems had the same acid hydrolysis behavior. The proposed structures were further confirmed by NMR experiments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid determination of multiple linear kinase substrate motifs by mass spectrometry

Kinase-substrate recognition depends on the chemical properties of the phosphorylatable residue as well as the surrounding linear sequence motif. Detailed knowledge of these characteristics increases the confidence of linking identified phosphorylation sites to kinases, predicting phosphorylation sites, and designing optimal peptide substrates. Here, we present a mass spectrometry-based approach for determining linear kinase substrate motifs by elaborating the positional and chemical preference of the kinase for a phosphorylatable residue using libraries of naturally-occurring peptides that are amenable to peptide identification by commonly used proteomics platforms. We applied this approach to a structurally and functionally diverse set of purified kinases, which recapitulated their previously described substrate motifs and discovered additional ones, including preferences of certain kinases for phosphorylatable residues adjacent to peptide termini. Furthermore, we identify specific and distinguishable motif elements for the four members of the polo-like kinase (Plk) family and verify members of these motif elements for Plk1 in vivo.     

Two-dimensional linear discriminant analysis for classification of three-way chemical data

The two-dimensional linear discriminant analysis (2D-LDA) algorithm was originally proposed in the context of face image processing for the extraction of features with maximal discriminant power. However, despite its promising performance in image processing tasks, the 2D-LDA algorithm has not yet been used in applications involving chemical data. The present paper bridges this gap by investigating the use of 2D-LDA in classification problems involving three-way spectral data. The investigation was concerned with simulated data, as well as real-life data sets involving the classification of dry-cured Parma ham according to ageing by surface autofluorescence spectrometry and the classification of edible vegetable oils according to feedstock using total synchronous fluorescence spectrometry. The results were compared with those obtained by using the spectral data with no feature extraction, U-PLS-DA (Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis applied to the unfolded data), and LDA employing TUCKER-3 or PARAFAC scores. In the simulated data set, all methods yielded a correct classification rate of 100%. However, in the Parma ham and vegetable oil data sets, better classification rates were obtained by using 2D-LDA (86% and 100%), compared with no feature extraction (76% and 77%), U-PLS-DA (81% and 92%), PARAFAC-LDA (76% and 86%) and TUCKER3-LDA (86% and 93%).     

Determination of sarin, soman and their hydrolysis products in soil by packed capillary liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry

An analytical method based on aqueous ultrasonic extraction and packed capillary liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) analysis was developed and compared to an existing gas chromatography(GC)-MS based method for the determination of sarin, soman and their hydrolysis products in contaminated soil. Three soils, a red clay, a tan sandy clay and a brown sandy clay loam, were spiked with sarin and soman and their initial hydrolysis products, isopropyl methylphosphonic acid and pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid, at the 10 microg/g level to assess recovery efficiency. Recovery of sarin and soman from the aqueous soil extracts was comparable to the existing analytical method, with a significant improvement in recovery being demonstrated for the chemical warfare agent hydrolysis products. Sarin and soman were recovered in the 20-90% range from the three soil types with aqueous extraction, while the hydrolysis products of these chemical warfare agents were extracted with recoveries in excess of 80%. The developed soil extraction and analysis method appears to be an attractive alternative to the GC-MS based method, since aqueous extracts containing chemical warfare agent hydrolysis products may be analysed directly, eliminating the need for additional sample handling and derivatization steps.     

Rapid classification of perfumes by extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS)

Extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) was applied to rapid fingerprinting of various perfumes for quality classification. Unique EESI-MS fingerprints of ten famous brands were obtained. This technique was shown to be applicable to rapid forgery detection on the example of an authentic and a counterfeit 'Miss Dior' fragrance by Christian Dior. We believe that the high throughput and simplicity of this sample-preparation-free method can be advantageous in the perfume industry, for instance when applied to online quality control.     

Rapid determination of fumonisins in corn-based products by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A simple, fast, and robust method was developed for the determination of fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), and fumonisin B3 (FB3) in corn-based human food and animal feed (cornmeal). The method involves a single extraction step followed by centrifugation and filtration before analysis by ultra-performance liquid chromatographylelectrospray ionization (UPLC/ESI)-MS/MS. The LC/MS/MS method developed here represents the fastest and simplest procedure (<30 min) among both conventional HPLC methods and other LC/MS methods using SPE cleanup. The potential for high throughput analysis makes the method particularly beneficial for regulatory agencies and analytical laboratories with a high sample volume. A single-laboratory validation was conducted by testing three different spiking levels (200, 500, and 1000 ng/g for FB1 and FB2; 100, 250, and 500 ng/g for FB3) for accuracy and precision. Recoveries of FB1 ranged from 93 to 98% with RSD values of 3-8%. Recoveries of FB2 ranged from 104 to 108%, with RSD values of 2-6%. Recoveries of FB3 ranged from 94 to 108%, with RSD values of 2-5%.     

Rapid analysis of svoc in aerosols by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) was applied for the first time to the analysis of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOC) in atmospheric aerosols. We took polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as representatives of SVOCs. The DESI-MS conditions were optimized and the limit of detection for PAHs was about 10 pg with 5 s sampling time. PAHs from both laboratory-made biomass burning aerosols and ambient aerosols were selectively and rapidly analyzed without extraction or preconcentration. The observed PAH species and their relative ion intensities are discussed. This work demonstrates that DESI-MS is a promising method for rapid semiquantitative analysis of SVOC in atmospheric aerosols.     

Rapid screening of N-oxides of chemical warfare agents degradation products by ESI-tandem mass spectrometry

Rapid detection and identification of chemical warfare agents and related precursors/degradation products in various environmental matrices is of paramount importance for verification of standards set by the chemical weapons convention (CWC). Nitrogen mustards, N,N-dialkylaminoethyl-2-chlorides, N,N-dialkylaminoethanols, N-alkyldiethanolamines, and triethanolamine, which are listed CWC scheduled chemicals, are prone to undergo N-oxidation in environmental matrices or during decontamination process. Thus, screening of the oxidized products of these compounds is also an important task in the verification process because the presence of these products reveals alleged use of nitrogen mustards or precursors of VX compounds. The N-oxides of aminoethanols and aminoethylchlorides easily produce [M + H]⁺ ions under electrospray ionization conditions, and their collision-induced dissociation spectra include a specific neutral loss of 48 u (OH + CH₂OH) and 66 u (OH + CH₂Cl), respectively. Based on this specific fragmentation, a rapid screening method was developed for screening of the N-oxides by applying neutral loss scan technique. The method was validated and the applicability of the method was demonstrated by analyzing positive and negative samples. The method was useful in the detection of N-oxides of aminoethanols and aminoethylchlorides in environmental matrices at trace levels (LOD, up to 500 ppb), even in the presence of complex masking agents, without the use of time-consuming sample preparation methods and chromatographic steps. This method is advantageous for the off-site verification program and also for participation in official proficiency tests conducted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Netherlands. The structure of N-oxides can be confirmed by the MS/MS experiments on the detected peaks. A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was developed for the separation of isomeric N-oxides of aminoethanols and aminoethylchlorides using a C18 Hilic column. Critical isomeric compounds can be confirmed by LC-MS/MS experiments, after detecting the N-oxides from the neutral loss scanning method.

Characterization of linear and cyclic polylactic acids and their solvolysis products by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Linear and cyclic polylactic acids (PLAs) were characterized using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) as part of our ongoing investigation of the hydrolysis mechanism of biodegradable polymers. The condensation oligomers of linear polylactic acid (LPLA) were synthesized by thermal dehydration of L-lactic acid. The trimer and tetramer base polymers of cyclic polylactic acid (CPLA) were obtained by cyclization reactions of lactic acid trimers and tetramers, respectively. In the ESI-MS/MS measurement, LPLA yielded three types of product ion series, while CPLA yielded only one type, from which the repeated units of CPLA were removed. The MS/MS spectrum of the NH4+ adduct ion for both cyclic and linear PLA showed loss of one ammonia molecule. The postsource decay (PSD) spectrum of CPLA by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry was similar to the ESI-MS/MS spectrum, while that of LPLA was different. In addition, the degradation of cyclic and linear PLAs by solvolysis was investigated. Solvolysis with anhydrous MeOH was quite feasible, but did not readily occur in the presence of even a small amount of water in the MeOH solvent.     

Identification of the hydrolysis products of AlCl3.6H2O by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The hydrolysis reactions of AlCl3 in 0.1 M aqueous solutions at pH 3.27-4.20 were monitored by electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-ToF MS) as a function of time. The cationic and anionic ESI mass spectra of aluminum(III) solutions gave strong evidence of the presence of a variety of monomeric and polymeric complexes. Competition between the OH- and Cl- ligands within the same aluminum core was observed. The influence of the sample cone voltage on the product distribution was also explored. The optimum sample cone voltage for the cationic spectra was 70 V. For the anionic spectra no optimum sample cone voltage was found and the appearance of the anionic spectra was strongly dependent on the sample cone voltage within the whole range explored.     

Optimization by statistical linear discriminant analysis in analytical chemistry

The application of statistical linear discriminant analysis in analytical chemistry is discussed. In addition to a general discussion of the theory of the method, which is illustrated by some examples, its suitability for problem solving in analytical chemistry is demonstrated by a review of published applications. A more mathematical point of view is added as an appendix.     

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry fingerprinting of perfumes: Rapid classification and counterfeit detection

A fast procedure to classify perfumes and identify counterfeit samples is described. Dilution of a few microL of the sample in a 1:1 methanol/water solution is followed by detection of its major polar components via direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in the positive ion mode. As proof-of-principle cases, three famous brands of perfumes were used. The ESI+-MS fingerprints of authentic samples were very characteristic, showing distinctive sets of polar markers for each sample. Principal component analysis (PCA) placed samples of the three perfume brands in well-defined groups. Counterfeit samples were also clearly detected owing to contrasting ESI-MS fingerprints, with PCA placing these samples far away from the authentic samples.     

UHPLC-MS/MS法快速测定水产品中17种磺胺和喹诺酮类药物

建立了UHPLC-MS/MS法测定水产品中10种磺胺类(SAs)和7种喹诺酮类(QNs)药物残留的分析方法。样品用200 g/L盐酸羟胺-乙腈溶液提取,以乙酸铵溶液和乙腈为流动相进行梯度洗脱,电喷雾正离子(ESI+)模式电离,多反应监测模式检测,同时对水产品中10种SAs和7种QNs进行定量和定性。在0.25～4.0μg/kg和0.10～2.0μg/kg范围内两类药物的线性良好(r2>0.99);平均回收率为均为80%～120%,RSD为7.4%～14%;10种磺胺药物的检测限(LOD)均为5.0μg/kg,7种喹诺酮药物检测限(LOD)均为2.0μg/kg。该方法适合水产品中这两类药物残留的确证和定量测定。     

Rapid multi-element analysis of groundwater by high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A rapid and sensitive method was developed to determine, with a single dilution, the concentration of 33 major and trace elements (Na, Mg, Si, K, Ca, Li, Al, P, S, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Mo, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, Re, Hg, Pb, Bi, U) in groundwater. The method relies on high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR ICP-MS) and works across nine orders of magnitude of concentrations. For most elements, detection limits for this method are considerably lower than methods based on quadrupole ICP-MS. Precision was within or close to ±3% (1) for all elements analyzed, with the exception of Se (±10%) and Al (±6%). The usefulness of the method is demonstrated with a set of 629 groundwater samples collected from tube wells in Bangladesh (Northeast Araiharzar). The results show that a majority of tube well samples in this area exceed the WHO guideline for As of 10 g L^–1, and that those As-safe wells frequently do not meet the guideline for Mn of 500 µg L^–1 and U of 2 µg L^–1.