Flow-injection electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of crude cell extracts for high-throughput bacterial identification

Flow-injection electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (FI-ESI-MS) of unfractionated cell-free extracts obtained from bacterial cells suspended in a solvent mixture was investigated as a rapid analytical method for reproducible, high-throughput bacterial identification. Five bacterial strains (two Escherichia coli, two Bacillus spp. and one Brevibacillus laterosporus) were studied in this investigation. Axenically grown bacterial cells were suspended in an acidic organic solvent and the cell-free extract was sequentially injected into a solvent flow stream that was sprayed into the ionization chamber of the ESI-MS. The spectra produced contained reproducible information, which was useful for discriminating between the bacteria. Tandem mass spectrometry was used to characterize further the peaks, and at least three classes of macromolecules, namely phospholipids, glycolipids, and proteins, were found to contribute most to the spectral information. Bacterial extracts stored under different conditions gave very similar mass spectra for each of the five bacterial strains, indicating that the extracts were stable even at room temperature for up to 24 h, with no loss of information content, which has obvious implications for automated high-throughput analysis. An analysis of the components of the extracting solvent mixture and their effects on the spectral information showed that acetonitrile contributes most significantly to the extraction process and hence to the information content of the spectra.     

Automated mass analysis of low-molecular-mass bacterial proteome by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Due to the presence of a large number of proteins in cell extracts, ion chromatograms of cell extracts obtained by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) can be quite complicated. It is found that the elevated baseline in an ion chromatogram contains many protein signals. One deficiency of current commercially available LC-ESI-MS data interpretation software is found to be the lack of functional operation that allows automated mass spectral integration and interpretation over signals hidden in the baseline. This current limitation can be overcome by a technique that involves the introduction of artificial pulses to an ion chromatogram by removing the solvent mixer in the HPLC pump. These artificial pulses are treated as chromatographic peaks by the software, thereby allowing automated spectral integration over the duration of a pulse. The reliability of mass analysis from the integrated spectra is shown to be dependent on spectral interpretation parameters such as mass spectral baseline threshold. The application of this method is demonstrated for rapid detection and mass analysis of low-molecular-mass proteins from cell extracts of Escherichia coli or Bacillus globigii.     

Potential of Capillary Electrophoresis for the Profiling of Propolis

The usefulness of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with diode array detection for the profiling of Propolis, a hive product, is investigated. Water extracts of Propolis were analyzed with both capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) at pH 7.0 and 9.3, and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) with sodium dodecyl sulfate at pH 9.3. Characteristic profiles were obtained and several organic acids and preservatives could be identified by means of library comparison of the recorded UV spectra combined with addition of reference compounds to the extracts. The selectivity of the CZE and MEKC system differed considerably but the information obtained with both methods was similar. The dry residues of the water extraction were extracted with ethanol-water (70 : 30, v/v) and analyzed with the MEKC system to enable the separation of the more hydrophobic constituents of the Propolis samples. Complex profiles containing various well separated peaks were obtained allowing the identification of some interesting flavonoids. On the basis of the recorded CZE and MEKC profiles, the Propolis samples could be divided into two clearly different groups which are probably from a different origin.     

Sample preparation in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of whole bacterial cells and the detection of high mass (>20 kDa) proteins

Three sample preparation strategies commonly employed in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) of whole bacterial cells were investigated for the detection of high mass signals; these included the dried droplet, the seed-layer/two-layer, and the bottom-layer methods. Different sample preparation approaches favoured the detection of high- or low-mass proteins. The low-mass peaks were best detected using the bottom-layer method. By contrast, the dried droplet method using a solvent with higher water content, and hence effecting a slower crystallization process, gave the best results for the detection of high-mass signals. Signals up to m/z 158 000 could be detected with this methodology for Bacillus sphaericus. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of the same extracts used for MALDI-TOFMS showed bands in the molecular weight range in which high-mass peaks were observed in MALDI-MS, suggesting that the high-mass signals are not polymeric adducts of low-mass protein monomers. In addition, one of the high molecular weight proteins (approximately 126 kDa) was putatively identified as an S-layer protein by an in-gel tryptic digest. The bacterial samples spotted on the target wells for MALDI-TOFMS, using the different sample preparation strategies, were examined under a scanning electron microscope and differences were observed between the different strategies, suggesting that the nature of the crystals and the distribution of the analytes amidst the crystals could influence the spectral pattern observed in MALDI-TOFMS of whole bacterial cells. Finally, evidence is presented to indicate that, although the determinants are intact cells, cell lysis occurs both before and during the MALDI process.     

Mixture Design PARAFAC HPLC-DAD Metabolomic Fingerprints of Fractionated Organic and Basic Extracts from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erythrina speciosa</Emphasis> Andrews Leaves

HPLC-DAD analysis of statistical mixture design extracts of Erythrina speciosa Andrews leaves provided chromatographic and UV–visible profiles of their basic and organic fractions that were treated with the PARAFAC multivariate method. The design extracts provided greater varieties and amounts of metabolites than could be obtained by classical extraction methods. Fractionation provided more diverse fingerprint information than obtained previously from only the crude extract. The two largest chromatographic peaks, one with a 4.8 min elution time having an intense spectral band at 235 nm and the other a 5.8 min peak with an intense 238 nm band for the basic fraction were obtained with the ternary 1:1:1 ethanol–dichloromethane–hexane mixture. These can be assigned to diene-type and lactonic alkaloids. Peaks with the same retention times are also found in the organic fraction but are extracted with different mixtures and have distinct spectral behavior in the 235 nm region, probably being aromatic alkaloids. The above strategy permits a more unambiguous assignment of metabolic groups to specific chromatographic peaks. This can be expected to provide higher quality chromatographic fingerprints for natural products’ chemistry.     

FTIR investigation of the conformational properties of the cyanide bound horse metmyoglobin

The IR spectra of horse metmyoglobin ligated with the various isotopic forms of the cyanide ion at pH 7.4 display an asymmetric isotope-sensitive profile in the C–N stretching region. Replacement of the water solvent by D₂O or reducing the pH to 5.5 downshift the center frequency of the profiles by ≈1 cm⁻¹ indicating that the Fe–C–N is hydrogen bonded. The measured profiles did not conform to any of the known peak shapes indicating that they are the sum of a number of overlapping peaks. Several techniques have been used to determine the exact number of overlapping peaks such as peak fitting, peak shape analysis and spectral deconvolution. The results indicate that the profiles are the sum of five C–N stretching bands. The five bands were attributed to the existence of the C–N vibrators in the cavities of different Mb-CN conformational states. The variations in the C–N stretching frequency were interpreted in term of the variation in polar interactions between the bound cyanide ion and the surrounding protein in these states.     

Influence of pH and Matrix Components in the Chromatographic Response of Pesticides

The pH effect of potato, apple, and soil matrices on the chromatographic response of nine pesticides was evaluated. All chromatographic analyses were performed in duplicate on a gas chromatograph with electron capture detection. The matrix effect observed in the chromatographic response of the pesticides was evaluated by comparison. We compared the chromatographic response of each pesticide in pure solvent and in organic extract obtained for the matrices. The organic extracts were obtained by solid–liquid extraction with partition at low temperature. Depending on the matrix pH, a greater or lesser amount of co-extractives can be extracted into the organic phase, which affects the matrix effect. The pH of the samples before the extraction process was modified in order to check their influence on pesticide responses. Statistical analyses involving principal component analysis and marginal means revealed that, in the potato and apple matrices, the co-extractives exerted positive effects on the chromatographic response of the analytes. At lower pH, the extraction of co-extractives from potato and apple was favored, thus increasing the matrix effect for these samples.     

Mixture design optimization of extraction and mobile phase media for fingerprint analysis of Bauhinia variegata L

Two statistical mixture designs were used to optimize the proportions of solvents used in both the extraction medium and the reversed liquid chromatographic mobile phase to improve the quality of chromatographic fingerprints of Bauhinia variegata L extracts. For modeling, the number of peaks was used as a measure of fingerprint information. Three mobile phases, each with a chromatographic strength of two, gave good results. A methanol/water (77:23 v/v) mixture resulted in 17 peaks in the chromatographic fingerprint whereas acetonitrile/water (64.5:35.5 v/v) and methanol/acetonitrile/water (35:35:30 v/v/v) mixtures resulted in 18 and 20 peaks, respectively. The corresponding optimum solvent compositions to extract chemical substances for these three mobile phases were ethanol/acetone (25:75 v/v/v) and dichloromethane/acetone (70:30 v/v) mixtures, and pure dichloromethane, respectively. The mixture designs are useful for understanding the influence of different solvents on the strengths of the extraction medium and the mobile phase.     

Statistical mixture design optimization of extraction media and mobile phase compositions for the characterization of green tea

The influence of different solvents on the extraction medium and the RP-HPLC mobile phase composition were investigated by statistical mixture designs to optimize solvent proportions to prepare the fingerprint of a medicinal herbal extract. For modeling, the number of peaks was used as a measure of fingerprint information. The optimum compositions of solvent to extract chemical substances from green tea and for mobile phase chromatographic analysis were ethyl acetate/ ethanol/dichloromethane (20:5:75 v/v/v) and MeOH/ACN/water (7.5:57.5:35 v/v/v), respectively. This system results in 26 peaks in the chromatographic fingerprint. These results show that an incorrect choice of modifiers for mobile phase composition and solvent extraction hampers the detection of a maximum number of peaks and produces a poor chromatographic fingerprint.     

Comparisons of soxhlet extraction, pressurized liquid extraction, supercritical fluid extraction and subcritical water extraction for environmental solids: recovery, selectivity and effects on sample matrix

Extractions of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soil from a former manufactured gas plant site were performed with a Soxhlet apparatus (18 h), by pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) (50 min at 100 degrees C), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) (1 h at 150 degrees C with pure CO2), and subcritical water (1 h at 250 degrees C, or 30 min at 300 degrees C). Although minor differences in recoveries for some PAHs resulted from the different methods, quantitative agreement between all of the methods was generally good. However, the extract quality differed greatly. The organic solvent extracts (Soxhlet and PLE) were much darker, while the extracts from subcritical water (collected in toluene) were orange, and the extracts from SFE (collected in CH2Cl2) were light yellow. The organic solvent extracts also yielded more artifact peaks in the gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry and GC-flame ionization detection chromatograms, especially compared to supercritical CO2. Based on elemental analysis (carbon and nitrogen) of the soil residues after each extraction, subcritical water, PLE, and Soxhlet extraction had poor selectivity for PAHs versus bulk soil organic matter (approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of the bulk soil organic matter was extracted along with the PAHs), while SFE with pure CO2 removed only 8% of the bulk organic matrix. Selectivities for different compound classes also vary with extraction method. Extraction of urban air particulate matter with organic solvents yields very high concentrations of n- and branched alkanes (approximately C18 to C30) from diesel exhaust as well as lower levels of PAHs, and no selectivity between the bulk alkanes and PAHs is obtained during organic solvent extraction. Some moderate selectivity with supercritical CO2 can be achieved by first extracting the bulk alkanes at mild conditions, followed by stronger conditions to extract the remaining PAHs, i.e., the least polar organics are the easiest organics to extract with pure CO2. In direct contrast, subcritical water prefers the more polar analytes, i.e., PAHs were efficiently extracted from urban air particulates at 250 degrees C, with little or no extraction of the alkanes. Finally, recent work has demonstrated that many pollutant molecules become "sequestered" as they age for decades in the environment (i.e., more tightly bound to soil particles and less available to organisms or transport). Therefore, it may be more important for an extraction method to only recover pollutant molecules that are environmentally-relevant, rather than the conventional attempts to extract all pollutant molecules regardless of how tightly bound they are to the soil or sediment matrix. Initial work comparing SFE extraction behavior using mild to strong conditions with bioremediation behavior of PAHs shows great promise to develop extraction methodology to measure environmentally-relevant concentrations of pollutants in addition to their total concentrations.     

Effects of different extraction methods and conditions on the phenolic composition of mate tea extracts

A simple and rapid HPLC method for determination of chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid) in mate tea extracts was developed and validated. The chromatography used isocratic elution with a mobile phase of aqueous 1.5% acetic acid-methanol (85:15, v/v). The flow rate was 0.8 mL/min and detection by UV at 325 nm. The method showed good selectivity, accuracy, repeatability and robustness, with detection limit of 0.26 mg/L and recovery of 97.76%. The developed method was applied for the determination of chlorogenic acid in mate tea extracts obtained by ethanol extraction and liquid carbon dioxide extraction with ethanol as co-solvent. Different ethanol concentrations were used (40, 50 and 60%, v/v) and liquid CO? extraction was performed at different pressures (50 and 100 bar) and constant temperature (27 ± 1 °C). Significant influence of extraction methods, conditions and solvent polarity on chlorogenic acid content, antioxidant activity and total phenolic and flavonoid content of mate tea extracts was established. The most efficient extraction solvent was liquid CO? with aqueous ethanol (40%) as co-solvent using an extraction pressure of 100 bar.     

Combination of off-line solid-phase extraction and on-column sample stacking for sensitive determination of parabens and p-hydroxybenzoic acid in waters by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

For the first time, a procedure based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) for the simultaneous extraction of a group of parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and benzyl p-hydroxybenzoates) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), from environmental water samples has been developed. Analysis of the extracts was performed by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) coupled with diode array detection (DAD), using large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) based on the electroosmotic flow pump as on-column preconcentration technique. Several water samples, such as tap, river, and wastewater samples, were analyzed using both SPE-NACE-DAD and SPE-LVSS-NACE-DAD methods. It has been observed that in addition to SPE parameters such as sorbent material, sample pH, breakthrough volume, addition of an organic solvent and elution solvent, also sample characteristics, such as organic matter content, have influence on SPE extraction yields, especially in the case of PHBA. The presence of PHBA and some parabens was detected at trace levels in surface water samples. Concentrations up to 8.4 ng mL⁻¹ were found in raw wastewater, with the highest levels corresponding to methylparaben, propylparaben, and their main degradation product, PHBA.     

Solid‐phase nanoextraction of polychlorinated biphenyls in water and their determination by gas chromatography with electron capture detector

A solid‐phase nanoextraction method has been developed for the extraction and preconcentration of polychlorinated biphenyls using carboxyl multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a solid nano‐sorbent. Parameters affecting extraction efficiency such as sorbent amount, desorption solvent type and volume, extraction time, pH, and salt content have been studied. Under optimized conditions, the correlation coefficient was up to 0.9989, the limits of detection was in the range of 1.4–3.5 ng/L, and limits of quantification was between 4.8 and 11.6 ng/L. The recoveries were in the range of 99–106% for different spiked analytes. The relative standard deviation for water samples spiked with two different spiking levels has been between 4 and 10%. The proposed sustainable method is rapid, easy to use, and small consumption of organic solvent for the detection and determination of trace levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental waters.     

气相色谱-质谱-自动质谱解卷积技术在沉积物和污泥中有机污染物非靶标筛查中的应用

以沉积物和污泥中非极性和弱极性有机污染物的非靶标筛查为目的,建立了一种超声波辅助提取-气相色谱-质谱结合自动解卷积技术的筛查方法。以二氯甲烷为溶剂超声波辅助提取样品3次,每次20 min,提取液经凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)和硅胶层析柱净化,再用3 g铜粉超声10 min除硫。前处理方法的重复性(RSD, n=5)为5.8%~14.9%。采用自动质谱解卷积软件(AMDIS)和标准谱库定性鉴别出所含的有机物。在两类样品中共鉴别出290种有机污染物,其中沉积物样品中190种,污泥样品中153种。鉴别出的污染物包括美国环境保护署(EPA)优先控制污染物、药物和除草剂等新型污染物、抗氧化剂、中间体、有机溶剂及化工原料等。该方法灵敏度高,重复性好,可用于复杂基质样品中有机污染物的非靶标筛查。     

Unravelling the composition of very complex samples by comprehensive gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Cigarette smoke

The potential and current limitations of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOF-MS) for the analysis of very complex samples were studied with the separation of cigarette smoke as an example. Because of the large number of peaks in such a GC x GC chromatogram it was not possible to perform manual data processing. Instead, the GC-TOF-MS software was used to perform peak finding, deconvolution and library search in an automated fashion; this resulted in a peak table containing some 30000 peaks. Mass spectral match factors were used to evaluate the library search results. The additional use of retention indices and information from second-dimension retention times can substantially improve the identification. The combined separation power of the GC x GC-TOF-MS system and the deconvolution algorithm provide a system with a most impressive separation power.     

Water‐Dragging Ability of Aromatic Compounds in Octanol‐Water Systems: A Quantitative Approach by Spectra Deconvolution

This is the first time that the water‐dragging ability of aromatic compounds partitioning in octanolwater biphasic systems is experimentally estimated by a quantitative spectral deconvolution model. The water‐dragging amount, Δ f value, measured by the quantitative model is based on the integrations of peak area increments of component peaks deconvoluted from O‐H modes of water and octanol molecule, recorded by a Fourier‐transformed infrared spectrophotometer. The stoichiometry hydration capacity, Δ fw, is derived from the corresponding Δ f values. Without any tedious experimental procedure or complicated modeling calculation, the Δ fw value is able to give the required solute‐water hydration information. Such an advantage can't be provided by other techniques applied in the field of water‐dragging ability investigation. Six aromatic compounds were used for the method validation. The Δ fw data obtained by this model are generally consistent with literature‐known values. The efficiency of this quantitative spectral deconvolution model can solve the state of aggregations and the structure of hydrates existing in the organic phase. Moreover, this deconvolution model also has the ability to be extended further to investigate the environmental and biological problems related to the organic chemical portioning in the aqueous and non‐aqueous phases.     

Extractions with superheated water

As the temperature of liquid water is raised under pressure, between 100 and 374 degrees C, the polarity decreases markedly and it can be used as an extraction solvent for a wide range of analytes. Most interest has been in its application for the determination of PAHs, PCBs, and pesticides from environmental samples, where it gives comparable results to Soxhlet extraction but more rapidly and without the use of significant volumes of organic solvents. Unlike SPE, n-alkanes are not extracted unless the pressure is reduced and steam is used. Other applications have included the extraction of essential oils from plant material where it preferentially extracts the economically more important oxygenated components compared to steam distillation. The aqueous extract has been concentrated in a number of different methods (solvent extraction, SPE, SPME, extraction disc) or the extraction can be linked on-line to LC or GC. In many cases the superheated water extraction is cleaner, faster and cheaper than the conventional extraction methods.     

Structure and properties of the δ‐form and mesophase of syndiotactic polystyrene membranes prepared from different organic solvents

Syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) membranes were prepared with different organic solvent systems and compared to get the information about the δ‐form complexing behavior of sPS. Further, the guest molecules included in the clathrate δ form of sPS are removed by stepwise extraction method. The conformational changes during the TTGG helical formation of sPS/organic solvent systems have been identified by FTIR spectroscopy, and it was concluded that the TTGG helices were constructed in regular sequences, which depends on the nature of the respective solvents. The TTGG content in the mesophase is found to be increased by removing the guest molecules. The structural changes of sPS/organic solvent systems have been characterized by WAXD analysis. Moreover, the different clathrate structures were found and showed the different crystalline reflections in the WAXD profiles, which are significantly changed with the kind of guest solvent included in sPS. The content of solvents in the clathrated sPS and the desorption temperatures were determined by thermal analysis. The resulted mesophase of sPS membrane contains the nanoporous molecular cavities that depend on the size of the guest molecule. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1873–1880, 2005     

锌矿原料有机物含量监测方法探究

采用测定化学需氧量(COD)法和有机溶剂抽提法分别对企业常用的两种锌矿原料(A,B)有机物进行监测。通过采用测定化学需氧量(COD)法对锌矿原料中含有的有机物进行定性及半定量分析,实验结果表明,矿粉A中COD为84.9mg/L,矿粉B中COD为96.9mg/L,各自进行了3次平行实验,都能得到稳定的结果,同时确定矿粉A和B中分别含有不同量的有机物。采用有机溶剂抽提法来确定锌矿原料中有机物的含量。考察了溶剂种类、溶剂量、抽提时间对矿粉中的有机物提取效果的影响,得到最佳实验条件,对矿粉的测定结果为:矿粉A中有机物含量为7.6‰,矿粉B中有机物含量为10.1‰。在各自的最佳实验条件下,进行了3次平行实验,都能得到稳定的结果,方法准确、可靠。     

霍州和兴和褐煤的热溶解聚及其有机氧的赋存形态

依次采用石油醚、二硫化碳、甲醇、丙酮和等体积的丙酮/二硫化碳混合溶剂对霍州（HZ）和兴和（XH）褐煤进行分级萃取得到萃取物（E₁-E₅）和萃取残渣（ER₁-ER₅）,利用甲醇、甲苯、等体积甲醇/甲苯混合溶剂和丙酮等溶剂分别对ER₅在320℃进行热溶得到热溶物（SPs）。HZ和XH的累积萃取物产率分别为7.03%和7.86%,其中,E₃的产率最高;萃取残渣在甲醇/甲苯混合溶剂中的热溶物产率最高,ER_5,HZ和ER_5,XH的热溶物产率分别为45.76%和40.14%。E₁-E₅的傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）谱图中均有较强的脂肪C-H的伸缩振动峰,而SPs的FT-IR谱图中具有较强的C=C、C=O和缔合羟基的吸收峰。气相色谱质谱联用（GC/MS）分析表明,E₁-E₅中含氧化合物（OCOCs）以醇、醚和酮类化合物为主,而SPs中OCOCs以醇、酚和酮类化合物为主,且极性较强的溶剂有利于褐煤中OCOCs的溶出。与原煤FT-IR谱图相比,萃取残渣和热溶残渣的FT-IR谱图中缔合羟基、C=O和C-O-C的伸缩振动峰强度明显减弱。X射线光电子能谱（XPS）分析表明,两种褐煤中不同形态氧的相对含量为C-O > C=O > COO-,并且HZ具有更高的C-O和COO-含量。