中药复方六神丸中多类成分的多维液质系统筛查和鉴定

中药复方中成分复杂,通常包含不同类别的多种化合物。因此,建立无靶标的筛查和鉴定中药复方的分析模式是十分必要的。本研究采用液相色谱/飞行时间质谱(HPLC/TOF-MS)和液相色谱/离子阱多级质谱(HPLC/IonTrapMSn)的多维液质联用系统筛查和鉴定中药复方六神丸中的多类化学成分。在优化的液质条件下,飞行时间质谱对六神丸质谱信息中的每个色谱峰进行了精确分子量测定,并匹配出可能的化学组成;再结合离子阱质谱提供的多级碎片结构信息对其进行结构解析,最后采用相应的标准品进行确证。本研究共鉴定出六神丸中分别来源于蟾酥、麝香和牛黄三味药材的25种化合物,为复杂体系的多类别成分分析提供了一种有效、可靠的新模式。     

大叶桉叶挥发油的化学成分研究

用挥发油提取器提取大叶桉干叶中的挥发油,利用色质联用(GC/MS)产生的双线性数据,藉化学计量学分辨方法,得到了各组分的纯物质色谱峰和质谱图。根据色谱保留时间,同时利用解析所得的纯物质质谱图在NIST质谱数据库进行相似检索来对各个组分进行定性分析;采用色谱峰面积归一法计算各化合物的相对含量。共分离了113个化合物,鉴定了其中90个,占总挥发油的93.28%。主要为萜类、萜醇类等化合物,还成功地检测出一些色谱分离不完全和低含量的组分。     

利用气相色谱/质谱-化学计量学分辨法分析川芎挥发性成分

采用加速溶剂萃取法提取挥发性成分,气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用分析,并借助化学计量学分辨方法,对川芎的挥发性成分进行了定性定量分析。通过采用子窗口因子分析法对重叠色谱峰进行分辨,从而获得每一组分的纯色谱和质谱。依靠每一组分纯质谱在NIST质谱库进行相似性检索而定性分析,用总体积积分法进行定量分析。在川芎挥发油中共分辨出67个色谱峰,通过质谱库检索得到其中56个组分的定性定量结果,占总含量的87.67%。该方法增加了可鉴定化合物的数目,提高了定性的准确度,能用于川芎的质量控制。     

用熵最小算法解析桂郁金挥发油GC-MS重叠谱

采用气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)联用技术对桂郁金中提取的挥发油成分进行检测,同时用熵最小算法对其中的共流物色谱峰进行解析,并通过质谱库检索和程序升温保留指数相结合的方式对解析得到的各纯组分进行定性分析。将桂郁金挥发油各组分的质谱数据直接与美国国家标准及技术研究所(NIST)数据库进行比对,鉴定出38个化合物;在挥发油的色谱图中,存在一些因分离不完全而导致的共流物色谱峰,以保留时间为1 106.52~1 108.38 s及1 184 s的色谱峰为例,经熵最小算法解析,共发现5个纯组分。采用熵最小算法可以清楚地对共流物色谱峰进行解析并得到所包含的各个纯组分,该法可提高复杂成分定性定量分析结果的准确性。     

谱图检索结合二级质谱定性分析烟草中挥发性成分

采用同时蒸馏萃取法提取烟叶中的挥发性成分,利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)分离测定,通过谱库检索和匹配度定性结合色谱保留指数方法鉴定烟叶中挥发性成分,并引入离子阱二级质谱对谱库检索匹配度差距小、含量低,背景干扰大的物质准确定性.采用谱图检索结合二级质谱定性共鉴定144个化合物,其中104个化合物在烟草挥发性成分的文献中已有报道,报道中有9个化合物是通过二级质谱定性,其余40个化合物还未见报道.结果表明,离子阱二级质谱定性的引入提高了对未知化合物定性的准确性和可靠性,适合于烟叶这类复杂植物体系的化学组分研究.     

超高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱法分离鉴定烟草中5种糖苷类香味前体物质

采用超高效液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱法(UPLC-ESI MS/MS)并结合气相色谱-质谱法分离鉴定了烟草中5种主要的糖苷类香味前体物质。烟样经甲醇提取、XAD-2柱净化,得到初步纯化的糖苷,在pH 5条件下将其酶解,释放出糖苷配基。采用气相色谱-质谱分析并通过标准谱库检索确定了5种挥发性苷元;然后通过电喷雾质谱(负离子模式)确定糖苷母离子并作碎片离子扫描(MS2),确定了5种糖苷类香味前体物质的存在形式;最后采用UPLC-ESI MS/MS,以甲醇和乙酸-乙酸铵水溶液为流动相,通过RP-C18柱分离,在多反应监测(MRM)模式下,鉴定了烟草中5种主要的糖苷类香味前体物质,为应用液相色谱-质谱分析缺乏标准样品的糖苷类香味前体物质奠定了基础。     

顶空-气相色谱-质谱联用分析桂花和叶中挥发性成分

采用谱库检索结合准确质量测定、保留指数、串联质谱技术的多维定性分析策略鉴定化合物, 能够提高定性分析的效率和准确性. 运用顶空-气相色谱-四极质谱、顶空-气相色谱-飞行时间质谱以及顶空-气相色谱-串联质谱联用技术对桂花样品进行了分析检测, 并采用多维定性分析思路对检出的挥发性成分进行了鉴定. 结果共确认出47种挥发性成分, 其中单萜类和倍半萜类化合物为主要组分. 该定性分析策略准确可靠, 可以广泛应用于复杂样品挥发性成分的定性分析中.     

多种污染物的离子阱质谱库的建立

建立常见有机磷和有机氯农药的质谱库,通过检索与NIST库进行比较,结果较满意。该质谱库可应用于离子阱检测系统的谱库检索,提高了对未知污染物鉴定的可靠性。     

天然维生素E制品中杂质的分离与鉴定

利用高效液相色谱、气相色谱-质谱联用与高分辨质谱对天然维生素E制品中的杂质进行了分离分析与结构鉴定。采用正相高效液相色谱法分离天然维生素E的4种异构体及2种杂质,并对杂质馏分进行富集纯化。将气相色谱-质谱联用与高分辨质谱检测相结合,用于获得杂质的结构信息。通过比较杂质精确相对分子质量和解析质谱碎片离子,推断杂质为芝麻素及其同分异构体表芝麻素。经与芝麻素对照品保留时间及碎片离子数据比对,确证了对杂质结构的推断。所建立的杂质鉴定方法快捷、有效,可应用于天然维生素E制品的食品安全控制。     

GC-MS法测定油漆行业废气化学成分及化学计量学解析

采用GU/MS法分离测定油漆行业废气污染物化学成分,利用化学计量学解析法(CRM)对重叠的色谱峰进行解析,得到各成分的纯色谱曲线和质谱,通过质谱库对解析的纯组分进行定性,用解析色谱曲线积分法进行定量.从25个色谱峰中解析出了49个组分,按检索相似度大于90%的原则,鉴定出了其中40个化合物,占总含量的92.3%.废气污染物的主要成分为苯系物和烷烃,分别占总含量的46.8%和27.2%.     

The use of library identification and common fragments for the identification of corticosteroids in forensic samples

The detection of corticosteroids and sex steroids in samples with no content indication, which are confiscated for forensic investigation, is a challenge in doping analysis. A screening method based on the identification of androgens, estrogens, gestagens, and their esters by means of a mass spectral library, along with a fast ultra-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) method, was recently developed in our lab for the analysis of dietary supplements. However, for forensic investigations, it is important to extend the scope of the method to corticosteroids in various matrices. Therefore, 36 corticosteroids were added to the mass spectral library, and the sample preparation step was modified so that androgens, gestagens, corticosteroids, and their esters could be analyzed with only one injection with the UPLC-MS method. A complementary tool to the existing library identification was found in the extraction of common fragment ions out of the full scan data obtained for the library search. The fragment ion with m/z 147 was found to be a good marker for the detection of steroids. Extra confirmation was obtained from the fragment ions with m/z 135 (for all steroids) and 237 (specific for corticosteroids) or from the fragment ions with m/z 77, 91, and 105. The effectiveness of this approach was evaluated on some samples previously screened for forensic investigation with thin-layer chromatography and confirmed with a targeted gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method. This study shows that the combination of the library identification and the common fragment ions approach can be a valuable tool in the detection of steroids without defining any target at the start of the analysis.     

Dissimilarity analysis and automatic identification of monomethylalkanes from gas chromatography mass spectrometry data 1. Principle and protocols

Monomethylalkanes are common but important components in many naturally occurring and synthetic organic materials. Generally, this kind of compounds is routinely analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and identified by the retention pattern or similarity matching to the reference mass spectral library. However, these identification approaches rely on the limited standard database or costly standard compounds. When unknown monomethylalkane is absent from the reference library, these approaches might be less useful. In this study, based on the fragmentation rules and empirical observation, many interesting mass spectral characteristics of monomethylalkanes were discovered and employed to infer the number of carbon atoms and methylated position. Combined with the retention pattern, a protocol was described for the identification of monomethylalkane analyzed by GC–MS. After tested by simulated data and GC–MS data of the gasoline sample, it was demonstrated that the developing approach could automatically and correctly identify monomethylalkanes in complicated GC–MS data.     

A “Low-Molecular” Approach to the Identification of Microorganisms by MALDI Mass Spectrometry

A new approach to the identification of microorganisms is presented. It includes the transformation of their MALDI mass spectra aimed at reducing mass scale by one order of magnitude and the use of standard software for building mass spectral libraries of low-molecular compounds and library searches. A library of 728 transformed (“rescaled”) mass spectra of 182 strains for some Streptococcus species was built. With this library, the rate of true microorganism identification was estimated by cross-comparison between library mass spectra (internal validation of the approach). The true identification rate was 84% for three Streptococcus species, which corresponds to the average trueness of species identification by MALDI as found in the literature. The proposed approach to identification can be considered as a method of choice for solving identification problems under consideration.     

Identification of chemical ingredients of peanut stems and leaves extracts using UPLC‐QTOF‐MS coupled with novel informatics UNIFI platform

Peanut stems and leaves have been used traditionally as both herbal medicines and special food in Asia. In this study, the main functional compounds of peanut stems and leaves extracts were identified using UPLC separation coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (QTOF‐MS), and a traditional medicine library. Three different extraction solvents (ethyl acetate, petroleum ether and n‐butanol) were evaluated to prepare the extracts of peanut stems and leaves. A total of 283 chemical compounds were identified in peanut stems and leaves extracts, of which 207 compounds are tentatively new identifications in Genus Arachis. The integration of data acquisition and processing with the traditional medicine library provides a simple, efficient process to effectively facilitate the identification of chemical ingredients in complex natural product extracts. The integrated workflow for separation, detection and identification of functional compounds in natural products using UPLC/QTOF‐MS greatly improves productivity for development of traditional herbal medicines. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of flame retarding organic alkali metal salt additives in polycarbonate by flow injection electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry

Three commonly used flame retarding organic alkali metal salt additives in polycarbonate, potassium diphenylsulfone sulfonate, potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate and p-toluenesulfonic acid sodium salt could be simultaneously, quickly and conveniently identified in a polycarbonate sample by utilizing electrospray ion trap mass spectroscopy detection in flow injection mode after dissolution and precipitation of the polymer. The resulting method offered advantages of speed, selectivity and precision of identification based on two stage mass spectroscopy fragmentation patterns and mass spectral library matching for the three salts tested, and is likely to be applicable to other compounds of similar class.     

Analysis of impurities in pharmaceuticals by LC‐MS with cold electron ionization

Pharmaceuticals require careful and precise determination of their impurities that might harm the user upon consumption. Although today, the most common technique for impurities identification is liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS), it has several downsides due to the nature of the ionization method. Also, the analyses in many cases are targeted thus despite being present, some of the compounds will not be revealed. In this paper, we propose and show a new method for untargeted analysis and identification of impurities in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The instrument used for these analyses is a novel electron ionization (EI) LC‐MS with supersonic molecular beams (SMB). The EI‐LC‐MS‐SMB was implemented for analyses of several drug samples spiked with an impurity. The instrument provides EI mass spectra with enhanced molecular ions, named Cold EI, which increases the identification probabilities when the compound is identified with the aid of an EI library like National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We analyzed ibuprofen and its impurities, and both the API and the expected impurity were identified with names and structures by the NIST library. Moreover, other unexpected impurities were found and identified proving the ability of the EI‐LC‐MS‐SMB system for truly untargeted analysis. The results show a broad dynamic range of four orders of magnitude at the same run with a signal‐to‐noise ratio of over 10 000 for the API and almost uniform response.     

快速蒸发电离质谱技术及其应用研究进展

近年来,原位电离质谱技术成为质谱分析领域的研究前沿和热点。快速蒸发电离质谱技术源于外科手术中的手术烟雾现象,自2009年报道以来,作为一种新型原位电离质谱技术已被广泛应用于医学、微生物鉴定、食品真伪鉴别、代谢物研究、药用植物成分鉴定等领域。该技术通过电离切割组织或其他生物样品产生的含丰富特定区域生物特征的气溶胶,对其进行原位、在线、实时、快速质谱分析。该文阐述了快速蒸发电离质谱技术的发展历程、电离机制及工作原理,并对其在不同领域的应用研究进展进行了综述,可为相关领域研究人员提供科研思路和技术参考。     

Quality evaluation of tandem mass spectral libraries

Tandem mass spectral libraries are gaining more and more importance for the identification of unknowns in different fields of research, including metabolomics, forensics, toxicology, and environmental analysis. Particularly, the recent invention of reliable, robust, and transferable libraries has increased the general acceptance of these tools. Herein, we report on results obtained from thorough evaluation of the match reliabilities of two tandem mass spectral libraries: the MSforID library established by the Oberacher group in Innsbruck and the Weinmann library established by the Weinmann group in Freiburg. Three different experiments were performed: (1) Spectra of the libraries were searched against their corresponding library after excluding either this single compound-specific spectrum or all compound-specific spectra prior to searching; (2) the libraries were searched against each other using either library as reference set or sample set; (3) spectra acquired on different mass spectrometric instruments were matched to both libraries. Almost 13,000 tandem mass spectra were included in this study. The MSforID search algorithm was used for spectral matching. Statistical evaluation of the library search results revealed that principally both libraries enable the sensitive and specific identification of compounds. Due to higher mass accuracy of the QqTOF compared with the QTrap instrument, matches to the MSforID library were more reliable when comparing spectra with both libraries. Furthermore, only the MSforID library was shown to be efficiently transferable to different kinds of tandem mass spectrometers, including “tandem-in-time” instruments; this is due to the coverage of a large range of different collision energy settings—including the very low range—which is an outstanding characteristics of the MSforID library.     

Rapid analysis of controlled substances using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The recently developed technique of desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) has been applied to the rapid analysis of controlled substances. Experiments have been performed using a commercial ThermoFinnigan LCQ Advantage MAX ion-trap mass spectrometer with limited modifications. Results from the ambient sampling of licit and illicit tablets demonstrate the ability of the DESI technique to detect the main active ingredient(s) or controlled substance(s), even in the presence of other higher-concentration components. Full-scan mass spectrometry data provide preliminary identification by molecular weight determination, while rapid analysis using the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) mode provides fragmentation data which, when compared to the laboratory-generated ESI-MS/MS spectral library, provide structural information and final identification of the active ingredient(s). The consecutive analysis of tablets containing different active components indicates there is no cross-contamination or interference from tablet to tablet, demonstrating the reliability of the DESI technique for rapid sampling (one tablet/min or better). Active ingredients have been detected for tablets in which the active component represents less than 1% of the total tablet weight, demonstrating the sensitivity of the technique. The real-time sampling of cannabis plant material is also presented.     

Pesticide residue analysis in foodstuffs applying capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. State-of-the-art use of modified DFG-multimethod S19 and automated data evaluation

This paper focuses on recent developments in the author's laboratory and reports on the "ultimate" analysis scheme which has evolved over the last 20 years in our laboratory. This demonstrates the feasibility of screening analyses for pesticide residue identification, mainly by full scan GC-MS, down to the 0.01 ppm concentration level in plant foodstuffs. It is based on a miniaturized DFG S19 extraction applying acetone for extraction followed by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate-cyclohexane followed by gel permeation chromatography. The final chromatographic determination is carried out with a battery of three parallel operating gas chromatographic systems using effluent splitting to electron-capture and nitrogen-phosphorus detection, one with a SE-54 the other with a OV-17 capillary column and the third one with a SE-54 capillary column and mass selective detection for identification and quantitation. The method is established for monitoring more than 400 pesticides amenable to gas chromatography. These pesticide residues are identified in screening analyses by means of the dedicated mass spectral library PEST.L containing reference mass spectra and retention times of more than 400 active ingredients and also metabolites applying the macro program AuPest (Automated residue analysis on Pesticides) for automated evaluation which runs with Windows based HP ChemStation software. The two gas chromatographic systems with effluent splitting to electron-capture and nitrogen-phosphorus detection are used to check the results obtained with the automated GC-MS screening and also to detect those few pesticides which exhibit better response to electron-capture and nitrogen-phosphorus detection than to mass spectrometry in full scan.