Power of isotopic fine structure for unambiguous determination of metabolite elemental compositions: In silico evaluation and metabolomic application

In mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics studies, reference-free identification of metabolites is still a challenging issue. Previously, we demonstrated that the elemental composition (EC) of metabolites could be unambiguously determined using isotopic fine structure, observed by ultrahigh resolution MS, which provided the relative isotopic abundance (RIA) of ¹³C, ¹⁵N, ¹⁸O, and ³⁴S. Herein, we evaluated the efficacy of the RIA for determining ECs based on the MS peaks of 20,258 known metabolites. The metabolites were simulated with a ≤25% error in the isotopic peak area to investigate how the error size effect affected the rate of unambiguous determination of the ECs. The simulation indicated that, in combination with reported constraint rules, the RIA led to unambiguous determination of the ECs for more than 90% of the tested metabolites. It was noteworthy that, in positive ion mode, the process could distinguish alkali metal-adduct ions ([M + Na]⁺ and [M + K]⁺). However, a significant degradation of the EC determination performance was observed when the method was applied to real metabolomic data (mouse liver extracts analyzed by infusion ESI), because of the influence of noise and bias on the RIA. To achieve ideal performance, as indicated in the simulation, we developed an additional method to compensate for bias on the measured ion intensities. The method improved the performance of the calculation, permitting determination of ECs for 72% of the observed peaks. The proposed method is considered a useful starting point for high-throughput identification of metabolites in metabolomic research.     

Probing molecular environments with a fictitious isotopic dipole

A HD-like (HD: mono-deuterated hydrogen molecule) isotopic dipole moment is proposed as a sensible probe for molecular environments, in particular for electrostatic fields and polarizable (reactive) sites of molecules. Fictitious nuclear masses are chosen in order to yield a rigid dipole with a small appropriate magnitude. Upon subtracting the Born-Oppenheimer energy, the interaction is reduced to field-dipole-like and dipole-polarizability-like terms, the last one being particularly informative since connected to potentially reactive sites. Possible asymmetries of this term appear as signatures of charged sites in the molecule. The field strength and orientation are easily obtained by identifying the minimum field-dipole energy configuration and flipping the dipole from it. Tests with hydrogen, water, benzene, and chlorobenzene molecules confirm the good performance of the method. In an application to test the present models for hydrogen activation by a frustrated Lewis pair, the full potential of the method is assessed.     

Isotopic Characterization of 100% Agave Tequila (Silver,Aged and Extra-Aged Class) for Its Use as an Additional Parameter in the Determination of the Authenticity of the Beverage Maturation Time

Isotopic ratios of δ¹³C_VPDB and δ¹⁸O_VSMOW have been used as an additional parameter to ensure the authenticity of the aging time of 100% agave tequila. For this purpose, 120 samples were isotopically analyzed (40 silver class, 40 aged class, and 40 extra-aged classes). The samples were obtained through a stratified sampling by proportional allocation, considering tequila producers from the main different regions of Jalisco, Mexico (Valles 41%, Altos Sur 31%, Cienega 16%, and Centro 12%). The results showed that the δ¹³C_VPDB was found in an average of −12.85 ‰ for all the analyzed beverages, with no significant difference between them. Since for all the tested samples the Agave tequilana Weber blue variety was used as source of sugar to obtain alcohol, those results were foreseeable, and confirm the origin of the sugar source. Instead, the results for δ¹⁸O_VSMOW showed a positive slope linear trend for the aging time (silver class 19.52‰, aged class 20.54‰, extra-aged class 21.45‰), which is associated with the maturation process, there are oxidation reactions that add congeneric compounds to the beverage, these can be used as tracers for the authenticity of the aging time. Additionally, the experimental data showed homogeneity in the beverages regardless of the production region, evidencing the tequila industry’s high-quality standards. However, a particular case occurs with the δ¹⁸O_VSMOW data for the silver class samples, in which a clear trend is noted with the altitude of the region of origin; therefore, this information suggests that this analytical parameter could be useful to authenticate the regional origin of beverage.     

Stickstoffisotopenanalysen an Pyrimidinderivaten mittles Protonenresonanz

Die in hochaufgelösten Protonenresonanzspektren von ¹⁵N-markierten Pyrimidinderivaten infolge der indirekten Spin-Spin-Kopplung zwischen ¹⁵N und dem um zwei Bindungen entfernten Proton auftretenden Aufspaltungen liefern Aussagen über den Ort der Markierung im Pyrimidinring. Quantitative Angaben über die relative Häufigkeiten von ¹⁵N in diesen Positionen werden unter Verwendung der Rechentechnik erhalten. Die Ergebnisse über die relative Häufigkeiten von ¹⁵N im gesamten Molekül stimmen gut mit den massenspektrometrischen Werten überein.     

Die Untersuchung einer Laboratoriumsanlage nach dem Heiß-Kalt-System mit einfachem Durchfluß der Fluide

Es wird ein Heiβ-Kalt-System mit einfachem Durchfluβ der Fluide untersucht. Dabei wird gezeigt, daβ zwischen den Isotopenkonzentrationen des Gases und der Flüssigkeit lineare Beziehungen bestehen. Eine Möglichkeit zur experimentellen Bestimmung der realen Werte der Parameter der Kolonne wird angegeben.     

应用多接收器电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定海洋碳酸盐中稳定铅同位素组成

研究了多接收器电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(MC-ICP MS)测定铅同位素比值时,影响测试结果准确度和精密度的主要因素及其优化过程。在优化条件下,10 h内连续30次测定4 ng/mL NIST SRM 981同位素标准溶液铅同位素比值,获得208Pb/206Pb、207Pb/206Pb和206Pb/204Pb相对标准偏差(RSDs)分别为0.005%、0.004%和0.054%。长期监测208Pb/206Pb、207Pb/206Pb和206Pb/204Pb,标准偏差(2SDs)分别为0.000 06、0.000 05和0.006 7。采用NEPTUNE MC-ICP MS法测定了低铅海洋碳酸盐样品中稳定铅的同位素比值,并对南海橙黄滨珊瑚(Porites lutea)和库氏砗磲(Tridacna gigas)进行了分析,得到全流程空白为8～10 pg,重复样误差优于0.1%。经0.50 mol/L HNO3洗脱之后,得到海南珊瑚样品中208Pb/206Pb、207Pb/206Pb的比值分别为2.086 2±0.001 5、0.849 90±0.001 47(n=16);海南砗磲样品中208Pb/206Pb、207Pb/206Pb的比值分别为2.116 9±0.004 2、0.864 81±0.001 62(n=9)。进一步考察了南海海洋碳酸盐中204Pb的同位素比值。分析结果表明,南海海洋碳酸盐中稳定铅同位素比值与中国气溶胶、珠江三角洲大气沉降、黄土及南海海底玄武岩等具有很好的相关性。方法适用于复杂基体高钙低铅的海洋碳酸盐样品中铅同位素比值的分析。     

Efficient Microscale Preparation of Isotopically Enriched 1‐[79Br]Bromo‐2‐Fluoroethylene, [79Br]BrHC˭CHF

Abstract

An efficient preparation of 1‐[⁷⁹Br]bromo‐2‐fluoroethylene, [⁷⁹Br]BrHC?CHF, was carried out by a three‐step procedure: (a) natural 1‐bromo‐2‐fluoroethylene, BrHC?CHF, was iodinated to 1‐fluoro‐2‐iodoethylene, FHC?CHI; (b) 1‐fluoro‐2‐iodoethylene was ⁷⁹Br₂‐brominated to 1,2‐di[⁷⁹Br]bromo‐1‐fluoro‐2‐iodoethane, [⁷⁹Br]BrFCHCH[⁷⁹Br]BrI; and (c) 1,2‐di[⁷⁹Br]bromo‐1‐fluoro‐2‐iodoethane was dehalogenated to 1‐[⁷⁹Br]bromo‐2‐fluoroethylene, [⁷⁹Br]BrHC?CHF. The yield of isolated product, on a 2‐mmol scale, was 62% with respect to ⁷⁹Br₂.     

Exploring the Reactivity of Multicomponent Photocatalysts: Insight into the Complex Valence Band of BiOBr

The band structure of multicomponent semiconductor photocatalysts, as well as their reactivity distinction under different wavelengths of light, is still unclear. BiOBr, which is a typical multicomponent semiconductor, may have two possible valence‐band structures, that is, two discrete valence bands constructed respectively from O 2p and Br 4p orbitals, or one valence band derived from the hybridization of these orbitals. In this work, aqueous photocatalytic hydroxylation is applied as the probe reaction to investigate the nature and reactions of photogenerated holes in BiOBr. Three organic compounds (microcystin‐LR, aniline, and benzoic acid) with different oxidation potentials were selected as substrates. Isotope labeling (H₂¹⁸O as the solvent) was used to determine the source of the O atom in the hydroxyl group of the products, which distinguishes the contribution of different hydroxylation pathways. Furthermore, a spin‐trapping ESR method was used to quantify the reactive oxygen species (^.OH and ^.OOH) formed in the reaction system. The different isotope abundances of the hydroxyl O atom of the products formed, as well as the reverse trend of the ^.OH/^.OOH ratio with the oxidative resistance of the substrate under UV and visible irradiation, reveal that BiOBr has two separate valence bands, which have different oxidation ability and respond to UV and visible light, respectively. This study shows that the band structure of semiconductor photocatalysts can be reliably analyzed with an isotope labeling method.     

H/D Exchange Processes in Flavonoids: Kinetics and Mechanistic Investigations

Several classes of flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, flavonols, flavanols, and flavones, undergo a slow H/D exchange on aromatic ring A, leading to full deuteration at positions C(6) and C(8). Within the flavanol class, H-C(6) and H-C(8) of catechin and epicatechin are slowly exchanged in D₂O to the corresponding deuterated analogues. Even quercetin, a relevant flavonol representative, shows the same behaviour in a D₂O/DMSOd₆ 1:1 solution. Detailed kinetic measurements of these H/D exchange processes are here reported by exploiting the time-dependent changes of their peak areas in the ¹H-NMR spectra taken at different temperatures. A unifying reaction mechanism is also proposed based on our detailed kinetic observations, even taking into account pH and solvent effects. Molecular modelling and QM calculations were also carried out to shed more light on several molecular details of the proposed mechanism.     

Preliminary Study of a 1,5-Benzodiazepine-Derivative Labelled with Indium-111 for CCK-2 Receptor Targeting

The cholecystokinin-2 receptor (CCK-2R) is overexpressed in several human cancers but displays limited expression in normal tissues. For this reason, it is a suitable target for developing specific radiotracers. In this study, a nastorazepide-based ligand functionalized with a 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) chelator (IP-001) was synthesized and labelled with indium-111. The radiolabeling process yielded >95% with a molar activity of 10 MBq/nmol and a radiochemical purity of >98%. Stability studies have shown a remarkable resistance to degradation (>93%) within 120 h of incubation in human blood. The in vitro uptake of [¹¹¹In]In-IP-001 was assessed for up to 24 h on a high CCK-2R-expressing tumor cell line (A549) showing maximal accumulation after 4 h of incubation. Biodistribution and single photon emission tomography (SPECT)/CT imaging were evaluated on BALB/c nude mice bearing A549 xenograft tumors. Implanted tumors could be clearly visualized after only 4 h post injection (2.36 ± 0.26% ID/cc), although a high amount of radiotracer was also found in the liver, kidneys, and spleen (8.25 ± 2.21%, 6.99 ± 0.97%, and 3.88 ± 0.36% ID/cc, respectively). Clearance was slow by both hepatobiliary and renal excretion. Tumor retention persisted for up to 24 h, with the tumor to organs ratio increasing over-time and ending with a tumor uptake (1.52 ± 0.71% ID/cc) comparable to liver and kidneys.