Characterization of ginseng saponins using electrospray mass spectrometry and collision-induced dissociation experiments of metal-attachment ions

Electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) and collision-induced dissociation (CID) methodologies have been developed for the structural characterization of ginseng saponins (ginsenosides). Ginsenosides are terpene glycosides containing a triterpene core to which one to four sugars may be attached. They are neutral molecules which readily form molecular metal-attachment ions in positive ion ESMS experiments. In the presence of ammonium hydroxide intense deprotonated ions are generated. Both positive and negative ion ESMS experiments were found to be useful for molecular mass and structure determination of ten ginsenoside standards. Negative ion experiments made possible the determination of the molecular mass of each ginsenoside standard, the mass of the triterpene core and the masses and sequences of the sugar residues. Positive ion ESMS experiments with the alkali metal cations Li+ or Na+ and the transition metal cations Co2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ were also useful in determining molecular masses. These alkali and transition metal cations form strongly bonded attachment ions with the ginsenosides. As a result, the CID mass spectra of the metal attachment ions show a variety of (structure characteristic) fragmentations. These experiments can be used to determine the identity of the triterpene core, the types and attachment points of sugars to the core and the nature of the O-glycosidic linkages in the appended disaccharides. Combining the results from the negative and positive ion experiments provides a promising approach to the structure analysis of this class of natural products.     

Precipitation and selective extraction of human serum endogenous peptides with analysis by quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry reveals posttranslational modifications and low-abundance peptides

The endogenous peptides of human serum may have regulatory functions, have been associated with physiological states, and their modifications may reveal some mechanisms of disease. In order to correlate levels of specific peptides with disease alongside internal standards, the polypeptides must first be reliably extracted and identified. Endogenous blood peptides can be effectively enriched by precipitation of the serum with organic solvents followed by selective extraction of peptides using aqueous solutions modified with organic solvents. Polypeptides on filter paper were assayed with Coomasie brilliant blue binding. The polypeptides were resolved by detergent tricine polyacrylamide electrophoresis and visualized by diamine silver staining. Peptides in the extracts were collected by C18 and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) quadrupole time-of-flight MS/MS. Peptides were resolved as multiple isotopic peaks in MS mode with mass deviation of 0.1 Da or less and similar accuracy for fragments. The sensitivity of MS and MS/MS analysis was estimated to be in the picomolar range or less. The peptide composition of the extracts was dependent on solvent formulation. Multiple peptides from apolipoproteins, complement proteins, coagulation factors, and many others were identified by X!Tandem with high mass accuracy of peptide ions and fragments from collision-induced dissociation. Many previously unreported posttranslational modifications of peptides including phosphorylations, oxidations, glycosylations, and others were detected with high mass accuracy and may be of clinical importance. About 4,630 redundant peptides were identified with 99% confidence separately, and together some 1,251 distinct proteins were identified with 99% confidence or greater using the Paragon algorithm.     

A high-performance matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometer with collisional cooling

A high-performance orthogonal time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer was developed specifically for use in combination with a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) source. The MALDI source features an ionization region containing a buffer gas with variable pressure. The source is interfaced to the TOF section via a collisional focusing ion guide. The pressure in the source influences the rate of cooling and allows control of ion fragmentation. The instrument provides uniform resolution up to 18,000 FWHM (full width at half maximum). Mass accuracy routinely achieved with a single-point internal recalibration is below 2 ppm for protein digest samples. The instrument is also capable of recording spectra of samples containing compounds with a broad range of masses while using one set of experimental conditions and without compromising resolution or mass accuracy.     

The enthalpy of formation of 2II CH

The standard enthalpy of formation, δ_fH^o, of² II CH has been determined at converged levels of ab initio electronic structure theory, including high order coupled cluster and full configuration interaction benchmarks. The atomic Gaussian basis sets employed include the (aug)-cc-p(C)VXZ family with X = 3, 4, 5 and 6. Extrapolations to the complete one-particle basis set and the full configuration interaction limits, where appropriate, have been performed to reduce remaining computational errors. Additional improvements in the enthalpy of formation of ²II CH were achieved by appending the valence-only treatment with core-valence correlation, relativistic effects including spin-orbit correlation, and the diagonal Born-Oppenheimer correction. The recommended values for δfH^o ₀ and δA_f H _o ²⁹⁸ of ²II CH are 592.48^+0.47 _?0.56 kJ mol_?1 and 595.93 ^+0.47 _?0.56 kJ mol_?1, respectively.     

Investigation of Thermal Degradation of PVC in the Solid State

The thermal degradation of PVC powders and the inhibition of this process by cadmium laurate was investigated by the measurement of discoloration, diffuse reflectance spectra, and the quantity of hydrochloric acid formed. Kinetic analysis of the data obtained by us previously showed that both the data of color measurements and those of diffuse reflectance spectra may be used conveniently for the calculation of the number of double bonds formed during the degradation.     

Analysis of carrageenans by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. I. kappa-Carrageenans.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra of small kappa-carrageenans are reported and discussed. MALDI spectra can be obtained in both positive and negative ion mode. In the absence of extraneous metal ions, positive ions are formed by the attachment of one Na(+) ion to the carrageenan, whereas for negative ions one Na(+) ion is detached from the sulfate group. Multiply charged species are not observed in MALDI. Intense ESI spectra can be obtained in negative ion mode and now multiply charged species are seen. Alkali exchange experiments show that in these small carrageenan anions one, but only one, alkali metal ion is bound in a bidentate coordination with two ionic sulfate groups. G2-type ab initio calculations on model ions HO(-) [M(+)] (-)OH (M = Li, Na, K, Cs), as well as arguments based on a simple Coulombic interaction model, show that the bidentate stabilization energy drops rapidly as the size of the alkali cation increases. Exchange of Na(+) with Li(+) leads to expulsion of the Na(+) ion generating, in ESI, intense multiply charged anions. An attempt is made to rationalize this behavior in terms of hydration effects.     

Anatomy of relativistic energy corrections in light molecular systems

Relativistic energy corrections which arise from the use of the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian, and the Gaunt and Breit interaction operators, plus Lamb-shift effects have been determined for the global minima of the ground electronic states of C₂H₆, NH₃, H₂O, [H,C,N], HNCO, HCOOH, SiC₂, SiH^? ₃, and H₂S, and for barrier characteristics for these molecular systems (inversion barrier of NH₃ and SiH^? ₃, barrier to linearity of H₂O, H₂S, and HNCO, rotational barrier of C₂H₆, difference between conformations of HCOOH (Z/E) and SiC₂ (linear/T-shaped), and isomerization barrier of HCN/HNC). The relativistic calculations performed at the Hartree-Fock and the highly correlated CCSD(T) levels employed a wide variety of basis sets. Comparison of the perturbational and the four-component fully variational results indicate that the Coulomb-Pauli Hamiltonian and the lowest order Hamiltonian of direct perturbation theory (DPT(2)) are highly successful for treating the relativistic energy effects in light molecular systems both at a single point on the potential energy hypersurface and along the surface. Electron correlation contributions to the relativistic corrections are relatively small for the systems studied, and are comparable with the 2-electron Darwin correction. Corrections beyond the Dirac-Coulomb treatment are usually rather small, but may become important for high accuracy ab initio calculations.     

Gas-chromatographic determination of a mixture of testosterone and oestradiol esters in oily injection

Summary A gas-liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of testosterone and oestradiol esters in oily injection. The separation of the steroids from the injection is performed by partition in the acetonitrile-hexane system. For gas chromatography the oestradiol esters were preliminary transformed to their mono-TMS derivatives. For the separation Dexsil 400 was preferably used as stationary phase. Mestranol was employed as internal standard for quantitation. A complete separation for all the individual components can be achieved within 12 min. The relative standard deviation is in the range of 1–1.5%.

---

Gas-chromatographische Bestimmung eines Gemisches von Testosteron- und Östradiolestern in öliger Injektionslösung

Zusammenfassung Die Abtrennung der Steroide aus der Injektionslösung erfolgt durch Extraktion mit Acetonitril und n-Hexan. Zur Gas-Chromatographie werden die Östradiolester in die Mono-trimethylsilylderivate übergeführt. Als stationäre Phase dient vorzugsweise Dexsil 400. Zur quantitativen Bestimmung wird Mestranol als inneren Standard benutzt. Eine vollständige Trennung der Ester läßt sich innerhalb von 12 min erreichen. Die relative Standardabweichung liegt im Bereich von 1–1,5%.