Existence of aromatic sp~2 C-H…O = C intramolecular interaction similar to hydrogen bond

A 'H NMR signal shifted drastically to down field (δ - 10.0) at the bay area and in dose proximity to C = O group for H-1 was observed through complete assignments of 1H NMR spectra for pyridino- and benzobenzanthrones. It is concluded that this phenomenon is due not only to the anisotropy effect of C=O plus aromatic ring current effect, but also to the electrostatic attraction of C-H (δ+)…O(δ-)=C interaction. The evidence for the sp2C-H…O = C intramolecular interaction similar to hydrogen bond has also been given by EI-MS and MS/MS (CID) spectroscopy and IR spectroscopy, as well as MNDO-PM3 calculations. This new kind of interaction might be called 'quasi-hydrogen bond'.     

Study of structural characteristic features of phenanthriondolizidine alkaloids by fast atom bombardment with tandem mass spectrometry

The mass spectrometric behavior of phenanthroindolizidine alkaloids has been investigated in detail by positive ion fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry (FAB-MS/MS) combined with collision-induced dissociation (CID). The fragmentation has been correlated with the skeleton structure and positions of substituents. The product ions arising from retro-Diels-Alder cleavages differ clearly for compounds with different skeletons. The substituents at C-14 were observed to markedly influence the fragmentation pathway of [M + H](+) ions. A diversity of dissociation behavior initiated by the variation of substituents on the aromatic ring was also observed in the CID spectra. Product ions resulting from loss of CH(4) were obtained for compounds in which both C-6 and C-7 are occupied by methoxy groups. FAB-MS/MS spectra can reflect the connection between the fragmentation behavior and structural features of these phenanthroindolizidine alkaloids rapidly and effectively, and should prove to be a powerful method to determine the structures of related compounds.     

质谱分子成像技术与应用进展

该文总结了二次离子质谱、基质辅助激光解吸电离质谱和常压敞开式离子化质谱三大类型质谱分子成像（MSI）技术的概况、技术与方法及其应用新进展。MSI技术作为免标记、高覆盖、高灵敏、检测范围广的可视化分析手段,不局限于生物组织或细胞中某种特定分子的检测,可对已知和未知多种分子进行同时成像分析,获得不同分子的空间分布、相对含量及结构信息,实现其分子的定性、定量与定位分析;还可提供不同生理及病理过程中功能分子的动态时空变化信息等。因此,MSI技术成为质谱领域以及分析化学等领域的研究前沿与热点方向之一,并在化学、医学、生命科学、药学和环境科学等领域显示出重大应用前景。此外,MSI技术是单细胞可视化分析和空间分辨代谢组学的强有力分析手段,可从动物或器官组织的整体、微区、单细胞等不同空间尺度,获取具有空间分布特征、时空动态变化的功能分子全景轮廓信息等而备受关注。     

A rapid and sensitive UPLC–MS/MS method for quantitative determination of arformoterol in rat plasma,lung and trachea tissues

A rapid and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method was developed and fully validated for determination of arformoterol in rat plasma, lung and trachea tissues.     

Development of a liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of hydroxyl radical

A rapid method combining liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of the hydroxyl radical (.OH). .OH generated via Fenton reaction was spin-trapped by 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) and then analyzed by LC/ESI-MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as the internal standard. The peak area ratio of DMPO-OH to NMP positively correlated with the concentration of .OH. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method was 1.13% (n = 8). The present method was successfully applied to evaluate the .OH scavenging capacity of several phenolic acids.     

Analysis of multiplex endogenous estrogen metabolites in human urine using ultra-fast liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry: A case study for breast cancer

A rapid, sensitive, specific and accurate analytical method of ultra-fast liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC–MS/MS) was established for simultaneous quantitative analysis of 16 distinct endogenous estrogens and their metabolites (EMs) in postmenopausal female urine. The quantitative method utilized a hydrolysis/extraction/derivatization step and a UFLC system to achieve separation in 16 min. The lower limit of quantitation for each estrogen metabolite was 2 pg mL⁻¹ with the percent recovery of a known added amount of estrogen at 93.2–109.3%. The intra-batch accuracy and precision for all analytes were 87.5–107.7% and 0.6–11.7%, respectively, while inter-batch accuracy and precision were 87.0–105.8% and 1.2–10.2%, respectively. Using this developed and validated method, the comprehensive metabolic profiling of 16 EMs in urine samples of 86 postmenopausal female breast cancer patients and 36 healthy controls was investigated by systematic statistical analysis. As a result, the circulating levels of 6 EMs were found to be different by a comparison of patients and healthy controls. The parent estrogens, estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2), as well as 2-hydroxyestradiol (2-OHE2) and 4-hydroxyestradiol (4-OHE2) were produced in higher abundance, whereas 16α-hydroxyestrone (16α-OHE1) and 2-methoxyestradiol (2-MeOE2) were decreased in the breast cancer group. 2-OHE2 and 4-OHE2 in particular showed significant elevation in patients, which are consistent with the carcinogenic mechanism hypothesis that catechol estrogens can react with DNA via quinones, resulting in mutations to induce breast cancer. Thus, 2,4-hydroxylation may be the dominant metabolic pathway for parent estrogens rather than 16α-hydroxylation. The lower level of 2-MeOE2 in the breast cancer group was believed to correlate with its protective effect against tumor formation. This study could provide valuable information on the association of the EM metabolic pathway with carcinogenesis as well as identify potential biomarkers for estrogen-induced breast cancer risk.     

Integrated rapid resolution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric approach for screening and identification of metabolites of the potential anticancer agent 3,6,7-trimethoxyphenanthroindolizidine in rat urine

An integrated approach combining data acquisition using MS^E and multi-period product ion scan (mpMS/MS), with high-resolution characteristic extracted ion chromatograms (hcXIC) as a data mining method, was developed for in vivo drug metabolites screening and identification. This approach is illustrated by analyzing metabolites of a potential anticancer agent, 3,6,7-trimethoxyphenanthroindolizidine (CAT) in rat urine based on rapid resolution liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (RRLC–MS/MS). Untargeted full-scan MS^E enabled the high-throughput acquisition of potential metabolites, and targeted mpMS/MS contributed to the sensitivity and specificity of the acquisition of molecules of interest. The data processing method hcXIC, based on the structure of CAT, was shown to be highly effective for the metabolite discovery. Through the double-filtering effect of the characteristic ion and accurate mass, conventional extracted ion chromatograms that contained a substantial number of false-positive peaks were simplified into chromatograms essentially free of endogenous interferences. As a result, 21 metabolites were detected in rat urine after oral administration of CAT. Based on the characteristic fragmentation patterns of the phenanthroindolizidine alkaloid, the structures of 9 metabolites were identified. Furthermore, the interpretation of the MS/MS spectra of these metabolites enabled the determination of demethylation position as well as the differentiation between N-oxidized and hydroxylated metabolites.     

Design and construction of endo-functionalized multiferrocenyl hexagons via coordination-driven self-assembly and their electrochemistry

The construction of a new family of endo-functionalized multiferrocenyl hexagons with various sizes via coordination-driven self-assembly is described. The structures of these novel metallacycles, containing several ferrocenyl moieties at their interior surface, are characterized by multinuclear NMR ((31)P and (1)H) spectroscopy, cold-spray ionization mass spectrometry (CSI-TOF-MS), elemental analysis, and molecular modeling. Insight into the structural and electrochemical properties of these endo-functionalized multiferrocenyl hexagons was obtained through cyclic voltammetry investigation.