A volatolomic approach using cerumen as biofluid to diagnose bovine intoxication by Stryphnodendron rotundifolium

An innovative volatolomic approach employs the detection of biomarkers present in cerumen (earwax) to identify cattle intoxication by Stryphnodendron rotundifolium Mart., Fabaceae (popularly known as barbatimão). S. rotundifolium is a poisonous plant with the toxic compound undefined and widely distributed throughout the Brazilian territory. Cerumen samples from cattle of two local Brazilian breeds (‘Curraleiro Pé-Duro’ and ‘Pantaneiro’) were collected during an experimental intoxication protocol and analyzed using headspace (HS)/GC–MS followed by multivariate analysis (genetic algorithm for a partial least squares, cluster analysis, and classification and regression trees). A total of 106 volatile organic metabolites were identified in the cerumen samples of bovines. The intoxication by S. rotundifolium influenced the cerumen volatolomic profile of the bovines throughout the intoxication protocol. In this way, it was possible to detect biomarkers for cattle intoxication. Among the biomarkers, 2-octyldecanol and 9-tetradecen-1-ol were able to discriminate all samples between intoxicated and nonintoxicated bovines. The cattle intoxication diagnosis by S. rotundifolium was accomplished by applying the cerumen analysis using HS/GC–MS, in an easy, accurate, and noninvasive way. Thus, the proposed bioanalytical chromatography protocol is a useful tool in veterinary applications to determine this kind of intoxication.     

Identification of metabolic markers in patients with type 2 Diabetes by Ultrafast gas chromatography coupled to electronic nose. A pilot study

Metabolomics is a potential tool for the discovery of new biomarkers in the early diagnosis of diseases. An ultra-fast gas chromatography system equipped to an electronic nose detector (FGC eNose) was used to identify the metabolomic profile of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) urine from Mexican population. A cross-sectional, comparative, and clinical study with translational approach was performed. We recruited twenty T2D patients and twenty-one healthy subjects. Urine samples were taken and analyzed by FGC eNose. Eighty-eight compounds were identified through Kovats's indexes. A natural variation of 30% between the metabolites, expressed by study groups, was observed in Principal Component 1 and 2 with a significant difference (p < 0.001). The model, performed through a Canonical Analysis of Principal coordinated (CAP), allowed a correct classification of 84.6% between healthy and T2D patients, with a 15.4% error. The metabolites 2-propenal, 2-propanol, butane- 2,3-dione and 2-methylpropanal, were increased in patients with T2D, and they were strongly correlated with discrimination between clinically healthy people and T2D patients. This study identified metabolites in urine through FGC eNose that can be used as biomarkers in the identification of T2D patients. However, more studies are needed for its implementation in clinical practice.     

A model for crack formation during active solid pyrolysis of a char-forming solid: crack patterns; surface area generation; volatile mass efflux

A model is developed for the formation and propagation of cracks in a material sample that is heated at its top surface, pyrolyses, and then thermally degrades to form char. In this work the sample is heated uniformly over its entire top surface by a hypothetical flame (a heat source). The pyrolysis mechanism is described by a one-step overall reaction that is dependent nonlinearly on the temperature (Arrhenius form). Stresses develop in response to the thermal degradation of the material by means of a shrinkage strain caused by local mass loss during pyrolysis. When the principal stress exceeds a prescribed threshold value, the material forms a local crack. Cracks are found to generally originate at the surface in response to heating, but occasionally they form in the bulk, away from ever-changing material boundaries. The resulting cracks evolve and form patterns whose characteristics are described. Quantities examined in detail are: the crack spacing in the pyrolysis zone; the crack length evolution; the formation and nature of crack loops which are defined as individual cracks that have joined to form loops that are disconnected from the remaining material; the formation of enhanced pyrolysis area; and the impact of all of the former quantities on mass flux. It is determined that the mass flux from the sample can be greatly enhanced over its nominal (non-cracking) counterpart. The mass efflux profile qualitatively resembles those observed in Cone Calorimeter tests.     

The analysis of volatile trace compounds in landfill gases,compost heaps and forest air

Landfill gas, cryotrapped on a loop fashioned from a length of a capillary gas chromatography (GC) column, was examined for volatile organometallic compounds (VOMCs) and for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by using GC–mass spectrometry (MS). A large number of organic components were present and many were identified, but the only VOMCs present in high enough concentrations to be detected were trimethylstibine and tetramethyltin. The use of inductively coupled plasma (ICP)‐MS as an element‐specific detector allowed the identification of a number of other organometallic species in the landfill gas, including trimethylarsine and trimethylbismuth, and, for the first time, butyltrimethyltin and dibutyldimethyltin. The presence of molybdenum hexacarbonyl was confirmed. Gas from a large‐scale compost heap and from compost incubated in the laboratory contained iodomethane but no common VOMCs (GC–ICP‐MS). Only VOCs were present in forest air (GC–MS). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中药微量挥发成分的联机分析：藿香头香成分分析

本文设计了直接蒸馏-顶空分析-预柱低温富集-毛细管色谱-质谱联机分析技术,有效地提取、浓缩、分离和鉴定了藿香的香气成分。实现了天然产物微量多组分的联机快速分析。并首次在霍香的头香成分中发现了乙酸甲酯、3-甲基丁酮、3-甲基-3-丁烯酮等一系列分子量小、易挥发的成分。     

An attempt on the VOC oxidation using mechanically activated catalyst

A catalytic action of the mechanochemical products of copper hydroxocarbonate with calcium carbonate was investigated in n-butyl alcohol oxidation tests. The solid products of high-energy milling were identified using thermogravimetry supplemented by X-ray diffraction method. It was shown that the mechanical activation induces more effective tested catalyst because it promotes the alcohol conversion at lower temperatures than that unmilled one. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The use of glass capillary columns for the analysis of polar natural products

Two published procedures for glass capillary column production are applied to produce capillaries for chromatography of polar natural compounds. Soda lime glass capillaries, after leaching with aqueous HCL, are either treated with colloidal silicic acid or with barium carbonate and coated with either Silar 7CP or SE 52. A test mixture as well as polar carbohydrate and peptide mixtures are chromatographed on the different columns and their chromatographic properties are evaluated. Combined capillary gas chromatography-electron impact and chemical ionization mass spectrometry are used for identification of the peptide sequence.     

Use of α‐diketones as visible photoinitiators for the photocrosslinking of waterborne latex paints

The efficiency of several α‐diketones as visible light photoinitiators for the crosslinking of waterborne latex dispersions in the presence of acrylic monomers was evaluated. Among the eight α‐diketones studied, camphorquinone allows the fastest curing speed, and the curing of the acrylic waterborne coating is not affected by the presence of oxygen. The properties of the sunlight‐cured volatile organic compound (VOC)‐free pigmented paints prepared from the waterborne latex are as good or better than the equivalent conventional paint containing VOCs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3171–3181, 2002     

Preconcentration of poorly volatile impurities in thin-layer chromatography by thermodesorption of a volatile matrix

A method for preconcentration of poorly volatile impurities by continuous thermodesorption of the major component on a TLC plate is proposed. The method provides multiple (200–500) concentration of the organic impurities present in the initial solution. A simple device for such concentration is suggested. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2075–2076, October, 1998.     

Changes in the composition of volatile monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes of Pinus armandi, P. tabulaeformis, and P. bungeana in Northwest China

The volatile mono-and sesquiterpenes obtained from the needles and resin of Pinus armandi, P. tabulaeformis, and P. bungeana growing in the Qinling, Taibai, and Huanglong Mountain forest ecosystem were analyzed by means of GC-MS. Forty-eight constituents were identified, and α-pinene, β-pinene, 1R-α-pinene, β-caryophyllene, cadindiene, α-caryophyllene, D-limonene, and 1S-β-pinene were the major components of the mono-and sesquiterpenes in the needles and resin. The components of the volatile mono-and sesquiterpenes from the needles and resin at Qinling, Taibai, and Huanglong Mountains had remarkable differences in three pine species, whereas the monopertene content such as α-pinene, β-pinene, D-limonene, and camphene were mostly changed in the growing stage. The intraspecies variation in the different ecosystems can be attributed to the species’ geography and genetic variation, and even the adaptation of the pine species to different ecological environments. Moreover, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes can be induced by the attack of bark beetles, of which the α-pinene, β-pinene, 1R-α-pinene, 1S-α-pinene, b-myrecene, and β-caryophyllene contents had positive relations with the attacking Dendroctonus armandi and D. valens. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 430–433, September–October, 2006.