Sample records for nanoelectrospray ionization tandem

  1. Radial arrays of nano-electrospray ionization emitters and methods of forming electrosprays

    DOEpatents

    Kelly, Ryan T [West Richland, WA; Tang, Keqi [Richland, WA; Smith, Richard D [Richland, WA

    2010-10-19

    Electrospray ionization emitter arrays, as well as methods for forming electrosprays, are described. The arrays are characterized by a radial configuration of three or more nano-electrospray ionization emitters without an extractor electrode. The methods are characterized by distributing fluid flow of the liquid sample among three or more nano-electrospray ionization emitters, forming an electrospray at outlets of the emitters without utilizing an extractor electrode, and directing the electrosprays into an entrance to a mass spectrometry device. Each of the nano-electrospray ionization emitters can have a discrete channel for fluid flow. The nano-electrospray ionization emitters are circularly arranged such that each is shielded substantially equally from an electrospray-inducing electric field.

  2. Fast quantitative detection of cocaine in beverages using nanoextractive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Hu, Bin; Peng, Xuejiao; Yang, Shuiping; Gu, Haiwei; Chen, Huanwen; Huan, Yanfu; Zhang, Tingting; Qiao, Xiaolin

    2010-02-01

    Without any sample pretreatment, effervescent beverage fluids were manually sprayed into the primary ion plume created by using a nanoelectrospray ionization source for direct ionization, and the analyte ions of interest were guided into an ion trap mass spectrometer for tandem mass analysis. Functional ingredients (e.g., vitamins, taurine, and caffeine, etc.) and spiked impurity (e.g., cocaine) in various beverages, such as Red Bull energy drink, Coco-cola, and Pepsi samples were rapidly identified within 1.5 s. The limit of detection was found to be 7-15 fg (S/N = 3) for cocaine in different samples using the characteristic fragment (m/z 150) observed in the MS(3) experiments. Typical relative standard deviation and recovery of this method were 6.9%-8.6% and 104%-108% for direct analysis of three actual samples, showing that nanoextractive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry is a useful technique for fast screening cocaine presence in beverages. 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Improving liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry sensitivity using a subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) interface

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tang, Keqi; Page, Jason S.; Marginean, Ioan

    2011-04-22

    In this work the Subambient Pressure Ionization with Nanoelectrospray (SPIN) ion source and interface which operates at ~15-30 Torr is demonstrated to be compatible with gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography-MS applications, exemplified here with the analysis of complex samples (a protein tryptic digest and a whole cell lysate). A low liquid chromatographic flow rate (100-400 nL/min) allowed stable electrospray to be established while avoiding electrical breakdown. Efforts to increase the operating pressure of the SPIN source relative to previously reported designs prevented solvent freezing and enhanced charged cluster/droplet desolvation. A 5-12-fold improvement in sensitivity relative to a conventional atmospheric pressure nanoelectrospraymore » ionization (ESI) source was obtained for detected peptides.« less

  4. Membrane-Based Emitter for Coupling Microfluidics with Ultrasensitive Nanoelectrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Xuefei; Kelly, Ryan T.; Tang, Keqi; Smith, Richard D.

    2011-01-01

    An integrated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane-based microfluidic emitter for high performance nanoelectrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS) has been fabricated and evaluated. The ~100-μm-thick emitter was created by cutting a PDMS membrane that protrudes beyond the bulk substrate. The reduced surface area at the emitter enhances the electric field and reduces wetting of the surface by the electrospray solvent. As such, the emitter enables highly stable electrosprays at flow rates as low as 10 nL/min, and is compatible with electrospray solvents containing a large organic component (e.g., 90% methanol). This approach enables facile emitter construction, and provides excellent stability, reproducibility and sensitivity, as well as compatibility with multilayer soft lithography. PMID:21657269

  5. Corona Discharge Suppression in Negative Ion Mode Nanoelectrospray Ionization via Trifluoroethanol Addition.

    PubMed

    McClory, Phillip J; Håkansson, Kristina

    2017-10-03

    Negative ion mode nanoelectrospray ionization (nESI) is often utilized to analyze acidic compounds, from small molecules to proteins, with mass spectrometry (MS). Under high aqueous solvent conditions, corona discharge is commonly observed at emitter tips, resulting in low ion abundances and reduced nESI needle lifetimes. We have successfully reduced corona discharge in negative ion mode by trace addition of trifluoroethanol (TFE) to aqueous samples. The addition of as little as 0.2% TFE increases aqueous spray stability not only in nESI direct infusion, but also in nanoflow liquid chromatography (nLC)/MS experiments. Negative ion mode spray stability with 0.2% TFE is approximately 6× higher than for strictly aqueous samples. Upon addition of 0.2% TFE to the mobile phase of nLC/MS experiments, tryptic peptide identifications increased from 93 to 111 peptides, resulting in an average protein sequence coverage increase of 18%.

  6. Determination of ganglioside composition and structure in human brain hemangioma by chip-based nanoelectrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Schiopu, Catalin; Flangea, Corina; Capitan, Florina; Serb, Alina; Vukelić, Zeljka; Kalanj-Bognar, Svjetlana; Sisu, Eugen; Przybylski, Michael; Zamfir, Alina D

    2009-12-01

    We report here on a preliminary investigation of ganglioside composition and structure in human hemangioma, a benign tumor in the frontal cortex (HFC) in comparison to normal frontal cortex (NFC) tissue using for the first time advanced mass spectrometric methods based on fully automated chip-nanoelectrospray (nanoESI) high-capacity ion trap (HCT) and collision-induced dissociation (CID). The high ionization efficiency, sensitivity and reproducibility provided by the chip-nanoESI approach allowed for a reliable MS-based ganglioside comparative assay. Unlike NFC, ganglioside mixture extracted from HFC was found dominated by species of short glycan chains exhibiting lower overall sialic acid content. In HFC, only GT1 (d18:1/20:0), and GT3 (d18:1/25:1) polysialylated species were detected. Interestingly, none of these trisialylated forms was detected in NFC, suggesting that such components might selectively be associated with HFC. Unlike the case of previously investigated high malignancy gliosarcoma, in HFC one modified O-Ac-GD2 and one modified O-Ac-GM4 gangliosides were observed. This aspect suggests that these O-acetylated structures could be associated with cerebral tumors having reduced malignancy grade. Fragmentation analysis by CID in MS(2) mode using as precursors the ions corresponding to GT1 (d18:1/20:0) and GD1 (d18:1/20:0) provided data corroborating for the first time the presence of the common GT1a and GT1b isomers and the incidence of unusual GT1c and GT1d glycoforms in brain hemangioma tumor.

  7. Identification of N-nitrosamines in treated drinking water using nanoelectrospray ionization high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Yuan Yuan; Liu, Xin; Boyd, Jessica M; Qin, Feng; Li, Jianjun; Li, Xing-Fang

    2009-01-01

    We report a nanoelectrospray ionization (nESI) with high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) method for determination of small molecules of m/z 50 to 200 and its potential application in environmental analysis. Integration of nESI with FAIMS and MS-MS combines the advantages of these three techniques into one method. The nESI provides efficient sample introduction and ionization and allows for collection of multiple data from only microliters of samples. The FAIMS provides rapid separation, reduces or eliminates background interference, and improves the signal-to-noise ratio as much as 10-fold over nESI-MS-MS. The tandem quadrupole time-of-flight MS detection provides accurate mass and mass spectral measurements for structural identification. Characteristics of FAIMS compensation voltage (CV) spectra of seven nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine (NDPA), N-nitrosodi-n-butylamine (NDBA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPip), and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPyr), were analyzed. The optimal CV of the nitrosamines (at DV -4000 V) were: -1.6 V, NDBA; 2.6 V, NDPA; 6.6 V, NPip; 8.8 V, NDEA; 13.2 V, NPyr; 14.4 V, NMEA; and 19.4 V, NDMA. Fragmentation patterns of the seven nitrosamines in the nESI-FAIMS-MS-MS were also obtained. The specific CV and MS-MS spectra resulted in positive identification of NPyr and NPip in a treated water sample, demonstrating the potential application of this technique in environmental analysis.

  8. β-Lactoglobulin detected in human milk forms noncovalent complexes with maltooligosaccharides as revealed by chip-nanoelectrospray high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Capitan, Florina; Robu, Adrian C; Schiopu, Catalin; Ilie, Constantin; Chait, Brian T; Przybylski, Michael; Zamfir, Alina D

    2015-11-01

    Cow's milk protein allergy in exclusively breastfed infants, the main cause of food intolerance during the first 6 months of life, is triggered by the mother's diet. β-Lactoglobulin (BLG) present in cow's milk is one of the most potent allergens for newborns. Since no prophylactic treatment is available, finding ligands capable of binding BLG and reducing its allergenicity is currently the focus of research. In this work, an innovative methodology encompassing microfluidics based on fully automated chip-nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI), coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) on a quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF MS) instrument was developed. This platform was employed for the assessment of the noncovalent interactions between maltohexaose (Glc6) and β-lactoglobulin extracted from human milk upon deliberate intake of cow's milk. The experiments were carried out in (+) ESI mode, using ammonium acetate (pH 6.0) as the buffer and also in pure water. In both cases, the MS analysis revealed the formation of BLG-Glc6 complex, which was characterized by top-down fragmentation in tandem MS (MS/MS) using collision-induced dissociation (CID). Our findings have a significant biomedical impact, indicating that Glc6 binds BLG under conditions mimicking the in vivo environment and therefore might represent a ligand, able to reduce its allergenicity.

  9. High Sensitivity Combined with Extended Structural Coverage of Labile Compounds via Nanoelectrospray Ionization at Subambient Pressures

    DOE PAGES

    Cox, Jonathan T.; Kronewitter, Scott R.; Shukla, Anil K.; ...

    2014-09-15

    Subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) has proven to be effective in producing ions with high efficiency and transmitting them to low pressures for high sensitivity mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Here we present evidence that not only does the SPIN source improve MS sensitivity but also allows for gentler ionization conditions. The gentleness of a conventional heated capillary electrospray ionization (ESI) source and the SPIN source was compared by the liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of colominic acid. Colominic acid is a mixture of sialic acid polymers of different lengths containing labile glycosidic linkages between monomer units necessitating amore » gentle ion source. By coupling the SPIN source with high resolution mass spectrometry and using advanced data processing tools, we demonstrate much extended coverage of sialic acid polymer chains as compared to using the conventional ESI source. Additionally we show that SPIN-LC-MS is effective in elucidating polymer features with high efficiency and high sensitivity previously unattainable by the conventional ESI-LC-MS methods.« less

  10. Immobilized Pepsin Microreactor for Rapid Peptide Mapping with Nanoelectrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Long, Ying; Wood, Troy D.

    2015-01-01

    Most enzymatic microreactors for protein digestion are based on trypsin, but proteins with hydrophobic segments may be difficult to digest because of the paucity of Arg and Lys residues. Microreactors based on pepsin, which is less specific than trypsin, can overcome this challenge. Here, an integrated immobilized pepsin microreactor (IPMR)/nanoelectrospray emitter is examined for its potential for peptide mapping. For myoglobin, equivalent sequence coverage is obtained in a thousandth the time of solution digestion with better sequence coverage. While sequence coverage of cytochrome c is lesser than solution in this short duration, more highly-charged peptic peptides are produced and a number of peaks are unidentified at low-resolution, suggesting that high-resolution mass spectrometry is needed to take full advantage of integrated IPMR/nanoelectrospray devices.

  11. A hybrid fluorous monolithic capillary column with integrated nanoelectrospray ionization emitter for determination of perfluoroalkyl acids by nano-liquid chromatography-nanoelectrospray ionization-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Haiyang; Ou, Junjie; Wei, Yinmao; Wang, Hongwei; Liu, Zhongshan; Zou, Hanfa

    2016-04-01

    A hybrid fluorous monolithic column was simply prepared via photo-initiated free radical polymerization of an acrylopropyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (acryl-POSS) and a perfluorous monomer (2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7-dodecafluoroheptyl acrylate) in UV-transparent fused-silica capillaries within 5min. The physical characterization of hybrid fluorous monolith, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurement was performed. Chromatographic performance was also evaluated by capillary liquid chromatography (cLC). Due to the fluorous-fluorous interaction between fluorous monolith and analytes, fluorobenzenes could well be separated, and the column efficiencies reached 86,600-92,500plates/m at the velocity of 0.87mm/s for alkylbenzenes and 51,900-76,000plates/m at the velocity of 1.10mm/s for fluorobenzenes. Meanwhile, an approach to integrate nanoelectrospray ionization (ESI) emitter with hybrid fluorous monolithic column was developed for quantitative determination of perfluoroalkyl acids by nanoHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The integration design could minimize extracolumn volume, thus excluding undesirable peak broadening and improving separation performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Ultrasensitive Nanoelectrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry using Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Microchips with Monolithically Integrated Emitters

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Xuefei; Kelly, Ryan T.; Tang, Keqi; Smith, Richard D.

    2010-01-01

    Summary Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is a widely used substrate for microfluidic devices, as it enables facile fabrication and has other distinctive properties. However, for applications requiring highly sensitive nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS) detection, the use of PDMS microdevices has been hindered by a large chemical background in the mass spectra that originates from the leaching of uncross-linked oligomers and other contaminants from the substrate. A more general challenge is that microfluidic devices containing monolithically integrated electrospray emitters are frequently unable to operate stably in the nanoflow regime where the best sensitivity is achieved. In this report, we extracted the contaminants from PDMS substrates using a series of solvents, eliminating the background observed when untreated PDMS microchips are used for nanoESI-MS, such that peptides at concentrations of 1 nM were readily detected. Optimization of the integrated emitter geometry enabled stable operation at flow rates as low as 10 nL/min. PMID:20617264

  13. Fast profiling of anthocyanins in wine by desorption nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Hartmanova, Lucie; Ranc, Vaclav; Papouskova, Barbora; Bednar, Petr; Havlicek, Vladimir; Lemr, Karel

    2010-06-18

    Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry appears to be a useful technique applicable in different areas (e.g. analysis of pharmaceuticals, identification of biologically active compounds in tissues, imaging mass spectrometry). Its modification termed desorption nano-electrospray (nano-DESI) was tested for analysis of anthocyanins. Acidifying of samples and acidic spray liquid (methanol:water=75:25 with 0.2% HCOOH) were essential for obtaining good quality spectra. Profiles of main anthocyanins in wine samples, two vintages (2005 and 2007) of three cultivars (Alibernet, Neronet and Rubinet), were successfully acquired. They were in agreement with results of LC/MS experiments (anthocyanins isolated by solid phase extraction were separated by mu-HPLC with gradient elution and detected by ESI-MS). Nano-DESI-MS data also allowed to determine ratio of two cultivars (Neronet and Rubinet) in their mixture and to detect coloring of wine by tenturier or elderberry extract. Detection of main anthocyanins in slices of wine grape, chokeberries and elderberries or in a wine stain on cotton fabric is also presented. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Identification of Lasso Peptide Topologies Using Native Nanoelectrospray Ionization-Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Dit Fouque, Kevin Jeanne; Moreno, Javier; Hegemann, Julian D; Zirah, Séverine; Rebuffat, Sylvie; Fernandez-Lima, Francisco

    2018-04-17

    Lasso peptides are a fascinating class of bioactive ribosomal natural products characterized by a mechanically interlocked topology. In contrast to their branched-cyclic forms, lasso peptides have higher stability and have become a scaffold for drug development. However, the identification and separation of lasso peptides from their unthreaded topoisomers (branched-cyclic peptides) is analytically challenging since the higher stability is based solely on differences in their tertiary structures. In the present work, a fast and effective workflow is proposed for the separation and identification of lasso from branched cyclic peptides based on differences in their mobility space under native nanoelectrospray ionization-trapped ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (nESI-TIMS-MS). The high mobility resolving power ( R) of TIMS resulted in the separation of lasso and branched-cyclic topoisomers ( R up to 250, 150 needed on average). The advantages of alkali metalation reagents (e.g., Na, K, and Cs salts) as a way to increase the analytical power of TIMS is demonstrated for topoisomers with similar mobilities as protonated species, efficiently turning the metal ion adduction into additional separation dimensions.

  15. Monolithic multinozzle emitters for nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry

    DOEpatents

    Wang, Daojing [Daly City, CA; Yang, Peidong [Kensington, CA; Kim, Woong [Seoul, KR; Fan, Rong [Pasadena, CA

    2011-09-20

    Novel and significantly simplified procedures for fabrication of fully integrated nanoelectrospray emitters have been described. For nanofabricated monolithic multinozzle emitters (NM.sup.2 emitters), a bottom up approach using silicon nanowires on a silicon sliver is used. For microfabricated monolithic multinozzle emitters (M.sup.3 emitters), a top down approach using MEMS techniques on silicon wafers is used. The emitters have performance comparable to that of commercially-available silica capillary emitters for nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry.

  16. An open design microfabricated nib-like nanoelectrospray emitter tip on a conducting silicon substrate for the application of the ionization voltage.

    PubMed

    Le Gac, Séverine; Rolando, Christian; Arscott, Steve

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes a novel emitter tip having the shape of a nib and based on an open structure for nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS). The nib structure is fabricated with standard lithography techniques using SU-8, an epoxy-based negative photoresist. The tip is comprised of a reservoir, a capillary slot and a point-like feature, and is fabricated on a silicon wafer. We present here a novel scheme for interfacing such nib tips to MS by applying the ionization voltage directly onto the semi-conductor support. The silicon support is in direct contact with the liquid to be analyzed at the reservoir and microchannel level, thus allowing easy use in ESI-MS. This scheme is especially advantageous for automated analysis as the manual step of positioning a metallic wire into the reservoir is avoided. In addition, the analysis performance was enhanced compared with the former scheme, as demonstrated by the tests of standard peptides (gramicidin S, Glu-fibrinopeptide B). The limit of detection was determined to be lower than 10(-2) microM. Due to their enhanced performance, these microfabricated sources might be of great interest for analysis requiring very high sensitivity, such as proteomics analysis using nanoESI-MS.

  17. On-Chip Spyhole Nanoelectrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Sensitive Biomarker Detection in Small Volumes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhong, Xiaoqin; Qiao, Liang; Stauffer, Géraldine; Liu, Baohong; Girault, Hubert H.

    2018-03-01

    A polyimide microfluidic chip with a microhole emitter (Ø 10-12 μm) created on top of a microchannel by scanning laser ablation has been designed for nanoelectrospray ionization (spyhole-nanoESI) to couple microfluidics with mass spectrometry. The spyhole-nanoESI showed higher sensitivity compared to standard ESI and microESI from the end of the microchannel. The limits of detection (LOD) for peptide with the spyhole-nanoESI MS reached 50 pM, which was 600 times lower than that with standard ESI. The present microchip emitter allows the analysis of small volumes of samples. As an example, a small cell lung cancer biomarker, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), was detected by monitoring the transition of its unique peptide with the spyhole-nanoESI MS/MS. NSE at 0.2 nM could be well identified with a signal to noise ratio (S/N) of 50, and thereby its LOD was estimated to be 12 pM. The potential application of the spyhole-nanoESI MS/MS in cancer diagnosis was further demonstrated with the successful detection of 2 nM NSE from 1 μL of human serum. Before the detection, the serum sample spiked with NSE was first depleted with immune spin column, then desalted by centrifugal filter device, and finally digested by trypsin, without any other complicated preparation steps. The concentration matched the real condition of clinical samples. In addition, the microchips can be disposable to avoid any cross contamination. The present technique provides a highly efficient way to couple microfluidics with MS, which brings additional values to various microfluidics and MS-based analysis.

  18. Analysis of oversulfation in biglycan chondroitin/dermatan sulfate oligosaccharides by chip-based nanoelectrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Flangea, Corina; Sisu, Eugen; Seidler, Daniela G; Zamfir, Alina D

    2012-01-15

    Biglycan (BGN) is a small proteoglycan that consists of a protein core containing leucine-rich repeat regions and two glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains of either chondroitin sulfate (CS) or dermatan sulfate (DS) type. The development of novel, highly efficient analytical methods for structural identification of BGN-derived CS/DS motifs, possibly implicated in biological events, is currently the focus of research. In this work, an improved analytical method based on fully automated chip-nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) in conjunction with high-capacity ion trap (HCT) multistage mass spectrometry (MS) by collision-induced dissociation (CID) was for the first time applied to BGN CS/DS oligosaccharide analysis. The CS/DS chains were released from transfected 293 BGN by β-elimination. The chain was digested with AC I lyase, and the resulting mixture was purified and subsequently separated by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Di- and tetrasaccharide fractions were pooled and characterized in detail using the developed chip-nanoESI protocol. The chip-nanoESI MS profile in the negative ion mode revealed the presence of under-, regularly, and oversulfated species in both di- and tetrasaccharide fractions. CID MS(2)-MS(3) yielded sequence patterns consistent with unusual oversulfated 4,5-Δ-GlcA(2S)-GalNAc(4S) and 4,5-Δ-GlcA(2S)-GalNAc(6S)-IdoA(2S)-GalNAc(6S) motifs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Atmospheric pressure ionization-tandem mass spectrometry of the phenicol drug family.

    PubMed

    Alechaga, Élida; Moyano, Encarnación; Galceran, M Teresa

    2013-11-01

    In this work, the mass spectrometry behaviour of the veterinary drug family of phenicols, including chloramphenicol (CAP) and its related compounds thiamphenicol (TAP), florfenicol (FF) and FF amine (FFA), was studied. Several atmospheric pressure ionization sources, electrospray (ESI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and atmospheric pressure photoionization were compared. In all atmospheric pressure ionization sources, CAP, TAP and FF were ionized in both positive and negative modes; while for the metabolite FFA, only positive ionization was possible. In general, in positive mode, [M + H](+) dominated the mass spectrum for FFA, while the other compounds, CAP, TAP and FF, with lower proton affinity showed intense adducts with species present in the mobile phase. In negative mode, ESI and atmospheric pressure photoionization showed the deprotonated molecule [M-H](-), while atmospheric pressure chemical ionization provided the radical molecular ion by electron capture. All these ions were characterized by tandem mass spectrometry using the combined information obtained by multistage mass spectrometry and high-resolution mass spectrometry in a quadrupole-Orbitrap instrument. In general, the fragmentation occurred via cyclization and losses or fragmentation of the N-(alkyl)acetamide group, and common fragmentation pathways were established for this family of compounds. A new chemical structure for the product ion at m/z 257 for CAP, on the basis of the MS(3) and MS(4) spectra is proposed. Thermally assisted ESI and selected reaction monitoring are proposed for the determination of these compounds by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, achieving instrumental detection limits down to 0.1 pg. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Wax ester profiling of seed oil by nano-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Wax esters are highly hydrophobic neutral lipids that are major constituents of the cutin and suberin layer. Moreover they have favorable properties as a commodity for industrial applications. Through transgenic expression of wax ester biosynthetic genes in oilseed crops, it is possible to achieve high level accumulation of defined wax ester compositions within the seed oil to provide a sustainable source for such high value lipids. The fatty alcohol moiety of the wax esters is formed from plant-endogenous acyl-CoAs by the action of fatty acyl reductases (FAR). In a second step the fatty alcohol is condensed with acyl-CoA by a wax synthase (WS) to form a wax ester. In order to evaluate the specificity of wax ester biosynthesis, analytical methods are needed that provide detailed wax ester profiles from complex lipid extracts. Results We present a direct infusion ESI-tandem MS method that allows the semi-quantitative determination of wax ester compositions from complex lipid mixtures covering 784 even chain molecular species. The definition of calibration prototype groups that combine wax esters according to their fragmentation behavior enables fast quantitative analysis by applying multiple reaction monitoring. This provides a tool to analyze wax layer composition or determine whether seeds accumulate a desired wax ester profile. Besides the profiling method, we provide general information on wax ester analysis by the systematic definition of wax ester prototypes according to their collision-induced dissociation spectra. We applied the developed method for wax ester profiling of the well characterized jojoba seed oil and compared the profile with wax ester-accumulating Arabidopsis thaliana expressing the wax ester biosynthetic genes MaFAR and ScWS. Conclusions We developed a fast profiling method for wax ester analysis on the molecular species level. This method is suitable to screen large numbers of transgenic plants as well as other wax ester samples

  1. Derivatization reagents in liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Santa, Tomofumi

    2011-01-01

    Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) is one of the most prominent analytical techniques owing to its inherent selectivity and sensitivity. In LC/ESI-MS/MS, chemical derivatization is often used to enhance the detection sensitivity. Derivatization improves the chromatographic separation, and enhances the mass spectrometric ionization efficiency and MS/MS detectability. In this review, an overview of the derivatization reagents which have been applied to LC/ESI-MS/MS is presented, focusing on the applications to low molecular weight compounds. 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. DNA Damage by Ionizing Radiation: Tandem Double Lesions by Charged Particles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huo, Winifred M.; Chaban, Galina M.; Wang, Dunyou; Dateo, Christopher E.

    2005-01-01

    Oxidative damages by ionizing radiation are the source of radiation-induced carcinogenesis, damage to the central nervous system, lowering of the immune response, as well as other radiation-induced damages to human health. Monte Carlo track simulations and kinetic modeling of radiation damages to the DNA employ available molecular and cellular data to simulate the biological effect of high and low LET radiation io the DNA. While the simulations predict single and double strand breaks and base damages, so far all complex lesions are the result of stochastic coincidence from independent processes. Tandem double lesions have not yet been taken into account. Unlike the standard double lesions that are produced by two separate attacks by charged particles or radicals, tandem double lesions are produced by one single attack. The standard double lesions dominate at the high dosage regime. On the other hand, tandem double lesions do not depend on stochastic coincidences and become important at the low dosage regime of particular interest to NASA. Tandem double lesions by hydroxyl radical attack of guanine in isolated DNA have been reported at a dosage of radiation as low as 10 Gy. The formation of two tandem base lesions was found to be linear with the applied doses, a characteristic of tandem lesions. However, tandem double lesions from attack by a charged particle have not been reported.

  3. The identification of disulfides in ricin D using proteolytic cleavage followed by negative-ion nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of the peptide fragments.

    PubMed

    Tran, T T Nha; Brinkworth, Craig S; Bowie, John H

    2015-01-30

    To use negative-ion nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of peptides from the tryptic digest of ricin D, to provide sequence information; in particular, to identify disulfide position and connectivity. Negative-ion fragmentations of peptides from the tryptic digest of ricin D was studied using a Waters QTOF2 mass spectrometer operating in MS and MS(2) modes. Twenty-three peptides were obtained following high-performance liquid chromatography and studied by negative-ion mass spectrometry covering 73% of the amino-acid residues of ricin D. Five disulfide-containing peptides were identified, three intermolecular and two intramolecular disulfide-containing peptides. The [M-H](-) anions of the intermolecular disulfides undergo facile cleavage of the disulfide units to produce fragment peptides. In negative-ion collision-induced dissociation (CID) these source-formed anions undergo backbone cleavages, which provide sequencing information. The two intramolecular disulfides were converted proteolytically into intermolecular disulfides, which were identified as outlined above. The positions of the five disulfide groups in ricin D may be determined by characteristic negative-ion cleavage of the disulfide groups, while sequence information may be determined using the standard negative-ion backbone cleavages of the resulting cleaved peptides. Negative-ion mass spectrometry can also be used to provide partial sequencing information for other peptides (i.e. those not containing Cys) using the standard negative-ion backbone cleavages of these peptides. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Electrospray-assisted laser desorption/ionization and tandem mass spectrometry of peptides and proteins.

    PubMed

    Peng, Ivory X; Shiea, Jentaie; Ogorzalek Loo, Rachel R; Loo, Joseph A

    2007-01-01

    We have constructed an electrospray-assisted laser desorption/ionization (ELDI) source which utilizes a nitrogen laser pulse to desorb intact molecules from matrix-containing sample solution droplets, followed by electrospray ionization (ESI) post-ionization. The ELDI source is coupled to a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer and allows sampling under ambient conditions. Preliminary data showed that ELDI produces ESI-like multiply charged peptides and proteins up to 29 kDa carbonic anhydrase and 66 kDa bovine albumin from single-protein solutions, as well as from complex digest mixtures. The generated multiply charged polypeptides enable efficient tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS)-based peptide sequencing. ELDI-MS/MS of protein digests and small intact proteins was performed both by collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) and by nozzle-skimmer dissociation (NSD). ELDI-MS/MS may be a useful tool for protein sequencing analysis and top-down proteomics study, and may complement matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-based measurements. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Ionization enhancement in atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and suppression in electrospray ionization between target drugs and stable-isotope-labeled internal standards in quantitative liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liang, H R; Foltz, R L; Meng, M; Bennett, P

    2003-01-01

    The phenomena of ionization suppression in electrospray ionization (ESI) and enhancement in atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) were investigated in selected-ion monitoring and selected-reaction monitoring modes for nine drugs and their corresponding stable-isotope-labeled internal standards (IS). The results showed that all investigated target drugs and their co-eluting isotope-labeled IS suppress each other's ionization responses in ESI. The factors affecting the extent of suppression in ESI were investigated, including structures and concentrations of drugs, matrix effects, and flow rate. In contrast to the ESI results, APCI caused seven of the nine investigated target drugs and their co-eluting isotope-labeled IS to enhance each other's ionization responses. The mutual ionization suppression or enhancement between drugs and their isotope-labeled IS could possibly influence assay sensitivity, reproducibility, accuracy and linearity in quantitative liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). However, calibration curves were linear if an appropriate IS concentration was selected for a desired calibration range to keep the response factors constant. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Peptides derivatized with bicyclic quaternary ammonium ionization tags. Sequencing via tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Setner, Bartosz; Rudowska, Magdalena; Klem, Ewelina; Cebrat, Marek; Szewczuk, Zbigniew

    2014-10-01

    Improving the sensitivity of detection and fragmentation of peptides to provide reliable sequencing of peptides is an important goal of mass spectrometric analysis. Peptides derivatized by bicyclic quaternary ammonium ionization tags: 1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (ABCO) or 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO), are characterized by an increased detection sensitivity in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and longer retention times on the reverse-phase (RP) chromatography columns. The improvement of the detection limit was observed even for peptides dissolved in 10 mM NaCl. Collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of quaternary ammonium salts derivatives of peptides showed dominant a- and b-type ions, allowing facile sequencing of peptides. The bicyclic ionization tags are stable in collision-induced dissociation experiments, and the resulted fragmentation pattern is not significantly influenced by either acidic or basic amino acid residues in the peptide sequence. Obtained results indicate the general usefulness of the bicyclic quaternary ammonium ionization tags for ESI-MS/MS sequencing of peptides. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Tandem Mass Spectrometry of Modified and Platinated Oligoribonucleotides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nyakas, Adrien; Stucki, Silvan R.; Schürch, Stefan

    2011-05-01

    Therapeutic approaches for treatment of various diseases aim at the interruption of transcription or translation. Modified oligonucleotides, such as 2'- O-methyl- and methylphosphonate-derivatives, exhibit high resistance against cellular nucleases, thus rendering application for, e.g., antigene or antisense purposes possible. Other approaches are based on administration of cross-linking agents, such as cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cisplatin, DDP), which is still the most widely used anticancer drug worldwide. Due to the formation of 1,2-intrastrand cross links at adjacent guanines, replication of the double-strand is disturbed, thus resulting in significant cytotoxicity. Evidence for the gas-phase dissociation mechanism of platinated RNA is given, based on nano-electrospray ionization high-resolution multistage tandem mass spectrometry (MS n ). Confirmation was found by investigating the fragmentation pattern of platinated and unplatinated 2'-methoxy oligoribonucleotide hexamers and their corresponding methylphosphonate derivatives. Platinated 2'-methoxy oligoribonucleotides exhibit a similar gas-phase dissociation behavior as the corresponding DNA and RNA sequences, with the 3'-C-O bond adjacent to the vicinal guanines being cleaved preferentially, leading to wx-ion formation. By examination of the corresponding platinated methylphosphonate derivatives of the 2'-methoxy oligoribonucleotides, the key role of the negatively charged phosphate oxygen atoms in direct proximity to the guanines was proven. The significant alteration of fragmentation due to platination is demonstrated by comparison of the fragment ion patterns of unplatinated and platinated 2'- O-methyl- and 2'- O-methyl methylphosphonate oligoribonucleotides, and the results obtained by H/D exchange experiments.

  8. A review of nanoelectrospray ionization applications for drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics.

    PubMed

    Wickremsinhe, Enaksha R; Singh, Gurkeerat; Ackermann, Bradley L; Gillespie, Todd A; Chaudhary, Ajai K

    2006-12-01

    Although traditionally reserved for proteomic analysis, nanoESI has found increased use for small molecule applications related to drug metabolism/pharmacokinetics (DMPK). NanoESI, which refers to ESI performed at flow rates in the range of 200 to 1000 nL/min using smaller diameter emitters (10 to 100 microm id), produces smaller droplets than conventional ESI resulting in more efficient ionization. Benefits include greater sensitivity, enhanced dynamic range, and a reduced competition for ionization. These advantages may now be harnessed largely due to the introduction of a commercial system for automated nanoESI infusion. This development in turn has allowed ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) scientists to consider novel approaches to mass spectrometric analysis without direct LC interfacing. While it is freely acknowledged that nanoESI infusion is not likely to supplant LC-MS as the primary analytical platform for ADME, nanoESI infusion has been successfully applied to both quantitative (bioanalysis) and qualitative (metabolite identification) applications. This review summarizes published applications of this technology and offers a perspective on where it fits best into the DMPK laboratory.

  9. Tandem mass spectrometry characteristics of polyester anions and cations formed by electrospray ionization.

    PubMed

    Arnould, Mark A; Buehner, Rita W; Wesdemiotis, Chrys; Vargas, Rafael

    2005-01-01

    Electrospray ionization of polyesters composed of isophthalic acid and neopentyl glycol produces carboxylate anions in negative mode and mainly sodium ion adducts in positive mode. A tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) study of these ions in a quadrupole ion trap shows that the collisionally activated dissociation pathways of the anions are simpler than those of the corresponding cations. Charge-remote fragmentations predominate in both cases, but the spectra obtained in negative mode are devoid of the complicating cation exchange observed in positive mode. MS/MS of the Na(+) adducts gives rise to a greater number of fragments but not necessarily more structural information. In either positive or negative mode, polyester oligomers with different end groups fragment by similar mechanisms. The observed fragments are consistent with rearrangements initiated by the end groups. Single-stage ESI mass spectra also are more complex in positive mode because of extensive H/Na substitutions; this is also true for matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectra. Hence, formation and analysis of anions might be the method of choice for determining block length, end group structure and copolymer sequence, provided the polyester contains at least one carboxylic acid end group that is ionizable to anions.

  10. Electron-Impact Ionization and Dissociative Ionization of Biomolecules

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huo, Winifred M.; Chaban, Galina M.; Dateo, Christopher E.

    2006-01-01

    It is well recognized that secondary electrons play an important role in radiation damage to humans. Particularly important is the damage of DNA by electrons, potentially leading to mutagenesis. Molecular-level study of electron interaction with DNA provides information on the damage pathways and dominant mechanisms. Our study of electron-impact ionization of DNA fragments uses the improved binary-encounter dipole model and covers DNA bases, sugar phosphate backbone, and nucleotides. An additivity principle is observed. For example, the sum of the ionization cross sections of the separate deoxyribose and phosphate fragments is in close agreement with the C3(sup prime)- and C5 (sup prime)-deoxyribose-phospate cross sections, differing by less than 5%. Investigation of tandem double lesion initiated by electron-impact dissociative ionization of guanine, followed by proton reaction with the cytosine in the Watson-Crick pair, is currently being studied to see if tandem double lesion can be initiated by electron impact. Up to now only OH-induced tandem double lesion has been studied.

  11. Fragmentation pathways and structural characterization of organophosphorus compounds related to the Chemical Weapons Convention by electron ionization and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Hosseini, Seyed Esmaeil; Saeidian, Hamid; Amozadeh, Ali; Naseri, Mohammad Taghi; Babri, Mehran

    2016-12-30

    For unambiguous identification of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)-related chemicals in environmental samples, the availability of mass spectra, interpretation skills and rapid microsynthesis of suspected chemicals are essential requirements. For the first time, the electron ionization single quadrupole and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectra of a series of O-alkyl N-[bis(dimethylamino)methylidene]-P-methylphosphonamidates (Scheme 1, cpd 4) were studied for CWC verification purposes. O-Alkyl N-[bis(dimethylamino)methylidene]-P-methylphosphonamidates were prepared through a microsynthetic method and were analyzed using electron ionization and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with gas and liquid chromatography, respectively, as MS-inlet systems. General EI and ESI fragmentation pathways were proposed and discussed, and collision-induced dissociation studies of the protonated derivatives of these compounds were performed to confirm proposed fragment ion structures by analyzing mass spectra of deuterated analogs. Mass spectrometric studies revealed some interesting fragmentation pathways during the ionization process, such as McLafferty rearrangement, hydrogen rearrangement and a previously unknown intramolecular electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. The EI and ESI fragmentation routes of the synthesized compounds 4 were investigated with the aim of detecting and identifying CWC-related chemicals during on-site inspection and/or off-site analysis and toxic chemical destruction monitoring. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. On the Ionization and Ion Transmission Efficiencies of Different ESI-MS Interfaces

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cox, Jonathan T.; Marginean, Ioan; Smith, Richard D.

    2014-09-30

    It is well known that the achievable sensitivity of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is largely determined by the ionization efficiency in the ESI source and ion transmission efficiency through the ESI-MS interface. In this report we systematically study the ion transmission and ionization efficiencies in different ESI-MS interface configurations. The configurations under investigation include a single emitter/single inlet capillary, single emitter/multi-inlet capillary, and a subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) MS interfaces with a single emitter and an emitter array, respectively. We present an effective method to evaluate the overall ion utilization efficiency of an ESI-MS interface by measuringmore » the total gas phase ion current transmitted through the interface and correlating it to the observed ion abundance measured in the corresponding mass spectrum. Our experimental results suggest that the overall ion utilization efficiency in the SPIN-MS interface configurations is better than that in the inlet capillary based ESI-MS interface configurations.« less

  13. Diclofenac in municipal wastewater treatment plant: quantification using laser diode thermal desorption--atmospheric pressure chemical ionization--tandem mass spectrometry approach in comparison with an established liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method.

    PubMed

    Lonappan, Linson; Pulicharla, Rama; Rouissi, Tarek; Brar, Satinder K; Verma, Mausam; Surampalli, Rao Y; Valero, José R

    2016-02-12

    Diclofenac (DCF), a prevalent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) is often detected in wastewater and surface water. Analysis of the pharmaceuticals in complex matrices is often laden with challenges. In this study a reliable, rapid and sensitive method based on laser diode thermal desorption/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (LDTD/APCI) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has been developed for the quantification of DCF in wastewater and wastewater sludge. An established conventional LC-ESI-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry) method was compared with LDTD-APCI-MS/MS approach. The newly developed LDTD-APCI-MS/MS method reduced the analysis time to 12s in lieu of 12 min for LC-ESI-MS/MS method. The method detection limits for LDTD-APCI-MS/MS method were found to be 270 ng L(-1) (LOD) and 1000 ng L(-1) (LOQ). Furthermore, two extraction procedures, ultrasonic assisted extraction (USE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) for the extraction of DCF from wastewater sludge were compared and ASE with 95.6 ± 7% recovery was effective over USE with 86 ± 4% recovery. The fate and partitioning of DCF in wastewater (WW) and wastewater sludge (WWS) in wastewater treatment plant was also monitored at various stages of treatment in Quebec Urban community wastewater treatment plant. DCF exhibited affinity towards WW than WWS with a presence about 60% of DCF in WW in contrary with theoretical prediction (LogKow=4.51). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Quantitation of phlorizin and phloretin using an ultra high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric method.

    PubMed

    Lijia, Xu; Guo, Jianru; Chen, QianQian; Baoping, Jiang; Zhang, Wei

    2014-06-01

    A sensitive and selective ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (UHPLC-MS/MS) method for the determination of phlorizin and phloretin in human plasma has been firstly developed. Samples were prepared after protein precipitation and analyzed on a C18 column interfaced with a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer. Negative electrospray ionization was employed as the ionization source. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water (0.02% formic acid), using a gradient procedure. The analytes and internal standard dihydroquercetin were both detected by use of multiple reaction monitoring mode. The method was linear in the concentration range of 2.5-1000.0 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 2.5 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation across three validation runs over the entire concentration range was less than 9.2%. The accuracy determined at three concentrations was within ± 7.3% in terms of relative error. The total run time was 12.0 min. This assay offers advantages in terms of expediency, and suitability for the analysis of phlorizin and phloretin in various biological fluids. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Quantitative Caffeine Analysis Using a Surface Sampling Probe Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ford, Michael J; Deibel, Michael A.; Tomkins, Bruce A

    Quantitative determination of caffeine on reversed-phase C8 thin-layer chromatography plates using a surface sampling electrospray ionization system with tandem mass spectrometry detection is reported. The thin-layer chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method employed a deuterium-labeled caffeine internal standard and selected reaction monitoring detection. Up to nine parallel caffeine bands on a single plate were sampled in a single surface scanning experiment requiring 35 min at a surface scan rate of 44 {mu}m/s. A reversed-phase HPLC/UV caffeine assay was developed in parallel to assess the mass spectrometry method performance. Limits of detection for the HPLC/UV and thin-layer chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry methodsmore » determined from the calibration curve statistics were 0.20 ng injected (0.50 {mu}L) and 1.0 ng spotted on the plate, respectively. Spike recoveries with standards and real samples ranged between 97 and 106% for both methods. The caffeine content of three diet soft drinks (Diet Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Diet Pepsi) and three diet sport drinks (Diet Turbo Tea, Speed Stack Grape, Speed Stack Fruit Punch) was measured. The HPLC/UV and mass spectrometry determinations were in general agreement, and these values were consistent with the quoted values for two of the three diet colas. In the case of Diet Cherry Coke and the diet sports drinks, the determined caffeine amounts using both methods were consistently higher (by 8% or more) than the literature values.« less

  16. Microfluidic nitrogen-assisted nanoelectrospray emitter: A monolithic interface for accurate mass measurements based on a single nozzle.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lingling; Wang, Yujiao; Jiang, Shichang; Ye, Mingyue; Su, Ping; Xiong, Bo

    2016-10-28

    Nitrogen-assisted nanoelectrospray emitter (NANE) was developed to achieve accurate mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) measurements with a single monolithic nozzle. Deposition patterns of generated electrosprays from NANE confirmed their wrapped configurations. Additionally, the intensity of the sample ion and its ratio relative to a reference ion was inclined to focus on the central region of the spray; this trend further supported the existence of wrapped configurations. Further, the proposed NANE was fabricated from poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) with octadecyltrichlorosilane modification to restrain the dissolution of PDMS monomers. Assist nitrogen flows were introduced to improve the ionization of reference ions. Moreover, the NANE could regulate the distribution of reference ions by microfluidic three dimensional hydrodynamic focusing. By regulating the distribution of reference ions, the ionization depression was reduced to some degree, and an improved sensitivity was accomplished compared with the mixing of sample and reference solutions. Achieved relative errors of m/z were between 0.2-4.5ppm and 5.2-9.2ppm for ten organic molecules and four biological macromolecules, respectively. Acceptable linear ranges were obtained in quantifications for rhodamine B and emamectin benzoate. Finally, the NANE was compatible with broad infusion rates (from 50nLmin -1 to 15μLmin -1 ) and solutions of different compositions (from 100% methanol to 100% water). Considering the comprehensive application of PDMS in microfluidics, the proposed NANE could be used as a compact and monolithic interface to achieve accurate m/z measurements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. On the Ionization and Ion Transmission Efficiencies of Different ESI-MS Interfaces

    PubMed Central

    Cox, Jonathan T.; Marginean, Ioan; Smith, Richard D.; Tang, Keqi

    2014-01-01

    The achievable sensitivity of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is largely determined by the ionization efficiency in the ESI source and ion transmission efficiency through the ESI-MS interface. These performance characteristics are difficult to evaluate and compare across multiple platforms as it is difficult to correlate electrical current measurements to actual analyte ions reaching the detector of a mass spectrometer. We present an effective method to evaluate the overall ion utilization efficiency of an ESI-MS interface by measuring the total gas phase ion current transmitted through the interface and correlating it to the observed ion abundance measured in the corresponding mass spectrum. Using this method we systematically studied the ion transmission and ionization efficiencies of different ESI-MS interface configurations, including a single emitter/single inlet capillary, single emitter/multi-inlet capillary, and a subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) MS interface with a single emitter and an emitter array, respectively. Our experimental results indicate that the overall ion utilization efficiency of SPIN-MS interface configurations exceeds that of the inlet capillary-based ESI-MS interface configurations. PMID:25267087

  18. On the ionization and ion transmission efficiencies of different ESI-MS interfaces.

    PubMed

    Cox, Jonathan T; Marginean, Ioan; Smith, Richard D; Tang, Keqi

    2015-01-01

    The achievable sensitivity of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is largely determined by the ionization efficiency in the ESI source and ion transmission efficiency through the ESI-MS interface. These performance characteristics are difficult to evaluate and compare across multiple platforms as it is difficult to correlate electrical current measurements to actual analyte ions reaching the detector of a mass spectrometer. We present an effective method to evaluate the overall ion utilization efficiency of an ESI-MS interface by measuring the total gas-phase ion current transmitted through the interface and correlating it to the observed ion abundance measured in the corresponding mass spectrum. Using this method, we systematically studied the ion transmission and ionization efficiencies of different ESI-MS interface configurations, including a single emitter/single inlet capillary, single emitter/multi-inlet capillary, and a subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) MS interface with a single emitter and an emitter array, respectively. Our experimental results indicate that the overall ion utilization efficiency of SPIN-MS interface configurations exceeds that of the inlet capillary-based ESI-MS interface configurations.

  19. Identification of glyceollin metabolites derived from conjugation with glutathione and glucuronic acid in rats by on-line liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Glyceollin-related metabolites produced in rats following oral glyceollin administration were screened and identified by precursor and product ion scanning using liquid chromatography, coupled on-line with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS), to identify all glyceollin me...

  20. Improving low-level plasma protein mass spectrometry-based detection for candidate biomarker discovery and validation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Page, Jason S.; Kelly, Ryan T.; Camp, David G.

    2008-09-01

    Methods. To improve the detection of low abundance protein candidate biomarker discovery and validation, particularly in complex biological fluids such as blood plasma, increased sensitivity is desired using mass spectrometry (MS)-based instrumentation. A key current limitation on the sensitivity of electrospray ionization (ESI) MS is due to the fact that many sample molecules in solution are never ionized, and the vast majority of the ions that are created are lost during transmission from atmospheric pressure to the low pressure region of the mass analyzer. Two key technologies, multi-nanoelectrospray emitters and the electrodynamic ion funnel have recently been developed and refinedmore » at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to greatly improve the ionization and transmission efficiency of ESI MS based analyses. Multi-emitter based ESI enables the flow from a single source (typically a liquid chromatography [LC] column) to be divided among an array of emitters (Figure 1). The flow rate delivered to each emitter is thus reduced, allowing the well-documented benefits of nanoelectrospray 1 for both sensitivity and quantitation to be realized for higher flow rate separations. To complement the increased ionization efficiency afforded by multi-ESI, tandem electrodynamic ion funnels have also been developed at PNNL, and shown to greatly improve ion transmission efficiency in the ion source interface.2, 3 These technologies have been integrated into a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of probable biomarker candidates in blood plasma and show promise for the identification of new species even at low level concentrations.« less

  1. Improving N-Glycan Coverage using HPLC-MS with Electrospray Ionization at Subambient Pressure

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Marginean, Ioan; Kronewitter, Scott R.; Moore, Ronald J.

    Human serum glycan profiling with mass spectrometry (MS) has been employed to study several disease conditions and is demonstrating promise for e.g. clinical biomarker discovery. However, the poor glycan ionization efficiency and the large dynamic range of glycan concentrations in human sera hinder comprehensive profiling. In particular, large glycans are problematic because they are present at low concentrations and prone to fragmentation. Here we show that the sub-ambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN)-MS can expand the serum glycome profile when compared with the conventional atmospheric pressure electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS with a heated capillary inlet. Notably, the ions generated by themore » SPIN interface were observed at higher charge states for 50% of the annotated glycans. Out of a total of 130 detected glycans, 34 were only detected with the SPIN-MS, resulting in improved coverage of glycan families as well as of glycans with larger numbers of labile monosaccharides.« less

  2. Molecular resolution and fragmentation of fulvic acid by electrospray ionization/multistage tandem mass spectrometry

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Leenheer, J.A.; Rostad, C.E.; Gates, Paul M.; Furlong, E.T.; Ferrer, I.

    2001-01-01

    Molecular weight distributions of fulvic acid from the Suwannee River, Georgia, were investigated by electrospray ionization/quadrupole mass spectrometry (ESI/QMS), and fragmentation pathways of specific fulvic acid masses were investigated by electrospray ionization/ion trap multistage tandem mass spectrometry (ESI/MST/MS). ESI/QMS studies of the free acid form of low molecular weight poly(carboxylic acid) standards in 75% methanol/25% water mobile phase found that negative ion detection gave the optimum generation of parent ions that can be used for molecular weight determinations. However, experiments with poly(acrylic acid) mixtures and specific high molecular weight standards found multiply charged negative ions that gave a low bias to molecular mass distributions. The number of negative charges on a molecule is dependent on the distance between charges. ESI/MST/MS of model compounds found characteristic water loss from alcohol dehydration and anhydride formation, as well as CO2 loss from decarboxylation, and CO loss from ester structures. Application of these fragmentation pathways to specific masses of fulvic acid isolated and fragmented by ESI/MST/MS is indicative of specific structures that can serve as a basis for future structural confirmation after these hypothesized structures are synthesized.

  3. Simultaneous analysis of ten phytohormones in Sargassum horneri by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Li, Yan; Zhou, Chengxu; Yan, Xiaojun; Zhang, Jinrong; Xu, Jilin

    2016-05-01

    Phytohormones have attracted wide attention due to their important biological functions. However, their detection is still a challenge because of their complex composition, low abundance and diverse sources. In this study, a novel method of high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ten phytohormones including indole-3-acetic acid, isopentenyladenine, isopentenyl adenosine, trans-zeatin riboside, zeatin, strigolactones, abscisic acid, salicylic acid, gibberellin A3, and jasmonic acid in Sargassum horneri (S. horneri). The phytohormones were extracted from freeze-dried S. horneri with methanol/water/methanoic acid (15:4:1, v/v/v) analyzed on a Hypersil Gold C18 column and detected by electrospray ionization tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The experimental conditions for the extraction and analysis of phytohormones were optimized and validated in terms of reproducibility, linearity, sensitivity, recovery, accuracy, and stability. Distributions of the phytohormones in the stems, blades, and gas bladder of the S. horneri in drift, fixed, and semi-fixed growing states were investigated for the first time. The observed contents of the phytohormones in S. horneri range from not detected to 5066.67 ng/g (fresh weight). Most phytohormones are distributed mainly in the stems of S. horneri in drift and semi-fixed states. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Formation of oligomeric alkenylperoxides during the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids: an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry study.

    PubMed

    Villaverde, Juan José; Santos, Sónia A O; Maciel, Elisabete; Simões, Mário M Q; Pascoal Neto, Carlos; Domingues, M Rosário M; Silvestre, Armando J D

    2012-02-01

    This study reports the identification of oligomeric alkenylperoxides by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(2)), during the oxidation of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids with Fenton's (Fe(2+)/H(2)O(2)) and Fe(2+)/O(2) systems. The reactions were followed by ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange method together with GC-MS and GC-FID, allowing to observe that both oxidation systems are different in terms of hydroperoxide evolution, probably due to the presence of different intermediate reactive species: perferryl ion and OH(·) radical responsible for the decomposition of lipid hydroperoxides and formation of new compounds. The analysis of ESI-MS in the negative mode, obtained after oxidation of each fatty acid, confirmed the presence of the monomeric oxidation products together with other compounds at high mass region above m/z 550. These new ions were attributed to oligomeric structures, identified by the fragmentation pathways observed in the tandem mass spectra. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Portable Tandem Mass Spectrometer Analyzer

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-07-01

    The planned instrument was to be small enough to be portable in small vehicles and was to be able to use either an atmospheric pressure ion source or a...conventional electron impact/chemical ionization ion source. In order to accomplish these developments an atmospheric pressure ionization source was...developed for a compact, commercially available tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer. This ion source could be readily exchanged with the conventional

  6. Liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA) of food surfaces employing chip-based nano-electrospray mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Eikel, Daniel; Henion, Jack

    2011-08-30

    An automated surface-sampling technique called liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA), coupled with infusion nano-electrospray high-resolution mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), is described and applied to the qualitative determination of surface chemical residues resulting from the artificial spraying of selected fresh fruits and vegetables with representative pesticides. Each of the targeted pesticides was readily detected with both high-resolution and full-scan collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra. In the case of simazine and sevin, a mass resolution of 100,000 was insufficient to distinguish the isobaric protonated molecules for these compounds. When the surface of a spinach leaf was analyzed by LESA, trace levels of diazinon were readily detected on the spinach purchased directly from a supermarket before they were sprayed with the five-pesticide mixture. A 30 s rinse under hot running tap water appeared to quantitatively remove all remaining residues of this pesticide. Diazinon was readily detected by LESA analysis on the skin of the artificially sprayed spinach. Finally, incurred pyrimethanil at a level of 169 ppb in a batch slurry of homogenized apples was analyzed by LESA and this pesticide was readily detected by both high-resolution mass spectrometry and full-scan CID mass spectrometry, thus showing that pesticides may also be detected in whole fruit homogenized samples. This report shows that representative pesticides on fruit and vegetable surfaces present at levels 20-fold below generally allowed EPA tolerance levels are readily detected and confirmed by the title technologies making LESA-MS as interesting screening method for food safety purposes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Peptide Analysis Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-06-01

    to give pyroglutamic acid during storage, eliminating ammonia. It is almost absent in the spectrum of a freshly-prepared sample and is not seen in...USING TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY INTRODUCTION S The objective of the project was to determine the complete amino acid sequence of the large polypeptide...Ubiquitin by use of fast atom bombardment (FAB) ionization and tandem mass spectrometry. The peptide containing 76 amino acid residues was available

  8. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry of ammonium cationized polyethers.

    PubMed

    Nasioudis, Andreas; Heeren, Ron M A; van Doormalen, Irene; de Wijs-Rot, Nicolette; van den Brink, Oscar F

    2011-05-01

    Quaternary ammonium salts (Quats) and amines are known to facilitate the MS analysis of high molar mass polyethers by forming low charge state adduct ions. The formation, stability, and behavior upon collision-induced dissociation (CID) of adduct ions of polyethers with a variety of Quats and amines were studied by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight, quadrupole ion trap, and linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The linear ion trap instrument was part of an Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer that allowed accurate mass MS/MS measurements. The Quats and amines studied were of different degree of substitution, structure, and size. The stability of the adduct ions was related to the structure of the cation, especially the amine's degree of substitution. CID of singly/doubly charged primary and tertiary ammonium cationized polymers resulted in the neutral loss of the amine followed by fragmentation of the protonated product ions. The latter reveals information about the monomer unit, polymer sequence, and endgroup structure. In addition, the detection of product ions retaining the ammonium ion was observed. The predominant process in the CID of singly charged quaternary ammonium cationized polymers was cation detachment, whereas their doubly charged adduct ions provided the same information as the primary and tertiary ammonium cationized adduct ions. This study shows the potential of specific amines as tools for the structural elucidation of high molar mass polyethers. © American Society for Mass Spectrometry, 2011

  9. Top-down proteomic identification of Shiga toxin 2 subtypes from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Tandem Time of Flight mass spectrometry

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    We have analyzed 26 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains for Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) production using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS/MS) and top-down proteomic analysis. STEC strains were induced to ...

  10. Nanomanipulation-Coupled Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/ Ionization-Direct Organelle Mass Spectrometry: A Technique for the Detailed Analysis of Single Organelles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phelps, Mandy S.; Sturtevant, Drew; Chapman, Kent D.; Verbeck, Guido F.

    2016-02-01

    We describe a novel technique combining precise organelle microextraction with deposition and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) for a rapid, minimally invasive mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of single organelles from living cells. A dual-positioner nanomanipulator workstation was utilized for both extraction of organelle content and precise co-deposition of analyte and matrix solution for MALDI-direct organelle mass spectrometry (DOMS) analysis. Here, the triacylglycerol (TAG) profiles of single lipid droplets from 3T3-L1 adipocytes were acquired and results validated with nanoelectrospray ionization (NSI) MS. The results demonstrate the utility of the MALDI-DOMS technique as it enabled longer mass analysis time, higher ionization efficiency, MS imaging of the co-deposited spot, and subsequent MS/MS capabilities of localized lipid content in comparison to NSI-DOMS. This method provides selective organellar resolution, which complements current biochemical analyses and prompts for subsequent subcellular studies to be performed where limited samples and analyte volume are of concern.

  11. Novel product ions of 2-aminoanilide and benzimidazole Ag(I) complexes using electrospray ionization with multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Byron S; Burinsky, David J; Burova, Svetlana A; Davis, Roman; Fitzgerald, Russ N; Matsuoka, Richard T

    2012-05-15

    The 2-aminoaniline scaffold is of significant value to the pharmaceutical industry and is embedded in a number of pharmacophores including 2-aminoanilides and benzimidazoles. A novel application of coordination ion spray mass spectrometry (CIS-MS) for interrogating the silver ion (Ag(+)) complexes of a homologous series of these compounds using multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry is described. Unlike the ubiquitous alkali metal ion complexes, Ag(+) complexes of 2-aminoanilides and benzimidazoles were found to yield [M - H](+) ions in significant abundance via gas-phase elimination of the metal hydride (AgH) resulting in unique product ion cascades. Sample introduction was by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis performed on a hybrid linear ion trap/orbitrap instrument capable of high-resolution measurements. Rigorous structural characterization by multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry using [M +  H](+), [M - H](-) and [M - H](+) precursor ions derived from ESI and CIS experiments was performed for the homologous series of 2-aminoanilide and benzimidazole compounds. A full tabular comparison of structural information resulting from these product ion cascades was produced. Multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry of [M - H](+) ions resulting from Ag(+) complexes of 2-aminoanilides and benzimidazoles in CIS-MS experiments produced unique product ion cascades that exhibited complementary structural information to that obtained from tandem mass spectrometry of [M  +  H](+) and [M - H](-) ions by electrospray ionization (ESI). These observations may be broadly applicable to other compounds that are observed to form Ag(+) complexes and eliminate AgH. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Quantification of short chain amines in aqueous matrices using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Viidanoja, Jyrki

    2017-01-13

    A new liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of more than 20 C 1 -C 6 alkyl and alkanolamines in aqueous matrices. The method employs Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography Multiple Reaction Monitoring (HILIC-MRM) with a ZIC-pHILIC column and four stable isotope labeled amines as internal standards for signal normalization and quantification of the amines. The method was validated using a refinery process water sample that was obtained from a cooling cycle of crude oil distillation. The averaged within run precision, between run precision and accuracy were generally within 2-10%, 1-9% and 80-120%, respectively, depending on the analyte and concentration level. Selected aqueous process samples were analyzed with the method. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry analysis of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX).

    PubMed

    Pan, Xiaoping; Zhang, Baohong; Tian, Kang; Jones, Lindsey E; Liu, Jun; Anderson, Todd A; Wang, Jia-Sheng; Cobb, George P

    2006-01-01

    A quantitative liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the analysis of the explosive, octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX). In negative ionization mode, HMX forms an acetate adduct ion [M + CH(3)COO](-), m/z 355, in the presence of a small amount of acetic acid in the mobile phase. The ESI collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectrum of m/z 355 was acquired and the transitions m/z 355 --> 147 and m/z 355 --> 174 were chosen for the determination of HMX in samples. Using this quantification technique, the method detection limit was 1.57 microg/L and good linearity was achieved in the range 5-500 microg/L. This method will help to unambiguously analyze environmentally relevant concentrations of HMX. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry differentiation of N-phosphoryl-[alpha]-, [beta]- and [gamma]-amino acids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qiang, Liming; Cao, Shuxia; Zhao, Xiaoyang; Mao, Xiangju; Guo, Yanchun; Liao, Xincheng; Zhao, Yufen

    2007-10-01

    The fragmentation patterns of N-diisopropyloxyphosphoryl-l-[alpha]-Ala (DIPP-l-[alpha]-Ala), N-diisopropyloxyphosphoryl-d-[alpha]-Ala (DIPP-d-[alpha]-Ala), N-diisopropyloxyphosphoryl-[beta]-Ala (DIPP-[beta]-Ala) and N-diisopropyloxyphosphoryl-[gamma]-amino butyric acid (DIPP-[gamma]-Aba) were investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). DIPP-d-[alpha]-Ala showed the same fragmentation pathways as DIPP-l-[alpha]-Ala. In the fragmentation of protonated DIPP-[beta]-Ala, the characteristic fragment ion [M + H - 2C3H6 - H2O - CH2CO]+ appeared and could be used to distinguish [beta]-Ala from l-[alpha]-Ala and d-[alpha]-Ala through tandem mass spectra, even though they possess the same molecular weight. In the fragmentation of protonated DIPP-[gamma]-Aba, the break of PN bond occurred and an interesting protonated lactam ion with five-membered ring was generated. Furthermore, in the MS3 spectrum of [M + Na - 2C3H6]+ ion of DIPP-[gamma]-Aba, a strong intensity of unique fragment ion, namely lactam-sodium adduct with five-membered ring, was observed, which could be considered as a mark for [gamma]-amino acids. The stepwise fragmentations of their [M + Na]+ ions and [M - H]- ions showed that they all underwent a PN to PO bond migration through a five-membered or six-membered or even seven-membered ring transition state, respectively, which supported the great affinity of hydroxyl for phosphoryl group.

  15. Re-investigation of the fragmentation of protonated carotenoids by electrospray ionization and nanospray tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Neto, Fausto Carnevale; Guaratini, Thais; Costa-Lotufo, Letícia; Colepicolo, Pio; Gates, Paul J; Lopes, Norberto Peporine

    2016-07-15

    Carotenoids are polyene isoprenoids with an important role in photosynthesis and photoprotection. Their characterization in biological matrices is a crucial subject for biochemical research. In this work we report the full fragmentation of 16 polyenes (carotenes and xanthophylls) by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-CID-MS/MS) and nanospray tandem mass spectrometry (nanoESI-CID-MS/MS). Analyses were carried out on a quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer coupled with a nanoESI source and on a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer with an ESI source. The formulae of the product ions were determined by accurate-mass measurements. It is demonstrated that the fragmentation routes observed for the protonated carotenoids derive essentially from charge-remote fragmentations and pericyclic rearrangements, such as electrocyclic and retro-ene eliminations (assisted or not by a sigmatropic hydrogen shift). All mechanisms are dependent on cis-trans isomerization through the formation of several conjugated polyene carbocation intermediates. Some specific ions for the carotenoid epoxides were justified through formation of cyclic oxonium ions. Complete fragmentation pathways of protonated carotenoids by ESI- and nanoESI-CID-MS/MS provided structural information about functional groups, polyene chain and double bonds, and contribute to identification of carotenoids based on MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Characterization of Wax Esters by Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Double Bond Effect and Unusual Product Ions

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Jianzhong; Green, Kari B; Nichols, Kelly K

    2015-01-01

    A series of different types of wax esters (represented by RCOOR′) were systematically studied by using electrospray ionization (ESI) collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) along with pseudo MS3 (in-source dissociation combined with MS/MS) on a quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer. The tandem mass spectra patterns resulting from dissociation of ammonium/proton adducts of these wax esters were influenced by the wax ester type and the collision energy applied. The product ions [RCOOH2]+, [RCO]+ and [RCO – H2O]+ that have been reported previously were detected; however, different primary product ions were demonstrated for the three wax ester types including: 1) [RCOOH2]+ for saturated wax esters, 2) [RCOOH2]+, [RCO]+ and [RCO – H2O]+ for unsaturated wax esters containing only one double bond in the fatty acid moiety or with one additional double bond in the fatty alcohol moiety, and 3) [RCOOH2]+ and [RCO]+ for unsaturated wax esters containing a double bond in the fatty alcohol moiety alone. Other fragments included [R′]+ and several series of product ions for all types of wax esters. Interestingly, unusual product ions were detected, such as neutral molecule (including water, methanol and ammonia) adducts of [RCOOH2]+ ions for all types of wax esters and [R′ – 2H]+ ions for unsaturated fatty acyl-containing wax esters. The patterns of tandem mass spectra for different types of wax esters will inform future identification and quantification approaches of wax esters in biological samples as supported by a preliminary study of quantification of isomeric wax esters in human meibomian gland secretions. PMID:26178197

  17. Characterization of Wax Esters by Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Double Bond Effect and Unusual Product Ions.

    PubMed

    Chen, Jianzhong; Green, Kari B; Nichols, Kelly K

    2015-08-01

    A series of different types of wax esters (represented by RCOOR') were systematically studied by using electrospray ionization (ESI) collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) along with pseudo MS(3) (in-source dissociation combined with MS/MS) on a quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer. The tandem mass spectra patterns resulting from dissociation of ammonium/proton adducts of these wax esters were influenced by the wax ester type and the collision energy applied. The product ions [RCOOH2](+), [RCO](+) and [RCO-H2O](+) that have been reported previously were detected; however, different primary product ions were demonstrated for the three wax ester types including: (1) [RCOOH2](+) for saturated wax esters, (2) [RCOOH2](+), [RCO](+) and [RCO-H2O](+) for unsaturated wax esters containing only one double bond in the fatty acid moiety or with one additional double bond in the fatty alcohol moiety, and (3) [RCOOH2](+) and [RCO](+) for unsaturated wax esters containing a double bond in the fatty alcohol moiety alone. Other fragments included [R'](+) and several series of product ions for all types of wax esters. Interestingly, unusual product ions were detected, such as neutral molecule (including water, methanol and ammonia) adducts of [RCOOH2](+) ions for all types of wax esters and [R'-2H](+) ions for unsaturated fatty acyl-containing wax esters. The patterns of tandem mass spectra for different types of wax esters will inform future identification and quantification approaches of wax esters in biological samples as supported by a preliminary study of quantification of isomeric wax esters in human meibomian gland secretions.

  18. High-throughput and simultaneous analysis of eight central-acting muscle relaxants in human plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in the positive and negative ionization modes.

    PubMed

    Ogawa, Tadashi; Hattori, Hideki; Kaneko, Rina; Ito, Kenjiro; Iwai, Masae; Mizutani, Yoko; Arinobu, Tetsuya; Ishii, Akira; Seno, Hiroshi

    2011-06-01

    In this report, a high-throughput and sensitive method for analysis of eight central-acting muscle relaxants in human plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) in the positive and negative ionization modes using tolbutamide as internal standard is presented. After pretreatment of a plasma sample by solid-phase extraction with an Oasis HLB cartridge, muscle relaxants were analyzed by UPLC with Acquity UPLC BEH C(18) column and Acquity TQD tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization interface. The calibration curves for muscle relaxants spiked into human plasma equally showed good linearities in the nanogram per milliliter order range. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) was as low as 0.1-2 ng/mL. The method gave satisfactory recovery rates, accuracy, and precision for quality control samples spiked with muscle relaxants. To further validate the present method, 250 mg of chlorphenesin carbamate was orally administered to a healthy male volunteer, and the concentrations of chlorphenesin carbamate in plasma were measured 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after dosing; their concentrations in human plasma were between 0.62 and 2.44 μg/mL. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing simultaneous analysis of over more than two central-acting muscle relaxants by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. This has been realized by the capability of our instrument for simultaneous multiple reaction monitoring of the target compounds in both positive and negative ionization modes. Therefore, the present method seems very useful in forensic and clinical toxicology and pharmacokinetic studies.

  19. Differentiation of regioisomeric aromatic ketocarboxylic acids by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization CAD tandem mass spectrometry in a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Amundson, Lucas M.; Owen, Ben C.; Gallardo, Vanessa A.

    2011-01-01

    Positive-mode atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS n ) was tested for the differentiation of regioisomeric aromatic ketocarboxylic acids. Each analyte forms exclusively an abundant protonated molecule upon ionization via positive-mode APCI in a commercial linear quadrupole ion trap (LQIT) mass spectrometer. Energy-resolved collision-activated dissociation (CAD) experiments carried out on the protonated analytes revealed fragmentation patterns that varied based on the location of the functional groups. Unambiguous differentiation between the regioisomers was achieved in each case by observing different fragmentation patterns, different relative abundances of ion-molecule reaction products, or different relative abundances of fragment ions formed at differentmore » collision energies. The mechanisms of some of the reactions were examined by H/D exchange reactions and molecular orbital calculations.« less

  20. Metal Cationization Extractive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry of Compounds Containing Multiple Oxygens

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swanson, Kenneth D.; Spencer, Sandra E.; Glish, Gary L.

    2017-06-01

    Extractive electrospray ionization is an ambient ionization technique that allows real-time sampling of liquid samples, including organic aerosols. Similar to electrospray ionization, the composition of the electrospray solvent used in extractive electrospray ionization can easily be altered to form metal cationized molecules during ionization simply by adding a metal salt to the electrospray solvent. An increase in sensitivity is observed for some molecules that are lithium, sodium, or silver cationized compared with the protonated molecule formed in extractive electrospray ionization with an acid additive. Tandem mass spectrometry of metal cationized molecules can also significantly improve the ability to identify a compound. Tandem mass spectrometry of lithium and silver cationized molecules can result in an increase in the number and uniqueness of dissociation pathways relative to [M + H]+. These results highlight the potential for extractive electrospray ionization with metal cationization in analyzing complex aerosol mixtures. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  1. Determination of red blood cell fatty acid profiles: Rapid and high-confident analysis by chemical ionization-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Schober, Yvonne; Wahl, Hans Günther; Renz, Harald; Nockher, Wolfgang Andreas

    2017-01-01

    Cellular fatty acid (FA) profiles have been acknowledged as biomarkers in various human diseases. Nevertheless, common FA analysis by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) requires long analysis time. Hence, there is a need for feasible methods for high throughput analysis in clinical studies. FA was extracted from red blood cells (RBC) and derivatized to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). A method using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with ammonia-induced chemical ionization (CI) was developed for the analysis of FA profiles in human RBC. We compared this method with classical single GC-MS using electron impact ionization (EI). The FA profiles of 703 RBC samples were determined by GC-MS/MS. In contrast to EI ammonia-induced CI resulted in adequate amounts of molecular ions for further fragmentation of FAME. Specific fragments for confident quantification and fragmentation were determined for 45 FA. The GC-MS/MS method has a total run time of 9min compared to typical analysis times of up to 60min in conventional GC-MS. Intra and inter assay variations were <10% for all FA analyzed. Analysis of RBC FA composition revealed an age-dependent increase of the omega-3 eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid, and a decline of the omega-6 linoleic acid with a corresponding rise of the omega-3 index. The combination of ammonia-induced CI and tandem mass spectrometry after GC separation allows for high-throughput, robust and confident analysis of FA profiles in the clinical laboratory. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Quantitative thin-layer chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of caffeine using a surface sampling probe electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry system.

    PubMed

    Ford, Michael J; Deibel, Michael A; Tomkins, Bruce A; Van Berkel, Gary J

    2005-07-15

    Quantitative determination of caffeine on reversed-phase C8 thin-layer chromatography plates using a surface sampling electrospray ionization system with tandem mass spectrometry detection is reported. The thin-layer chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method employed a deuterium-labeled caffeine internal standard and selected reaction monitoring detection. Up to nine parallel caffeine bands on a single plate were sampled in a single surface scanning experiment requiring 35 min at a surface scan rate of 44 mum/s. A reversed-phase HPLC/UV caffeine assay was developed in parallel to assess the mass spectrometry method performance. Limits of detection for the HPLC/UV and thin-layer chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry methods determined from the calibration curve statistics were 0.20 ng injected (0.50 muL) and 1.0 ng spotted on the plate, respectively. Spike recoveries with standards and real samples ranged between 97 and 106% for both methods. The caffeine content of three diet soft drinks (Diet Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Diet Pepsi) and three diet sport drinks (Diet Turbo Tea, Speed Stack Grape, Speed Stack Fruit Punch) was measured. The HPLC/UV and mass spectrometry determinations were in general agreement, and these values were consistent with the quoted values for two of the three diet colas. In the case of Diet Cherry Coke and the diet sports drinks, the determined caffeine amounts using both methods were consistently higher (by approximately 8% or more) than the literature values.

  3. Quantitative Thin-Layer Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Caffeine Using a Surface Sampling Probe Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ford, Michael J; Deibel, Michael A.; Tomkins, Bruce A

    Quantitative determination of caffeine on reversed-phase C8 thin-layer chromatography plates using a surface sampling electrospray ionization system with tandem mass spectrometry detection is reported. The thin-layer chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method employed a deuterium-labeled caffeine internal standard and selected reaction monitoring detection. Up to nine parallel caffeine bands on a single plate were sampled in a single surface scanning experiment requiring 35 min at a surface scan rate of 44 {mu}m/s. A reversed-phase HPLC/UV caffeine assay was developed in parallel to assess the mass spectrometry method performance. Limits of detection for the HPLC/UV and thin-layer chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry methodsmore » determined from the calibration curve statistics were 0.20 ng injected (0.50 {mu}L) and 1.0 ng spotted on the plate, respectively. Spike recoveries with standards and real samples ranged between 97 and 106% for both methods. The caffeine content of three diet soft drinks (Diet Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Diet Pepsi) and three diet sport drinks (Diet Turbo Tea, Speed Stack Grape, Speed Stack Fruit Punch) was measured. The HPLC/UV and mass spectrometry determinations were in general agreement, and these values were consistent with the quoted values for two of the three diet colas. In the case of Diet Cherry Coke and the diet sports drinks, the determined caffeine amounts using both methods were consistently higher (by 8% or more) than the literature values.« less

  4. Random and independent sampling of endogenous tryptic peptides from normal human EDTA plasma by liquid chromatography micro electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Dufresne, Jaimie; Florentinus-Mefailoski, Angelique; Ajambo, Juliet; Ferwa, Ammara; Bowden, Peter; Marshall, John

    2017-01-01

    Normal human EDTA plasma samples were collected on ice, processed ice cold, and stored in a freezer at - 80 °C prior to experiments. Plasma test samples from the - 80 °C freezer were thawed on ice or intentionally warmed to room temperature. Protein content was measured by CBBR binding and the release of alcohol soluble amines by the Cd ninhydrin assay. Plasma peptides released over time were collected over C18 for random and independent sampling by liquid chromatography micro electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) and correlated with X!TANDEM. Fully tryptic peptides by X!TANDEM returned a similar set of proteins, but was more computationally efficient, than "no enzyme" correlations. Plasma samples maintained on ice, or ice with a cocktail of protease inhibitors, showed lower background amounts of plasma peptides compared to samples incubated at room temperature. Regression analysis indicated that warming plasma to room temperature, versus ice cold, resulted in a ~ twofold increase in the frequency of peptide identification over hours-days of incubation at room temperature. The type I error rate of the protein identification from the X!TANDEM algorithm combined was estimated to be low compared to a null model of computer generated random MS/MS spectra. The peptides of human plasma were identified and quantified with low error rates by random and independent sampling that revealed 1000s of peptides from hundreds of human plasma proteins from endogenous tryptic peptides.

  5. [Separation and identification of 5 glycosidic flavor precursors in tobacco by ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Wu, Xinhua; Zhu, Ruizhi; Ren, Zhuoying; Wang, Kai; Mou, Dingrong; Wei, Wanzhi; Miao, Mingming

    2009-11-01

    A qualitative method for the identification of 5 main glycosidic flavor precursors in tobacco was developed by using ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI MS/MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The glycosidic flavor precursors in tobacco were extracted with methanol, cleaned up with an XAD-2 column. The aglycones were later released by enzyme-mediated hydrolysis under the condition of pH 5. The 5 volatile aglycone moieties were identified by GC-MS standard spectra library. The precursor ions of glycosides were determined by using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in negative ion mode, then the 5 glycosidic flavor precursors were identified by using product ion scan (MS2) finally, using UPLC-ESI MS/MS, separation and identification of 5 glycosidic flavor precursors were accomplished on an RP-C,8 column in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode by using methanol and acetic acid-ammonium acetate aqueous solution as eluent. This work lays a foundation for the analysis of glycosidic flavor precursors without the standards by using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

  6. Dissociation reactions of protonated anthracycline antibiotics following electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sleno, Lekha; Campagna-Slater, Valerie; Volmer, Dietrich A.

    2006-09-01

    Fragmentation pathways of doxorubicin, a common cancer therapy agent, and three closely related analogs (epirubicin, daunorubicin, idarubicin) were compared using electrospray ionization with tandem mass spectrometry. This class of antibiotics with anti-tumour activity has important structural features, with a tetracyclic aromatic, polyketide portion, which is glycosylated with an amino sugar in order to exhibit its biological activity. Collision-induced dissociation spectra revealed very similar product ions for each analog, however, important differences were seen in the relative abundances and the ease at which certain fragments were formed. Fragment ions observed included those from cleavage of the glycosidic bond, loss of the side chain from the aglycone moiety, water losses and loss of a methyl radical. Following cleavage of the glycosidic bond, the charge can either reside on the aglycone portion or the sugar moiety, and each of these primary fragments undergoes several secondary dissociation pathways, depending on the collision energy. By ramping the collision voltage, we were able to correlate the changes in fragmentation behavior with small alterations in the structure of the precursor ion. The detailed study of the fragmentation behavior of doxorubicin was supported by accurate mass measurements, using an electrospray-time of flight instrument, as well as MS3 data from a quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer. Computational studies were also performed to help explain the role of certain functional groups in the fragmentation reactions.

  7. Therapeutic plasma exchange performed in tandem with hemodialysis without supplemental calcium in the apheresis circuit.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Yong; Ibrahim, Hiba; Bailey, Jeffrey A; Linden, Jeanne; Hickson, Elda; Haynes, Stefanie; Greene, Mindy; Vauthrin, Michelle; Weinstein, Robert

    2017-06-01

    Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) and hemopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) collection are apheresis procedures that can safely be performed in tandem with hemodialysis. Despite the return of citrate-anticoagulated blood to the patient during HPC collection, it is not necessary to administer supplemental calcium during these procedures because the ionized calcium concentration is restored as the returning blood passes through the dialyzer. It is not known whether this applies to TPE, in which a mixture of blood and pharmaceutical albumin, an avid binder of plasma ionized calcium, is returned to the patient through the dialyzer. We report on three dialysis-dependent patients who required TPE and underwent tandem treatments without supplemental calcium in the apheresis circuit. Overall, ionized calcium fell 4-12% (P = 0.0.024) and patients reported no symptoms of hypocalcemic toxicity. Tandem hemodialysis/TPE can be performed without supplemental calcium in the apheresis circuit. J. Clin. Apheresis 32:154-157, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Determination of phosphatidylethanolamine molecular species in various food matrices by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS2).

    PubMed

    Zhou, Li; Zhao, Minjie; Ennahar, Saïd; Bindler, Françoise; Marchioni, Eric

    2012-04-01

    A liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS(2)) method has been developed for determination of the molecular species of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in four food matrices (soy, egg yolk, ox liver, and krill oil). The extraction and purification method consisted of a pressurized liquid extraction procedure for total lipid (TL) extraction, purification of phospholipids (PLs) by adsorption on a silica gel column, and separation of PL classes by semi-preparative normal-phase HPLC. Separation and identification of PE molecular species were performed by reversed-phase HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(2)). Methanol containing 5 mmol L(-1) ammonium formate was used as the mobile phase. A variety of PE molecular species were detected in the four food matrices. (C16:0-C18:2)PE, (C18:2-C18:2)PE, and (C16:0-C18:1)PE were the major PE molecular species in soy. Egg yolk PE contained (C16:0-C18:1)PE, (C18:0-C18:1)PE, (C18:0-C18:2)PE, and (C16:0-C18:2)PE as the major molecular species. Ox liver PE was rich in the species (C18:0-C18:1)PE, (C18:0-C20:4)PE, and (C18:0-C18:2)PE. Finally, krill oil which was particularly rich in (C16:0(alkyl)-C22:6(acyl))plasmanylethanolamine (PakE), (C16:0-C22:6)PE, and (C16:0-C20:5)PE, seemed to be an interesting potential source for supplementation of food with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid.

  9. Rapid Screening and Characterization of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors from Yinhuang Oral Liquid Using Ultrafiltration-liquid Chromatography-electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Haomin; Guo, Yinan; Meng, Lingwen; Sun, Hui; Yang, Yinping; Gao, Ying; Sun, Jiaming

    2018-01-01

    Background: At present, approximately 17–25 million people in the world suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD). The most efficacious and acceptable therapeutic drug clinically are the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs). Yinhuang oral liquid is a Chinese medicine preparation which contains AChEIs according to the literatures. However, no strategy has been presented for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid. Objective: To develop a method for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid using ultrafiltration–liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UF-LC-ESI-MS/MS). Materials and Methods: In this study, UF incubation conditions such as enzyme concentration, incubation time, and incubation temperature were optimized so as to get better screening results. The AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-ESI-MS and the improved Ellman method was used for the AChE inhibitory activity test in vitro. Results: The results showed that Yinhuang oral liquid can inhibit the activity of AChE. We screened and identified seven compounds with potential AChE inhibitory activity from Yinhuang oral liquid, which provided experimental basis for the treatment and prevention of AD. Conclusion: The current technique was used to directly screen the active ingredients with acetylcholinesterase inhibition from complex traditional Chinese medicine, which was simple, rapid, accurate, and suitable for high-throughput screening of AChEI from complex systems. SUMMARY A UF-LC-ESI-MS/MS method for rapid screening and identification of AChEIs from Yinhuang oral liquid was developedSeven compounds were screened and identified with potential AChE inhibitory activity from Yinhuang oral liquidIt provided experimental basis of Yinhuang oral liquid for the treating and preventing AD. Abbreviations used: (AD): Alzheimer's disease; (UF

  10. Direct Sampling and Analysis from Solid Phase Extraction Cards using an Automated Liquid Extraction Surface Analysis Nanoelectrospray Mass Spectrometry System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Walworth, Matthew J; ElNaggar, Mariam S; Stankovich, Joseph J

    Direct liquid extraction based surface sampling, a technique previously demonstrated with continuous flow and autonomous pipette liquid microjunction surface sampling probes, has recently been implemented as the Liquid Extraction Surface Analysis (LESA) mode on the commercially available Advion NanoMate chip-based infusion nanoelectrospray ionization system. In the present paper, the LESA mode was applied to the analysis of 96-well format custom solid phase extraction (SPE) cards, with each well consisting of either a 1 or 2 mm diameter monolithic hydrophobic stationary phase. These substrate wells were conditioned, loaded with either single or multi-component aqueous mixtures, and read out using the LESAmore » mode of a TriVersa NanoMate or a Nanomate 100 coupled to an ABI/Sciex 4000QTRAPTM hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion trap mass spectrometer and a Thermo LTQ XL linear ion trap mass spectrometer. Extraction conditions, including extraction/nanoESI solvent composition, volume, and dwell times, were optimized in the analysis of targeted compounds. Limit of detection and quantitation as well as analysis reproducibility figures of merit were measured. Calibration data was obtained for propranolol using a deuterated internal standard which demonstrated linearity and reproducibility. A 10x increase in signal and cleanup of micromolar Angiotensin II from a concentrated salt solution was demonstrated. Additionally, a multicomponent herbicide mixture at ppb concentration levels was analyzed using MS3 spectra for compound identification in the presence of isobaric interferences.« less

  11. Evaluation of the capabilities of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source coupled to tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of dioxin-like polychlorobiphenyls in complex-matrix food samples.

    PubMed

    Portolés, T; Sales, C; Abalos, M; Sauló, J; Abad, E

    2016-09-21

    The use of the novel atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source for gas chromatography (GC) coupled to triple quadrupole using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and its potential for the simultaneous determination of the 12 dioxin-like polychlorobiphenyls (DL-PCBs) in complex food and feed matrices has been evaluated. In first place, ionization and fragmentation behavior of DL-PCBs on the APCI source under charge transfer conditions has been studied followed by their fragmentation in the collision cell. Linearity, repeatability and sensitivity have been studied obtaining instrumental limits of detection and quantification of 0.0025 and 0.005 pg μL(-1) (2.5 and 5 fg on column) respectively for every DL-PCB. Finally, application to real samples has been carried out and DL-PCB congeners (PCB 77, 81, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 156, 157, 167, 169, 189) have been detected in the different samples in the range of 0.40-10000 pg g(-1). GC-(APCI)MS/MS has been proved as a suitable alternative to the traditionally accepted confirmation method based on the use of high resolution mass spectrometry and other triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry techniques operating with electron ionization. The development of MS/MS methodologies for the analysis of dioxins and DL-PCBs is nowadays particularly important, since this technique was included as a confirmatory method in the present European Union regulations that establish the requirements for the determination of these compounds in food and feed matrices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. A modified Girard derivatizing reagent for universal profiling and trace analysis of aldehydes and ketones by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Johnson, David W

    2007-01-01

    4-Hydrazino-N,N,N-trimethyl-4-oxobutanaminium iodide (HTMOB) is a modified Girard derivatizing reagent synthesized to improve the sensitivity of analysis of aldehydes and ketones with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Compared with Girard T reagent the measured signal intensity increase is between 3.3 times (succinylacetone) and 7.0 times (17-hydroxyprogesterone). HTMOB is a universal profiling reagent for aldehydes and ketones. A neutral loss of 59 Da scan detects all aldehydes and ketones from acetone to corticosteroids. Applications described include the profiling of ketones, ketoacids and ketodiacids in the urine of children with ketosis and the profiling of long-chain aldehydes incorporated in plasma plasmalogens. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Identification of a tryptanthrin metabolite in rat liver microsomes by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Lee, Sang Kyu; Kim, Ghee Hwan; Kim, Dong Hyeon; Kim, Dong Hyun; Jahng, Yurngdong; Jeong, Tae Cheon

    2007-10-01

    Tryptanthrin originally isolated from Isatis tinctoria L. has been characterized to have anti-inflammatory activities through the dual inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 and 5-lipoxygenase mediated prostaglandin and leukotriene syntheses. To characterize phase I metabolite(s), tryptanthrin was incubated with rat liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH-generating system. One metabolite was identified by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. M1 could be identified as a metabolite mono-hydroxylated on the aromatic ring of indole moiety from the MS(2) spectra of protonated tryptanthrin and M1. The structure of metabolite was confirmed as 8-hydroxytryptanthrin with a chemically synthesized authentic standard. The formation of M1 was NADPH-dependent and was inhibited by SKF-525A, a general CYP-inhibitor, indicating the cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated reaction. In addition, it was proposed that M1 might be formed by CYP 1A in rat liver microsomes from the experiments with enriched rat liver microsomes.

  14. Alternative Neisseria spp. type IV pilin glycosylation with a glyceramido acetamido trideoxyhexose residue

    PubMed Central

    Chamot-Rooke, Julia; Rousseau, Benoit; Lanternier, Fanny; Mikaty, Guillain; Mairey, Emilie; Malosse, Christian; Bouchoux, Guy; Pelicic, Vladimir; Camoin, Luc; Nassif, Xavier; Duménil, Guillaume

    2007-01-01

    The importance of protein glycosylation in the interaction of pathogenic bacteria with their host is becoming increasingly clear. Neisseria meningitidis, the etiological agent of cerebrospinal meningitis, crosses cellular barriers after adhering to host cells through type IV pili. Pilin glycosylation genes (pgl) are responsible for the glycosylation of PilE, the major subunit of type IV pili, with the 2,4-diacetamido-2,4,6-trideoxyhexose residue. Nearly half of the clinical isolates, however, display an insertion in the pglBCD operon, which is anticipated to lead to a different, unidentified glycosylation. Here the structure of pilin glycosylation was determined in such a strain by “top-down” MS approaches. MALDI-TOF, nanoelectrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance, and nanoelectrospray ionization quadrupole TOF MS analysis of purified pili preparations originating from N. meningitidis strains, either wild type or deficient for pilin glycosylation, revealed a glycan mass inconsistent with 2,4-diacetamido-2,4,6-trideoxyhexose or any sugar in the databases. This unusual modification was determined by in-source dissociation of the sugar from the protein followed by tandem MS analysis with collision-induced fragmentation to be a hexose modified with a glyceramido and an acetamido group. We further show genetically that the nature of the sugar present on the pilin is determined by the carboxyl-terminal region of the pglB gene modified by the insertion in the pglBCD locus. We thus report a previously undiscovered monosaccharide involved in posttranslational modification of type IV pilin subunits by a MS-based approach and determine the molecular basis of its biosynthesis. PMID:17804791

  15. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric quantification of structurally diverse drug mixtures using an ESI-APCI multimode ionization source.

    PubMed

    Yu, Kate; Di, Li; Kerns, Edward; Li, Susan Q; Alden, Peter; Plumb, Robert S

    2007-01-01

    We report in this paper an ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC(R)/MS/MS) method utilizing an ESI-APCI multimode ionization source to quantify structurally diverse analytes. Eight commercial drugs were used as test compounds. Each LC injection was completed in 1 min using a UPLC system coupled with MS/MS multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) detection. Results from three separate sets of experiments are reported. In the first set of experiments, the eight test compounds were analyzed as a single mixture. The mass spectrometer was switching rapidly among four ionization modes (ESI+, ESI-, APCI-, and APCI+) during an LC run. Approximately 8-10 data points were collected across each LC peak. This was insufficient for a quantitative analysis. In the second set of experiments, four compounds were analyzed as a single mixture. The mass spectrometer was switching rapidly among four ionization modes during an LC run. Approximately 15 data points were obtained for each LC peak. Quantification results were obtained with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.01 ng/mL. For the third set of experiments, the eight test compounds were analyzed as a batch. During each LC injection, a single compound was analyzed. The mass spectrometer was detecting at a particular ionization mode during each LC injection. More than 20 data points were obtained for each LC peak. Quantification results were also obtained. This single-compound analytical method was applied to a microsomal stability test. Compared with a typical HPLC method currently used for the microsomal stability test, the injection-to-injection cycle time was reduced to 1.5 min (UPLC method) from 3.5 min (HPLC method). The microsome stability results were comparable with those obtained by traditional HPLC/MS/MS.

  16. Chemical investigation of saponins in different parts of Panax notoginseng by pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wan, Jian-Bo; Zhang, Qing-Wen; Hong, Si-Jia; Li, Peng; Li, Shao-Ping; Wang, Yi-Tao

    2012-05-16

    A pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the qualitative determination of saponins in different parts of P. notoginseng, including rhizome, root, fibre root, seed, stem, leaf and flower. The samples were extracted using PLE. The analysis was achieved on a Zorbax SB-C18 column with gradient elution of acetonitrile and 8 mM aqueous ammonium acetate as mobile phase. The mass spectrometer was operated in the negative ion mode using the electrospray ionization, and a collision induced dissociation (CID) experiment was also carried out to aid the identification of compounds. Forty one saponins were identified in different parts of P. notoginseng according to the fragmentation patterns and literature reports, among them, 21 saponins were confirmed by comparing the retention time and ESI-MS data with those of standard compounds. The results showed that the chemical characteristics were obviously diverse in different parts of P. notoginseng, which is helpful for pharmacological evaluation and quality control of P. notoginseng.

  17. Super-atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry and its application to ultrafast online protein digestion analysis.

    PubMed

    Chen, Lee Chuin; Ninomiya, Satoshi; Hiraoka, Kenzo

    2016-06-01

    Ion source pressure plays a significant role in the process of ionization and the subsequent ion transmission inside a mass spectrometer. Pressurizing the ion source to a gas pressure greater than atmospheric pressure is a relatively new approach that aims to further improve the performance of atmospheric pressure ionization sources. For example, under a super-atmospheric pressure environment, a stable electrospray can be sustained for liquid with high surface tension such as pure water, because of the suppression of electric discharge. Even for nano-electrospray ionization (nano-ESI), which is known to work with aqueous solution, its stability and sensitivity can also be enhanced, particularly in the negative mode when the ion source is pressurized. A brief review on the development of super-atmospheric pressure ion sources, including high-pressure electrospray, field desorption and superheated ESI, and the strategies to interface these ion sources to a mass spectrometer will be given. Using a recent ESI prototype with an operating temperature at 220 °C under 27 atm, we also demonstrate that it is possible to achieve an online Asp-specific protein digestion analysis in which the whole processes of digestion, ionization and MS acquisition could be completed on the order of a few seconds. This method is fast, and the reaction can even be monitored on a near-real-time basis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. Determination of flomoxef in human plasma by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Kravtsova, Oxana Yu; Paramonov, Sergey A; Vasilevich, Natalya I; Kazyulkin, Denis N; Vlasova, Ekaterina; Engsig, Michael

    2013-12-01

    A specific, sensitive, rapid and reproducible method for the determination of flomoxef in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. Flomoxef was detected using an electrospay ionization method operated in negative-ion mode. Chromatographic separation was performed in gradient elution mode on a Luna® C18(2) column (3 μM, 20 × 4.0 mm) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min and runtime 3.5 min. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid as additive. Extraction of flomoxef from plasma and precipitation of plasma proteins was performed with acetonitrile with an absolute recovery of 86.4 ± 1.6%. The calibration curve was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 over the concentration range 10-5000 ng/mL and the lower limit of quantification was 10 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions were <11.8%, while the accuracy ranged from 99.6 to 109.0%. A stability study of flomoxef revealed that it could be successfully analyzed at 4 ºС over 24 h, but it was unstable in solutions at room temperature during short-term storage (4 h) and several freeze-thaw cycles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Top-down proteomic identification of Shiga toxin 2 subtypes from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-tandem time of flight mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Fagerquist, Clifton K; Zaragoza, William J; Sultan, Omar; Woo, Nathan; Quiñones, Beatriz; Cooley, Michael B; Mandrell, Robert E

    2014-05-01

    We have analyzed 26 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains for Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) production using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI)-tandem time of flight (TOF-TOF) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and top-down proteomic analysis. STEC strains were induced to overexpress Stx2 by overnight culturing on solid agar supplemented with either ciprofloxacin or mitomycin C. Harvested cells were lysed by bead beating, and unfractionated bacterial cell lysates were ionized by MALDI. The A2 fragment of the A subunit and the mature B subunit of Stx2 were analyzed by MS/MS. Sequence-specific fragment ions were used to identify amino acid subtypes of Stx2 using top-down proteomic analysis using software developed in-house at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Stx2 subtypes (a, c, d, f, and g) were identified on the basis of the mass of the A2 fragment and the B subunit as well as from their sequence-specific fragment ions by MS/MS (postsource decay). Top-down proteomic identification was in agreement with DNA sequencing of the full Stx2 operon (stx2) for all strains. Top-down results were also compared to a bioassay using a Vero-d2EGFP cell line. Our results suggest that top-down proteomic identification is a rapid, highly specific technique for distinguishing Stx2 subtypes.

  20. Characterization of aromatic organosulfur model compounds relevant to fossil fuels by using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization with CS2 and high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Tang, Weijuan; Sheng, Huaming; Jin, Chunfen; Riedeman, James S; Kenttämaa, Hilkka I

    2016-04-15

    The chemistry of desulfurization involved in processing crude oil is greatly dependent on the forms of sulfur in the oil. Sulfur exists in different chemical bonding environments in fossil fuels, including those in thiophenes and benzothiophenes, thiols, sulfides, and disulfides. In this study, the fragmentation behavior of the molecular ions of 17 aromatic organosulfur compounds with various functionalities was systematically investigated by using high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometric experiments were carried out using a linear quadrupole ion trap (LQIT) equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source. (+)APCI/CS2 was used to generate stable dominant molecular ions for all the compounds studied except for three sulfides that also showed abundant fragment ions. The LQIT coupled with an orbitrap mass spectrometer was used for elemental composition analysis, which facilitated the identification of the neutral molecules lost during fragmentation. The characteristic fragment ions generated in MS(2) and MS(3) experiments provide clues for the chemical bonding environment of sulfur atoms in the examined compounds. Upon collision-induced dissociation (CID), the molecular ions can lose the sulfur atom in a variety of ways, including as S (32 Da), HS(•) (33 Da), H2 S (34 Da), CS (44 Da), (•) CHS (45 Da) and CH2 S (46 Da). These neutral fragments are not only indicative of the presence of sulfur, but also of the type of sulfur present in the compound. Generally, losses of HS(•) and H2 S were found to be associated with compounds containing saturated sulfur functionalities, while losses of S, CS and (•) CHS were more common for heteroaromatic sulfur compounds. High-resolution tandem mass spectrometry with APCI/CS2 ionization is a viable approach to determining the types of organosulfur compounds. It can potentially be applied to analysis of complex mixtures, which is beneficial to improving the

  1. Use of electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry and principal component analysis to directly distinguish monosaccharides.

    PubMed

    Xia, Bing; Zhou, Yan; Liu, Xin; Xiao, Juan; Liu, Qing; Gu, Yucheng; Ding, Lisheng

    2012-06-15

    Carbohydrates are good source of drugs and play important roles in metabolism processes and cellular interactions in organisms. Distinguishing monosaccharide isomers in saccharide derivates is an important and elementary work in investigating saccharides. It is important to develop a fast, simple and direct method for this purpose, which is described in this study. Stock solutions of monosaccharide with a concentration of 400 μM and sodium chloride at a concentration of 10 μM were made in water/methanol (50:50, v/v). The samples were subjected to electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and the detected [2M + Na - H(2)O](+) ions were further investigated by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), followed by applying principal component analysis (PCA) on the obtained MS/MS data sets. The MS/MS spectra of the [2M + Na - H(2)O](+) ions at m/z 365 for hexoses and m/z 305 for pentoses yielded unambiguous fragment patterns, while rhamnose can be directly identified by its ESI-MS [M + Na](+) ion at m/z 187. PCA showed clustering of MS/MS data of identical monosaccharide samples obtained from different experiments. By using this method, the monosaccharide in daucosterol hydrolysate was successfully identified. A new strategy was developed for differentiation of the monosaccharides using ESI-MS/MS and PCA. In MS/MS spectra, the [2M + Na - H(2)O](+) ions yielded unambiguous distinction. PCA of the archived MS/MS data sets was applied to demonstrate the spatial resolution of the studied samples. This method presented a simple and reliable way for distinguishing monosaccharides by ESI-MS/MS. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Tandem sulfur chemiluminescence and flame ionization detection with planar microfluidic devices for the characterization of sulfur compounds in hydrocarbon matrices.

    PubMed

    Luong, J; Gras, R; Shellie, R A; Cortes, H J

    2013-07-05

    The detection of sulfur compounds in different hydrocarbon matrices, from light hydrocarbon feedstocks to medium synthetic crude oil feeds provides meaningful information for optimization of refining processes as well as demonstration of compliance with petroleum product specifications. With the incorporation of planar microfluidic devices in a novel chromatographic configuration, sulfur compounds from hydrogen sulfide to alkyl dibenzothiophenes and heavier distributions of sulfur compounds over a wide range of matrices spanning across a boiling point range of more than 650°C can be characterized, using one single analytical configuration in less than 25min. In tandem with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector for sulfur analysis is a flame ionization detector. The flame ionization detector can be used to establish the boiling point range of the sulfur compounds in various hydrocarbon fractions for elemental specific simulated distillation analysis as well as profiling the hydrocarbon matrices for process optimization. Repeatability of less than 3% RSD (n=20) over a range of 0.5-1000 parts per million (v/v) was obtained with a limit of detection of 50 parts per billion and a linear range of 0.5-1000 parts per million with a correlation co-efficient of 0.998. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Measurement of total acid number (TAN) and TAN boiling point distribution in petroleum products by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Qian, Kuangnan; Edwards, Kathleen E; Dechert, Gary J; Jaffe, Stephen B; Green, Larry A; Olmstead, William N

    2008-02-01

    We report a new method for rapid measurement of total acid number (TAN) and TAN boiling point (BP) distribution for petroleum crude and products. The technology is based on negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for selective ionization of petroleum acid and quantification of acid structures and molecular weight distributions. A chip-based nanoelectrospray system enables microscale (<200 mg) and higher throughput (20 samples/h) measurement. Naphthenic acid structures were assigned based on nominal masses of a set of predefined acid structures. Stearic acid is used as an internal standard to calibrate ESI-MS response factors for quantification purposes. With the use of structure-property correlations, boiling point distributions of TAN values can be calculated from the composition. The rapid measurement of TAN BP distributions by ESI is demonstrated for a series of high-TAN crudes and distillation cuts. TAN values determined by the technique agree well with those by the titration method. The distributed properties compare favorably with those measured by distillation and measurement of TAN of corresponding cuts.

  4. Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry of Lignin Pyrolyzates with Dopant-Assisted Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization and Molecular Structure Search with CSI:FingerID

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larson, Evan A.; Hutchinson, Carolyn P.; Lee, Young Jin

    2018-06-01

    Dopant-assisted atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (dAPCI) is a soft ionization method rarely used for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The current study combines GC-dAPCI with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for analysis of a complex mixture such as lignin pyrolysis analysis. To identify the structures of volatile lignin pyrolysis products, collision-induced dissociation (CID) MS/MS using a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (QTOFMS) and pseudo MS/MS through in-source collision-induced dissociation (ISCID) using a single stage TOFMS are utilized. To overcome the lack of MS/MS database, Compound Structure Identification (CSI):FingerID is used to interpret CID spectra and predict best matched structures from PubChem library. With this approach, a total of 59 compounds were positively identified in comparison to only 22 in NIST database search of GC-EI-MS dataset. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of GC-dAPCI-MS/MS to overcome the limitations of traditional GC-EI-MS analysis when EI-MS database is not sufficient. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  5. Fragmentation study of iridoid glucosides through positive and negative electrospray ionization, collision-induced dissociation and tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Es-Safi, Nour-Eddine; Kerhoas, Lucien; Ducrot, Paul-Henri

    2007-01-01

    Mass spectrometric methodology based on the combined use of positive and negative electrospray ionization, collision-induced dissociation (CID) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has been applied to the mass spectral study of a series of six naturally occurring iridoids through in-source fragmentation of the protonated [M+H]+, deprotonated [M--H]- and sodiated [M+Na]+ ions. This led to the unambiguous determination of the molecular masses of the studied compounds and allowed CID spectra of the molecular ions to be obtained. Valuable structural information regarding the nature of both the glycoside and the aglycone moiety was thus obtained. Glycosidic cleavage and ring cleavages of both aglycone and sugar moieties were the major fragmentation pathways observed during CID, where the losses of small molecules, the cinnamoyl and the cinnamate parts were also observed. The formation of the ionized aglycones, sugars and their product ions was thus obtained giving information on their basic skeleton. The protonated, i.e. [M+H]+ and deprotonated [M--H]-, ions were found to fragment mainly by glycosidic cleavages. MS/MS spectra of the [M+Na]+ ions gave complementary information for the structural characterization of the studied compounds. Unlike the dissociation of protonated molecular ions, that of sodiated molecules also provided sodiated sugar fragments where the C0+ fragment corresponding to the glucose ion was obtained as base peak for all the studied compounds. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. High-Speed Tandem Mass Spectrometric in Situ Imaging by Nanospray Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lanekoff, Ingela T.; Burnum-Johnson, Kristin E.; Thomas, Mathew

    Nanospray desorption electrospray ionization (nano-DESI) combined with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), high-resolution mass analysis (m/m=17,500 at m/z 200), and rapid spectral acquisition enabled simultaneous imaging and identification of more than 300 molecules from 92 selected m/z windows (± 1 Da) with a spatial resolution of better than 150 um. Uterine sections of implantation sites on day 6 of pregnancy were analyzed in the ambient environment without any sample pre-treatment. MS/MS imaging was performed by scanning the sample under the nano-DESI probe at 10 um/s while acquiring higher-energy collision-induced dissociation (HCD) spectra for a targeted inclusion list of 92 m/z valuesmore » at a rate of ~6.3 spectra/s. Molecular ions and their corresponding fragments, separated using high-resolution mass analysis, were assigned based on accurate mass measurement. Using this approach, we were able to identify and image both abundant and low-abundance isobaric species within each m/z window. MS/MS analysis enabled efficient separation and identification of isobaric sodium and potassium adducts of phospholipids. Furthermore, we identified several metabolites associated with early pregnancy and obtained the first 2D images of these molecules.« less

  7. High-resolution liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry to identify polyphenols from grape antioxidant dietary fiber.

    PubMed

    Touriño, Sonia; Fuguet, Elisabet; Jáuregui, Olga; Saura-Calixto, Fulgencio; Cascante, Marta; Torres, Josep Lluís

    2008-11-01

    Grape antioxidant dietary fiber (GADF) is a dietary supplement that combines the benefits of both fiber and antioxidants that help prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The antioxidant polyphenolic components in GADF probably help prevent cancer in the digestive tract, where they are bioavailable. Mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography is a powerful tool for the analysis of complex plant derivatives such as GADF. We use a combination of MS techniques, namely liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) on a triple quadrupole, for the identification of the polyphenolic constituents of the soluble fraction of GADF. First, we separated the mixture into four fractions which were tested for phenolic constituents using the TOF system in the full scan mode. The high sensitivity and resolution of the TOF detector over the triple quadrupole facilitate the preliminary characterization of the fractions. Then we used LC/ESI-MS/MS to identify the individual phenols through MS/MS experiments (product ion scan, neutral loss scan, precursor ion scan). Finally, most of the identities were unequivocally confirmed by accurate mass measurements on the TOF spectrometer. LC/ESI-TOF-MS combined with MS/MS correctly identifies the bioactive polyphenolic components from the soluble fraction of GADF. High-resolution TOF-MS is particularly useful for identifying the structure of compounds with the same LC/ESI-MS/MS fragmentation patterns.

  8. Matrix effect on the determination of synthetic corticosteroids and diuretics by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dikunets, M. A.; Appolonova, S. A.; Rodchenkov, G. M.

    2009-04-01

    This work presents a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) procedure for selective and reliable screening of corticosteroids and diuretics in human urine. Sample preparation included the extraction, evaporation of the organic extract under nitrogen, and solution of the dry residue. The extract was analyzed by HPLC combined with tandem mass spectrometry using electro-spraying ionization at atmospheric pressure with negative ion recording. The mass spectra of all compounds were recorded, and the characteristic ions, retention times, and detection limits were determined. The procedure was validated by evaluating the degree of the matrix suppression of ionization, extraction of analytes from human biological liquid, and the selectivity and specificity of determination.

  9. Characterization of alkaloids in Sophora flavescens Ait. by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, Guoqiang; Dong, Jing; Wang, Hong; Hashi, Yuki; Chen, Shizhong

    2011-04-05

    Sophora flavescens Ait., a well-known Chinese herbal medicine, is widely used in clinical practice for the treatment of viral hepatitis, cancer, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and skin diseases. This paper is the first report on a method based on the combined use of high-performance liquid chromatography, photodiode array detection, and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the comprehensive and systematic separation and characterization of bioactive alkaloids in Sophora flavescens Ait. A total of 22 constituents were identified on the basis of the extracted ion chromatograms for different [M+H](+) ions of the alkaloids present in S. flavescens Ait. Among these, 5 constituents were unambiguously identified by comparing the experimental data on their retention times and MS(n) spectra with those of the authentic compounds, and 17 other constituents were tentatively identified on the basis of their MS(n) fragmentation behaviors and/or molecular weight information from literatures. Furthermore, some characteristic fragmentation pathways of the alkaloids in S. flavescens Ait. were detected and examined. This information may be useful for characterizing the bioactive alkaloids present in S. flavescens Ait. and for possible applications in formulations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Determination of benzotriazole corrosion inhibitors from aqueous environmental samples by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Weiss, Stefan; Reemtsma, Thorsten

    2005-11-15

    The first method for the determination of commonly used corrosion inhibitors in environmental water samples by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry is presented. Benzotriazole (BTri) and the two isomers of tolyltriazole (5- and 4-TTri) are separated in an isocratic run. By gradient elution, BTri, 4-TTri, 5-TTri, and xylyltriazole can be determined simultaneously with three benzothiazoles, but here TTri isomers coelute. The instrumental detection limit of 2 pg allows the determination of the three most important benzotriazoles from municipal wastewater and most surface waters by direct injection into the HPLC system without previous enrichment. When solid-phase extraction is employed with mean recovery rates of 95-113%, the limit of quantification for benzotriazoles range from 10 ng/L in groundwater to 25 ng/L in untreated wastewater. BTri and TTri were determined in municipal wastewater in microgram per liter concentrations. Elimination in wastewater treatment appears to be poor, and BTri and TTri can be followed through a water cycle from treated municipal wastewater through surface water to bank filtrate used for drinking water production. The TTri isomers show markedly different biodegradation behavior with 4-TTri being more stable.

  11. Production of Ar{sup q+} ions with a tandem linear Paul trap

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Higaki, H., E-mail: hhigaki@hiroshima-u.ac.jp; Nagayasu, K.; Iwai, T.

    A tandem linear Paul trap was used to create highly charged Argon ions by electron impact ionizations. By improving the operation scheme, the production of Ar{sup 4+} ions was confirmed. Possible improvements for the future experiments with laser cooled Ca{sup +} ions are suggested.

  12. [Determination of 27 industrial dyes in juice and wine using ultra performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Zhao, Shan; Zhang, Jing; Yang, Yi; Shao, Bing

    2010-04-01

    A method for the determination of 27 industrial dyes in juice and wine has been developed using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/ MS). Acetonitrile was used as extraction solvent, and sodium chloride was added to salt out the analytes from the samples. Chromatographic separation was performed on a C18 column with the gradient elution and the mass spectrometric acquisition was carried out under the mode of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Twenty-four of the 27 dyes were detected under positive ionization mode using the mobile phase of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid. The other 3 dyes were analyzed under negative ionization mode with the mobile phase of acetonitrile and water. As a result, the average recoveries of 27 dyes spiked in juice ranged from 57.0% to 117.7% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.4%-17.7%, and the average recoveries of 27 dyes spiked in wine ranged from 40.8% to 109.4% with the RSDs of 1.6%-17.9%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) of 27 dyes spiked in juice were in the range of 0.1-50 microg/kg, and 0.2-50 microg/kg for those spiked in wine. This method can be applied to rapid detection of illegally added dyes in soft drinks due to its simplicity and high sensitivity.

  13. Analysis of iodinated haloacetic acids in drinking water by reversed-phase liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry with large volume direct aqueous injection.

    PubMed

    Li, Yongtao; Whitaker, Joshua S; McCarty, Christina L

    2012-07-06

    A large volume direct aqueous injection method was developed for the analysis of iodinated haloacetic acids in drinking water by using reversed-phase liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry in the negative ion mode. Both the external and internal standard calibration methods were studied for the analysis of monoiodoacetic acid, chloroiodoacetic acid, bromoiodoacetic acid, and diiodoacetic acid in drinking water. The use of a divert valve technique for the mobile phase solvent delay, along with isotopically labeled analogs used as internal standards, effectively reduced and compensated for the ionization suppression typically caused by coexisting common inorganic anions. Under the optimized method conditions, the mean absolute and relative recoveries resulting from the replicate fortified deionized water and chlorinated drinking water analyses were 83-107% with a relative standard deviation of 0.7-11.7% and 84-111% with a relative standard deviation of 0.8-12.1%, respectively. The method detection limits resulting from the external and internal standard calibrations, based on seven fortified deionized water replicates, were 0.7-2.3 ng/L and 0.5-1.9 ng/L, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Nitrite oxidation in ion chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (IC-ESI-MS/MS).

    PubMed

    Farhat, Ali; Dooley, Alek N; Ahmad, Farrukh

    2011-07-01

    Nitrite anions are formed in the human body and in the natural environment as intermediate chemical compounds during the reduction of nitrate, a ubiquitous anthropogenic contaminant introduced into the environment primarily through fertilizer use. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in ion chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (IC-ESI-MS/MS) is a promising new technique for quantifying and confirming the identity of anions in complex aqueous mixtures. In this article, we present the results of a short investigation devised to: (1) compare the signal generated by the MRM transitions for nitrite with those for nitrate, (2) isolate the source of the signal from these MRM transitions occurring within the IC-ESI-MS/MS instrument and (3) assess the relationship between the observed MRM signals for nitrite. The MRM transitions used in this study were m/z 62 (NO(3)(-))→m/z 46 (NO(2)(-)) and m/z 46 (NO(2)(-))→m/z 46 (NO(2)(-)). Results of the investigation revealed the association of both MRM transitions with the nitrite chromatographic peak, indicating the occurrence of nitrite oxidation to nitrate at the ESI interface before the first quadrupole. Calibrations for both MRM signals, as well as their sum, were found to be linear. However, the ratio of m/z 62→m/z 46 to m/z 46→m/z 46 (indicating an extent of oxidation) ranged from 35 to 56% over a nitrite concentration range of 10 to 100 ppm, showing no clear trend associated with concentration. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry of citrus limonoids.

    PubMed

    Tian, Qingguo; Schwartz, Steven J

    2003-10-15

    Methods for atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS/MS) of citrus limonoid aglycones and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) of limonoid glucosides are reported. The fragmentation patterns of four citrus limonoid aglycones (limonin, nomilin, obacunone, and deacetylnomilin) and six limonoid glucosides, that is, limonin 17-beta-D-glucopyranoside (LG), nomilin 17-beta-D-glucopyranoside (NG), nomilinic acid 17-beta-D-glucopyranoside (NAG), deacetyl nomilinic acid 17-beta-D-glucopyranoside (DNAG), obacunone 17-beta-D-glucopyranoside (OG), and obacunoic acid 17-beta-D-glucopyranoside (OAG) were investigated using a quadruple mass spectrometer in low-energy collisionally activated dissociation (CAD). The four limonoid aglycones and four limonoid glucosides (LG, OG, NAG, and DNAG) were purified from citrus seeds; the other two limonoid glucosides (NG and OAG) were tentatively identified in the crude extract of grapefruit seeds by ESI mass spectrometry in both positive and negative ion analysis. Ammonium hydroxide or acetic acid was added to the mobile phase to facilitate ionization. During positive ion APCI analysis of limonoid aglycones, protonated molecular ion, [M + H]+, or adduct ion, [M + NH3 + H]-, was formed as base peaks when ammonium hydroxide was added to the mobile phase. Molecular anions or adduct ions with acetic acid ([M + HOAc - H] and [M + HOAc]-) or a deprotonated molecular ion were produced during negative ion APCI analysis of limonoid aglycones, depending on the mobile-phase modifier used. Positive ion ESI-MS of limonoid glucosides produced adduct ions of [M + H + NH3]+, [M + Na]+, and [M + K]+ when ammonium hydroxide was added to the mobile phase. After collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) of the limonoid aglycone molecular ions in negative ion APCI analysis, fragment ions indicated structural information of the precursor ions, showing the presence of methyl, carboxyl, and oxygenated ring

  16. Matrix-analyte-interaction in MALDI-MS: Pellet and nano-electrospray preparations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horneffer, Verena; Glückmann, Matthias; Krüger, Ralf; Karas, Michael; Strupat, Kerstin; Hillenkamp, Franz

    2006-03-01

    The incorporation of analytes into matrix crystals and even more so its mechanistic aspects as a prerequisite for a successful MALDI-MS has been discussed controversially in the literature. Solventless sample preparation techniques can shed new light on this question. In order to investigate some crucial aspects of these preparation techniques, lyophylized peptides and proteins were ground or milled with the powder of two different matrices, 2,5-DHB as incorporating matrix and 2,6-DHB for which protein incorporation was definitely excluded in a prior study, and pressed into pellets. The dependence of the quality of the UV-MALDI-spectra on the mass (up to 12,360 Da) and the milling time in a ball mill is reported. For mellitin different initial axial ion velocities were found, when desorbed from 2,5-DHB-pellets as prepared and after wetting and re-drying. Velocities of 150 and 580 m s-1 for dry and wetted pellets are taken as representative for hard desorption from a surface and soft desorption of matrix-incorporated analytes, respectively. Proteins labeled with either fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) or Texas Red (TR) were nano-electrosprayed onto a bed of ferulic acid in a [`]dry' or [`]wet' mode. All [`]dry' deposits exhibit strong fluorescence but do not yield MALDI-ion signals. All [`]wet' deposits yield MALDI-signals of the proteins; the fluorescence of FITC is quenched in [`]wet' deposits because of the low matrix pH.

  17. Mass spectrometric behavior of anabolic androgenic steroids using gas chromatography coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source. Part I: ionization.

    PubMed

    Raro, M; Portolés, T; Sancho, J V; Pitarch, E; Hernández, F; Marcos, J; Ventura, R; Gómez, C; Segura, J; Pozo, O J

    2014-06-01

    The detection of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is one of the most important topics in doping control analysis. Gas chromatography coupled to (tandem) mass spectrometry (GC-MS(/MS)) with electron ionization and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry have been traditionally applied for this purpose. However, both approaches still have important limitations, and, therefore, detection of all AAS is currently afforded by the combination of these strategies. Alternative ionization techniques can minimize these drawbacks and help in the implementation of a single method for the detection of AAS. In the present work, a new atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source commercialized for gas chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight analyzer has been tested to evaluate the ionization of 60 model AAS. Underivatized and trimethylsylil (TMS)-derivatized compounds have been investigated. The use of GC-APCI-MS allowed for the ionization of all AAS assayed irrespective of their structure. The presence of water in the source as modifier promoted the formation of protonated molecules ([M+H](+)), becoming the base peak of the spectrum for the majority of studied compounds. Under these conditions, [M+H](+), [M+H-H2O](+) and [M+H-2·H2O](+) for underivatized AAS and [M+H](+), [M+H-TMSOH](+) and [M+H-2·TMSOH](+) for TMS-derivatized AAS were observed as main ions in the spectra. The formed ions preserve the intact steroid skeleton, and, therefore, they might be used as specific precursors in MS/MS-based methods. Additionally, a relationship between the relative abundance of these ions and the AAS structure has been established. This relationship might be useful in the structural elucidation of unknown metabolites. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. [Direct determination of ethyl carbamate in Chinese rice wine and grape wine by ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Wang, Lijuan; Ke, Runhui; Wang, Bing; Yin, Jianjun; Song, Quanhou

    2012-09-01

    An ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was established for the direct determination of ethyl carbamate in Chinese rice wine and grape wine. The Chinese rice wine and grape wine samples were diluted with distilled water, filtered through 0. 22 microm microporous membrane. The LC separation was performed on a Waters Acquity UPLC system with a BEH C18 column, acetonitrile and 0. 1% (v/v) acetic acid aqueous solution as the mobile phase. The ethyl carbamate was determined in the mode of electrospray positive ionization (ESI+) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The butyl carbamate (BC) was used as the internal standard for the quantitative determination. The calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 2 - 500 microg/L with the correlation coefficient greater than 0.995. The limit of detection (LOD) was 1.7 microg/L and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 5.0 microg/L. The recoveries of the ethyl carbamate in Chinese rice wine and grape wine was in the range of 90% - 102%. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of intra-day and inter-day determinations were 0. 8% - 4.5% and 1.4% - 5.6% (n = 6). The results indicated that the proposed method is easy, fast, sensitive, and suitable for the determination of ethyl carbamate in Chinese rice wine and grape wine.

  19. Simultaneous detection of low and high molecular weight carbonylated compounds derived from lipid peroxidation by electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Milic, Ivana; Hoffmann, Ralf; Fedorova, Maria

    2013-01-02

    Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other oxidative agents such as free radicals can oxidize polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as well as PUFA in lipids. The oxidation products can undergo consecutive reactions including oxidative cleavages to yield a chemically diverse group of products, such as lipid peroxidation products (LPP). Among them are aldehydes and ketones ("reactive carbonyls") that are strong electrophiles and thus can readily react with nucleophilic side chains of proteins, which can alter the protein structure, function, cellular distribution, and antigenicity. Here, we report a novel technique to specifically derivatize both low molecular and high molecular weight carbonylated LPP with 7-(diethylamino)coumarin-3-carbohydrazide (CHH) and analyze all compounds by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in positive ion mode. CHH-derivatized compounds were identified by specific neutral losses or fragment ions. The fragment ion spectra displayed additional signals that allowed unambiguous identification of the lipid, fatty acids, cleavage sites, and oxidative modifications. Oxidation of docosahexaenoic (DHA, 22:6), arachidonic (AA, 20:4), linoleic (LA, 18:2), and oleic acids (OA, 18:1) yielded 69 aliphatic carbonyls, whose structures were all deduced from the tandem mass spectra. When four phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles containing the aforementioned unsaturated fatty acids were oxidized, we were able to deduce the structures of 122 carbonylated compounds from the tandem mass spectra of a single shotgun analysis acquired within 15 min. The high sensitivity (LOD ∼ 1 nmol/L for 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, HNE) and a linear range of more than 3 orders of magnitude (10 nmol/L to 10 μmol/L for HNE) will allow further studies on complex biological samples including plasma.

  20. Structural characterization of trace stilbene glycosides in Lysidice brevicalyx Wei using liquid chromatography/diode-array detection/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Hu, Youcai; Qu, Jing; Liu, Yuanyan; Yu, Shishan; Li, Jianbei; Zhang, Jinlan; Du, Dan

    2010-01-01

    The mass fragmentation patterns of stilbene glycosides isolated from the genus Lysidice were investigated by negative ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, and the influence of collision energy on their fragmentation behavior is discussed. It is found that the presence of the Y(0)(-) and B(0)(-) ions in the MS(2) spectra is characteristic for 1-->6 linked diglycosyl stilbenes, while the Y(0)(-), Y(1)(-), and Z(1)(-) ions are representative ions of 1-->2 linked diglycosyl stilbenes. These results indicate that ESI-MS(n) in the negative ion mode can be used to differentiate 1-->6 and 1-->2 linked diglycosyl stilbenes. Based on the fragmentation rules, 9 new trace constituents were identified or tentatively characterized in a fraction of Lysidice brevicalyx by using HPLC/HRMS and HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS(n). The results of the present study can assist in on-line structural identification of analogous constituents and targeted isolation of novel compounds from crude plant extracts.

  1. Characterization of the components of meleumycin by liquid chromatography with photo-diode array detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ming-Juan; Li, Ya-Ping; Wang, Yan; Li, Jin; Hu, Chang-Qin; Hoogmartens, Jos; Van Schepdael, Ann; Adams, Erwin

    2013-10-01

    Reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with photo-diode array (PDA) detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) was used to characterize the components of meleumycin, a 16-membered macrolide antibiotic produced by fermentation. In total 31 components were characterized in commercial samples, including 12 impurities that had never been reported before and 12 others that were partially characterized. The structures of these unknown compounds were deduced by comparison of their fragmentation patterns with those of known components. Their ultraviolet spectra and chromatographic behavior were used to confirm the proposed structures: e.g. λmax shift from 232 nm to 282 nm would indicate the presence of an α-, β-, γ-, δ-unsaturated ketone instead of a normal α-, β-, γ-, δ-unsaturated alcohol in the 16-membered ring of the examined components. Compared to other methods, this LC/MS(n) method is particularly advantageous to characterize minor components at trace levels in multi-components antibiotics, in terms of sensitivity and efficiency. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and dynamic multiple reaction monitoring method for determining multiple pesticide residues in tomato.

    PubMed

    Andrade, G C R M; Monteiro, S H; Francisco, J G; Figueiredo, L A; Botelho, R G; Tornisielo, V L

    2015-05-15

    A quick and sensitive liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method, using dynamic multiple reaction monitoring and a 1.8-μm particle size analytical column, was developed to determine 57 pesticides in tomato in a 13-min run. QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method for samples preparations and validations was carried out in compliance with EU SANCO guidelines. The method was applied to 58 tomato samples. More than 84% of the compounds investigated showed limits of detection equal to or lower than 5 mg kg(-1). A mild (<20%), medium (20-50%), and strong (>50%) matrix effect was observed for 72%, 25%, and 3% of the pesticides studied, respectively. Eighty-one percent of the pesticides showed recoveries ranging between 70% and 120%. Twelve pesticides were detected in 35 samples, all below the maximum residue levels permitted in the Brazilian legislation; 15 samples exceeded the maximum residue levels established by the EU legislation for methamidophos; and 10 exceeded limits for acephate and four for bromuconazole. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Differentiation of three pairs of aconite alkaloid isomers from Aconitum nagarum var. lasiandrum by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Li, Rui; Wu, Zhijun; Zhang, Fan; Ding, Lisheng

    2006-01-01

    Three pairs of isomers of aconite alkaloids from Aconitum nagarum var. lasiandrum have been investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) employing ion-trap and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometers in positive mode. Based on the differences of their fragmentation pathways and special fragment ions, three pairs of isomers of aconite alkaloids were differentiated. In addition, fragmentation laws of some veatchines and the discrepancy of fragmentation mechanisms between veatchine-type and aconitine-type alkaloid were also concluded. In the case of veatchines, a radical would be formed by homolysis of C18--C4 or C18--H bonds, followed by elimination of a series of C(2)H(2) and C(2)H(4). Moreover, the retro-Diels-Alder (RDA) reaction occurred in the E-ring and double-electron transfer triggered by the positive charge on C1 led to the formation of diagnostic ions at m/z 216. With regard to aconitine-type alkaloids, the N-substituent is not eliminated easily. Although there is no carbonyl group on some aconitine-type alkaloids, with hydroxyl and methoxyl on C15 and C16 respectively, CO was readily eliminated through tautomerization.

  4. Direct analysis of psychoactive tryptamine and harmala alkaloids in the Amazonian botanical medicine ayahuasca by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    McIlhenny, Ethan H; Pipkin, Kelly E; Standish, Leanna J; Wechkin, Hope A; Strassman, Rick; Barker, Steven A

    2009-12-18

    A direct injection/liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry procedure has been developed for the simultaneous quantitation of 11 compounds potentially found in the increasingly popular Amazonian botanical medicine and religious sacrament ayahuasca. The method utilizes a deuterated internal standard for quantitation and affords rapid detection of the alkaloids by a simple dilution assay, requiring no extraction procedures. Further, the method demonstrates a high degree of specificity for the compounds in question, as well as low limits of detection and quantitation despite using samples for analysis that had been diluted up to 200:1. This approach also appears to eliminate potential matrix effects. Method bias for each compound, examined over a range of concentrations, was also determined as was inter- and intra-assay variation. Its application to the analysis of three different ayahuasca preparations is also described. This method should prove useful in the study of ayahuasca in clinical and ethnobotanical research as well as in forensic examinations of ayahuasca preparations.

  5. Quantitative analysis of glycosaminoglycans, chondroitin/dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, heparan sulfate, and keratan sulfate by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Osago, Harumi; Shibata, Tomoko; Hara, Nobumasa; Kuwata, Suguru; Kono, Michihaya; Uchio, Yuji; Tsuchiya, Mikako

    2014-12-15

    We developed a method using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) with a selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode for simultaneous quantitative analysis of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Using one-shot analysis with our MS/MS method, we demonstrated the simultaneous quantification of a total of 23 variously sulfated disaccharides of four GAG classes (8 chondroitin/dermatan sulfates, 1 hyaluronic acid, 12 heparan sulfates, and 2 keratan sulfates) with a sensitivity of less than 0.5 pmol within 20 min. We showed the differences in the composition of GAG classes and the sulfation patterns between porcine articular cartilage and yellow ligament. In addition to the internal disaccharides described above, some saccharides derived from the nonreducing terminal were detected simultaneously. The simultaneous quantification of both internal and nonreducing terminal saccharides could be useful to estimate the chain length of GAGs. This method would help to establish comprehensive "GAGomic" analysis of biological tissues. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Determination of benzothiazole and benzotriazole derivates in tire and clothing textile samples by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Avagyan, Rozanna; Sadiktsis, Ioannis; Thorsén, Gunnar; Östman, Conny; Westerholm, Roger

    2013-09-13

    A high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method utilizing electrospray ionization in positive and negative mode has been developed for the separation and detection of benzothiazole and benzotriazole derivates. Ultra-sonication assisted solvent extraction of these compounds has also been developed and the overall method demonstrated on a selected clothing textile and an automobile tire sample. Matrix effects and extraction recoveries, as well as linearity and limits of detection have been evaluated. The calibration curves spanned over more than two orders of magnitude with coefficients of correlation R(2)>0.99 and the limits of detection and the limits of quantification were in the range 1.7-58pg injected and 18-140pg/g, respectively. The extraction recoveries ranged between 69% and 102% and the matrix effects between 75% and 101%. Benzothiazole and benzotriazole derivates were determined in the textile sample and benzothiazole derivatives determined in the tire sample with good analytical performance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric study of polyphenolic composition of four cultivars of Fragaria vesca L. berries and their comparative evaluation.

    PubMed

    Del Bubba, Massimo; Checchini, Leonardo; Chiuminatto, Ugo; Doumett, Saer; Fibbi, Donatella; Giordani, Edgardo

    2012-09-01

    High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion spray mass spectrometry in the tandem mode with both negative and positive ionization was used for investigating a variety of polyphenolic compounds in four genotypes of Fragaria vesca berries. About 60 phenolic compounds belonging to the compound classes of phenolic acids, ellagitannins, ellagic acid derivatives, flavonols, monomeric and oligomeric flavanols, dihydrochalcones and anthocyanins were reported, providing for the first time a quite complete picture of polyphenolic composition of F. vesca berries. Some of the polyphenols herein investigated, such as a tris-galloyl-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-hexose, two castalagin/vescalagin-like isomers and peonidin-malonylglucoside, were described for the first time. Principal component analysis applied on original HPLC-MS/MS data, acquired in multiple reaction monitoring mode, successfully discriminated the four investigated cultivars on the basis of their polyphenolic composition, highlighting the fundamental role of mass spectrometry for food characterization. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Simultaneous determination of water-soluble vitamins in selected food matrices by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Gentili, Alessandra; Caretti, Fulvia; D'Ascenzo, Giuseppe; Marchese, Stefano; Perret, Daniela; Di Corcia, Daniele; Rocca, Lucia Mainero

    2008-07-01

    A rapid, simple and sensitive method based on liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source for the simultaneous analysis of fourteen water-soluble vitamins (B1, B2, two B3 vitamers, B5, five B6 vitamers, B8, B9, B12 and C) in various food matrices, i.e. maize flour, green and golden kiwi and tomato pulp, is presented here. Analytes were separated by ion-suppression reversed-phase liquid chromatography in less than 10 min and detected in positive ion mode. Sensitivity and specificity of this method allowed two important results to be achieved: (i) limits of detection of the analytes at ng g(-1) levels (except for vitamin C); (ii) development of a rapid sample treatment that minimizes analyte exposition to light, air and heat, eliminating any step of extract concentration. Analyte recovery depended on the type of matrix. In particular, recovery of the analytes in maize flour was > or =70%, with the exception of vitamin C, pyridoxal-5'-phosphate and vitamin B9 (ca 40%); with tomato pulp, recovery was > or =64%, except for vitamin C (41%); with kiwi, recovery was > or =73%, except for nicotinamide (ca. 30%).

  9. Quantitative analysis of flavonoids, alkaloids and saponins of Banxia Xiexin decoction using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ying; Xu, Ranchi; Xiao, Juan; Zhang, Jian; Wang, Xinhong; An, Rui; Ma, Yueming

    2014-01-01

    Banxia Xiexin decoction (BXD) is an effective Chinese Medicinal Prescription in treating gastroenteritis diseases. In this study an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed to separate and determine 18 major active ingredients of BXD in order to guarantee quality. The separation of ten flavonoids, four alkaloids and four saponins was accomplished on an Acquity BEH C18 (2.1mm×100mm, 1.7μm) column using gradient elution with 0.1% (v/v) formic acid water (A) and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in methanol (B). All the analytes were detected in positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry by selective reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. A good linear regression relationship for each analyte was obtained over the range from 2.41-438ng/ml to 20.75-4150ng/ml. The precision was evaluated by intra- and inter-day assays with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 7.7%. The recovery measured at three concentration levels varied from 92.4% to 107.8%. The method sensitivity expressed as LOQ was typically 0.97-4.15ng/ml. The assay was successfully applied for determination of the 18 bioactive compounds in BXD. The results indicated that the new UPLC-MS/MS method was rapid and accurate, and could be reliably utilized as a quality control method for BXD. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Multiple Time-of-Flight/Time-of-Flight Events in a Single Laser Shot for Improved Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry Quantification.

    PubMed

    Prentice, Boone M; Chumbley, Chad W; Hachey, Brian C; Norris, Jeremy L; Caprioli, Richard M

    2016-10-04

    Quantitative matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF) approaches have historically suffered from poor accuracy and precision mainly due to the nonuniform distribution of matrix and analyte across the target surface, matrix interferences, and ionization suppression. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) can be used to ensure chemical specificity as well as improve signal-to-noise ratios by eliminating interferences from chemical noise, alleviating some concerns about dynamic range. However, conventional MALDI TOF/TOF modalities typically only scan for a single MS/MS event per laser shot, and multiplex assays require sequential analyses. We describe here new methodology that allows for multiple TOF/TOF fragmentation events to be performed in a single laser shot. This technology allows the reference of analyte intensity to that of the internal standard in each laser shot, even when the analyte and internal standard are quite disparate in m/z, thereby improving quantification while maintaining chemical specificity and duty cycle. In the quantitative analysis of the drug enalapril in pooled human plasma with ramipril as an internal standard, a greater than 4-fold improvement in relative standard deviation (<10%) was observed as well as improved coefficients of determination (R 2 ) and accuracy (>85% quality controls). Using this approach we have also performed simultaneous quantitative analysis of three drugs (promethazine, enalapril, and verapamil) using deuterated analogues of these drugs as internal standards.

  11. The proteins cleaved by endogenous tryptic proteases in normal EDTA plasma by C18 collection of peptides for liquid chromatography micro electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Dufresne, Jaimie; Florentinus-Mefailoski, Angelique; Ajambo, Juliet; Ferwa, Ammara; Bowden, Peter; Marshall, John

    2017-01-01

    The tryptic peptides from ice cold versus room temperature plasma were identified by C18 liquid chromatography and micro electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Samples collected on ice showed low levels of endogenous tryptic peptides compared to the same samples incubated at room temperature. Plasma on ice contained peptides from albumin, complement, and apolipoproteins and others that were observed by the X!TANDEM and SEQUEST algorithms. In contrast to ice cold samples, after incubation at room temperature, greater numbers of tryptic peptides from well characterized plasma proteins, and from cellular proteins were observed. A total of 583,927 precursor ions and MS/MS spectra were correlated to 94,669 best fit peptides that reduced to 22,287 correlations to the best accession within a gene symbol and to 7174 correlations to at least 510 gene symbols with ≥ 5 independent MS/MS correlations (peptide counts) that showed FDR q-values ranging from E-9 (i.e. FDR = 0.000000001) to E-227. A set of 528 gene symbols identified by X!TANDEM and SEQUEST including C4B showed ≥ fivefold variation between ice cold versus room temperature incubation. STRING analysis of the protein gene symbols observed from endogenous peptides in normal plasma revealed an extensive protein-interaction network of cellular factors associated with cell signalling and regulation, the formation of membrane bound organelles, cellular exosomes and exocytosis network proteins. Taken together the results indicated that a pool of cellular proteins, or protein complexes, in plasma are apparently not stable and degrade soon after incubation at room temperature.

  12. High-performance liquid chromatography/high-resolution multiple stage tandem mass spectrometry using negative-ion-mode hydroxide-doped electrospray ionization for the characterization of lignin degradation products.

    PubMed

    Owen, Benjamin C; Haupert, Laura J; Jarrell, Tiffany M; Marcum, Christopher L; Parsell, Trenton H; Abu-Omar, Mahdi M; Bozell, Joseph J; Black, Stuart K; Kenttämaa, Hilkka I

    2012-07-17

    In the search for a replacement for fossil fuel and the valuable chemicals currently obtained from crude oil, lignocellulosic biomass has become a promising candidate as an alternative biorenewable source for crude oil. Hence, many research efforts focus on the extraction, degradation, and catalytic transformation of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. Unfortunately, these processes result in the production of very complex mixtures. Further, while methods have been developed for the analysis of mixtures of oligosaccharides, this is not true for the complex mixtures generated upon degradation of lignin. For example, high-performance liquid chromatography/multiple stage tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS(n)), a tool proven to be invaluable in the analysis of complex mixtures derived from many other biopolymers, such as proteins and DNA, has not been implemented for lignin degradation products. In this study, we have developed an HPLC separation method for lignin degradation products that is amenable to negative-ion-mode electrospray ionization (ESI doped with NaOH), the best method identified thus far for ionization of lignin-related model compounds without fragmentation. The separated and ionized compounds are then analyzed by MS(3) experiments to obtain detailed structural information while simultaneously performing high-resolution measurements to determine their elemental compositions in the two parts of a commercial linear quadrupole ion trap/Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. A lignin degradation product mixture was analyzed using this method, and molecular structures were proposed for some components. This methodology significantly improves the ability to analyze complex product mixtures that result from degraded lignin.

  13. 47 CFR 69.111 - Tandem-switched transport and tandem charge.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Tandem-switched transport and tandem charge. 69... SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.111 Tandem-switched transport and tandem...-switched transport shall consist of two rate elements, a transmission charge and a tandem switching charge...

  14. Tapered-Tip Capillary Electrophoresis Nano-Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Ultrasensitive Proteomics: the Mouse Cortex

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Sam B.; Zamarbide, Marta; Manzini, M. Chiara; Nemes, Peter

    2017-04-01

    Ultrasensitive characterization of the proteome raises the potential to understand how differential gene expression orchestrates cell heterogeneity in the brain. Here, we report a microanalytical capillary electrophoresis nano-flow electrospray ionization (CE-nanoESI) interface for mass spectrometry to enable the measurement of limited amounts of proteins in the mouse cortex. Our design integrates a custom-built CE system to a tapered-tip metal emitter in a co-axial sheath-flow configuration. This interface can be constructed in <15 min using readily available components, facilitating broad adaptation. Tapered-tip CE-nanoESI generates stable electrospray by reproducibly anchoring the Taylor cone, minimizes sample dilution in the ion source, and ensures efficient ion generation by sustaining the cone-jet spraying regime. Parallel reaction monitoring provided a 260-zmol lower limit of detection for angiotensin II (156,000 copies). CE was able to resolve a complex mixture of peptides in 330,000 theoretical plates and identify 15 amol ( 1 pg) of BSA or cytochrome c. Over 30 min of separation, 1 ng protein digest from the mouse cortex yielded 217 nonredundant proteins encompassing a 3-log-order concentration range using a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Identified proteins included many products from genes that are traditionally used to mark oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia. Finally, key proteins involved in neurodegenerative disorders were detected (e.g., parkinsonism and spastic paraplegia). CE-nanoESI-HRMS delivers sufficient sensitivity to detect proteins in limited amounts of tissues and cell populations to help understand how gene expression differences maintain cell heterogeneity in the brain.

  15. Trace analysis of selected hormones and sterols in river sediments by liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Matić, Ivana; Grujić, Svetlana; Jauković, Zorica; Laušević, Mila

    2014-10-17

    In this paper, development and optimization of new LC-MS method for determination of twenty selected hormones, human/animal and plant sterols in river sediments were described. Sediment samples were prepared using ultrasonic extraction and clean up with silica gel/anhydrous sodium sulphate cartridge. Extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography-linear ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry, with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization. The optimized extraction parameters were extraction solvent (methanol), weight of the sediment (2 g) and time of ultrasonic extraction (3× 10 min). Successful chromatographic separation of hormones (estriol and estrone, 17α- and 17β-estradiol) and four human/animal sterols (epicoprostanol, coprostanol, α-cholestanol and β-cholestanol) that have identical fragmentation reactions was achieved. The developed and optimized method provided high recoveries (73-118%), low limits of detection (0.8-18 ng g(-1)) and quantification (2.5-60 ng g(-1)) with the RSDs generally lower than 20%. Applicability of the developed method was confirmed by analysis of six river sediment samples. A widespread occurrence of human/animal and plant sterols was found. The only detected hormone was mestranol in just one sediment sample. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. An integrated experimental and theoretical reaction path search: analyses of the multistage reaction of an ionized diethylether dimer involving isomerization, proton transfer, and dissociation.

    PubMed

    Matsuda, Yoshiyuki; Xie, Min; Fujii, Asuka

    2018-05-30

    An ionization-induced multistage reaction of an ionized diethylether (DEE) dimer involving isomerization, proton transfer, and dissociation is investigated by combining infrared (IR) spectroscopy, tandem mass spectrometry, and a theoretical reaction path search. The vertically-ionized DEE dimer isomerizes to a hydrogen-bonded cluster of protonated DEE and the [DEE-H] radical through barrierless intermolecular proton transfer from the CH bond of the ionized moiety. This isomerization process is confirmed by IR spectroscopy and the theoretical reaction path search. The multiple dissociation pathways following the isomerization are analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry. The isomerized cluster dissociates stepwise into a [protonated DEE-acetaldehyde (AA)] cluster, protonated DEE, and protonated AA. The structure of the fragment ion is also analyzed by IR spectroscopy. The reaction map of the multistage processes is revealed through a harmony of these experimental and theoretical methods.

  17. Development and validation of an ultra high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of selected flavonoids in Ginkgo biloba.

    PubMed

    Pandey, Renu; Chandra, Preeti; Arya, Kamal Ram; Kumar, Brijesh

    2014-12-01

    A rapid and sensitive ultra high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 13 flavonoids in leaf, stem, and fruit extracts of male and female trees of Ginkgo biloba to investigate gender- and age-related variations of flavonoids content. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm id, 1.7 μm) in 5 min. Quantitation was performed using negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The calibration curves of all analytes showed a good linear relationship (r(2) ≥ 0.9977) over the concentration range of 1-1000 ng/mL. The precision evaluated by an intra- and interday study showed RSD ≤ 1.98% and good accuracy with overall recovery in the range from 97.90 to 101.09% (RSD ≤ 1.67%) for all analytes. The method sensitivity expressed as the limit of quantitation was typically 0.25-3.57 ng/mL. The results showed that the total content of 13 flavonoids was higher in the leaf extract of an old male Ginkgo tree compared to young female Ginkgo trees. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Simultaneous quantification of 25 active constituents in the total flavonoids extract from Herba Desmodii Styracifolii by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Guo, Panpan; Yan, Wenying; Han, Qingjie; Wang, Chunying; Zhang, Zijian

    2015-04-01

    A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 25 active constituents, including 21 flavonoids and four phenolic acids in the total flavonoids extract from Herba Desmodii Styracifolii for the first time. Among the 25 compounds, seven compounds including caffeic acid, acacetin, genistein, genistin, diosmetin, diosmin and hesperidin were identified and quantified for the first time in Herba Desmodii Styracifolii. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on a ZORBAX SB-C18 (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5.0 μm) column using gradient elution of methanol and 0.1‰ acetic acid v/v at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The identification and quantification of the analytes were achieved using negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in multiple-reaction monitoring mode. The method was fully validated in terms of limits of detection and quantification, linearity, precision and accuracy. The results indicated that the developed method is simple, rapid, specific and reliable. Furthermore, the developed method was successfully applied to quantify the 25 active components in six batches of total flavonoids extract from Herba Desmodii Styracifolii. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. A liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry study of ethanolamines in high salinity industrial wastewaters.

    PubMed

    Campo, Pablo; Suidan, Makram T; Chai, Yunzhou; Davis, John

    2010-01-15

    The detection and quantitation of four ethanolamines, tris(2-hydroxyethyl)amine (triethanolamine, TEA), N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)methylamine (methyldiethanolamine, MDEA), N-(2-aminoethyl)ethanolamine (AEA), and N,N-diethylethanolamine (DEA), were achieved in wastewaters from two aerobic activated sludge bioreactors located in an industrial wastewater treatment plant. The streams had salt concentrations of approximately 3% and 7% by weight in Reactor 1 and Reactor 2, respectively. The use of liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry avoided the need for some sample preparation steps such as extraction, concentration, and derivatization. Ion suppression in the electrospray, attributable to the presence of sodium clusters, was attenuated by a 10-fold dilution of the wastewaters with acetonitrile. A matrix-matched calibration model averted other potential interferences. For the compounds analyzed in selected reaction monitoring mode (TEA, MDEA, and DEA), the calibration curves presented linearity in a range of 10-1000microg/L with corresponding detection limits ranging from 2 to 11microg/L, depending upon the specific analyte and aqueous matrix. AEA was calibrated in selected ion monitoring mode (100-1000microg/L), with corresponding detection limits in the two wastewaters of 74.6 and 85.3microg/L, respectively. Overall good precision (<10%) and accuracy (97-110%) were achieved for both matrices, which fell within-laboratory reproducibility. Finally, the amines were introduced into six mixed liquor samples from both reactors and quantified following the reported protocol. Again, recoveries were close to 100% with a relative standard deviation of less than 10% in all cases.

  20. [Simultaneous determination of sixteen perfluorinated organic compounds in surface water by solid phase extraction and ultra performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Ming; Tang, Fangliang; Yu, Yayun; Chen, Feng; Xu, Jianfen; Ye, Yonggen

    2014-05-01

    A high-throughput detection method has been developed for the determination of sixteen perfluorinated organic compounds (PFCs) in surface water by solid phase extraction-ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-UPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The water samples were concentrated and purified through WAX solid phase extraction cartridges. The UPLC separation was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column utilizing a gradient elution program of methanol (containing 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate) and water (containing 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate) as the mobile phases at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The MS/MS detection was performed under negative electrospray ionization ( ESI ) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Good linearities were observed in the range of 0.5-100 gg/L or 1.0 - 100 microg/L with correlation coefficients from 0.998 7 to 0.999 9. The limits of detection (LODs) for the sixteen perfluorinated organic compounds were in the range of 0.06-0.46 ng/L. The recoveries ranged from 67.6% to 103% with the relative standard deviations between 2.94% and 12.0%. This method was characterized by high sensitivity and precision, extensive range and high speed, and can be applied for the analysis of PFC contaminants in surface water.

  1. Chemical vapor deposition of aminopropyl silanes in microfluidic channels for highly efficient microchip capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Batz, Nicholas G; Mellors, J Scott; Alarie, Jean Pierre; Ramsey, J Michael

    2014-04-01

    We describe a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for the surface modification of glass microfluidic devices designed to perform electrophoretic separations of cationic species. The microfluidic channel surfaces were modified using aminopropyl silane reagents. Coating homogeneity was inferred by precise measurement of the separation efficiency and electroosmotic mobility for multiple microfluidic devices. Devices coated with (3-aminopropyl)di-isopropylethoxysilane (APDIPES) yielded near diffusion-limited separations and exhibited little change in electroosmotic mobility between pH 2.8 and pH 7.5. We further evaluated the temporal stability of both APDIPES and (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) coatings when stored for a total of 1 week under vacuum at 4 °C or filled with pH 2.8 background electrolyte at room temperature. Measurements of electroosmotic flow (EOF) and separation efficiency during this time confirmed that both coatings were stable under both conditions. Microfluidic devices with a 23 cm long, serpentine electrophoretic separation channel and integrated nanoelectrospray ionization emitter were CVD coated with APDIPES and used for capillary electrophoresis (CE)-electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS) of peptides and proteins. Peptide separations were fast and highly efficient, yielding theoretical plate counts over 600,000 and a peak capacity of 64 in less than 90 s. Intact protein separations using these devices yielded Gaussian peak profiles with separation efficiencies between 100,000 and 400,000 theoretical plates.

  2. Critical assessment of ionization patterns and applications of ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using FAPA-MS.

    PubMed

    Brüggemann, Martin; Karu, Einar; Hoffmann, Thorsten

    2016-02-01

    Ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MS) has gained growing interest during the last decade due to its high analytical performance and yet simplicity. Here, one of the recently developed ambient desorption/ionization MS sources, the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) source, was investigated in detail regarding background ions and typical ionization patterns in the positive as well as the negative ion mode for a variety of compound classes, comprising alkanes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, organic peroxides and alkaloids. A broad range of signals for adducts and losses was found, besides the usually emphasized detection of quasimolecular ions, i.e. [M + H](+) and [M - H](-) in the positive and the negative mode, respectively. It was found that FAPA-MS is best suited for polar analytes containing nitrogen and/or oxygen functionalities, e.g. carboxylic acids, with low molecular weights and relatively high vapor pressures. In addition, the source was used in proof-of-principle studies, illustrating the capabilities and limitations of the technique: Firstly, traces of cocaine were detected and unambiguously identified on euro banknotes using FAPA ionization in combination with tandem MS, suggesting a correlation between cocaine abundance and age of the banknote. Secondly, FAPA-MS was used for the identification of acidic marker compounds in organic aerosol samples, indicating yet-undiscovered matrix and sample surface effects of ionization pathways in the afterglow region. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Direct mass spectrometric screening of antibiotics from bacterial surfaces using liquid extraction surface analysis.

    PubMed

    Kai, Marco; González, Ignacio; Genilloud, Olga; Singh, Sheo B; Svatoš, Aleš

    2012-10-30

    There is a need to find new antibiotic agents to fight resistant pathogenic bacteria. To search successfully for novel antibiotics from bacteria cultivated under diverse conditions, we need a fast and cost-effective screening method. A combination of Liquid Extraction Surface Analysis (LESA), automated chip-based nanoelectrospray ionization, and high-resolution mass or tandem mass spectrometry using an Orbitrap XL was tested as the screening platform. Actinobacteria, known to produce well-recognized thiazolyl peptide antibiotics, were cultivated on a plate of solid medium and the antibiotics were extracted by organic solvent mixtures from the surface of colonies grown on the plate and analyzed using mass spectrometry (MS). LESA combined with high-resolution MS is a powerful tool with which to extract and detect thiazolyl peptide antibiotics from different Actinobacteria. Known antibiotics were correctly detected with high mass accuracy (<4 ppm) and structurally characterized using tandem mass spectra. Our method is the first step toward the development of a novel high-throughput extraction and identification tool for antibiotics in particular and natural products in general. The method described in this paper is suitable for (1) screening the natural products produced by bacterial colonies on cultivation plates within the first 2 min following extraction and (2) detecting antibiotics at high mass accuracy; the cost is around 2 Euro per sample. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Analysis of vitamin K1 in fruits and vegetables using accelerated solvent extraction and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization.

    PubMed

    Jäpelt, Rie Bak; Jakobsen, Jette

    2016-02-01

    The objective of this study was to develop a rapid, sensitive, and specific analytical method to study vitamin K1 in fruits and vegetables. Accelerated solvent extraction and solid phase extraction was used for sample preparation. Quantification was done by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization in selected reaction monitoring mode with deuterium-labeled vitamin K1 as an internal standard. The precision was estimated as the pooled estimate of three replicates performed on three different days for spinach, peas, apples, banana, and beetroot. The repeatability was 5.2% and the internal reproducibility was 6.2%. Recovery was in the range 90-120%. No significant difference was observed between the results obtained by the present method and by a method using the same principle as the CEN-standard i.e. liquid-liquid extraction and post-column zinc reduction with fluorescence detection. Limit of quantification was estimated to 0.05 μg/100g fresh weight. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Fast determination of 3-ethenylpyridine as a marker of environmental tobacco smoke at trace level using direct atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Cheng-Yong; Sun, Shi-Hao; Zhang, Qi-Dong; Liu, Jun-Hui; Zhang, Jian-Xun; Zong, Yong-Li; Xie, Jian-Ping

    2013-03-01

    A method with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS/MS) was developed and applied to direct analysis of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), using 3-ethenylpyridine (3-EP) as a vapour-phase marker. In this study, the ion source of APCI-MS/MS was modified and direct analysis of gas sample was achieved by the modified instrument. ETS samples were directly introduced, via an atmospheric pressure inlet, into the APCI source. Ionization was carried out in positive-ion APCI mode and 3-EP was identified by both full scan mode and daughter scan mode. Quantification of 3-EP was performed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The calibration curve was obtained in the range of 1-250 ng L-1 with a satisfactory regression coefficient of 0.999. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.5 ng L-1 and 1.6 ng L-1, respectively. The precision of the method, calculated as relative standard deviation (RSD), was characterized by repeatability (RSD 3.92%) and reproducibility (RSD 4.81%), respectively. In real-world ETS samples analysis, compared with the conventional GC-MS method, the direct APCI-MS/MS has shown better reliability and practicability in the determination of 3-EP at trace level. The developed method is simple, fast, sensitive and repeatable; furthermore, it could provide an alternative way for the determination of other volatile pollutants in ambient air at low levels.

  6. Determination of patterns of biologically relevant aldehydes in exhaled breath condensate of healthy subjects by liquid chromatography/atmospheric chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Andreoli, Roberta; Manini, Paola; Corradi, Massimo; Mutti, Antonio; Niessen, Wilfried M. A.

    2006-01-01

    A method for the simultaneous determination of several classes of aldehydes in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) was developed using liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS/MS). EBC is a biological matrix obtained by a relatively new, simple and noninvasive technique and provides an indirect assessment of pulmonary status. The measurement of aldehydes in EBC represents a biomarker of the effect of oxidative stress caused by smoke, disease, or strong oxidants like ozone. Malondialdehyde (MDA), acrolein, α,β-unsaturated hydroxylated aldehydes [namely 4-hydroxyhexenal (4-HHE) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE)], and saturated aldehydes (n-hexanal, n-heptanal and n-nonanal) were measured in EBC after derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH). Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization of the analytes was obtained in positiveion mode for MDA, and in negativeion mode for acrolein, 4-HHE, 4-HNE, and saturated aldehydes. DNPH derivatives were separated on a C18 column using variable proportions of 20 mM aqueous acetic acid and methanol. Linearity was established over 4–5 orders of magnitude and limits of detection were in the 0.3–1.0 nM range. Intra-day and inter-day precision were in the 1.3–9.9% range for all the compounds. MDA, acrolein and n-alkanals were detectable in all EBC samples, whereas the highly reactive 4-HHE and 4-HNE were found in only a few samples. Statistically significant higher concentrations of MDA, acrolein and n-hexanal were found in EBC from smokers. PMID:12661015

  7. A novel automated hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography method using diode-array detector/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry for analysis of sodium risedronate and related degradation products in pharmaceuticals.

    PubMed

    Bertolini, Tiziana; Vicentini, Lorenza; Boschetti, Silvia; Andreatta, Paolo; Gatti, Rita

    2014-10-24

    A simple, sensitive and fast hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) method using ultraviolet diode-array detector (UV-DAD)/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the automated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of sodium risedronate (SR) and its degradation products in new pharmaceuticals. The chromatographic separations were performed on Ascentis Express HILIC 2.7μm (150mm×2.1mm, i.d.) stainless steel column (fused core). The mobile phase consisted of formate buffer solution (pH 3.4; 0.03M)/acetonitrile 42:58 and 45:55 (v/v) for granules for oral solution and effervescent tablet analysis, respectively, at a flow-rate of 0.2mL/min, setting the wavelength at 262nm. Stability characteristics of SR were evaluated by performing stress test studies. The main degradation product formed under oxidation conditions corresponding to sodium hydrogen (1-hydroxy-2-(1-oxidopyridin-3-yl)-1-phosphonoethyl)phosphonate was characterized by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The validation parameters such as linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision and selectivity were found to be highly satisfactory. Linear responses were observed in standard and in fortified placebo solutions. Intra-day precision (relative standard deviation, RSD) was ≤1.1% for peak area and ≤0.2% for retention times (tR) without significant differences between intra- and inter-day data. Recovery studies showed good results for all the examined compounds (from 98.7 to 101.0%) with RSD ranging from 0.6 to 0.7%. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) were 1 and 3ng/mL, respectively. The high stability of standard and sample solutions at room temperature means an undoubted advantage of the method allowing the simultaneous preparation of many samples and consecutive chromatographic analyses by using an autosampler. The developed stability indicating

  8. Neutralization of space charge forces using ionized background gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Steski, D. B.; Zarcone, M. J.; Smith, K. S.; Thieberger, P.

    1996-03-01

    The Tandem Van de Graaff at Brookhaven National Laboratory has delivered pulsed gold beam to the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) and AGS Booster since 1992 for relativistic heavy ion physics. There is an ongoing effort to improve the quality and intensity of the negative ion beam delivered to the Tandem from the present Cs sputter sources. Because the beam energy is low (approximately 30 keV) and the current high, there are significant losses due to space charge forces. One of the ways being explored to overcome these losses is to neutralize the space charge forces with ionized background gas. On an ion source test bench, using three different gases (Ar, N2, and Xe), the percentage of current transported from the source to a downstream Faraday cup was increased from 10% to 40% by bleeding in gas. Bleeding in Xe resulted in the best transmission. The time dependence of the neutralization as a function of gas pressure was also observed. This system is presently being transferred to the Negative Ion Injector of the Tandem for use in upcoming heavy ion experiments.

  9. An Undergraduate Experiment for the Measurement of Perfluorinated Surfactants in Fish Liver by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stock, Naomi L.; Martin, Jonathan W.; Ye, Yun; Mabury, Scott A.

    2007-01-01

    A laboratory experiment that provides students a hands-on introduction to the specific techniques of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and electrospray ionization is presented. The students can thus practice the analytical principles of sample extraction, detection, quantification, and quality control using a fresh fish…

  10. MR-Tandem: parallel X!Tandem using Hadoop MapReduce on Amazon Web Services.

    PubMed

    Pratt, Brian; Howbert, J Jeffry; Tasman, Natalie I; Nilsson, Erik J

    2012-01-01

    MR-Tandem adapts the popular X!Tandem peptide search engine to work with Hadoop MapReduce for reliable parallel execution of large searches. MR-Tandem runs on any Hadoop cluster but offers special support for Amazon Web Services for creating inexpensive on-demand Hadoop clusters, enabling search volumes that might not otherwise be feasible with the compute resources a researcher has at hand. MR-Tandem is designed to drop in wherever X!Tandem is already in use and requires no modification to existing X!Tandem parameter files, and only minimal modification to X!Tandem-based workflows. MR-Tandem is implemented as a lightly modified X!Tandem C++ executable and a Python script that drives Hadoop clusters including Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Map Reduce (EMR), using the modified X!Tandem program as a Hadoop Streaming mapper and reducer. The modified X!Tandem C++ source code is Artistic licensed, supports pluggable scoring, and is available as part of the Sashimi project at http://sashimi.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/sashimi/trunk/trans_proteomic_pipeline/extern/xtandem/. The MR-Tandem Python script is Apache licensed and available as part of the Insilicos Cloud Army project at http://ica.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ica/trunk/mr-tandem/. Full documentation and a windows installer that configures MR-Tandem, Python and all necessary packages are available at this same URL. brian.pratt@insilicos.com

  11. Investigation of absolute and relative response for three different liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry systems; the impact of ionization and detection saturation.

    PubMed

    Nilsson, Lars B; Skansen, Patrik

    2012-06-30

    The investigations in this article were triggered by two observations in the laboratory; for some liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) systems it was possible to obtain linear calibration curves for extreme concentration ranges and for some systems seemingly linear calibration curves gave good accuracy at low concentrations only when using a quadratic regression function. The absolute and relative responses were tested for three different LC/MS/MS systems by injecting solutions of a model compound and a stable isotope labeled internal standard. The analyte concentration range for the solutions was 0.00391 to 500 μM (128,000×), giving overload of the chromatographic column at the highest concentrations. The stable isotope labeled internal standard concentration was 0.667 μM in all samples. The absolute response per concentration unit decreased rapidly as higher concentrations were injected. The relative response, the ratio for the analyte peak area to the internal standard peak area, per concentration unit was calculated. For system 1, the ionization process was found to limit the response and the relative response per concentration unit was constant. For systems 2 and 3, the ion detection process was the limiting factor resulting in decreasing relative response at increasing concentrations. For systems behaving like system 1, simple linear regression can be used for any concentration range while, for systems behaving like systems 2 and 3, non-linear regression is recommended for all concentration ranges. Another consequence is that the ionization capacity limited systems will be insensitive to matrix ion suppression when an ideal internal standard is used while the detection capacity limited systems are at risk of giving erroneous results at high concentrations if the matrix ion suppression varies for different samples in a run. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. MR-Tandem: parallel X!Tandem using Hadoop MapReduce on Amazon Web Services

    PubMed Central

    Pratt, Brian; Howbert, J. Jeffry; Tasman, Natalie I.; Nilsson, Erik J.

    2012-01-01

    Summary: MR-Tandem adapts the popular X!Tandem peptide search engine to work with Hadoop MapReduce for reliable parallel execution of large searches. MR-Tandem runs on any Hadoop cluster but offers special support for Amazon Web Services for creating inexpensive on-demand Hadoop clusters, enabling search volumes that might not otherwise be feasible with the compute resources a researcher has at hand. MR-Tandem is designed to drop in wherever X!Tandem is already in use and requires no modification to existing X!Tandem parameter files, and only minimal modification to X!Tandem-based workflows. Availability and implementation: MR-Tandem is implemented as a lightly modified X!Tandem C++ executable and a Python script that drives Hadoop clusters including Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Map Reduce (EMR), using the modified X!Tandem program as a Hadoop Streaming mapper and reducer. The modified X!Tandem C++ source code is Artistic licensed, supports pluggable scoring, and is available as part of the Sashimi project at http://sashimi.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/sashimi/trunk/trans_proteomic_pipeline/extern/xtandem/. The MR-Tandem Python script is Apache licensed and available as part of the Insilicos Cloud Army project at http://ica.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ica/trunk/mr-tandem/. Full documentation and a windows installer that configures MR-Tandem, Python and all necessary packages are available at this same URL. Contact: brian.pratt@insilicos.com PMID:22072385

  13. High energy collisions on tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometers†

    PubMed Central

    Cotter, Robert J.

    2013-01-01

    Long before the introduction of matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI), electrospray ionization (ESI), Orbitraps and any of the other tools that are now used ubiquitously for proteomics and metabolomics, the highest performance mass spectrometers were sector instruments, providing high resolution mass measurements by combining an electrostatic energy analyzer (E) with a high field magnet (B). In its heyday, the four sector mass spectrometer (or EBEB) was the crown jewel, providing the highest performance tandem mass spectrometry using single, high energy collisions to induce fragmentation. During a time in which quadrupole and tandem triple quadrupole instruments were also enjoying increased usage and popularity, there were nonetheless some clear advantages for sectors over their low collision energy counterparts. Time-of-flight mass spectrometers are high voltage, high vacuum instruments that have much in common with sectors and have inspired the development of tandem instruments exploiting single high energy collisions. In this retrospective we recount our own journey to produce high performance time-of-flights and tandems, describing the basic theory, problems and the advantages for such instruments. An experiment testing impulse collision theory (ICT) underscores the similarities with sector mass spectrometers where this concept was first developed. Applications provide examples of more extensive fragmentation, side chain cleavages and charge-remote fragmentation, also characteristic of high energy sector mass spectrometers. Moreover, the so-called curved-field reflectron has enabled the design of instruments that are simpler, collect and focus all of the ions, and may provide the future technology for the clinic, for tissue imaging and the characterization of microorganisms. PMID:23519928

  14. Stable-Isotope Dilution HPLC-Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Quantifying Hydroxyurea in Dried Blood Samples.

    PubMed

    Marahatta, Anu; Megaraj, Vandana; McGann, Patrick T; Ware, Russell E; Setchell, Kenneth D R

    2016-12-01

    Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a life-threatening blood disorder characterized by the presence of sickle-shaped erythrocytes. Hydroxyurea is currently the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment and there is a need for a convenient method to monitor compliance and hydroxyurea concentrations, especially in pediatric SCA patients. We describe a novel approach to the determination of hydroxyurea concentrations in dried whole blood collected on DMPK-C cards or volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) devices. Hydroxyurea was quantified by electrospray ionization LC-MS/MS using [ 13 C 15 N 2 ]hydroxyurea as the internal standard. Calibrators were prepared in whole blood applied to DMPK-C cards or VAMS devices. Calibration curves for blood hydroxyurea measured from DMPK-C cards and VAMS devices were linear over the range 0.5-60 μg/mL. Interassay and intraassay CVs were <15% for blood collected by both methods, and the limit of detection was 5 ng/mL. Whole blood hydroxyurea was stable for up to 60 days on DMPK-C cards and VAMS devices when frozen at -20 °C or -80 °C. Whole blood hydroxyurea concentrations in samples collected on DMPK-C cards or VAMS devices from SCA patients were in close agreement. This tandem mass spectrometry method permits measurement of hydroxyurea concentrations in small volumes of dried blood applied to either DMPK-C cards or VAMS devices with comparable performance. This method for measuring hydroxyurea from dried blood permits the evaluation of therapeutic drug monitoring, individual pharmacokinetics, and medication adherence using heel/finger-prick samples from pediatric patients with SCA treated with hydroxyurea. © 2016 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

  15. Ultra-Trace Analysis of Nine Macrolides, including Tulathromycin A (Draxxin), in Edible Animal Tissues with Mini-Column Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Analysis of 9 macrolides is presented, including tulathromycin A (Draxxin), in beef, poultry and pork muscle with a simple multi-residue extraction and analysis method using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The extraction method inv...

  16. Analysis of heparin oligosaccharides by capillary electrophoresis-negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Lin, Lei; Liu, Xinyue; Zhang, Fuming; Chi, Lianli; Amster, I Jonathan; Leach, Franklyn E; Xia, Qiangwei; Linhardt, Robert J

    2017-01-01

    Most hyphenated analytical approaches that rely on liquid chromatography-MS require relatively long separation times, produce incomplete resolution of oligosaccharide mixtures, use eluents that are incompatible with electrospray ionization, or require oligosaccharide derivatization. Here we demonstrate the analysis of heparin oligosaccharides, including disaccharides, ultralow molecular weight heparin, and a low molecular weight heparin, using a novel electrokinetic pump-based CE-MS coupling eletrospray ion source. Reverse polarity CE separation and negative-mode electrospray ionization were optimized using a volatile methanolic ammonium acetate electrolyte and sheath fluid. The online CE hyphenated negative-ion electrospray ionization MS on an LTQ Orbitrap mass spectrometer was useful in disaccharide compositional analysis and bottom-up and top-down analysis of low molecular weight heparin. The application of this CE-MS method to ultralow molecular heparin suggests that a charge state distribution and the low level of sulfate group loss that is achieved make this method useful for online tandem MS analysis of heparins. Graphical abstract Most hyphenated analytical approaches that rely on liquid chromatography-MS require relatively long separation times, produce incomplete resolution of oligosaccharide mixtures, use eluents that are incompatible with electrospray ionization, or require oligosaccharide derivatization. Here we demonstrate the analysis of heparin oligosaccharides, including disaccharides, ultralow molecular weight heparin, and a low molecular weight heparin, using a novel electrokinetic pump-based CE-MS coupling eletrospray ion source. Reverse polarity CE separation and negative-mode electrospray ionization were optimized using a volatile methanolic ammonium acetate electrolyte and sheath fluid. The online CE hyphenated negative-ion electrospray ionization MS on an LTQ Orbitrap mass spectrometer was useful in disaccharide compositional analysis and

  17. Highly sensitive derivatization reagents possessing positively charged structures for the determination of oligosaccharides in glycoproteins by high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Min, Jun Zhe; Nagai, Keisuke; Shi, Qing; Zhou, Wenjun; Todoroki, Kenichiro; Inoue, Koichi; Lee, Yong-Ill; Toyo'oka, Toshimasa

    2016-09-23

    We have developed three kinds of novel derivatization reagents (4-CEBTPP, 4-CBBTPP, 5-COTPP) with triphenylphosphine (TPP) as a basic structure carrying a permanent positive charge for resolution of the oligosaccharides in glycoprotein using high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The synthesized reagents reacted with the sialylglycosylamine of the sialylglycopeptide after treatment by PNGase F. The final derivatives were analyzed by ESI-MS and sensitively detected in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. Furthermore, the limits of detection (S/N=3) on the SRM chromatograms were at the fmol level (30fmol). Therefore, we used the limit of detection of the reagent products detected by the SRM and evaluated the utility of each reagent. Among the reagents, the positively charged 4-CEBTPP derivative's peak area was the highest; 4-CEBTPP with a positively charged structure showed about a 20 times greater sensitivity for the glycosylamine of the SGP product compared to the conventional fluorescence reagent, Fmoc-Cl. In addition, various fragment ions based on the carbohydrate units also appeared in the MS/MS spectra. Among the fragment ions, m/z 627.37 (CE=40eV) corresponding to 4-CEBTPP-GlcNAc and m/z 120.09 (CE=100eV) corresponding to 4-CEBTPP are the most important ones for identifying the oligosaccharide. 4-CEBTPP-SGA was easily identified by the selected-ion chromatogram in the product ion scan (m/z 120.09) and in the precursor ion scan (m/z 627.37) by MS/MS detection. The derivatized analytes have a high ionization efficiency and they are detected with a high sensitivity in the electrospray ionization. The novel derivatization reagent with a multi-function provided a higher sensitivity for the oligosaccharide analysis, as well as a better specificity and feasibility. Furthermore, several oligosaccharides in fetuin and ribonuclease B were successfully identified by the proposed procedure

  18. A Combined Desorption Ionization by Charge Exchange (DICE) and Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) Source for Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chan, Chang-Ching; Bolgar, Mark S.; Miller, Scott A.; Attygalle, Athula B.

    2011-01-01

    A source that couples the desorption ionization by charge exchange (DICE) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) techniques together was demonstrated to broaden the range of compounds that can be analyzed in a single mass spectrometric experiment under ambient conditions. A tee union was used to mix the spray reagents into a partially immiscible blend before this mixture was passed through a conventional electrospray (ES) probe capillary. Using this technique, compounds that are ionized more efficiently by the DICE method and those that are ionized better with the DESI procedure could be analyzed simultaneously. For example, hydroquinone, which is not detected when subjected to DESI-MS in the positive-ion generation mode, or the sodium adduct of guaifenesin, which is not detected when examined by DICE-MS, could both be detected in one experiment when the two techniques were combined. The combined technique was able to generate the molecular ion, proton and metal adduct from the same compound. When coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer, the combined source enabled the generation of product ion spectra from the molecular ion and the [M + H]+ or [M + metal]+ ions of the same compound without the need to physically change the source from DICE to DESI. The ability to record CID spectra of both the molecular ion and adduct ions in a single mass spectrometric experiment adds a new dimension to the array of mass spectrometric methods available for structural studies.

  19. Investigation of natural phosphatidylcholine sources: separation and identification by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS2) of molecular species.

    PubMed

    Le Grandois, Julie; Marchioni, Eric; Zhao, Minjie; Giuffrida, Francesca; Ennahar, Saïd; Bindler, Françoise

    2009-07-22

    This study is a contribution to the exploration of natural phospholipid (PL) sources rich in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) with nutritional interest. Phosphatidylcholines (PCs) were purified from total lipid extracts of different food matrices, and their molecular species were separated and identified by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS(2)). Fragmentation of lithiated adducts allowed for the identification of fatty acids linked to the glycerol backbone. Soy PC was particularly rich in species containing essential fatty acids, such as (18:2-18:2)PC (34.0%), (16:0-18:2)PC (20.8%), and (18:1-18:2)PC (16.3%). PC from animal sources (ox liver and egg yolk) contained major molecular species, such as (16:0-18:2)PC, (16:0-18:1)PC, (18:0-18:2)PC, or (18:0-18:1)PC. Finally, marine source (krill oil), which was particularly rich in (16:0-20:5)PC and (16:0-22:6)PC, appeared to be an interesting potential source for food supplementation with LC-PUFA-PLs, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

  20. Ultrapressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay using atmospheric pressure photoionization (UPLC-APPI-MS/MS) for quantification of 4-methoxydiphenylmethane in pharmacokinetic evaluation.

    PubMed

    Farhan, Nashid; Fitzpatrick, Sean; Shim, Yun M; Paige, Mikell; Chow, Diana Shu-Lian

    2016-09-05

    4-Methoxydiphenylmethane (4-MDM), a selective augmenter of Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase (LTA4H), is a new anti-inflammatory compound for potential treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Currently, there is no liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method for the quantification of 4-MDM. A major barrier for developing the LC-MS/MS method is the inability of electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) to ionize 4-MDM due to its hydrophobicity and lack of any functional group for ionization. With the advent of atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) technique, many hydrophobic compounds have been demonstrated to ionize by charge transfer reactions. In this study, a highly sensitive ultrapressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay using atmospheric pressure photoionization (UPLC-APPI-MS/MS) for the quantifications of 4-MDM in rat plasma has been developed and validated. 4-MDM was extracted from the plasma by solid phase extraction (SPE) and separated chromatographically using a reverse phase C8 column. The photoionization (PI) was achieved by introducing anisole as a dopant to promote the reaction of charge transfer. The assay with a linear range of 5 (LLOQ)-400ngmL(-1) met the regulatory requirements for accuracy, precision and stability. The validated assay was employed to quantify the plasma concentrations of 4-MDM after an oral dosing in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Polysialylated N-Glycans Identified in Human Serum Through Combined Developments in Sample Preparation, Separations and Electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kronewitter, Scott R.; Marginean, Ioan; Cox, Jonathan T.

    The N-glycan diversity of human serum glycoproteins, i.e. the human blood serum N-glycome, is complex due to the range of glycan structures potentially synthesizable by human glycosylation enzymes. The reported glycome, however, is limited by methods of sample preparation, available analytical platforms, e.g., based upon electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and software tools for data analysis. In this report, several improvements have been implemented in sample preparation and analysis to extend ESI-MS glycan characterization and to provide an improved view of glycan diversity. Sample preparation improvements include acidified, microwave-accelerated, PNGase F N-glycan release, and sodium borohydride reduction were optimized to improvemore » quantitative yields and conserve the number of glycoforms detected. Two-stage desalting (during solid phase extraction and on the analytical column) increased the sensitivity by reducing analyte signal division between multiple reducing-end-forms or cation adducts. On-line separations were improved by using extended length graphitized carbon columns and adding TFA as an acid modifier to a formic acid/reversed phase gradient which provides additional resolving power and significantly improved desorption of both large and heavily sialylated glycans. To improve MS sensitivity and provide gentler ionization conditions at the source-MS interface, subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) has been utilized. When method improvements are combined together with the Glycomics Quintavariate Informed Quantification (GlyQ-IQ) recently described1 these technologies demonstrate the ability to significantly extend glycan detection sensitivity and provide expanded glycan coverage. We demonstrate application of these advances in the context of the human serum glycome, and for which our initial observations include detection of a new class of heavily sialylated N-glycans, including polysialylated N-glycans.« less

  2. Semi-automated 96-well solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry for the trace analysis of fluprostenol in rat plasma.

    PubMed

    Gauw, R D; Stoffolano, P J; Kuhlenbeck, D L; Patel, V S; Garver, S M; Baker, T R; Wehmeyer, K R

    2000-07-21

    Semi-automated 96-well plate solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used for sample preparation of fluprostenol, a prostaglandin analog, in rat plasma prior to detection by gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (GC-NCI-MS-MS). A liquid handling system was utilized for all aspects of sample handling prior to SPE including transferring of samples into a 96-well format, preparation of standards as well as addition of internal standard to standards, quality control samples and study samples. SPE was performed in a 96-well plate format using octadecylsilane packing and the effluent from the SPE was dried in a custom-made 96-well apparatus. The sample residue was derivatized sequentially with pentafluorobenzylbromide followed by N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide. The derivatized sample was then analyzed using GC-NCI-MS-MS. The dynamic range for the method was from 7 to 5800 pg/ml with a 0.1-ml plasma sample. The methodology was evaluated over a 4-day period and demonstrated an accuracy of 90-106% with a precision of 2.4-12.9%.

  3. Characterization and identification of iridoid glucosides, flavonoids and anthraquinones in Hedyotis diffusa by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, E-Hu; Zhou, Ting; Li, Guo-Bin; Li, Jing; Huang, Xiu-Ning; Pan, Feng; Gao, Ning

    2012-01-01

    The multiple bioactive constituents in Hedyotis diffusa Willd. (H. diffusa) were extracted and characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS(n)). The optimized separation condition was obtained using an Agilent ZorBax SB-C18 column (4.6×150 mm, 5 μm) and gradient elution with water (containing 0.1% formic acid) and acetonitrile (containing 0.1% formic acid), under which baseline separation for the majority of compounds was achieved. Among the compounds detected, 14 iridoid glucosides, 10 flavonoids, 7 anthraquinones, 1 coumarin and 1 triterpene were unambiguously identified or tentatively characterized based on their retention times and mass spectra in comparison with the data from standards or references. The fragmentation behavior for different types of constituents was also investigated, which could contribute to the elucidation of these constituents in H. diffusa. The present study reveals that even more iridoid glycosides were found in H. diffusa than hitherto assumed. The occurrence of two iridoid glucosides and five flavonoids in particular has not yet been described. This paper marks the first report on the structural characterization of chemical compounds in H. diffusa by a developed HPLC-ESI-MS(n) method. Copyright © 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Characterization of sphingosine-1-phosphate lyase activity by electrospray ionization-liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry quantitation of (2E)-hexadecenal.

    PubMed

    Berdyshev, Evgeny V; Goya, Jonathan; Gorshkova, Irina; Prestwich, Glenn D; Byun, Hoe-Sup; Bittman, Robert; Natarajan, Viswanathan

    2011-01-01

    Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a sphingolipid signaling molecule crucial for cell survival and proliferation. S1P-mediated signaling is largely controlled through its biosynthesis and degradation, and S1P lyase (S1PL) is the only known enzyme that irreversibly degrades sphingoid base-1-phosphates to phosphoethanolamine and the corresponding fatty aldehydes. S1PL-mediated degradation of S1P results in the formation of (2E)-hexadecenal, whereas hexadecanal is the product of dihydrosphingosine-1-phosphate (DHS1P) degradation. Fatty aldehydes can undergo biotransformation to fatty acids and/or alcohols, making them elusive and rendering the task of fatty aldehyde quantitation challenging. We have developed a simple, highly sensitive, and high-throughput protocol for (2E)-hexadecenal quantitation as a semicarbazone derivative by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. The approach was applied to determining S1PL activity in vitro with the ability to use as low as 0.25μg of microsomal protein per assay. The method is also applicable to the use of total tissue homogenate as the source of S1PL. A correction for (2E)-hexadecenal disappearance due to its biotransformation during enzymatic reaction is required, especially at higher protein concentrations. The method was applied to confirm FTY720 as the inhibitor of S1PL with an IC₅₀ value of 52.4μM. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Enhanced characterization of singly protonated phosphopeptide ions by femtosecond laser-induced ionization/dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (fs-LID-MS/MS).

    PubMed

    Smith, Scott A; Kalcic, Christine L; Safran, Kyle A; Stemmer, Paul M; Dantus, Marcos; Reid, Gavin E

    2010-12-01

    To develop an improved understanding of the regulatory role that post-translational modifications (PTMs) involving phosphorylation play in the maintenance of normal cellular function, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) strategies coupled with ion activation techniques such as collision-induced dissociation (CID) and electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) are typically employed to identify the presence and site-specific locations of the phosphate moieties within a given phosphoprotein of interest. However, the ability of these techniques to obtain sufficient structural information for unambiguous phosphopeptide identification and characterization is highly dependent on the ion activation method employed and the properties of the precursor ion that is subjected to dissociation. Herein, we describe the application of a recently developed alternative ion activation technique for phosphopeptide analysis, termed femtosecond laser-induced ionization/dissociation (fs-LID). In contrast to CID and ETD, fs-LID is shown to be particularly suited to the analysis of singly protonated phosphopeptide ions, yielding a wide range of product ions including a, b, c, x, y, and z sequence ions, as well as ions that are potentially diagnostic of the positions of phosphorylation (e.g., 'a(n)+1-98'). Importantly, the lack of phosphate moiety losses or phosphate group 'scrambling' provides unambiguous information for sequence identification and phosphorylation site characterization. Therefore, fs-LID-MS/MS can serve as a complementary technique to established methodologies for phosphoproteomic analysis. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  6. Structure revision of hupehensis saponin F and G and characterization of new trace triterpenoid saponins from Anemone hupehensis by tandem electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Li, Fu; Liu, Xin; Tang, Minghai; Chen, Bin; Ding, Lisheng; Chen, Lijuan; Wang, Mingkui

    2012-05-15

    Electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)) was first employed for reinvestigating the structures of hupehensis saponin F and G previously isolated from Anemone hupehensis in our lab. Hupehensis saponin G was determined to contain one more trisaccharide unit (Rha-(1→4)-Glc-(1→6)-Glc-), not a glucose residue, than saponin F based on their molecular weights deduced from their [M+Na](+) ions in ESI-MS spectra. The (2,4)A(4α)-ion at m/z 551.3 formed by retro-Diels-Alder (RDA) rearrangement in positive mode illustrated that the C-28 sugar chains of the two saponins were composed of trisaccharide repeating moieties with (1→4) linkages rather than (1→3) linkages. The interpretation of 2D-NMR spectra of the two compounds also confirmed the results obtained by ESI-MS(n). Moreover, from the water soluble part of A. hupehensis, two novel triterpene saponins were tentatively characterized to contain 4 and 5 (1→4)-linked above trisaccharide repeating moieties at C-28 position according to their ESI-MS(n) behaviors, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Characterization of limonin glucoside metabolites from human prostate cell culture medium using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Tian, Qingguo; Kent, Kyle D; Bomser, Joshua A; Schwartz, Steven J

    2004-01-01

    The metabolism of limonin 17-beta-D-glucopyranoside (LG) by non-cancerous (RWPE-1) and cancerous (PC-3) human prostate epithelial cells was investigated using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) with in-source fragmentation and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). During positive ion LC/ESI-MS, LG formed an abundant sodiated species ([M+Na]+) while the protonated molecule was barely observable. [M+Na]+ further fragmented into the less abundant [LARL+H]+ and a predominantly protonated aglycone molecule (limonin) due to in-source fragmentation. The major metabolite, limonin A-ring lactone (LARL), formed an abundant protonated molecule that was fragmented into a protonated molecule of limonin by loss of one molecule of water. In MS/MS by collisionally activated dissociation (CAD), LG produced the sodiated aglycone, [aglycone+Na]+, while LARL fragmented into [M+H]+ of limonin and fragment ions resulted by further loss of water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, indicating the presence of oxygenated-ring structures. The limits of detection of LG were 0.4 and 20 fmol in selected-ion monitoring (SIM) and selected-reaction monitoring (SRM) detection, respectively. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Simultaneous determination of antiretroviral drugs in human hair with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wu, Yan; Yang, Jin; Duan, Cailing; Chu, Liuxi; Chen, Shenghuo; Qiao, Shan; Li, Xiaoming; Deng, Huihua

    2018-04-15

    The determination of the concentrations of antiretroviral drugs in hair is believed to be an important means for the assessment of the long-term adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy. At present, the combination of tenofovir, lamivudine and nevirapine is widely used in China. However, there was no research reporting simultaneous determination of the three drugs in hair. The present study aimed to develop a sensitive method for simultaneous determination of the three drugs in 2-mg and 10-mg natural hair (Method 1 and Method 2). Hair samples were incubated in methanol at 37 °C for 16 h after being rinsed with methanol twice. The analysis was performed on high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with electronic spray ionization in positive mode and multiple reactions monitoring. Method 1 and Method 2 showed the limits of detection at 160 and 30 pg/mg for tenofovir, at 5 and 6 pg/mg for lamivudine and at 15 and 3 pg/mg for nevirapine. The two methods showed good linearity with the square of correlation coefficient >0.99 at the ranges of 416-5000 and 77-5000 pg/mg for tenofovir, 12-5000 and 15-5000 pg/mg for lamivudine and 39-50,000 and 6-50,000 pg/mg for nevirapine. They gave intra-day and inter-day coefficient of variation <15% and the recoveries ranging from 80.6 to 122.3% and from 83.1 to 114.4%. Method 2 showed LOD and LOQ better than Method 1 for tenofovir and nevirapine and matched Method 1 for lamivudine, but there was high consistency between them in the determination of the three drugs in hair. The population analysis with Method 2 revealed that the concentrations in hair were decreased with the distance of hair segment away from the scalp for the three antiretroviral drugs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry and 32P-postlabeling analyses of tamoxifen-DNA adducts in humans.

    PubMed

    Beland, Frederick A; Churchwell, Mona I; Doerge, Daniel R; Parkin, Daniel R; Malejka-Giganti, Danuta; Hewer, Alan; Phillips, David H; Carmichael, Paul L; Gamboa da Costa, Gonçalo; Marques, M Matilde

    2004-07-21

    Although the nonsteroidal antiestrogen tamoxifen is used as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent to treat hormone-dependent breast cancer and as a chemopreventive agent in women with elevated risk of breast cancer, it has also been reported to increase the risk of endometrial cancer. Reports of low levels of tamoxifen-DNA adducts in human endometrial tissue have suggested that tamoxifen induces endometrial cancer by a genotoxic mechanism. However, these findings have been controversial. We used electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ES-MS/MS) and 32P-postlabeling analyses to investigate the presence of tamoxifen-DNA adducts in human endometrial tissue. Endometrial DNA from eight tamoxifen-treated women and eight untreated women was hydrolyzed to nucleosides and assayed for (E)-alpha-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-tamoxifen (dG-Tam) and (E)-alpha-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-N-desmethyltamoxifen (dG-desMeTam), the two major tamoxifen-DNA adducts that have been reported to be present in humans and/or experimental animals treated with tamoxifen, using on-line sample preparation coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ES-MS/MS. The same DNA samples were assayed for the presence of dG-Tam and dG-desMeTam by (32)P-postlabeling methodology, using two different DNA digestion and labeling protocols, followed by both thin-layer chromatography and HPLC. We did not detect either tamoxifen-DNA adduct by HPLC-ES-MS/MS analyses (limits of detection for dG-Tam and dG-desMeTam were two adducts per 10(9) nucleotides and two adducts per 10(8) nucleotides, respectively) or by 32P-postlabeling analyses (limit of detection for both adducts was one adduct per 10(9) nucleotides) in any of the endometrial DNA samples. The initiation of endometrial cancer by tamoxifen is probably not due to a genotoxic mechanism involving the formation of dG-Tam or dG-desMeTam.

  10. Simultaneous determination of cocaine and opiates in dried blood spots by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Antelo-Domínguez, Ángel; Cocho, José Ángel; Tabernero, María Jesús; Bermejo, Ana María; Bermejo-Barrera, Pilar; Moreda-Piñeiro, Antonio

    2013-12-15

    A sample pre-treatment method based on blood spot collection filter cards was optimized as a means of using small volume samples for the screening and confirmation of cocaine and opiates abuse. Dried blood spots (DBSs) were prepared by dispersing 20 µL of whole blood specimens previously mixed with the internal standards (deuterated analogs of each target), and subjecting the whole DBS to extraction with 5 mL of methanol under orbital-horizontal shaking (180 rpm) for 10 min. Determinations were based on direct electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) by injecting the re-dissolved methanol extract with the delivery solution (acetonitrile-water-formic acid, 80:19.875:0.125) at a flow rate of 60 µL min(-1), and using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with the m/z (precursor ion)→m/z (product ion) transitions for acquisition. Matrix effect has been found to be statistically significant (Multiple Range Test) when assessing cocaine, BZE, codeine and morphine, and the use of the standard addition method (dispersion of whole blood previously mixed with standards onto the filter papers) was needed for accurate determinations. The developed DBS-ESI-MS/MS procedure offered good intra-day and inter-day precisions (lower than 10% and 12%, respectively), as well as good intra-day and inter-day accuracies (inter-day absolute recoveries, expressed as the mean analytical recovery over three target concentration levels, of 103%, 100%, 101%, 98% and 100% for cocaine, BZE, codeine, morphine and 6-MAM, respectively). The high sensitivity inherent to MS/MS determinations combined with the minimal dilution of sample allowed low limits of quantification for all targets, and the developed method results therefore adequate for cocaine and opiates screening and confirmation purposes. The procedure was finally applied to DBSs prepared from whole blood from polydrug abusers, and results were compared with those obtained after a conventional sample pretreatment

  11. Fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry of carotenoids

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    van Breeman, R.B.; Schmitz, H.H.; Schwartz, S.J.

    Positive ion fast atom bombardment (FAB) tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) using a double-focusing mass spectrometer with linked scanning at constant B/E and high-energy collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) was used to differentiate 17 different cartenoids, including {beta}-apo-8{prime}- carotenal, astaxanthin, {alpha}-carotene, {beta}-carotene, {gamma}-carotene, {zeta}-carotene, canthaxanthin, {beta}-cryptoxanthin, isozeaxanthin bis (pelargonate), neoxanthin, neurosporene, nonaprene, lutein, lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene, and zeaxanthin. The carotenoids were either synthetic or isolated from plant tissues. The use of FAB ionization minimized degradation or rearrangement of the carotenoid structures due to the inherent thermal instability generally ascribed to these compounds. Instead of protonated molecules, both polar xanthophylls and nonpolar carotenesmore » formed molecular ions, M{sup {center_dot}+}, during FAB ionization. Following collisionally activated dissociation, fragment ions of selected molecular ion precursors showed structural features indicative of the presence of hydroxyl groups, ring systems, ester groups, and aldehyde groups and the extent of aliphatic polyene conjugation. The fragmentation patterns observed in the mass spectra herein may be used as a reference for the structural determination of carotenoids isolated from plant and animal tissues. 18 refs., 4 figs.« less

  12. Next generation offline approaches to trace organic compound speciation: Approaching comprehensive speciation with soft ionization and very high resolution tandem mass spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khare, P.; Marcotte, A.; Sheu, R.; Ditto, J.; Gentner, D. R.

    2017-12-01

    Intermediate- and semi-volatile organic compounds (IVOCs and SVOCs) have high secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yields, as well as significant ozone formation potentials. Yet, their emission sources and oxidation pathways remain largely understudied due to limitations in current analytical capabilities. Online mass spectrometers are able to collect real time data but their limited mass resolving power renders molecular level characterization of IVOCs and SVOCs from the unresolved complex mixture unfeasible. With proper sampling techniques and powerful analytical instrumentation, our offline tandem mass spectrometry (i.e. MS×MS) techniques provide molecular-level and structural identification over wide polarity and volatility ranges. We have designed a novel analytical system for offline analysis of gas-phase SOA precursors collected on custom-made multi-bed adsorbent tubes. Samples are desorbed into helium via a gradual temperature ramp and sample flow is split equally for direct-MS×MS analysis and separation via gas chromatography (GC). The effluent from GC separation is split again for analysis via atmospheric pressure chemical ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (APCI-Q×TOF) and traditional electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS). The compounds for direct-MS×MS analysis are delivered via a transfer line maintained at 70ºC directly to APCI-Q×TOF, thus preserving the molecular integrity of thermally-labile, or other highly-reactive, organic compounds. Both our GC-MS×MS and direct-MS×MS analyses report high accuracy parent ion masses as well as information on molecular structure via MS×MS, which together increase the resolution of unidentified complex mixtures. We demonstrate instrument performance and present preliminary results from urban atmospheric samples collected from New York City with a wide range of compounds including highly-functionalized organic compounds previously understudied in outdoor air. Our work offers new

  13. A simple and selective method for the measurement of azadirachtin and related azadirachtoid levels in fruits and vegetables using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Sarais, Giorgia; Caboni, Pierluigi; Sarritzu, Erika; Russo, Mariateresa; Cabras, Paolo

    2008-05-14

    Neem-based insecticides containing azadirachtin and related azadirachtoids are widely used in agriculture. Here, we report an analytical method for the rapid and accurate quantification of the insecticide azadirachtin A and B and other azadirachtoids such as salannin, nimbin, and their deacetylated analogues on tomatoes and peaches. Azadirachtoids were extracted from fruits and vegetables with acetonitrile. Using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometer, azadirachtoids were selectively detected monitoring the multiple reaction transitions of sodium adduct precursor ions. For azadirachtin A, calibration was linear over a working range of 1-1000 microg/L with r > 0.996. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for azadirachtin A were 0.4 and 0.8 microg/kg, respectively. The presence of interfering compounds in the peach and tomato extracts was evaluated and found to be minimal. Because of the linear behavior, it was concluded that the multiple reaction transitions of sodium adduct ions can be used for analytical purposes, that is, for the identification and quantification of azadirachtin A and B and related azadirachtoids in fruit and vegetable extracts at trace levels.

  14. Characterization of anti-theft devices directly from the surface of banknotes via easy ambient sonic spray ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Schmidt, Eduardo Morgado; Franco, Marcos Fernando; Cuelbas, Claudio José; Zacca, Jorge Jardim; de Carvalho Rocha, Werickson Fortunato; Borges, Rodrigo; de Souza, Wanderley; Sawaya, Alexandra Christine Helena Frankland; Eberlin, Marcos Nogueira; Correa, Deleon Nascimento

    2015-09-01

    Using Brazilian banknotes as a test case, forensic examination and identification of Rhodamine B dye anti-theft device (ATD) staining on banknotes were performed. Easy ambient sonic spray ionization mass spectrometry (EASI-MS) was used since it allows fast and simple analysis with no sample preparation providing molecular screening of the surface with direct desorption and ionization of the security dye. For a more accurate molecular characterization of the ATD dye, Q Exactive Orbitrap™ Fourier transform (tandem) mass spectrometry using eletrospray ionization (ESI-HRMS/MS) was also applied. Copyright © 2015 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Ultrafast quantum control of ionization dynamics in krypton.

    PubMed

    Hütten, Konrad; Mittermair, Michael; Stock, Sebastian O; Beerwerth, Randolf; Shirvanyan, Vahe; Riemensberger, Johann; Duensing, Andreas; Heider, Rupert; Wagner, Martin S; Guggenmos, Alexander; Fritzsche, Stephan; Kabachnik, Nikolay M; Kienberger, Reinhard; Bernhardt, Birgitta

    2018-02-19

    Ultrafast spectroscopy with attosecond resolution has enabled the real time observation of ultrafast electron dynamics in atoms, molecules and solids. These experiments employ attosecond pulses or pulse trains and explore dynamical processes in a pump-probe scheme that is selectively sensitive to electronic state of matter via photoelectron or XUV absorption spectroscopy or that includes changes of the ionic state detected via photo-ion mass spectrometry. Here, we demonstrate how the implementation of combined photo-ion and absorption spectroscopy with attosecond resolution enables tracking the complex multidimensional excitation and decay cascade of an Auger auto-ionization process of a few femtoseconds in highly excited krypton. In tandem with theory, our study reveals the role of intermediate electronic states in the formation of multiply charged ions. Amplitude tuning of a dressing laser field addresses different groups of decay channels and allows exerting temporal and quantitative control over the ionization dynamics in rare gas atoms.

  16. MS/MS studies on the selective on-line detection of sesquiterpenes using a Flowing Afterglow-Tandem Mass Spectrometer (FA-TMS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rimetz-Planchon, J.; Dhooghe, F.; Schoon, N.; Vanhaecke, F.; Amelynck, C.

    2011-04-01

    A Flowing Afterglow-Tandem Mass Spectrometer (FA-TMS) was used to investigate the feasibility of selective on-line detection of a series of seven sesquiterpenes (SQTs). These SQTs were chemically ionized by either H3O+ or NO+ reagent ions in the FA, resulting among others in protonated SQT and SQT molecular ions, respectively. These and other Chemical Ionization (CI) product ions were subsequently subjected to dissociation by collisions with Ar atoms in the collision cell of the tandem mass spectrometer. The fragmentation spectra show similarities with mass spectra obtained for these compounds with other instruments such as a Proton Transfer Reaction-Linear Ion Trap (PTR-LIT), a Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS), a Triple Quadrupole-Mass Spectrometer (QqQ-MS) and a Selected Ion Flow Tube-Mass Spectrometer (SIFT-MS). Fragmentation of protonated SQT is characterized by fragment ions at the same masses but with different intensities for the individual SQT. Distinction of SQTs is based on well-chosen intensity ratios and collision energies. The fragmentation patterns of SQT molecular ions show specific fragment ion tracers at m/z 119, m/z162, m/z 137 and m/z 131 for α-cedrene, δ-neoclovene, isolongifolene and α-humulene, respectively. Consequently, chemical ionization of SQT by NO+, followed by MS/MS of SQT+ seems to open a way for selective quantification of SQTs in mixtures.

  17. Protein Sequencing with Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ziady, Assem G.; Kinter, Michael

    The recent introduction of electrospray ionization techniques that are suitable for peptides and whole proteins has allowed for the design of mass spectrometric protocols that provide accurate sequence information for proteins. The advantages gained by these approaches over traditional Edman Degradation sequencing include faster analysis and femtomole, sometimes attomole, sensitivity. The ability to efficiently identify proteins has allowed investigators to conduct studies on their differential expression or modification in response to various treatments or disease states. In this chapter, we discuss the use of electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, a technique whereby protein-derived peptides are subjected to fragmentation in the gas phase, revealing sequence information for the protein. This powerful technique has been instrumental for the study of proteins and markers associated with various disorders, including heart disease, cancer, and cystic fibrosis. We use the study of protein expression in cystic fibrosis as an example.

  18. Biological Matrix Effects in Quantitative Tandem Mass Spectrometry-Based Analytical Methods: Advancing Biomonitoring

    PubMed Central

    Panuwet, Parinya; Hunter, Ronald E.; D’Souza, Priya E.; Chen, Xianyu; Radford, Samantha A.; Cohen, Jordan R.; Marder, M. Elizabeth; Kartavenka, Kostya; Ryan, P. Barry; Barr, Dana Boyd

    2015-01-01

    The ability to quantify levels of target analytes in biological samples accurately and precisely, in biomonitoring, involves the use of highly sensitive and selective instrumentation such as tandem mass spectrometers and a thorough understanding of highly variable matrix effects. Typically, matrix effects are caused by co-eluting matrix components that alter the ionization of target analytes as well as the chromatographic response of target analytes, leading to reduced or increased sensitivity of the analysis. Thus, before the desired accuracy and precision standards of laboratory data are achieved, these effects must be characterized and controlled. Here we present our review and observations of matrix effects encountered during the validation and implementation of tandem mass spectrometry-based analytical methods. We also provide systematic, comprehensive laboratory strategies needed to control challenges posed by matrix effects in order to ensure delivery of the most accurate data for biomonitoring studies assessing exposure to environmental toxicants. PMID:25562585

  19. Method development for the analysis of N-nitrosodimethylamine and other N-nitrosamines in drinking water at low nanogram/liter concentrations using solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography with chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Munch, Jean W; Bassett, Margarita V

    2006-01-01

    N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a probable human carcinogen of concern that has been identified as a drinking water contaminant. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Method 521 has been developed for the analysis of NDMA and 6 additional N-nitrosamines in drinking water at low ng/L concentrations. The method uses solid-phase extraction with coconut charcoal as the sorbent and dichloromethane as the eluent to concentrate 0.50 L water samples to 1 mL. The extracts are analyzed by gas chromatography-chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry using large-volume injection. Method performance was evaluated in 2 laboratories. Typical analyte recoveries of 87-104% were demonstrated for fortified reagent water samples, and recoveries of 77-106% were demonstrated for fortified drinking water samples. All relative standard deviations on replicate analyses were < 11%.

  20. Determination of hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (HO-PCBs) in blood plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Letcher, R J; Li, H X; Chu, S G

    2005-01-01

    Hydroxylated metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyls (HO-PCBs) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) are halogenated phenolic compounds, and they are increasingly common as environmental contaminants mainly in the blood of wildlife and humans. A methodology based on high-performance liquid chromatography (reversed-phase)-electrospray (negative) ionization-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-ESI(-)-MS-MS) in the select ion monitoring or multiple reaction monitoring modes was developed for HO-PCB and PCP determination in blood plasma and serum. Among 11 environmentally relevant HO-PCB congeners and PCP spiked to fetal calf serum, quantitative assessments, including matrix effects on ESI(-) suppression/ enhancement, showed process (recovery) efficiencies of 73% to 89% without internal standard (IS) correction, and 88% to 103% with IS correction, and method limits of quantification ranging from 1 to 50 pg/g (wet weight). Using the developed LC-ESI(-)-MS methodology in comparison with GC-MS and GC-ECD based approaches, similar results were found for HO-PCB identification and quantification in the plasma of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from the Canadian arctic. LC-ESI(-)-MS identified four HO-PCB congeners [4'-HO-2,2',4,6,6'-pentachlorobiphenyl (4'-HO-CB104), 4-HO-2,3,3',4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (4-HO-CB107), 4-HO-2,3,3',5,5',6-hexachlorobiphenyl (4-HO-CB165) and 3'-HO-2,2',3,4,4',5,5'-heptachlorobiphenyl (3'-HO-CB180)], and 14 additional tetra- to hepta-chlorinated HO-PCBs isomers in the polar bear plasma.

  1. Covalently Linked Tandem Lesions in DNA

    PubMed Central

    Patrzyc, Helen B.; Dawidzik, Jean B.; Budzinski, Edwin E.; Freund, Harold G.; Wilton, John H.; Box, Harold C.

    2013-01-01

    Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generate a type of DNA damage called tandem lesions, two adjacent nucleotides both modified. A subcategory of tandem lesions consists of adjacent nucleotides linked by a covalent bond. Covalently linked tandem lesions generate highly characteristic liquid chromotography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) elution profiles. We have used this property to comprehensively survey X-irradiated DNA for covalently linked tandem lesions. A total of 15 tandem lesions were detected in DNA irradiated in deoxygenated aqueous solution, five tandem lesions were detected in DNA that was irradiated in oxygenated solution. PMID:23106212

  2. Structural characterization and identification of biflavones in Selaginella tamariscina by liquid chromatography-diode-array detection/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yi-Xuan; Li, Qiu-Yue; Yan, Li-Li; Shi, Yue

    2011-08-15

    Biflavonoids, a special class of flavonoids, are widely distributed in gymnosperm plants and have various biological activities. They are also major bioactive ingredients in Selaginella tamariscina. In this work, we report the use of high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and electrospray ionization multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)) to study the fragmentation behavior of three main types of biflavonoids using seven biflavonoid reference compounds and analyze the biflavonoids in Selaginella tamariscina. The most useful fragmentations in terms of structural identification are those involving the C-ring cleavage of biflavonoids. For amentoflavone-type biflavonoids (containing flavonoid parts I and II), fragmentation on the flavonoid part II at positions 1/3 and 0/4 are the primary pathways, whereas the chances are greater for C-ring cleavage fragmentation occurring on flavonoid part I at positions 1/3 and 1/4 for robustaflavone-type biflavonoids. However, the predominant diagnostic ions of the specific C-O-C-connected hinokiflavone-type biflavonoids are a series of ions resulting from the rupture of the connective C-O bond. Based on the fragmentation patterns of these reference compounds, 17 biflavonoids were identified in an extract of Selaginella tamariscina, three of which have not been previously reported as constituents of this plant. This study provides a powerful approach for the online structural elucidation and identification of different types of biflavonoids and positional isomers from Selaginella tamariscina and other biflavonoids distributed in related plants and prescriptions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Profiling N-glycans of the egg jelly coat of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and capillary liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry systems.

    PubMed

    Şahar, Umut; Deveci, Remziye

    2017-05-01

    Sea urchin eggs are surrounded by a carbohydrate-rich layer, termed the jelly coat, that consists of polysaccharides and glycoproteins. In the present study, we describe two mass spectrometric strategies to characterize the N-glycosylation of the Paracentrotus lividus egg jelly coat, which has an alecithal-type extracellular matrix like mammalian eggs. Egg jelly was isolated, lyophilized, and dialyzed, followed by peptide N-glycosidase F (PNGase-F) treatment to release N-glycans from their protein chain. These N-glycans were then derivatized by permethylation reaction, and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and capillary liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-ion trap tandem mass spectroscopy (CapLC ESI-Ion trap-MS/MS). N-glycans in the egg jelly coat glycoproteins were indicated by sodiated molecules at m/z 1579.8, 1783.9, 1988.0, 2192.0, and 2397.1 for permethylated oligosaccharides on MALDI-TOF MS. Fragmentation and structural characterization of these oligosaccharides were performed by ESI-Ion trap MS/MS. Then, MALDI-TOF-MS and ESI-Ion trap-MS/MS spectra were interpreted using the GlycoWorkbench software suite, a tool for building, displaying, and profiling glycan masses, to identify the original oligosaccharide structures. The oligosaccharides of the isolated egg jelly coat were mainly of the high mannose type. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Direct determination of trace phthalate esters in alcoholic spirits by spray-inlet microwave plasma torch ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Miao, Meng; Zhao, Gaosheng; Xu, Li; Dong, Junguo; Cheng, Ping

    2018-03-01

    A direct analytical method based on spray-inlet microwave plasma torch tandem mass spectrometry was applied to simultaneously determine 4 phthalate esters (PAEs), namely, benzyl butyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dipentyl phthalate, and dodecyl phthalate with extremely high sensitivity in spirits without sample treatment. Among the 4 brands of spirit products, 3 kinds of PAE compounds were directly determined at very low concentrations from 1.30 to 114 ng·g -1 . Compared with other online and off-line methods, the spray-inlet microwave plasma torch tandem mass spectrometry technique is extremely simple, rapid, sensitive, and high efficient, providing an ideal screening tool for PAEs in spirits. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Nanoelectrospray ion generation for high-throughput mass spectrometry using a micromachined ultrasonic ejector array

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Aderogba, S.; Meacham, J.M.; Degertekin, F.L.

    2005-05-16

    Ultrasonic electrospray ionization (ESI) for high-throughput mass spectrometry is demonstrated using a silicon micromachined microarray. The device uses a micromachined ultrasonic atomizer operating in the 900 kHz-2.5 MHz range for droplet generation and a metal electrode in the fluid cavity for ionization. Since the atomization and ionization processes are separated, the ultrasonic ESI source shows the potential for operation at low voltages with a wide range of solvents in contrast with conventional capillary ESI technology. This is demonstrated using the ultrasonic ESI microarray to obtain the mass spectrum of a 10 {mu}M reserpine sample on a time of flight massmore » spectrometer with 197:1 signal-to-noise ratio at an ionization potential of 200 V.« less

  6. Structural analysis of isomeric chondroitin sulfate oligosaccharides using regioselective 6-O-desulfation method and tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Chen, Shu-Ting; Her, Guor-Rong

    2014-09-16

    A strategy based on a regioselective 6-O-desulfation reaction and negative ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)) was developed for the structural delineation of isomeric chondroitin sulfate oligosaccharides. Product ions resulting from the glycosidic cleavage provided information about the number of sulfate groups in each sugar residue. After the regioselective 6-O-desulfation reaction, the number of sulfate groups on each residue was obtained using a tandem mass spectrometry analysis of the reaction product. The sulfation pattern could be obtained based on the product ions of analytes before and after the desulfation reaction. The strategy was demonstrated using a series of tetrasaccharides prepared from shark cartilage chondroitin sulfate D. Among the 12 identified tetrasaccharides, six structures had not been reported before. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Nanoelectrospray with ion-trap mass spectrometry for the determination of beta-casomorphins in derived milk products.

    PubMed

    Juan-García, Ana; Font, Guillermina; Juan, Cristina; Picó, Yolanda

    2009-11-15

    Beta-casomorphins (b-CMs) are bioactive peptides derived from casein with opioid agonist effects similar to morphine. The use of electrospray (ESI) with quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometry (QIT-MS) for these compounds in two matrices, cheese and milk, was examined. It was compared to a liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and a "soft" ionisation technique, NanoMate, with selected ion monitoring (SIM), which are unreliable for the determination of trace casomorphins in derived milk products. b-CM mass fragmentation pathways were done for the four most common b-CMs: beta-casomorphin (1-5) bovine (b-CM-5), beta-casomorphin (1-7) bovine (b-CM-7), [D-Ala2, D-Pro4,Tyr5]-beta-casomorphin (1-5) amide (b-CM-10) and beta-casomorphin (1-5) amide [D-Ala2,Hyp4,Tyr5] (b-CM-11). The major product ions obtained in QIT-MS were used to construct fragmentation pathways for b-CMs. The different collision energies using automated nanoelectrospray ion source NanoMate and conventional LC in QIT-MS were studied. Calibration data for b-CMs, using spiked milk or cheese samples (10 g or 10 mL), were: NanoMate/MS (25-1000 microg/L), r(2)=0.998; NanoMate/MS(2) (5-1000 microg/L), r(2)=0.9992; NanoMate/MS(3) (2.5-1000 microg/L), r(2)=0.9998. Reproducibility data (% RSD, N=5) for NanoMate/MS(n) mode ranged between 2.0 at 500 microg/L and 7.0 at 10 microg/L.

  8. Determination of tiropramide in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Lee, Hye Won; Ji, Hye Young; Kim, Hee Hyun; Cho, Hea-Young; Lee, Yong-Bok; Lee, Hye Suk

    2003-11-05

    A rapid, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) method for the determination of tiropramide in human plasma was developed. Tiropramide and internal standard, cisapride were extracted from human plasma by liquid-liquid extraction and analyzed on a Luna C8 column with the mobile phase of acetonitrile-ammonium formate (10mM, pH 4.5) (50:50, v/v). The analytes was detected using an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction-monitoring mode. The standard curve was linear (r=0.998) over the concentration range of 2.0-200 ng/ml. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranged from 2.8 to 7.8 and 6.7 to 8.9%, respectively. The recoveries of tiropramide ranged from 50.2 to 53.1%, with that of cisapride (internal standard) being 60.9+/-5.3%. The lower limit of quantification for tiropramide was 2.0 ng/ml using 100 microl plasma sample. This method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of tiropramide in human.

  9. Identification and analysis of gastrodin and its five metabolites using ultra fast liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry to investigate influence of multiple-dose and food.

    PubMed

    Jia, Yuanwei; Shen, Jie; Li, Xin; Xie, Haitang; Wang, Junsong; Luo, Jun; Wang, Kelvin D G; Liu, Qingwang; Kong, Lingyi

    2014-09-05

    A reliable and highly sensitive ultra performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-ESI-MS/MS) analytical method was developed for identification and quantification of gastrodin (GAS) and its metabolites in rat plasma. Five metabolites were identified: p-formylphenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (M1), p-hydroxybenzonic acid (M2), p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (M3), p-formaldehydephenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (M4), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (M5). The molecular structures of metabolites were proposed based on the characters of their precursor ions, product ions and chromatographic retention time. Four of them were reported firstly in rat plasma. This method involved the addition of bergeninum as the internal standard (IS), UFLC separation, and quantification by MS/MS system using negative electrospray ionization in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The lower limit of quantification of gastrodin and five metabolites were all 1ng/mL. The method was linear in the concentration range of 0.001-10μg/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions (R.S.D %) were within 15.0% for all analytes. No interference was noted due to endogenous substances. All analytes were stable in rat plasma stored at room temperature and 4°C for at least 4h, -20°C combined with three freeze-thaw cycles for at least 1 month. By this method, the influence of multiple-dose and food on the pharmacokinetics behaviors of GAS and its metabolites were studied for the first time. We hope pharmacokinetic data of present study may inspire rational clinical usage of GAS. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Targeted analysis and determination of β-agonists, hormones, glucocorticoid and psychiatric drugs in feed by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Yufei; Xie, Shuyu; Chen, Dongmei; Pan, Yuanhu; Qu, Wei; Wang, Xu; Liu, Zhenli; Peng, Dapeng; Huang, Lingli; Tao, Yanfei; Yuan, Zonghui

    2016-07-01

    A comprehensive strategy combining a quantitative method was developed for 30 banned drugs including β-agonists, hormones, glucocorticoid and psychiatric drugs in swine and chicken feeds. This rapid, simple and effective extraction method was based on matrix solid-phase dispersion and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The quantitative method was validated after previous statistical optimization of the main parameters of matrix solid-phase dispersion. The limit of quantification of dopamine hydrochloride, chlormadinone acetate, melengestrol acetate, testosterone propionate, nandrolone and midazolam was 2 μg/kg and that of the other 24 drugs was 1 μg/kg. The recoveries of β-agonists, hormones, glucocorticoid and psychiatric drugs spiked in swine and chicken feeds at a concentration range of 1-8 μg/kg were above 70.1% with inter-day relative standard deviations less than 15.8%. The analytical strategy was applied to 100 feed samples collected from a local market in Wuhan (China). Clenbuterol, ractopamine and melengestrol acetate were identified and quantified at the level 0.2∼3.5 μg/kg. The rapid and reliable method can be used to efficiently separate, characterize and quantify the residues of 30 banned drugs in swine and chicken feeds with advantages of simple pretreatment and environmental friendly nature. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Enhancing the chemical selectivity in discovery-based analysis with tandem ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography.

    PubMed

    Freye, Chris E; Moore, Nicholas R; Synovec, Robert E

    2018-02-16

    The complementary information provided by tandem ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TI-TOFMS) is investigated for comparative discovery-based analysis, when coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC). The TI conditions implemented were a hard ionization energy (70 eV) concurrently collected with a soft ionization energy (14 eV). Tile-based Fisher ratio (F-ratio) analysis is used to analyze diesel fuel spiked with twelve analytes at a nominal concentration of 50 ppm. F-ratio analysis is a supervised discovery-based technique that compares two different sample classes, in this case spiked and unspiked diesel, to reduce the complex GC × GC-TI-TOFMS data into a hit list of class distinguishing analyte features. Hit lists of the 70 eV and 14 eV data sets, and the single hit list produced when the two data sets are fused together, are all investigated. For the 70 eV hit list, eleven of the twelve analytes were found in the top thirteen hits. For the 14 eV hit list, nine of the twelve analytes were found in the top nine hits, with the other three analytes either not found or well down the hit list. As expected, the F-ratios per m/z used to calculate each average F-ratio per hit were generally smaller fragment ions for the 70 eV data set, while the larger fragment ions were emphasized in the 14 eV data set, supporting the notion that complementary information was provided. The discovery rate was improved when F-ratio analysis was performed on the fused data sets resulted in eleven of the twelve analytes being at the top of the single hit list. Using PARAFAC, analytes that were "discovered" were deconvoluted in order to obtain their identification via match values (MV). Location of the analytes and the "F-ratio spectra" obtained from F-ratio analysis were used to guide the deconvolution. Eight of the twelve analytes where successfully deconvoluted and identified using the in-house library for the 70

  12. Ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of alkylphenols in soil.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jing; Pan, Hefang; Liu, Zhengzheng; Ge, Fei

    2009-03-20

    A novel method has been developed for the determination of alkylphenols in soil by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography employing small particle sizes, combined with tandem mass spectrometry. Soil samples were extracted with pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and then cleaned with solid-phase extraction (SPE). The extracts were separated on C18 column (1.7 microm, 50 mm x 2.1mm) with a gradient elution and a mobile phase consisting of water and acetonitrile, and then detected by an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in negative ion mode with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Compared with traditional liquid chromatography, it took ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography much less time to analyze alkylphenols. Additionally, the ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method produces satisfactory reliability, sensitivity, and accuracy. The average recoveries of the three target analytes were 74.0-103.4%, with the RSD<15%. The calibration curves for alkylphenols were linear within the range of 0.01-0.4 microg/ml, with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. When 10 g soil sample was used for analysis, the limits of quantification (LOQs) of the three alkylphenols were all 1.0 microg/kg.

  13. Relationships between structure, ionization profile and sensitivity of exogenous anabolic steroids under electrospray ionization and analysis in human urine using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Cha, Eunju; Kim, Sohee; Kim, Hee Won; Lee, Kang Mi; Kim, Ho Jun; Kwon, Oh-Seung; Lee, Jaeick

    2016-04-01

    The relationships between the ionization profile, sensitivity, and structures of 64 exogenous anabolic steroids (groups I-IV) was investigated under electrospray ionization (ESI) conditions. The target analytes were ionized as [M + H](+) or [M + H-nH2 O](+) in the positive mode, and these ions were used as precursor ions for selected reaction monitoring analysis. The collision energy and Q3 ions were optimized based on the sensitivity and selectivity. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.05-20 ng/mL for the 64 steroids. The LODs for 38 compounds, 14 compounds and 12 compounds were in the range of 0.05-1, 2-5 and 10-20 ng/mL, respectively. Steroids including the conjugated keto-functional group at C3 showed good proton affinity and stability, and generated the [M + H](+) ion as the most abundant precursor ion. In addition, the LODs of steroids using the [M + H](+) ion as the precursor ion were mostly distributed at low concentrations. In contrast, steroids containing conjugated/unconjugated hydroxyl functional groups at C3 generated [M + H - H2 O](+) or [M + H - 2H2 O](+) ions, and these steroids showed relatively high LODs owing to poor stability and multiple ion formation. An LC-MS/MS method based on the present ionization profile was developed and validated for the determination of 78 steroids (groups I-V) in human urine. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. [Simultaneous determination of four alkaloids in Corydalis decumbens (Thunb.) Pers. by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Shen, Yan; Han, Chao; Liu, Cuiping; Zhou, Yongfang; Xia, Biqi; Zhu, Zhenou; Liu, Aili

    2011-02-01

    A method for the analysis of 4 alkaloids in Corydalis decumbens (Thunb.) Pers. was developed by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The sample was extracted in methanol by ultrasonic, filtered and diluted with methanol for further analysis. The analysis was performed on a C18 column (150 mm x 2.1 mm, 3.5 microm) using a gradient elution program with the mobile phase of 0.2% acetic acid solution and acetonitrile. The analyte was determined by an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode. The qualitative and quantitative analyses were based on the retention times and characteristic ion pairs consisting of one parent ion and two fragment ions of the analyte. The limits of detection (LODs) for 4 alkaloids were in the range of 0.02 - 0.2 microg/L, and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 0.07 - 0.66 microg/L. The average recoveries were in the range of 93.6% - 103.5% for 4 alkaloids with the relative standard deviations below 3.8%. This method is reliable, sensitive and reproducible, and it can be used for the quality control of Corydalis decumbens (Thunb.) Pers. sample.

  15. Simultaneous determination of carboprost methylate and its active metabolite carboprost in dog plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with positive/negative ion-switching electrospray ionization and its application to a pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Yin, Lei; Meng, Xiangjun; Zhou, Xiaotong; Zhang, Tinglan; Sun, Heping; Yang, Zhichao; Yang, Bo; Xiao, Ning; Fawcett, J Paul; Yang, Yan; Gu, Jingkai

    2015-08-15

    A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method using positive/negative electrospray ionization (ESI) switching for the simultaneous quantitation of carboprost methylate and carboprost in dog plasma has been developed and validated. After screening, the esterase inhibitor, dichlorvos was added to the whole blood at a ratio of 1:99 (v/v) to stabilize carboprost methylate during blood collection, sample storage and LLE. Indomethacin was added to plasma to inhibit prostaglandins synthesis after sampling. After liquid-liquid extraction of 500μL plasma with ethyl ether-dichloromethane (75:25, v/v), analytes and internal standard (IS), alprostadil-d4, were chromatographed on a CAPCELL PAK Phenyl column (150×2.0mm, 5μm) using acetonitrile-5mM ammonium acetate as mobile phase. Carboprost methylate was detected by positive ion electrospray ionization followed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of the transition at m/z 400.5→329.3; the carboprost and IS were detected by negative ion electrospray ionization followed by MRM of the transitions at m/z 367.2→323.2, and 357.1→321.2, respectively. The method was linear for both analytes in the concentration range 0.05-30ng/mL with intra- and inter-day precisions (as relative standard deviation) of ≤6.75% and accuracy (as relative error) of ≤7.21% and limit of detection (LOD) values were 10 and 20pg/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of the analytes in beagle dogs after intravaginal administration of a suppository containing 0.5mg carboprost methylate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Comprehensive analysis of pyrimidine metabolism in 450 children with unspecific neurological symptoms using high-pressure liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Schmidt, C; Hofmann, U; Kohlmüller, D; Mürdter, T; Zanger, U M; Schwab, M; Hoffmann, G F

    2005-01-01

    To evaluate the significance of inborn metabolic disorders of the pyrimidine degradation pathway, 450 children with unspecific neurological symptoms were comprehensively studied; 200 healthy children were recruited as controls. Uracil and thymine as well as their degradation products in urine were determined with an improved method based on reversed-phase HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and detection by multiple-reaction monitoring using stable-isotope-labelled reference compounds as internal standards. From the results of the control group we established age-related reference ranges of all pyrimidine degradation products. In the patient group, two children with dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) deficiency were identified; one of these was homozygous for the exon 14-skipping mutation of the DPYD gene. In addition, two patients with high uracil, dihydrouracil and beta-ureidopropionate were found to have ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency. In the urine of 9 patients, beta-alanine was markedly elevated owing to treatment with vigabatrin, an irreversible inhibitor of GABA transaminase, which interferes with beta-alanine breakdown. Four patients had exclusively high levels of beta-aminoisobutyrate (beta-AIB) due to a low activity of the D-beta-AIB-pyruvate aminotransferase, probably without clinical significance. In conclusion, quantitative investigation of pyrimidine metabolites in children with unexplained neurological symptoms, particularly epileptic seizures with or without psychomotor retardation, can be recommended as a helpful tool for diagnosis in clinical practice. Sensitive methods and age-related reference ranges enable the detection of partial enzyme deficiencies.

  17. [Determination of 49 drugs and 5 metabolites in drinking water samples using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Wang, Shuo; Zhang, Xiangming; Zhang, Jing; Shao, Bing; Li, Shuming

    2015-07-01

    A method for the determination of 54 drugs in drinking water samples was developed by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI MS/MS). The target drugs in drinking water samples were enriched and cleaned-up by HLB solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges and then eluted with 5 mL methanol. The elute was collected, concentrated under a gentle stream of nitrogen gas, diluted with 0.4 mL 0.1% formic acid solution, and analyzed by UPLC-ESI MS/MS. The separation of the 54 drugs was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC™ BEH C18 column using mobile phases of 0.1% formic acid and methanol by gradient elution. The multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was employed in mass spectrometry acquisition. The matrix-matched external standard calibration was used for quantitation. The results showed that the average recoveries of the drugs in ground water, tap water and surface water were 58.7%-104.4%, 53.1%-109.5%, and 50.7%-118.8%, respectively, and the corresponding relative standard deviations (RSD, n=6) were 0.3%-12.8%, 1.0%-15.5%, and 0.4%-19.3%, respectively. The method quantification limits (MQL) for target compounds were in the range of 0.002-5.000 ng/L. The developed method was applied to analyze the water samples from Beijing. The results showed that 26 drugs were detected in ground water samples.

  18. Orthogonal tandem catalysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lohr, Tracy L.; Marks, Tobin J.

    2015-05-20

    Tandem catalysis is a growing field that is beginning to yield important scientific and technological advances toward new and more efficient catalytic processes. 'One-pot' tandem reactions, where multiple catalysts and reagents, combined in a single reaction vessel undergo a sequence of precisely staged catalytic steps, are highly attractive from the standpoint of reducing both waste and time. Orthogonal tandem catalysis is a subset of one-pot reactions in which more than one catalyst is used to promote two or more mechanistically distinct reaction steps. This Perspective summarizes and analyses some of the recent developments and successes in orthogonal tandem catalysis, withmore » particular focus on recent strategies to address catalyst incompatibility. We also highlight the concept of thermodynamic leveraging by coupling multiple catalyst cycles to effect challenging transformations not observed in single-step processes, and to encourage application of this technique to energetically unfavourable or demanding reactions.« less

  19. Analysis of trichloroethylene-induced global DNA hypomethylation in hepatic L-02 cells by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Hang; Hong, Wen-Xu; Ye, Jinbo; Yang, Xifei; Ren, Xiaohu; Huang, Aibo; Yang, Linqing; Zhou, Li; Huang, Haiyan; Wu, Desheng; Huang, Xinfeng; Zhuang, Zhixiong; Liu, Jianjun

    2014-04-04

    Trichloroethylene (TCE), a major occupational and environmental pollutant, has been recently associated with aberrant epigenetic changes in experimental animals and cultured cells. TCE is known to cause severe hepatotoxicity; however, the association between epigenetic alterations and TCE-induced hepatotoxicity are not yet well explored. DNA methylation, catalyzed by enzymes known as DNA methyltransferases (DNMT), is a major epigenetic modification that plays a critical role in regulating many cellular processes. In this study, we analyzed the TCE-induced effect on global DNA methylation and DNMT enzymatic activity in human hepatic L-02 cells. A sensitive and quantitative method combined with liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) was validated and utilized for assessing the altered DNA methylation in TCE-induced L-02 cells. Quantification was accomplished in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode by monitoring a transition pair of m/z 242.1 (molecular ion)/126.3 (fragment ion) for 5-mdC and m/z 268.1/152.3 for dG. The correlation coefficient of calibration curves between 5-mdC and dG was higher than 0.9990. The intra-day and inter-day relative standard derivation values (RSD) were on the range of 0.53-7.09% and 0.40-2.83%, respectively. We found that TCE exposure was able to significantly decrease the DNA methylation and inhibit DNMT activity in L-02 cells. Our results not only reveal the association between TCE exposure and epigenetic alterations, but also provide an alternative mass spectrometry-based method for rapid and accurate assessment of chemical-induced altered DNA methylation in mammal cells. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. On an Aerodynamic Mechanism to Enhance Ion Transmission and Sensitivity of FAIMS for Nano-Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prasad, Satendra; Belford, Michael W.; Dunyach, Jean-Jacques; Purves, Randy W.

    2014-12-01

    Simulations show that significant ion losses occur within the commercial electrospray ionization-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometer (ESI-FAIMS) interface owing to an angular desolvation gas flow and because of the impact of the FAIMS carrier gas onto the inner rf (radio frequency) electrode. The angular desolvation gas flow diverts ions away from the entrance plate orifice while the carrier gas annihilates ions onto the inner rf electrode. A novel ESI-FAIMS interface is described that optimizes FAIMS gas flows resulting in large improvements in transmission. Simulations with the bromochloroacetate anion showed an improvement of ~9-fold to give ~70% overall transmission). Comparable transmission improvements were attained experimentally for six peptides (2+) in the range of m/z 404.2 to 653.4 at a chromatographic flow rate of 300 nL/min. Selected ion chromatograms (SIC) from nano-LC-FAIMS-MS analyses showed 71% (HLVDEPQNLIK, m/z 653.4, 2+) to 95% (LVNELTEFAK, m/z 582.3, 2+) of ion signal compared with ion signal in the SIC from LC-MS analysis. IGSEVYHNLK (580.3, 2+) showed 24% more ion signal compared with LC-MS and is explained by enhanced desolvation in FAIMS. A 3-10 times lower limits of quantitation (LOQ) (<15% RSD) was achieved for chemical noise limited peaks with FAIMS. Peaks limited by ion statistics showed subtle improvement in RSD and yielded comparable LOQ to that attained with nano-LC-MS (without FAIMS). These improvements were obtained using a reduced FAIMS separation gap (from 2.5 to 1.5 mm) that results in a shorter residence time (13.2 ms ± 3.9 ms) and enables the use of a helium free transport gas (100% nitrogen).

  1. Simultaneous determination of five minor coumarins and flavonoids in Glycyrrhiza uralensis by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Qiao, Xue; Liu, Chun-Fang; Ji, Shuai; Lin, Xiong-Hao; Guo, De-An; Ye, Min

    2014-02-01

    Minor phenolic compounds in licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) have recently been proved for diverse bioactivities and favorable bioavailability, indicating that they may play an important role in the therapeutic effects or herb-drug interactions of licorice. However, so far, their abundance in licorice remains unknown. In this study, a reliable solid-phase extraction coupled with a high-performance liquid chromatography and diode array detection method was established to determine the minor phenolic compounds in licorice. The analytes were enriched by a three-step solid-phase extraction method, and then separated on a YMC ODS-A column by gradient elution. Five coumarins and flavonoids were identified by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, and then quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography and diode array detection. The amounts of glycycoumarin, dehydroglyasperin C, glycyrol, licoflavonol, and glycyrin in G. uralensis were 0.81 ± 0.28, 1.25 ± 0.59, 0.20 ± 0.08, 0.12 ± 0.04, and 0.17 ± 0.08 mg/g, respectively. Abundances of these compounds in other Glycyrrhiza species (G. glabra, G. inflata, and G. yunnanesis) were remarkably lower than G. uralensis. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  2. High work function transparent middle electrode for organic tandem solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moet, D. J. D.; de Bruyn, P.; Blom, P. W. M.

    2010-04-01

    The use of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) in combination with ZnO as middle electrode in solution-processed organic tandem solar cells requires a pH modification of the PEDOT:PSS dispersion. We demonstrate that this neutralization leads to a reduced work function of PEDOT:PSS, which does not affect the performance of polythiophene:fullerene solar cells, but results in a lower open-circuit voltage of devices based on a polyfluorene derivative with a higher ionization potential. The introduction of a thin layer of a perfluorinated ionomer recovers the anode work function and gives an open-circuit voltage of 1.92 V for a double junction polyfluorene-based solar cell.

  3. Purification and identification of corn peptides that facilitate alcohol metabolism by semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography and nano liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Ma, Zhi-Li; Hou, Tao; Shi, Wen; Liu, Wei-Wei; Ibrahim, Salam A; He, Hui

    2016-11-01

    In this study, peptides that facilitate alcohol metabolism were purified and identified from corn protein hydrolysates. The ultra-filtered fraction with a molecular weight < 3 kDa (F3) potential activity was separated into six fractions (F3-H1-F3-H6) by semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Among the resultant six fractions, F3-H4 and F3-H5 exhibited the highest ability to eliminate alcohol in vivo. A total of 16 peptides with strong signal values were identified from F3-H4 and F3-H5 fractions by nano liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Several identified peptides were then selected and synthesized to determine their potential to facilitate alcohol metabolism. We found that Leu-Leu and Pro-Phe were the key structure units in Gln-Leu-Leu-Pro-Phe responsible for this peptide's ability to facilitate alcohol metabolism. However, the role of Leu-Leu and Pro-Phe may be affected by peptide chain length and hydrophobic properties. Our results have thus provided some insight into the study of the structure-activity relationships of corn peptides. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Development of a new multi-residue laser diode thermal desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection and quantification of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in wastewater samples.

    PubMed

    Boisvert, Michel; Fayad, Paul B; Sauvé, Sébastien

    2012-11-19

    A new solid phase extraction (SPE) method coupled to a high throughput sample analysis technique was developed for the simultaneous determination of nine selected emerging contaminants in wastewater (atrazine, desethylatrazine, 17β-estradiol, ethynylestradiol, norethindrone, caffeine, carbamazepine, diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole). We specifically included pharmaceutical compounds from multiple therapeutic classes, as well as pesticides. Sample pre-concentration and clean-up was performed using a mixed-mode SPE cartridge (Strata ABW) having both cation and anion exchange properties, followed by analysis by laser diode thermal desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LDTD-APCI-MS/MS). The LDTD interface is a new high-throughput sample introduction method, which reduces total analysis time to less than 15s per sample as compared to minutes with traditional liquid-chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Several SPE parameters were evaluated in order to optimize recovery efficiencies when extracting analytes from wastewater, such as the nature of the stationary phase, the loading flow rate, the extraction pH, the volume and composition of the washing solution and the initial sample volume. The method was successfully applied to real wastewater samples from the primary sedimentation tank of a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Recoveries of target compounds from wastewater ranged from 78% to 106%, the limit of detection ranged from 30 to 122ng L(-1) while the limit of quantification ranged from 90 to 370ng L(-1). Calibration curves in the wastewater matrix showed good linearity (R(2)≥0.991) for all target analytes and the intraday and interday coefficient of variation was below 15%, reflecting a good precision. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Achieving 15% Tandem Polymer Solar Cells

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-06-23

    solar cell structures – both polymer only and hybrid tandem cells to constantly pushing the envelope of solution processed solar cell ...performance – 11.6% polymer tandem cell , 7% transparent tandem polymer cell , and over 10% PCE hybrid tandem solar cells were achieved. In addition, AFOSR’s...final support also enabled us to explore novel hybrid perovskite solar cells in depth. For example, single junction cell efficiency

  6. Site-specific N-glycosylation analysis: matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization quadrupole-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectral signatures for recognition and identification of glycopeptides.

    PubMed

    Krokhin, Oleg; Ens, Werner; Standing, Kenneth G; Wilkins, John; Perreault, Hélène

    2004-01-01

    The identification of glycosylation sites in proteins is often possible through a combination of proteolytic digestion, separation, mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS (MS/MS). Liquid chromatography (LC) in combination with MS/MS has been a reliable method for detecting glycopeptides in digestion mixtures, and for assigning glycosylation sites and glycopeptide sequences. Direct interfacing of LC with MS relies on electrospray ionization, which produces ions with two, three or four charges for most proteolytic peptides and glycopeptides. MS/MS spectra of such glycopeptide ions often lead to ambiguous interpretation if deconvolution to the singly charged level is not used. In contrast, the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) technique usually produces singly charged peptide and glycopeptide ions. These ions require an extended m/z range, as provided by the quadrupole-quadrupole time-of-flight (QqTOF) instrument used in these experiments, but the main advantages of studying singly charged ions are the simplicity and consistency of the MS/MS spectra. A first aim of the present study is to develop methods to recognize and use glycopeptide [M+H]+ ions as precursors for MS/MS, and thus for glycopeptide/glycoprotein identification as part of wider proteomics studies. Secondly, this article aims at demonstrating the usefulness of MALDI-MS/MS spectra of N-glycopeptides. Mixtures of diverse types of proteins, obtained commercially, were prepared and subjected to reduction, alkylation and tryptic digestion. Micro-column reversed-phase separation allowed deposition of several fractions on MALDI plates, followed by MS and MS/MS analysis of all peptides. Glycopeptide fractions were identified after MS by their specific m/z spacing patterns (162, 203, 291 u) between glycoforms, and then analyzed by MS/MS. In most cases, MS/MS spectra of [M+H]+ ions of glycopeptides featured peaks useful for determining sugar composition, peptide sequence, and thus probable

  7. A method of coupling the Paternò-Büchi reaction with direct infusion ESI-MS/MS for locating the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond in glycerophospholipids.

    PubMed

    Stinson, Craig A; Xia, Yu

    2016-06-21

    Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) coupled with soft ionization is established as an essential platform for lipid analysis; however, determining high order structural information, such as the carbon-carbon double bond (C[double bond, length as m-dash]C) location, remains challenging. Recently, our group demonstrated a method for sensitive and confident lipid C[double bond, length as m-dash]C location determination by coupling online the Paternò-Büchi (PB) reaction with nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) and MS/MS. Herein, we aimed to expand the scope of the PB reaction for lipid analysis by enabling the reaction with infusion ESI-MS/MS at much higher flow rates than demonstrated in the nanoESI setup (∼20 nL min(-1)). In the new design, the PB reaction was effected in a fused silica capillary solution transfer line, which also served as a microflow UV reactor, prior to ESI. This setup allowed PB reaction optimization and kinetics studies. Under optimized conditions, a maximum of 50% PB reaction yield could be achieved for a standard glycerophosphocholine (PC) within 6 s of UV exposure over a wide flow rate range (0.1-10 μL min(-1)). A solvent composition of 7 : 3 acetone : H2O (with 1% acid or base modifier) allowed the highest PB yields and good lipid ionization, while lower yields were obtained with an addition of a variety of organic solvents. Radical induced lipid peroxidation was identified to induce undesirable side reactions, which could be effectively suppressed by eliminating trace oxygen in the solution via N2 purge. Finally, the utility of coupling the PB reaction with infusion ESI-MS/MS was demonstrated by analyzing a yeast polar lipid extract where C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond locations were revealed for 35 glycerophospholipids (GPs).

  8. Identification of organic hydroperoxides and peroxy acids using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS/MS): application to secondary organic aerosol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Shouming; Rivera-Rios, Jean C.; Keutsch, Frank N.; Abbatt, Jonathan P. D.

    2018-05-01

    Molecules with hydroperoxide functional groups are of extreme importance to both the atmospheric and biological chemistry fields. In this work, an analytical method is presented for the identification of organic hydroperoxides and peroxy acids (ROOH) by direct infusion of liquid samples into a positive-ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometer ((+)-APCI-MS/MS). Under collisional dissociation conditions, a characteristic neutral loss of 51 Da (arising from loss of H2O2+NH3) from ammonium adducts of the molecular ions ([M + NH4]+) is observed for ROOH standards (i.e. cumene hydroperoxide, isoprene-4-hydroxy-3-hydroperoxide (ISOPOOH), tert-butyl hydroperoxide, 2-butanone peroxide and peracetic acid), as well as the ROOH formed from the reactions of H2O2 with aldehydes (i.e. acetaldehyde, hexanal, glyoxal and methylglyoxal). This new ROOH detection method was applied to methanol extracts of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) material generated from ozonolysis of α-pinene, indicating a number of ROOH molecules in the SOA material. While the full-scan mass spectrum of SOA demonstrates the presence of monomers (m/z = 80-250), dimers (m/z = 250-450) and trimers (m/z = 450-600), the neutral loss scan shows that the ROOH products all have masses less than 300 Da, indicating that ROOH molecules may not contribute significantly to the SOA oligomeric content. We anticipate this method could also be applied to biological systems with considerable value.

  9. A new technique for high performance tandem time-of- flight mass spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Katz, Daniel Louis

    2001-08-01

    The main result of this written dissertation is a mathematical solution to the problem of multiplex recording for high performance tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The prescription is to use a time-lag accelerator in the second stage to match the ion optical properties of the decay fragments to the requirements of the electrostatic ion mirror. With this technique the ion mirror is able to focus the full mass range of fragment ions at a single voltage setting, permitting acquisition of the entire mass spectrum from a single ionization event. This work was performed in support of a joint project carried out by researchers at Oregon State University and The University of Uppsala, Sweden, to design, build and test a tandem instrument featuring precision selection of the precursor species in the first stage of the spectrometer, a means of fragmenting the precursor species, and multiplex recording of the resulting fragment spectrum in the second stage. A patent application has been filed on the complete instrument with the United States Patent Office, a copy of which has been included as an appendix, and a prototype of that instrument has been constructed and awaits testing at Oregon State University.

  10. Analysis of trimethoprim, lincomycin, sulfadoxin and tylosin in swine manure using laser diode thermal desorption-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Solliec, Morgan; Massé, Daniel; Sauvé, Sébastien

    2014-10-01

    A new extraction method coupled to a high throughput sample analysis technique was developed for the determination of four veterinary antibiotics. The analytes belong to different groups of antibiotics such as chemotherapeutics, sulfonamides, lincosamides and macrolides. Trimethoprim (TMP), sulfadoxin (SFX), lincomycin (LCM) and tylosin (TYL) were extracted from lyophilized manure using a sonication extraction. McIlvaine buffer and methanol (MeOH) were used as extraction buffers, followed by cation-exchange solid phase extraction (SPE) for clean-up. Analysis was performed by laser diode thermal desorption-atmospheric pressure chemical-ionization (LDTD-APCI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) with selected reaction monitoring (SRM) detection. The LDTD is a high throughput sample introduction method that reduces total analysis time to less than 15s per sample, compared to minutes when using traditional liquid chromatography (LC). Various SPE parameters were optimized after sample extraction: the stationary phase, the extraction solvent composition, the quantity of sample extracted and sample pH. LDTD parameters were also optimized: solvent deposition, carrier gas, laser power and corona discharge. The method limit of detection (MLD) ranged from 2.5 to 8.3 µg kg(-1) while the method limit of quantification (MLQ) ranged from 8.3 to 28µgkg(-1). Calibration curves in the manure matrix showed good linearity (R(2)≥ 0.996) for all analytes and the interday and intraday coefficients of variation were below 14%. Recoveries of analytes from manure ranged from 53% to 69%. The method was successfully applied to real manure samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Technique to Access the Information beyond the Molecular Weight of the Analyte

    PubMed Central

    Banerjee, Shibdas; Mazumdar, Shyamalava

    2012-01-01

    The Electrospray Ionization (ESI) is a soft ionization technique extensively used for production of gas phase ions (without fragmentation) of thermally labile large supramolecules. In the present review we have described the development of Electrospray Ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) during the last 25 years in the study of various properties of different types of biological molecules. There have been extensive studies on the mechanism of formation of charged gaseous species by the ESI. Several groups have investigated the origin and implications of the multiple charge states of proteins observed in the ESI-mass spectra of the proteins. The charged analytes produced by ESI can be fragmented by activating them in the gas-phase, and thus tandem mass spectrometry has been developed, which provides very important insights on the structural properties of the molecule. The review will highlight recent developments and emerging directions in this fascinating area of research. PMID:22611397

  12. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: a technique to access the information beyond the molecular weight of the analyte.

    PubMed

    Banerjee, Shibdas; Mazumdar, Shyamalava

    2012-01-01

    The Electrospray Ionization (ESI) is a soft ionization technique extensively used for production of gas phase ions (without fragmentation) of thermally labile large supramolecules. In the present review we have described the development of Electrospray Ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) during the last 25 years in the study of various properties of different types of biological molecules. There have been extensive studies on the mechanism of formation of charged gaseous species by the ESI. Several groups have investigated the origin and implications of the multiple charge states of proteins observed in the ESI-mass spectra of the proteins. The charged analytes produced by ESI can be fragmented by activating them in the gas-phase, and thus tandem mass spectrometry has been developed, which provides very important insights on the structural properties of the molecule. The review will highlight recent developments and emerging directions in this fascinating area of research.

  13. TANDEM: matching proteins with tandem mass spectra.

    PubMed

    Craig, Robertson; Beavis, Ronald C

    2004-06-12

    Tandem mass spectra obtained from fragmenting peptide ions contain some peptide sequence specific information, but often there is not enough information to sequence the original peptide completely. Several proprietary software applications have been developed to attempt to match the spectra with a list of protein sequences that may contain the sequence of the peptide. The application TANDEM was written to provide the proteomics research community with a set of components that can be used to test new methods and algorithms for performing this type of sequence-to-data matching. The source code and binaries for this software are available at http://www.proteome.ca/opensource.html, for Windows, Linux and Macintosh OSX. The source code is made available under the Artistic License, from the authors.

  14. Atmospheric-pressure ionization and fragmentation of peptides by solution-cathode glow discharge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schwartz, Andrew J.; Shelley, Jacob T.; Walton, Courtney L.

    Modern “-omics” (e.g., proteomics, glycomics, metabolomics, etc.) analyses rely heavily on electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry to determine the structural identity of target species. Unfortunately, these methods are limited to specialized mass spectrometry instrumentation. Here in this paper, a novel approach is described that enables ionization and controlled, tunable fragmentation of peptides at atmospheric pressure. In the new source, a direct-current plasma is sustained between a tapered metal rod and a flowing sample-containing solution. As the liquid stream contacts the electrical discharge, peptides from the solution are volatilized, ionized, and fragmented. At high discharge currents (e.g., 70 mA), electrospray-likemore » spectra are observed, dominated by singly and doubly protonated molecular ions. At lower currents (35 mA), many peptides exhibit extensive fragmentation, with a-, b-, c-, x-, and y-type ion series present as well as complex fragments, such as d-type ions, not previously observed with atmospheric-pressure dissociation. Though the mechanism of fragmentation is currently unclear, observations indicate it could result from the interaction of peptides with gas-phase radicals or ultraviolet radiation generated within the plasma.« less

  15. Atmospheric-pressure ionization and fragmentation of peptides by solution-cathode glow discharge

    DOE PAGES

    Schwartz, Andrew J.; Shelley, Jacob T.; Walton, Courtney L.; ...

    2016-06-27

    Modern “-omics” (e.g., proteomics, glycomics, metabolomics, etc.) analyses rely heavily on electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry to determine the structural identity of target species. Unfortunately, these methods are limited to specialized mass spectrometry instrumentation. Here in this paper, a novel approach is described that enables ionization and controlled, tunable fragmentation of peptides at atmospheric pressure. In the new source, a direct-current plasma is sustained between a tapered metal rod and a flowing sample-containing solution. As the liquid stream contacts the electrical discharge, peptides from the solution are volatilized, ionized, and fragmented. At high discharge currents (e.g., 70 mA), electrospray-likemore » spectra are observed, dominated by singly and doubly protonated molecular ions. At lower currents (35 mA), many peptides exhibit extensive fragmentation, with a-, b-, c-, x-, and y-type ion series present as well as complex fragments, such as d-type ions, not previously observed with atmospheric-pressure dissociation. Though the mechanism of fragmentation is currently unclear, observations indicate it could result from the interaction of peptides with gas-phase radicals or ultraviolet radiation generated within the plasma.« less

  16. Easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry combined with thin-layer chromatography.

    PubMed

    Haddad, Renato; Milagre, Humberto M S; Catharino, Rodrigo Ramos; Eberlin, Marcos N

    2008-04-15

    On-spot detection and analyte characterization on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates is performed via ambient desorption/ionization and (tandem) mass spectrometry detection, that is, via easy ambient sonic spray ionization mass spectrometry (EASI-MS). As proof-of-principle cases, mixtures of semipolar nitrogenated compounds as well as pharmaceutical drugs and vegetable oils have been tested. The technique has also been applied to monitor a chemical reaction of synthetic importance. EASI is the simplest and gentlest ambient ionization technique currently available, assisted solely by N2 (or air). It uses no voltages, no electrical discharges; no UV or laser beams, and no high temperature and is most easily implemented in all API mass spectrometers. TLC is also the simplest, fastest, and most easily performed chromatographic technique. TLC plus EASI-MS therefore provide a simple and advantageous combination of chromatographic separation and sensitive detection of the TLC spots as well as on-spot MS or MS/MS characterization. The favorable characteristics of TLC-EASI-MS indicate advantageous applications in several areas such as drug and oil analysis, phytochemistry and synthetic chemistry, forensics via reliable counterfeit detection, and quality control.

  17. Simultaneous extraction of acetylsalicylic acid and salicylic acid from human plasma and simultaneous estimation by liquid chromatography and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/tandem mass spectrometry detection. Application to a pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Nirogi, Ramakrishna; Kandikere, Vishwottam; Mudigonda, Koteshwara; Ajjala, Devender; Suraneni, Ramakrishna; Thoddi, Parthasarathi

    2011-01-01

    A simple analytical method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in atmospheric chemical ionization mode (APCI) for the simultaneous estimation of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, CAS 50-78-2) and its active metabolite salicylic acid (SA, CAS 69-72-7) in human plasma has been developed and validated. ASA and SA were analyzed simultaneously despite differences in plasma concentration ranges of ASA and SA after oral administration of ASA. In spite of having different chemical, ionization and chromatographic properties, ASA and SA were extracted simultaneously from the plasma sample using acetonitrile protein precipitation followed by liquid-liquid extraction. The analytes were separated on a reversed phase column with rapid gradient program using mobile phase consisting of ammonium acetate buffer and methanol. The structural analogue diclofenac was used as an internal standard. The multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions m/z 179 --> 137 for ASA, m/z 137 --> 65 for SA and m/z 294 --> 250 for IS were used. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.02-10 microg/mL for ASA and 0.1-50 microg/mL for SA. The between-batch precision (%CV) ranged from 2.1 to 7.9% for ASA and from 0.2 to 5.2% for SA. The between-batch accuracy ranged from 95.4 to 96.7% for ASA and from 94.6 to 111.3% for SA. The validated method was successfully applied for the evaluation of pharmacokinetics of ASA after single oral administration of 650 mg test formulation versus two 325 mg reference formulations of ASA in human subjects.

  18. Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry of Androgens in Prostate Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Lih, Fred Bjørn; Titus, Mark A.; Mohler, James L.; Tomer, Kenneth B.

    2010-01-01

    Androgen deprivation therapy is the most common treatment option for advanced prostate cancer. Almost all prostate cancers recur during androgen deprivation therapy, and new evidence suggests that androgen receptor activation persists despite castrate levels of circulating androgens. Quantitation of tissue levels of androgens is critical to understanding the mechanism of recurrence of prostate cancer during androgen deprivation therapy. A liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure photoionization tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for quantitation of tissue levels of androgens. Quantitation of the saturated keto-steroids dihydrotestosterone and 5-α-androstanedione required detection of a novel parent ion, [M + 15]+. The nature of this parent ion was explored and the method applied to prostate tissue and cell culture with comparison to results achieved using electrospray ionization. PMID:20560527

  19. Detecting long tandem duplications in genomic sequences.

    PubMed

    Audemard, Eric; Schiex, Thomas; Faraut, Thomas

    2012-05-08

    Detecting duplication segments within completely sequenced genomes provides valuable information to address genome evolution and in particular the important question of the emergence of novel functions. The usual approach to gene duplication detection, based on all-pairs protein gene comparisons, provides only a restricted view of duplication. In this paper, we introduce ReD Tandem, a software using a flow based chaining algorithm targeted at detecting tandem duplication arrays of moderate to longer length regions, with possibly locally weak similarities, directly at the DNA level. On the A. thaliana genome, using a reference set of tandem duplicated genes built using TAIR,(a) we show that ReD Tandem is able to predict a large fraction of recently duplicated genes (dS  <  1) and that it is also able to predict tandem duplications involving non coding elements such as pseudo-genes or RNA genes. ReD Tandem allows to identify large tandem duplications without any annotation, leading to agnostic identification of tandem duplications. This approach nicely complements the usual protein gene based which ignores duplications involving non coding regions. It is however inherently restricted to relatively recent duplications. By recovering otherwise ignored events, ReD Tandem gives a more comprehensive view of existing evolutionary processes and may also allow to improve existing annotations.

  20. [Rapid screening the alkaloids of poppy shell in hot pot condiment, beef noodle soup and seasoning by direct analysis in real time-tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Baile; Gao, Lihong; Xie, Yingshuang; Zhou, Wei; Chen, Xiaofeng; Lei, Chunni; Zhang, Huan

    2017-07-08

    A direct analysis in real time tandem mass spectrometry (DART-MS/MS) method was established for quickly screening five illegally added alkaloids of poppy shell from the hot pot condiment, beef noodle soup and seasoning. The samples were extracted and purified by acetonitrile, and then injected under the conditions of ionization temperature of 300℃, grid electrode voltage of 150 V and sampling rate of 0.8 mm/s using DART in the positive ion mode. The determination was conducted by tandem mass spectrometry in positive ESI mode under multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The method is simple and rapid, and can meet the requirement of rapid screening and analysis of large quantities of samples.

  1. Using precursor ion scan of 184 with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry for concentration normalization in cellular lipidomic studies.

    PubMed

    Chao, Hsi-Chun; Chen, Guan-Yuan; Hsu, Lih-Ching; Liao, Hsiao-Wei; Yang, Sin-Yu; Wang, San-Yuan; Li, Yu-Liang; Tang, Sung-Chun; Tseng, Yufeng Jane; Kuo, Ching-Hua

    2017-06-08

    Cellular lipidomic studies have been favored approaches in many biomedical research areas. To provide fair comparisons of the studied cells, it is essential to perform normalization of the determined concentration before lipidomic analysis. This study proposed a cellular lipidomic normalization method by measuring the phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM) contents in cell extracts. To provide efficient analysis of PC and SM in cell extracts, flow injection analysis-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (FIA-ESI-MS/MS) with a precursor ion scan (PIS) of m/z 184 was used, and the parameters affecting the performance of the method were optimized. Good linearity could be observed between the cell extract dilution factor and the reciprocal of the total ion chromatogram (TIC) area in the PIS of m/z 184 within the dilution range of 1- to 16-fold (R 2  = 0.998). The calibration curve could be used for concentration adjustment of the unknown concentration of a cell extract. The intraday and intermediate precisions were below 10%. The accuracy ranged from 93.0% to 105.6%. The performance of the new normalization method was evaluated using different numbers of HCT-116 cells. Sphingosine, ceramide (d18:1/18:0), SM (d18:1/18:0) and PC (16:1/18:0) were selected as the representative test lipid species, and the results showed that the peak areas of each lipid species obtained from different cell numbers were within a 20% variation after normalization. Finally, the PIS of 184 normalization method was applied to study ischemia-induced neuron injury using oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) on primary neuronal cultured cells. Our results showed that the PIS of 184 normalization method is an efficient and effective approach for concentration normalization in cellular lipidomic studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Unexpected peaks in tandem mass spectra due to reaction of product ions with residual water in mass spectrometer collision cells.

    PubMed

    Neta, Pedatsur; Farahani, Mahnaz; Simón-Manso, Yamil; Liang, Yuxue; Yang, Xiaoyu; Stein, Stephen E

    2014-12-15

    Certain product ions in electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry are found to react with residual water in the collision cell. This reaction often leads to the formation of ions that cannot be formed directly from the precursor ions, and this complicates the mass spectra and may distort MRM (multiple reaction monitoring) results. Various drugs, pesticides, metabolites, and other compounds were dissolved in acetonitrile/water/formic acid and studied by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to record their MS(2) and MS(n) spectra in several mass spectrometers (QqQ, QTOF, IT, and Orbitrap HCD). Certain product ions were found to react with residual water in collision cells. The reaction was confirmed by MS(n) studies and the rate of reaction was determined in the IT instrument using zero collision energy and variable activation times. Examples of product ions reacting with water include phenyl and certain substituted phenyl cations, benzoyl-type cations formed from protonated folic acid and similar compounds by loss of the glutamate moiety, product ions formed from protonated cyclic siloxanes by loss of methane, product ions formed from organic phosphates, and certain negative ions. The reactions of product ions with residual water varied greatly in their rate constant and in the extent of reaction (due to isomerization). Various types of product ions react with residual water in mass spectrometer collision cells. As a result, tandem mass spectra may contain unexplained peaks and MRM results may be distorted by the occurrence of such reactions. These often unavoidable reactions must be taken into account when annotating peaks in tandem mass spectra and when interpreting MRM results. Published in 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published in 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  3. Metabolites identification of harmane in vitro/in vivo in rats by ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Li, Shuping; Liu, Wei; Teng, Liang; Cheng, Xuemei; Wang, Zhengtao; Wang, Changhong

    2014-04-01

    Harmane, a β-carboline alkaloid with a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities, is naturally present in the human diet, in numerous foodstuffs and in hallucinogenic plants such as Peganum harmala, Banisteriopsis caapi and Tribulus terrestris. However, the precise metabolic fate of harmane remains unknown. In order to know whether harmane is extensively metabolized, a rapid and sensitive method using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS) was used to analyze the metabolic profile of harmane in vitro and in vivo in rats. A total of 21 metabolites were identified from the rat liver microsomes and rat liver S9 (9), rat urine (11), feces (16), bile (16), and plasma (10) after a single oral administration of harmane using MetaboLynx™ and MassFragment ™ software tools. It indicated that the biliary and faecal clearance were the major excretion routes for harmane as well as its metabolites. The specific CLogP values combined with different acidic and alkaline mobile phase were helpful and useful for distinguishing N-oxidation and monohydroxylation metabolites. The metabolic transformation pathways of harmane included monohydroxylation, dihydroxylation, N-oxidation, O-glucuronide conjugation, O-sulphate conjugation, and glutathione conjugation. In conclusion, this study showed an insight into the metabolism of harmane. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Qualitative analysis of seized synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones by gas chromatography triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Gwak, Seongshin; Arroyo-Mora, Luis E; Almirall, José R

    2015-02-01

    Designer drugs are analogues or derivatives of illicit drugs with a modification of their chemical structure in order to circumvent current legislation for controlled substances. Designer drugs of abuse have increased dramatically in popularity all over the world for the past couple of years. Currently, the qualitative seized-drug analysis is mainly performed by gas chromatography-electron ionization-mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS) in which most of these emerging designer drug derivatives are extensively fragmented not presenting a molecular ion in their mass spectra. The absence of molecular ion and/or similar fragmentation pattern among these derivatives may cause the equivocal identification of unknown seized-substances. In this study, the qualitative identification of 34 designer drugs, mainly synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones, were performed by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole-tandem mass spectrometry with two different ionization techniques, including electron ionization (EI) and chemical ionization (CI) only focusing on qualitative seized-drug analysis, not from the toxicological point of view. The implementation of CI source facilitates the determination of molecular mass and the identification of seized designer drugs. Developed multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode may increase sensitivity and selectivity in the analysis of seized designer drugs. In addition, CI mass spectra and MRM mass spectra of these designer drug derivatives can be used as a potential supplemental database along with EI mass spectral database. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Characterization of physalins and fingerprint analysis for the quality evaluation of Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii by ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with diode array detection and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Yunliang; Luan, Lianjun; Chen, Yong; Ren, Yiping; Wu, Yongjiang

    2012-12-01

    Physalins are important bioactive compounds from genus Physalis. They often occur as isomers, which makes the structural elucidation difficult. In the present study, the fragmentation behavior and UV characteristics of seven physalins from genus Physalis were firstly investigated using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) and diode array detection (DAD). Combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and DAD, the established approach to the structural identification of physalins by ESI-MS/MS was then applied to the analysis of Physalis alkekengi L. According to the UPLC retention behavior, the diagnostic UV spectra and the molecular structural information provided by MS/MS spectra, about 19 fingerprint peaks were identified, including 14 physalins and 5 other compounds. Finally, the established fingerprint method was applied to the analysis of 31 P. alkekengi L. samples collected from different locations, which reflected their similar chemical constituent properties. The proposed method provides a scientific and technical platform to the herbal industry for quality control and safety assurance of herbal preparations that contain this class of physalins. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Enhanced signal generation for use in the analysis of synthetic pyrethroids using chemical ionization tandem quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Sichilongo, Kwenga

    2004-12-01

    Synthetic pyrethroids fragment extensively under electron ionization (EI) conditions to give low mass ions, most of them with the same m/z ratios. This fragmentation is primarily due to the labile ester linkage found in these compounds. In this research we established the best gas chromatography (GC) conditions in the EI mode that served as a benchmark in the development of a chemical ionization (CI) protocol for ten selected synthetic pyrethroids. Based on proton affinity data, several reagent gases were evaluated in the positive CI ionization mode. Methanol was found to produce higher average ion counts relative to the other gases evaluated, which led to the development of an optimized method consisting of selective ejection chemical ionization (SECI) and MS/MS. Standard stainless steel ion trap electrodes produced significant degradation of chromatographic performance on late eluting compounds, which was attributed to electrode surface chemistry. A dramatic improvement in signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios was observed when the chromatographically inert Silcosteel coated electrodes were used. The resulting method, that has significant S/N ratio improvements resulting from a combination of septum programmable injections (SPI), optimized CI and inert Silcosteel-coated electrodes, was used to determine instrument detection limits.

  7. Rapid, simultaneous and nanomolar determination of pyroglutamic acid and cis-/trans-urocanic acid in human stratum corneum by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Joo, Kyung-Mi; Han, Ji Yeon; Son, Eui Dong; Nam, Gae-Won; Chung, Han Young; Jeong, Hye-Jin; Cho, Jun-Cheol; Lim, Kyung-Min

    2012-05-15

    A rapid, sensitive and specific hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometric (HILIC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of pyroglutamic acid, cis- and trans-urocanic acid in human skin stratum corneum (SC) were developed and validated. This method was carried out without derivatization or addition of ion-pair additives in mobile phase. The analytes were extracted by PBS buffer solution and analyzed using an electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Chromatographic separation was performed on an AQUITY UPLC amide column using gradient elution with the mobile phase of water and acetonitrile. The standard curves were linear over the concentration range of 1.0-250 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.999 with an LLOQ of 0.5 ng/mL. The lower limits of detection (LLOD) of these analytes were lower than 0.2 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precisions were measured to be below 7.7% and accuracies were within the range of 94.3-102.6%. The validated method was successfully applied to determine the level of pyroglutamic acid and cis-/trans-urocanic acid in the SC samples from forearm and forehead region of 19 human volunteers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Short Tandem Repeat DNA Internet Database

    National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

    SRD 130 Short Tandem Repeat DNA Internet Database (Web, free access)   Short Tandem Repeat DNA Internet Database is intended to benefit research and application of short tandem repeat DNA markers for human identity testing. Facts and sequence information on each STR system, population data, commonly used multiplex STR systems, PCR primers and conditions, and a review of various technologies for analysis of STR alleles have been included.

  9. Reactions of hydroxyalkyl radicals with cysteinyl peptides in a nanoESI plume.

    PubMed

    Stinson, Craig A; Xia, Yu

    2014-07-01

    In biological systems, carbon-centered small molecule radicals are primarily formed via external radiation or internal radical reactions. These radical species can react with a variety of biomolecules, most notably nucleic acids, the consequence of which has possible links to gene mutation and cancer. Sulfur-containing peptides and proteins are reactive toward a variety of radical species and many of them behave as radical scavengers. In this study, the reactions between alkyl alcohol carbon-centered radicals (e.g., •CH2OH for methanol) and cysteinyl peptides within a nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) plume were explored. The reaction system involved ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of a nanoESI plume using a low pressure mercury lamp consisting of 185 and 254 nm emission bands. The alkyl alcohol was added as solvent into the nanoESI solution and served as the precursor of hydroxyalkyl radicals upon UV irradiation. The hydroxyalkyl radicals subsequently reacted with cysteinyl peptides either containing a disulfide linkage or free thiol, which led to the formation of peptide-S-hydroxyalkyl product. This radical reaction coupled with subsequent MS/MS was shown to have analytical potential by cleaving intrachain disulfide linked peptides prior to CID to enhance sequence information. Tandem mass spectrometry via collision-induced dissociation (CID), stable isotope labeling, and accurate mass measurement were employed to verify the identities of the reaction products.

  10. Reactions of Hydroxyalkyl Radicals with Cysteinyl Peptides in a NanoESI Plume

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stinson, Craig A.; Xia, Yu

    2014-07-01

    In biological systems, carbon-centered small molecule radicals are primarily formed via external radiation or internal radical reactions. These radical species can react with a variety of biomolecules, most notably nucleic acids, the consequence of which has possible links to gene mutation and cancer. Sulfur-containing peptides and proteins are reactive toward a variety of radical species and many of them behave as radical scavengers. In this study, the reactions between alkyl alcohol carbon-centered radicals (e.g., •CH2OH for methanol) and cysteinyl peptides within a nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) plume were explored. The reaction system involved ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of a nanoESI plume using a low pressure mercury lamp consisting of 185 and 254 nm emission bands. The alkyl alcohol was added as solvent into the nanoESI solution and served as the precursor of hydroxyalkyl radicals upon UV irradiation. The hydroxyalkyl radicals subsequently reacted with cysteinyl peptides either containing a disulfide linkage or free thiol, which led to the formation of peptide- S-hydroxyalkyl product. This radical reaction coupled with subsequent MS/MS was shown to have analytical potential by cleaving intrachain disulfide linked peptides prior to CID to enhance sequence information. Tandem mass spectrometry via collision-induced dissociation (CID), stable isotope labeling, and accurate mass measurement were employed to verify the identities of the reaction products.

  11. Estimating the Efficiency of Phosphopeptide Identification by Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsu, Chuan-Chih; Xue, Liang; Arrington, Justine V.; Wang, Pengcheng; Paez Paez, Juan Sebastian; Zhou, Yuan; Zhu, Jian-Kang; Tao, W. Andy

    2017-06-01

    Mass spectrometry has played a significant role in the identification of unknown phosphoproteins and sites of phosphorylation in biological samples. Analyses of protein phosphorylation, particularly large scale phosphoproteomic experiments, have recently been enhanced by efficient enrichment, fast and accurate instrumentation, and better software, but challenges remain because of the low stoichiometry of phosphorylation and poor phosphopeptide ionization efficiency and fragmentation due to neutral loss. Phosphoproteomics has become an important dimension in systems biology studies, and it is essential to have efficient analytical tools to cover a broad range of signaling events. To evaluate current mass spectrometric performance, we present here a novel method to estimate the efficiency of phosphopeptide identification by tandem mass spectrometry. Phosphopeptides were directly isolated from whole plant cell extracts, dephosphorylated, and then incubated with one of three purified kinases—casein kinase II, mitogen-activated protein kinase 6, and SNF-related protein kinase 2.6—along with 16O4- and 18O4-ATP separately for in vitro kinase reactions. Phosphopeptides were enriched and analyzed by LC-MS. The phosphopeptide identification rate was estimated by comparing phosphopeptides identified by tandem mass spectrometry with phosphopeptide pairs generated by stable isotope labeled kinase reactions. Overall, we found that current high speed and high accuracy mass spectrometers can only identify 20%-40% of total phosphopeptides primarily due to relatively poor fragmentation, additional modifications, and low abundance, highlighting the urgent need for continuous efforts to improve phosphopeptide identification efficiency. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  12. Analysis of selected antibiotics in surface freshwater and seawater using direct injection in liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Bayen, Stéphane; Yi, Xinzhu; Segovia, Elvagris; Zhou, Zhi; Kelly, Barry C

    2014-04-18

    Emerging contaminants such as antibiotics have received recent attention as they have been detected in natural waters and health concerns over potential antibiotic resistance. With the purpose to investigate fast and high-throughput analysis, and eventually the continuous on-line analysis of emerging contaminants, this study presents results on the analysis of seven selected antibiotics (sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, lincomycin, tylosin) in surface freshwater and seawater using direct injection of a small sample volume (20μL) in liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Notably, direct injection of seawater in the LC-ESI-MS/MS was made possible on account of the post-column switch on the system, which allows diversion of salt-containing solutions flushed out of the column to the waste. Mean recoveries based on the isotope dilution method average 95±14% and 96±28% amongst the compounds for spiked freshwater and seawater, respectively. Linearity across six spiking levels was assessed and the response was linear (r(2)>0.99) for all compounds. Direct injection concentrations were compared for real samples to those obtained with the conventional SPE-based analysis and both techniques concurs on the presence/absence and levels of the compounds in real samples. These results suggest direct injection is a reliable method to detect antibiotics in both freshwater and seawater. Method detection limits for the direct injection technique (37pg/L to 226ng/L in freshwater, and from 16pg/to 26ng/L in seawater) are sufficient for a number of environmental applications, for example the fast screening of water samples for ecological risk assessments. In the present study of real samples, this new method allowed for example the positive detection of some compounds (e.g. lincomycin) down to the sub ng/L range. The direct injection method appears to be relatively cheaper and faster

  13. Quantitation of 13 heterocyclic aromatic amines in cooked beef, pork, and chicken by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Ni, Weijuan; McNaughton, Lynn; LeMaster, David M; Sinha, Rashmi; Turesky, Robert J

    2008-01-09

    The concentrations of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) were determined, by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS), in 26 samples of beef, pork, and chicken cooked to various levels of doneness. The HAAs identified were 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5- f]quinoline, 2-amino-1-methylimidazo[4,5- b]quinoline, 2-amino-1-methylimidazo[4,5- g]quinoxaline (I gQx), 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5- f]quinoxaline, 2-amino-1,7-dimethylimidazo[4,5- g]quinoxaline (7-MeI gQx), 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5- f]quinoxaline, 2-amino-1,6-dimethyl-furo[3,2- e]imidazo[4,5- b]pyridine, 2-amino-1,6,7-trimethylimidazo[4,5- g]quinoxaline, 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo[4,5- f]quinoxaline, 2-amino-1,7,9-trimethylimidazo[4,5- g]quinoxaline, 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (PhIP), 2-amino-9 H-pyrido[2,3- b]indole, and 2-amino-3-methyl-9 H-pyrido[2,3- b]indole. The concentrations of these compounds ranged from <0.03 to 305 parts per billion (micrograms per kilogram). PhIP was the most abundant HAA formed in very well done barbecued chicken (up to 305 microg/kg), broiled bacon (16 microg/kg), and pan-fried bacon (4.9 microg/kg). 7-MeI gQx was the most abundant HAA formed in very well done pan-fried beef and steak, and in beef gravy, at concentrations up to 30 microg/kg. Several other linear tricyclic ring HAAs containing the I gQx skeleton are formed at concentrations in cooked meats that are relatively high in comparison to the concentrations of their angular tricyclic ring isomers, the latter of which are known experimental animal carcinogens and potential human carcinogens. The toxicological properties of these recently discovered I gQx derivatives warrant further investigation and assessment.

  14. Characterization of Nα-Fmoc-protected dipeptide isomers by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)): effect of protecting group on fragmentation of dipeptides.

    PubMed

    Ramesh, M; Raju, B; Srinivas, R; Sureshbabu, V V; Vishwanatha, T M; Hemantha, H P

    2011-07-30

    A series of positional isomeric pairs of Fmoc-protected dipeptides, Fmoc-Gly-Xxx-OY/Fmoc-Xxx-Gly-OY (Xxx=Ala, Val, Leu, Phe) and Fmoc-Ala-Xxx-OY/Fmoc-Xxx-Ala-OY (Xxx=Leu, Phe) (Fmoc=[(9-fluorenylmethyl)oxy]carbonyl) and Y=CH(3)/H), have been characterized and differentiated by both positive and negative ion electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-IT-MS(n)). In contrast to the behavior of reported unprotected dipeptide isomers which mainly produce y(1)(+) and/or a(1)(+) ions, the protonated Fmoc-Xxx-Gly-OY, Fmoc-Ala-Xxx-OY and Fmoc-Xxx-Ala-OY yield significant b(1)(+) ions. These ions are formed, presumably with stable protonated aziridinone structures. However, the peptides with Gly- at the N-terminus do not form b(1)(+) ions. The [M+H](+) ions of all the peptides undergo a McLafferty-type rearrangement followed by loss of CO(2) to form [M+H-Fmoc+H](+). The MS(3) collision-induced dissociation (CID) of these ions helps distinguish the pairs of isomeric dipeptides studied in this work. Further, negative ion MS(3) CID has also been found to be useful for differentiating these isomeric peptide acids. The MS(3) of [M-H-Fmoc+H](-) of isomeric peptide acids produce c(1)(-), z(1)(-) and y(1)(-) ions. Thus the present study of Fmoc-protected peptides provides additional information on mass spectral characterization of the dipeptides and distinguishes the positional isomers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Weakly ionized cosmic gas: Ionization and characterization

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rosenberg, M.; Mendis, D. A.; Chow, V. W.

    1994-01-01

    Since collective plasma behavior may determine important transport processes (e.g., plasma diffusion across a magnetic field) in certain cosmic environments, it is important to delineate the parameter space in which weakly ionized cosmic gases may be characterized as plasmas. In this short note, we do so. First, we use values for the ionization fraction given in the literature, wherein the ionization is generally assumed to be due primarily to ionization by cosmic rays. We also discuss an additional mechanism for ionization in such environments, namely, the photoelectric emission of electrons from cosmic dust grains in an interstellar Far Ultra Violet (FUV) radiation field. Simple estimates suggest that under certain conditions this mechanism may dominate cosmic ray ionization, and possibly also the photoionization of metal atoms by the interstellar FUV field, and thereby lead to an enhanced ionization level.

  16. An ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography method with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneous quantification of five phytohormones in medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza uralensis under abscisic acid stress.

    PubMed

    Xiang, Yu; Song, Xiaona; Qiao, Jing; Zang, Yimei; Li, Yanpeng; Liu, Yong; Liu, Chunsheng

    2015-07-01

    An efficient simplified method was developed to determine multiple classes of phytohormones simultaneously in the medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-MS/MS) with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in negative mode was used for quantification. The five studied phytohormones are gibberellic acid (GA3), abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), indole-3-acetic acid, and salicylic acid (SA). Only 100 mg of fresh leaves was needed, with one purification step based on C18 solid-phase extraction. Cinnamic acid was chosen as the internal standard instead of isotope-labeled internal standards. Under the optimized conditions, the five phytohormones with internal standard were separated within 4 min, with good linearities and high sensitivity. The validated method was applied to monitor the spatial and temporal changes of the five phytohormones in G. uralensis under ABA stress. The levels of GA3, ABA, JA, and SA in leaves of G. uralensis were increased at different times and with different tendencies in the reported stress mode. These changes in phytohormone levels are discussed in the context of a possible feedback regulation mechanism. Understanding this mechanism will provide a good chance of revealing the mutual interplay between different biosynthetic routes, which could further help elucidate the mechanisms of effective composition accumulation in medicinal plants.

  17. Determination of drug residues in urine of dogs receiving anti-cancer chemotherapy by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization- tandem mass spectrometry: is there an environmental or occupational risk?

    PubMed

    Hamscher, Gerd; Mohring, Siegrun A I; Knobloch, Anna; Eberle, Nina; Nau, Heinz; Nolte, Ingo; Simon, Daniela

    2010-04-01

    Cytotoxic drugs, previously used only in human medicine, are increasingly utilized for cancer treatment in veterinary practice. We developed and validated a liquid chromatography (LC)-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) method to determine vincristine, vinblastine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin in canine urine. Sample pretreatment consisted of liquid-liquid extraction, and LC separation was carried out on an RP C(18) column employing a 0.5% formic acid/methanol gradient system. The analytes were detected in positive ion mode using the MS-MS scan mode. The mean recoveries in six different urine samples were between 64.2% and 86.9%. Limits of quantitation were 0.5 microg/L for vincristine and vinblastine, 1 microg/L for cyclophosphamide, and 5 microg/L for doxorubicin; limits of detection were approximately 0.25 microg/L for vincristine, vinblastine, and cyclophosphamide and 0.5 microg/L for doxorubicin. It could be demonstrated that all investigated drugs are found in urine of dogs undergoing chemotherapy. In samples from day 1 after chemotherapy, as much as 63 microg/L vincristine, 111 microg/L vinblastine, and 762 microg/L doxorubicin could be detected. Cyclophosphamide showed only minor concentrations on day 1, but up to 2583 microg/L could be found directly after chemotherapy. These initial data show that there might be a potential contamination risk when administering cytotoxics in veterinary medicine.

  18. Separation of Opiate Isomers Using Electrospray Ionization and Paper Spray Coupled to High-Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manicke, Nicholas E.; Belford, Michael

    2015-05-01

    One limitation in the growing field of ambient or direct analysis methods is reduced selectivity caused by the elimination of chromatographic separations prior to mass spectrometric analysis. We explored the use of high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS), an ambient pressure ion mobility technique, to separate the closely related opiate isomers of morphine, hydromorphone, and norcodeine. These isomers cannot be distinguished by tandem mass spectrometry. Separation prior to MS analysis is, therefore, required to distinguish these compounds, which are important in clinical chemistry and toxicology. FAIMS was coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, and ionization was performed using either a pneumatically assisted heated electrospray ionization source (H-ESI) or paper spray, a direct analysis method that has been applied to the direct analysis of dried blood spots and other complex samples. We found that FAIMS was capable of separating the three opiate structural isomers using both H-ESI and paper spray as the ionization source.

  19. Evaluation of Offline Tandem and Online Solid-Phase Extraction with Liquid Chromatography/Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of Antibiotics in Ambient Water and Comparison to an Independent Method

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Meyer, M.T.; Lee, E.A.; Ferrell, G.M.; Bumgarner, J.E.; Varns, Jerry

    2007-01-01

    This report describes the performance of an offline tandem solid-phase extraction (SPE) method and an online SPE method that use liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the analysis of 23 and 35 antibiotics, respectively, as used in several water-quality surveys conducted since 1999. In the offline tandem SPE method, normalized concentrations for the quinolone, macrolide, and sulfonamide antibiotics in spiked environmental samples averaged from 81 to 139 percent of the expected spiked concentrations. A modified standard-addition technique was developed to improve the quantitation of the tetracycline antibiotics, which had 'apparent' concentrations that ranged from 185 to 1,200 percent of their expected spiked concentrations in matrix-spiked samples. In the online SPE method, normalized concentrations for the quinolone, macrolide, sulfonamide, and tetracycline antibiotics in matrix-spiked samples averaged from 51 to 142 percent of their expected spiked concentrations, and the beta-lactam antibiotics in matrix-spiked samples averaged from 22 to 76 percent of their expected spiked concentration. Comparison of 44 samples analyzed by both the offline tandem SPE and online SPE methods showed 50 to 100 percent agreement in sample detection for overlapping analytes and 68 to 100 percent agreement in a presence-absence comparison for all analytes. The offline tandem and online SPE methods were compared to an independent method that contains two overlapping antibiotic compounds, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, for 96 and 44 environmental samples, respectively. The offline tandem SPE showed 86 and 92 percent agreement in sample detection and 96 and 98 percent agreement in a presence-absence comparison for sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, respectively. The online SPE method showed 57 and 56 percent agreement in sample detection and 72 and 91 percent agreement in presence-absence comparison for sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, respectively. A linear regression with

  20. Tandem Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

    PubMed

    Fung, Man-Keung; Li, Yan-Qing; Liao, Liang-Sheng

    2016-12-01

    A tandem organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is an organic optoelectronic device that has two or more electroluminescence (EL) units connected electrically in series with unique intermediate connectors within the device. Researchers have studied this new OLED architecture with growing interest and have found that the current efficiency of a tandem OLED containing N EL units (N > 1) should be N times that of a conventional OLED containing only a single EL unit. Therefore, this new architecture is potentially useful for constructing high-efficiency, high-luminance, and long-lifetime OLED displays and organic solid-state lighting sources. In a tandem OLED, the intermediate connector plays a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of the stacked EL units. The interfaces in the connector control the inner charge generation and charge injection into the adjacent EL units. Meanwhile, the transparency and the thickness of the connector affect the light output of the device. Therefore, the intermediate connector should be made to meet both the electrical and optical requirements for achieving optimal performance. Here, recent advances in the research of the tandem OLEDs is discussed, with the main focus on material selection and interface studies in the intermediate connectors, as well as the optical design of the tandem OLEDs. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. High-energy and low-energy collision-induced dissociation of protonated flavonoids generated by MALDI and by electrospray ionization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    March, Raymond E.; Li, Hongxia; Belgacem, Omar; Papanastasiou, Dimitris

    2007-04-01

    Product ion mass spectra of a series of nine protonated flavonoids have been observed by electrospray ionization combined with quadrupole/time-of-flight (ESI QTOF), and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization combined either with quadrupole ion trap (MALDI QIT) tandem mass spectrometry or time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF ReTOF). The compounds examined are 3,6-, 3,2'-, and 3,3'-dihydoxyflavone, apigenin (5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone), luteolin (5,7,3',4'-tetrahydroxyflavone), apigenin-7-O-glucoside, hesperidin (5,7,3'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavanone), daidzen (7,4'-dihydroxyisoflavone), and rutin (quercitin-3-O-rutinoside) where quercitin is 3,5,7,3',4'-pentahydroxyflavone; sodiated rutin was examined also. The center-of-mass energies in ESI QTOF and MALDI QIT are similar (1-4 eV) and their product ion mass spectra are virtually identical. In the MALDI TOF ReTOF instrument, center-of-mass energies range from 126-309 eV for sodiated rutin to protonated dihydroxyflavones, respectively. Due to the high center-of-mass energies available with the MALDI TOF ReTOF instrument, some useful structural information may be obtained; however, with increasing precursor mass/charge ratio, product ion mass spectra become simplified so as to be of limited structural value. Electronic excitation of the protonated (and sodiated) species examined here offers an explanation for the very simple product ion mass spectra observed particularly for glycosylated flavonoids.

  2. High voltage series connected tandem junction solar battery

    DOEpatents

    Hanak, Joseph J.

    1982-01-01

    A high voltage series connected tandem junction solar battery which comprises a plurality of strips of tandem junction solar cells of hydrogenated amorphous silicon having one optical path and electrically interconnected by a tunnel junction. The layers of hydrogenated amorphous silicon, arranged in a tandem configuration, can have the same bandgap or differing bandgaps. The tandem junction strip solar cells are series connected to produce a solar battery of any desired voltage.

  3. CREATININE DETERMINATION IN URINE BY LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-ELECTROSPRAY IONIZATION-TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY METHOD.

    PubMed

    Dereziński, Paweł; Klupczyńska, Agnieszka; Sawicki, Wojciech; Kokot, Zenon J

    2016-01-01

    Creatinine determination in urine is used to estimate the completeness of the 24-h urine collection, compensation for variable diuresis and as a preliminary step in protein profiling in urine. Despite the fact that a wide range of methods of measuring creatinine level in biofluids has been developed, many of them are adversely affected by interfering substances. A new liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for creatinine determination in urine has been developed. Chromatographic separation was performed by applying C18 column and a gradient elution. Analyses were carried out on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ion source. The developed method was fully validated according to the international guidelines. The quantification range of the method was 5-1500 ng/mL, which corresponds to 1-300 mg/dL in urine. Limit of detection and quantitation were 2 and 5 ng/mL, respectively. Additionally, the comparison of creatinine determination by newly developed method to the colorimetric method was performed. The method enables the determination of creatinine in urine samples with a minimal sample preparation, excellent sensitivity and prominent selectivity. Since mass spectrometry allows to measure a number of compounds simultaneously, a future perspective would be to incorporate the determination of other clinically important compounds excreted in urine.

  4. Quantification of tamoxifen DNA adducts using on-line sample preparation and HPLC-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Gamboa da Costa, Gonçalo; Marques, M Matilde; Beland, Frederick A; Freeman, James P; Churchwell, Mona I; Doerge, Daniel R

    2003-03-01

    The nonsteroidal antiestrogen tamoxifen is used as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of all stages of hormone-dependent breast cancer and more recently as a chemopreventive agent in women with elevated risk of developing the disease. While clearly beneficial for the treatment of breast cancer, tamoxifen has been reported to increase the risk of endometrial cancer in women. Furthermore, it has been shown to be hepatocarcinogenic in rats. Tamoxifen is clearly genotoxic in rat liver, as indicated by the formation of DNA adducts; the occurrence of tamoxifen DNA adducts in human endometrial tissue is more controversial. The detection and quantitation of tamoxifen DNA adducts have relied primarily upon (32)P-postlabeling, with other techniques, such as immunoassays and accelerator mass spectrometry, being used to a much lesser extent. To expand the range of available analytical methodologies for quantifying tamoxifen DNA adducts, we have developed an assay using on-line sample preparation, coupled with HPLC and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ES-MS/MS). alpha-Acetoxytamoxifen was reacted with salmon testis DNA at ratios between 0.1 ng and 1 mg alpha-acetoxytamoxifen per mg DNA. After enzymatic hydrolysis to nucleosides, the most highly modified DNA samples were analyzed by HPLC-UV, which indicated the presence of two adduct peaks in approximately a 1:4 ratio. The major adduct was isolated, rigorously characterized as (E)-alpha-(deoxyguanosin-N(2)-yl)tamoxifen, and quantified on the basis of its molar extinction coefficient. A similar reaction was conducted with [N(CD(3))(2)]-alpha-acetoxytamoxifen to prepare a deuterated adduct that could serve as an internal standard for ES-MS/MS. The limit of detection for the HPLC-ES-MS/MS method was approximately 5 adducts/10(9) nucleotides, with an intra- and interassay precision of 3% relative standard deviation. The method was validated over the range of 8-1 520,000 adducts/10(8) nucleotides

  5. A strategy for identification and structural characterization of compounds from Gardenia jasminoides by integrating macroporous resin column chromatography and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry combined with ion-mobility spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lu; Liu, Shu; Zhang, Xueju; Xing, Junpeng; Liu, Zhiqiang; Song, Fengrui

    2016-06-24

    In this paper, an analysis strategy integrating macroporous resin (AB-8) column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) combined with ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) was proposed and applied for identification and structural characterization of compounds from the fruits of Gardenia jasminoides. The extracts of G. jasminoides were separated by AB-8 resin column chromatography combined with reversed phase liquid chromatography (C18 column) and detected by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Additionally, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) was employed as a supplementary separation technique to discover previously undetected isomers from the fruits of G. jasminoides. A total of 71 compounds, including iridoids, flavonoids, triterpenes, monoterpenoids, carotenoids and phenolic acids were identified by the characteristic high resolution mass spectrometry and the ESI-MS/MS fragmentations. In conclusion, the IMS-MS technique achieved the separation of isomers in crocin-3 and crocin-4 according to their acquired mobility drift times differing from classical analysis by mass spectrometry. The proposed strategy can be used as a highly sensitive and efficient procedure for identification and separation isomeric components in extracts of herbal medicines. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Automated Lipid A Structure Assignment from Hierarchical Tandem Mass Spectrometry Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ting, Ying S.; Shaffer, Scott A.; Jones, Jace W.; Ng, Wailap V.; Ernst, Robert K.; Goodlett, David R.

    2011-05-01

    Infusion-based electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled to multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (MS n ) is a standard methodology for investigating lipid A structural diversity (Shaffer et al. J. Am. Soc. Mass. Spectrom. 18(6), 1080-1092, 2007). Annotation of these MS n spectra, however, has remained a manual, expert-driven process. In order to keep up with the data acquisition rates of modern instruments, we devised a computational method to annotate lipid A MS n spectra rapidly and automatically, which we refer to as hierarchical tandem mass spectrometry (HiTMS) algorithm. As a first-pass tool, HiTMS aids expert interpretation of lipid A MS n data by providing the analyst with a set of candidate structures that may then be confirmed or rejected. HiTMS deciphers the signature ions (e.g., A-, Y-, and Z-type ions) and neutral losses of MS n spectra using a species-specific library based on general prior structural knowledge of the given lipid A species under investigation. Candidates are selected by calculating the correlation between theoretical and acquired MS n spectra. At a false discovery rate of less than 0.01, HiTMS correctly assigned 85% of the structures in a library of 133 manually annotated Francisella tularensis subspecies novicida lipid A structures. Additionally, HiTMS correctly assigned 85% of the structures in a smaller library of lipid A species from Yersinia pestis demonstrating that it may be used across species.

  7. Stable isotope labeling tandem mass spectrometry (SILT) to quantify protein production and clearance rates

    PubMed Central

    Bateman, Randall J.; Munsell, Ling Y.; Chen, Xianghong; Holtzman, David M.; Yarasheski, Kevin E.

    2007-01-01

    In all biological systems, protein amount is a function of the rate of production and clearance. The speed of a response to a disturbance in protein homeostasis is determined by turnover rate. Quantifying alterations in protein synthesis and clearance rates is vital to understanding disease pathogenesis (e.g., aging, inflammation). No methods exist for quantifying production and clearance rates of low abundance (femtomole) proteins in vivo. We describe a novel, mass spectrometry-based method for quantitating low abundance protein synthesis and clearance rates in vitro and in vivo in animals and humans. The utility of this method is demonstrated with amyloid-beta (Aß), an important low abundance protein involved in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. We used in vivo stable isotope labeling, immunoprecipitation of Aß from cerebrospinal fluid, and quantitative liquid chromatography electrospray-ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-tandem MS) to quantify human Aß protein production and clearance rates. The method is sensitive and specific for stable isotope labeled amino acid incorporation into CNS (± 1% accuracy). This in vivo method can be used to identify pathophysiologic changes in protein metabolism; and may serve as a biomarker for monitoring disease risk, progression, or response to novel therapeutic agents. The technique is adaptable to other macromolecules, such as carbohydrates or lipids. PMID:17383190

  8. Sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol and guaifenesin in human plasma.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xiaoyan; Huang, Jia; Kong, Zhang; Zhong, Dafang

    2005-03-25

    A rapid and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol and guaifenesin in human plasma was developed and validated, using high-performance liquid chromatographic separation with tandem mass spectrometric detection. After extracted from plasma samples by diethyl ether-dichloromethane (3:2, v/v), the analytes and internal standard osalmide were chromatographed on a C18 column. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer by selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode via atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). The method was linear in the concentration range of 0.05-20.0 microg/ml for paracetamol and 5.0-2000.0 ng/ml for guaifenesin. The intra- and inter-day precision was within 14% for both paracetamol and guaifenesin. The assay accuracy was within +/-2.4% for the analytes. This is the first assay method described for the simultaneous determination of paracetamol and guaifenesin in plasma using one chromatographic run. The method was successfully employed in a pharmacokinetic study after an oral administration of a multicomponent formulation, containing 650 mg paracetamol, 200 mg guaifenesin, 60 mg pseudoephedrine and 20 mg dextrorphan.

  9. Electrospray and MALDI mass spectrometry in the identification of spermicides in criminal investigations.

    PubMed

    Hollenbeck, T P; Siuzdak, G; Blackledge, R D

    1999-07-01

    Electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry have been used to examine evidence in a sexual assault investigation. Because condoms are being used increasingly by sexual assailants and some condom brands include the spermicide nonoxynol-9 (nonylphenoxy polyethoxyethanol) in the lubricant formulation, the recovery, and identification of nonoxynol-9 from evidence items may assist in proving corpus delicti. A method was developed for the recovery of nonoxynol-9 from internal vaginal swabs and for its identification by reverse phase liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC ESI-MS), nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) mass spectrometry, and high resolution MALDI Fourier transform mass spectrometry (MALDI-FTMS). The method was tested on extracts from precoitus, immediate postcoitus, and four-hours postcoitus vaginal swabs provided by a volunteer whose partner does not normally use condoms, but for this trial used a condom having a water-soluble gel-type lubricant that includes 5% nonoxynol-9 in its formulation. Subsequently, LC ESI-MS was used to identify traces of nonoxynol-9 from the internal vaginal swab of a victim of a sexual assault.

  10. Simultaneous determination of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in human plasma by HPLC coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: application to a pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Donato, J L; Koizumi, F; Pereira, A S; Mendes, G D; De Nucci, G

    2012-06-15

    In the present study, a fast, sensitive and robust method to quantify dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in human plasma using deuterated internal standards (IS) is described. The analytes and the IS were extracted from plasma by a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using diethyl-ether/hexane (80/20, v/v). Extracted samples were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Chromatographic separation was performed by pumping the mobile phase (acetonitrile/water/formic acid (90/9/1, v/v/v) during 4.0min at a flow-rate of 1.5 mL min⁻¹ into a Phenomenex Gemini® C18, 5 μm analytical column (150 × 4.6 mm i.d.). The calibration curve was linear over the range from 0.2 to 200 ng mL⁻¹ for dextromethorphan and doxylamine and 0.05 to 10 ng mL⁻¹ for dextrorphan. The intra-batch precision and accuracy (%CV) of the method ranged from 2.5 to 9.5%, and 88.9 to 105.1%, respectively. Method inter-batch precision (%CV) and accuracy ranged from 6.7 to 10.3%, and 92.2 to 107.1%, respectively. The run-time was for 4 min. The analytical procedure herein described was used to assess the pharmacokinetics of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in healthy volunteers after a single oral dose of a formulation containing 30 mg of dextromethorphan hydrobromide and 12.5mg of doxylamine succinate. The method has high sensitivity, specificity and allows high throughput analysis required for a pharmacokinetic study. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. 47 CFR 69.129 - Signalling for tandem switching.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Signalling for tandem switching. 69.129 Section... (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.129 Signalling for tandem switching. A charge that is... provision of signalling for tandem switching. [59 FR 32930, June 27, 1994] ...

  12. 47 CFR 69.129 - Signalling for tandem switching.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Signalling for tandem switching. 69.129 Section... (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.129 Signalling for tandem switching. A charge that is... provision of signalling for tandem switching. [59 FR 32930, June 27, 1994] ...

  13. 47 CFR 69.129 - Signalling for tandem switching.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Signalling for tandem switching. 69.129 Section... (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.129 Signalling for tandem switching. A charge that is... provision of signalling for tandem switching. [59 FR 32930, June 27, 1994] ...

  14. 47 CFR 69.129 - Signalling for tandem switching.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Signalling for tandem switching. 69.129 Section... (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.129 Signalling for tandem switching. A charge that is... provision of signalling for tandem switching. [59 FR 32930, June 27, 1994] ...

  15. Simultaneous determination of four alkaloids in Lindera aggregata by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Han, Zheng; Zheng, Yunliang; Chen, Na; Luan, Lianjun; Zhou, Changxin; Gan, Lishe; Wu, Yongjiang

    2008-11-28

    A new separation and quantification method using liquid chromatography under ultra-high-pressure in combination with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed for simultaneous determination of four alkaloids in Lindera aggregata. The analysis was performed on an Acquity UPLC BEH C(18) column (50mmx2.1mm, 1.7microm particle size; Waters, Milford, MA, USA) utilizing a gradient elution profile and a mobile phase consisting of (A) water containing 10mM ammonium acetate adjusted to pH 3 with acetic acid and (B) acetonitrile. An electrospray ionization (ESI)-tandem interface in the positive mode was employed prior to mass spectrometric detection. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 17.1-856ng for boldine, 42.4-2652ng for norboldine, 6.1-304ng for reticuline and 0.5-50ng for linderegatine, respectively. The average recoveries ranged from 99.2 to 101.4% with RSDs< or =2.7%. Then, four L. aggregata samples from different batches were analyzed using the established method. The results indicated that ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry provided improved chromatographic parameters resulting in significantly increased sample throughput including lower solvent consumption and lower limits of quantitation (LOQs) for most of target analytes compared to previous method employing conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation. So, the established method was validated, sensitive and reliable for the determination of four alkaloids in L. aggregata.

  16. Determination of 21-hydroxydeflazacort in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Application to bioequivalence study.

    PubMed

    Ifa, D R; Moraes, M E; Moraes, M O; Santagada, V; Caliendo, G; de Nucci, G

    2000-03-01

    A liquid chromatographic atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometric method is described for the determination of 21-hydroxydeflazacort in human plasma using dexamethasone 21-acetate as an internal standard. The procedure requires a single diethyl ether extraction. After evaporation of the solvent under a nitrogen flow, the analytes are reconstituted in the mobile phase, chromatographed on a C18 reversed-phase column and analyzed by mass spectrometry via a heated nebulizer interface where they are detected by multiple reaction monitoring. The method has a chromatographic run time of less than 5 min and a linear calibration curve with a range of 1-400 ng ml(-1) (r>0.999). The between-run precision, based on the relative standard deviation for replicate quality controls, was < or =5.5% (10 ng ml(-1)), 1.0% (50 ng ml(-1)) and 2.7% (200 ng ml(-1)). The between-run accuracy was +/-7.1, 3.8 and 4.8% for the above concentrations, respectively. This method was employed in a bioequivalence study of two DFZ tablet formulations (Denacen from Marjan Industria e Comercio, Brazil, as a test formulation, and Calcort from Merrell Lepetit, Brazil, as a reference formulation) in 24 healthy volunteers of both sexes who received a single 30 mg dose of each formulation. The study was conducted using an open, randomized, two-period crossover design with a 7-day washout interval. The 90% confidence interval (CI) of the individual geometric mean ratio for Denacen/Calcort was 89.8-109.5% for area under the curve AUC(0-24 h) and 80.7-98.5% for Cmax. Since both the 90% CI for AUC(0-24 h) and Cmax were included in the 80-125% interval proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration, Denacen was considered bioequivalent to Calcort according to both the rate and extent of absorption.

  17. Surrogate analyte approach for quantitation of endogenous NAD(+) in human acidified blood samples using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, Liling; Cui, Zhiyi; Deng, Yuzhong; Dean, Brian; Hop, Cornelis E C A; Liang, Xiaorong

    2016-02-01

    A high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay for the quantitative determination of NAD(+) in human whole blood using a surrogate analyte approach was developed and validated. Human whole blood was acidified using 0.5N perchloric acid at a ratio of 1:3 (v:v, blood:perchloric acid) during sample collection. 25μL of acidified blood was extracted using a protein precipitation method and the resulting extracts were analyzed using reverse-phase chromatography and positive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. (13)C5-NAD(+) was used as the surrogate analyte for authentic analyte, NAD(+). The standard curve ranging from 0.250 to 25.0μg/mL in acidified human blood for (13)C5-NAD(+) was fitted to a 1/x(2) weighted linear regression model. The LC-MS/MS response between surrogate analyte and authentic analyte at the same concentration was obtained before and after the batch run. This response factor was not applied when determining the NAD(+) concentration from the (13)C5-NAD(+) standard curve since the percent difference was less than 5%. The precision and accuracy of the LC-MS/MS assay based on the five analytical QC levels were well within the acceptance criteria from both FDA and EMA guidance for bioanalytical method validation. Average extraction recovery of (13)C5-NAD(+) was 94.6% across the curve range. Matrix factor was 0.99 for both high and low QC indicating minimal ion suppression or enhancement. The validated assay was used to measure the baseline level of NAD(+) in 29 male and 21 female human subjects. This assay was also used to study the circadian effect of endogenous level of NAD(+) in 10 human subjects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Fast detection of narcotics by single photon ionization mass spectrometry and laser ion mobility spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laudien, Robert; Schultze, Rainer; Wieser, Jochen

    2010-10-01

    In this contribution two analytical devices for the fast detection of security-relevant substances like narcotics and explosives are presented. One system is based on an ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS) with single photon ionization (SPI). This soft ionization technique, unlike electron impact ionization (EI), reduces unwanted fragment ions in the mass spectra allowing the clear determination of characteristic (usually molecular) ions. Their enrichment in the ion trap and identification by tandem MS investigations (MS/MS) enables the detection of the target substances in complex matrices at low concentrations without time-consuming sample preparation. For SPI an electron beam pumped excimer light source of own fabrication (E-Lux) is used. The SPI-ITMS system was characterized by the analytical study of different drugs like cannabis, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, and some precursors. Additionally, it was successfully tested on-site in a closed illegal drug laboratory, where low quantities of MDMA could be directly detected in samples from floors, walls and lab equipments. The second analytical system is based on an ion mobility (IM) spectrometer with resonant multiphoton ionization (REMPI). With the frequency quadrupled Nd:YAG laser (266 nm), used for ionization, a selective and sensitive detection of aromatic compounds is possible. By application of suited aromatic dopants, in addition, also non-aromatic polar compounds are accessible by ion molecule reactions like proton transfer or complex formation. Selected drug precursors could be successfully detected with this device as well, qualifying it to a lower-priced alternative or useful supplement of the SPI-ITMS system for security analysis.

  19. Simultaneous quantification of acetaminophen and five acetaminophen metabolites in human plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry: Method validation and application to a neonatal pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Cook, Sarah F; King, Amber D; van den Anker, John N; Wilkins, Diana G

    2015-12-15

    Drug metabolism plays a key role in acetaminophen (paracetamol)-induced hepatotoxicity, and quantification of acetaminophen metabolites provides critical information about factors influencing susceptibility to acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in clinical and experimental settings. The aims of this study were to develop, validate, and apply high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) methods for simultaneous quantification of acetaminophen, acetaminophen-glucuronide, acetaminophen-sulfate, acetaminophen-glutathione, acetaminophen-cysteine, and acetaminophen-N-acetylcysteine in small volumes of human plasma and urine. In the reported procedures, acetaminophen-d4 and acetaminophen-d3-sulfate were utilized as internal standards (IS). Analytes and IS were recovered from human plasma (10μL) by protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Human urine (10μL) was prepared by fortification with IS followed only by sample dilution. Calibration concentration ranges were tailored to literature values for each analyte in each biological matrix. Prepared samples from plasma and urine were analyzed under the same HPLC-ESI-MS/MS conditions, and chromatographic separation was achieved through use of an Agilent Poroshell 120 EC-C18 column with a 20-min run time per injected sample. The analytes could be accurately and precisely quantified over 2.0-3.5 orders of magnitude. Across both matrices, mean intra- and inter-assay accuracies ranged from 85% to 112%, and intra- and inter-assay imprecision did not exceed 15%. Validation experiments included tests for specificity, recovery and ionization efficiency, inter-individual variability in matrix effects, stock solution stability, and sample stability under a variety of storage and handling conditions (room temperature, freezer, freeze-thaw, and post-preparative). The utility and suitability of the reported procedures were illustrated by analysis of pharmacokinetic samples

  20. Two competing ionization processes in ESI-MS analysis of N-(1,3-diphenylallyl)benzenamines: formation of the unusual [M-H]+ ion versus the regular [M+H]+ ion.

    PubMed

    Fang, Liwen; Dong, Cheng; Guo, Cheng; Xu, Jianxing; Liu, Qiaoling; Qu, Zhirong; Jiang, Kezhi

    2018-06-01

    A series of N-(1,3-diphenylallyl)benzenamine derivatives (M) were investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the positive-ion mode. Both the anomalous [M-H] + and the regular [M+H] + were observed in the ESI mass spectra. The occurrence of [M-H] + has been supported by accurate mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, and tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Calculation results indicated that formation of [M-H] + is attributed to the ion-molecule reaction of M with the protonated ESI solvent molecule (e.g. CH 3 OH 2 + ) via hydride abstraction from a tertiary C sp3 -H. The competing ionization processes leading to [M-H] + or [M+H] + were significantly affected by the concentration of formic acid in the electrospray ionization solvent and the proton affinity of the N atom.

  1. A selective and sensitive method for quantitation of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in whole blood by gas chromatography-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Libong, Danielle; Bouchonnet, Stéphane; Ricordel, Ivan

    2003-01-01

    A gas chromatography-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (GC-ion trap MS-MS) method for detection and quantitation of LSD in whole blood is presented. The sample preparation process, including a solid-phase extraction step with Bond Elut cartridges, was performed with 2 mL of whole blood. Eight microliters of the purified extract was injected with a cold on-column injection method. Positive chemical ionization was performed using acetonitrile as reagent gas; LSD was detected in the MS-MS mode. The chromatograms obtained from blood extracts showed the great selectivity of the method. GC-MS quantitation was performed using lysergic acid methylpropylamide as the internal standard. The response of the MS was linear for concentrations ranging from 0.02 ng/mL (detection threshold) to 10.0 ng/mL. Several parameters such as the choice of the capillary column, the choice of the internal standard and that of the ionization mode (positive CI vs. EI) were rationalized. Decomposition pathways under both ionization modes were studied. Within-day and between-day stability were evaluated.

  2. Negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of nucleoside phosphoramidate monoesters: elucidation of novel rearrangement mechanisms by multistage mass spectrometry incorporating in-source deuterium labelling.

    PubMed

    Xu, Peng-Xiang; Hu, An-Fu; Hu, Dan; Gao, Xiang; Zhao, Yu-Fen

    2008-10-01

    Several O-2',3'-isopropylideneuridine-O-5'-phosphoramidate monoesters were synthesized and analyzed by negative ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS(n)). Two kinds of novel rearrangement reactions were observed due to the difference in the amino acid in the nucleoside phosphoramidate monoesters, and possible mechanisms were proposed. One involves a five-membered cyclic transition state. The other is formation of a stable five-membered ring intermediate by Michael addition. Results were confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry and isotopically labeled hydrogen atoms. Furthermore, the internal hydrogen exchange between active hydrogen and methyl acrylate in the heated capillary of the mass spectrometer was found. The characteristic fragmentation behavior in ESI-MS may be used to monitor this kind of compounds in the biological metabolism.

  3. Multiresidue analysis of 47 pesticides in cooked wheat flour and polished rice by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Lee, Sung Jung; Park, Hyeong Jin; Kim, Wooseong; Jin, Jong Sung; Abd El-Aty, A M; Shim, Jae-Han; Shin, Sung Chul

    2009-04-01

    Liquid chromatography in conjunction with tandem mass spectrometry was used to directly quantify of 47 pesticide residues from cooked wheat flour and polished rice, which are the most widely consumed cereals in the Republic of Korea. The sample clean-up was carried out according to the method established by the Korea Food and Drug Administration. The mobile phase for liquid chromatography separation consisted of water and 5 mm methanolic ammonium formate. Tandem mass spectroscopy experiments were performed in electrospray ionization positive mode and the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The matrix effects estimated for the 47 pesticides had a mean value of 99% and ranged from 45 to 147%. High recoveries (70-140%) and relative standard deviations (< or = 20%) were achieved for most of the pesticides tested. The method used in this study allowed for rapid quantification and identification of low levels of pesticides in cooked wheat flour and polished rice samples. Of the screened pesticide residues, only tricyclazole and fenobucarb were found in polished rice samples. However, no samples contained residues above the MRL established by the Korea Food and Drug Administration.

  4. Detection and identification of immobilized low-volatility organophosphates by desorption ionization mass spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hagan, Nathan A.; Cornish, Timothy J.; Pilato, Robert S.; van Houten, Kelly A.; Antoine, Miquel D.; Lippa, Timothy P.; Becknell, Alan F.; Demirev, Plamen A.

    2008-12-01

    Two desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MS) techniques - ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization (LDI) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) - have been used to detect and identify low-volatility organophosphates when deposited on surfaces or loaded into the pore volume of porous inorganic or polymeric organic powders. The insecticides malathion and dicrotophos were chosen for this study as simulants of low vapor pressure chemical warfare agents which are inherently difficult to detect directly by traditional methods. Both liquid and powdered forms of either insecticide were readily detected by LDI or DESI MS. LDI MS was performed on a miniaturized home-built time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer and a commercial TOF/TOF instrument. For DESI MS, a home-built ion source was interfaced to a commercial quadrupole ion trap. In LDI, intact molecular ion signatures could be acquired by using an appropriate cationizing agent and powder additive in positive ion mode. Tandem MS was used to confirm the identity of each analyte based on the observed characteristic fragmentation pattern. In DESI, less than 100 pg of the liquid insecticides spotted on clean surfaces were detected, while detection limits for the powder-loaded preparations were lower than 1 [mu]g. The effects of sample surface, salt additives, nanoparticle admixtures, and analyte solubility on the LDI and DESI MS sensitivity have been investigated as well.

  5. Understanding the molecular signatures in leaves and flowers by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI MS) imaging.

    PubMed

    Hemalatha, R G; Pradeep, T

    2013-08-07

    The difference in size, shape, and chemical cues of leaves and flowers display the underlying genetic makeup and their interactions with the environment. The need to understand the molecular signatures of these fragile plant surfaces is illustrated with a model plant, Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don). Flat, thin layer chromatographic imprints of leaves/petals were imaged using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI MS), and the results were compared with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS) of their extracts. Tandem mass spectrometry with DESI and ESI, in conjunction with database records, confirmed the molecular species. This protocol has been extended to other plants. Implications of this study in identifying varietal differences, toxic metabolite production, changes in metabolites during growth, pest/pathogen attack, and natural stresses are shown with illustrations. The possibility to image subtle features like eye color of petals, leaf vacuole, leaf margin, and veins is demonstrated.

  6. [Determination of antibiotics in oral hygiene products by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Zhou, Weijun; Xie, Zhengfu; Shao, Linzhi

    2012-07-01

    A high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/ MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of 13 antibiotics in oral hygiene products, including five tetracyclines, three macrolides, two quinolones, one beta-lactam and two lincosamides. The sample was extracted with 0.1% (volume percentage, same hereinafter) formic acid-acetonitrile (95:5, v/v), then centrifuged, filtered and diluted. The target compounds were separated on a C18 column (150 mm x 2.1 mm, 5 microm) with a gradient elution of 0. 1% formic acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phases, and detected by tandem mass spectrometry in positive electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The quantification of 13 antibiotics was performed by the external standard method. The calibration curves showed good linearity in the range of 5.0-50.0 microg/L with detection limits of 10.0 mg/kg. The recoveries of antibiotics in mouthwash and toothpaste samples at the three spiked levels of 10, 20 and 100 mg/kg were in the range of 80.1%-115% with the relative standard deviations in the range of 0.94%-8.69%. This method is accurate, reliable, simple, and suitable for the analysis of antibiotics in oral hygiene products.

  7. Tandem Translation Classroom: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Dohun; Koh, Taejin

    2018-01-01

    The transition to student-centred learning, advances in teleconferencing tools, and active international student exchange programmes have stimulated tandem learning in many parts of the world. This pedagogical model is based on a mutual language exchange between tandem partners, where each student is a native speaker in the language the…

  8. Multi-detection of preservatives in cheeses by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Fuselli, Fabio; Guarino, Chiara; La Mantia, Alessandro; Longo, Lucia; Faberi, Angelo; Marianella, Rosa Maria

    2012-10-01

    The incorrect use of preservatives in cheeses may compromise food safety and damage consumers. According to the law, more than one preservative may be contemporarily used in cheeses. So a method for their contemporary detection may be useful for both manufacturers and control agencies quality control. In this research a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric with electrospray ionization method for the multi-determination of seven preservatives (benzoic acid, citric acid, hexamethylenetetramine, lysozyme, natamycin, nisin and sorbic acid) in cheese was developed. The preservatives were contemporarily extracted from cheese by a single procedure, and analyzed by RP-LC/ESI-MS/MS (Ion Trap) in positive ionization mode, with single reaction monitoring (SRM) acquisition. Three sample types (hard, pasta filata and fresh cheese) were used for method evaluation. Recoveries were mostly higher than 90%; MDLs ranged from 0.02 to 0.26 mgkg(-1), and MQLs were included between 0.07 and 0.88 mgkg(-1). Due to matrix effect, quantitation was performed by referring to a matrix matched calibration curve, for each cheese typology. This method was also applied to commercial cheese samples, with good results. It appears fast, reliable and suitable for both screening and confirmation of the presence and quantitation of the preservatives in a single, multi-detection analysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Thermodynamic characterization of tandem mismatches found in naturally occurring RNA

    PubMed Central

    Christiansen, Martha E.; Znosko, Brent M.

    2009-01-01

    Although all sequence symmetric tandem mismatches and some sequence asymmetric tandem mismatches have been thermodynamically characterized and a model has been proposed to predict the stability of previously unmeasured sequence asymmetric tandem mismatches [Christiansen,M.E. and Znosko,B.M. (2008) Biochemistry, 47, 4329–4336], experimental thermodynamic data for frequently occurring tandem mismatches is lacking. Since experimental data is preferred over a predictive model, the thermodynamic parameters for 25 frequently occurring tandem mismatches were determined. These new experimental values, on average, are 1.0 kcal/mol different from the values predicted for these mismatches using the previous model. The data for the sequence asymmetric tandem mismatches reported here were then combined with the data for 72 sequence asymmetric tandem mismatches that were published previously, and the parameters used to predict the thermodynamics of previously unmeasured sequence asymmetric tandem mismatches were updated. The average absolute difference between the measured values and the values predicted using these updated parameters is 0.5 kcal/mol. This updated model improves the prediction for tandem mismatches that were predicted rather poorly by the previous model. This new experimental data and updated predictive model allow for more accurate calculations of the free energy of RNA duplexes containing tandem mismatches, and, furthermore, should allow for improved prediction of secondary structure from sequence. PMID:19509311

  10. Selecting tandem partners for silicon solar cells [Selecting tandem partners for silicon solar cells using spectral efficiency

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yu, Zhengshan; Leilaeioun, Mehdi; Holman, Zachary

    Combining silicon and other materials in tandem solar cells is one approach to enhancing the overall power conversion efficiency of the cells. Here, we argue that top cell partners for silicon tandem solar cells should be selected on the basis of their spectral efficiency — their efficiency resolved by wavelength.

  11. Selecting tandem partners for silicon solar cells [Selecting tandem partners for silicon solar cells using spectral efficiency

    DOE PAGES

    Yu, Zhengshan; Leilaeioun, Mehdi; Holman, Zachary

    2016-09-26

    Combining silicon and other materials in tandem solar cells is one approach to enhancing the overall power conversion efficiency of the cells. Here, we argue that top cell partners for silicon tandem solar cells should be selected on the basis of their spectral efficiency — their efficiency resolved by wavelength.

  12. Determination of eight nitrosamines in water at the ng L(-1) levels by liquid chromatography coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Ripollés, Cristina; Pitarch, Elena; Sancho, Juan V; López, Francisco J; Hernández, Félix

    2011-09-19

    In this work, we have developed a sensitive method for detection and quantification of eight N-nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomorpholine (NMor), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosopirrolidine (NPyr), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPip), N-nitroso-n-dipropylamine (NDPA) and N-nitrosodi-n-butylamine (NDBA) in drinking water. The method is based on liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in positive mode with a triple quadrupole analyzer (QqQ). The simultaneous acquisition of two MS/MS transitions in selected reaction monitoring mode (SRM) for each compound, together with the evaluation of their relative intensity, allowed the simultaneous quantification and reliable identification in water at ppt levels. Empirical formula of the product ions selected was confirmed by UHPLC-(Q)TOF MS accurate mass measurements from reference standards. Prior to LC-MS/MS QqQ analysis, a preconcentration step by off-line SPE using coconut charcoal EPA 521 cartridges (by passing 500 mL of water sample) was necessary to improve the sensitivity and to meet regulation requirements. For accurate quantification, two isotope labelled nitrosamines (NDMA-d(6) and NDPA-d(14)) were added as surrogate internal standards to the samples. The optimized method was validated at two concentration levels (10 and 100 ng L(-1)) in drinking water samples, obtaining satisfactory recoveries (between 90 and 120%) and precision (RSD<20%). Limits of detection were found to be in the range of 1-8 ng L(-1). The described methodology has been applied to different types of water samples: chlorinated from drinking water and wastewater treatment plants (DWTP and WWTP, respectively), wastewaters subjected to ozonation and tap waters. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Tandem junction amorphous silicon solar cells

    DOEpatents

    Hanak, Joseph J.

    1981-01-01

    An amorphous silicon solar cell has an active body with two or a series of layers of hydrogenated amorphous silicon arranged in a tandem stacked configuration with one optical path and electrically interconnected by a tunnel junction. The layers of hydrogenated amorphous silicon arranged in tandem configuration can have the same bandgap or differing bandgaps.

  14. [Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation (comparative risk estimations)].

    PubMed

    Grigor'ev, Iu G

    2012-01-01

    The population has widely used mobile communication for already more than 15 years. It is important to note that the use of mobile communication has sharply changed the conditions of daily exposure of the population to EME We expose our brain daily for the first time in the entire civilization. The mobile phone is an open and uncontrollable source of electromagnetic radiation. The comparative risk estimation for the population of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation was carried out taking into account the real conditions of influence. Comparison of risks for the population of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation leads us to a conclusion that EMF RF exposure in conditions of wide use of mobile communication is potentially more harmful than ionizing radiation influence.

  15. Systematic investigation of ion suppression and enhancement effects of fourteen stable-isotope-labeled internal standards by their native analogues using atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization and electrospray ionization and the relevance for multi-analyte liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric procedures.

    PubMed

    Remane, Daniela; Wissenbach, Dirk K; Meyer, Markus R; Maurer, Hans H

    2010-04-15

    In clinical and forensic toxicology, multi-analyte procedures are very useful to quantify drugs and poisons of different classes in one run. For liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) multi-analyte procedures, often only a limited number of stable-isotope-labeled internal standards (SIL-ISs) are available. If an SIL-IS is used for quantification of other analytes, it must be excluded that the co-eluting native analyte influences its ionization. Therefore, the effect of ion suppression and enhancement of fourteen SIL-ISs caused by their native analogues has been studied. It could be shown that the native analyte concentration influenced the extent of ion suppression and enhancement effects leading to more suppression with increasing analyte concentration especially when electrospray ionization (ESI) was used. Using atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization (APCI), methanolic solution showed mainly enhancement effects, whereas no ion suppression and enhancement effect, with one exception, occurred when plasma extracts were used under these conditions. Such differences were not observed using ESI. With ESI, eleven SIL-ISs showed relevant suppression effects, but only one analyte showed suppression effects when APCI was used. The presented study showed that ion suppression and enhancement tests using matrix-based samples of different sources are essential for the selection of ISs, particularly if used for several analytes to avoid incorrect quantification. In conclusion, only SIL-ISs should be selected for which no suppression and enhancement effects can be observed. If not enough ISs are free of ionization interferences, a different ionization technique should be considered. 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. [Determination of biurea in flour and its products by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Wang, Ya; Wang, Junsu; Xiang, Lu; Xi, Cunxian; Chen, Dongdong; Peng, Tao; Wang, Guomin; Mu, Zhaode

    2014-05-01

    A novel method was established for the determination and identification of biurea in flour and its products using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The biurea was extracted with water and oxidized to azodicarbonamide by potassium permanganate. The azodicarbonamide was then derivatized using sodium p-toluene sulfinate solution. The separation was performed on a Shimpak XR-ODS II column (150 mm x 2.0 mm, 2.2 microm) using the mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and 2 mmol/L ammonium acetate aqueous solution (containing 0.2% (v/v) formic acid) with a gradient elution program. Tandem mass spectrometric detection was performed in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) scan mode with a positive electrospray ionization (ESI(+)) source. The method used stable isotope internal standard quantitation. The calibration curve showed good linearity over the range of 1-20 000 microg/kg (R2 = 0.999 9). The limit of quantification was 5 microg/kg for biurea spiked in flour and its products. At the spiking levels of 5.0, 10.0 and 50.0 microg/kg in different matrices, the average recovery o biurea was 78.3%-108.0% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) < or = 5.73%. The method developed is novel, reliable and sensitive with wide linear range, and can be used to determine the biurea in flour and its products.

  17. Identification of Poly(ethylene glycol) and Poly(ethylene glycol)-Based Detergents Using Peptide Search Engines.

    PubMed

    Ahmadi, Shiva; Winter, Dominic

    2018-06-05

    Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is one of the most common polymer contaminations in mass spectrometry (MS) samples. At present, the detection of PEG and other polymers relies largely on manual inspection of raw data, which is laborious and frequently difficult due to sample complexity and retention characteristics of polymer species in reversed-phase chromatography. We developed a new strategy for the automated identification of PEG molecules from tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data using protein identification algorithms in combination with a database containing "PEG-proteins". Through definition of variable modifications, we extend the approach for the identification of commonly used PEG-based detergents. We exemplify the identification of different types of polymers by static nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS/MS) analysis of pure detergent solutions and data analysis using Mascot. Analysis of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) runs of a PEG-contaminated sample by Mascot identified 806 PEG spectra originating from four PEG species using a defined set of modifications covering PEG and common PEG-based detergents. Further characterization of the sample for unidentified PEG species using error-tolerant and mass-tolerant searches resulted in identification of 3409 and 3187 PEG-related MS/MS spectra, respectively. We further demonstrate the applicability of the strategy for Protein Pilot and MaxQuant.

  18. Detection and identification of drugs and toxicants in human body fluids by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry under data-dependent acquisition control and automated database search.

    PubMed

    Oberacher, Herbert; Schubert, Birthe; Libiseller, Kathrin; Schweissgut, Anna

    2013-04-03

    Systematic toxicological analysis (STA) is aimed at detecting and identifying all substances of toxicological relevance (i.e. drugs, drugs of abuse, poisons and/or their metabolites) in biological material. Particularly, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) represents a competent and commonly applied screening and confirmation tool. Herein, we present an untargeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay aimed to complement existing GC/MS screening for the detection and identification of drugs in blood, plasma and urine samples. Solid-phase extraction was accomplished on mixed-mode cartridges. LC was based on gradient elution in a miniaturized C18 column. High resolution electrospray ionization-MS/MS in positive ion mode with data-dependent acquisition control was used to generate tandem mass spectral information that enabled compound identification via automated library search in the "Wiley Registry of Tandem Mass Spectral Data, MSforID". Fitness of the developed LC/MS/MS method for application in STA in terms of selectivity, detection capability and reliability of identification (sensitivity/specificity) was demonstrated with blank samples, certified reference materials, proficiency test samples, and authentic casework samples. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. High-Efficiency Polycrystalline Thin Film Tandem Solar Cells.

    PubMed

    Kranz, Lukas; Abate, Antonio; Feurer, Thomas; Fu, Fan; Avancini, Enrico; Löckinger, Johannes; Reinhard, Patrick; Zakeeruddin, Shaik M; Grätzel, Michael; Buecheler, Stephan; Tiwari, Ayodhya N

    2015-07-16

    A promising way to enhance the efficiency of CIGS solar cells is by combining them with perovskite solar cells in tandem devices. However, so far, such tandem devices had limited efficiency due to challenges in developing NIR-transparent perovskite top cells, which allow photons with energy below the perovskite band gap to be transmitted to the bottom cell. Here, a process for the fabrication of NIR-transparent perovskite solar cells is presented, which enables power conversion efficiencies up to 12.1% combined with an average sub-band gap transmission of 71% for photons with wavelength between 800 and 1000 nm. The combination of a NIR-transparent perovskite top cell with a CIGS bottom cell enabled a tandem device with 19.5% efficiency, which is the highest reported efficiency for a polycrystalline thin film tandem solar cell. Future developments of perovskite/CIGS tandem devices are discussed and prospects for devices with efficiency toward and above 27% are given.

  20. Direct Visualization of Neurotransmitters in Rat Brain Slices by Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging (DESI - MS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fernandes, Anna Maria A. P.; Vendramini, Pedro H.; Galaverna, Renan; Schwab, Nicolas V.; Alberici, Luciane C.; Augusti, Rodinei; Castilho, Roger F.; Eberlin, Marcos N.

    2016-12-01

    Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of neurotransmitters has so far been mainly performed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) where derivatization reagents, deuterated matrix and/or high resolution, or tandem MS have been applied to circumvent problems with interfering ion peaks from matrix and from isobaric species. We herein describe the application of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI)-MSI in rat brain coronal and sagittal slices for direct spatial monitoring of neurotransmitters and choline with no need of derivatization reagents and/or deuterated materials. The amino acids γ-aminobutyric (GABA), glutamate, aspartate, serine, as well as acetylcholine, dopamine, and choline were successfully imaged using a commercial DESI source coupled to a hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. The spatial distribution of the analyzed compounds in different brain regions was determined. We conclude that the ambient matrix-free DESI-MSI is suitable for neurotransmitter imaging and could be applied in studies that involve evaluation of imbalances in neurotransmitters levels.

  1. Form-Focused Interaction in Online Tandem Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Rourke, Breffni

    2005-01-01

    Tandem language learning--a configuration involving pairs of learners with complementary target/native languages--is an underexploited but potentially very powerful use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in second-language pedagogy. Tandem offers the benefits of authentic, culturally grounded interaction, while also promoting a pedagogical…

  2. Simultaneous determination of osthole, bergapten and isopimpinellin in rat plasma and tissues by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Li, Jing; Ma, Bo; Zhang, Qi; Yang, Xiaojing; Sun, Jingjing; Tang, Bowen; Cui, Guangbo; Yao, Di; Liu, Lei; Gu, Guiying; Zhu, Jianwei; Wei, Ping; Ouyang, Pingkai

    2014-11-01

    A highly selective and sensitive method for simultaneous quantitation of osthole, bergapten and isopimpinellin in rat plasma and tissues was developed by liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). After liquid-liquid extraction of samples with methyl tert-butyl ether, the analytes and dextrorphan (internal standard, IS) were separated by a Hypersil GOLD AQ C18 column with gradient elution of acetonitrile and water containing 0.5‰ formic acid. Three determinands were detected using an electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) modes with positive electrospray ionization. Calibration curves were recovered over the concentration ranges of 1-200 ng/ml, 1-500 ng/ml, 0.25-200 ng/ml for osthole, bergapten and isopimpinellin in plasma; 1-100 ng/ml, 1-500 ng/ml, 0.5-100 ng/ml for osthole, bergapten and isopimpinellin in tissues, respectively. The intra-day precision (R.S.D.) was within 13.90% and the intra-day accuracy (R.E.) was within -6.27 to 6.84% in all biological matrixes. The inter-day precision (R.S.D.) was less than 13.66% and the inter-day accuracy (R.E.) was within -10.64 to 13.04%. Then the method was successfully applied to investigate plasma pharmacokinetic study and tissue distribution of osthole, bergapten and isopimpinellin in rats after oral administration of Fructus Cnidii extraction, especially for testis/uterus tissue distribution. The results demonstrated that osthole, bergapten and isopimpinellin were absorbed and eliminated rapidly with wide distributions in rats. Distribution data of these three bioactive components in testis/uterus tissues could offer useful information for the further preclinical and clinical studies of Fructus Cnidii in the treatment of genital system disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Top-Down Proteomic Identification of Shiga Toxin 2 Subtypes from Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Tandem Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Zaragoza, William J.; Sultan, Omar; Woo, Nathan; Quiñones, Beatriz; Cooley, Michael B.; Mandrell, Robert E.

    2014-01-01

    We have analyzed 26 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains for Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) production using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI)–tandem time of flight (TOF-TOF) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and top-down proteomic analysis. STEC strains were induced to overexpress Stx2 by overnight culturing on solid agar supplemented with either ciprofloxacin or mitomycin C. Harvested cells were lysed by bead beating, and unfractionated bacterial cell lysates were ionized by MALDI. The A2 fragment of the A subunit and the mature B subunit of Stx2 were analyzed by MS/MS. Sequence-specific fragment ions were used to identify amino acid subtypes of Stx2 using top-down proteomic analysis using software developed in-house at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Stx2 subtypes (a, c, d, f, and g) were identified on the basis of the mass of the A2 fragment and the B subunit as well as from their sequence-specific fragment ions by MS/MS (postsource decay). Top-down proteomic identification was in agreement with DNA sequencing of the full Stx2 operon (stx2) for all strains. Top-down results were also compared to a bioassay using a Vero-d2EGFP cell line. Our results suggest that top-down proteomic identification is a rapid, highly specific technique for distinguishing Stx2 subtypes. PMID:24584253

  4. Electronic Tandem Language Learning (eTandem): A Third Approach to Second Language Learning for the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cziko, Gary A.

    2004-01-01

    Tandem language learning occurs when two learners of different native languages work together to help each other learn the other language. First used in face-to-face contexts, Tandem is now increasingly being used by language-learning partners located in different countries who are linked via various forms of electronic communication, a context…

  5. Direct Analysis of Triterpenes from High-Salt Fermented Cucumbers Using Infrared Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Electrospray Ionization (IR-MALDESI)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ekelöf, Måns; McMurtrie, Erin K.; Nazari, Milad; Johanningsmeier, Suzanne D.; Muddiman, David C.

    2017-02-01

    High-salt samples present a challenge to mass spectrometry (MS) analysis, particularly when electrospray ionization (ESI) is used, requiring extensive sample preparation steps such as desalting, extraction, and purification. In this study, infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption electrospray ionization (IR-MALDESI) coupled to a Q Exactive Plus mass spectrometer was used to directly analyze 50-μm thick slices of cucumber fermented and stored in 1 M sodium chloride brine. From the several hundred unique substances observed, three triterpenoid lipids produced by cucumbers, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and lupeol, were putatively identified based on exact mass and selected for structural analysis. The spatial distribution of the lipids were imaged, and the putative assignments were confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry performed directly on the same cucumber, demonstrating the capacity of the technique to deliver confident identifications from highly complex samples in molar concentrations of salt without the need for sample preparation.

  6. Enhanced direct ambient analysis by differential mobility-filtered desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Galhena, Asiri S; Harris, Glenn A; Kwasnik, Mark; Fernández, Facundo M

    2010-11-15

    Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) is rapidly becoming established as one of the most powerful ionization techniques allowing direct surface analysis by mass spectrometry (MS) in the ambient environment. DESI provides a significant number of unique analytical capabilities for a broad range of applications, both quantitative and qualitative in nature including biological tissue imaging, pharmaceutical quality control, in vivo analysis, proteomics, metabolomics, forensics, and explosives detection. Despite its growing adoption as a powerful high throughput analysis tool, DESI-MS analysis at trace levels often suffers from background chemical interferences generated during the electrospray ionization processes. In order to improve sensitivity and selectivity, a differential mobility (DM) ion separation cell was successfully interfaced to a custom-built DESI ion source. This new hybrid platform can be operated in two modes: the "DM-off" mode for standard DESI analysis and "DM-on mode" where DESI-generated ions are detected after discrimination by the differential mobility cell. The performance of the DESI-DM-MS platform was tested with several samples typically amenable to DESI analysis, including counterfeit pharmaceuticals and binary mixtures of isobaric chemicals of importance in the pharmaceutical and food industries. In the DM-on mode, DESI-MS signal-to-noise ratios were improved by 70-190% when compared to the DM-off mode. Also, the addition of the DM cell enabled selective in-source ion activation of specific DESI-generated precursor ions, providing tandem MS-like spectra in a single stage mass spectrometer.

  7. Method development for the determination of 24S-hydroxycholesterol in human plasma without derivatization by high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry in atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mode.

    PubMed

    Sugimoto, Hiroshi; Kakehi, Masaaki; Satomi, Yoshinori; Kamiguchi, Hidenori; Jinno, Fumihiro

    2015-10-01

    We developed a highly sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface to determine 24S-hydroxycholesterol, a major metabolite of cholesterol formed by cytochrome P450 family 46A1, in human plasma without any derivatization step. Phosphate buffered saline including 1% Tween 80 was used as the surrogate matrix for preparation of calibration curves and quality control samples. The saponification process to convert esterified 24S-hydroxycholesterol to free sterols was optimized, followed by liquid-liquid extraction using hexane. Chromatographic separation of 24S-hydroxycholesterol from other isobaric endogenous oxysterols was successfully achieved with gradient mobile phase comprised of 0.1% propionic acid and acetonitrile using L-column2 ODS (2 μm, 2.1 mm id × 150 mm). This assay was capable of determining 24S-hydroxycholesterol in human plasma (200 μL) ranging from 1 to 100 ng/mL with acceptable intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy. The potential risk of in vitro formation of 24S-hydroxycholesterol by oxidation from endogenous cholesterol in human plasma was found to be negligible. The stability of 24S-hydroxycholesterol in relevant solvents and human plasma was confirmed. This method was successfully applied to quantify the plasma concentrations of 24S-hydroxycholesterol in male and female volunteers. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. 47 CFR 69.111 - Tandem-switched transport and tandem charge.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ..., geographically averaged on a study-area-wide basis, that the incumbent local exchange carrier experiences based... exchange carrier experiences based on the prior year's annual use. Tandem-switched transport transmission..., geographically averaged on a study-area-wide basis, that the incumbent local exchange carrier experiences based...

  9. On-line miniaturized asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry with selected reaction monitoring for quantitative analysis of phospholipids in plasma lipoproteins.

    PubMed

    Yang, Iseul; Kim, Ki Hun; Lee, Ju Yong; Moon, Myeong Hee

    2014-01-10

    A direct analytical method for high speed quantitative analysis of lipids in human blood plasma using on-line chip-type asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (cAF4-ESI-MS/MS) with selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is described in this study. Utilizing a miniaturized cAF4 channel, high speed size separation of high density lipoproteins (HDL) and low density lipoproteins (LDL) from plasma samples can be accomplished at a microflow rate along with simultaneous desalting of lipoproteins, both of which are conducive to direct ESI of lipids in lipoproteins. This study demonstrates that the SRM method to monitor phospholipids during cAF4-ESI-MS/MS can be successfully applied to the quantitation of lipid molecules in plasma lipoproteins without the need of a separate lipid extraction process. For quantitation of lipids in HDL and LDL during cAF4-ESI-MS/MS runs, a protein standard (carbonic anhydrase, 29 kDa) was added to each plasma sample as an internal standard such that a peak intensity of y67(+5) ions, which are high abundant SRM product ions of CA, could be utilized to calculate the relative intensity of each lipid molecule. The developed method was applied to plasma samples from 10 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 10 healthy control samples, and quantitative analysis of 39 lipid molecules including phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines, sphingomyelins, phosphatidylglycerols, and phosphatidylinositols, resulted in the selection of 13 PL species showing more than 2.5 fold difference in relative abundance (p<0.01) between the groups. The present study demonstrates a high speed analytical method for determining plasma lipid content and distribution without an organic solvent extraction of lipids from plasma. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. A new liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method using atmospheric pressure photo ionization for the simultaneous determination of azaarenes and azaarones in Dutch river sediments.

    PubMed

    Brulik, Jan; Simek, Zdenek; de Voogt, Pim

    2013-06-14

    A new method for the analysis of azaarenes and their degradation products (azaarones) was developed, optimized and validated using liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure photo ionization tandem mass spectrometric detection (LC-APPI/MS/MS). Seventeen compounds including 4 PAHs (naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, benz[a]anthracene), 7 azaarenes (quinoline, acridine, phenanthridine, 5,6-benzoquinoline and 7,8-benzoquinoline, benzo[a]acridine, benzo[c]acridine), and 6 azaarones (2-OH-quinoline, 4-OH-quinoline, 5-OH-quinoline, 6-OH-quinoline, 9(10H)-acridone, 6(5H)phenanthridinone) were analyzed in sediment samples from Dutch rivers. All compounds were analyzed simultaneously in multi reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Soxhlet extraction was used for the extraction of analytes from sediments. The limits of quantification of azaarenes and azaarones varied from 0.21 to 1.12μg/l and from 0.23 to 1.58μg/l, respectively. The limits of quantification for PAHs varied from 32 to 769μg/l. Matrix-independent recoveries of sediment samples were in the range 85-110%; matrix-dependent recoveries were in the range 73-148%, respectively. The method was tested on real sediment samples and the results were compared with a previous study in which GC/MS/MS was used for the simultaneous measurement of azaarenes and azaarones. 4-, 5- and 6-OH-quinolines and naphthalene, anthracene and phenanthrene were not present or below detection limits in some samples. All other analytes were present in samples in the concentration range 0.2-1200ng/g (dw). To our knowledge, this is the first report showing the possibility of measurement non-polar polyaromatic hydrocarbons together with polar azaarenes and their degradation products azaarones simultaneously with sufficient sensitivity and accuracy using LC/MS/MS. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. A dedicated AMS setup for medium mass isotopes at the Cologne FN tandem accelerator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schiffer, M.; Altenkirch, R.; Feuerstein, C.; Müller-Gatermann, C.; Hackenberg, G.; Herb, S.; Bhandari, P.; Heinze, S.; Stolz, A.; Dewald, A.

    2017-09-01

    AMS measurements of medium mass isotopes, e.g. of 53Mn and 60Fe, are gaining interest in various fields of operation, especially geoscience. Therefore a dedicated AMS setup has been built at the Cologne 10 MV FN tandem accelerator. This setup is designed to obtain a sufficient suppression of the stable isobars at energies around 100 MeV. In this contribution we report on the actual status of the new setup and the first in-beam tests of its individual components. The isobar suppression is done with (dE/dx) techniques using combinations of energy degrader foils with an electrostatic analyzer (ESA) and a time of flight (ToF) system, as well as a (dE/dx),E gas ionization detector. Furthermore, the upgraded ion source and its negative ion yield measurement for MnO- are presented.

  12. Tandem catalysis: a new approach to polymers.

    PubMed

    Robert, Carine; Thomas, Christophe M

    2013-12-21

    The creation of polymers by tandem catalysis represents an exciting frontier in materials science. Tandem catalysis is one of the strategies used by Nature for building macromolecules. Living organisms generally synthesize macromolecules by in vivo enzyme-catalyzed chain growth polymerization reactions using activated monomers that have been formed within cells during complex metabolic processes. However, these biological processes rely on highly complex biocatalysts, thus limiting their industrial applications. In order to obtain polymers by tandem catalysis, homogeneous and enzyme catalysts have played a leading role in the last two decades. In the following feature article, we will describe selected published efforts to achieve these research goals.

  13. Identification and quantification of ricin in biomedical samples by magnetic immunocapture enrichment and liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Ma, Xiaoxi; Tang, Jijun; Li, Chunzheng; Liu, Qin; Chen, Jia; Li, Hua; Guo, Lei; Xie, Jianwei

    2014-08-01

    Ricin is a toxic protein derived from castor beans and composed of a cytotoxic A chain and a galactose-binding B chain linked by a disulfide bond, which can inhibit protein synthesis and cause cell death. Owing to its high toxicity, ease of preparation, and lack of medical countermeasures, ricin has been listed as both chemical and biological warfare agents. For homeland security or public safety, the unambiguous, sensitive, and rapid methods for identification and quantification of ricin in complicated matrices are of urgent need. Mass spectrometric analysis, which provides specific and sensitive characterization of protein, can be applied to confirm and quantify ricin. Here, we report a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method in which ricin was extracted and enriched from serum by immunocapture using anti-ricin monoclonal antibody 3D74 linked to magnetic beads, then digested by trypsin, and analyzed by LC-ESI-MS/MS. Among 19 distinct peptides observed in LC-quadrupole/time of flight-MS (LC-QTOF-MS), two specific and sensitive peptides, T7A ((49)VGLPINQR(56)) and T14B ((188)DNCLTSDSNIR(198)), were chosen, and a highly sensitive determination of ricin was established in LC-triple quadrupole-MS (LC-QqQ-MS) operating in multiple reaction monitoring mode. These specific peptides can definitely distinguish ricin from the homologous protein Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA120), even though the amino acid sequence homology of the A-chain of ricin and RCA120 is up to ca. 93% and that of B-chain is ca. 85%. Furthermore, peptide T7A was preferred in the quantification of ricin because its sensitivity was at least one order of magnitude higher than that of the peptide T14B. Combined with immunocapture enrichment, this method provided a limit of detection of ca. 2.5 ng/mL and the limit of quantification was ca. 5 ng/mL of ricin in serum, respectively. Both precision and accuracy of this method were determined and the RSD

  14. Analytical instruments, ionization sources, and ionization methods

    DOEpatents

    Atkinson, David A.; Mottishaw, Paul

    2006-04-11

    Methods and apparatus for simultaneous vaporization and ionization of a sample in a spectrometer prior to introducing the sample into the drift tube of the analyzer are disclosed. The apparatus includes a vaporization/ionization source having an electrically conductive conduit configured to receive sample particulate which is conveyed to a discharge end of the conduit. Positioned proximate to the discharge end of the conduit is an electrically conductive reference device. The conduit and the reference device act as electrodes and have an electrical potential maintained between them sufficient to cause a corona effect, which will cause at least partial simultaneous ionization and vaporization of the sample particulate. The electrical potential can be maintained to establish a continuous corona, or can be held slightly below the breakdown potential such that arrival of particulate at the point of proximity of the electrodes disrupts the potential, causing arcing and the corona effect. The electrical potential can also be varied to cause periodic arcing between the electrodes such that particulate passing through the arc is simultaneously vaporized and ionized. The invention further includes a spectrometer containing the source. The invention is particularly useful for ion mobility spectrometers and atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometers.

  15. Detection of protein modifications and counterfeit protein pharmaceuticals using isotope tags for relative and absolute quantification and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry: studies of insulins.

    PubMed

    Ye, Hongping; Hill, John; Kauffman, John; Gryniewicz, Connie; Han, Xianlin

    2008-08-15

    Isotope tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) reagent coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometric analysis has been evaluated as both a qualitative and quantitative method for the detection of modifications to active pharmaceutical ingredients derived from recombinant DNA technologies and as a method to detect counterfeit drug products. Five types of insulin (human, bovine, porcine, Lispro, and Lantus) were used as model products in the study because of their minor variations in amino acid sequence. Several experiments were conducted in which each insulin variant was separately digested with Glu-C, and the digestate was labeled with one of four different iTRAQ reagents. All digestates were then combined for desalting and MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometric analysis. When the digestion procedure was optimized, the insulin sequence coverage was 100%. Five different types of insulin were readily differentiated, including human insulin (P28K29) and Lispro insulin (K28P29), which differ only by the interchange of two contiguous residues. Moreover, quantitative analyses show that the results obtained from the iTRAQ method agree well with those determined by other conventional methods. Collectively, the iTRAQ method can be used as a qualitative and quantitative technique for the detection of protein modification and counterfeiting.

  16. Qualitative and quantitative comparison of brand name and generic protein pharmaceuticals using isotope tags for relative and absolute quantification and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Ye, Hongping; Hill, John; Kauffman, John; Han, Xianlin

    2010-05-01

    The capability of iTRAQ (isotope tags for relative and absolute quantification) reagents coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS) as a qualitative and quantitative technique for the analysis of complicated protein pharmaceutical mixtures was evaluated. Mixtures of Somavert and Miacalcin with a small amount of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as an impurity were analyzed. Both Somavert and Miacalcin were qualitatively identified, and BSA was detected at levels as low as 0.8mol%. Genotropin and Somavert were compared in a single experiment, and all of the distinct amino acid residues from the two proteins were readily identified. Four somatropin drug products (Genotropin, Norditropin, Jintropin, and Omnitrope) were compared using the iTRAQ/MALDI-MS method to determine the similarity between their primary structures and quantify the amount of protein in each product. All four product samples were well labeled and successfully compared when a filtration cleanup step preceded iTRAQ labeling. The quantitative accuracy of the iTRAQ method was evaluated. In all cases, the accuracy of experimentally determined protein ratios was higher than 90%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 10%. The iTRAQ and global internal standard technology (GIST) methods were compared, and the iTRAQ method provided both higher sequence coverage and enhanced signal intensity. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. A novel type of matrix for surface-assisted laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometric detection of biomolecules using metal-organic frameworks.

    PubMed

    Fu, Chien-Ping; Lirio, Stephen; Liu, Wan-Ling; Lin, Chia-Her; Huang, Hsi-Ya

    2015-08-12

    A 3D metal-organic framework (MOF) nanomaterial as matrix for surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed for the analysis of complex biomolecules. Unlike other nanoparticle matrices, this MOF nanomaterial does not need chemical modification prior to use. An exceptional signal reproducibility as well as very low background interferences in analyzing mono-/di-saccharides, peptides and complex starch digests demonstrate its high potential for biomolecule assays, especially for small molecules. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of mequindox and its metabolites in porcine tissues.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Dongping; Shen, Xiangguang; He, Limin; Ding, Huanzhong; Tang, Youzhi; Sun, Yongxue; Fang, Binghu; Zeng, Zhenling

    2012-06-01

    A rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for the simultaneous determination of mequindox and its five metabolites (2-isoethanol mequindox, 2-isoethanol 1-desoxymequindox, 1-desoxymequindox, 1,4-bisdesoxymequindox, and 2-isoethanol bisdesoxymequindox) in porcine muscle, liver, and kidney, fulfilling confirmation criteria with two transitions for each compound with acceptable relative ion intensities. The method involved acid hydrolysis, purification by solid-phase extraction, and subsequent analysis with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization operated in positive polarity with a total run time of 15 min. The decision limit values of five analytes in porcine tissues ranged from 0.6 to 2.9 μg/kg, and the detection capability values ranged from 1.2 to 5.7 μg/kg. The results of the inter-day study, which was performed by fortifying porcine muscle (2, 4, and 8 μg/kg), liver, and kidney (10, 20, and 40 μg/kg) samples on three separate days, showed that the accuracy of the method for the various analytes ranged between 75.3 and 107.2% with relative standard deviation less than 12% for each analyte. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Improving the Sensitivity of Mass Spectrometry by Using a New Sheath Flow Electrospray Emitter Array at Subambient Pressures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cox, Jonathan T.; Marginean, Ioan; Kelly, Ryan T.

    Arrays of chemically etched emitters with individualized sheath gas capillaries have been developed to enhance electrospray ionization (ESI) at subambient pressures. By including an emitter array in a subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) source, ionization and transmission efficiency can be maximized allowing for increased sensitivity in mass spectrometric analyses. The SPIN source eliminates the major ion losses at conventional ESI-mass spectrometry (MS) interface by placing the emitter in the first vacuum region of the instrument. To facilitate stable electrospray currents in such conditions we have developed an improved emitter array with individualized sheath gas around each emitter. The utilitymore » of the new emitter arrays for generating stable multi-electrosprays at subambient pressures was probed by coupling the emitter array/SPIN source with a time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. The instrument sensitivity was compared between single emitter/SPIN-MS and multi-emitter/SPIN-MS configurations using an equimolar solution of 9 peptides. An increase in sensitivity correlative to the number of emitters in the array was observed.« less

  20. Improving the Sensitivity of Mass Spectrometry by Using a New Sheath Flow Electrospray Emitter Array at Subambient Pressures

    DOE PAGES

    Cox, Jonathan T.; Marginean, Ioan; Kelly, Ryan T.; ...

    2014-03-28

    Arrays of chemically etched emitters with individualized sheath gas capillaries have been developed to enhance electrospray ionization (ESI) at subambient pressures. By including an emitter array in a subambient pressure ionization with nanoelectrospray (SPIN) source, ionization and transmission efficiency can be maximized allowing for increased sensitivity in mass spectrometric analyses. The SPIN source eliminates the major ion losses at conventional ESI-mass spectrometry (MS) interface by placing the emitter in the first vacuum region of the instrument. To facilitate stable electrospray currents in such conditions we have developed an improved emitter array with individualized sheath gas around each emitter. The utilitymore » of the new emitter arrays for generating stable multi-electrosprays at subambient pressures was probed by coupling the emitter array/SPIN source with a time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. The instrument sensitivity was compared between single emitter/SPIN-MS and multi-emitter/SPIN-MS configurations using an equimolar solution of 9 peptides. An increase in sensitivity correlative to the number of emitters in the array was observed.« less

  1. TRedD—A database for tandem repeats over the edit distance

    PubMed Central

    Sokol, Dina; Atagun, Firat

    2010-01-01

    A ‘tandem repeat’ in DNA is a sequence of two or more contiguous, approximate copies of a pattern of nucleotides. Tandem repeats are common in the genomes of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. They are significant markers for human identity testing, disease diagnosis, sequence homology and population studies. In this article, we describe a new database, TRedD, which contains the tandem repeats found in the human genome. The database is publicly available online, and the software for locating the repeats is also freely available. The definition of tandem repeats used by TRedD is a new and innovative definition based upon the concept of ‘evolutive tandem repeats’. In addition, we have developed a tool, called TandemGraph, to graphically depict the repeats occurring in a sequence. This tool can be coupled with any repeat finding software, and it should greatly facilitate analysis of results. Database URL: http://tandem.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ PMID:20624712

  2. Trace detection of organic compounds in complex sample matrixes by single photon ionization ion trap mass spectrometry: real-time detection of security-relevant compounds and online analysis of the coffee-roasting process.

    PubMed

    Schramm, Elisabeth; Kürten, Andreas; Hölzer, Jasper; Mitschke, Stefan; Mühlberger, Fabian; Sklorz, Martin; Wieser, Jochen; Ulrich, Andreas; Pütz, Michael; Schulte-Ladbeck, Rasmus; Schultze, Rainer; Curtius, Joachim; Borrmann, Stephan; Zimmermann, Ralf

    2009-06-01

    An in-house-built ion trap mass spectrometer combined with a soft ionization source has been set up and tested. As ionization source, an electron beam pumped vacuum UV (VUV) excimer lamp (EBEL) was used for single-photon ionization. It was shown that soft ionization allows the reduction of fragmentation of the target analytes and the suppression of most matrix components. Therefore, the combination of photon ionization with the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) capability of an ion trap yields a powerful tool for molecular ion peak detection and identification of organic trace compounds in complex matrixes. This setup was successfully tested for two different applications. The first one is the detection of security-relevant substances like explosives, narcotics, and chemical warfare agents. One test substance from each of these groups was chosen and detected successfully with single photon ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (SPI-ITMS) MS/MS measurements. Additionally, first tests were performed, demonstrating that this method is not influenced by matrix compounds. The second field of application is the detection of process gases. Here, exhaust gas from coffee roasting was analyzed in real time, and some of its compounds were identified using MS/MS studies.

  3. PTGBase: an integrated database to study tandem duplicated genes in plants.

    PubMed

    Yu, Jingyin; Ke, Tao; Tehrim, Sadia; Sun, Fengming; Liao, Boshou; Hua, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Tandem duplication is a wide-spread phenomenon in plant genomes and plays significant roles in evolution and adaptation to changing environments. Tandem duplicated genes related to certain functions will lead to the expansion of gene families and bring increase of gene dosage in the form of gene cluster arrays. Many tandem duplication events have been studied in plant genomes; yet, there is a surprising shortage of efforts to systematically present the integration of large amounts of information about publicly deposited tandem duplicated gene data across the plant kingdom. To address this shortcoming, we developed the first plant tandem duplicated genes database, PTGBase. It delivers the most comprehensive resource available to date, spanning 39 plant genomes, including model species and newly sequenced species alike. Across these genomes, 54 130 tandem duplicated gene clusters (129 652 genes) are presented in the database. Each tandem array, as well as its member genes, is characterized in complete detail. Tandem duplicated genes in PTGBase can be explored through browsing or searching by identifiers or keywords of functional annotation and sequence similarity. Users can download tandem duplicated gene arrays easily to any scale, up to the complete annotation data set for an entire plant genome. PTGBase will be updated regularly with newly sequenced plant species as they become available. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

  4. Hybrid Tandem Solar Cells | Photovoltaic Research | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    Hybrid Tandem Solar Cells Hybrid Tandem Solar Cells To achieve aggressive cost reductions in photovoltaics (PV) beyond the 6¢/kWh SunShot Initiative 2020 goal, module efficiency must be increased beyond on a silicon platform and that aim to provide viable prototypes for commercialization. PV Research

  5. Monolithic Parallel Tandem Organic Photovoltaic Cell with Transparent Carbon Nanotube Interlayer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tanaka, S.; Mielczarek, K.; Ovalle-Robles, R.; Wang, B.; Hsu, D.; Zakhidov, A. A.

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate an organic photovoltaic cell with a monolithic tandem structure in parallel connection. Transparent multiwalled carbon nanotube sheets are used as an interlayer anode electrode for this parallel tandem. The characteristics of front and back cells are measured independently. The short circuit current density of the parallel tandem cell is larger than the currents of each individual cell. The wavelength dependence of photocurrent for the parallel tandem cell shows the superposition spectrum of the two spectral sensitivities of the front and back cells. The monolithic three-electrode photovoltaic cell indeed operates as a parallel tandem with improved efficiency.

  6. Tandem mass spectrometry: analysis of complex mixtures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Singleton, K.E.

    1985-01-01

    Applications of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for the analysis of complex mixtures results in increased specificity and selectivity by using a variety of reagent gases in both negative and positive ion modes. Natural isotopic abundance ratios were examined in both simple and complex mixtures using parent, daughter and neutral loss scans. MS/MS was also used to discover new compounds. Daughter scans were used to identify seven new alkaloids in a cactus species. Three of these alkaloids were novel compounds, and included the first simple, fully aromatic isoquinoline alkaloids reported in Cactaceae. MS/MS was used to characterize the chemical reaction productsmore » of coal in studies designed to probe its macromolecular structure. Negative ion chemical ionization was utilized to study reaction products resulting from the oxidation of coal. Possible structural units in the precursor coal were predicted based on the reaction products identified, aliphatic and aromatic acids and their anhydrides. The MS/MS method was also used to characterize reaction products resulting from coal liquefaction and/or extraction. These studies illustrate the types of problems for which MS/MS is useful. Emphasis has been placed on characterization of complex mixtures by selecting experimental parameters which enhance the information obtained. The value of using MS/MS in conjunction with other analytical techniques as well as the chemical pretreatment is demonstrated.« less

  7. Identification of cardiac glycosides in fractions from Periploca forrestii by high-performance liquid chromatography/diode-array detection/electrospray ionization multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/nuclear magnetic resonance.

    PubMed

    Li, Yong; Wu, Xianfu; Li, Jianbei; Wang, Yinghong; Yu, Shishan; Lv, Haining; Qu, Jing; Abliz, Zeper; Liu, Jing; Liu, Yuanyan; Du, Dan

    2010-02-01

    Cardiac glycosides are a class of naturally occurring compounds that are characterized by some interesting biological activities and are widely distributed in the plant kingdom and can also be found in some animals. There is an interest in the chemical characterization of these molecules due to their toxicity and their use in medicines. In the study reported here, a combination of electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry with high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS(n)), and hyphenation to both liquid chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HPLC/NMR) were utilized for the on-line analyses of cardiac glycosides from Periploca forrestii. The fragmentation patterns and (1)H NMR spectra of nine isolated cardiac glycosides were investigated; their fragmentation rules and (1)H NMR spectral characteristics were summarized and applied to the structural identification of similar constituents in fractions from P. forrestii. As a result, a total of nine trace cardiac glycosides were tentatively determined by analyses of accurate molecular masses, representative fragment ions and characteristic (1)H NMR signals provided by HPLC/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS(n) and HPLC/(1)H NMR experiments, respectively. Of these, eight (2-9) are new compounds and one (1) is reported from P. forrestii for the first time. Results of the present study can benefit the rapid identification and targeted isolation of new cardiac glycosides from crude plant extracts. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Inverted Three-Junction Tandem Thermophotovoltaic Modules

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wojtczuk, Steven

    2012-01-01

    An InGaAs-based three-junction (3J) tandem thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cell has been investigated to utilize more of the blackbody spectrum (from a 1,100 C general purpose heat source GPHS) efficiently. The tandem consists of three vertically stacked subcells, a 0.74-eV InGaAs cell, a 0.6- eV InGaAs cell, and a 0.55-eV InGaAs cell, as well as two interconnecting tunnel junctions. A greater than 20% TPV system efficiency was achieved by another group with a 1,040 C blackbody using a single-bandgap 0.6- eV InGaAs cell MIM (monolithic interconnected module) (30 lateral junctions) that delivered about 12 V/30 or 0.4 V/junction. It is expected that a three-bandgap tandem MIM will eventually have about 3 this voltage (1.15 V) and about half the current. A 4 A/cm2 would be generated by a single-bandgap 0.6-V InGaAs MIM, as opposed to the 2 A/cm2 available from the same spectrum when split among the three series-connected junctions in the tandem stack. This would then be about a 50% increase (3xVoc, 0.5xIsc) in output power if the proposed tandem replaced the single- bandgap MIM. The advantage of the innovation, if successful, would be a 50% increase in power conversion efficiency from radioisotope heat sources using existing thermophotovoltaics. Up to 50% more power would be generated for radioisotope GPHS deep space missions. This type of InGaAs multijunction stack could be used with terrestrial concentrator solar cells to increase efficiency from 41 to 45% or more.

  9. Chemical Profiling of Re-Du-Ning Injection by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Electrospray Ionization Tandem Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry through the Screening of Diagnostic Ions in MSE Mode

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Zhenzhong; Geng, Jianliang; Dai, Yi; Xiao, Wei; Yao, Xinsheng

    2015-01-01

    The broad applications and mechanism explorations of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions (TCMPs) require a clear understanding of TCMP chemical constituents. In the present study, we describe an efficient and universally applicable analytical approach based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q/TOF-MS) with the MSE (E denotes collision energy) data acquisition mode, which allowed the rapid separation and reliable determination of TCMP chemical constituents. By monitoring diagnostic ions in the high energy function of MSE, target peaks of analogous compounds in TCMPs could be rapidly screened and identified. “Re-Du-Ning” injection (RDN), a eutherapeutic traditional Chinese medicine injection (TCMI) that has been widely used to reduce fever caused by viral infections in clinical practice, was studied as an example. In total, 90 compounds, including five new iridoids and one new sesquiterpene, were identified or tentatively characterized by accurate mass measurements within 5 ppm error. This analysis was accompanied by MS fragmentation and reference standard comparison analyses. Furthermore, the herbal sources of these compounds were unambiguously confirmed by comparing the extracted ion chromatograms (EICs) of RDN and ingredient herbal extracts. Our work provides a certain foundation for further studies of RDN. Moreover, the analytical approach developed herein has proven to be generally applicable for profiling the chemical constituents in TCMPs and other complicated mixtures. PMID:25875968

  10. Performance of a tandem-rotor/tandem-stator conical-flow compressor designed for a pressure ratio of 3

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wood, J. R.; Owen, A. K.; Schumann, L. F.

    1982-01-01

    A conical-flow compressor stage with a large radius change through the rotor was tested at three values of rotor tip clearance. The stage had a tandem rotor and a tandem stator. Peak efficiency at design speed was 0.774 at a pressure ratio of 2.613. The rotor was tested without the stator, and detailed survey data were obtained for each rotor blade row. Overall peak rotor efficiency was 0.871 at a pressure ratio of 2.952.

  11. A tandem-based compact dual-energy gamma generator.

    PubMed

    Persaud, A; Kwan, J W; Leitner, M; Leung, K-N; Ludewigt, B; Tanaka, N; Waldron, W; Wilde, S; Antolak, A J; Morse, D H; Raber, T

    2010-02-01

    A dual-energy tandem-type gamma generator has been developed at E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. The tandem accelerator geometry allows higher energy nuclear reactions to be reached, thereby allowing more flexible generation of MeV-energy gammas for active interrogation applications. Both positively charged ions and atoms of hydrogen are created from negative ions via a gas stripper. In this paper, we show first results of the working tandem-based gamma generator and that a gas stripper can be utilized in a compact source design. Preliminary results of monoenergetic gamma production are shown.

  12. Determination of albendazole sulfoxide in human plasma by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Saraner, Nihal; Özkan, Güler Yağmur; Güney, Berrak; Alkan, Erkin; Burul-Bozkurt, Nihan; Sağlam, Onursal; Fikirdeşici, Ezgi; Yıldırım, Mevlüt

    2016-06-01

    A rapid, simple and sensitive method was developed and validated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for determination of albendazole sulfoxide (ABZOX) in human plasma. The plasma samples were extracted by protein precipitation using albendazole sulfoxide-d3 as internal standard (IS). The chromatographic separation was performed on Waters Xbridge C18Column (100×4.6mm, 3.5μm) with a mobile phase consisting of ammonia solution, water and methanol at a flow rate of 0.70mL/min. ABZOX was detected and identified by mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive ion and multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The method was linear in the range of 3-1500ng/mL for ABZOX. This method was successfully applied to the bioequivalence study in human plasma samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Solar-to-Chemical Energy Conversion with Photoelectrochemical Tandem Cells.

    PubMed

    Sivula, Kevin

    2013-01-01

    Efficiently and inexpensively converting solar energy into chemical fuels is an important goal towards a sustainable energy economy. An integrated tandem cell approach could reasonably convert over 20% of the sun's energy directly into chemical fuels like H2 via water splitting. Many different systems have been investigated using various combinations of photovoltaic cells and photoelectrodes, but in order to be economically competitive with the production of H2 from fossil fuels, a practical water splitting tandem cell must optimize cost, longevity and performance. In this short review, the practical aspects of solar fuel production are considered from the perspective of a semiconductor-based tandem cell and the latest advances with a very promising technology - metal oxide photoelectrochemical tandem cells - are presented.

  14. High performance liquid chromatography: Tandem mass spectrometric determination of cisplatin levels in different visceral pleura layers of rats.

    PubMed

    Xia, Hui; Zhang, Wen; Li, Yingjie; Yu, Changhai

    2015-05-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the concentration of cisplatin in different layers of the visceral pleura in rats, following drug administration. In this study, a sensitive and specific liquid chromatography method coupled with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry was established to investigate the disposition of cisplatin in different layers of the visceral pleura in rats. Methodological data, including specificity, linearity, accuracy, recovery, precision and lower limits of quantification, confirmed that this novel method may be used to efficiently quantify the cisplatin concentrations in visceral pleura of rats following administration of the drug. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the desired drug concentration was not achieved in the outer or inner elastic layers of the visceral pleura following injection with cisplatin through various administration methods.

  15. Low-sample flow secondary electrospray ionization: improving vapor ionization efficiency.

    PubMed

    Vidal-de-Miguel, G; Macía, M; Pinacho, P; Blanco, J

    2012-10-16

    In secondary electrospray ionization (SESI) systems, gaseous analytes exposed to an elecrospray plume become ionized after charge is transferred from the charging electrosprayed particles to the sample species. Current SESI systems have shown a certain potential. However, their ionization efficiency is limited by space charge repulsion and by the high sample flows required to prevent vapor dilution. As a result, they have a poor conversion ratio of vapor into ions. We have developed and tested a new SESI configuration, termed low-flow SESI, that permits the reduction of the required sample flows. Although the ion to vapor concentration ratio is limited, the ionic flow to sample vapor flow ratio theoretically is not. The new ionizer is coupled to a planar differential mobility analyzer (DMA) and requires only 0.2 lpm of vapor sample flow to produce 3.5 lpm of ionic flow. The achieved ionization efficiency is 1/700 (one ion for every 700 molecules) for TNT and, thus, compared with previous SESI ionizers coupled with atmospheric pressure ionization-mass spectrometry (API-MS) (Mesonero, E.; Sillero, J. A.; Hernández, M.; Fernandez de la Mora, J. Philadelphia PA, 2009) has been improved by a large factor of at least 50-100 (our measurements indicate 70). The new ionizer coupled with the planar DMA and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (ABSciex API5000) requires only 20 fg (50 million molecules) to produce a discernible signal after mobility and MS(2) analysis.

  16. Protonation Sites, Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Computational Calculations of o-Carbonyl Carbazolequinone Derivatives.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Cifuentes, Maximiliano; Clavijo-Allancan, Graciela; Zuñiga-Hormazabal, Pamela; Aranda, Braulio; Barriga, Andrés; Weiss-López, Boris; Araya-Maturana, Ramiro

    2016-07-05

    A series of a new type of tetracyclic carbazolequinones incorporating a carbonyl group at the ortho position relative to the quinone moiety was synthesized and analyzed by tandem electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS-MS), using Collision-Induced Dissociation (CID) to dissociate the protonated species. Theoretical parameters such as molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), local Fukui functions and local Parr function for electrophilic attack as well as proton affinity (PA) and gas phase basicity (GB), were used to explain the preferred protonation sites. Transition states of some main fragmentation routes were obtained and the energies calculated at density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP level were compared with the obtained by ab initio quadratic configuration interaction with single and double excitation (QCISD). The results are in accordance with the observed distribution of ions. The nature of the substituents in the aromatic ring has a notable impact on the fragmentation routes of the molecules.

  17. Protonation Sites, Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Computational Calculations of o-Carbonyl Carbazolequinone Derivatives

    PubMed Central

    Martínez-Cifuentes, Maximiliano; Clavijo-Allancan, Graciela; Zuñiga-Hormazabal, Pamela; Aranda, Braulio; Barriga, Andrés; Weiss-López, Boris; Araya-Maturana, Ramiro

    2016-01-01

    A series of a new type of tetracyclic carbazolequinones incorporating a carbonyl group at the ortho position relative to the quinone moiety was synthesized and analyzed by tandem electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS-MS), using Collision-Induced Dissociation (CID) to dissociate the protonated species. Theoretical parameters such as molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), local Fukui functions and local Parr function for electrophilic attack as well as proton affinity (PA) and gas phase basicity (GB), were used to explain the preferred protonation sites. Transition states of some main fragmentation routes were obtained and the energies calculated at density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP level were compared with the obtained by ab initio quadratic configuration interaction with single and double excitation (QCISD). The results are in accordance with the observed distribution of ions. The nature of the substituents in the aromatic ring has a notable impact on the fragmentation routes of the molecules. PMID:27399676

  18. TRAP: automated classification, quantification and annotation of tandemly repeated sequences.

    PubMed

    Sobreira, Tiago José P; Durham, Alan M; Gruber, Arthur

    2006-02-01

    TRAP, the Tandem Repeats Analysis Program, is a Perl program that provides a unified set of analyses for the selection, classification, quantification and automated annotation of tandemly repeated sequences. TRAP uses the results of the Tandem Repeats Finder program to perform a global analysis of the satellite content of DNA sequences, permitting researchers to easily assess the tandem repeat content for both individual sequences and whole genomes. The results can be generated in convenient formats such as HTML and comma-separated values. TRAP can also be used to automatically generate annotation data in the format of feature table and GFF files.

  19. Enhancement of ionization efficiency of mass spectrometric analysis from non-electrospray ionization friendly solvents with conventional and novel ionization techniques.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Ping; Lucy, Charles A

    2015-10-15

    Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has significantly impacted the analysis of complex biological and petroleum samples. However ESI-MS has limited ionization efficiency for samples in low dielectric and low polarity solvents. Addition of a make-up solvent through a T union or electrospray solvent through continuous flow extractive desorption electrospray ionization (CF-EDESI) enable ionization of analytes in non-ESI friendly solvents. A conventional make-up solvent addition setup was used and a CF-EDESI source was built for ionization of nitrogen-containing standards in hexane or hexane/isopropanol. Factors affecting the performance of both sources have been investigated and optimized. Both the make-up solvent addition and CF-EDESI improve the ionization efficiency for heteroatom compounds in non-ESI friendly solvents. Make-up solvent addition provides higher ionization efficiency than CF-EDESI. Neither the make-up solvent addition nor the CF-EDESI eliminates ionization suppression of nitrogen-containing compounds caused by compounds of the same chemical class. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Rapid and simultaneous analysis of ten aromatic amines in mainstream cigarette smoke by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry under ISO and "Health Canada intensive" machine smoking regimens.

    PubMed

    Xie, Fuwei; Yu, Jingjing; Wang, Sheng; Zhao, Ge; Xia, Qiaoling; Zhang, Xiaobing; Zhang, Shusheng

    2013-10-15

    Ten primary aromatic amines (AAs) in mainstream cigarette smoke under both ISO and "Health Canada intensive" machine smoking regimens were determined in this work, which were suspected to be carcinogenic compounds. The measured AAs included aniline, ortho-toluidine, meta-toluidine, para-toluidine, 1-naphthylamine, 2-naphthylamine, 3-aminobiphenyl, 4-aminobiphenyl, meta-phenylenediamine and meta-anisidine. For rapidly and sensitively analyzing these AAs, a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method coupled with solid phase extraction (SPE) was developed. The particulate phase of mainstream cigarette smoke was collected on a Cambridge filter pads, while the gas phase was trapped by 25 mL 5% HCl solution. Then, the pad was extracted in an ultrasonic bath with the impinger HCl solution. After being neutralized with NaOH, the extract was purified with a HLB solid phase extraction column, and then was analyzed with LC-MS/MS using isotope-labeled internal standard. The overall sample pretreatment and analysis time was less than 1.5h. The limits of detection for all targets ranged from 0.05 ng cig(-1) to 0.96 ng cig(-1) with the recoveries in the range of 75.0-131.8%. And the intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 10% and 16%, respectively. Under HCI machine smoking regimen, the AAs yields in mainstream cigarette smoke were much higher and the average increases were greater than 100% compared with those under ISO smoking condition. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Structural characterization of constituents with molecular diversity in fractions from Lysidice brevicalyx by liquid chromatography/diode-array detection/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/nuclear magnetic resonance.

    PubMed

    Qu, Jing; Hu, You-cai; Li, Jian-bei; Wang, Ying-hong; Zhang, Jin-lan; Abliz, Zeper; Yu, Shi-shan; Liu, Yun-bao

    2008-01-01

    A combination of electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/ESI-MSn), and hyphenation of liquid chromatography to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HPLC/NMR), have been extensively utilized for on-line analysis of natural products, analyzing metabolite and drug impurity. In our last paper, we reported an on-line analytical method for structural identification of trace alkaloids in the same class. However, the structural types of the constituents in plants were various, such as flavanoids, terpenoids and steroids. It is important to establish an effective analytical method for on-line structural identification of constituents with molecular diversity in extracts of plants. So, in the present study, the fragmentation patterns of some isolated stilbenes, phloroglucinols and flavanoids from Lysidice rhodostegia were investigated by ESI-MSn. Their fragmentation rules and UV characteristics are summarized, and the relationship between the spectral characteristics, rules and the structures is described. According to the fragmentation rules, NMR and UV spectral characteristics, 24 constituents of different types in the fractions from L. brevicalyx of the same genus were structurally characterized on the basis of HPLC/HRMS, HPLC-UV/ESI-MSn, HPLC/1H NMR and HPLC/1H-1H COSY rapidly. Of these, six (10, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 23) are new compounds and all of them are reported from L. brevicalyx for the first time. The aim is to develop an effective analytical method for on-line structural identification of natural products with molecular diversity in plants, and to guide the rapid and direct isolation of novel compounds by chemical screening.

  2. Determination of 30 synthetic food additives in soft drinks by HPLC/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Gao, Hui; Yang, Minli; Wang, Minglin; Zhao, Yansheng; Cao, Ya; Chu, Xiaogang

    2013-01-01

    A method combining SPE with HPLC/electrospray ionization-MS/MS was developed for simultaneous determination of 30 synthetic food additives, including synthetic colorants, preservatives, and sweeteners in soft drinks. All targets were efficiently separated using the optimized chromatographic and MS conditions and parameters in a single run within 18 min. The LOD of the analytes ranged from 0.01 to 20 microg/kg, and the method was validated with recoveries in the 80.8 to 106.4% range. This multisynthetic additive method was found to be accurate and reliable and will be useful to ensure the safety of food products, such as the labeling and proper use of synthetic food additives in soft drinks.

  3. Determination of metoprolol enantiomers in human plasma and saliva samples utilizing microextraction by packed sorbent and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Elmongy, Hatem; Ahmed, Hytham; Wahbi, Abdel-Aziz; Amini, Ahmad; Colmsjö, Anders; Abdel-Rehim, Mohamed

    2016-08-01

    A sensitive, accurate and reliable bioanalytical method for the enantioselective determination of metoprolol in plasma and saliva samples utilizing liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. Human plasma and saliva samples were pretreated by microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) prior to analysis. A new MEPS syringe form with two inputs was used. Metoprolol enantiomers and internal standard pentycaine (IS) were eluted from MEPS sorbent using isopropanol after removal of matrix interferences using aliquots of 5% methanol in water. Complete separation of metoprolol enantiomers was achieved on a Cellulose-SB column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) using isocratic elution with mobile phase 0.1% ammonium hydroxide in hexane-isopropanol (80:20, v/v) with a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. A post-column solvent-assisted ionization was applied to enhance metoprolol ionization signal in positive mode monitoring (+ES) using 0.5% formic acid in isopropanol at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. The total chromatographic run time was 10 min for each injection. The detection of metoprolol in plasma and saliva samples was performed using triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in +ES under the following mass transitions: m/z 268.08 → 72.09 for metoprolol and m/z 303.3 → 154.3 for IS. The linearity range was 2.5-500 ng/mL for both R- and S-metoprolol in plasma and saliva. The limits of detection and quantitation for both enantiomers were 0.5 and 2.5 ng/mL respectively, in both matrices (plasma and saliva). The intra- and inter-day precisions were presented in terms of RSD values for replicate analysis of quality control samples and were <5%; the accuracy of determinations varied from 96 to 99%. The method was able to determine the therapeutic levels of metoprolol enantiomers in both human plasma and saliva samples successfully, which can aid in therapeutic drug monitoring in clinical laboratories. Copyright © 2016

  4. Targeted tandem duplication of a large chromosomal segment in Aspergillus oryzae.

    PubMed

    Takahashi, Tadashi; Sato, Atsushi; Ogawa, Masahiro; Hanya, Yoshiki; Oguma, Tetsuya

    2014-08-01

    We describe here the first successful construction of a targeted tandem duplication of a large chromosomal segment in Aspergillus oryzae. The targeted tandem chromosomal duplication was achieved by using strains that had a 5'-deleted pyrG upstream of the region targeted for tandem chromosomal duplication and a 3'-deleted pyrG downstream of the target region. Consequently,strains bearing a 210-kb targeted tandem chromosomal duplication near the centromeric region of chromosome 8 and strains bearing a targeted tandem chromosomal duplication of a 700-kb region of chromosome 2 were successfully constructed. The strains bearing the tandem chromosomal duplication were efficiently obtained from the regenerated protoplast of the parental strains. However, the generation of the chromosomal duplication did not depend on the introduction of double-stranded breaks(DSBs) by I-SceI. The chromosomal duplications of these strains were stably maintained after five generations of culture under nonselective conditions. The strains bearing the tandem chromosomal duplication in the 700-kb region of chromosome 2 showed highly increased protease activity in solid-state culture, indicating that the duplication of large chromosomal segments could be a useful new breeding technology and gene analysis method.

  5. Substrate-Coated Illumination Droplet Spray Ionization: Real-Time Monitoring of Photocatalytic Reactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Hong; Li, Na; Zhao, Dandan; Jiang, Jie; You, Hong

    2017-09-01

    Real-time monitoring of photocatalytic reactions facilitates the elucidation of the mechanisms of the reactions. However, suitable tools for real-time monitoring are lacking. Herein, a novel method based on droplet spray ionization named substrate-coated illumination droplet spray ionization (SCI-DSI) for direct analysis of photocatalytic reaction solution is reported. SCI-DSI addresses many of the analytical limitations of electrospray ionization (ESI) for analysis of photocatalytic-reaction intermediates, and has potential for both in situ analysis and real-time monitoring of photocatalytic reactions. In SCI-DSI-mass spectrometry (MS), a photocatalytic reaction occurs by loading sample solutions onto the substrate-coated cover slip and by applying UV light above the modified slip; one corner of this slip adjacent to the inlet of a mass spectrometer is the high-electric-field location for launching a charged-droplet spray. After both testing and optimizing the performance of SCI-DSI, the value of this method for in situ analysis and real-time monitoring of photocatalytic reactions was demonstrated by the removal of cyclophosphamide (CP) in TiO2/UV. Reaction times ranged from seconds to minutes, and the proposed reaction intermediates were captured and identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Moreover, the free hydroxyl radical (·OH) was identified as the main radicals for CP removal. These results show that SCI-DSI is suitable for in situ analysis and real-time monitoring of CP removal under TiO2-based photocatalytic reactions. SCI-DSI is also a potential tool for in situ analysis and real-time assessment of the roles of radicals during CP removal under TiO2-based photocatalytic reactions. Graphical Abstract[Figure not available: see fulltext.

  6. Quantitative determination of juvenile hormone III and 20-hydroxyecdysone in queen larvae and drone pupae of Apis mellifera by ultrasonic-assisted extraction and liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Jinhui; Qi, Yitao; Hou, Yali; Zhao, Jing; Li, Yi; Xue, Xiaofeng; Wu, Liming; Zhang, Jinzhen; Chen, Fang

    2011-09-01

    In this paper, a method for the rapid and sensitive analysis of juvenile hormone III (JH III) and 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) in queen larvae and drone pupae samples was presented. Ultrasound-assisted extraction provided a significant shortening of the leaching time for the extraction of JH III and 20E and satisfactory sensitivity as compared to the conventional shake extraction procedure. After extraction, determination was carried out by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) operating in electrospray ionization positive ion mode via multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) without any clean-up step prior to analysis. A linear gradient consisting of (A) water containing 0.1% formic acid and (B) acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid, and a ZORBAX SB-Aq column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) were employed to obtain the best resolution of the target analytes. The method was validated for linearity, limit of quantification, recovery, matrix effects, precision and stability. Drone pupae samples were found to contain 20E at concentrations of 18.0 ± 0.1 ng/g (mean ± SD) and JH III was detected at concentrations of 0.20 ± 0.06 ng/g (mean ± SD) in queen larvae samples. This validated method provided some practical information for the actual content of JH III and 20E in queen larvae and drone pupae samples. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. United theory of planet formation (i): Tandem regime

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu; Imaeda, Yusuke

    2017-07-01

    The present paper is the first one of a series of papers that present the new united theory of planet formation, which includes magneto-rotational instability and porous aggregation of solid particles in an consistent way. We here describe the ;tandem; planet formation regime, in which a solar system like planetary systems are likely to be produced. We have obtained a steady-state, 1-D model of the accretion disk of a protostar taking into account the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) and and porous aggregation of solid particles. We find that the disk is divided into an outer turbulent region (OTR), a MRI suppressed region (MSR), and an inner turbulent region (ITR). The outer turbulent region is fully turbulent because of MRI. However, in the range, rout(= 8 - 60 AU) from the central star, MRI is suppressed around the midplane of the gas disk and a quiet area without turbulence appears, because the degree of ionization of gas becomes low enough. The disk becomes fully turbulent again in the range rin(= 0.2 - 1 AU), which is called the inner turbulent region, because the midplane temperature become high enough (>1000 K) due to gravitational energy release. Planetesimals are formed through gravitational instability at the outer and inner MRI fronts (the boundaries between the MRI suppressed region (MSR) and the outer and inner turbuent regions) without particle enhancement in the original nebula composition, because of the radial concentration of the solid particles. At the outer MRI front, icy particles grow through low-velocity collisions into porous aggregates with low densities (down to ∼10-5 gcm-3). They eventually undergo gravitational instability to form icy planetesimals. On the other hand, rocky particles accumulate at the inner MRI front, since their drift velocities turn outward due to the local maximum in gas pressure. They undergo gravitational instability in a sub-disk of pebbles to form rocky planetesimals at the inner MRI front. They are likely

  8. Simultaneous determination of phentermine and topiramate in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with positive/negative ion-switching electrospray ionization and its application in pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Ni, Yang; Zhou, Ying; Xu, Mingzhen; He, Xiaomeng; Li, Huqun; Haseeb, Satter; Chen, Hui; Li, Weiyong

    2015-03-25

    A new method for simultaneous determination of phentermine and topiramate by liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) operated in positive and negative ionization switching modes was developed and validated. Protein precipitation with acetonitrile was selected for sample preparation. Analyses were performed on a liquid chromatography system employing a Kromasil 60-5CN column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 5 μm) and an isocratic elution with mixed solution of acetonitrile-20mM ammonium formate containing 0.3% formic acid (40:60, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.35 mL/min. Doxazosin mesylate and pioglitazone were used as the internal standard (IS) respectively for quantification. The determination was carried out on an API 4000 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using the following transitions monitored simultaneously: positive m/z 150.0/91.0 for phentermine, m/z 452.1/344.3 for doxazosin, and negative m/z 338.3/77.9 for topiramate, m/z 355.0/41.9 for pioglitazone. The method was validated to be linear over the concentration range of 1-800 ng mL(-1) for phentermine, 1-1000 ng mL(-1) for topiramate. Within- and between-day accuracy and precision of the validated method at three different concentration levels were within the acceptable limits of <15% at all concentrations. Blood samples were collected into heparinized tubes before and after administration. The simple and robust LC/MS/MS method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of phentermine and topiramate in a pharmacokinetic study in healthy male Chinese volunteers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Alpha particle confinement in tandem mirrors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Devoto, R.S.; Ohnishi, M.; Kerns, J.

    1980-10-10

    Mechanisms leading to loss of alpha particles from non-axisymmetric tandem mirrors are considered. Stochastic diffusion due to bounce-drift resonances, which can cause rapid radial losses of high-energy alpha particles, can be suppressed by imposing a 20% rise in axisymmetric fields before the quadrupole transition sections. Alpha particles should then be well-confined until thermal energies when they enter the resonant plateau require. A fast code for computation of drift behavior in reactors is described. Sample calculations are presented for resonant particles in a proposed coil set for the Tandem Mirror Next Step.

  10. Multiplexed bovine milk oligosaccharide analysis with aminoxy tandem mass tags

    PubMed Central

    Poulsen, Nina Aagaard; Barile, Daniela

    2018-01-01

    Milk oligosaccharides (OS) are a key factor that influences the infant gut microbial composition, and their importance in promoting healthy infant development and disease prevention is becoming increasingly apparent. Investigating the structures, properties, and sources of these compounds requires a host of complementary analytical techniques. Relative compound quantification by mass spectral analysis of isobarically labeled samples is a relatively new technique that has been used mainly in the proteomics field. Glycomics applications have so far focused on analysis of protein-linked glycans, while analysis of free milk OS has previously been conducted only on analytical standards. In this paper, we extend the use of isobaric glycan tags to the analysis of bovine milk OS by presenting a method for separation of labeled OS on a porous graphitized carbon liquid chromatographic column with subsequent analysis by quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Abundances for 15 OS extracted from mature bovine milk were measured, with replicate injections providing coefficients of variation below 15% for most OS. Isobaric labeling improved ionization efficiency for low-abundance, high-molecular weight fucosylated OS, which are known to exist in bovine milk but have been only sporadically reported in the literature. We compared the abundances of four fucosylated OS in milk from Holstein and Jersey cattle and found that three of the compounds were more abundant in Jersey milk, which is in general agreement with a previous study. This novel method represents an advancement in our ability to characterize milk OS and provides the advantages associated with isobaric labeling, including reduced instrumental analysis time and increased analyte ionization efficiency. This improved ability to measure differences in bioactive OS abundances in large datasets will facilitate exploration of OS from all food sources for the purpose of developing health-guiding products for infants

  11. Detection of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in urine by gas chromatography-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Sklerov, J H; Kalasinsky, K S; Ehorn, C A

    1999-10-01

    A confirmatory method for the detection and quantitation of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is presented. The method employs gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS) using an internal ionization ion trap detector for sensitive MS-MS-in-time measurements of LSD extracted from urine. Following a single-step solid-phase extraction of 5 mL of urine, underivatized LSD can be measured with limits of quantitation and detection of 80 and 20 pg/mL, respectively. Temperature-programmed on-column injections of urine extracts were linear over the concentration range 20-2000 pg/mL (r2 = 0.999). Intraday and interday coefficients of variation were < 6% and < 13%, respectively. This procedure has been applied to quality-control specimens and LSD-positive samples in this laboratory. Comparisons with alternate GC-MS methods and extraction procedures are discussed.

  12. Tandem mobile robot system

    DOEpatents

    Buttz, James H.; Shirey, David L.; Hayward, David R.

    2003-01-01

    A robotic vehicle system for terrain navigation mobility provides a way to climb stairs, cross crevices, and navigate across difficult terrain by coupling two or more mobile robots with a coupling device and controlling the robots cooperatively in tandem.

  13. Tandem internal models execute motor learning in the cerebellum.

    PubMed

    Honda, Takeru; Nagao, Soichi; Hashimoto, Yuji; Ishikawa, Kinya; Yokota, Takanori; Mizusawa, Hidehiro; Ito, Masao

    2018-06-25

    In performing skillful movement, humans use predictions from internal models formed by repetition learning. However, the computational organization of internal models in the brain remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that a computational architecture employing a tandem configuration of forward and inverse internal models enables efficient motor learning in the cerebellum. The model predicted learning adaptations observed in hand-reaching experiments in humans wearing a prism lens and explained the kinetic components of these behavioral adaptations. The tandem system also predicted a form of subliminal motor learning that was experimentally validated after training intentional misses of hand targets. Patients with cerebellar degeneration disease showed behavioral impairments consistent with tandemly arranged internal models. These findings validate computational tandemization of internal models in motor control and its potential uses in more complex forms of learning and cognition. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  14. [Nano-ESI-MS/MS identification on differentiation-associated proteins in M1 mouse myeloid leukemia cells induced by IL-6].

    PubMed

    Xia, Qing; Wang, Hong-xia; Wang, Jie; Liu, Bing-yu; Hu, Mei-ru; Zhang, Xue-min; Shen, Bei-fen

    2004-10-01

    To identify two differentiation-associated proteins induced by rhIL-6 in M1 mouse myeloid leukemia cells. Protein spots were excised from 2-D gels and digested in-gel with trypsin. The trypsin lysis products were first analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) through peptide mass fingerprinting and then performed peptide sequencing by nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (nano-ESI-MS/MS). The database search was finished with the Mascot search engine (http://www.matrixscience.co.uk) using the data processed through MaxEnt3 and MasSeq. The two proteins were not revealed by peptide mass fingerprint using MALDI-TOF-MS, while they were respectively identified as Destrin and Putative protein after the sequence of their trypic peptides were obtained by the nano-ESI-MS/MS techniques. Nano-ESI-MS/MS technique can successfully identify the two differentiation-associated proteins induced by rhIL-6 and has great advantage in protein analysis.

  15. Fast transient analysis and first-stage collision-induced dissociation with the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow ionization source to improve analyte detection and identification.

    PubMed

    Shelley, Jacob T; Hieftje, Gary M

    2010-04-01

    The recent development of ambient desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (ADI-MS) has enabled fast, simple analysis of many different sample types. The ADI-MS sources have numerous advantages, including little or no required sample pre-treatment, simple mass spectra, and direct analysis of solids and liquids. However, problems of competitive ionization and limited fragmentation require sample-constituent separation, high mass accuracy, and/or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to detect, identify, and quantify unknown analytes. To maintain the inherent high throughput of ADI-MS, it is essential for the ion source/mass analyzer combination to measure fast transient signals and provide structural information. In the current study, the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) ionization source is coupled with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) to analyze fast transient signals (<500 ms FWHM). It was found that gas chromatography (GC) coupled with the FAPA source resulted in a reproducible (<5% RSD) and sensitive (detection limits of <6 fmol for a mixture of herbicides) system with analysis times of ca. 5 min. Introducing analytes to the FAPA in a transient was also shown to significantly reduce matrix effects caused by competitive ionization by minimizing the number and amount of constituents introduced into the ionization source. Additionally, MS/MS with FAPA-TOF-MS, enabling analyte identification, was performed via first-stage collision-induced dissociation (CID). Lastly, molecular and structural information was obtained across a fast transient peak by modulating the conditions that caused the first-stage CID.

  16. Quality evaluation of tandem mass spectral libraries.

    PubMed

    Oberacher, Herbert; Weinmann, Wolfgang; Dresen, Sebastian

    2011-06-01

    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.

  17. Nanocrystal assembly for tandem catalysis

    DOEpatents

    Yang, Peidong; Somorjai, Gabor; Yamada, Yusuke; Tsung, Chia-Kuang; Huang, Wenyu

    2014-10-14

    The present invention provides a nanocrystal tandem catalyst comprising at least two metal-metal oxide interfaces for the catalysis of sequential reactions. One embodiment utilizes a nanocrystal bilayer structure formed by assembling sub-10 nm platinum and cerium oxide nanocube monolayers on a silica substrate. The two distinct metal-metal oxide interfaces, CeO.sub.2--Pt and Pt--SiO.sub.2, can be used to catalyze two distinct sequential reactions. The CeO.sub.2--Pt interface catalyzed methanol decomposition to produce CO and H.sub.2, which were then subsequently used for ethylene hydroformylation catalyzed by the nearby Pt--SiO.sub.2 interface. Consequently, propanal was selectively produced on this nanocrystal bilayer tandem catalyst.

  18. Rapid in situ detection of alkaloids in plant tissue under ambient conditions using desorption electrospray ionization.

    PubMed

    Talaty, Nari; Takáts, Zoltán; Cooks, R Graham

    2005-12-01

    Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry is applied to the in situ detection of alkaloids in the tissue of poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) and deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). The experiment is carried out by electrospraying micro-droplets of solvent onto native or freshly-cut plant tissue surfaces. No sample preparation is required and the mass spectra are recorded under ambient conditions, in times of a few seconds. The impact of the sprayed droplets on the surface produces gaseous ions from organic compounds originally present in the plant tissue. The effects of operating parameters, including the electrospray high voltage, heated capillary temperature, the solvent infusion rate and the carrier gas pressure on analytical performance are evaluated and optimized. Different types of plant material are analyzed including seeds, stems, leaves, roots and flowers. All the previously reported alkaloids have been detected in C. maculatum, while fifteen out of nineteen known alkaloids for D. stramonium and the principal alkaloids of A. belladonna were also identified. All identifications were confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry. Results obtained show similar mass spectra, number of alkaloids, and signal intensities to those obtained when extraction and separation processes are performed prior to mass spectrometric analysis. Evidence is provided that DESI ionization occurs by both a gas-phase ionization process and by a droplet pick-up mechanism. Quantitative precision of DESI is compared with conventional electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (after sample workup) and the RSD values for the same set of 25 dicotyledonous C. maculatum seeds (one half of each seed analyzed by ESI and the other by DESI) are 9.8% and 5.2%, respectively.

  19. Single-task and dual-task tandem gait test performance after concussion.

    PubMed

    Howell, David R; Osternig, Louis R; Chou, Li-Shan

    2017-07-01

    To compare single-task and dual-task tandem gait test performance between athletes after concussion with controls on observer-timed, spatio-temporal, and center-of-mass (COM) balance control measurements. Ten participants (19.0±5.5years) were prospectively identified and completed a tandem gait test protocol within 72h of concussion and again 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months post-injury. Seven uninjured controls (20.0±4.5years) completed the same protocol in similar time increments. Tandem gait test trials were performed with (dual-task) and without (single-task) concurrently performing a cognitive test as whole-body motion analysis was performed. Outcome variables included test completion time, average tandem gait velocity, cadence, and whole-body COM frontal plane displacement. Concussion participants took significantly longer to complete the dual-task tandem gait test than controls throughout the first 2 weeks post-injury (mean time=16.4 [95% CI: 13.4-19.4] vs. 10.1 [95% CI: 6.4-13.7] seconds; p=0.03). Single-task tandem gait times were significantly lower 72h post-injury (p=0.04). Dual-task cadence was significantly lower for concussion participants than controls (89.5 [95% CI: 68.6-110.4] vs. 127.0 [95% CI: 97.4-156.6] steps/minute; p=0.04). Moderately-high to high correlations between tandem gait test time and whole-body COM medial-lateral displacement were detected at each time point during dual-task gait (r s =0.70-0.93; p=0.03-0.001). Adding a cognitive task during the tandem gait test resulted in longer detectable deficits post-concussion compared to the traditional single-task tandem gait test. As a clinical tool to assess dynamic motor function, tandem gait may assist with return to sport decisions after concussion. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Quantitative determination of tilmicosin in canine serum by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Herrera, Michael; Ding, Haiqing; McClanahan, Robert; Owens, Jane G; Hunter, Robert P

    2007-09-15

    A highly sensitive and quantitative LC/MS/MS assay for the determination of tilmicosin in serum has been developed and validated. For sample preparation, 0.2 mL of canine serum was extracted with 3 mL of methyl tert-butyl ether. The organic layer was transferred to a new vessel and dried under nitrogen. The sample was then reconstituted for analysis by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. A Phenomenex Luna C8(2) analytical column was used for the chromatographic separation. The eluent was subsequently introduced to the mass spectrometer by electrospray ionization. A single range was validated for 50-5000 ng/mL for support of toxicokinetic studies. The inter-day relative error (inaccuracy) for the LLOQ samples ranged from -5.5% to 0.3%. The inter-day relative standard deviations (imprecision) at the respective LLOQ levels were < or =10.1%.

  1. Silver complexation and tandem mass spectrometry for differentiation of isomeric flavonoid diglycosides.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Junmei; Brodbelt, Jennifer S

    2005-03-15

    For detection and differentiation of isomeric flavonoids, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is used to generate silver complexes of the type (Ag + flavonoid)+. Collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) of the resulting 1:1 silver/flavonoid complexes allows isomer differentiation of flavonoids. Eighteen flavonoid diglycosides constituting seven isomeric series are distinguishable from each other based on the CAD patterns of their silver complexes. Characteristic dissociation pathways allow identification of the site of glycosylation, the type of disaccharide (rutinose versus neohesperidose), and the type of aglycon (flavonol versus flavone versus flavanone). This silver complexation method is more universal than previous metal complexation methods, as intense silver complexes are observed even for flavonoids that lack the typical metal chelation sites. To demonstrate the feasibility of using silver complexation and tandem mass spectrometry to characterize flavonoids in complex mixtures, flavonoids extracted from grapefruit juice are separated by high-performance liquid chromatography and analyzed via a postcolumn complexation ESI-MS/MS strategy. Diagnostic fragmentation pathways of the silver complexes of the individual eluting flavonoids allow successful identification of the six flavonoids in the extract.

  2. Directed Field Ionization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gregoric, Vincent C.; Kang, Xinyue; Liu, Zhimin Cheryl; Rowley, Zoe A.; Carroll, Thomas J.; Noel, Michael W.

    2017-04-01

    Selective field ionization is an important experimental technique used to study the state distribution of Rydberg atoms. This is achieved by applying a steadily increasing electric field, which successively ionizes more tightly bound states. An atom prepared in an energy eigenstate encounters many avoided Stark level crossings on the way to ionization. As it traverses these avoided crossings, its amplitude is split among multiple different states, spreading out the time resolved electron ionization signal. By perturbing the electric field ramp, we can change how the atoms traverse the avoided crossings, and thus alter the shape of the ionization signal. We have used a genetic algorithm to evolve these perturbations in real time in order to arrive at a target ionization signal shape. This process is robust to large fluctuations in experimental conditions. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 1607335 and No. 1607377 and used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which is supported by National Science Foundation Grant Number OCI-1053575.

  3. Quantitation of 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate in Cerebrospinal Fluid Using Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Arning, Erland; Bottiglieri, Teodoro

    2016-01-01

    We describe a simple stable isotope dilution method for accurate and precise measurement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) as a clinical diagnostic test. 5-MTHF is the main biologically active form of folic acid and is involved in regulation of homocysteine and DNA synthesis. Measurement of 5-MTHF in CSF provides diagnostic information regarding diseases affecting folate metabolism within the central nervous system, in particular inborn errors of folate metabolism. Determination of 5-MTHF in CSF (50 μL) was performed utilizing high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray positive ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). 5-MTHF in CSF is determined by a 1:2 dilution with internal standard (5-MTHF-(13)C5) and injected directly onto the HPLC-ESI-MS/MS system. Each assay is quantified using a five-point standard curve (25-400 nM) and has an analytical measurement range of 3-1000 nM.

  4. Negotiating Multiple Identities through eTandem Learning Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Se Jeong; Yi, Youngjoo

    2017-01-01

    Much of eTandem research has investigated either linguistic or cross-cultural aspects of second language (L2) learning, but relatively little is known about issues of identity construction in an eTandem context. Situating the study within theories and research of language learner identity, we examined ways in which two adult L2 learners (a Korean…

  5. Rapid residue analysis of four triazolopyrimidine herbicides in soil, water, and wheat by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xingang; Xu, Jun; Li, Yuanbo; Dong, Fengshou; Li, Jing; Song, Wenchen; Zheng, Yongquan

    2011-03-01

    A sensitive and effective method for simultaneous determination of triazolopyrimidine sulfonamide herbicide residues in soil, water, and wheat was developed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The four herbicides (pyroxsulam, flumetsulam, metosulam, and diclosulam) were cleaned up with an off-line C18 SPE cartridge and detected by tandem mass spectrometry using an electrospray ionization source in positive mode (ESI+). The determination of the target compounds was achieved in <2.0 min. The limits of detection were below 1 μg kg(-1), while the limits of quantification did not exceed 3 μg kg(-1) in different matrices. Quantitation was determined from calibration curves of standards containing 0.05-100 μg L(-1) with r(2) > 0.997. Recovery studies were conducted at three spiked levels (0.2, 1, and 5 μg kg(-1) for water; 5, 10, and 100 μg kg(-1) for soil and wheat). The overall average recoveries for this method in water, soil, wheat plants, and seeds at three levels ranged from 75.4% to 106.0%, with relative standard deviations in the range of 2.1-12.5% (n = 5) for all analytes.

  6. Application of targeted quantitative proteomics analysis in human cerebrospinal fluid using a liquid chromatography matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer (LC MALDI TOF/TOF) platform.

    PubMed

    Pan, Sheng; Rush, John; Peskind, Elaine R; Galasko, Douglas; Chung, Kathryn; Quinn, Joseph; Jankovic, Joseph; Leverenz, James B; Zabetian, Cyrus; Pan, Catherine; Wang, Yan; Oh, Jung Hun; Gao, Jean; Zhang, Jianpeng; Montine, Thomas; Zhang, Jing

    2008-02-01

    Targeted quantitative proteomics by mass spectrometry aims to selectively detect one or a panel of peptides/proteins in a complex sample and is particularly appealing for novel biomarker verification/validation because it does not require specific antibodies. Here, we demonstrated the application of targeted quantitative proteomics in searching, identifying, and quantifying selected peptides in human cerebrospinal spinal fluid (CSF) using a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer (MALDI TOF/TOF)-based platform. The approach involved two major components: the use of isotopic-labeled synthetic peptides as references for targeted identification and quantification and a highly selective mass spectrometric analysis based on the unique characteristics of the MALDI instrument. The platform provides high confidence for targeted peptide detection in a complex system and can potentially be developed into a high-throughput system. Using the liquid chromatography (LC) MALDI TOF/TOF platform and the complementary identification strategy, we were able to selectively identify and quantify a panel of targeted peptides in the whole proteome of CSF without prior depletion of abundant proteins. The effectiveness and robustness of the approach associated with different sample complexity, sample preparation strategies, as well as mass spectrometric quantification were evaluated. Other issues related to chromatography separation and the feasibility for high-throughput analysis were also discussed. Finally, we applied targeted quantitative proteomics to analyze a subset of previously identified candidate markers in CSF samples of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) at different stages and Alzheimer's disease (AD) along with normal controls.

  7. High-throughput quantification for a drug mixture in rat plasma-a comparison of Ultra Performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry with high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Yu, Kate; Little, David; Plumb, Rob; Smith, Brian

    2006-01-01

    A quantitative Ultra Performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPL/MS/MS) protocol was developed for a five-compound mixture in rat plasma. A similar high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) quantification protocol was developed for comparison purposes. Among the five test compounds, three preferred positive electrospray ionization (ESI) and two preferred negative ESI. As a result, both UPLC/MS/MS and HPLC/MS/MS analyses were performed by having the mass spectrometer collecting ESI multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) data in both positive and negative ion modes during a single injection. Peak widths for most standards were 4.8 s for the HPLC analysis and 2.4 s for the UPLC analysis. There were 17 to 20 data points obtained for each of the LC peaks. Compared with the HPLC/MS/MS method, the UPLC/MS/MS method offered 3-fold decrease in retention time, up to 10-fold increase in detected peak height, with 2-fold decrease in peak width. Limits of quantification (LOQs) for both HPLC and UPLC methods were evaluated. For UPLC/MS/MS analysis, a linear range up to four orders of magnitude was obtained with r2 values ranging from 0.991 to 0.998. The LOQs for the five analytes ranged from 0.08 to 9.85 ng/mL. Three levels of quality control (QC) samples were analyzed. For the UPLC/MS/MS protocol, the percent relative standard deviation (RSD%) for low QC (2 ng/mL) ranged from 3.42 to 8.67% (N = 18). The carryover of the UPLC/MS/MS protocol was negligible and the robustness of the UPLC/MS/MS system was evaluated with up to 963 QC injections. Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Determination of gardenia yellow colorants in soft drink, pastry, instant noodles with ultrasound-assisted extraction by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrum.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Wei-E; Zhang, Yuan; Li, Yang; Ling, Yun; Li, Hong-Na; Li, Shao-Hui; Jiang, Shou-Jun; Ren, Zhi-Qin; Huang, Zhi-Qiang; Zhang, Feng

    2016-05-13

    A novel, rapid and simple analytical method was developed for the quantitative determination of crocin, crocetin and geniposide in soft drink, pastry and instant noodles. The solid samples were relatively homogenized into powders and fragments. The gardenia yellow colorants were successively extracted with methanol using ultrasound-assisted extraction. The analytes were quantitatively measured in the extracts by liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. High correlation coefficients (r(2)>0.995) of crocin, crocetin and geniposide were obtained within their linear ranges respectively (50-1000ng/mL, 50-1000ng/mL, 15-240ng/mL) by external standard method. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.02μg/g for crocin, 0.01μg/g for crocetin and 0.002μg/g for geniposide. And the limits of quantitation (LOQs) were in the ranges of 0.05-0.45μg/g for crocin, and in the ranges of 0.042-0.32μg/g for crocetin, and in the ranges of 0.02-0.15μg/g for geniposide in soft drink, pastry and instant noodles samples. The average recoveries of crocin, crocetin and geniposide ranged from 81.3% to 117.6% in soft drink, pastry and instant noodles. The intra- and inter-day precisions were respectively in the range of 1.3-4.8% and 1.7-11.8% in soft drink, pastry and instant noodle. The developed methods were successfully validated and applied to the soft drink, pastry, and instant noodles collected from the located market in Beijing from China. Crocin, crocetin and geniposide were detected in the collected samples. The average concentrations ranged from 0.84 to 4.20mg/g for crocin, and from 0.62 to 3.11mg/g for crocetin, and from 0.18 to 0.79mg/g for gardenia in various food samples. The method can provide evidences for government to determine gardenia yellow pigments and geniposide in food. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Tandem robot control system and method for controlling mobile robots in tandem

    DOEpatents

    Hayward, David R.; Buttz, James H.; Shirey, David L.

    2002-01-01

    A control system for controlling mobile robots provides a way to control mobile robots, connected in tandem with coupling devices, to navigate across difficult terrain or in closed spaces. The mobile robots can be controlled cooperatively as a coupled system in linked mode or controlled individually as separate robots.

  10. SYMTRAN - A Time-dependent Symmetric Tandem Mirror Transport Code

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hua, D; Fowler, T

    2004-06-15

    A time-dependent version of the steady-state radial transport model in symmetric tandem mirrors in Ref. [1] has been coded up and first tests performed. Our code, named SYMTRAN, is an adaptation of the earlier SPHERE code for spheromaks, now modified for tandem mirror physics. Motivated by Post's new concept of kinetic stabilization of symmetric mirrors, it is an extension of the earlier TAMRAC rate-equation code omitting radial transport [2], which successfully accounted for experimental results in TMX. The SYMTRAN code differs from the earlier tandem mirror radial transport code TMT in that our code is focused on axisymmetric tandem mirrorsmore » and classical diffusion, whereas TMT emphasized non-ambipolar transport in TMX and MFTF-B due to yin-yang plugs and non-symmetric transitions between the plugs and axisymmetric center cell. Both codes exhibit interesting but different non-linear behavior.« less

  11. [Determination of arbutin in apple juice concentrate by ultra performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Kong, Xianghong; He, Qiang; Yue, Aishan; Wu, Shuangmin; Li, Jianhua

    2010-06-01

    An ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/ MS) method was developed for the determination of arbutin in apple juice concentrate. Samples were diluted with water, then cleaned-up with a PS-DVB column. Quantitation was carried out using an external standard method. UPLC was performed on an Eclipse Plus C, column (100 mm x 2.1 mm, 1.8 microm) using a gradient solvent system (methanol-water). MS/MS was performed with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The detection limit of arbutin was 0.02 mg/L. The method showed good linear relationship at the range of 0.04-2.0 mg/L. The recoveries ranged from 75.2% to 102.7% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 8.9%. The method is simple, fast and sensitive. It's suitable for quantitative and qualitative analysis of arbutin in apple juice concentrate.

  12. Quantitation of iothalamate in urine and plasma using liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS).

    PubMed

    Molinaro, Ross J; Ritchie, James C

    2010-01-01

    The following chapter describes a method to measure iothalamate in plasma and urine samples using high performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray positive ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Methanol and water are spiked with the internal standard (IS) iohexol. Iothalamate is isolated from plasma after IS spiked methanol extraction and from urine by IS spiked water addition and quick-spin filtration. The plasma extractions are dried under a stream of nitrogen. The residue is reconstituted in ammonium acetate-formic acid-water. The reconstituted plasma and filtered urine are injected into the HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Iothalamate and iohexol show similar retention times in plasma and urine. Quantification of iothalamate in the samples is made by multiple reaction monitoring using the hydrogen adduct mass transitions, from a five-point calibration curve.

  13. Liquid Chromatography with Post-Column Reagent Addition of Ammonia in Methanol Coupled to Negative Ion Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Determination of Phenoxyacid Herbicides and their Degradation Products in Surface Water

    PubMed Central

    Raina, Renata; Etter, Michele L.

    2010-01-01

    A new liquid chromatography (LC)-negative ion electrospray ionization (ESI−)–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method with post-column addition of ammonia in methanol has been developed for the analysis of acid herbicides: 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid, 4-chloro-o-tolyloxyacetic acid, 2-(2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy)butyric acid, mecoprop, dichlorprop, 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) butyric acid, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy propionic acid, dicamba and bromoxynil, along with their degradation products: 4-chloro-2-methylphenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol and 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzoic acid. The samples were extracted from the surface water matrix using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a polymeric sorbent and analyzed with LC ESI− with selected reaction monitoring (SRM) using a three-point confirmation approach. Chromatography was performed on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 (50 × 4.6 mm i.d., 1.8 μm) with a gradient elution using water-methanol with 2 mM ammonium acetate mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.15 mL/min. Ammonia in methanol (0.8 M) was added post-column at a flow rate of 0.05 mL/min to enhance ionization of the degradation products in the MS source. One SRM transition was used for quantitative analysis while the second SRM along with the ratio of SRM1/SRM2 within the relative standard deviation determined by standards for each individual pesticide and retention time match were used for confirmation. The standard deviation of ratio of SRM1/SRM2 obtained from standards run on the day of analysis for different phenoxyacid herbicides ranged from 3.9 to 18.5%. Limits of detection (LOD) were between 1 and 15 ng L−1 and method detection limits (MDL) with strict criteria requiring <25% deviation of peak area from best-fit line for both SRM1 and SRM2 ranged from 5 to 10 ng L−1 for acid ingredients (except dicamba at 30 ng L−1) and from 2 to 30 ng L−1 for degradation products. The SPE-LC-ESI− MS/MS method permitted low nanogram-per-liter determination

  14. Cooperative cell motility during tandem locomotion of amoeboid cells

    PubMed Central

    Bastounis, Effie; Álvarez-González, Begoña; del Álamo, Juan C.; Lasheras, Juan C.; Firtel, Richard A.

    2016-01-01

    Streams of migratory cells are initiated by the formation of tandem pairs of cells connected head to tail to which other cells subsequently adhere. The mechanisms regulating the transition from single to streaming cell migration remain elusive, although several molecules have been suggested to be involved. In this work, we investigate the mechanics of the locomotion of Dictyostelium tandem pairs by analyzing the spatiotemporal evolution of their traction adhesions (TAs). We find that in migrating wild-type tandem pairs, each cell exerts traction forces on stationary sites (∼80% of the time), and the trailing cell reuses the location of the TAs of the leading cell. Both leading and trailing cells form contractile dipoles and synchronize the formation of new frontal TAs with ∼54-s time delay. Cells not expressing the lectin discoidin I or moving on discoidin I–coated substrata form fewer tandems, but the trailing cell still reuses the locations of the TAs of the leading cell, suggesting that discoidin I is not responsible for a possible chemically driven synchronization process. The migration dynamics of the tandems indicate that their TAs’ reuse results from the mechanical synchronization of the leading and trailing cells’ protrusions and retractions (motility cycles) aided by the cell–cell adhesions. PMID:26912787

  15. Simultaneous drug identification in urine of sexual assault victims by using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Lee, Hei Hwa; Chen, Suen Chi; Lee, Jong Feng; Lin, Hsin Yu; Chen, Bai Hsiun

    2018-01-01

    According to domestic and international epidemiological investigation, the proportion of substance involved sexual assault has the trend of ascent. In the past, laboratory methods that investigated urine sample of the sexual assault victims was to screen with enzyme immunoassay and then confirmed with mass spectrometry. The objective of the study is to simultaneously identify abused drugs in 126 decoded urine samples of sexual assault victims by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The instrument was operated in multiple-reaction monitoring with an electro-spray positive ionization mode. Chromatograms were separated with ACE5 C18 column on a gradient of acetonitrile. After liquid-liquid extraction, samples were passed through a 0.22μm PVDF filter before injection into the system. The limits of quantitation ranged from 0.2 to 10ng/mL. The precision (CV) results were below 12.9% (intraday) and 15.0% (interday). The intraday accuracy ranged from 84.8 to 121.0%, interday accuracy ranged from 72.0 to 117.3%. We found that 29 (23.0%) were positive for drugs. The most common drug identified is flunitrazepam (11.1%), followed by nimetazepam and ketamine (7.9%), some new psychoactive substances, such as 2C-B, mephedrone, methylone, PMA and PMMA were also identified. We identified abused drugs, benzodiazepines, and new psychoactive substances in urine of sexual assault victims by using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. A tandem mirror hybrid plume plasma propulsion facility

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yang, T. F.; Krueger, W. A.; Peng, S.; Urbahn, J.; Chang-Diaz, F. R.

    1988-01-01

    This paper discusses a novel concept in electrodeless plasma propulsion, in which the materials problems are ameliorated by an electrodeless magnetic confinement scheme borrowed from the tandem mirror approach to controlled thermonuclear fusion. The concept also features a two-stage magnetic nozzle with an annular hypersonic coaxial gas injector near the throat. The nozzle produces hybrid plume by the coaxial injection of hypersonic neutral gas, and the gas layer thus formed protects the material walls from the hot plasma and, through increased collisions, helps detach it from the diverging magnetic field. The tandem mirror plasma propulsion facility is capable of delivering a variable I(sp). The results of numerical simulation of this concept are presented together with those from an experimental tandem-mirror plasma propulsion device.

  17. Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    Ingram, M.; Mason, W. B.; Whipple, G. H.; Howland, J. W.

    1952-04-07

    This report presents a review of present knowledge and concepts of the biological effects of ionizing radiations. Among the topics discussed are the physical and chemical effects of ionizing radiation on biological systems, morphological and physiological changes observed in biological systems subjected to ionizing radiations, physiological changes in the intact animal, latent changes following exposure of biological systems to ionizing radiations, factors influencing the biological response to ionizing radiation, relative effects of various ionizing radiations, and biological dosimetry.

  18. Determination of caprolactam and 6-aminocaproic acid in human urine using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wu, Ya-Hsueh; Wu, Ming-Ling; Lin, Chun-Chi; Chu, Wei-Lan; Yang, Chen-Chang; Lin, Robert Tate; Deng, Jou-Fang

    2012-02-15

    A simple and rapid assay based on hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry has been first developed and validated for simultaneous determination of caprolactam (CA) and 6-aminocaproic acid (6-ANCA) in human urine using 8-aminocaprylic acid as internal standard. A 20μL aliquot of urine was injected directly into the liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) system. The analytes were separated on a Phenomenex Luna HILIC column with gradient elution. Detection was performed on Triple Quadrupole LC-MS in positive ions multiple reaction monitoring mode using electrospray ionization. The calibration curves were linear (r(2)≥0.995) over the concentration range from 62.5 to 1250ng/mL for CA and 31.25 to 1000ng/mL for 6-ANCA. The detection limits of CA and 6-ANCA were 62.5 and 15.6ng/mL, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precisions were within 8.7% and 9.9%, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day accuracy were between 5.3% and 3.5%, and between 6.1% and 6.6%, respectively. The method proved to be simple and time efficient, and was successfully applied to evaluate the kinetics of caprolactam in one unusual case of caprolactam poisoning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Ionization Waves of Arbitrary Velocity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turnbull, D.; Franke, P.; Katz, J.; Palastro, J. P.; Begishev, I. A.; Boni, R.; Bromage, J.; Milder, A. L.; Shaw, J. L.; Froula, D. H.

    2018-06-01

    Flying focus is a technique that uses a chirped laser beam focused by a highly chromatic lens to produce an extended focal region within which the peak laser intensity can propagate at any velocity. When that intensity is high enough to ionize a background gas, an ionization wave will track the intensity isosurface corresponding to the ionization threshold. We report on the demonstration of such ionization waves of arbitrary velocity. Subluminal and superluminal ionization fronts were produced that propagated both forward and backward relative to the ionizing laser. All backward and all superluminal cases mitigated the issue of ionization-induced refraction that typically inhibits the formation of long, contiguous plasma channels.

  20. Monitoring Bilingualism: Pedagogical Implications of the Bilingual Tandem Analyser

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwienhorst, Klaus; Borgia, Alexandre

    2006-01-01

    Tandem learning is the collaborative learning partnership of two language learners with complementary language combinations, for example an Irish student learning German and a German student learning English. One of the major principles in tandem learning, apart from reciprocity and learner autonomy, is balanced bilingualism. While learners may…

  1. Simultaneous determination of asperosaponin VI and its active metabolite hederagenin in rat plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with positive/negative ion-switching electrospray ionization and its application in pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Zhu, He; Ding, Li; Shakya, Shailendra; Qi, Xiemin; Hu, Linlin; Yang, Xiaolin; Yang, Zhonglin

    2011-11-15

    A new liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method operated in the positive/negative electrospray ionization (ESI) switching mode has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of asperosaponin VI and its active metabolite hederagenin in rat plasma. After addition of internal standards diazepam (for asperosaponin VI) and glycyrrhetic acid (for hederagenin), the plasma sample was deproteinized with acetonitrile, and separated on a reversed phase C18 column with a mobile phase of methanol (solvent A)-0.05% glacial acetic acid containing 10 mM ammonium acetate and 30 μM sodium acetate (solvent B) using gradient elution. The detection of target compounds was done in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using a tandem mass spectrometry equipped with positive/negative ion-switching ESI source. At the first segment, the MRM detection was operated in the positive ESI mode using the transitions of m/z 951.5 ([M+Na](+))→347.1 for asperosaponin VI and m/z 285.1 ([M+H](+))→193.1 for diazepam for 4 min, then switched to the negative ESI mode using the transitions of m/z 471.3 ([M-H](-))→471.3 for hederagenin and m/z 469.4 ([M-H](-))→425.4 for glycyrrhetic acid, respectively. The sodiated molecular ion [M+Na](+) at m/z 951.5 was selected as the precursor ion for asperosaponin VI, since it provided better sensitivity compared to the deprotonated and protonated molecular ions. Sodium acetate was added to the mobile phase to make sure that abundant amount of the sodiated molecular ion of asperosaponin VI could be produced, and more stable and intensive mass response of the product ion could be obtained. For the detection of hederagenin, since all of the mass responses of the fragment ions were very weak, the deprotonated molecular ion [M-H](-)m/z 471.3 was employed as both the precursor ion and the product ion. But the collision energy was still used for the MRM, in order to eliminate the influences induced by the interference

  2. High Performance Tandem Perovskite/Polymer Solar Cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Yao; Bag, Monojit; Page, Zachariah; Renna, Lawrence; Kim, Paul; Choi, Jaewon; Emrick, Todd; Venkataraman, D.; Russell, Thomas

    Combining perovskites with other inorganic materials, such as copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) or silicon, is enabling significant improvement in solar cell device performance. Here, we demonstrate a highly efficient hybrid tandem solar cell fabricated through a facile solution deposition approach to give a perovskite front sub-cell and a polymer:fullerene blend back sub-cell. This methodology eliminates the adverse effects of thermal annealing during perovskite fabrication on polymer solar cells. The record tandem solar cell efficiency of 15.96% is 40% greater than the corresponding perovskite-based single junction device and 65% greater than the polymer-based single junction device, while mitigating deleterious hysteresis effects often associated with perovskite solar cells. The hybrid tandem devices demonstrate the synergistic effects arising from the combination of perovskite and polymer-based materials for solar cells. This work was supported by the Department of Energy-supported Energy Frontier Research Center at the University of Massachusetts (DE-SC0001087). The authors acknowledge the W.M. Keck Electron Microscopy.

  3. Determination of chlorinated acid herbicides in vegetation and soil by liquid chromatography/electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Schaner, Angela; Konecny, Jaclyn; Luckey, Laura; Hickes, Heidi

    2007-01-01

    The method presented uses reversed-phase liquid chromatography with negative electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry to analyze 9 chlorinated acid herbicides in soil and vegetation matrixes: clopyralid, dicamba, MCPP, MCPA, 2,4-DP, 2,4-D, triclopyr, 2,4-DB, and picloram. A 20 g portion is extracted with a basic solution and an aliquot acidified and micropartitioned with 3 mL chloroform. Vegetation samples are subjected to an additional cleanup with a mixed-mode anion exchange solid-phase extraction cartridge. Two precursor product ion transitions per analyte are measured and evaluated to provide the maximum degree of confidence in results. Average recoveries for 3 different soil types tested ranged from 72 to 107% for all compounds with the exception of 2,4-DB at 56-99%. Average recoveries for the 3 different vegetation types studied were lower and ranged from 53 to 80% for all compounds.

  4. Ultrasound ionization of biomolecules.

    PubMed

    Wu, Chen-I; Wang, Yi-Sheng; Chen, Nelson G; Wu, Chung-Yi; Chen, Chung-Hsuan

    2010-09-15

    To date, mass spectrometric analysis of biomolecules has been primarily performed with either matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) or electrospray ionization (ESI). In this work, ultrasound produced by a simple piezoelectric device is shown as an alternative method for soft ionization of biomolecules. Precursor ions of proteins, saccharides and fatty acids showed little fragmentation. Cavitation is considered as a primary mechanism for the ionization of biomolecules. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Ionization Waves of Arbitrary Velocity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Turnbull, D.; Franke, P.; Katz, J.

    The flying focus is a technique in which a chirped laser beam is focused by a chromatic lens to produce an extended focal spot within which laser intensity can propagate at any velocity. If the intensity is above the ionization threshold of a background gas, an ionization wave will track the ionization threshold intensity isosurface as it propagates. We report on the demonstration of such ionization waves of arbitrary velocity. Subluminal and superluminal ionization fronts were produced, both forward- and backward-propagating relative to the ionizing laser. In conclusion, all backward and all superluminal cases mitigated the issue of ionization-induced refractionmore » that typically challenges the formation of long, contiguous plasma channels.« less

  6. Ionization Waves of Arbitrary Velocity

    DOE PAGES

    Turnbull, D.; Franke, P.; Katz, J.; ...

    2018-05-31

    The flying focus is a technique in which a chirped laser beam is focused by a chromatic lens to produce an extended focal spot within which laser intensity can propagate at any velocity. If the intensity is above the ionization threshold of a background gas, an ionization wave will track the ionization threshold intensity isosurface as it propagates. We report on the demonstration of such ionization waves of arbitrary velocity. Subluminal and superluminal ionization fronts were produced, both forward- and backward-propagating relative to the ionizing laser. In conclusion, all backward and all superluminal cases mitigated the issue of ionization-induced refractionmore » that typically challenges the formation of long, contiguous plasma channels.« less

  7. [Measurement of free urinary cortisol and cortisone using liquid chromatography associated with tandem mass spectrometry method].

    PubMed

    Vieira, José Gilberto H; Nakamura, Odete H; Carvalho, Valdemir M

    2005-04-01

    Free urinary cortisol (UFF) measurement is one of the most useful screening tests for Cushing's syndrome. Immunoassays employed today by most clinical laboratories present limitations, specially concerning specificity. These limitations restrain a widespread application of the method, as well as the comparison of results obtained by the use of different methods. We present the development and characterization of a UFF and cortisone method based on liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). A 200 microL aliquot from a 24 h urine sample is mixed with a solution containing a known quantity of deuterated cortisol and on-line extracted in solid phase (C18). The eluate is transferred to a second C18 column (Phenomenex Luna, 3 micro, 50 x 2 mm) and the isocratic mode elution profile is directly applied to a tandem mass spectrometer model Quattro Micro operating in positive mode atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). All process is automated and the quantification is performed by isotopic dilution, based on the analyte and the deuterated internal standard peak area ratios. The specificity study showed that all the steroids tested presented cross reactivity of <1% for cortisol and cortisone. Functional sensitivity is <1 microg/L for both steroids, and the interassay CV <8%. Recovery and linearity studies were satisfactory and comparison of results obtained using a RIA for UFF and the present method in 98 routine samples showed a correlation of r= 0.838, with the results obtained with LC-MS/MS significantly lower (medians of 22.0 vs. 49.4 microg/24 h for RIA) (P<0.0001). Reference values for cortisol were defined as values between 11 and 43 microg/24 h, compatible to those recently described for similar methods. The concomitant measurement of UF cortisone allows the study of the activity of the enzyme 11beta-HSD2 and the diagnosis of the apparent mineralocorticoid excess syndrome. The method represents the first steroid assay of a new generation

  8. rTANDEM, an R/Bioconductor package for MS/MS protein identification.

    PubMed

    Fournier, Frédéric; Joly Beauparlant, Charles; Paradis, René; Droit, Arnaud

    2014-08-01

    rTANDEM is an R/Bioconductor package that interfaces the X!Tandem protein identification algorithm. The package can run the multi-threaded algorithm on proteomic data files directly from R. It also provides functions to convert search parameters and results to/from R as well as functions to manipulate parameters and automate searches. An associated R package, shinyTANDEM, provides a web-based graphical interface to visualize and interpret the results. Together, those two packages form an entry point for a general MS/MS-based proteomic pipeline in R/Bioconductor. rTANDEM and shinyTANDEM are distributed in R/Bioconductor, http://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/. The packages are under open licenses (GPL-3 and Artistice-1.0). frederic.fournier@crchuq.ulaval.ca or arnaud.droit@crchuq.ulaval.ca Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. A Derivative Method with Free Radical Oxidation to Predict Resveratrol Metabolites by Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Wangta; Shiue, Yow-Ling; Lin, Yi-Reng; Lin, Hugo You-Hsien; Liang, Shih-Shin

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we demonstrated an oxidative method with free radical to generate 3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene (trans-resveratrol) metabolites and detect sequentially by an autosampler coupling with liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometer (LC-ESI–MS/MS). In this oxidative method, the free radical initiator, ammonium persulfate (APS), was placed in a sample bottle containing resveratrol to produce oxidative derivatives, and the reaction progress was tracked by autosampler sequencing. Resveratrol, a natural product with purported cancer preventative qualities, produces metabolites including dihydroresveratrol, 3,4′-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene, lunularin, resveratrol monosulfate, and dihydroresveratrol monosulfate by free radical oxidation. Using APS free radical, the concentrations of resveratrol derivatives differ as a function of time. Besides simple, convenient and time- and labor saving, the advantages of free radical oxidative method of its in situ generation of oxidative derivatives followed by LC-ESI–MS/MS can be utilized to evaluate different metabolites in various conditions. PMID:27594817

  10. A Derivative Method with Free Radical Oxidation to Predict Resveratrol Metabolites by Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, Wangta; Shiue, Yow-Ling; Lin, Yi-Reng; Lin, Hugo You-Hsien; Liang, Shih-Shin

    2015-10-01

    In this study, we demonstrated an oxidative method with free radical to generate 3,5,4'-trihydroxy- trans -stilbene ( trans -resveratrol) metabolites and detect sequentially by an autosampler coupling with liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometer (LC-ESI-MS/MS). In this oxidative method, the free radical initiator, ammonium persulfate (APS), was placed in a sample bottle containing resveratrol to produce oxidative derivatives, and the reaction progress was tracked by autosampler sequencing. Resveratrol, a natural product with purported cancer preventative qualities, produces metabolites including dihydroresveratrol, 3,4'-dihydroxy- trans -stilbene, lunularin, resveratrol monosulfate, and dihydroresveratrol monosulfate by free radical oxidation. Using APS free radical, the concentrations of resveratrol derivatives differ as a function of time. Besides simple, convenient and time- and labor saving, the advantages of free radical oxidative method of its in situ generation of oxidative derivatives followed by LC-ESI-MS/MS can be utilized to evaluate different metabolites in various conditions.

  11. Proteomic profiling of human pleural effusion using two-dimensional nano liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Tyan, Yu-Chang; Wu, Hsin-Yi; Lai, Wu-Wei; Su, Wu-Chou; Liao, Pao-Chi

    2005-01-01

    Pleural effusion, an accumulation of pleural fluid, contains proteins originated from plasma filtrate and, especially when tissues are damaged, parenchyma interstitial spaces of lungs and/or other organs. This study details protein profiles in human pleural effusion from 43 lung adenocarcinoma patients by a two-dimensional nano-high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (2D nano-HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) system. The experimental results revealed the identification of 1415 unique proteins from human pleural effusion. Among these 124 proteins identified with higher confidence levels, some proteins have not been reported in plasma and may represent proteins specifically present in pleural effusion. These proteins are valuable for mass identification of differentially expressed proteins involved in proteomics database and screening biomarker to further study in human lung adenocarcinoma. The significance of the use of proteomics analysis of human pleural fluid for the search of new lung cancer marker proteins, and for their simultaneous display and analysis in patients suffering from lung disorders has been examined.

  12. Capillary zone electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry detects low concentration host cell impurities in monoclonal antibodies

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Guijie; Sun, Liangliang; Heidbrink-Thompson, Jennifer; Kuntumalla, Srilatha; Lin, Hung-yu; Larkin, Christopher J.; McGivney, James B.; Dovichi, Norman J.

    2016-01-01

    We have evaluated capillary zone electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (CZE-ESI-MS/MS) for detection of trace amounts of host cell protein impurities in recombinant therapeutics. Compared to previously published procedures, we have optimized the buffer pH used in the formation of a pH junction to increase injection volume. We also prepared a five-point calibration curve by spiking twelve standard proteins into a solution of a human monoclonal antibody. A custom CZE-MS/MS system was used to analyze the tryptic digest of this mixture without depletion of the antibody. CZE generated a ~70 min separation window (~90 min total analysis duration) and ~300 peak capacity. We also analyzed the sample using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-MS/MS. CZE-MS/MS generated ~five times higher base peak intensity and more peptide identifications for low-level spiked proteins. Both methods detected all proteins spiked at the ~100 ppm level with respect to the antibody. PMID:26530276

  13. Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Fosetyl-Aluminum in Airborne Particulate Matter

    PubMed Central

    Di Filippo, Patrizia; Riccardi, Carmela; Pomata, Donatella; Marsiglia, Riccardo; Console, Carla; Puri, Daniele

    2018-01-01

    Fosetyl-aluminum is a synthetic fungicide administered to plants especially to prevent diseases caused by the members of the Peronosporales and several Phytophthora species. Herein, we present a selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to analyze residues of fosetyl-A1 in air particulate matter. This study was performed in perspective of an exposure assessment of this substance of health concern in environments where high levels of fosetly-Al, relatively to airborne particulate matter, can be found after spraying it. The cleanup procedure of the analyte, from sampled filters of atmospheric particulate matter, was optimized using a Strata X solid-phase extraction cartridge, after accelerated extraction by using water. The chromatographic separation was achieved using a polymeric column based on hydrophilic interaction in step elution with water/acetonitrile, whereas the mass spectrometric detection was performed in negative electrospray ionization. The proposed method resulted to be a simple, fast, and suitable method for confirmation purposes. PMID:29686933

  14. Tunable Ionization Modes of a Flowing Atmospheric-Pressure Afterglow (FAPA) Ambient Ionization Source.

    PubMed

    Badal, Sunil P; Michalak, Shawn D; Chan, George C-Y; You, Yi; Shelley, Jacob T

    2016-04-05

    Plasma-based ambient desorption/ionization sources are versatile in that they enable direct ionization of gaseous samples as well as desorption/ionization of analytes from liquid and solid samples. However, ionization matrix effects, caused by competitive ionization processes, can worsen sensitivity or even inhibit detection all together. The present study is focused on expanding the analytical capabilities of the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) source by exploring additional types of ionization chemistry. Specifically, it was found that the abundance and type of reagent ions produced by the FAPA source and, thus, the corresponding ionization pathways of analytes, can be altered by changing the source working conditions. High abundance of proton-transfer reagent ions was observed with relatively high gas flow rates and low discharge currents. Conversely, charge-transfer reagent species were most abundant at low gas flows and high discharge currents. A rather nonpolar model analyte, biphenyl, was found to significantly change ionization pathway based on source operating parameters. Different analyte ions (e.g., MH(+) via proton-transfer and M(+.) via charge-transfer) were formed under unique operating parameters demonstrating two different operating regimes. These tunable ionization modes of the FAPA were used to enable or enhance detection of analytes which traditionally exhibit low-sensitivity in plasma-based ADI-MS analyses. In one example, 2,2'-dichloroquaterphenyl was detected under charge-transfer FAPA conditions, which were difficult or impossible to detect with proton-transfer FAPA or direct analysis in real-time (DART). Overall, this unique mode of operation increases the number and range of detectable analytes and has the potential to lessen ionization matrix effects in ADI-MS analyses.

  15. External control of electron energy distributions in a dual tandem inductively coupled plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Lei; Sridhar, Shyam; Zhu, Weiye; Donnelly, Vincent M.; Economou, Demetre J.; Logue, Michael D.; Kushner, Mark J.

    2015-08-01

    The control of electron energy probability functions (EEPFs) in low pressure partially ionized plasmas is typically accomplished through the format of the applied power. For example, through the use of pulse power, the EEPF can be modulated to produce shapes not possible under continuous wave excitation. This technique uses internal control. In this paper, we discuss a method for external control of EEPFs by transport of electrons between separately powered inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs). The reactor incorporates dual ICP sources (main and auxiliary) in a tandem geometry whose plasma volumes are separated by a grid. The auxiliary ICP is continuously powered while the main ICP is pulsed. Langmuir probe measurements of the EEPFs during the afterglow of the main ICP suggests that transport of hot electrons from the auxiliary plasma provided what is effectively an external source of energetic electrons. The tail of the EEPF and bulk electron temperature were then elevated in the afterglow of the main ICP by this external source of power. Results from a computer simulation for the evolution of the EEPFs concur with measured trends.

  16. Enhanced performance for the analysis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using a new atmospheric pressure ionization source.

    PubMed

    Lubin, Arnaud; Geerinckx, Suzy; Bajic, Steve; Cabooter, Deirdre; Augustijns, Patrick; Cuyckens, Filip; Vreeken, Rob J

    2016-04-01

    Eicosanoids, including prostaglandins and thromboxanes are lipid mediators synthetized from polyunsaturated fatty acids. They play an important role in cell signaling and are often reported as inflammatory markers. LC-MS/MS is the technique of choice for the analysis of these compounds, often in combination with advanced sample preparation techniques. Here we report a head to head comparison between an electrospray ionization source (ESI) and a new atmospheric pressure ionization source (UniSpray). The performance of both interfaces was evaluated in various matrices such as human plasma, pig colon and mouse colon. The UniSpray source shows an increase in method sensitivity up to a factor 5. Equivalent to better linearity and repeatability on various matrices as well as an increase in signal intensity were observed in comparison to ESI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Semi-transparent perovskite solar cells for tandems with silicon and CIGS

    DOE PAGES

    Bailie, Colin D.; Christoforo, M. Greyson; Mailoa, Jonathan P.; ...

    2014-12-23

    A promising approach for upgrading the performance of an established low-bandgap solar technology without adding much cost is to deposit a high bandgap polycrystalline semiconductor on top to make a tandem solar cell. We use a transparent silver nanowire electrode on perovskite solar cells to achieve a semi-transparent device. We place the semi-transparent cell in a mechanically-stacked tandem configuration onto copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) and low-quality multicrystalline silicon (Si) to achieve solid-state polycrystalline tandem solar cells with a net improvement in efficiency over the bottom cell alone. Furthermore, this work paves the way for integrating perovskites into a low-costmore » and high-efficiency (>25%) tandem cell.« less

  18. Quantification of a biomarker of acetaminophen protein adducts in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry: clinical and animal model applications.

    PubMed

    Cook, Sarah F; King, Amber D; Chang, Yan; Murray, Gordon J; Norris, Hye-Ryun K; Dart, Richard C; Green, Jody L; Curry, Steven C; Rollins, Douglas E; Wilkins, Diana G

    2015-03-15

    The aims of this study were to develop, validate, and apply a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for quantification of protein-derived 3-(cystein-S-yl)-acetaminophen (APAP-Cys) in human serum. Formation of acetaminophen (APAP) protein adducts is thought to be a critical, early event in the development of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity, and quantification of these protein adducts in human serum represents a valuable tool for assessment of APAP exposure, metabolism, and toxicity. In the reported procedure, serum samples were first dialyzed or passed through gel filtration columns to remove APAP-Cys not covalently bound to proteins. Serum eluates were then subjected to enzymatic protease digestion to liberate protein-bound APAP-Cys. Norbuprenorphine-D3 was utilized as an internal standard (IS). APAP-Cys and IS were recovered from digested serum by protein precipitation with acetonitrile, and sample extracts were analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The method was validated by assessment of intra- and inter-assay accuracy and imprecision on two different analytical instrument platforms. APAP-Cys could be accurately quantified from 0.010 to 10μM, and intra- and inter-assay imprecision were <15% on both analytical instruments. APAP-Cys was stable in human serum for three freeze-thaw cycles and for 24h at ambient temperature. Extracted samples were stable when stored in refrigerated autosamplers for the typical duration of analysis or when stored at -20°C for six days. Results from process efficiency and matrix effect experiments indicated adequate recovery from human serum and insignificant ion suppression or enhancement. The utility and sensitivity of the reported procedure were illustrated by analysis of clinical samples collected from subjects taking chronic, therapeutic doses of APAP. Applicability to other biological matrices was also demonstrated by measurement of protein-derived APAP-Cys in plasma

  19. Economic viability of thin-film tandem solar modules in the United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sofia, Sarah E.; Mailoa, Jonathan P.; Weiss, Dirk N.; Stanbery, Billy J.; Buonassisi, Tonio; Peters, I. Marius

    2018-05-01

    Tandem solar cells are more efficient but more expensive per unit area than established single-junction (SJ) solar cells. To understand when specific tandem architectures should be utilized, we evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different II-VI-based thin-film tandem solar cells and compare them to the SJ subcells. Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and energy yield are calculated for four technologies: industrial cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium selenide, and their hypothetical two-terminal (series-connected subcells) and four-terminal (electrically independent subcells) tandems, assuming record SJ quality subcells. Different climatic conditions and scales (residential and utility scale) are considered. We show that, for US residential systems with current balance-of-system costs, the four-terminal tandem has the lowest LCOE because of its superior energy yield, even though it has the highest US per watt (US W-1) module cost. For utility-scale systems, the lowest LCOE architecture is the cadmium telluride single junction, the lowest US W-1 module. The two-terminal tandem requires decreased subcell absorber costs to reach competitiveness over the four-terminal one.

  20. Real Time Monitoring of Containerless Microreactions in Acoustically Levitated Droplets via Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Crawford, Elizabeth A; Esen, Cemal; Volmer, Dietrich A

    2016-09-06

    Direct in-droplet (in stillo) microreaction monitoring using acoustically levitated micro droplets has been achieved by combining acoustic (ultrasonic) levitation for the first time with real time ambient tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The acoustic levitation and inherent mixing of microliter volumes of reactants (3 μL droplets), yielding total reaction volumes of 6 μL, supported monitoring the acid-catalyzed degradation reaction of erythromycin A. This reaction was chosen to demonstrate the proof-of-principle of directly monitoring in stillo microreactions via hyphenated acoustic levitation and ambient ionization mass spectrometry. The microreactions took place completely in stillo over 30, 60, and 120 s within the containerless stable central pressure node of an acoustic levitator, thus readily promoting reaction miniaturization. For the evaluation of the miniaturized in stillo reactions, the degradation reactions were also carried out in vials (in vitro) with a total reaction volume of 400 μL. The reacted in vitro mixtures (6 μL total) were similarly introduced into the acoustic levitator prior to ambient ionization MS/MS analysis. The in stillo miniaturized reactions provided immediate real-time snap-shots of the degradation process for more accurate reaction monitoring and used a fraction of the reactants, while the larger scale in vitro reactions only yielded general reaction information.

  1. Fuel cell with ionization membrane

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hartley, Frank T. (Inventor)

    2007-01-01

    A fuel cell is disclosed comprising an ionization membrane having at least one area through which gas is passed, and which ionizes the gas passing therethrough, and a cathode for receiving the ions generated by the ionization membrane. The ionization membrane may include one or more openings in the membrane with electrodes that are located closer than a mean free path of molecules within the gas to be ionized. Methods of manufacture are also provided.

  2. Typing Clostridium difficile strains based on tandem repeat sequences

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Background Genotyping of epidemic Clostridium difficile strains is necessary to track their emergence and spread. Portability of genotyping data is desirable to facilitate inter-laboratory comparisons and epidemiological studies. Results This report presents results from a systematic screen for variation in repetitive DNA in the genome of C. difficile. We describe two tandem repeat loci, designated 'TR6' and 'TR10', which display extensive sequence variation that may be useful for sequence-based strain typing. Based on an investigation of 154 C. difficile isolates comprising 75 ribotypes, tandem repeat sequencing demonstrated excellent concordance with widely used PCR ribotyping and equal discriminatory power. Moreover, tandem repeat sequences enabled the reconstruction of the isolates' largely clonal population structure and evolutionary history. Conclusion We conclude that sequence analysis of the two repetitive loci introduced here may be highly useful for routine typing of C. difficile. Tandem repeat sequence typing resolves phylogenetic diversity to a level equivalent to PCR ribotypes. DNA sequences may be stored in databases accessible over the internet, obviating the need for the exchange of reference strains. PMID:19133124

  3. Quantification of 11-Nor-9-Carboxy-Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Human Oral Fluid by Gas Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Barnes, Allan J.; Scheidweiler, Karl B.; Huestis, Marilyn A.

    2015-01-01

    A sensitive and specific method for the quantification of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH) in oral fluid collected with the Quantisal and Oral-Eze devices was developed and fully validated. Extracted analytes were derivatized with hexafluoroisopropanol and trifluoroacetic anhydride and quantified by gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry with negative chemical ionization. Standard curves, using linear least-squares regression with 1/x2 weighting were linear from 10 to 1000 ng/L with coefficients of determination >0.998 for both collection devices. Bias was 89.2%–112.6%, total imprecision 4.0%–5.1% coefficient of variation, and extraction efficiency >79.8% across the linear range for Quantisal-collected specimens. Bias was 84.6%–109.3%, total imprecision 3.6%–7.3% coefficient of variation, and extraction efficiency >92.6% for specimens collected with the Oral-Eze device at all 3 quality control concentrations (10, 120, and 750 ng/L). This effective high-throughput method reduces analysis time by 9 minutes per sample compared with our current 2-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method and extends the capability of quantifying this important oral fluid analyte to gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. This method was applied to the analysis of oral fluid specimens collected from individuals participating in controlled cannabis studies and will be effective for distinguishing passive environmental contamination from active cannabis smoking. PMID:24622724

  4. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of five glycopeptide antibiotics in food and biological samples using solid-phase extraction.

    PubMed

    Deng, Fenfang; Yu, Hong; Pan, Xinhong; Hu, Guoyuan; Wang, Qiqin; Peng, Rongfei; Tan, Lei; Yang, Zhicong

    2018-02-23

    This paper demonstrated the development and validation of an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of five glycopeptide antibiotics in food and biological samples. The target glycopeptide antibiotics were isolated from the samples by solvent extraction, and the extracts were cleaned with a tandem solid-phase extraction step using mixed strong cation exchange and hydrophilic/lipophilic balance cartridges. Subsequently, the analytes were eluted with different solvents, and then quantified by UHPLC-MS/MS in the positive ionization mode with multiple reaction monitoring. Under optimal conditions, good linear correlations were obtained for the five glycopeptide antibiotics in the concentration range of 1.0 μg/L to 20.0 μg/L, and with linear correlation coefficients >0.998. Employing this method, the target glycopeptide antibiotics in food and biological samples were identified with a recovery of 83.0-102%, and a low quantitation limit of 1.0 μg/kg in food and 2.0 μg/L in biological samples with low matrix effects. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Influence of renormalization shielding on the electron-impact ionization process in dense partially ionized plasmas

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Song, Mi-Young; Yoon, Jung-Sik; Jung, Young-Dae, E-mail: ydjung@hanyang.ac.kr

    2015-04-15

    The renormalization shielding effects on the electron-impact ionization of hydrogen atom are investigated in dense partially ionized plasmas. The effective projectile-target interaction Hamiltonian and the semiclassical trajectory method are employed to obtain the transition amplitude as well as the ionization probability as functions of the impact parameter, the collision energy, and the renormalization parameter. It is found that the renormalization shielding effect suppresses the transition amplitude for the electron-impact ionization process in dense partially ionized plasmas. It is also found that the renormalization effect suppresses the differential ionization cross section in the peak impact parameter region. In addition, it ismore » found that the influence of renormalization shielding on the ionization cross section decreases with an increase of the relative collision energy. The variations of the renormalization shielding effects on the electron-impact ionization cross section are also discussed.« less

  6. Solution-processed parallel tandem polymer solar cells using silver nanowires as intermediate electrode.

    PubMed

    Guo, Fei; Kubis, Peter; Li, Ning; Przybilla, Thomas; Matt, Gebhard; Stubhan, Tobias; Ameri, Tayebeh; Butz, Benjamin; Spiecker, Erdmann; Forberich, Karen; Brabec, Christoph J

    2014-12-23

    Tandem architecture is the most relevant concept to overcome the efficiency limit of single-junction photovoltaic solar cells. Series-connected tandem polymer solar cells (PSCs) have advanced rapidly during the past decade. In contrast, the development of parallel-connected tandem cells is lagging far behind due to the big challenge in establishing an efficient interlayer with high transparency and high in-plane conductivity. Here, we report all-solution fabrication of parallel tandem PSCs using silver nanowires as intermediate charge collecting electrode. Through a rational interface design, a robust interlayer is established, enabling the efficient extraction and transport of electrons from subcells. The resulting parallel tandem cells exhibit high fill factors of ∼60% and enhanced current densities which are identical to the sum of the current densities of the subcells. These results suggest that solution-processed parallel tandem configuration provides an alternative avenue toward high performance photovoltaic devices.

  7. Tandem Repeated Irritation Test (TRIT) Studies and Clinical Relevance: Post 2006.

    PubMed

    Reddy, Rasika; Maibach, Howard

    2018-06-11

    Single or multiple applications of irritants can lead to occupational contact dermatitis, and most commonly irritant contact dermatitis (ICD). Tandem irritation, the sequential application of two irritants to a target skin area, has been studied using the Tandem Repeated Irritation Test (TRIT) to provide a more accurate representation of skin irritation. Here we present an update to Kartono's review on tandem irritation studies since 2006 [1]. We surveyed the literature available on PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and the UCSF Dermatology library databases since 2006. The studies included discuss the tandem effects of common chemical irritants, organic solvents, occlusion as well as clinical relevance - and enlarge our ability to discern whether multiple chemical exposures are more or less likely to enhance irritation.

  8. Ionization Energies of Lanthanides

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lang, Peter F.; Smith, Barry C.

    2010-01-01

    This article describes how data are used to analyze the pattern of ionization energies of the lanthanide elements. Different observed pathways of ionization between different ground states are discussed, and the effects of pairing, exchange, and orbital interactions on ionization energies of the lanthanides are evaluated. When all the above…

  9. Fast quantification of ten psychotropic drugs and metabolites in human plasma by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for therapeutic drug monitoring.

    PubMed

    Ansermot, Nicolas; Brawand-Amey, Marlyse; Kottelat, Astrid; Eap, Chin B

    2013-05-31

    A sensitive and selective ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed for the fast quantification of ten psychotropic drugs and metabolites in human plasma for the needs of our laboratory (amisulpride, asenapine, desmethyl-mirtazapine, iloperidone, mirtazapine, norquetiapine, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine and risperidone). Stable isotope-labeled internal standards were used for all analytes, to compensate for the global method variability, including extraction and ionization variations. Sample preparation was performed by generic protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Chromatographic separation was achieved in less than 3.0min on an Acquity UPLC BEH Shield RP18 column (2.1mm×50mm; 1.7μm), using a gradient elution of 10mM ammonium formate buffer pH 3.0 and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.4ml/min. The compounds were quantified on a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in positive electrospray ionization mode, using multiple reaction monitoring. The method was fully validated according to the latest recommendations of international guidelines. Eight point calibration curves were used to cover a large concentration range 0.5-200ng/ml for asenapine, desmethyl-mirtazapine, iloperidone, mirtazapine, olanzapine, paliperidone and risperidone, and 1-1500ng/ml for amisulpride, norquetiapine and quetiapine. Good quantitative performances were achieved in terms of trueness (93.1-111.2%), repeatability (1.3-8.6%) and intermediate precision (1.8-11.5%). Internal standard-normalized matrix effects ranged between 95 and 105%, with a variability never exceeding 6%. The accuracy profiles (total error) were included in the acceptance limits of ±30% for biological samples. This method is therefore suitable for both therapeutic drug monitoring and pharmacokinetic studies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Flow field interactions between two tandem cyclists

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barry, Nathan; Burton, David; Sheridan, John; Thompson, Mark; Brown, Nicholas A. T.

    2016-12-01

    Aerodynamic drag is the primary resistive force acting on cyclists at racing speeds. Many events involve cyclists travelling in very close proximity. Previous studies have shown that interactions result in significant drag reductions for inline cyclists. However, the interaction between cyclist leg position (pedalling) and the vortical flow structures that contribute significantly to the drag on an isolated cyclist has not previously been quantified or described for tandem cyclists of varying separation. To this end, scale model cyclists were constructed for testing in a water channel for inline tandem configurations. Particle image velocimetry was used to capture time-averaged velocity fields around two tandem cyclists. Perhaps surprisingly, the wake of a trailing cyclist maintains strong similarity to the characteristic wake of a single cyclist despite a significant disturbance to the upstream flow. Together with streamwise velocity measurements through the wake and upstream of the trailing cyclist, this work supports previous findings, which showed that the trailing cyclist drag reduction is primarily due to upstream sheltering effects reducing the stagnation pressure on forward-facing surfaces.

  11. Stacking multiple connecting functional materials in tandem organic light-emitting diodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Tao; Wang, Deng-Ke; Jiang, Nan; Lu, Zheng-Hong

    2017-02-01

    Tandem device is an important architecture in fabricating high performance organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. The key element in making a high performance tandem device is the connecting materials stack, which plays an important role in electric field distribution, charge generation and charge injection. For a tandem organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with a simple Liq/Al/MoO3 stack, we discovered that there is a significant current lateral spreading causing light emission over an extremely large area outside the OLED pixel when the Al thickness exceeds 2 nm. This spread light emission, caused by an inductive electric field over one of the device unit, limits one’s ability to fabricate high performance tandem devices. To resolve this issue, a new connecting materials stack with a C60 fullerene buffer layer is reported. This new structure permits optimization of the Al metal layer in the connecting stack and thus enables us to fabricate an efficient tandem OLED having a high 155.6 cd/A current efficiency and a low roll-off (or droop) in current efficiency.

  12. Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Using a High Voltage Target Compared to Electrospray Ionization.

    PubMed

    Lubin, Arnaud; Bajic, Steve; Cabooter, Deirdre; Augustijns, Patrick; Cuyckens, Filip

    2017-02-01

    A new atmospheric pressure ionization (API) source, viz. UniSpray, was evaluated for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of pharmaceutical compounds by head-to-head comparison with electrospray ionization (ESI) on the same high-resolution MS system. The atmospheric pressure ionization source is composed of a grounded nebulizer spraying onto a high voltage, cylindrical stainless steel target. Molecules are ionized in a similar fashion to electrospray ionization, predominantly producing protonated or deprotonated species. Adduct formation (e.g., proton and sodium adducts) and in-source fragmentation is shown to be almost identical between the two sources. The performance of the new API source was compared with electrospray by infusion of a mix of 22 pharmaceutical compounds with a wide variety of functional groups and physico-chemical properties (molecular weight, logP, and pKa) in more than 100 different conditions (mobile phase strength, solvents, pH, and flow rate). The new API source shows an intensity gain of a factor 2.2 compared with ESI considering all conditions on all compounds tested. Finally, some hypotheses on the ionization mechanism, similarities, and differences with ESI, are discussed. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

  13. Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Using a High Voltage Target Compared to Electrospray Ionization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lubin, Arnaud; Bajic, Steve; Cabooter, Deirdre; Augustijns, Patrick; Cuyckens, Filip

    2017-02-01

    A new atmospheric pressure ionization (API) source, viz. UniSpray, was evaluated for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of pharmaceutical compounds by head-to-head comparison with electrospray ionization (ESI) on the same high-resolution MS system. The atmospheric pressure ionization source is composed of a grounded nebulizer spraying onto a high voltage, cylindrical stainless steel target. Molecules are ionized in a similar fashion to electrospray ionization, predominantly producing protonated or deprotonated species. Adduct formation (e.g., proton and sodium adducts) and in-source fragmentation is shown to be almost identical between the two sources. The performance of the new API source was compared with electrospray by infusion of a mix of 22 pharmaceutical compounds with a wide variety of functional groups and physico-chemical properties (molecular weight, logP, and pKa) in more than 100 different conditions (mobile phase strength, solvents, pH, and flow rate). The new API source shows an intensity gain of a factor 2.2 compared with ESI considering all conditions on all compounds tested. Finally, some hypotheses on the ionization mechanism, similarities, and differences with ESI, are discussed.

  14. Tandem mass spectrometric analysis of aspergillus niger pectin methylesterase: mode of action on fully methyl-esterified oligogalacturonates.

    PubMed

    Kester, H C; Benen, J A; Visser, J; Warren, M E; Orlando, R; Bergmann, C; Magaud, D; Anker, D; Doutheau, A

    2000-03-01

    The substrate specificity and the mode of action of Aspergillus niger pectin methylesterase (PME) was determined using both fully methyl-esterified oligogalacturonates with degrees of polymerization (DP) 2-6 and chemically synthesized monomethyl trigalacturonates. The enzymic activity on the different substrates and a preliminary characterization of the reaction products were performed by using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography at neutral pH. Electrospray ionization tandem MS (ESI-MS/MS) was used to localize the methyl esters on the (18)O-labelled reaction products during the course of the enzymic reaction. A. niger PME is able to hydrolyse the methyl esters of fully methyl-esterified oligogalacturonates with DP 2, and preferentially hydrolyses the methyl esters located on the internal galacturonate residues, followed by hydrolysis of the methyl esters towards the reducing end. This PME is unable to hydrolyse the methyl ester of the galacturonate moiety at the non-reducing end.

  15. Simultaneous quantification of reparixin and paclitaxel in plasma and urine using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (UHPLC-MS/MS): Application to a preclinical pharmacokinetic study in rats.

    PubMed

    Malhi, Sarandeep; Stesco, Nicholas; Alrushaid, Samaa; Lakowski, Ted M; Davies, Neal M; Gu, Xiaochen

    2017-03-01

    A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) assay was developed and validated to simultaneously quantify anticancer drugs reparixin and paclitaxel in this study. The compounds were extracted from plasma and urine samples by protein precipitation with acetone (supplemented with 0.1% formic acid). Chromatographic separation was achieved using a C18 column, and drug molecules were ionized using dual ion source electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (DUIS: ESI-APCI). Reparixin and paclitaxel were quantified using negative and positive multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, respectively. Stable isotope palcitaxel-D5 was used as the internal standard (IS). The assay was validated for specificity, recovery, carryover and sample stability under various storage conditions; it was also successfully applied to measure drug concentrations collected from a pharmacokinetic study in rats. The results confirmed that the assay was accurate and simple in quantifying both reparixin and paclitaxel in plasma and urine with minimal sample pretreatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric study of protonated and alkali- cationized α/ε-hybrid peptides: differentiation of a pair of dipeptide positional isomers.

    PubMed

    Ramesh Babu, A; Raju, G; Purna Chander, C; Shoban Babu, B; Srinivas, R; Sharma, G V M

    A new class of Boc-N-protected hybrid peptides derived from L- Ala and ε 6 -Caa (L-Ala = L-Alanine, Caa = C-linked carboamino acid derived from D-xylose) have been studied by positive ion electrospray ionization (ESI) ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). MS n spectra of protonated and alkali-cationized hybrid peptides produce characteristic fragmentation involving the peptide backbone, the tert-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) group, and the side chain. The dipeptide positional isomers are differentiated by the collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the protonated and alkali-cationized peptides. The CID of [M + H] + ion of Boc-NH-L-Ala-ε-Caa- OCH 3 (1) shows a prominent [M + H - C 4 H 8 ] + ion, which is totally absent for its positional isomer Boc-NH-ε-Caa-L-Ala-OCH 3 (6), which instead shows significant loss of t-butanol. The formation of the [M + Cat - C 4 H 8 ] + ion is totally absent and [M + Cat - Boc + H] + is prominent in the CID of the [M + Cat] + ion of Boc-NH-L-Ala-ε-Caa- OCH 3 (1), whereas the former is highly abundant and the latter is of low abundance for its positional isomer Boc-NH-ε-Caa-L-Ala-OCH 3 (6). It is observed that 'b' ions are abundant when oxazolone structures are formed through a five-membered cyclic transition state in tetra-, penta-, and hexapeptides and the cyclization process for larger 'b' ions led to an insignificant abundance. However, the significant 'b' ion is formed in ε,α-dipeptide, which may have a seven-membered substituted 2-oxoazepanium ion structure. The MS n spectra of [M + Cat - Boc + H] + ions of these peptides are found to be significantly different to those of [M + H - Boc + H] + ions. The CID spectra of [M + Cat - Boc + H] + ions of peptide acids containing L-Ala at the C-terminus show an abundant N-terminal rearrangement ion, [b n  + 17 + Cat] + , which is absent for the peptide acids containing ε-Caa at the C-terminus. Thus, the results of these hybrid peptides

  17. [Polymorphic loci and polymorphism analysis of short tandem repeats within XNP gene].

    PubMed

    Liu, Qi-Ji; Gong, Yao-Qin; Guo, Chen-Hong; Chen, Bing-Xi; Li, Jiang-Xia; Guo, Yi-Shou

    2002-01-01

    To select polymorphic short tandem repeat markers within X-linked nuclear protein (XNP) gene, genomic clones which contain XNP gene were recognized by homologous analysis with XNP cDNA. By comparing the cDNA with genomic DNA, non-exonic sequences were identified, and short tandem repeats were selected from non-exonic sequences by using BCM search Launcher. Polymorphisms of the short tandem repeats in Chinese population were evaluated by PCR amplification and PAGE. Five short tandem repeats were identified from XNP gene, two of which were polymorphic. Four and 11 alleles were observed in Chinese population for XNPSTR1 and XNPSTR4, respectively. Heterozygosities were 47% for XNPSTR1 and 70% for XNPSTR4. XNPSTR1 and XNPSTR4 localized within 3' end and intron 10, respectively. Two polymorphic short tandem repeats have been identified within XNP gene and will be useful for linkage analysis and gene diagnosis of XNP gene.

  18. Low-Cost CdTe/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

    DOE PAGES

    Tamboli, Adele C.; Bobela, David C.; Kanevce, Ana; ...

    2017-09-06

    Achieving higher photovoltaic efficiency in single-junction devices is becoming increasingly difficult, but tandem modules offer the possibility of significant efficiency improvements. By device modeling we show that four-terminal CdTe/Si tandem solar modules offer the prospect of 25%-30% module efficiency, and technoeconomic analysis predicts that these efficiency gains can be realized at costs per Watt that are competitive with CdTe and Si single junction alternatives. The cost per Watt of the modeled tandems is lower than crystalline silicon, but slightly higher than CdTe alone. But, these higher power modules reduce area-related balance of system costs, providing increased value especially in area-constrainedmore » applications. This avenue for high-efficiency photovoltaics enables improved performance on a near-term timeframe, as well as a path to further reduced levelized cost of electricity as module and cell processes continue to advance.« less

  19. Low-Cost CdTe/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tamboli, Adele C.; Bobela, David C.; Kanevce, Ana

    Achieving higher photovoltaic efficiency in single-junction devices is becoming increasingly difficult, but tandem modules offer the possibility of significant efficiency improvements. By device modeling we show that four-terminal CdTe/Si tandem solar modules offer the prospect of 25%-30% module efficiency, and technoeconomic analysis predicts that these efficiency gains can be realized at costs per Watt that are competitive with CdTe and Si single junction alternatives. The cost per Watt of the modeled tandems is lower than crystalline silicon, but slightly higher than CdTe alone. But, these higher power modules reduce area-related balance of system costs, providing increased value especially in area-constrainedmore » applications. This avenue for high-efficiency photovoltaics enables improved performance on a near-term timeframe, as well as a path to further reduced levelized cost of electricity as module and cell processes continue to advance.« less

  20. Atmospheric Ionization Measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slack, Thomas; Mayes, Riley

    2015-04-01

    The measurement of atmospheric ionization is a largely unexplored science that potentially holds the key to better understanding many different geophysical phenomena through this new and valuable source of data. Through the LaACES program, which is funded by NASA through the Louisiana Space Consortium, students at Loyola University New Orleans have pursued the goal of measuring high altitude ionization for nearly three years, and were the first to successfully collect ionization data at altitudes over 30,000 feet using a scientific weather balloon flown from the NASA Columbia Scientific Ballooning Facility in Palestine, TX. In order to measure atmospheric ionization, the science team uses a lightweight and highly customized sensor known as a Gerdien condenser. Among other branches of science the data is already being used for, such as the study of aerosol pollution levels in the atmosphere, the data may also be useful in meteorology and seismology. Ionization data might provide another variable with which to predict weather or seismic activity more accurately and further in advance. Thomas Slack and Riley Mayes have served as project managers for the experiment, and have extensive knowledge of the experiment from the ground up. LaSPACE Louisiana Space Consortium.

  1. Enhancing Accuracy in Molecular Weight Determination of Highly Heterogeneously Glycosylated Proteins by Native Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wang, Guanbo; de Jong, Rob N; van den Bremer, Ewald T J; Parren, Paul W H I; Heck, Albert J R

    2017-05-02

    The determination of molecular weights (MWs) of heavily glycosylated proteins is seriously hampered by the physicochemical characteristics and heterogeneity of the attached carbohydrates. Glycosylation impacts protein migration during sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) analysis. Standard electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry does not provide a direct solution as this approach is hindered by extensive interference of ion signals caused by closely spaced charge states of broadly distributed glycoforms. Here, we introduce a native tandem MS-based approach, enabling charge-state resolution and charge assignment of protein ions including those that escape mass analysis under standard MS conditions. Using this method, we determined the MW of two model glycoproteins, the extra-cellular domains of the highly and heterogeneously glycosylated proteins CD38 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), as well as the overall MW and binding stoichiometries of these proteins in complex with a specific antibody.

  2. Analysis of phospholipids in bio-oils and fats by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Viidanoja, Jyrki

    2015-09-15

    A new, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the analysis of Phospholipids (PLs) in bio-oils and fats. This analysis employs hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-scheduled multiple reaction monitoring (HILIC-sMRM) with a ZIC-cHILIC column. Eight PL class selective internal standards (homologs) were used for the semi-quantification of 14 PL classes for the first time. More than 400 scheduled MRMs were used for the measurement of PLs with a run time of 34min. The method's performance was evaluated for vegetable oil, animal fat and algae oil. The averaged within-run precision and between-run precision were ≤10% for all of the PL classes that had a direct homologue as an internal standard. The method accuracy was generally within 80-120% for the tested PL analytes in all three sample matrices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Partners in crime: The role of tandem modules in gene transcription.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Rajal; Zhou, Ming-Ming

    2015-09-01

    Histones and their modifications play an important role in the regulation of gene transcription. Numerous modifications, such as acetylation, phosphorylation, methylation, ubiquitination, and SUMOylation, have been described. These modifications almost always co-occur and thereby increase the combinatorial complexity of post-translational modification detection. The domains that recognize these histone modifications often occur in tandem in the context of larger proteins and complexes. The presence of multiple modifications can positively or negatively regulate the binding of these tandem domains, influencing downstream cellular function. Alternatively, these tandem domains can have novel functions from their independent parts. Here we summarize structural and functional information known about major tandem domains and their histone binding properties. An understanding of these interactions is key for the development of epigenetic therapy. © 2015 The Protein Society.

  4. Study on the reactive transient α-λ3-iodanyl-acetophenone complex in the iodine(III)/PhI(I) catalytic cycle of iodobenzene-catalyzed α-acetoxylation reaction of acetophenone by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hao-Yang; Zhou, Juan; Guo, Yin-Long

    2012-03-30

    Hypervalent iodine compounds are important and widely used oxidants in organic chemistry. In 2005, Ochiai reported the PhI-catalyzed α-acetoxylation reaction of acetophenone by the oxidation of PhI with m-chloroperbenzoic acid (m-CPBA) in acetic acid. However, until now, the most critical reactive α-λ(3)-iodine alkyl acetophenone intermediate (3) had not been isolated or directly detected. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) was used to intercept and characterize the transient reactive α-λ(3)-iodine alkyl acetophenone intermediate in the reaction solution. The trivalent iodine species was detected when PhI and m-CPBA in acetic acid were mixed, which indicated the facile oxidation of a catalytic amount of PhI(I) to the iodine(III) species by m-CPBA. Most importantly, 3·H(+) was observed at m/z 383 from the reaction solution and this ion gave the protonated α-acetoxylation product 4·H(+) at m/z 179 in MS/MS by an intramolecular reductive elimination of PhI. These ESI-MS/MS studies showed the existence of the reactive α-λ(3)-iodine alkyl acetophenone intermediate 3 in the catalytic cycle. Moreover, the gas-phase reactivity of 3·H(+) was consistent with the proposed solution-phase reactivity of the α-λ(3)-iodine alkyl acetophenone intermediate 3, thus confirming the reaction mechanism proposed by Ochiai. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization of fluorinated phenols in atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry, tandem mass spectrometry, and ion mobility spectrometry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eiceman, G. A.; Bergloff, J. F.; Rodriguez, J. E.; Munro, W.; Karpas, Z.

    1999-01-01

    Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-mass spectrometry (MS) for fluorinated phenols (C6H5-xFxOH Where x = 0-5) in nitrogen with Cl- as the reagent ion yielded product ions of M Cl- through ion associations or (M-H)- through proton abstractions. Proton abstraction was controllable by potentials on the orifice and first lens, suggesting that some proton abstraction occurs through collision induced dissociation (CID) in the interface region. This was proven using CID of adduct ions (M Cl-) with Q2 studies where adduct ions were dissociated to Cl- or proton abstracted to (M-H)-. The extent of proton abstraction depended upon ion energy and structure in order of calculated acidities: pentafluorophenol > tetrafluorophenol > trifluorophenol > difluorophenol. Little or no proton abstraction occurred for fluorophenol, phenol, or benzyl alcohol analogs. Ion mobility spectrometry was used to determine if proton abstraction reactions passed through an adduct intermediate with thermalized ions and mobility spectra for all chemicals were obtained from 25 to 200 degrees C. Proton abstraction from M Cl- was not observed at any temperature for phenol, monofluorophenol, or difluorophenol. Mobility spectra for trifluorophenol revealed the kinetic transformations to (M-H)- either from M Cl- or from M2 Cl- directly. Proton abstraction was the predominant reaction for tetra- and penta-fluorophenols. Consequently, the evidence suggests that proton abstraction occurs from an adduct ion where the reaction barrier is reduced with increasing acidity of the O-H bond in C6H5-xFxOH.

  6. Roles of Tunneling, Multiphoton Ionization, and Cascade Ionization for Femtosecond Optical Breakdown in Aqueous Media

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-09-01

    observed in the wavelength dependence of femtosecond breakdown would indicate a significant role of multiphoton ionization compared to tunneling ...relevant for femtosecond breakdown, and tunnel ionization featuring no Ith() dependence becomes ever more with decreasing pulse duration. However, it...c) Figure 4.22 Wavelength dependence of ionization probabilities by a) avalanche, b) multiphoton, and c) tunneling ionization. 1

  7. Quantitative determination of chromium picolinate in animal feeds by solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Han, Miaomiao; Tian, Ying; Li, Zhen; Chen, Yiqiang; Yang, Wenjun; Zhang, Liying

    2017-12-01

    Chromium picolinate is one of the important Cr 3+ resources and is widely used in animal production. A convenient, reliable and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of chromium picolinate in animal feeds. Feed samples were extracted with acetonitrile and subsequently cleaned up by solid phase extraction cartridges Supelclean™ LC-18. Chromium picolinate was efficiently separated with a Waters ACQUITY UPLC ® BEH C18 column, ionized with electrospray ion source in positive mode (ESI + ), and quantitatively determined by tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Standard calibration curve of chromium picolinate in the concentration range from 0.5 to 1000ng/mL was obtained with good linearity correlation coefficient (R 2 =0.9982). Average recoveries ranged from 95.37%∼105.54%, as detected by spiking 0.02∼640mg/kg of chromium picolinate in complete feed, concentrated feed and premix. Intra-day and inter-day coefficient of variation were 0.59%∼6.67% and 2.36%∼6.97%, respectively. The limits of quantitation were 0.02mg/kg, 0.025mg/kg, and 2mg/kg for complete feed, concentrated feed, and premix, respectively. Actual sample analysis indicated that the developed method can be an effective tool to monitoring CrPic content in animal feed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  8. Simultaneous determination of eighteen nitro-polyaromatic hydrocarbons in PM2.5 by atmospheric pressure gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yanhao; Li, Ruijin; Fang, Jing; Wang, Chen; Cai, Zongwei

    2018-05-01

    A new atmospheric pressure gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (APGC-MS/MS) was developed to simultaneously separate, identify and quantify 18 nitro-polyaromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in air fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ). Compared with traditional negative chemical ionization (NCI) or electron impact ionization (EI)-MS/MS methods, APGC-MS/MS equipped with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source provided better sensitivity and selectivity for NPAHs analysis in PM 2.5 .18 NPAHs were completely separated, and satisfactory linear response (R 2  > 0.99), low instrumental detection limits (0.20-2.18 pg mL -1 ) and method detection limits (0.001-0.015 pg m -3 ) were achieved. Due to the reliable performance of the instrument, only minimal sample pretreatment is needed. It ensured the satisfactory method recovery (70%-120%) and qualified repeatability (RSD: 1.1%-17.2%), which met the requirement of trace analysis of NAPHs in the real environmental PM 2.5 . Using the developed method, the actual PM 2.5 samples collected from Taiyuan, China in both summer and winter were analyzed, and 17 NPAHs but 2-nitrofluorene were detected and quantified. According to the obtained NAPH concentration results, the generation mechanism of NPAHs in PM 2.5 and the effects on NPAHs formation caused by some ambient air pollutants were preliminarily discussed: secondary photochemical reaction might be the dominant source of NPAHs in PM 2.5 collected from Taiyuan in both summer and winter; ambient air pollutants (NO 2 , SO 2 , CO) had more contribution on the NPAHs secondary formation of PM 2.5 in winter. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Perovskite-perovskite tandem photovoltaics with optimized band gaps

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eperon, Giles E.; Leijtens, Tomas; Bush, Kevin A.; Prasanna, Rohit; Green, Thomas; Wang, Jacob Tse-Wei; McMeekin, David P.; Volonakis, George; Milot, Rebecca L.; May, Richard; Palmstrom, Axel; Slotcavage, Daniel J.; Belisle, Rebecca A.; Patel, Jay B.; Parrott, Elizabeth S.; Sutton, Rebecca J.; Ma, Wen; Moghadam, Farhad; Conings, Bert; Babayigit, Aslihan; Boyen, Hans-Gerd; Bent, Stacey; Giustino, Feliciano; Herz, Laura M.; Johnston, Michael B.; McGehee, Michael D.; Snaith, Henry J.

    2016-11-01

    We demonstrate four- and two-terminal perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells with ideally matched band gaps. We develop an infrared-absorbing 1.2-electron volt band-gap perovskite, FA0.75Cs0.25Sn0.5Pb0.5I3, that can deliver 14.8% efficiency. By combining this material with a wider-band gap FA0.83Cs0.17Pb(I0.5Br0.5)3 material, we achieve monolithic two-terminal tandem efficiencies of 17.0% with >1.65-volt open-circuit voltage. We also make mechanically stacked four-terminal tandem cells and obtain 20.3% efficiency. Notably, we find that our infrared-absorbing perovskite cells exhibit excellent thermal and atmospheric stability, not previously achieved for Sn-based perovskites. This device architecture and materials set will enable “all-perovskite” thin-film solar cells to reach the highest efficiencies in the long term at the lowest costs.

  10. Stacking multiple connecting functional materials in tandem organic light-emitting diodes

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Tao; Wang, Deng-Ke; Jiang, Nan; Lu, Zheng-Hong

    2017-01-01

    Tandem device is an important architecture in fabricating high performance organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. The key element in making a high performance tandem device is the connecting materials stack, which plays an important role in electric field distribution, charge generation and charge injection. For a tandem organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with a simple Liq/Al/MoO3 stack, we discovered that there is a significant current lateral spreading causing light emission over an extremely large area outside the OLED pixel when the Al thickness exceeds 2 nm. This spread light emission, caused by an inductive electric field over one of the device unit, limits one’s ability to fabricate high performance tandem devices. To resolve this issue, a new connecting materials stack with a C60 fullerene buffer layer is reported. This new structure permits optimization of the Al metal layer in the connecting stack and thus enables us to fabricate an efficient tandem OLED having a high 155.6 cd/A current efficiency and a low roll-off (or droop) in current efficiency. PMID:28225028

  11. Electrical and optical analyses of tandem organic light-emitting diodes with organic charge-generation layer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Bong Sung; Chae, Heeyeop; Chung, Ho Kyoon; Cho, Sung Min

    2018-06-01

    The electrical and optical properties of tandem organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), in which a fluorescent and phosphorescent emitting units are connected by an organic charge-generation layer (CGL), were experimentally analyzed. To investigate the internal properties of the tandem OLEDs, we fabricated and compared two single, two homo-tandem, and two hetero-tandem OLEDs using the fluorescent and phosphorescent units. From the experimental results of the OLEDs obtained at the same current density, the voltage across the CGL as well as the individual emission spectra and luminance of each unit of tandem OLEDs were obtained and compared with the theoretical simulation results. The analysis method proposed in this study can be utilized as a method to verify the accuracy of optical or electrical computer simulation of tandem OLED and it will be useful to understand the overall electrical and optical characteristics of tandem OLEDs.

  12. Quantification of rifampicin in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid by a highly sensitive and rapid liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method.

    PubMed

    Srivastava, Abhishek; Waterhouse, David; Ardrey, Alison; Ward, Stephen A

    2012-11-01

    A highly sensitive and rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed to measure the levels of the antitubercular drug rifampicin (RIF) in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The analyte and internal standard (IS) were isolated from plasma and CSF by a simple organic solvent based precipitation of proteins followed by centrifugation. Detection was carried out by electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The assay was linear in the concentration range 25-6400 ng/mL with intra- and inter-day precision of <7% and <8%, respectively. The validated method was applied to the study of RIF pharmacokinetics in human CSF and plasma over 25 h period after a 10 mg/kg oral dose. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. TandEM: Titan and Enceladus mission

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Coustenis, A.; Atreya, S.K.; Balint, T.; Brown, R.H.; Dougherty, M.K.; Ferri, F.; Fulchignoni, M.; Gautier, D.; Gowen, R.A.; Griffith, C.A.; Gurvits, L.I.; Jaumann, R.; Langevin, Y.; Leese, M.R.; Lunine, J.I.; McKay, C.P.; Moussas, X.; Muller-Wodarg, I.; Neubauer, F.; Owen, T.C.; Raulin, F.; Sittler, E.C.; Sohl, F.; Sotin, Christophe; Tobie, G.; Tokano, T.; Turtle, E.P.; Wahlund, J.-E.; Waite, J.H.; Baines, K.H.; Blamont, J.; Coates, A.J.; Dandouras, I.; Krimigis, T.; Lellouch, E.; Lorenz, R.D.; Morse, A.; Porco, C.C.; Hirtzig, M.; Saur, J.; Spilker, T.; Zarnecki, J.C.; Choi, E.; Achilleos, N.; Amils, R.; Annan, P.; Atkinson, D.H.; Benilan, Y.; Bertucci, C.; Bezard, B.; Bjoraker, G.L.; Blanc, M.; Boireau, L.; Bouman, J.; Cabane, M.; Capria, M.T.; Chassefiere, E.; Coll, P.; Combes, M.; Cooper, J.F.; Coradini, A.; Crary, F.; Cravens, T.; Daglis, I.A.; de Angelis, E.; De Bergh, C.; de Pater, I.; Dunford, C.; Durry, G.; Dutuit, O.; Fairbrother, D.; Flasar, F.M.; Fortes, A.D.; Frampton, R.; Fujimoto, M.; Galand, M.; Grasset, O.; Grott, M.; Haltigin, T.; Herique, A.; Hersant, F.; Hussmann, H.; Ip, W.; Johnson, R.; Kallio, E.; Kempf, S.; Knapmeyer, M.; Kofman, W.; Koop, R.; Kostiuk, T.; Krupp, N.; Kuppers, M.; Lammer, H.; Lara, L.-M.; Lavvas, P.; Le, Mouelic S.; Lebonnois, S.; Ledvina, S.; Li, Ji; Livengood, T.A.; Lopes, R.M.; Lopez-Moreno, J. -J.; Luz, D.; Mahaffy, P.R.; Mall, U.; Martinez-Frias, J.; Marty, B.; McCord, T.; Salvan, C.M.; Milillo, A.; Mitchell, D.G.; Modolo, R.; Mousis, O.; Nakamura, M.; Neish, Catherine D.; Nixon, C.A.; Mvondo, D.N.; Orton, G.; Paetzold, M.; Pitman, J.; Pogrebenko, S.; Pollard, W.; Prieto-Ballesteros, O.; Rannou, P.; Reh, K.; Richter, L.; Robb, F.T.; Rodrigo, R.; Rodriguez, S.; Romani, P.; Bermejo, M.R.; Sarris, E.T.; Schenk, P.; Schmitt, B.; Schmitz, N.; Schulze-Makuch, D.; Schwingenschuh, K.; Selig, A.; Sicardy, B.; Soderblom, L.; Spilker, L.J.; Stam, D.; Steele, A.; Stephan, K.; Strobel, D.F.; Szego, K.; Szopa,

    2009-01-01

    TandEM was proposed as an L-class (large) mission in response to ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 Call, and accepted for further studies, with the goal of exploring Titan and Enceladus. The mission concept is to perform in situ investigations of two worlds tied together by location and properties, whose remarkable natures have been partly revealed by the ongoing Cassini–Huygens mission. These bodies still hold mysteries requiring a complete exploration using a variety of vehicles and instruments. TandEM is an ambitious mission because its targets are two of the most exciting and challenging bodies in the Solar System. It is designed to build on but exceed the scientific and technological accomplishments of the Cassini–Huygens mission, exploring Titan and Enceladus in ways that are not currently possible (full close-up and in situ coverage over long periods of time). In the current mission architecture, TandEM proposes to deliver two medium-sized spacecraft to the Saturnian system. One spacecraft would be an orbiter with a large host of instruments which would perform several Enceladus flybys and deliver penetrators to its surface before going into a dedicated orbit around Titan alone, while the other spacecraft would carry the Titan in situ investigation components, i.e. a hot-air balloon (Montgolfière) and possibly several landing probes to be delivered through the atmosphere.

  14. TandEM: Titan and Enceladus mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Coustenis, A.; Atreya, S. K.; Balint, T.; Brown, R. H.; Dougherty, M. K.; Ferri, F.; Fulchignoni, M.; Gautier, D.; Gowen, R. A.; Griffith, C. A.; Gurvits, L. I.; Jaumann, R.; Langevin, Y.; Leese, M. R.; Lunine, J. I.; McKay, C. P.; Moussas, X.; Müller-Wodarg, I.; Neubauer, F.; Owen, T. C.; Raulin, F.; Sittler, E. C.; Sohl, F.; Sotin, C.; Tobie, G.; Tokano, T.; Turtle, E. P.; Wahlund, J.-E.; Waite, J. H.; Baines, K. H.; Blamont, J.; Coates, A. J.; Dandouras, I.; Krimigis, T.; Lellouch, E.; Lorenz, R. D.; Morse, A.; Porco, C. C.; Hirtzig, M.; Saur, J.; Spilker, T.; Zarnecki, J. C.; Choi, E.; Achilleos, N.; Amils, R.; Annan, P.; Atkinson, D. H.; Bénilan, Y.; Bertucci, C.; Bézard, B.; Bjoraker, G. L.; Blanc, M.; Boireau, L.; Bouman, J.; Cabane, M.; Capria, M. T.; Chassefière, E.; Coll, P.; Combes, M.; Cooper, J. F.; Coradini, A.; Crary, F.; Cravens, T.; Daglis, I. A.; de Angelis, E.; de Bergh, C.; de Pater, I.; Dunford, C.; Durry, G.; Dutuit, O.; Fairbrother, D.; Flasar, F. M.; Fortes, A. D.; Frampton, R.; Fujimoto, M.; Galand, M.; Grasset, O.; Grott, M.; Haltigin, T.; Herique, A.; Hersant, F.; Hussmann, H.; Ip, W.; Johnson, R.; Kallio, E.; Kempf, S.; Knapmeyer, M.; Kofman, W.; Koop, R.; Kostiuk, T.; Krupp, N.; Küppers, M.; Lammer, H.; Lara, L.-M.; Lavvas, P.; Le Mouélic, S.; Lebonnois, S.; Ledvina, S.; Li, J.; Livengood, T. A.; Lopes, R. M.; Lopez-Moreno, J.-J.; Luz, D.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Mall, U.; Martinez-Frias, J.; Marty, B.; McCord, T.; Menor Salvan, C.; Milillo, A.; Mitchell, D. G.; Modolo, R.; Mousis, O.; Nakamura, M.; Neish, C. D.; Nixon, C. A.; Nna Mvondo, D.; Orton, G.; Paetzold, M.; Pitman, J.; Pogrebenko, S.; Pollard, W.; Prieto-Ballesteros, O.; Rannou, P.; Reh, K.; Richter, L.; Robb, F. T.; Rodrigo, R.; Rodriguez, S.; Romani, P.; Ruiz Bermejo, M.; Sarris, E. T.; Schenk, P.; Schmitt, B.; Schmitz, N.; Schulze-Makuch, D.; Schwingenschuh, K.; Selig, A.; Sicardy, B.; Soderblom, L.; Spilker, L. J.; Stam, D.; Steele, A.; Stephan, K.; Strobel, D. F.; Szego, K.; Szopa, C.; Thissen, R.; Tomasko, M. G.; Toublanc, D.; Vali, H.; Vardavas, I.; Vuitton, V.; West, R. A.; Yelle, R.; Young, E. F.

    2009-03-01

    TandEM was proposed as an L-class (large) mission in response to ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Call, and accepted for further studies, with the goal of exploring Titan and Enceladus. The mission concept is to perform in situ investigations of two worlds tied together by location and properties, whose remarkable natures have been partly revealed by the ongoing Cassini-Huygens mission. These bodies still hold mysteries requiring a complete exploration using a variety of vehicles and instruments. TandEM is an ambitious mission because its targets are two of the most exciting and challenging bodies in the Solar System. It is designed to build on but exceed the scientific and technological accomplishments of the Cassini-Huygens mission, exploring Titan and Enceladus in ways that are not currently possible (full close-up and in situ coverage over long periods of time). In the current mission architecture, TandEM proposes to deliver two medium-sized spacecraft to the Saturnian system. One spacecraft would be an orbiter with a large host of instruments which would perform several Enceladus flybys and deliver penetrators to its surface before going into a dedicated orbit around Titan alone, while the other spacecraft would carry the Titan in situ investigation components, i.e. a hot-air balloon (Montgolfière) and possibly several landing probes to be delivered through the atmosphere.

  15. Ionization of EPA Contaminants in Direct and Dopant-Assisted Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization and Atmospheric Pressure Laser Ionization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kauppila, Tiina J.; Kersten, Hendrik; Benter, Thorsten

    2015-06-01

    Seventy-seven EPA priority environmental pollutants were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) equipped with an optimized atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) and an atmospheric pressure laser ionization (APLI) interface with and without dopants. The analyzed compounds included e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitro compounds, halogenated compounds, aromatic compounds with phenolic, acidic, alcohol, and amino groups, phthalate and adipatic esters, and aliphatic ethers. Toluene, anisole, chlorobenzene, and acetone were tested as dopants. The widest range of analytes was ionized using direct APPI (66/77 compounds). The introduction of dopants decreased the amount of compounds ionized in APPI (e.g., 54/77 with toluene), but in many cases the ionization efficiency increased. While in direct APPI the formation of molecular ions via photoionization was the main ionization reaction, dopant-assisted (DA) APPI promoted ionization reactions, such as charge exchange and proton transfer. Direct APLI ionized a much smaller amount of compounds than APPI (41/77 compounds), showing selectivity towards compounds with low ionization energies (IEs) and long-lived resonantly excited intermediate states. DA-APLI, however, was able to ionize a higher amount of compounds (e.g. 51/77 with toluene), as the ionization took place entirely through dopant-assisted ion/molecule reactions similar to those in DA-APPI. Best ionization efficiency in APPI and APLI (both direct and DA) was obtained for PAHs and aromatics with O- and N-functionalities, whereas nitro compounds and aliphatic ethers were the most difficult to ionize. Halogenated aromatics and esters were (mainly) ionized in APPI, but not in APLI.

  16. A combined segmented anode gas ionization chamber and time-of-flight detector for heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ström, Petter; Petersson, Per; Rubel, Marek; Possnert, Göran

    2016-10-01

    A dedicated detector system for heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis at the Tandem Laboratory of Uppsala University is presented. Benefits of combining a time-of-flight measurement with a segmented anode gas ionization chamber are demonstrated. The capability of ion species identification is improved with the present system, compared to that obtained when using a single solid state silicon detector for the full ion energy signal. The system enables separation of light elements, up to Neon, based on atomic number while signals from heavy elements such as molybdenum and tungsten are separated based on mass, to a sample depth on the order of 1 μm. The performance of the system is discussed and a selection of material analysis applications is given. Plasma-facing materials from fusion experiments, in particular metal mirrors, are used as a main example for the discussion. Marker experiments using nitrogen-15 or oxygen-18 are specific cases for which the described improved species separation and sensitivity are required. Resilience to radiation damage and significantly improved energy resolution for heavy elements at low energies are additional benefits of the gas ionization chamber over a solid state detector based system.

  17. Tandem microwave waste remediation and decontamination system

    DOEpatents

    Wicks, George G.; Clark, David E.; Schulz, Rebecca L.

    1999-01-01

    The invention discloses a tandem microwave system consisting of a primary chamber in which microwave energy is used for the controlled combustion of materials. A second chamber is used to further treat the off-gases from the primary chamber by passage through a susceptor matrix subjected to additional microwave energy. The direct microwave radiation and elevated temperatures provide for significant reductions in the qualitative and quantitative emissions of the treated off gases. The tandem microwave system can be utilized for disinfecting wastes, sterilizing materials, and/or modifying the form of wastes to solidify organic or inorganic materials. The simple design allows on-site treatment of waste by small volume waste generators.

  18. Optimizing a tandem disk model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Healey, J. V.

    1983-08-01

    The optimum values of the solidity ratio, tip speed ratio (TSR), and the preset angle of attack, the corresponding distribution, and the breakdown mechanism for a tandem disk model for a crosswind machine such as a Darrieus are examined analytically. Equations are formulated for thin blades with zero drag in consideration of two plane rectangular disks, both perpendicular to the wind flow. Power coefficients are obtained for both disks and comparisons are made between a single-disk system and a two-disk system. The power coefficient for the tandem disk model is shown to be a sum of the coefficients of the individual disks, with a maximum value of twice the Betz limit at an angle of attack of -1 deg and the TSR between 4-7. The model, applied to the NACA 0012 profile, gives a maximum power coefficient of 0.967 with a solidity ratio of 0.275 and highly limited ranges for the angle of attack and TSR.

  19. Modification of human serum albumin by the nerve agent VX: microbore liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization high-resolution time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry method for detection of phosphonylated tyrosine and novel cysteine containing disulfide adducts.

    PubMed

    Kranawetvogl, Andreas; Worek, Franz; Thiermann, Horst; John, Harald

    2016-10-15

    Organophosphorus nerve agents still constitute a considerable threat to the health of military personnel and the civilian population. Long-term biomarkers are crucial for reliable verification of exposure to banned substances. Therefore, current research focuses on identification of endogenous protein targets showing covalent modifications by organophosphorus nerve agents (adducts). Purified human serum albumin and human plasma were incubated with the nerve agent VX followed by enzymatic proteolysis with pronase. Resulting peptide cleavage products were separated by microbore liquid chromatography (μLC) online coupled to positive electrospray ionization (ESI) with subsequent high-resolution time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (HR MS/MS) allowing identification of known and novel adducts. In addition to known phosphonylation of various tyrosine residues, albumin was found to be modified at diverse cysteine residues by covalent attachment of the leaving group of VX. These novel disulfide adducts were cleaved from at least two regions of the intact protein as dipeptides containing cysteine and proline either as CP or PC. A rapid and sensitive method was developed for simultaneous detection of the diverse covalent modifications of human albumin by VX. Identification of the novel leaving group adducts with human albumin expands the basic knowledge on molecular toxicology of the nerve agent VX. Furthermore, the presented μLC/ESI HR MS/MS method might be of relevance for verification of VX poisoning. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Evaluation of the performance of a tandem mass spectral library with mass spectral data extracted from literature.

    PubMed

    Würtinger, Philipp; Oberacher, Herbert

    2012-01-01

    MSforID represents a database of tandem mass spectral data obtained from (quasi-)molecular ions produced by atmospheric pressure ionization methods. At the current stage of development the library contains 12 122 spectra of 1208 small (bio-)organic molecules. The present work was aimed to evaluate the performance of the MSforID library in terms of accuracy and transferability with a collection of fragment ion mass spectra from various compounds acquired on multiple instruments. A literature survey was conducted to collect the set of sample spectra. A total number of 554 spectra covering 291 compounds were extracted from 109 publications. The majority of spectra originated from publications on applications of LC/MS/MS in drug monitoring, pharmacokinetics, environmental analysis, forensic analysis as well as food analysis. Almost all types of tandem mass spectrometric instruments distributed by the five most important instrument vendors were included in the study. The overall sensitivity of library search was found to be 96.4%, which clearly proves that the MSforID library can successfully handle data from a huge variety of mass spectrometric instruments to allow accurate compound identification. Only for spectra containing three or more fragment ions, however, the rate of classified matches (= matches with a relative average match probability (ramp) score > 40.0) was 95%. Ambiguous or unclassified results were mainly obtained for searches with single precursor-to-fragment ion transitions due to the insufficient specificity of such a low amount of structural information to unequivocally define a single compound. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Enhanced Peptide Detection Toward Single-Neuron Proteomics by Reversed-Phase Fractionation Capillary Electrophoresis Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Sam B.; Lombard-Banek, Camille; Muñoz-LLancao, Pablo; Manzini, M. Chiara; Nemes, Peter

    2018-05-01

    The ability to detect peptides and proteins in single cells is vital for understanding cell heterogeneity in the nervous system. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) provides high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) with trace-level sensitivity, but compressed separation during CE challenges protein identification by tandem HRMS with limited MS/MS duty cycle. Here, we supplemented ultrasensitive CE-nanoESI-HRMS with reversed-phase (RP) fractionation to enhance identifications from protein digest amounts that approximate to a few mammalian neurons. An 1 to 20 μg neuronal protein digest was fractionated on a RP column (ZipTip), and 1 ng to 500 pg of peptides were analyzed by a custom-built CE-HRMS system. Compared with the control (no fractionation), RP fractionation improved CE separation (theoretical plates 274,000 versus 412,000 maximum, resp.), which enhanced detection sensitivity (2.5-fold higher signal-to-noise ratio), minimized co-isolation spectral interferences during MS/MS, and increased the temporal rate of peptide identification by up to 57%. From 1 ng of protein digest (<5 neurons), CE with RP fractionation identified 737 protein groups (1,753 peptides), or 480 protein groups ( 1,650 peptides) on average per analysis. The approach was scalable to 500 pg of protein digest ( a single neuron), identifying 225 protein groups (623 peptides) in technical triplicates, or 141 protein groups on average per analysis. Among identified proteins, 101 proteins were products of genes that are known to be transcriptionally active in single neurons during early development of the brain, including those involved in synaptic transmission and plasticity and cytoskeletal organization. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  2. The Unconventional Role of Acid Sphingomyelinase in Regulation of Retinal Microangiopathy in Diabetic Human and Animal Models

    PubMed Central

    Opreanu, Madalina; Tikhonenko, Maria; Bozack, Svetlana; Lydic, Todd A.; Reid, Gavin E.; McSorley, Kelly M.; Sochacki, Andrew; Perez, Gloria I.; Esselman, Walter J.; Kern, Timothy; Kolesnick, Richard; Grant, Maria B.; Busik, Julia V.

    2011-01-01

    OBJECTIVE Acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) is an important early responder in inflammatory cytokine signaling. The role of ASM in retinal vascular inflammation and vessel loss associated with diabetic retinopathy is not known and represents the goal of this study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Protein and gene expression profiles were determined by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot. ASM activity was determined using Amplex Red sphingomyelinase assay. Caveolar lipid composition was analyzed by nano-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Streptozotocin-induced diabetes and retinal ischemia-reperfusion models were used in in vivo studies. RESULTS We identify endothelial caveolae-associated ASM as an essential component in mediating inflammation and vascular pathology in in vivo and in vitro models of diabetic retinopathy. Human retinal endothelial cells (HREC), in contrast with glial and epithelial cells, express the plasma membrane form of ASM that overlaps with caveolin-1. Treatment of HREC with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) specifically reduces expression of the caveolae-associated ASM, prevents a tumor necrosis factor-α–induced increase in the ceramide-to-sphingomyelin ratio in the caveolae, and inhibits cytokine-induced inflammatory signaling. ASM is expressed in both vascular and neuroretina; however, only vascular ASM is specifically increased in the retinas of animal models at the vasodegenerative phase of diabetic retinopathy. The absence of ASM in ASM−/− mice or inhibition of ASM activity by DHA prevents acellular capillary formation. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study demonstrating activation of ASM in the retinal vasculature of diabetic retinopathy animal models. Inhibition of ASM could be further explored as a potential therapeutic strategy in treating diabetic retinopathy. PMID:21771974

  3. Nanocoating cellulose paper based microextraction combined with nanospray mass spectrometry for rapid and facile quantitation of ribonucleosides in human urine.

    PubMed

    Wan, Lingzhong; Zhu, Haijing; Guan, Yafeng; Huang, Guangming

    2017-07-01

    A rapid and facile analytical method for quantification of ribonucleosides in human urine was developed by the combination of nanocoating cellulose paper based microextraction and nanoelectrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (nESI-MS/MS). Cellulose paper used for microextraction was modified by nano-precision deposition of uniform ultrathin zirconia gel film using a sol-gel process. Due to the large surface area of the cellulose paper and the strong affinity between zirconia and the cis-diol compounds, the target analytes were selectively extracted from the complex matrix. Thus, the detection sensitivity was greatly improved. Typically, the nanocoating cellulose paper was immersed into the diluted urine for selective extraction of target analytes, then the extracted analytes were subjected to nESI-MS/MS detection. The whole analytical procedure could be completed within 10min. The method was evaluated by the determination of ribonucleosides (adenosine, cytidine, uridine, guanosine) in urine sample. The signal intensities of the ribonuclesides extracted by the nanocoating cellulose paper were greatly enhanced by 136-459-folds compared with the one of the unmodified cellulose paper based microextraction. The limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of quantification (LOQs) of the four ribonucleosides were in the range of 0.0136-1.258μgL -1 and 0.0454-4.194μgL -1 , respectively. The recoveries of the target nucleosides from spiked human urine were in the range of 75.64-103.49% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 9.36%. The results demonstrate the potential of the proposed method for rapid and facile determination of endogenous ribonucleosides in urine sample. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Enhanced Peptide Detection Toward Single-Neuron Proteomics by Reversed-Phase Fractionation Capillary Electrophoresis Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Sam B.; Lombard-Banek, Camille; Muñoz-LLancao, Pablo; Manzini, M. Chiara; Nemes, Peter

    2017-11-01

    The ability to detect peptides and proteins in single cells is vital for understanding cell heterogeneity in the nervous system. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) provides high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) with trace-level sensitivity, but compressed separation during CE challenges protein identification by tandem HRMS with limited MS/MS duty cycle. Here, we supplemented ultrasensitive CE-nanoESI-HRMS with reversed-phase (RP) fractionation to enhance identifications from protein digest amounts that approximate to a few mammalian neurons. An 1 to 20 μg neuronal protein digest was fractionated on a RP column (ZipTip), and 1 ng to 500 pg of peptides were analyzed by a custom-built CE-HRMS system. Compared with the control (no fractionation), RP fractionation improved CE separation (theoretical plates 274,000 versus 412,000 maximum, resp.), which enhanced detection sensitivity (2.5-fold higher signal-to-noise ratio), minimized co-isolation spectral interferences during MS/MS, and increased the temporal rate of peptide identification by up to 57%. From 1 ng of protein digest (<5 neurons), CE with RP fractionation identified 737 protein groups (1,753 peptides), or 480 protein groups ( 1,650 peptides) on average per analysis. The approach was scalable to 500 pg of protein digest ( a single neuron), identifying 225 protein groups (623 peptides) in technical triplicates, or 141 protein groups on average per analysis. Among identified proteins, 101 proteins were products of genes that are known to be transcriptionally active in single neurons during early development of the brain, including those involved in synaptic transmission and plasticity and cytoskeletal organization. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  5. Sumoylated α-skeletal muscle actin in the skeletal muscle of adult rats.

    PubMed

    Uda, Munehiro; Kawasaki, Hiroaki; Iizumi, Kyoichi; Shigenaga, Ayako; Baba, Takeshi; Naito, Hisashi; Yoshioka, Toshitada; Yamakura, Fumiyuki

    2015-11-01

    Skeletal muscles are composed of two major muscle fiber types: slow-twitch oxidative fibers and fast-twitch glycolytic fibers. The proteins in these muscle fibers are known to differ in their expression, relative abundance, and post-translational modifications. In this study, we report a previously unreported post-translational modification of α-skeletal muscle actin in the skeletal muscles of adult male F344 rats in vivo. Using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D-PAGE), we first examined the differences in the protein expression profiles between the soleus and plantaris muscles. We found higher intensity protein spots at approximately 60 kDa and pH 9 on 2D-PAGE for the soleus muscle compared with the plantaris muscle. These spots were identified as α-skeletal muscle actin by liquid chromatography-nanoelectrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry and western blot analyses. In addition, we found that the 60 kDa α-skeletal muscle actin is modified by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) 1, using 2D-PAGE and western blot analyses. Furthermore, we found that α-skeletal muscle actin with larger molecular weight was localized in the nuclear and cytosol of the skeletal muscle, but not in the myofibrillar fraction by the combination of subcellular fractionation and western blot analyses. These results suggest that α-skeletal muscle actin is modified by SUMO-1 in the skeletal muscles, localized in nuclear and cytosolic fractions, and the extent of this modification is much higher in the slow muscles than in the fast muscles. This is the first study to show the presence of SUMOylated actin in animal tissues.

  6. Data-Independent Mass Spectrometry Approach for Screening and Identification of DNA Adducts.

    PubMed

    Guo, Jingshu; Villalta, Peter W; Turesky, Robert J

    2017-11-07

    Long-term exposures to environmental toxicants and endogenous electrophiles are causative factors for human diseases including cancer. DNA adducts reflect the internal exposure to genotoxicants and can serve as biomarkers for risk assessment. Liquid chromatography-multistage mass spectrometry (LC-MS n ) is the most common method for biomonitoring DNA adducts, generally targeting single exposures and measuring up to several adducts. However, the data often provide limited evidence for a role of a chemical in the etiology of cancer. An "untargeted" method is required that captures global exposures to chemicals, by simultaneously detecting their DNA adducts in the genome; some of which may induce cancer-causing mutations. We established a wide selected ion monitoring tandem mass spectrometry (wide-SIM/MS 2 ) screening method utilizing ultraperformance-LC nanoelectrospray ionization Orbitrap MS n with online trapping to enrich bulky, nonpolar adducts. Wide-SIM scan events are followed by MS 2 scans to screen for modified nucleosides by coeluting peaks containing precursor and fragment ions differing by -116.0473 Da, attributed to the neutral loss of deoxyribose. Wide-SIM/MS 2 was shown to be superior in sensitivity, specificity, and breadth of adduct coverage to other tested adductomic methods with detection possible at adduct levels as low as 4 per 10 9 nucleotides. Wide-SIM/MS 2 data can be analyzed in a "targeted" fashion by generation of extracted ion chromatograms or in an "untargeted" fashion where a chromatographic peak-picking algorithm can be used to detect putative DNA adducts. Wide-SIM/MS 2 successfully detected DNA adducts, derived from chemicals in the diet and traditional medicines and from lipid peroxidation products, in human prostate and renal specimens.

  7. Dynamics of tandem bubble interaction in a microfluidic channel

    PubMed Central

    Yuan, Fang; Sankin, Georgy; Zhong, Pei

    2011-01-01

    The dynamics of tandem bubble interaction in a microfluidic channel (800 × 21 μm, W × H) have been investigated using high-speed photography, with resultant fluid motion characterized by particle imaging velocimetry. A single or tandem bubble is produced reliably via laser absorption by micron-sized gold dots (6 μm in diameter with 40 μm in separation distance) coated on a glass surface of the microfluidic channel. Using two pulsed Nd:YAG lasers at λ = 1064 nm and ∼10 μJ/pulse, the dynamics of tandem bubble interaction (individual maximum bubble diameter of 50 μm with a corresponding collapse time of 5.7 μs) are examined at different phase delays. In close proximity (i.e., interbubble distance = 40 μm or γ = 0.8), the tandem bubbles interact strongly with each other, leading to asymmetric deformation of the bubble walls and jet formation, as well as the production of two pairs of vortices in the surrounding fluid rotating in opposite directions. The direction and speed of the jet (up to 95 m/s), as well as the orientation and strength of the vortices can be varied by adjusting the phase delay. PMID:22088007

  8. Dynamics of tandem bubble interaction in a microfluidic channel.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Fang; Sankin, Georgy; Zhong, Pei

    2011-11-01

    The dynamics of tandem bubble interaction in a microfluidic channel (800  ×  21 μm, W × H) have been investigated using high-speed photography, with resultant fluid motion characterized by particle imaging velocimetry. A single or tandem bubble is produced reliably via laser absorption by micron-sized gold dots (6 μm in diameter with 40 μm in separation distance) coated on a glass surface of the microfluidic channel. Using two pulsed Nd:YAG lasers at λ = 1064 nm and ∼10 μJ/pulse, the dynamics of tandem bubble interaction (individual maximum bubble diameter of 50 μm with a corresponding collapse time of 5.7 μs) are examined at different phase delays. In close proximity (i.e., interbubble distance = 40 μm or γ = 0.8), the tandem bubbles interact strongly with each other, leading to asymmetric deformation of the bubble walls and jet formation, as well as the production of two pairs of vortices in the surrounding fluid rotating in opposite directions. The direction and speed of the jet (up to 95 m/s), as well as the orientation and strength of the vortices can be varied by adjusting the phase delay.

  9. Analysis of small carbohydrates in several bioactive botanicals by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Moldoveanu, Serban; Scott, Wayne; Zhu, Jeff

    2015-11-01

    Bioactive botanicals contain natural compounds with specific biological activity, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, immune stimulating, and taste improving. A full characterization of the chemical composition of these botanicals is frequently necessary. A study of small carbohydrates from the plant materials of 18 bioactive botanicals is further described. The study presents the identification of the carbohydrate using a gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis that allows detection of molecules as large as maltotetraose, after changing them into trimethylsilyl derivatives. A number of carbohydrates in the plant (fructose, glucose, mannose, sucrose, maltose, xylose, sorbitol, and myo-, chiro-, and scyllo-inositols) were quantitated using a novel liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric technique. Both techniques involved new method developments. The gas chromatography with mass spectrometric analysis involved derivatization and separation on a Rxi(®)-5Sil MS column with H2 as a carrier gas. The liquid chromatographic separation was obtained using a hydrophilic interaction type column, YMC-PAC Polyamine II. The tandem mass spectrometer used an electrospray ionization source in multiple reaction monitoring positive ion mode with the detection of the adducts of the carbohydrates with Cs(+) ions. The validated quantitative procedure showed excellent precision and accuracy allowing the analysis in a wide range of concentrations of the analytes. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Identification of Phase II Metabolites of Thiol-conjugated [6]-Shogaol in Mouse Urine Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Huadong; Sang, Shengmin

    2012-01-01

    Ginger is frequently consumed as a spice and has numerous medicinal properties. Extensive research has characterized the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor activities of ginger. Previously, we reported the mercapturic acid pathway as a major metabolic route of [6]-shogaol in mice and the thiol conjugates of [6]-shogaol existed in the glucuronidated and sulfated forms in mouse urine. However, their structures are still unknown. In the present study, we further investigated the phase II metabolism of thiol-conjugated [6]-shogaol in mouse urine, in which we identified sixteen phase II metabolites of thiol-conjugated [6]-shogaol: 5-cysteinyl-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (9), 5-N-acetylcysteinyl-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (10), 5-cysteinylglycinyl-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (11), 5-methylthio-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (12), 5-cysteinyl-M6 glucuronide (13 and 14), 5-cysteinyl-M6 sulfate (15 and 16), 5-N-acetylcysteinyl-M6 glucuronide (17 and 18), 5-cysteinylglycinyl-M6 glucuronide (19 and 20), 5-cysteinylglycinyl-M6 sulfate (21 and 22), and 5-methylthio-M6 glucuronide (23 and 24) using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The structures of these metabolites were confirmed by analyzing their MSn (n =1! 4) spectra as well as comparing with the tandem mass spectra of authentic standards. To our knowledge, this is the first report involving identification of phase II urinary metabolites of [6]-shogaol in mice. PMID:23031413

  11. On the Relativistic Correction of Particles Trajectory in Tandem Type Electrostatic Accelerator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minárik, Stanislav

    2015-08-01

    A constant potential is applied to the acceleration of the ion-beam in the tandem type electrostatic accelerator. However, not just one voltage is applied, but instead a number of applications can be made in succession by means of the tandem arrangement of high voltage tubes. This number of voltage applications, which is the number of so-called "stages" of a tandem accelerator, may be two, three, or four, depending on the chosen design. Electrostatic field with approximately constant intensity acts on ions in any stage. In general, non-relativistic dynamics is used for the description of the ion transport in tandem accelerator. Energies of accelerated ions are too low and relativistic effects cannot be commonly observed by standard experimental technique. Estimation of possible relativistic correction of ion trajectories is therefore only a matter of calculation. In this note, we briefly present such calculation. Our aim is to show how using the relativistic dynamics modifies the particles trajectory in tandem type accelerator and what parameters determine this modification.

  12. Simulation of two dimensional electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry for teaching proteomics.

    PubMed

    Fisher, Amanda; Sekera, Emily; Payne, Jill; Craig, Paul

    2012-01-01

    In proteomics, complex mixtures of proteins are separated (usually by chromatography or electrophoresis) and identified by mass spectrometry. We have created 2DE Tandem MS, a computer program designed for use in the biochemistry, proteomics, or bioinformatics classroom. It contains two simulations-2D electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry. The two simulations are integrated together and are designed to teach the concept of proteome analysis of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. 2DE-Tandem MS can be used as a freestanding simulation, or in conjunction with a wet lab, to introduce proteomics in the undergraduate classroom. 2DE Tandem MS is a free program available on Sourceforge at https://sourceforge.net/projects/jbf/. It was developed using Java Swing and functions in Mac OSX, Windows, and Linux, ensuring that every student sees a consistent and informative graphical user interface no matter the computer platform they choose. Java must be installed on the host computer to run 2DE Tandem MS. Example classroom exercises are provided in the Supporting Information. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Direct tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous assay of opioids, cocaine and metabolites in dried urine spots.

    PubMed

    Otero-Fernández, Mara; Cocho, José Ángel; Tabernero, María Jesús; Bermejo, Ana María; Bermejo-Barrera, Pilar; Moreda-Piñeiro, Antonio

    2013-06-19

    A micro-analytical method based on spotting urine samples (20μL) onto blood/urine spot collection cards followed by air-drying and extraction (dried urine spot, DUS) was developed and validated for the screening/confirmation assay of morphine, 6-methylacetylmorphine (6-MAM), codeine, cocaine and benzoylecgonine (BZE). Acetonitrile (3 mL) was found to be a useful solvent for target extraction from DUSs under an orbital-horizontal stirring at 180 rpm for 10 min. Determinations were performed by direct electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) under positive electrospray ionization conditions, and by using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) with one precursor ion/product ion transition for the identification and quantification (deuterated analogs of each target as internal standards) of each analyte. The limits of detection of the method were 0.26, 0.94, 1.5, 1.1, and 2.0 ng mL(-1), for cocaine, BZE, codeine, morphine and 6-MAM, respectively; whereas, relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day precision were lower than 8 and 11%, respectively, and intra- and inter-day analytical recoveries ranged from 94±4 to 105±3%. The small volume of urine required (20 μL), combined with the simplicity of the analytical technique makes it a useful procedure for screening/quantifying drugs of abuse. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of urine from polydrug abusers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Simultaneous determination of guanidinoacetate, creatine and creatinine in urine and plasma by un-derivatized liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Carling, R S; Hogg, S L; Wood, T C; Calvin, J

    2008-11-01

    Creatine plays an important role in the storage and transmission of phosphate-bound energy. The cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes (CCDS) comprise three inherited defects in creatine biosynthesis and transport. They are characterized by mental retardation, speech and language delay and epilepsy. All three disorders cause low-creatine signal on brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS); however, MRS may not be readily available and even when it is, biochemical tests are required to determine the underlying disorder. Analysis was performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in positive ionization mode. Samples were analysed underivatized using a rapid 'dilute and shoot' approach. Chromatographic separation of the three compounds was achieved. Stable isotope internal standards were used for quantification. Creatine, creatinine and guanidinoacetate were measured with a 2.5 minute run time. For guanidinoacetate, the standard curve was linear to at least 5000 mumol/L and for creatine and creatinine it was linear to at least 25 mmol/L. The lower limit of quantitation was 0.4 mumol/L for creatine and guanidinoacetate and 0.8 mumol/L for creatinine. Recoveries ranged from 86% to 106% for the three analytes. Intra- and inter-assay variation for each analyte was <10% in both urine and plasma. A tandem mass spectrometric method has been developed and validated for the underivatized determination of guanidinoacetate, creatine and creatinine in human urine and plasma. Minimal sample preparation coupled with a rapid run time make the method applicable to the routine screening of patients with suspected CCDS.

  15. Quantification of citalopram or escitalopram and their demethylated metabolites in neonatal hair samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Frison, Giampietro; Favretto, Donata; Vogliardi, Susanna; Terranova, Claudio; Ferrara, Santo Davide

    2008-08-01

    Citalopram and escitalopram are highly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors widely used in the treatment of depression. They exhibit adverse drug reactions and side effects, however, and the development of specific methods for their determination is of great interest in clinical and forensic toxicology. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for the assay of citalopram, escitalopram, and their demethylated metabolites in 10-mg hair samples. The analytes were extracted by incubation in methanol and liquid/liquid extraction with diethyl ether/dichloromethane. Gradient elution on a narrow bore C18 column was realized using clomipramine-d3 as an internal standard. Positive ion electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry determination by collision-induced dissociation were performed in an ion trap mass spectrometer. The method exhibited a linear range of 25 to 2000 pg/mg, a quantification limit of 25 pg/mg for all analytes, relative standard deviations in the range of 12.10 to 9.80 (intraassay), and 13.80 to 11.78 (interassay), and accuracies (as percent recovery of the spiked standards) in the range of 90% to 110%; it was applied to the determination of citalopram and escitalopram and their metabolites in hair samples of two newborns to document their in utero exposure to the drugs. The method proved suitable for neonatal hair analysis of citalopram or escitalopram and was applied to two real cases of gestational exposure.

  16. Simultaneous determination of blonanserin and its four metabolites in human plasma using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Ying; Liu, Ming; Jiang, Ji; Wang, Hongyun; Hu, Pei

    2013-11-15

    A sensitive and rapid method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of blonanserin, its major active metabolite (N-deethyl form) and other three metabolites (N-oxide form, Ethylenediamine form and Carboxylate form) in human plasma. Plasma samples were pre-purified by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and analyzed using a gradient chromatographic separation over an Acquity UPLC CSH C18 column. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water containing 5mM ammonium formate and 0.1% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.5mL/min. Positive electrospray ionization was employed as the ionization source in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The analysis time was about 3.5min. The method was fully validated over the concentration range of 0.01-1ng/mL for all analytes. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.01ng/mL. Inter- and intra-batch precision was less than 15% and the accuracy was within 85-115%. The mean extraction recoveries of all analytes at two concentration levels were consistent. Selectivity, matrix effect and stability were also validated. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of blonanserin in Chinese healthy subjects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Development of an advanced spacecraft tandem mass spectrometer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drew, Russell C.

    1992-03-01

    The purpose of this research was to apply current advanced technology in electronics and materials to the development of a miniaturized Tandem Mass Spectrometer that would have the potential for future development into a package suitable for spacecraft use. The mass spectrometer to be used as a basis for the tandem instrument would be a magnetic sector instrument, of Nier-Johnson configuration, as used on the Viking Mars Lander mission. This instrument configuration would then be matched with a suitable second stage MS to provide the benefits of tandem MS operation for rapid identification of unknown organic compounds. This tandem instrument is configured with a newly designed GC system to aid in separation of complex mixtures prior to MS analysis. A number of important results were achieved in the course of this project. Among them were the development of a miniaturized GC subsystem, with a unique desorber-injector, fully temperature feedback controlled oven with powered cooling for rapid reset to ambient conditions, a unique combination inlet system to the MS that provides for both membrane sampling and direct capillary column sample transfer, a compact and ruggedized alignment configuration for the MS, an improved ion source design for increased sensitivity, and a simple, rugged tandem MS configuration that is particularly adaptable to spacecraft use because of its low power and low vacuum pumping requirements. The potential applications of this research include use in manned spacecraft like the space station as a real-time detection and warning device for the presence of potentially harmful trace contaminants of the spacecraft atmosphere, use as an analytical device for evaluating samples collected on the Moon or a planetary surface, or even use in connection with monitoring potentially hazardous conditions that may exist in terrestrial locations such as launch pads, environmental test chambers or other sensitive areas. Commercial development of the technology

  18. Development of an advanced spacecraft tandem mass spectrometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Drew, Russell C.

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to apply current advanced technology in electronics and materials to the development of a miniaturized Tandem Mass Spectrometer that would have the potential for future development into a package suitable for spacecraft use. The mass spectrometer to be used as a basis for the tandem instrument would be a magnetic sector instrument, of Nier-Johnson configuration, as used on the Viking Mars Lander mission. This instrument configuration would then be matched with a suitable second stage MS to provide the benefits of tandem MS operation for rapid identification of unknown organic compounds. This tandem instrument is configured with a newly designed GC system to aid in separation of complex mixtures prior to MS analysis. A number of important results were achieved in the course of this project. Among them were the development of a miniaturized GC subsystem, with a unique desorber-injector, fully temperature feedback controlled oven with powered cooling for rapid reset to ambient conditions, a unique combination inlet system to the MS that provides for both membrane sampling and direct capillary column sample transfer, a compact and ruggedized alignment configuration for the MS, an improved ion source design for increased sensitivity, and a simple, rugged tandem MS configuration that is particularly adaptable to spacecraft use because of its low power and low vacuum pumping requirements. The potential applications of this research include use in manned spacecraft like the space station as a real-time detection and warning device for the presence of potentially harmful trace contaminants of the spacecraft atmosphere, use as an analytical device for evaluating samples collected on the Moon or a planetary surface, or even use in connection with monitoring potentially hazardous conditions that may exist in terrestrial locations such as launch pads, environmental test chambers or other sensitive areas. Commercial development of the technology

  19. High pressure xenon ionization detector

    DOEpatents

    Markey, J.K.

    1989-11-14

    A method is provided for detecting ionization comprising allowing particles that cause ionization to contact high pressure xenon maintained at or near its critical point and measuring the amount of ionization. An apparatus is provided for detecting ionization, the apparatus comprising a vessel containing a ionizable medium, the vessel having an inlet to allow high pressure ionizable medium to enter the vessel, a means to permit particles that cause ionization of the medium to enter the vessel, an anode, a cathode, a grid and a plurality of annular field shaping rings, the field shaping rings being electrically isolated from one another, the anode, cathode, grid and field shaping rings being electrically isolated from one another in order to form an electric field between the cathode and the anode, the electric field originating at the anode and terminating at the cathode, the grid being disposed between the cathode and the anode, the field shaping rings being disposed between the cathode and the grid, the improvement comprising the medium being xenon and the vessel being maintained at a pressure of 50 to 70 atmospheres and a temperature of 0 to 30 C. 2 figs.

  20. High pressure xenon ionization detector

    DOEpatents

    Markey, John K.

    1989-01-01

    A method is provided for detecting ionization comprising allowing particles that cause ionization to contact high pressure xenon maintained at or near its critical point and measuring the amount of ionization. An apparatus is provided for detecting ionization, the apparatus comprising a vessel containing a ionizable medium, the vessel having an inlet to allow high pressure ionizable medium to enter the vessel, a means to permit particles that cause ionization of the medium to enter the vessel, an anode, a cathode, a grid and a plurality of annular field shaping rings, the field shaping rings being electrically isolated from one another, the anode, cathode, grid and field shaping rings being electrically isolated from one another in order to form an electric field between the cathode and the anode, the electric field originating at the anode and terminating at the cathode, the grid being disposed between the cathode and the anode, the field shaping rings being disposed between the cathode and the grid, the improvement comprising the medium being xenon and the vessel being maintained at a pressure of 50 to 70 atmospheres and a temperature of 0.degree. to 30.degree. C.

  1. ERDA at the 9 MV Tandem and at the 3 MV Tandetron of IFIN-HH

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrascu, H.; Petrascu, M.; Pantelica, D.; Negoita, F.; Ionescu, P.; Mihai, M. D.; Acsente, T.; Statescu, M.; Scafes, A. C.

    2017-09-01

    Recoil spectrometry using heavy ions proposed in 1976 by L'Ecuyer has evolved into a universal IBA technique. Few years later an experimental setup for simultaneous light and medium heavy element detection including a compact ΔE(gas)-Er(solid) telescope, was developed at the Tandem accelerator of IFIN-HH. To increase the resolution, an integrated preamplifier was mounted close to the ionization chamber. The calibration procedure for the telescope and the software for the quantitative evaluation of the data are briefly presented. Recently, a 3 MV Tandetron accelerator has been installed and commissioned at the IFIN-HH. Among several ion-beam techniques for detection and depth profiling of hydrogen isotopes, Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) technique using a low energy 4He beam, proposed by Doyle and Peercy, is particularly advantageous. By measuring simultaneously both the H or D recoiling at a forward angle and backscattered 4He ions, a rather complete characterization of the sample can be achieved. Selected results from our investigations, obtained using these facilities, are presented.

  2. Design and long-term monitoring of DSC/CIGS tandem solar module

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vildanova, M. F.; Nikolskaia, A. B.; Kozlov, S. S.; Shevaleevskiy, O. I.

    2015-11-01

    This paper describes the design and development of tandem dye-sensitized/Cu(In, Ga)Se (DSC/CIGS) PV modules. The tandem PV module comprised of the top DSC module and a bottom commercial 0,8 m2 CIGS module. The top DSC module was made of 10 DSC mini-modules with the field size of 20 × 20 cm2 each. Tandem DSC/CIGS PV modules were used for providing the long-term monitoring of energy yield and electrical parameters in comparison with standalone CIGS modules under outdoor conditions. The outdoor test facility, containing solar modules of both types and a measurement unit, was located on the roof of the Institute of Biochemical Physics in Moscow. The data obtained during monitoring within the 2014 year period has shown the advantages of the designed tandem DSC/CIGS PV-modules over the conventional CIGS modules, especially for cloudy weather and low-intensity irradiation conditions.

  3. Development of a pressurized liquid extraction-solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative determination of benzoxazolinones and their degradation products in agricultural soil.

    PubMed

    Villagrasa, M; Guillamón, M; Navarro, A; Eljarrat, E; Barceló, D

    2008-02-01

    A new analytical method for the quantitative determination of benzoxazolinones and their degradation products in agricultural soils based on the use of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and then instrumental determination using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS) is described. Using this method, the characterization, separation and quantitative detection of a mixture of two benzoxazolinones, benzoxazolin-2-one (BOA) and 6-methoxybenzoxazolin-2-one (MBOA) and their degradation products, 2-aminophenol (APH), N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)malonamic acid (HMPMA), 2-amino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (APO), 9-methoxy-2-amino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (AMPO), 2-acetylamino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (AAPO) and 2-acetylamino-9-methoxy-2-amino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (AAMPO) was achieved. The complete LC-ESI-MS-MS precursor-product ion fragmentation pathways for the degradation products of benzoxazolinones are described for the first time. Quantitative analysis was done in the multiple reaction mode using two specific combinations of precursor-product ion transitions for each compound. The optimized method was quality assessed by the measure of parameter as recovery, linearity, sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility. Recoveries of the analytes ranged from 53 to 123%. The developed method offered improvements to the sensitivity as compared with our previously LC-MS method, with detection limits down to 2.4-21 ng/g of dry weight. This achievement allows us to identify and quantify for the first time degradation products of benzoxazolinones in real agricultural soil samples. Analytes were found in the range of 20.6-149 ng/g dry weight.

  4. Validation of a method for simultaneous determination of nitroimidazoles, benzimidazoles and chloramphenicols in swine tissues by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Xia, Xi; Wang, Yuanyuan; Wang, Xia; Li, Yun; Zhong, Feng; Li, Xiaowei; Huang, Yaoling; Ding, Shuangyang; Shen, Jianzhong

    2013-05-31

    This paper presents a sensitive and confirmatory multi-residue method for the analysis of 23 veterinary drugs and metabolites belonging to three classes (nitroimidazoles, benzimidazoles, and chloramphenicols) in porcine muscle, liver, and kidney. After extracted with ethyl acetate and basic ethyl acetate sequentially, the crude extracts were defatted with hexane and further purified using Oasis MCX solid-phase extraction cartridges. Rapid determination was carried out by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Data acquisition was performed under positive and negative mode simultaneously. Recoveries based on matrix-matched calibrations for meat, liver, and kidney ranged from 50.6 to 108.1%. The method quantification limits were in the range of 3-100ng/kg. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. De novo protein sequencing by combining top-down and bottom-up tandem mass spectra.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xiaowen; Dekker, Lennard J M; Wu, Si; Vanduijn, Martijn M; Luider, Theo M; Tolić, Nikola; Kou, Qiang; Dvorkin, Mikhail; Alexandrova, Sonya; Vyatkina, Kira; Paša-Tolić, Ljiljana; Pevzner, Pavel A

    2014-07-03

    There are two approaches for de novo protein sequencing: Edman degradation and mass spectrometry (MS). Existing MS-based methods characterize a novel protein by assembling tandem mass spectra of overlapping peptides generated from multiple proteolytic digestions of the protein. Because each tandem mass spectrum covers only a short peptide of the target protein, the key to high coverage protein sequencing is to find spectral pairs from overlapping peptides in order to assemble tandem mass spectra to long ones. However, overlapping regions of peptides may be too short to be confidently identified. High-resolution mass spectrometers have become accessible to many laboratories. These mass spectrometers are capable of analyzing molecules of large mass values, boosting the development of top-down MS. Top-down tandem mass spectra cover whole proteins. However, top-down tandem mass spectra, even combined, rarely provide full ion fragmentation coverage of a protein. We propose an algorithm, TBNovo, for de novo protein sequencing by combining top-down and bottom-up MS. In TBNovo, a top-down tandem mass spectrum is utilized as a scaffold, and bottom-up tandem mass spectra are aligned to the scaffold to increase sequence coverage. Experiments on data sets of two proteins showed that TBNovo achieved high sequence coverage and high sequence accuracy.

  6. Single P-N junction tandem photovoltaic device

    DOEpatents

    Walukiewicz, Wladyslaw [Kensington, CA; Ager, III, Joel W.; Yu, Kin Man [Lafayette, CA

    2012-03-06

    A single P-N junction solar cell is provided having two depletion regions for charge separation while allowing the electrons and holes to recombine such that the voltages associated with both depletion regions of the solar cell will add together. The single p-n junction solar cell includes an alloy of either InGaN or InAlN formed on one side of the P-N junction with Si formed on the other side in order to produce characteristics of a two junction (2J) tandem solar cell through only a single P-N junction. A single P-N junction solar cell having tandem solar cell characteristics will achieve power conversion efficiencies exceeding 30%.

  7. Single P-N junction tandem photovoltaic device

    DOEpatents

    Walukiewicz, Wladyslaw [Kensington, CA; Ager, III, Joel W.; Yu, Kin Man [Lafayette, CA

    2011-10-18

    A single P-N junction solar cell is provided having two depletion regions for charge separation while allowing the electrons and holes to recombine such that the voltages associated with both depletion regions of the solar cell will add together. The single p-n junction solar cell includes an alloy of either InGaN or InAlN formed on one side of the P-N junction with Si formed on the other side in order to produce characteristics of a two junction (2J) tandem solar cell through only a single P-N junction. A single P-N junction solar cell having tandem solar cell characteristics will achieve power conversion efficiencies exceeding 30%.

  8. An Efficient High-performance Liquid Chromatography Combined with Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method to Elaborate the Changes of Components Between the Raw and Processed Radix Aconitum kusnezoffii

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Beibei; Ji, Jiaojiao; Zhao, Shuang; Dong, Jie; Tan, Peng; Na, Shengsang; Liu, Yonggang

    2016-01-01

    Background: Crude radix Aconitum kusnezoffii (RAK) has great toxicity. Traditional Chinese medicine practice proved that processing may decrease its toxicity. In our previous study, we had established a new method of RAK processing (Paozhi). However, the mechanism is yet not perfect. Objective: To explore the related mechanism of processing through comparing the chemical contents. Materials and Methods: A new processing method of RAK named stoving (Hong Zhi) was used. In particular, RAK was stored at 110°C for 8 h, and then high performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MSn) was developed for the detection of the alkaloids of the crude and processed RAK decoction pieces. Results: Thirty components of the crude RAK were discovered, among which, 23 alkaloids were identified. Meanwhile, 23 ingredients were detected in the processed RAK decoction pieces, among which, 20 alkaloids were determined yet. By comparison, eight alkaloids were found in both crude and processed RAK decoction pieces, 15 alkaloids were not found in the crude RAK, however, 10 new constituents yield after processing, which are 10-OH-hypaconine, 10-OH-mesaconine, isomer of bullatine A, 14-benzoyl-10-OH-mesaconine, 14-benzoyl-10-OH-aconine, 14-benzoyl-10-OH-hypaconine, dehydrated aconitine, 14-benzoylaconine, chuanfumine, dehydrated mesaconitine. Conclusion: The present study showed that significant change of alkaloids was detected in RAK before and after processing. Among them, the highly toxic diester alkaloids decreased and the less toxic monoester alkaloids increased. Moreover, the concentration changes significantly. HPLC-ESI-MSn are Efficient to elaborate the mechanism of reduction of toxicity and enhancement efficacy after processing. SUMMARY Stoving is a simple and effective method for the processing of radix Aconitum kusnezoffii.In the positive mode, the characteristic fragmentations of Aconitum alkaloids were obtained

  9. Efficient Monolithic Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cell with Cell Area >1 cm(2).

    PubMed

    Werner, Jérémie; Weng, Ching-Hsun; Walter, Arnaud; Fesquet, Luc; Seif, Johannes Peter; De Wolf, Stefaan; Niesen, Bjoern; Ballif, Christophe

    2016-01-07

    Monolithic perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem solar cells hold great promise for further performance improvement of well-established silicon photovoltaics; however, monolithic tandem integration is challenging, evidenced by the modest performances and small-area devices reported so far. Here we present first a low-temperature process for semitransparent perovskite solar cells, yielding efficiencies of up to 14.5%. Then, we implement this process to fabricate monolithic perovskite/silicon heterojunction tandem solar cells yielding efficiencies of up to 21.2 and 19.2% for cell areas of 0.17 and 1.22 cm(2), respectively. Both efficiencies are well above those of the involved subcells. These single-junction perovskite and tandem solar cells are hysteresis-free and demonstrate steady performance under maximum power point tracking for several minutes. Finally, we present the effects of varying the intermediate recombination layer and hole transport layer thicknesses on tandem cell photocurrent generation, experimentally and by transfer matrix simulations.

  10. Alkali metal ionization detector

    DOEpatents

    Bauerle, James E.; Reed, William H.; Berkey, Edgar

    1978-01-01

    Variations in the conventional filament and collector electrodes of an alkali metal ionization detector, including the substitution of helical electrode configurations for either the conventional wire filament or flat plate collector; or, the substitution of a plurality of discrete filament electrodes providing an in situ capability for transferring from an operationally defective filament electrode to a previously unused filament electrode without removing the alkali metal ionization detector from the monitored environment. In particular, the helical collector arrangement which is coaxially disposed about the filament electrode, i.e. the thermal ionizer, provides an improved collection of positive ions developed by the filament electrode. The helical filament design, on the other hand, provides the advantage of an increased surface area for ionization of alkali metal-bearing species in a monitored gas environment as well as providing a relatively strong electric field for collecting the ions at the collector electrode about which the helical filament electrode is coaxially positioned. Alternatively, both the filament and collector electrodes can be helical. Furthermore, the operation of the conventional alkali metal ionization detector as a leak detector can be simplified as to cost and complexity, by operating the detector at a reduced collector potential while maintaining the sensitivity of the alkali metal ionization detector adequate for the relatively low concentration of alkali vapor and aerosol typically encountered in leak detection applications.

  11. Partially Ionized Plasmas in Astrophysics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ballester, José Luis; Alexeev, Igor; Collados, Manuel; Downes, Turlough; Pfaff, Robert F.; Gilbert, Holly; Khodachenko, Maxim; Khomenko, Elena; Shaikhislamov, Ildar F.; Soler, Roberto; Vázquez-Semadeni, Enrique; Zaqarashvili, Teimuraz

    2018-03-01

    Partially ionized plasmas are found across the Universe in many different astrophysical environments. They constitute an essential ingredient of the solar atmosphere, molecular clouds, planetary ionospheres and protoplanetary disks, among other environments, and display a richness of physical effects which are not present in fully ionized plasmas. This review provides an overview of the physics of partially ionized plasmas, including recent advances in different astrophysical areas in which partial ionization plays a fundamental role. We outline outstanding observational and theoretical questions and discuss possible directions for future progress.

  12. Laser-Induced Ionization Efficiency Enhancement On A Filament For Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Siegfried, M.

    2015-10-14

    The evaluation of trace Uranium and Plutonium isotope ratios for nanogram to femtogram material quantities is a vital tool for nuclear counter-proliferation and safeguard activities. Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) is generally accepted as the state of the art technology for highly accurate and ultra-trace measurements of these actinide ratios. However, the very low TIMS ionization yield (typically less than 1%) leaves much room for improvement. Enhanced ionization of Nd and Sm from a TIMS filament was demonstrated using wavelength resonance with a nanosecond (pulse width) laser operating at 10 Hz when light was directed toward the filament.1 For thismore » study, femtosecond and picosecond laser capabilities were to be employed to study the dissociation and ionization mechanisms of actinides/lanthanides and measure the enhanced ionization of the metal of interest. Since the underlying chemistry of the actinide/lanthanide carbides produced and dissociated on a TIMS filament is not well understood, the experimental parameters affecting the photodissociation and photoionization with one and two laser beams were to be investigated.« less

  13. Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Rothe, S.; Andreyev, A. N.; Antalic, S.; Borschevsky, A.; Capponi, L.; Cocolios, T. E.; De Witte, H.; Eliav, E.; Fedorov, D. V.; Fedosseev, V. N.; Fink, D. A.; Fritzsche, S.; Ghys, L.; Huyse, M.; Imai, N.; Kaldor, U.; Kudryavtsev, Yuri; Köster, U.; Lane, J. F. W.; Lassen, J.; Liberati, V.; Lynch, K. M.; Marsh, B. A.; Nishio, K.; Pauwels, D.; Pershina, V.; Popescu, L.; Procter, T. J.; Radulov, D.; Raeder, S.; Rajabali, M. M.; Rapisarda, E.; Rossel, R. E.; Sandhu, K.; Seliverstov, M. D.; Sjödin, A. M.; Van den Bergh, P.; Van Duppen, P.; Venhart, M.; Wakabayashi, Y.; Wendt, K. D. A.

    2013-01-01

    The radioactive element astatine exists only in trace amounts in nature. Its properties can therefore only be explored by study of the minute quantities of artificially produced isotopes or by performing theoretical calculations. One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behaviour is the energy required to remove one electron from the valence shell, referred to as the ionization potential. Here we use laser spectroscopy to probe the optical spectrum of astatine near the ionization threshold. The observed series of Rydberg states enabled the first determination of the ionization potential of the astatine atom, 9.31751(8) eV. New ab initio calculations are performed to support the experimental result. The measured value serves as a benchmark for quantum chemistry calculations of the properties of astatine as well as for the theoretical prediction of the ionization potential of superheavy element 117, the heaviest homologue of astatine. PMID:23673620

  14. Urinary free cortisol assessment by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry: a case study of ion suppression due to unacquainted administration of piperacillin

    PubMed Central

    Danese, Elisa; Salvagno, Gian Luca; Guzzo, Alessandra; Scurati, Samuele; Fava, Cristiano; Lippi, Giuseppe

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Liquid chromatography coupled to atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) is currently considered the reference method for quantitative determination of urinary free cortisol (UFC). One of the major drawbacks of this measurement is a particular form of matrix effect, conventionally known as ion suppression. Materials and methods We describe here the case of a 66-year-old-patient referred to the daily service of general medicine for intravenous antibiotic administration due to a generalized Staphylococcus aureus infection and for routine 24 hours UFC monitoring in the setting of glucocorticoid replacement therapy. Results The observation of 10-fold decrease of internal standard of cortisol signal led us to hypothesize the presence of an ion suppression effect due to a co-eluting endogenous compound. Screening analysis of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) spectra of the interfering molecule, along with in vitro confirmation analyses, were suggestive of the presence of high concentration of piperacillin. The problem was then easily solved with minor modifications of the chromatographic technique. Conclusions According to our findings, antibiotic therapy with piperacillin/tazobactam should be regarded as an important interference in UFC assessment, which may potentially affect detection capability, precision and accuracy of this measurement. This case report emphasizes that accurate anamnesis and standardization of all phases of urine collection are essential aspects for preventing potential interference in laboratory testing. PMID:29180920

  15. Hybrid tandem quantum dot/organic photovoltaic cells with complementary near infrared absorption

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Taesoo; Palmiano, Elenita; Liang, Ru-Ze; Hu, Hanlin; Murali, Banavoth; Kirmani, Ahmad R.; Firdaus, Yuliar; Gao, Yangqin; Sheikh, Arif; Yuan, Mingjian; Mohammed, Omar F.; Hoogland, Sjoerd; Beaujuge, Pierre M.; Sargent, Edward H.; Amassian, Aram

    2017-05-01

    Monolithically integrated hybrid tandem solar cells that effectively combine solution-processed colloidal quantum dot (CQD) and organic bulk heterojunction subcells to achieve tandem performance that surpasses the individual subcell efficiencies have not been demonstrated to date. In this work, we demonstrate hybrid tandem cells with a low bandgap PbS CQD subcell harvesting the visible and near-infrared photons and a polymer:fullerene—poly (diketopyrrolopyrrole-terthiophene) (PDPP3T):[6,6]-phenyl-C60-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM)—top cell absorbing effectively the red and near-infrared photons of the solar spectrum in a complementary fashion. The two subcells are connected in series via an interconnecting layer (ICL) composed of a metal oxide layer, a conjugated polyelectrolyte, and an ultrathin layer of Au. The ultrathin layer of Au forms nano-islands in the ICL, reducing the series resistance, increasing the shunt resistance, and enhancing the device fill-factor. The hybrid tandems reach a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.9%, significantly higher than the PCE of the corresponding individual single cells, representing one of the highest efficiencies reported to date for hybrid tandem solar cells based on CQD and polymer subcells.

  16. Evaluation of analytical performance and reliability of direct nanoLC-nanoESI-high resolution mass spectrometry for profiling the (xeno)metabolome.

    PubMed

    Chetwynd, Andrew J; David, Arthur; Hill, Elizabeth M; Abdul-Sada, Alaa

    2014-10-01

    Mass spectrometry (MS) profiling techniques are used for analysing metabolites and xenobiotics in biofluids; however, detection of low abundance compounds using conventional MS techniques is poor. To counter this, nanoflow ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-nanoelectrospray ionization-time-of-flight MS (nUHPLC-nESI-TOFMS), which has been used primarily for proteomics, offers an innovative prospect for profiling small molecules. Compared to conventional UHPLC-ESI-TOFMS, nUHPLC-nESI-TOFMS enhanced detection limits of a variety of (xeno)metabolites by between 2 and 2000-fold. In addition, this study demonstrates for the first time excellent repeatability and reproducibility for analysis of urine and plasma samples using nUHPLC-nESI-TOFMS, supporting implementation of this platform as a novel approach for high-throughput (xeno)metabolomics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Determination of bisphenol AF (BPAF) in tissues, serum, urine and feces of orally dosed rats by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yunjia; Yin, Jie; Yang, Yi; Zhou, Naiyuan; Zhang, Jing; Shao, Bing; Wu, Yongning

    2012-07-15

    As a homologue of bisphenol A (BPA), there is concern about the potential reproductive and developmental toxicity of bisphenol AF (BPAF) based on in vitro tests. In this study, a simple and universal analytical method was developed for the determination of trace BPAF in various tissues and excreta of rats after they were orally dosed. The samples were hydrolyzed with glucuronidase/arylsulfatase followed by ultrasonic extraction with acetonitrile. The crude extract was purified with a mixed-mode anion exchange (Oasis MAX) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. Separation and quantification was then conducted by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) in negative ionization mode. The recoveries at three fortification levels in different biological samples were from 71.0% to 102.3% with relative standard deviations no more than 13.2% (n=6). The quantification limits of the method were from 0.5 μg/kg to 3 μg/kg depending on the matrix. This method was successfully applied to the determination of BPAF in tissues, serum, urine and feces of orally dosed rats. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Optical enhancement of a printed organic tandem solar cell using diffractive nanostructures.

    PubMed

    Mayer, Jan A; Offermans, Ton; Chrapa, Marek; Pfannmöller, Martin; Bals, Sara; Ferrini, Rolando; Nisato, Giovanni

    2018-03-19

    Solution processable organic tandem solar cells offer a promising approach to achieve cost-effective, lightweight and flexible photovoltaics. In order to further enhance the efficiency of optimized organic tandem cells, diffractive light-management nanostructures were designed for an optimal redistribution of the light as function of both wavelength and propagation angles in both sub-cells. As the fabrication of these optical structures is compatible with roll-to-roll production techniques such as hot-embossing or UV NIL imprinting, they present an optimal cost-effective solution for printed photovoltaics. Tandem cells with power conversion efficiencies of 8-10% were fabricated in the ambient atmosphere by doctor blade coating, selected to approximate the conditions during roll-to-roll manufacturing. Application of the light management structure onto an 8.7% efficient encapsulated tandem cell boosted the conversion efficiency of the cell to 9.5%.

  19. Comments on ionization cooling channels

    DOE PAGES

    Neuffer, David

    2017-09-25

    Ionization cooling channels with a wide variety of characteristics and cooling properties are being developed. These channels can produce cooling performances that are largely consistent with the linear ionization cooling theory developed previously. In this study, we review ionization cooling theory, discuss its application to presently developing cooling channels, and discuss criteria for optimizing cooling.

  20. Comments on ionization cooling channels

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Neuffer, David

    Ionization cooling channels with a wide variety of characteristics and cooling properties are being developed. These channels can produce cooling performances that are largely consistent with the linear ionization cooling theory developed previously. In this study, we review ionization cooling theory, discuss its application to presently developing cooling channels, and discuss criteria for optimizing cooling.

  1. A high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method coupled with protein precipitation for determination of granisetron in human plasma and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Ying; Jiang, Ji; Hu, Pei; Wang, Hongyun

    2014-12-01

    A rapid, simple and validated method based on liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has been developed for the determination of granisetron in human plasma. Plasma samples were pre-purified by protein precipitation procedure. The chromatographic separation was achieved with Synergi Polar-RP (75 × 2 mm, 4 µm) column using a mixture of 5 mm pH4.0 ammonium formate and methanol (300:316, v/v) under isocratic conditions at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. The detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode using positive electrospray ionization. The analysis time was about 2.5 min. The method was fully validated over the concentration range 0.1-10 ng/mL. The lower limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/mL. Inter- and intra-batch precision was <6.1% and the accuracy was within 95.6-100.0%. The mean extraction recovery was 96.3%. Selectivity, matrix effect and stability were also validated. The method was applied to the comparative pharmacokinetic study of granisetron in Chinese healthy subjects. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Hyphenation of supercritical fluid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for fast determination of four aflatoxins in edible oil.

    PubMed

    Lei, Fang; Li, Chenglong; Zhou, Shuang; Wang, Dan; Zhao, Yunfeng; Wu, Yongning

    2016-08-01

    Aflatoxins (AFTs) are of great concern all over the world. Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has the advantage of fast, high resolution and excellent compatibility with a broad range of organic solvents and samples, thus hyphenating SFC with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) can be used for the easy and fast determination of AFTs in edible oils. Edible oil was spiked with isotope-labeled aflatoxin standards, diluted with hexane and extracted with acetonitrile. The extraction was directly loaded to an SFC apparatus and separated on a UPC(2) 2-EP column with CO2 -methanol gradient elution. A post-column make-up flow was introduced to facilitate mass spectrometry performance, and the mixture was analyzed by MS/MS with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source. The SFC conditions including separation column, modifier and sample solvent were optimized, and the four target aflatoxins were baseline separated. The ESI interface parameters were also investigated, implicating the make-up flow as a critical factor for sensitive determination by SFC-MS/MS. The LOQs for the AFTs were 0.05-0.12 μg L(-1) , while the RSDs were lower than 8.5%. Supercritical fluid chromatography was successfully coupled to tandem mass spectrometry to establish a simple, fast and sensitive method for the analysis of four aflatoxins in edible oil. This shows the combination of SFC-MS/MS has great potential in determination of trace contaminants in food. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Modified tandem gratings anastigmatic imaging spectrometer with oblique incidence for spectral broadband

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Chengguang; Wang, Shurong; Huang, Yu; Xue, Qingsheng; Li, Bo; Yu, Lei

    2015-09-01

    A modified spectrometer with tandem gratings that exhibits high spectral resolution and imaging quality for solar observation, monitoring, and understanding of coastal ocean processes is presented in this study. Spectral broadband anastigmatic imaging condition, spectral resolution, and initial optical structure are obtained based on geometric aberration theory. Compared with conventional tandem gratings spectrometers, this modified design permits flexibility in selecting gratings. A detailed discussion of the optical design and optical performance of an ultraviolet spectrometer with tandem gratings is also included to explain the advantage of oblique incidence for spectral broadband.

  4. Matrix Assisted Ionization Vacuum (MAIV), a New Ionization Method for Biological Materials Analysis Using Mass Spectrometry*

    PubMed Central

    Inutan, Ellen D.; Trimpin, Sarah

    2013-01-01

    The introduction of electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) for the mass spectrometric analysis of peptides and proteins had a dramatic impact on biological science. We now report that a wide variety of compounds, including peptides, proteins, and protein complexes, are transported directly from a solid-state small molecule matrix to gas-phase ions when placed into the vacuum of a mass spectrometer without the use of high voltage, a laser, or added heat. This ionization process produces ions having charge states similar to ESI, making the method applicable for high performance mass spectrometers designed for atmospheric pressure ionization. We demonstrate highly sensitive ionization using intermediate pressure MALDI and modified ESI sources. This matrix and vacuum assisted soft ionization method is suitable for the direct surface analysis of biological materials, including tissue, via mass spectrometry. PMID:23242551

  5. Improvement and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography in tandem mass spectrometry method for monitoring of omeprazole in plasma.

    PubMed

    Wojnicz, Aneta; Gil García, Ana Isabel; Román-Martínez, Manuel; Ochoa-Mazarro, Dolores; Abad-Santos, Francisco; Ruiz-Nuño, Ana

    2015-06-01

    Omeprazole (OME) is a proton pump inhibitor with a 58% bioavailability after a single oral dose. It is subject to marked interindividual variations and significant drug-drug interactions. The authors developed a simple and rapid method based on liquid chromatography in tandem with mass spectrometry with solid phase extraction and isotope-labeled internal standard to monitor plasma levels of OME in pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interaction studies. OME and its internal standard (OME-D3) were eluted with a Zorbax Extend C-18 rapid resolution column (4.6 × 50 mm, 3.5 μm) at 25°C, under isocratic conditions through a mobile phase consisting of 1 mM ammonium acetate, pH 8.5 (55%), and acetonitrile (45%). The flow rate was 0.8 mL/min, and the chromatogram run time was 1.2 minutes. OME was detected and quantified by liquid chromatography in tandem with mass spectrometry with positive electrospray ionization, which operates in multiple-reaction monitoring mode. The method was linear in the range of 1.5-2000 ng/mL for OME. The validation assays for accuracy and precision, matrix effect, extraction recovery, and stability of the samples for OME did not deviate more than 20% for the lower limit of quantification and no more than 15% for other quality controls. These findings are consistent with the requirements of regulatory agencies. The method enables rapid quantification of OME concentrations and can be used in pharmacokinetic and drug-drug interaction studies.

  6. Quantitation of five organophosphorus nerve agent metabolites in serum using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

    PubMed Central

    Hamelin, Elizabeth I.; Schulze, Nicholas D.; Shaner, Rebecca L.; Coleman, Rebecca M.; Lawrence, Richard J.; Crow, Brian S.; Jakubowski, E. M.; Johnson, Rudolph C.

    2015-01-01

    Although nerve agent use is prohibited, concerns remain for human exposure to nerve agents during decommissioning, research, and warfare. Exposure can be detected through the analysis of the hydrolysis products in urine as well as blood. An analytical method to detect exposure to five nerve agents, including VX, VR (Russian VX), GB (sarin), GD (soman) and GF (cyclosarin), through the analysis of the hydrolysis products, which are the primary metabolites, in serum has been developed and characterized. This method uses solid phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for separation and isotopic dilution tandem mass spectrometry for detection. An uncommon buffer of ammonium fluoride was used to enhance ionization and improve sensitivity when coupled with hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography resulting in detection limits from 0.3–0.5 ng/mL. The assessment of two quality control samples demonstrated high accuracy (101–105%) and high precision (5–8%) for the detection of these five nerve agent hydrolysis products in serum. PMID:24633507

  7. Tandem photovoltaic solar cells and increased solar energy conversion efficiency

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loferski, J. J.

    1976-01-01

    Tandem photovoltaic cells, as proposed by Jackson (1955) to increase the efficiency of solar energy conversion, involve the construction of a system of stacked p/n homojunction photovoltaic cells composed of different semiconductors. It had been pointed out by critics, however, that the total power which could be extracted from the cells in the stack placed side by side was substantially greater than the power obtained from the stacked cells. A reexamination of the tandem cell concept in view of the development of the past few years is conducted. It is concluded that the use of tandem cell systems in flat plate collectors, as originally envisioned by Jackson, may yet become feasible as a result of the development of economically acceptable solar cells for large scale terrestrial power generation.

  8. "Magic" Ionization Mass Spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trimpin, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    The systematic study of the temperature and pressure dependence of matrix-assisted ionization (MAI) led us to the discovery of the seemingly impossible, initially explained by some reviewers as either sleight of hand or the misinterpretation by an overzealous young scientist of results reported many years before and having little utility. The "magic" that we were attempting to report was that with matrix assistance, molecules, at least as large as bovine serum albumin (66 kDa), are lifted into the gas phase as multiply charged ions simply by exposure of the matrix:analyte sample to the vacuum of a mass spectrometer. Applied heat, a laser, or voltages are not necessary to achieve charge states and ion abundances only previously observed with electrospray ionization (ESI). The fundamentals of how solid phase volatile or nonvolatile compounds are converted to gas-phase ions without added energy currently involves speculation providing a great opportunity to rethink mechanistic understanding of ionization processes used in mass spectrometry. Improved understanding of the mechanism(s) of these processes and their connection to ESI and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization may provide opportunities to further develop new ionization strategies for traditional and yet unforeseen applications of mass spectrometry. This Critical Insights article covers developments leading to the discovery of a seemingly magic ionization process that is simple to use, fast, sensitive, robust, and can be directly applied to surface characterization using portable or high performance mass spectrometers.

  9. Tandem mass spectrometric analysis of novel peptide-modified gemini surfactants used as gene delivery vectors.

    PubMed

    Al-Dulaymi, M; El-Aneed, A

    2017-06-01

    Diquaternary ammonium gemini surfactants have emerged as effective gene delivery vectors. A novel series of 11 peptide-modified compounds was synthesized, showing promising results in delivering genetic materials. The purpose of this work is to elucidate the tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) dissociation behavior of these novel molecules establishing a generalized MS/MS fingerprint. Exact mass measurements were achieved using a hybrid quadrupole orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometer, and a multi-stage MS/MS analysis was conducted using a triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer. Both instruments were operated in the positive ionization mode and are equipped with electrospray ionization. Abundant triply charged [M+H] 3+ species were observed in the single-stage analysis of all the evaluated compounds with mass accuracies of less than 8 ppm in mass error. MS/MS analysis showed that the evaluated gemini surfactants exhibited peptide-related dissociation characteristics because of the presence of amino acids within the compounds' spacer region. In particular, diagnostic product ions were originated from the neutral loss of ammonia from the amino acids' side chain resulting in the formation of pipecolic acid at the N-terminus part of the gemini surfactants. In addition, a charge-directed amide bond cleavage was initiated by the amino acids' side chain producing a protonated α-amino-ε-caprolactam ion and its complimentary C-terminus ion that contains quaternary amines. MS/MS and MS 3 analysis revealed common fragmentation behavior among all tested compounds, resulting in the production of a universal MS/MS fragmentation pathway. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Quantitative determination of rosuvastatin in human plasma by liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Xu, Dong-Hang; Ruan, Zou-Rong; Zhou, Quan; Yuan, Hong; Jiang, Bo

    2006-01-01

    A simple and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for determining rosuvastatin in human plasma, a new synthetic hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor. The analyte and internal standard (IS; cilostazol) were extracted by simple one-step liquid/liquid extraction with ether. The organic layer was separated and evaporated under a gentle stream of nitrogen at 40 degrees C. The chromatographic separation was performed on an Atlantis C18 column (2.1 mm x 150 mm, 5.0 microm) with a mobile phase consisting of 0.2% formic acid/methanol (30:70, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.20 mL/min. The analyses were carried out by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using the precursor-to-product combinations of m/z 482 --> 258 and m/z 370 --> 288. The areas of peaks from the analyte and the IS were used for quantification of rosuvastatin. The method was validated according to the FDA guidelines on bioanalytical method validation. Validation results indicated that the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.2 ng/mL and the assay exhibited a linear range of 0.2-50.0 ng/mL and gave a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9991 or better. Quality control samples (0.4, 8, 25 and 40 ng/mL) in six replicates from three different runs of analysis demonstrated an intra-assay precision (RSD) 7.97-15.94%, an inter-assay precision 3.19-15.27%, and an overall accuracy (relative error) of < 3.7%. The method can be applied to pharmacokinetic or bioequivalence studies of rosuvastatin.

  11. Numerical investigation & comparison of a tandem-bladed turbocharger centrifugal compressor stage with conventional design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Danish, Syed Noman; Qureshi, Shafiq Rehman; EL-Leathy, Abdelrahman; Khan, Salah Ud-Din; Umer, Usama; Ma, Chaochen

    2014-12-01

    Extensive numerical investigations of the performance and flow structure in an unshrouded tandem-bladed centrifugal compressor are presented in comparison to a conventional compressor. Stage characteristics are explored for various tip clearance levels, axial spacings and circumferential clockings. Conventional impeller was modified to tandem-bladed design with no modifications in backsweep angle, meridional gas passage and camber distributions in order to have a true comparison with conventional design. Performance degradation is observed for both the conventional and tandem designs with increase in tip clearance. Linear-equation models for correlating stage characteristics with tip clearance are proposed. Comparing two designs, it is clearly evident that the conventional design shows better performance at moderate flow rates. However; near choke flow, tandem design gives better results primarily because of the increase in throat area. Surge point flow rate also seems to drop for tandem compressor resulting in increased range of operation.

  12. Multiclass analysis of antibiotic residues in honey by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Vidal, Jose Luis Martínez; Aguilera-Luiz, María Del Mar; Romero-González, Roberto; Frenich, Antonia Garrido

    2009-03-11

    A method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of different veterinary drug residues (macrolides, tetracyclines, quinolones, and sulfonamides) in honey. Honey samples were dissolved with Na(2)EDTA, and veterinary residues were extracted from the supernatant by solid-phase extraction (SPE), using OASIS HLB cartridges. The separation and determination was carried out by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), using an electrospay ionization source (ESI) in positive mode. Data acquisition under MS/MS was achieved by applying multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of two ion transitions per compound to provide a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. The method was validated, and mean recoveries were evaluated at three concentration levels (10, 50, and 100 microg/kg), ranging from 70 to 120% except for doxycycline, erythromycin, and tylmicosin with recovery higher than 50% at the three levels assayed. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the recoveries were less than 20% within the intraday precision and less than 25% within the interday precision. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were always lower than 4 microg/kg. The developed procedure was applied to 16 honey samples, and erythromycin, sarafloxacin, and tylosin were found in a few samples.

  13. Comparative analysis of tandem repeats from hundreds of species reveals unique insights into centromere evolution.

    PubMed

    Melters, Daniël P; Bradnam, Keith R; Young, Hugh A; Telis, Natalie; May, Michael R; Ruby, J Graham; Sebra, Robert; Peluso, Paul; Eid, John; Rank, David; Garcia, José Fernando; DeRisi, Joseph L; Smith, Timothy; Tobias, Christian; Ross-Ibarra, Jeffrey; Korf, Ian; Chan, Simon W L

    2013-01-30

    Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation, yet their DNA sequences evolve rapidly. In most animals and plants that have been studied, centromeres contain megabase-scale arrays of tandem repeats. Despite their importance, very little is known about the degree to which centromere tandem repeats share common properties between different species across different phyla. We used bioinformatic methods to identify high-copy tandem repeats from 282 species using publicly available genomic sequence and our own data. Our methods are compatible with all current sequencing technologies. Long Pacific Biosciences sequence reads allowed us to find tandem repeat monomers up to 1,419 bp. We assumed that the most abundant tandem repeat is the centromere DNA, which was true for most species whose centromeres have been previously characterized, suggesting this is a general property of genomes. High-copy centromere tandem repeats were found in almost all animal and plant genomes, but repeat monomers were highly variable in sequence composition and length. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of sequence homology showed little evidence of sequence conservation beyond approximately 50 million years of divergence. We find that despite an overall lack of sequence conservation, centromere tandem repeats from diverse species showed similar modes of evolution. While centromere position in most eukaryotes is epigenetically determined, our results indicate that tandem repeats are highly prevalent at centromeres of both animal and plant genomes. This suggests a functional role for such repeats, perhaps in promoting concerted evolution of centromere DNA across chromosomes.

  14. Comparative analysis of tandem repeats from hundreds of species reveals unique insights into centromere evolution

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation, yet their DNA sequences evolve rapidly. In most animals and plants that have been studied, centromeres contain megabase-scale arrays of tandem repeats. Despite their importance, very little is known about the degree to which centromere tandem repeats share common properties between different species across different phyla. We used bioinformatic methods to identify high-copy tandem repeats from 282 species using publicly available genomic sequence and our own data. Results Our methods are compatible with all current sequencing technologies. Long Pacific Biosciences sequence reads allowed us to find tandem repeat monomers up to 1,419 bp. We assumed that the most abundant tandem repeat is the centromere DNA, which was true for most species whose centromeres have been previously characterized, suggesting this is a general property of genomes. High-copy centromere tandem repeats were found in almost all animal and plant genomes, but repeat monomers were highly variable in sequence composition and length. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of sequence homology showed little evidence of sequence conservation beyond approximately 50 million years of divergence. We find that despite an overall lack of sequence conservation, centromere tandem repeats from diverse species showed similar modes of evolution. Conclusions While centromere position in most eukaryotes is epigenetically determined, our results indicate that tandem repeats are highly prevalent at centromeres of both animal and plant genomes. This suggests a functional role for such repeats, perhaps in promoting concerted evolution of centromere DNA across chromosomes. PMID:23363705

  15. Ionization Processes in the Atmosphere of Titan (Research Note). III. Ionization by High-Z Nuclei Cosmic Rays

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gronoff, G.; Mertens, C.; Lilensten, J.; Desorgher, L.; Fluckiger, E.; Velinov, P.

    2011-01-01

    Context. The Cassini-Huygens mission has revealed the importance of particle precipitation in the atmosphere of Titan thanks to in-situ measurements. These ionizing particles (electrons, protons, and cosmic rays) have a strong impact on the chemistry, hence must be modeled. Aims. We revisit our computation of ionization in the atmosphere of Titan by cosmic rays. The high-energy high-mass ions are taken into account to improve the precision of the calculation of the ion production profile. Methods. The Badhwahr and O Neill model for cosmic ray spectrum was adapted for the Titan model. We used the TransTitan model coupled with the Planetocosmics model to compute the ion production by cosmic rays. We compared the results with the NAIRAS/HZETRN ionization model used for the first time for a body that differs from the Earth. Results. The cosmic ray ionization is computed for five groups of cosmic rays, depending on their charge and mass: protons, alpha, Z = 8 (oxygen), Z = 14 (silicon), and Z = 26 (iron) nucleus. Protons and alpha particles ionize mainly at 65 km altitude, while the higher mass nucleons ionize at higher altitudes. Nevertheless, the ionization at higher altitude is insufficient to obscure the impact of Saturn s magnetosphere protons at a 500 km altitude. The ionization rate at the peak (altitude: 65 km, for all the different conditions) lies between 30 and 40/cu cm/s. Conclusions. These new computations show for the first time the importance of high Z cosmic rays on the ionization of the Titan atmosphere. The updated full ionization profile shape does not differ significantly from that found in our previous calculations (Paper I: Gronoff et al. 2009, 506, 955) but undergoes a strong increase in intensity below an altitude of 400 km, especially between 200 and 400 km altitude where alpha and heavier particles (in the cosmic ray spectrum) are responsible for 40% of the ionization. The comparison of several models of ionization and cosmic ray spectra (in

  16. Direct measurement of the glucuronide conjugate of 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine by using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Kakimoto, Kensaku; Toriba, Akira; Ohno, Takanori; Ueno, Mariko; Kameda, Takayuki; Tang, Ning; Hayakawa, Kazuichi

    2008-05-15

    To evaluate human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), we developed a rapid, simple and sensitive method for determining 1-hydroxypyrene-glucuronide (1-OHP-G) in human urine. To improve precision, a deuterated glucuronide was used as an internal standard. The method requires only 1 mL of urine. The urine was treated with a mixed-mode anion-exchange and reversed-phase solid-phase extraction cartridge (Oasis MAX). The analytes were analyzed with a C(18) reversed-phase column with a gradient elution, followed by tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization in negative ion mode. The detection limit of 1-OHP-G (corresponding to a signal-to-noise ratio of 3) was 0.13 fmol/injection. Urinary concentrations of 1-OHP-G determined by this method were strongly correlated (r(2)=0.961) with concentrations of 1-hydroxypyrene by conventional HPLC with fluorescence detection.

  17. Peptide Identification by Database Search of Mixture Tandem Mass Spectra*

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Jian; Bourne, Philip E.; Bandeira, Nuno

    2011-01-01

    In high-throughput proteomics the development of computational methods and novel experimental strategies often rely on each other. In certain areas, mass spectrometry methods for data acquisition are ahead of computational methods to interpret the resulting tandem mass spectra. Particularly, although there are numerous situations in which a mixture tandem mass spectrum can contain fragment ions from two or more peptides, nearly all database search tools still make the assumption that each tandem mass spectrum comes from one peptide. Common examples include mixture spectra from co-eluting peptides in complex samples, spectra generated from data-independent acquisition methods, and spectra from peptides with complex post-translational modifications. We propose a new database search tool (MixDB) that is able to identify mixture tandem mass spectra from more than one peptide. We show that peptides can be reliably identified with up to 95% accuracy from mixture spectra while considering only a 0.01% of all possible peptide pairs (four orders of magnitude speedup). Comparison with current database search methods indicates that our approach has better or comparable sensitivity and precision at identifying single-peptide spectra while simultaneously being able to identify 38% more peptides from mixture spectra at significantly higher precision. PMID:21862760

  18. Characterization of primaquine imidazolidin-4-ones with antimalarial activity by electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vale, Nuno; Moreira, Rui; Gomes, Paula

    2008-02-01

    The extensive characterization by electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) of 20 imidazolidin-4-ones derived from the antimalarial primaquine was well obtained. These compounds are being under investigation as potential antimalarials, as they have been previously found to be active against rodent P. berghei malaria and to be highly stable under physiological conditions. Experiments by collision-induced dissociation (CID) in the nozzle-skimmer region or by tandem-MS have shown the title compounds to be remarkably stable. Mechanisms are proposed to explain the major fragmentations observed in ESI-MSn experiments. Overall, this work represents an unprecedented contribution to a deeper insight into imidazolidin-4-one antimalarials based on a classic 8-aminoquinolinic scaffold. Data herein reported and discussed may be an useful guide for future studies on therapeutically relevant molecules possessing either the 8-aminoquinoline or the imidazolidin-4-one motifs.

  19. Laser resonance ionization spectroscopy of antimony

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, R.; Lassen, J.; Ruczkowski, J.; Teigelhöfer, A.; Bricault, P.

    2017-02-01

    The resonant ionization laser ion source is an element selective, efficient and versatile ion source to generate radioactive ion beams at on-line mass separator facilities. For some elements with complex atomic structures and incomplete spectroscopic data, laser spectroscopic investigations are required for ionization scheme development. Laser resonance ionization spectroscopy using Ti:Sa lasers has been performed on antimony (Sb) at TRIUMF's off-line laser ion source test stand. Laser light of 230.217 nm (vacuum wavelength) as the first excitation step and light from a frequency-doubled Nd:YVO4 laser (532 nm) as the nonresonant ionization step allowed to search for suitable second excitation steps by continuous wavelength scans from 720 nm to 920 nm across the wavelength tuning range of a grating-tuned Ti:Sa laser. Upon the identification of efficient SES, the third excitation steps for resonance ionization were investigated by laser scans across Rydberg states, the ionization potential and autoionizing states. One Rydberg state and six AI states were found to be well suitable for efficient resonance ionization.

  20. Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometric (LC/ESI-MS/MS) Study for the Identification and Characterization of In Vivo Metabolites of Cisplatin in Rat Kidney Cancer Tissues: Online Hydrogen/Deuterium (H/D) Exchange Study.

    PubMed

    Bandu, Raju; Ahn, Hyun Soo; Lee, Joon Won; Kim, Yong Woo; Choi, Seon Hee; Kim, Hak Jin; Kim, Kwang Pyo

    2015-01-01

    In vivo rat kidney tissue metabolites of an anticancer drug, cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum [II]) (CP) which is used for the treatment of testicular, ovarian, bladder, cervical, esophageal, small cell lung, head and neck cancers, have been identified and characterized by using liquid chromatography positive ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) in combination with on line hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) experiments. To identify in vivo metabolites, kidney tissues were collected after intravenous administration of CP to adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 3 per group). The tissue samples were homogenized and extracted using newly optimized metabolite extraction procedure which involves liquid extraction with phosphate buffer containing ethyl acetate and protein precipitation with mixed solvents of methanol-water-chloroform followed by solid-phase clean-up procedure on Oasis HLB 3cc cartridges and then subjected to LC/ESI-HRMS analysis. A total of thirty one unknown in vivo metabolites have been identified and the structures of metabolites were elucidated using LC-MS/MS experiments combined with accurate mass measurements. Online HDX experiments have been used to further support the structural characterization of metabolites. The results showed that CP undergoes a series of ligand exchange biotransformation reactions with water and other nucleophiles like thio groups of methionine, cysteine, acetylcysteine, glutathione and thioether. This is the first research approach focused on the structure elucidation of biotransformation products of CP in rats, and the identification of metabolites provides essential information for further pharmacological and clinical studies of CP, and may also be useful to develop various effective new anticancer agents.

  1. Sensitive determination of thiols in wine samples by a stable isotope-coded derivatization reagent d0/d4-acridone-10-ethyl-N-maleimide coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry analysis.

    PubMed

    Lv, Zhengxian; You, Jinmao; Lu, Shuaimin; Sun, Weidi; Ji, Zhongyin; Sun, Zhiwei; Song, Cuihua; Chen, Guang; Li, Guoliang; Hu, Na; Zhou, Wu; Suo, Yourui

    2017-03-31

    As the key aroma compounds, varietal thiols are the crucial odorants responsible for the flavor of wines. Quantitative analysis of thiols can provide crucial information for the aroma profiles of different wine styles. In this study, a rapid and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of six thiols in wine using d 0 /d 4 -acridone-10-ethyl-N-maleimide (d 0 /d 4 -AENM) as stable isotope-coded derivatization reagent (SICD) by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) has been developed. Quantification of thiols was performed by using d 4 -AENM labeled thiols as the internal standards (IS), followed by stable isotope dilution HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis. The AENM derivatization combined with multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) not only allowed trace analysis of thiols due to the extremely high sensitivity, but also efficiently corrected the matrix effects during HPLC-MS/MS and the fluctuation in MS/MS signal intensity due to instrument. The obtained internal standard calibration curves for six thiols were linear over the range of 25-10,000pmol/L (R 2 ≥0.9961). Detection limits (LODs) for most of analytes were below 6.3pmol/L. The proposed method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of six kinds of thiols in wine samples with precisions ≤3.5% and recoveries ≥78.1%. In conclusion, the developed method is expected to be a promising tool for detection of trace thiols in wine and also in other complex matrix. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Tunable color parallel tandem organic light emitting devices with carbon nanotube and metallic sheet interlayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oliva, Jorge; Papadimitratos, Alexios; Desirena, Haggeo; De la Rosa, Elder; Zakhidov, Anvar A.

    2015-11-01

    Parallel tandem organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) were fabricated with transparent multiwall carbon nanotube sheets (MWCNT) and thin metal films (Al, Ag) as interlayers. In parallel monolithic tandem architecture, the MWCNT (or metallic films) interlayers are an active electrode which injects similar charges into subunits. In the case of parallel tandems with common anode (C.A.) of this study, holes are injected into top and bottom subunits from the common interlayer electrode; whereas in the configuration of common cathode (C.C.), electrons are injected into the top and bottom subunits. Both subunits of the tandem can thus be monolithically connected functionally in an active structure in which each subunit can be electrically addressed separately. Our tandem OLEDs have a polymer as emitter in the bottom subunit and a small molecule emitter in the top subunit. We also compared the performance of the parallel tandem with that of in series and the additional advantages of the parallel architecture over the in-series were: tunable chromaticity, lower voltage operation, and higher brightness. Finally, we demonstrate that processing of the MWCNT sheets as a common anode in parallel tandems is an easy and low cost process, since their integration as electrodes in OLEDs is achieved by simple dry lamination process.

  3. Tandem betatron

    DOEpatents

    Keinigs, Rhonald K.

    1992-01-01

    Two betatrons are provided in tandem for alternately accelerating an electron beam to avoid the single flux swing limitation of conventional betatrons and to accelerate the electron beam to high energies. The electron beam is accelerated in a first betatron during a period of increasing magnetic flux. The eletron beam is extracted from the first betatron as a peak magnetic flux is reached and then injected into a second betatron at a time of minimum magnetic flux in the second betatron. The cycle may be repeated until the desired electron beam energy is obtained. In one embodiment, the second betatron is axially offset from the first betatron to provide for electron beam injection directly at the axial location of the beam orbit in the second betatron.

  4. Tandem resonator reflectance modulator

    DOEpatents

    Fritz, I.J.; Wendt, J.R.

    1994-09-06

    A wide band optical modulator is grown on a substrate as tandem Fabry-Perot resonators including three mirrors spaced by two cavities. The absorption of one cavity is changed relative to the absorption of the other cavity by an applied electric field, to cause a change in total reflected light, as light reflecting from the outer mirrors is in phase and light reflecting from the inner mirror is out of phase with light from the outer mirrors. 8 figs.

  5. IONIZATION CHAMBER

    DOEpatents

    Redman, W.C.; Shonka, F.R.

    1958-02-18

    This patent describes a novel ionization chamber which is well suited to measuring the radioactivity of the various portions of a wire as the wire is moved at a uniform speed, in order to produce the neutron flux traverse pattern of a reactor in which the wire was previously exposed to neutron radiation. The ionization chamber of the present invention is characterized by the construction wherein the wire is passed through a tubular, straight electrode and radiation shielding material is disposed along the wire except at an intermediate, narrow area where the second electrode of the chamber is located.

  6. Simultaneous determination of polycyclic musks in blood and urine by solid supported liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, Hongtao; Huang, Liping; Chen, Yuxin; Guo, Liman; Li, Limin; Zhou, Haiyun; Luan, Tiangang

    2015-06-15

    A rapid, precise and accurate method for the simultaneous determination of 5 polycyclic musks (PCMs) in biological fluids was developed by solid supported liquid-liquid extraction (SLE) coupled with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). All parameters influencing SLE-GC-MS performance, including electron energy of electron-impact ionization source, collision energy for tandem mass spectrometer when operated in selected-reaction monitoring (SRM) mode, type and volume of elution reagent, nitrogen evaporation time, pH and salinity of sample have been carefully optimized. Eight milliliter of n-hexane was finally chosen as elution reagent. Blood and urine sample could be loaded into SLE cartridge without adjusting pH and salinity. Deuterated tonalide (AHTN-d3) was chosen as internal standard. The correlation coefficient (r(2)) of the calibration curves of target compounds ranged from 0.9996 to 0.9998. The dynamic range spanned over two orders of magnitude. The limit of detection (LOD) of target compounds in blood and urine ranged from 0.008 to 0.105μgL(-1) and 0.005 to 0.075μgL(-1), respectively. The developed procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of PCMs in human blood and urine obtaining satisfying recoveries on low, medium and high levels. The method was compared with SLE-GC-MS and shown one to two orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Identification of phase II metabolites of thiol-conjugated [6]-shogaol in mouse urine using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Chen, Huadong; Sang, Shengmin

    2012-10-15

    Ginger is frequently consumed as a spice and has numerous medicinal properties. Extensive research has characterized the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor activities of ginger. Previously, we reported the mercapturic acid pathway as a major metabolic route of [6]-shogaol in mice and the thiol conjugates of [6]-shogaol existed in the glucuronidated and sulfated forms in mouse urine. However, their structures are still unknown. In the present study, we further investigated the phase II metabolism of thiol-conjugated [6]-shogaol in mouse urine, in which we identified sixteen phase II metabolites of thiol-conjugated [6]-shogaol: 5-cysteinyl-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (9), 5-N-acetylcysteinyl-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (10), 5-cysteinylglycinyl-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (11), 5-methylthio-[6]-shogaol glucuronide (12), 5-cysteinyl-M6 glucuronide (13 and 14), 5-cysteinyl-M6 sulfate (15 and 16), 5-N-acetylcysteinyl-M6 glucuronide (17 and 18), 5-cysteinylglycinyl-M6 glucuronide (19 and 20), 5-cysteinylglycinyl-M6 sulfate (21 and 22), and 5-methylthio-M6 glucuronide (23 and 24) using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The structures of these metabolites were confirmed by analyzing their MS(n) (n=1-4) spectra as well as comparing with the tandem mass spectra of authentic standards. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report involving identification of phase II urinary metabolites of [6]-shogaol in mice. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Quantitative determination of hederagenin in rat plasma and cerebrospinal fluid by ultra fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method.

    PubMed

    Yang, Xuemei; Li, Guoliang; Chen, Lingyun; Zhang, Cong; Wan, Xinxiang; Xu, Jiangping

    2011-07-01

    A rapid, sensitive and selective method was developed for the quantitative determination of hederagenin in rat plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by ultra fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS). It has been successfully applied in a pharmacokinetic study of hederagenin in the central nervous system (CNS). Sample pretreatment involved a simple protein precipitation with methanol and a one-step extraction with ethyl acetate. Separation was carried out in a Shim-pack XR-ODS II (75 mm × 2.0 mm, i.d., 2.1 μm) column with gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.35 mL/min. The mobile phase was 5mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile. Detection was performed in a triple-quadruple tandem mass spectrometer by multiple-reaction-monitoring mode via electrospray ionization. A linear calibration curve for hederagenin was obtained over a concentration range of 0.406 (lower limit of quantification, LLOQ) to 203 ng/mL (r² > 0.99) for both plasma and CSF. The intra-day and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation, RSD) values were less than 15%. At all quality control (QC) levels, the accuracy (relative error, RE) was within -9.0% and 11.1% for plasma and CSF, respectively. The pharmacokinetics results indicated that hederagenin could pass through the blood-brain barrier. This UFLC-MS/MS method demonstrates higher sensitivity and sample throughput than previous methods. It was also successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of hederagenin following oral administration of Fructus akebiae extract in rats. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Determination of artemisitene in rat plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and its application in pharmacokinetics.

    PubMed

    Wu, Li-Lan; Wu, Yun-Shan; Chen, Wei-Ying; Zhou, Wen; Tang, Lipeng; Li, Ben; Liu, Bo

    2017-07-15

    Artemisitene shows a wide variety of pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant protection in vitro and in vivo. It has been identified as a novel Nrf2 inducer. However, there is no report on an ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) method to quantitate artemisitene in rat plasma and its application to a pharmacokinetic profile study. An ACQUITY UPLC™ BEH Symmetry Shield RP18 column (1.7 μm, 2.1 mm × 100 mm) was used at a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min -1 . Mass detection was performed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry via multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive mode. Plasma samples were pre-treated by a single-step extraction with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solutions-acetonitrile, and tolbutamide was used as internal standard. The calibration curve was from 0.98 to 1000 ng∙mL -1 (r 2  = 0.995). The extraction recoveries were 61.5-79.4% and 81.7-94.6% for artemisitene and tolbutamide, respectively. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.98 ng∙mL -1 . The absolute bioavailability of artemisitene was 3.7% after intravenous and oral administration in rats. The UPLC/MS/MS assay was validated for linearity, accuracy, stability, extraction recovery, matrix effects, and intra-day and inter-day precision. The method, for the first time, achieved some pharmacokinetic parameters and was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Tandem Repeat Proteins Inspired By Squid Ring Teeth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pena-Francesch, Abdon

    Proteins are large biomolecules consisting of long chains of amino acids that hierarchically assemble into complex structures, and provide a variety of building blocks for biological materials. The repetition of structural building blocks is a natural evolutionary strategy for increasing the complexity and stability of protein structures. However, the relationship between amino acid sequence, structure, and material properties of protein systems remains unclear due to the lack of control over the protein sequence and the intricacies of the assembly process. In order to investigate the repetition of protein building blocks, a recently discovered protein from squids is examined as an ideal protein system. Squid ring teeth are predatory appendages located inside the suction cups that provide a strong grasp of prey, and are solely composed of a group of proteins with tandem repetition of building blocks. The objective of this thesis is the understanding of sequence, structure and property relationship in repetitive protein materials inspired in squid ring teeth for the first time. Specifically, this work focuses on squid-inspired structural proteins with tandem repeat units in their sequence (i.e., repetition of alternating building blocks) that are physically cross-linked via beta-sheet structures. The research work presented here tests the hypothesis that, in these systems, increasing the number of building blocks in the polypeptide chain decreases the protein network defects and improves the material properties. Hence, the sequence, nanostructure, and properties (thermal, mechanical, and conducting) of tandem repeat squid-inspired protein materials are examined. Spectroscopic structural analysis, advanced materials characterization, and entropic elasticity theory are combined to elucidate the structure and material properties of these repetitive proteins. This approach is applied not only to native squid proteins but also to squid-inspired synthetic polypeptides

  11. Ionization detection system for aerosols

    DOEpatents

    Jacobs, Martin E.

    1977-01-01

    This invention relates to an improved smoke-detection system of the ionization-chamber type. In the preferred embodiment, the system utilizes a conventional detector head comprising a measuring ionization chamber, a reference ionization chamber, and a normally non-conductive gas triode for discharging when a threshold concentration of airborne particulates is present in the measuring chamber. The improved system utilizes a measuring ionization chamber which is modified to minimize false alarms and reductions in sensitivity resulting from changes in ambient temperature. In the preferred form of the modification, an annular radiation shield is mounted about the usual radiation source provided to effect ionization in the measuring chamber. The shield is supported by a bimetallic strip which flexes in response to changes in ambient temperature, moving the shield relative to the source so as to vary the radiative area of the source in a manner offsetting temperature-induced variations in the sensitivity of the chamber.

  12. In situ analysis of corrosion inhibitors using a portable mass spectrometer with paper spray ionization.

    PubMed

    Jjunju, Fred P M; Li, Anyin; Badu-Tawiah, Abraham; Wei, Pu; Li, Linfan; Ouyang, Zheng; Roqan, Iman S; Cooks, R Graham

    2013-07-07

    Paper spray (PS) ambient ionization is implemented using a portable mass spectrometer and applied to the detection of alkyl quaternary ammonium salts in a complex oil matrix. These salts are commonly used as active components in the formulation of corrosion inhibitors. They were identified in oil and confirmed by their fragmentation patterns recorded using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The cations of alkyl and benzyl-substituted quaternary ammonium salts showed characteristic neutral losses of CnH2n (n carbon number of the longest chain) and C7H8, respectively. Individual quaternary ammonium compounds were detected at low concentrations (<1 ng μL(-1)) and over a dynamic range of ∼5 pg μL(-1) to 500 pg μL(-1) (ppb). Direct detection of these compounds in complex oil samples without prior sample preparation or pre-concentration was also demonstrated using a home-built miniature mass spectrometer at levels below 1 ng μL(-1).

  13. Better load-weight distribution is needed for tandem-axle logging trucks

    Treesearch

    John E. Baumgras

    1976-01-01

    To determine the GVW and axle weights of tandem-axle logging trucks hauling into two West Virginia sawmills, 543 truckloads of hardwood sawlogs were weighed. The results showed that less than 2 percent of the truckloads exceeded the 48,000 pound GVW limit. While 58 percent of the truckloads exceeded the 32,000 pound tandem-axle weight limit, the front-axle weights...

  14. Flexible and fragmentable tandem photosensitive nanocrystal skins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akhavan, S.; Uran, C.; Bozok, B.; Gungor, K.; Kelestemur, Y.; Lesnyak, V.; Gaponik, N.; Eychmüller, A.; Demir, H. V.

    2016-02-01

    We proposed and demonstrated the first account of large-area, semi-transparent, tandem photosensitive nanocrystal skins (PNSs) constructed on flexible substrates operating on the principle of photogenerated potential buildup, which avoid the need for applying an external bias and circumvent the current-matching limitation between junctions. We successfully fabricated and operated the tandem PNSs composed of single monolayers of colloidal water-soluble CdTe and CdHgTe nanocrystals (NCs) in adjacent junctions on a Kapton polymer tape. Owing to the usage of a single NC layer in each junction, noise generation was significantly reduced while keeping the resulting PNS films considerably transparent. In each junction, photogenerated excitons are dissociated at the interface of the semi-transparent Al electrode and the NC layer, with holes migrating to the contact electrode and electrons trapped in the NCs. As a result, the tandem PNSs lead to an open-circuit photovoltage buildup equal to the sum of those of the two single junctions, exhibiting a total voltage buildup of 128.4 mV at an excitation intensity of 75.8 μW cm-2 at 350 nm. Furthermore, we showed that these flexible PNSs could be bent over 3.5 mm radius of curvature and cut out in arbitrary shapes without damaging the operation of individual parts and without introducing any significant loss in the total sensitivity. These findings indicate that the NC skins are promising as building blocks to make low-cost, flexible, large-area UV/visible sensing platforms with highly efficient full-spectrum conversion.We proposed and demonstrated the first account of large-area, semi-transparent, tandem photosensitive nanocrystal skins (PNSs) constructed on flexible substrates operating on the principle of photogenerated potential buildup, which avoid the need for applying an external bias and circumvent the current-matching limitation between junctions. We successfully fabricated and operated the tandem PNSs composed of

  15. [Determination of capsaicinoids and eugenol in waste-edible-oil by liquid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Zhong; Ren, Fei; Zhang, Pan

    2012-11-01

    A method was developed for the determination of capsaicinoids (capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin and synthetic capsaicin) and eugenol in waste-edible-oil extracted by liquid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The capsaicinoids and eugenol in waste-edible-oil were extracted by methanol, and then separated by a SUPEL COSIL ABZ + Plus dC18 column (150 mm x4.6 mm, 5 microm). The analysis was performed by MS/MS with electrospray ionization in positive and negative ion modes with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The limits of detection for capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, synthetic capsaicin and eugenol were 0.02, 0.03, 0.03 and 0.6 microg/L, respectively. The good linear relationships were obtained in certain concentration ranges of capsaicinoids and eugenol. The relative standard deviations (RSDs, n=5) of same-worker and different-worker were less than 5%. The method is exclusive, sensitive and accurate, and can be used in waste-edible-oil determination.

  16. Simultaneous targeted analysis of trimethylamine-N-oxide, choline, betaine, and carnitine by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jia; Zhao, Mingming; Zhou, Juntuo; Liu, Changjie; Zheng, Lemin; Yin, Yuxin

    2016-11-01

    Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is a metabolite generated from choline, betaine and carnitine in a gut microbiota-dependent way. This molecule is associated with development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. A sensitive liquid chromatographic electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of TMAO related molecules including TMAO, betaine, choline, and carnitine in mouse plasma. Analytes are extracted after protein precipitation by methanol and subjected to LC-ESI-MS/MS without preliminary derivatization. Separation of analytes was achieved on an amide column with acetonitrile-water as the mobile phase. This method has been fully validated in this study in terms of selectivity, linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy, and carryover effect, and the stability of the analyte under various conditions has been confirmed. This developed method has successfully been applied to plasma samples of our mouse model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Simultaneous screening for 238 drugs in blood by liquid chromatography-ion spray tandem mass spectrometry with multiple-reaction monitoring.

    PubMed

    Gergov, M; Ojanperä, I; Vuori, E

    2003-09-25

    A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method is presented for the qualitative screening for 238 drugs in blood samples, which is considerably more than in previous methods. After a two-step liquid-liquid extraction and C(18) chromatography, the compounds were introduced into a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a turbo ion spray ion source operating in the positive ionization mode. Identification was based on the compound's absolute retention time, protonated molecular ion, and one representative fragment ion obtained by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) at an individually selected collision energy of 20, 35, or 50 eV. The limit of detection (LOD) for the majority of the compounds (80%) was < or = 0.05 mg/l, ranging from 0.002 mg/l (e.g., antihistamines) to 5 mg/l (acidic compounds), and for malathion it was 10 mg/l. The LOD values were sufficiently low to allow the majority of compounds to be detected at therapeutic concentrations in the blood.

  18. An ultra-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of three physalins in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic study of Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii (Chinese lantern) in rats.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Yunliang; Chen, Yong; Ren, Yiping; Luan, Lianjun; Wu, Yongjiang

    2012-01-25

    An ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for the quantification of three major ingredients in Chinese lantern preparations (CLP) in rat plasma. Following extraction by ethyl acetate, the analytes were separated on an Acquity UPLC BEH Shield RP C(18) column using a gradient mobile phase system of acetonitrile-water. Electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem interface was employed prior to mass spectrometric detection. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 5.0-500.0 ng/ml for physalin D, 2.3-230.0 ng/ml for physalin G and 0.71-71.0 ng/ml for 4,7-didehydroneophysalin B. The average extraction recoveries, examined at four concentration levels, carried from 57.1% to 76.9%, and the accuracies ranged from 94.0% to 113.3% with precision (RSD) <15%. The validated method was successfully applied to the determination of the three physalins in rat plasma after intragastric administration of CLP suspension. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Advanced Laser Architecture for Two-Step Laser Tandem Mass Spectrometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fahey, Molly E.; Li, Steven X.; Yu, Anthony W.; Getty, Stephanie A.

    2016-01-01

    Future astrobiology missions will focus on planets with significant astrochemical or potential astrobiological features, such as small, primitive bodies and the icy moons of the outer planets that may host diverse organic compounds. These missions require advanced instrument techniques to fully and unambiguously characterize the composition of surface and dust materials. Laser desorptionionization mass spectrometry (LDMS) is an emerging instrument technology for in situ mass analysis of non-volatile sample composition. A recent Goddard LDMS advancement is the two-step laser tandem mass spectrometer (L2MS) instrument to address the need for future flight instrumentation to deconvolve complex organic signatures. The L2MS prototype uses a resonance enhanced multi-photon laser ionization mechanism to selectively detect aromatic species from a more complex sample. By neglecting the aliphatic and inorganic mineral signatures in the two-step mass spectrum, the L2MS approach can provide both mass assignments and clues to structural information for an in situ investigation of non-volatile sample composition. In this paper we will describe our development effort on a new laser architecture that is based on the previously flown Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) laser transmitter for the L2MS instrument. The laser provides two discrete midinfrared wavelengths (2.8 m and 3.4 m) using monolithic optical parametric oscillators and ultraviolet (UV) wavelength (266 nm) on a single laser bench with a straightforward development path toward flight readiness.

  20. A Silicon–Singlet Fission Tandem Solar Cell Exceeding 100% External Quantum Efficiency with High Spectral Stability

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    After 60 years of research, silicon solar cell efficiency saturated close to the theoretical limit, and radically new approaches are needed to further improve the efficiency. The use of tandem systems raises this theoretical power conversion efficiency limit from 34% to 45%. We present the advantageous spectral stability of using voltage-matched tandem solar cells with respect to their traditional series-connected counterparts and experimentally demonstrate how singlet fission can be used to produce simple voltage-matched tandems. Our singlet fission silicon–pentacene tandem solar cell shows efficient photocurrent addition. This allows the tandem system to benefit from carrier multiplication and to produce an external quantum efficiency exceeding 100% at the main absorption peak of pentacene. PMID:28261671

  1. Quantitative high-throughput determination of endogenous retinoids in human plasma using triple-stage liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Gundersen, Thomas E; Bastani, Nasser E; Blomhoff, Rune

    2007-01-01

    A high-throughput ultrasensitive analytical method based on liquid chromatography with positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) coupled to tandem mass spectrometric detection (LC/MS/MS) was developed for the determination of all-trans-4-oxo-retinoic acid (at4oxoRA), 13-cis-4-oxo-retinoic acid (13c4oxoRA), 13-cis-retinoic acid (13cRA), all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) and all-trans-retinol (atROH) in human plasma. A stable isotope of atRA was used as internal standard (IS). The analytes and IS were isolated from 100 microL plasma by acetonitrile mono-phase extraction (MPE) performed in black 96-well microtiterplates. A 100 microL injection was focused on-column and chromatographed on an Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 rapid-resolution high-throughput (RRHT) column with 1.8-microm particles (4.6 mmx50 mm) maintained at 60 degrees C. The initial mobile phase composition was acetonitrile/water/formic acid (10:90:0.1, v/v/v) delivered at 1.8 mL/min. Elution was accomplished by a fast gradient to acetonitrile/methanol/formic acid (90:10:0.1, v/v/v). The method had a chromatographic total run time of 7 min. An Applied Biosystems 4000 Q TRAP linear tandem mass spectrometer equipped with a heated nebulizer (APCI) ionization source was operated in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with the precursor-to-product ion transitions m/z 315.4-->297 (4-oxo-retinoic acids), 301.2-->205 (retinoic acids), 305.0-->209 (IS) and 269.2-->93 (retinol) used for quantification. The assay was fully validated and found to have acceptable accuracy, precision, linearity, sensitivity and selectivity. The mean extraction recoveries from spiked plasma samples were 80-105% for the various retinoids at three different levels. The intra-day accuracy of the assay was within 8% of nominal and intra-day precision was better than 8% coefficient of variance (CV) for retinoic acids. Inter-day precision results for quality control samples run over a 12-day period alongside clinical samples

  2. Experimental optimization of directed field ionization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Zhimin Cheryl; Gregoric, Vincent C.; Carroll, Thomas J.; Noel, Michael W.

    2017-04-01

    The state distribution of an ensemble of Rydberg atoms is commonly measured using selective field ionization. The resulting time resolved ionization signal from a single energy eigenstate tends to spread out due to the multiple avoided Stark level crossings atoms must traverse on the way to ionization. The shape of the ionization signal can be modified by adding a perturbation field to the main field ramp. Here, we present experimental results of the manipulation of the ionization signal using a genetic algorithm. We address how both the genetic algorithm and the experimental parameters were adjusted to achieve an optimized result. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 1607335 and No. 1607377.

  3. Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for direct profiling and imaging of small molecules from raw biological materials

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cha, Sangwon

    2008-01-01

    Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization(MALDI) mass spectrometry(MS) has been widely used for analysis of biological molecules, especially macromolecules such as proteins. However, MALDI MS has a problem in small molecule (less than 1 kDa) analysis because of the signal saturation by organic matrixes in the low mass region. In imaging MS (IMS), inhomogeneous surface formation due to the co-crystallization process by organic MALDI matrixes limits the spatial resolution of the mass spectral image. Therefore, to make laser desorption/ionization (LDI) MS more suitable for mass spectral profiling and imaging of small molecules directly from raw biological tissues, LDI MS protocols with various alternativemore » assisting materials were developed and applied to many biological systems of interest. Colloidal graphite was used as a matrix for IMS of small molecules for the first time and methodologies for analyses of small metabolites in rat brain tissues, fruits, and plant tissues were developed. With rat brain tissues, the signal enhancement for cerebroside species by colloidal graphite was observed and images of cerebrosides were successfully generated by IMS. In addition, separation of isobaric lipid ions was performed by imaging tandem MS. Directly from Arabidopsis flowers, flavonoids were successfully profiled and heterogeneous distribution of flavonoids in petals was observed for the first time by graphite-assisted LDI(GALDI) IMS.« less

  4. Rapid analysis of controlled substances using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez-Cruz, Sandra E

    2006-01-01

    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.

  5. Residual Agar Determination in Bacterial Spores by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wahl, Karen L.; Colburn, Heather A.; Wunschel, David S.

    2010-02-15

    Presented here is an analytical method to detect residual agar from a bacterial spore sample as an indication of culturing on an agar plate. This method is based on the resolubilization of agar polysaccharide from a bacterial spore sample, enzymatic digestion, followed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) analysis for detection of a specific agar fragment ion. A range of Bacillus species and strains were selected to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. The characteristic agar fragment ion was detected in the spores grown on agar that were washed from 1 to 5 times, irradiated or non-irradiated and notmore » in the spores grown in broth. A sample containing approximately 108 spores is currently needed for confident detection of residual agar from culture on agar plates in the presence of bacterial spores with a limit of detection of approximately 1 ppm agar spiked into a broth-grown spore sample. The results of a proficiency test with 42 blinded samples are presented demonstrating the utility of this method with no false positives and only 3 false negatives for samples that were below the detection level of the method as documented.« less

  6. Selectivity of Electronic Coherence and Attosecond Ionization Delays in Strong-Field Double Ionization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kobayashi, Yuki; Reduzzi, Maurizio; Chang, Kristina F.; Timmers, Henry; Neumark, Daniel M.; Leone, Stephen R.

    2018-06-01

    Experiments are presented on real-time probing of coherent electron dynamics in xenon initiated by strong-field double ionization. Attosecond transient absorption measurements allow for characterization of electronic coherences as well as relative ionization timings in multiple electronic states of Xe+ and Xe2 + . A high degree of coherence g =0.4 is observed between P3 2 0-P3 0 0 of Xe2 + , whereas for other possible pairs of states the coherences are below the detection limits of the experiments. A comparison of the experimental results with numerical simulations based on an uncorrelated electron-emission model shows that the coherences produced by strong-field double ionization are more selective than predicted. Surprisingly short ionization time delays, 0.85 fs, 0.64 fs, and 0.75 fs relative to Xe+ formation, are also measured for the P2 3 , P0 3 , and P1 3 states of Xe2 + , respectively. Both the unpredicted selectivity in the formation of coherence and the subfemtosecond time delays of specific states provide new insight into correlated electron dynamics in strong-field double ionization.

  7. Electron Impact Ionization and Dissociative Ionization of C2H2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Srivastava, S. K.

    1995-01-01

    By utilizing a crossed electron beam collision geometry, a combination of time-of-flight (TOF) and quadrupole mass spectrometers, and the relative flow technique1 normalized values of cross sections and appearance energies (AP) were obtained for the formation of singly and multiply ionized species resulting from the ionization and dissociation of C2H2. Details ont he apparatus and technique have been published previously.2,3.

  8. Resonant ionization spectroscopy of autoionizing Rydberg states in cobalt and redetermination of its ionization potential

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Yuan; Gottwald, T.; Mattolat, C.

    We obtained multi-step resonance ionization spectroscopy of cobalt using a hot-cavity laser ion source and three Ti:Sapphire lasers. Furthermore, the photoionization spectra revealed members of five new autoionizing Rydberg series that originate from three different lower levels of 3d 74s5s h 4F 9/2, 3d 74s4d f 4G 11/2, and 3d 74s4d f 4H 13/2 and converge to the first four excited states of singly ionized Co. Our analyses of the Rydberg series yield 63564.689 0.036 cm -1 as the first ionization potential of Co, which is an order of magnitude more accurate than the previous estimation. Using a three-step resonancemore » ionization scheme that employs an autoinizing Rydberg state in the last transition, we obtained an overall ionization efficiency of about 18% for Co.« less

  9. Resonant ionization spectroscopy of autoionizing Rydberg states in cobalt and redetermination of its ionization potential

    DOE PAGES

    Liu, Yuan; Gottwald, T.; Mattolat, C.; ...

    2017-03-20

    We obtained multi-step resonance ionization spectroscopy of cobalt using a hot-cavity laser ion source and three Ti:Sapphire lasers. Furthermore, the photoionization spectra revealed members of five new autoionizing Rydberg series that originate from three different lower levels of 3d 74s5s h 4F 9/2, 3d 74s4d f 4G 11/2, and 3d 74s4d f 4H 13/2 and converge to the first four excited states of singly ionized Co. Our analyses of the Rydberg series yield 63564.689 0.036 cm -1 as the first ionization potential of Co, which is an order of magnitude more accurate than the previous estimation. Using a three-step resonancemore » ionization scheme that employs an autoinizing Rydberg state in the last transition, we obtained an overall ionization efficiency of about 18% for Co.« less

  10. Double-frequency microwave ionization of Na

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruff, G. A.; Dietrick, K. M.; Gallagher, T. F.

    1990-11-01

    We report the ionization of Na atoms by the simultaneous application of microwave fields of two different frequencies. We conclude that the salient features of double-frequency ionization can be readily understood. Both the hydrogenlike ||m||=2 states and the nonhydrogenic ||m||=0 and 1 states ionize when the sum of the field amplitudes, the peak field, reaches the field required for ionization by a single microwave frequency, E=1/9n4 and E=1/3n5, respectively.

  11. A tandem mirror plasma source for hybrid plume plasma studies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yang, T. F.; Chang, F. R.; Miller, R. H.; Wenzel, K. W.; Krueger, W. A.

    1985-01-01

    A tandem mirror device to be considered as a hot plasma source for the hybrid plume rocket concept is discussed. The hot plamsa from this device is injected into an exhaust duct, which will interact with an annular hypersonic layer of neutral gas. The device can be used to study the dynamics of the hybrid plume, and to verify the numerical predictions obtained with computer codes. The basic system design is also geared towards low weight and compactness, and high power density at the exhaust. The basic structure of the device consists of four major subsystems: (1) an electric power supply; (2) a low temperature, high density plasma gun, such as a stream gun, an MPD source or gas cell; (3) a power booster in the form of a tandem mirror machine; and (4) an exhaust nozzle arrangement. The configuration of the tandem mirror section is shown.

  12. Impeller tandem blade study with grid embedding for local grid refinement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bache, George

    1992-01-01

    Flow non-uniformity at the discharge of high power density impellers can result in significant unsteady interactions between impeller blades and downstream diffuser vanes. These interactions result in degradation of both performance and pump reliability. The MSFC Pump Technology Team has recognized the importance of resolving this problem and has thus initiated the development and testing of a high head coefficient impeller. One of the primary goals of this program is to improve impeller performance and discharge flow uniformity. The objective of the present work is complimentary. Flow uniformity and performance gains were sought through the application of a tandem blade arrangement. The approach adopted was to numerically establish flow characteristics at the impeller discharge for the baseline MSFC impeller and then parametrically evaluate tandem blade configurations. A tandem design was sought that improves both impeller performance and discharge uniformity. The Navier-Stokes solver AEROVISC was used to conduct the study. Grid embedding is used to resolve local gradients while attempting to minimize model size. Initial results indicate that significant gains in flow uniformity can be achieved through the tandem blade concept and that blade clocking rather than slot location is the primary driver for flow uniformity.

  13. Progress in Tandem Solar Cells Based on Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chen, Bo; Zheng, Xiaopeng; Bai, Yang

    Owing to their high efficiency, low-cost solution-processability, and tunable bandgap, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) thin films are promising top-cell candidates for integration with bottom-cells based on Si or other low-bandgap solar-cell materials to boost the power conversion efficiency (PCE) beyond the Shockley-Quiesser (S-Q) limit. In this review, recent progress in such tandem solar cells based on the emerging PSCs is summarized and reviewed critically. Notable achievements for different tandem solar cell configurations including mechanically-stacked, optical coupling, and monolithically-integrated with PSCs as top-cells are described in detail. Highly-efficient semitransparent PSC top-cells with high transmittance inmore » near-infrared (NIR) region are critical for tandem solar cells. Different types of transparent electrodes with high transmittance and low sheet-resistance for PSCs are reviewed, which presents a grand challenge for PSCs. The strategies to obtain wide-bandgap PSCs with good photo-stability are discussed. In conclusion, the PCE reduction due to reflection loss, parasitic absorption, electrical loss, and current mismatch are analyzed to provide better understanding of the performance of PSC-based tandem solar cells.« less

  14. Progress in Tandem Solar Cells Based on Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites

    DOE PAGES

    Chen, Bo; Zheng, Xiaopeng; Bai, Yang; ...

    2017-03-06

    Owing to their high efficiency, low-cost solution-processability, and tunable bandgap, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) thin films are promising top-cell candidates for integration with bottom-cells based on Si or other low-bandgap solar-cell materials to boost the power conversion efficiency (PCE) beyond the Shockley-Quiesser (S-Q) limit. In this review, recent progress in such tandem solar cells based on the emerging PSCs is summarized and reviewed critically. Notable achievements for different tandem solar cell configurations including mechanically-stacked, optical coupling, and monolithically-integrated with PSCs as top-cells are described in detail. Highly-efficient semitransparent PSC top-cells with high transmittance inmore » near-infrared (NIR) region are critical for tandem solar cells. Different types of transparent electrodes with high transmittance and low sheet-resistance for PSCs are reviewed, which presents a grand challenge for PSCs. The strategies to obtain wide-bandgap PSCs with good photo-stability are discussed. In conclusion, the PCE reduction due to reflection loss, parasitic absorption, electrical loss, and current mismatch are analyzed to provide better understanding of the performance of PSC-based tandem solar cells.« less

  15. Simulation of Two Dimensional Electrophoresis and Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Teaching Proteomics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fisher, Amanda; Sekera, Emily; Payne, Jill; Craig, Paul

    2012-01-01

    In proteomics, complex mixtures of proteins are separated (usually by chromatography or electrophoresis) and identified by mass spectrometry. We have created 2DE Tandem MS, a computer program designed for use in the biochemistry, proteomics, or bioinformatics classroom. It contains two simulations--2D electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry.…

  16. 29 CFR 1926.53 - Ionizing radiation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 8 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Ionizing radiation. 1926.53 Section 1926.53 Labor... § 1926.53 Ionizing radiation. (a) In construction and related activities involving the use of sources of ionizing radiation, the pertinent provisions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Standards for...

  17. 29 CFR 1926.53 - Ionizing radiation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 8 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Ionizing radiation. 1926.53 Section 1926.53 Labor... § 1926.53 Ionizing radiation. (a) In construction and related activities involving the use of sources of ionizing radiation, the pertinent provisions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Standards for...

  18. 29 CFR 1926.53 - Ionizing radiation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 8 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Ionizing radiation. 1926.53 Section 1926.53 Labor... § 1926.53 Ionizing radiation. (a) In construction and related activities involving the use of sources of ionizing radiation, the pertinent provisions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Standards for...

  19. An approach for configuring space photovoltaic tandem arrays based on cell layer performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Flora, C. S.; Dillard, P. A.

    1991-01-01

    Meeting solar array performance goals of 300 W/Kg requires use of solar cells with orbital efficiencies greater than 20 percent. Only multijunction cells and cell layers operating in tandem produce this required efficiency. An approach for defining solar array design concepts that use tandem cell layers involve the following: transforming cell layer performance at standard test conditions to on-orbit performance; optimizing circuit configuration with tandem cell layers; evaluating circuit sensitivity to cell current mismatch; developing array electrical design around selected circuit; and predicting array orbital performance including seasonal variations.

  20. Atmospheric sampling glow discharge ionization source

    DOEpatents

    McLuckey, Scott A.; Glish, Gary L.

    1989-01-01

    An atmospheric sampling glow discharge ionization source that can be used in combination with an analytical instrument which operates at high vacuum, such as a mass spectrometer. The atmospheric sampling glow discharge ionization source comprises a chamber with at least one pair of electrodes disposed therein, an inlet for a gaseous sample to be analyzed and an outlet communicating with an analyzer which operates at subatmospheric pressure. The ionization chamber is maintained at a pressure below atmospheric pressure, and a voltage difference is applied across the electrodes to induce a glow discharge between the electrodes, so that molecules passing through the inlet are ionized by the glow discharge and directed into the analyzer. The ionization source accepts the sample under atmospheric pressure conditions and processes it directly into the high vacuum instrument, bridging the pressure gap and drawing off unwanted atmospheric gases. The invention also includes a method for analyzing a gaseous sample using the glow discharge ionization source described above.