Characterization of Ce(3+) -tributyl phosphate coordination complexes produced by fused droplet electrospray ionization with a target capillary

Coordination complexes containing Ce(III) and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) in the 1+, 2+ and 3+ charge states were generated using both direct infusion electrospray ionization (ESI) and fused droplet (FD) ESI using a target capillary, in which the analyte solutions are impinged by the ESI droplets. The same coordination complexes were produced in each experiment, and their relative abundances were also very close, suggesting that similar processes are occurring in both experiments. The ion species formed in both experiments have the general formula [Ce(NO(3) )(m=0-2) (TBP)(n=3-7) ]((3-m)+) . The appearance of abundant 1+ and 2+ ion pair complexes indicated that the ESI process was modifying the ion populations in the original solutions, which contain predominantly 3+ and 2+ species. The FD ESI experiments were less sensitive for coordination complexes compared to direct infusion ESI; however, mid-picomolar quantities of coordination complexes were measured using the target capillary, indicating that sensitivity would be sufficient for measuring species in many industrial separations processes.

Development of gold nanoparticle-based rapid detection kit for melamine in milk products

A reliable and sensitive kit for the rapid detection of melamine (Mel) was developed. The kit is based on gold nanoparticle (Au NP) probe and includes a standard colorimetric card. The Au NPs were prepared by sodium borohydride reduction and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, which revealed particle sizes of approximately 5 nm. The performance of the kit in terms of aggregation kinetics, cross-reactivity, anti-interference, and sample pretreatment was investigated. The standard colorimetric card was then fabricated by chromatic aberration of a series of standard Mel-spiked milk reacts with the 5 nm Au NPs. The working range of the kit is 1-120 mg/L, and its performance is visibly more rapid and reliable by comparison with the standard colorimetric card. As low as 1 mg/L of Mel levels in milk can be determined, with the assay taking only about 10 min, including sample pretreatment. The kit can be stored for a year at room temperature. Samples were also detected by the kit, yielding results close to those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Thus, the kit is applicable to qualitative and semiquantitative field detection, as well as naked-eye screening without the aid of any instrumentation.

Fast quantitative determination of melamine and its derivatives by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A simple, sensitive and fast method for the determination of melamine and its derivatives in milk powder using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was developed. Neither time-consuming sample preparation, nor special target plates, or other extra equipment are necessary. The common matrix sinapinic acid (SA) was used with a dried-droplet preparation. Detection limits (signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio = 3) for standard solutions of melamine, ammeline and cyanuric acid were 10, 25 and 10 µg/L, respectively. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for melamine was 25 µg/L and excellent linearity (R(2): 0.9990) was maintained over the range of 10-2000 µg/L. Ammeline and cyanuric acid were analyzed with an LOQ of 50 µg/L and also excellent linearity (R(2): 0.9997 and R(2): 0.9998). Good accuracy and precision were obtained for all concentrations within the range of the standard curve. The developed method was successfully used for the determination of melamine, ammeline and cyanuric acid in milk powder samples with a simple sample preparation. The LOQ of melamine was 0.5 µg/g. Ammeline and cyanuric acid were detectable at 0.5 and 5 µg/g. This method showed excellent accuracy, precision and linearity and significantly reduces the needed analysis time, as only approximately 10 s/sample measuring time is required. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first published method to quantify melamine and derivatives by MALDI-TOF-MS.

Trace detection of hormones and sulfonamides in viscous cosmetic products by neutral desorption extractive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive method based on a geometry-independent neutral desorption (GIND) in combination with extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) has been developed for fast detection of illicit additives such as sulfonamides and hormones in highly viscous cosmetic products. The method gave a low limit of detection (LOD) (in the range of 0.001-1 ng/g), acceptable relative standard deviation (RSD=6.8-11.4%) and reasonable recovery (87-116%) for direct measuring of nine types of hormones and sulfonamides in the cosmetic products. The average measurement time for two types of samples was less than 1 min. Trace amounts of analytes in commercial cosmetic products have been quantitatively detected, without any sample pretreatment. The experimental results showed that non-volatile illicit additives such as sulfonamides and hormones could be sensitively liberated using the GIND device for quantitative detection from the highly viscous cosmetic products, demonstrating that GIND-EESI-MS is a promising tool for high throughput, sensitive and quantitative analysis of highly complex viscous samples.

Neutral desorption extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for fast screening sunscreen agents in cream cosmetic products

High throughput analysis of sunscreen agents present in cream cosmetic has been demonstrated, typically 2 samples per minute, using neutral desorption extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ND-EESI-MS) without sample pretreatment. For the targeted compounds such as 4-Aminobenzoic acid and oxybenzone, ND-EESI-MS method provided linear signal responses in the range of 1-100 ppb. Limits of detection (LOD) of the method were estimated at sub-ppb levels for the analytes tested. Reasonable relative standard deviation (RSD=8.4-16.0%) was obtained as a result of 10 independent measurements for commercial cosmetics samples spiked with each individual sunscreen agents at 1-10 ppb. Acceptable recoveries were achieved in the range of 87-116% for direct analysis of commercial cream cosmetic samples. The experimental data demonstrate that ND-EESI-MS is a useful tool for high throughput screening of sunscreen agents in highly viscous cream cosmetic products, with the capability to obtain quantitative information of the analytes.

Visual detection of melamine in milk samples based on label-free and labeled gold nanoparticles

Melamine that can cause serious damage to the organs of animal or human beings was found to bind to polythymine via hydrogen bonding. With this novel discovery, colorimetric detection of melamine based on label-free and labeled gold nanoparticles was developed, respectively. Both of the methods revealed good selectivity for melamine over other components that may exist in milk and good anti-influence ability. The raw milk samples were pretreated according to the National standard method combined with a solid phase extraction monolithic column. The accurate quantification of melamine as low as 41.7 nM and 46.5 nM was obtained, respectively. It also guarantees fast and reliable readout with naked eyes, making visual detection possible. Further comparison between label-free and labeled based methods was discussed in this paper.

Gold nanoparticles for the colorimetric and fluorescent detection of ions and small organic molecules

In recent years, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have drawn considerable research attention in the fields of catalysis, drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics, therapy and biosensors due to their unique optical and electronic properties. In this review, we summarized recent advances in the development of AuNP-based colorimetric and fluorescent assays for ions including cations (such as Hg(2+), Cu(2+), Pb(2+), As(3+), Ca(2+), Al(3+), etc) and anions (such as NO(2)(-), CN(-), PF(6)(-), F(-), I(-), oxoanions), and small organic molecules (such as cysteine, homocysteine, trinitrotoluene, melamine and cocaine, ATP, glucose, dopamine and so forth). Many of these species adversely affect human health and the environment. Moreover, we paid particular attention to AuNP-based colorimetric and fluorescent assays in practical applications.

Analysis of amphiphilic lipids and hydrophobic proteins using nonresonant femtosecond laser vaporization with electrospray post-ionization

Amphiphilic lipids and hydrophobic proteins are vaporized at atmospheric pressure using nonresonant 70 femtosecond (fs) laser pulses followed by electrospray post-ionization prior to being transferred into a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for mass analysis. Measurements of molecules on metal and transparent dielectric surfaces indicate that vaporization occurs through a nonthermal mechanism. The molecules analyzed include the lipids 1-monooleoyl-rac-glycerol, 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and the hydrophobic proteins gramicidin A, B, and C. Vaporization of lipids from blood and milk are also presented to demonstrate that lipids in complex systems can be transferred intact into the gas phase for mass analysis.

Differentiation of human kidney stones induced by melamine and uric acid using surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Clinically obtained human kidney stones of different pathogenesis were dissolved in acetic acid/methanol solutions and then rapidly analyzed by surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (SDAPCI-MS) without any desalination treatment. The mass spectral fingerprints of six groups of kidney stone samples were rapidly recorded in the mass range of m/z 50-400. A set of ten melamine-induced kidney stone samples and nine uric acid derived kidney stone samples were successfully differentiated from other groups by principal component analysis of SDAPCI-MS fingerprints upon positive-ion detection mode. In contrast, the mass spectra recorded using negative-ion detection mode did not give enough information to differentiate those stone samples. The results showed that in addition to the melamine, the chemical compounds enwrapped in the melamine-induced kidney stone samples differed from other kidney stone samples, providing useful hints for studying on the formation mechanisms of melamine-induced kidney stones. This study also provides useful information on establishing a MS-based platform for rapid analysis of the melamine-induced human kidney stones at molecular levels.

Contribution of liquid-phase and gas-phase ionization in extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of primary amines

In this study, we investigated how binary mixtures of compounds influence each other's signal intensity in electrospray ionization (ESI), extractive electrospray ionization (EESI) and secondary electrospray ionization (SESI) experiments. The experiments were conducted using a series of homologous primary amines (from 1-butyl to 1- decylamine). In every experiment, two of the amines were present, and all 21 possible combinations were measured with EESI, ESI and SESI as ionization sources. Except for the volatility, which decreases with increasing molecular weight, the physico-chemical properties of the amines are very similar, so that the intensity ratio obtained in each experiment provides information about discrimination effects occurring during the ionization process. The results show that for the relatively volatile compounds investigated, the EESI ionization mechanism resembles the SESI-like gas-phase charge transfer more than ESI-like analyte ionization in solution. In addition, almost no discrimination effects were observed in the spectra obtained in EESI experiments. Quantitative EESI experiments with nonylamine as internal standard showed that EESI is capable of providing both more accurate and more precise results than SESI and ESI.

Gas-phase acid-base properties of melamine and cyanuric acid

The thermochemical properties of melamine and cyanuric acid were characterized using mass spectrometry measurements along with computational studies. A triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer was employed with the application of the extended Cooks kinetic method. The proton affinity (PA), gas-phase basicity (GB), and protonation entropy (Δ(p)S) of melamine were determined to be 226.2 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, 218.4 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, and 26.2 ± 2.0 cal/mol K, respectively. The deprotonation enthalpy (Δ(acid)H), gas-phase acidity (Δ(acid)G), and deprotonation entropy (Δ(acid)S) of cyanuric acid were determined to be 330.7 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, 322.9 ± 2.0 kcal/mol, and 26.1 ± 2.0 cal/mol K, respectively. The geometries and energetics of melamine, cyanuric acid, and related ionic species were calculated at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level of theory. The computationally predicted proton affinity of melamine (225.9 kcal/mol) and gas-phase deprotonation enthalpy of cyanuric acid (328.4 kcal/mol) agree well with the experimental results. Melamine is best represented as the imide-like triazine-triamine form and the triazine nitrogen is more basic than the amino group nitrogen. Cyanuric acid is best represented as the keto-like tautomer and the N-H group is the most probable proton donor.

Ultrasonication-assisted spray ionization mass spectrometry for the analysis of biomolecules in solution

In this paper, we describe a novel technique--ultrasonication-assisted spray ionization (UASI)--for the generation of singly charged and multiply charged gas-phase ions of biomolecules (e.g., amino acids, peptides, and proteins) from solution; this method employs a low-frequency ultrasonicator (ca. 40 kHz) in place of the high electric field required for electrospray ionization. When a capillary inlet is immersed into a sample solution within a vial subjected to ultrasonication, the solution is continually directed to the capillary outlet as a result of ultrasonication-assisted capillary action; an ultrasonic spray of the sample solution is emitted at the outlet of the tapered capillary, leading to the ready generation of gas-phase ions. Using an ion trap mass spectrometer, we found that singly charged amino acid and multiply charged peptides/proteins ions were generated through this single-step operation, which is both straightforward and extremely simple to perform. The setup is uncomplicated: only a low-frequency ultrasonicator and a tapered capillary are required to perform UASI. The mass spectra of the multiply charged peptides and proteins obtained from sample solutions subjected to UASI resemble those observed in ESI mass spectra.

Simultaneous sampling of volatile and non-volatile analytes in beer for fast fingerprinting by extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

By gently bubbling nitrogen gas through beer, an effervescent beverage, both volatile and non-volatile compounds can be simultaneously sampled in the form of aerosol. This allows for fast (within seconds) fingerprinting by extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) in both negative and positive ion mode, without the need for any sample pre-treatment such as degassing and dilution. Trace analytes such as volatile esters (e.g., ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate), free fatty acids (e.g., caproic acid, caprylic acid, and capric acid), semi/non-volatile organic/inorganic acids (e.g., lactic acid), and various amino acids, commonly present in beer at the low parts per million or at sub-ppm levels, were detected and identified based on tandem MS data. Furthermore, the appearance of solvent cluster ions in the mass spectra gives insight into the sampling and ionization mechanisms: aerosol droplets containing semi/non-volatile substances are thought to be generated via bubble bursting at the surface of the liquid; these neutral aerosol droplets then collide with the charged primary electrospray ionization droplets, followed by analyte extraction, desolvation, ionization, and MS detection. With principal component analysis, several beer samples were successfully differentiated. Therefore, the present study successfully extends the applicability of EESI-MS to the direct analysis of complex liquid samples with high gas content.

Rapid determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in milk powder using direct analysis in real time-time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The use of fast semi-automated method employing direct analysis in real time (DART) ion source coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) for analysis of melamine (MEL) and cyanuric acid (CYA) in milk powder and milk based products has been demonstrated in this study. Simple sample extraction procedure employing methanol-5% aqueous formic acid mixture, which enabled disruption of melamine-cyanurate complex, was followed by direct, high-throughput (30s per run) examination of sample extracts spread on a glass rod by mass spectrometry under ambient conditions, without any prior chromatographic separation. After optimization of instrument parameter settings, limits of detection (LODs) 170 and 450microgkg(-1) were achieved for MEL and CYA, respectively. In the final phase of study, the possibility of minimizing spectral interference, thus improving method performance characteristics through the use of ultrahigh resolving power offered by Orbitrap based mass analyzer is demonstrated.

Ambient ionization mass spectrometry

Mass spectrometric ionization methods that operate under ambient conditions and require minimal or no sample pretreatment have attracted much attention in such fields as biomedicine, food safety, antiterrorism, pharmaceuticals, and environmental pollution. These technologies usually involve separate ionization and sample-introduction events, allowing independent control over each set of conditions. Ionization is typically performed under ambient conditions through use of existing electrospray ionization (ESI) or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) techniques. Rapid analyses of gas, liquid, and solid samples are possible with the adoption of various sample-introduction methods. This review sorts different ambient ionization techniques into two main subcategories, primarily on the basis of the ionization processes, that are further differentiated in terms of the approach used for sampling.