Environmentally friendly solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the determination of biogenic amines in fish samples

Development and validation of a rapid and simple HILIC-MS/MS method for the determination of biogenic amines in tuna fish

The production of biogenic amines (BAs), which are markers of both quality and safety in fish and fishery products, is influenced by the harvesting technique, handling, and other operations including those carried out on board the vessel. Scombroid dark-meat fish (e.g. tuna) are the fish species most frequently linked to histamine poisoning. The most commonly found BAs in fish are histamine, tyramine, putrescine, and cadaverine, which are produced when microbes decarboxylate the corresponding free amino acids. In this study, a rapid and cost-effective HILIC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of putrescine, cadaverine, histamine and tyramine in tuna samples. A simple sample preparation procedure was followed using the solvent mixture MeOH/H2O (50/50, v/v), 0.1 % acetic acid for protein precipitation and analyte extraction. Intra- and inter-day accuracy, expressed as %Recovery (%R), ranged from 88.0 % (Cad) to 102.7 % (Tyr) and from 85.0 % (Cad) to 99.8 % (Tyr), respectively. Intra- and inter-day precision, expressed as %Relative Standard Deviation (%RSD), ranged from 0.4 % (Tyr, Put) to 3.3 % (His) and from 0.7 % (Tyr) to 5.0 % (Cad), respectively. Limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) varied from 0.0009 to 0.0940 mg/kg and from 0.0030 mg/kg to 0.3100 mg/kg, respectively, depending on the analyte. Regarding the potential toxic effects linked to biogenic amines in foods, samples examined in this study showed no risk. The proposed method is an important analytical tool for routine analysis of BAs in fish products.

Comparison of Mobile Phone and CCD Cameras for Electrochemiluminescent Detection of Biogenic Amines

Biogenic amines are an important and widely studied class of molecules due to their link to the physiological processes of food-related illnesses and histamine poisoning. Electrochemiluminescent (ECL) detection offers an inexpensive and portable analytical method of detection for biogenic amines when coupled with recent advancements in low-cost carbon-based electrodes and a smartphone camera. In this work, a mobile phone camera was evaluated against a piece of conventional instrumentation, the charge-coupled device, for the detection of ECL from the reaction of biogenic amines with the luminescent compound tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II). Assisted by a 3D-printed light-tight housing, the mobile phone achieved limits of detection of 127, 425 and 421 μM for spermidine, putrescine, and histamine, respectively. The mobile phone's analytical figures of merit were lesser than the CCD camera but were still within the range to detect contamination. In an exploration of real-world samples, the mobile phone was able to determine the contents of amines in skim milk on par with that of a CCD camera.

Study the key biogenic amines in luncheon meat by capillary electrophoresis with indirect UV detection

In this work, a simple, accurate and rapid capillary electrophoresis with indirect ultraviolet detection method was developed to simultaneous separate 10 biogenic amines. It was found that β-cyclodextrin and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid facilitated the separation of tryptamine and tyramine, spermidine and spermine, respectively. The optimized background electrolytes were consisted of 20.0 mmol/L imidazole, 8.0 mmol/L β-cyclodextrin, 0.5 mmol/L ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid and 6.0% methanol (at pH 4.50 adjusted with acetic acid). The total analysis time of this method was less than 11 min with limits of detection in the range of 0.14-1.98 mg/L. The interday relative standard deviation of migration time and peak area were less than 1.36% and 4.44% (n = 6), respectively. To verify the applicability, this method was carried out to analyze biogenic amines in commercial luncheon meat samples. Due to the complex composition of luncheon meat, the real samples were rinsed with deionized water to reduce the influence of matrices. It was found that both storage temperature and protein content of the luncheon meat samples affected the biogenic amines content during storage. The results of this study are instructive for the storage of high-protein meat products. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Ratiometric Monitoring of Biogenic Amines by a Simple Ammonia-Response Aiegen

Herein, we developed a paper-based smart sensing chip for the real-time, visual, and non-destructive monitoring of food freshness using a ratiometric aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen (i.e., H⁺MQ, protonated 4-(triphenylamine)styryl)quinoxalin-2(1H)-one) as pH sensitive indicators. Upon exposure to amine vapors, the deprotonation of H⁺MQ occurs and triggers its color change from blue to yellow, with the fluorescence redshift from blue to amaranth. Consequently, we successfully achieved the sensitive detection of ammonia vapors by recording the bimodal color and fluorescence changes. Given the high sensitivity of H⁺MQ to ammonia vapor, a paper-based smart sensor chip was prepared by depositing H⁺MQ on the commercial qualitative filter paper through a physical deposition strategy. After being placed inside the sealed containers, the developed H⁺MQ-loaded paper chip was applied to the real-time monitoring of biogenic amine contents according to its color difference and ratio fluorescence change. The detection results were further compared with those obtained by the high-performance liquid chromatography method, which verified the feasibility of the designed paper chip for the food spoilage degree evaluation. Briefly, this work indicates that the designed H⁺MQ-loaded paper chip could be a promising approach for improving food freshness monitoring.

An immunochromatographic sensor for ultrasensitive and direct detection of histamine in fish

To ensure food quality and prevent histamine (HA) toxicity, a rapid and direct method of detecting HA is required. In this work, we prepared a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against HA using a hapten produced by the introduction of a phenyl-containing linker. The novel mAb exhibited high sensitivity against HA as determined by ELISA, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 21.51 ng/mL. A gold nanoparticle-based immunosensor was fabricated for rapid detection of HA in fish samples. After optimizing the immunosensor, a visual limit of detection (LOD) and a calculated LOD were 0.25 mg/kg and 10.48 μg/kg for HA, respectively. Recovery rates from the spiked fish samples ranged from 87.33% to 104.67% with the coefficient of variation below 10.82%. Concurrently, the whole process in testing real sample was completed within 15 min, and all results were well confirmed and comparable by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and the commercial test strip. These data revealed that the proposed immunosensor could be used as a monitoring tool for the rapid and direct detection of HA in fish samples.

Influence of Sample Matrix on Determination of Histamine in Fish by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometric Modelling

Histamine fish poisoning is a foodborne illness caused by the consumption of fish products with high histamine content. Although intoxication mechanisms and control strategies are well known, it remains by far the most common cause of seafood-related health problems. Since conventional methods for histamine testing are difficult to implement in high-throughput quality control laboratories, simple and rapid methods for histamine testing are needed to ensure the safety of seafood products in global trade. In this work, the previously developed SERS method for the determination of histamine was tested to determine the influence of matrix effect on the performance of the method and to investigate the ability of different chemometric tools to overcome matrix effect issues. Experiments were performed on bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) and bonito (Sarda sarda) samples exposed to varying levels of microbial activity. Spectral analysis confirmed the significant effect of sample matrix, related to different fish species, as well as the extent of microbial activity on the predictive ability of PLSR models with R² of best model ranging from 0.722–0.945. Models obtained by ANN processing of factors derived by PCA from the raw spectra of the samples showed excellent prediction of histamine, regardless of fish species and extent of microbial activity (R² of validation > 0.99).

Development of Marine-Derived Compounds for Cancer Therapy

Cancer has always been a threat to human health with its high morbidity and mortality rates. Traditional therapy, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, plays a key role in cancer treatment. However, it is not able to prevent tumor recurrence, drug resistance and treatment side effects, which makes it a very attractive challenge to search for new effective and specific anticancer drugs. Nature is a valuable source of multiple pharmaceuticals, and most of the anticancer drugs are natural products or derived from them. Marine-derived compounds, such as nucleotides, proteins, peptides and amides, have also shed light on cancer therapy, and they are receiving a fast-growing interest due to their bioactive properties. Their mechanisms contain anti-angiogenic, anti-proliferative and anti-metastasis activities; cell cycle arrest; and induction of apoptosis. This review provides an overview on the development of marine-derived compounds with anticancer properties, both their applications and mechanisms, and discovered technologies.

Determination of biogenic amines in alcoholic beverages using a novel fluorogenic compound as derivatizing reagent

Biogenic amines (BAs) are organic nitrogenous compounds that are responsible for several biological events. If their concentration reaches the threshold level, it can cause mild to serious health problems in human. A novel bis-styrylphenyl Meldrum's acid derivative (BSMAD) was synthesized and served as a fluorescent turn-on pre-column derivatizing reagent for the quantitative analysis of BAs. A method for the determination of BA by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was established, which has a low detection limit (0.4 nmol L⁻¹), excellent linearity (R² ≥ 0.9946) and repeatability (RSD ≤ 3.7% intra-day, RSD ≤ 5.8% inter-day). The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of BAs in several alcoholic beverages, including yellow wine, red wine, cooking wine, and beer. Satisfactory recoveries were obtained in the range of 94.6–100.5%. Compared with other methods, this pre-column derivatization method using BSMAD is simple, reliable, highly sensitive, and of low interference, providing an effective method for future studies of BAs in different matrices.

A novel fluorescent turn-on probe was synthesized and served as a pre-column derivatizing reagent for quantitative analysis of biogenic amines, then a method was established and used in their quantification in several alcoholic beverages.

[Recent advances in sample preparation technologies for analysis of harmful substances in aquatic products]

Aquatic products, which are among the most important sources of animal protein, contain proteins, vitamins, and a variety of trace elements, thus occupying an indispensable part of a reasonable diet. China is the largest consumer market of aquatic products in the world. The quality and safety of aquatic products are closely related not only to the healthy development of the aquaculture industry, but also to people's health. However, the presence of harmful substances has a bearing on the quality and safety of aquatic products in the overall process, including breeding, processing, storage, and transportation. These harmful substances are enriched in aquatic products and are transferred to humans via the food chain. Accurate determination of such harmful substances in aquatic product samples is imperative because of their complex matrices and extremely low concentrations. Many efficient sample preparation techniques such as liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, and QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method) with different configurations have been developed and widely employed for preconcentration in different matrices of aquatic products. Meanwhile, solid-phase microextraction has been demonstrated to be advantageous for some volatile and ultra-trace harmful substances. Suitable sample preparation techniques are important for effectively removing matrix interferences as well as for improving the sensitivity and accuracy of the method. It is important to develop appropriate sample preparation techniques for different target compounds in aquatic products. The harmful substances in aquatic products can be segregated into three categories according to their sources: (1) environmental pollutants in aquatic products; (2) substances acquired during aquaculture, transportation, and processing; (3) biotoxins in aquatic products. This article reviews the progress in sample pretreatment techniques for three harmful substances in aquatic products over the past decade. Various sample pretreatment techniques have been summarized and described, including liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, solid-phase microextraction, QuEChERS, and magnetic solid-phase extraction. In addition, the merits and demerits of these techniques and future research directions are discussed. Finally, we reviewed the progress in functionalized materials for the preparation of aquatic product samples. With the increasing demand for aquatic products, quick, sensitive, and practical detection methods, such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are gaining importance. SERS has great potential for fast and accurate on-site detection of harmful substances in aquatic products. Several nondestructive sample pretreatment techniques have also been developed for harmful substances in aquatic products. The application and development of these techniques will guarantee the safety of aquatic products. Moreover, in vivo solid-phase microextraction is a potential method for aquatic product analysis. This technique integrates sampling, extraction, and enrichment into a single step, thus significantly reducing the processing time, labor, and cost. Overall, with the development and application of sophisticated materials and techniques, we can expect theoretical and practical advances in aquatic product analysis.

Direct sample preparation and simultaneous perfluoroacylation - Trimethylsilylation of biogenic monoamines along with their acidic metabolites for a single step analysis by GC-MS

The GC-MS quantification of biogenic monoamines (BMAs), together with their acidic metabolites (ACMEs), in a single step, is presented here for the first time. This novel principle is based on the exceptional reactivity of the hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) and perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA) couples [1,2], resulting in the simultaneous trimethylsilylation and acylation of BMAs and ACMEs. For this basic study, tyramine (TYR), 3-methoxytyramine (3-MeTYR), dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EP), normetanephrine (NORMNE), norepinephrine (NOREP), tryptamine (T), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MeT), serotonin (ST), and their ACMEs, such as homovanillic acid (HVA), vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were selected. These three ACMEs were derived from 3-MeTYR, NORMNE and ST, respectively. The mass fragmentation properties of the fully derivatized products proved to be of stoichiometric distribution. Informative high masses were obtained: such as the molecular ions [M]⁺⁼ and/or their [M-CH3]⁺ alternatives. The exceptions were EP and NOREP which decomposed to the same specific, abundant mass of m/z 355 representing the C₇H₃-tri-OTMS ions formed by the loss of their nitrogen-containing moieties. The general rule of this new principle was confirmed by using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), pentafluoropropionic acid (PFPA), or heptafluorobutyric acid (HFBA) with HMDS in parallel tests. In all three cases, derivatives of close retention properties in a stoichiometric manner were obtained. On the basis of the optimum separation characteristics between the BMA-ACME pairs, the HMDS & PFPA couple was preferred as the reagent of choice. Method validation was carried out, both with model solutions and in the presence of the urine matrices (without any preliminary extraction). Analytical performance characteristics for the model solutions like repeatability (RSD% 3.88-6.4), linearity (R² 0.991-0.999) and limit of quantitation (LOQ 8.8-103 ng/mL) were determined. Analytical performance characteristics for urine matrices were calculated by using the standard addition method applying the urine of a healthy volunteer and also analyzing urines of patients diagnosed with neurological diseases.

The Importance of Derivatizing Reagent in Chromatography Applications for Biogenic Amine Detection in Food and Beverages

Biogenic amines (BA) are chemical compounds formed in foods that contain protein, allowing the foods to undergo a bacterial degradation process. Biogenic amines are labeled as toxic food because its consumption exceeding the FDA regulation (50 mg/kg) can be harmful to humans. Some countries also have regulations that prohibit the consumption of biogenic amines in high concentrations, especially histamine. The chromatography methods generally applied by researchers are liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC), where the use of a derivatization reagent is necessary to increase their sensitivity. This review is based on past and present studies about biogenic amine detection related to food samples. The rationale of this study is also to provide data on the comparison of the analytical approaches between LC and GC methods. Furthermore, the various approaches of biogenic amine determination and the most applied analytical methods have been reviewed.

Developing and Validating a UPLC-MS Method with a StageTip-Based Extraction for the Biogenic Amines Analysis in Fish

To effectively extract biogenic amines (BAs) from complex food matrices is an important issue. In this study, a stop-and-go-extraction tip (StageTip)-based method for simultaneous enrichment of six BAs including histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, tryptamine, and β-phenylethylamine in fish samples was developed and optimized. This StageTip-based BAs extraction method required short extraction time, small sample size, and minimal consumption of organic solvents. In addition, an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was used to identify and quantify BAs without derivatization. Target recovery efficiencies of BAs from spiked fish samples ranged from 84% to 110%. Linear regression models were established to determine BAs in the range of 0.4 to 3.0 mg/L (R² > 0.995). Good repeatability was obtained with relative standard deviation of peak areas (1.17 to 5.61%) and retention time (0.09 to 0.20%). High sensitivity was achieved for the detection of six BAs (0.064 to 1.00 ng/L for the limit of detection, 0.10 to 5 ng/L for the limit of quantification). The proposed method had an obvious advantage in the analysis of BAs in complex food matrices such as fish tissues since it could reflect the subtle distribution of BAs from one fish fillet. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: A StageTip-based BAs enrichment combined with UPLC-MS analysis method was developed and optimized, which was low-cost, environmentally friendly, and with good analytical performances. As such, it has the potential to become a powerful tool for the analysis of BAs in different complex food matrices.

Electrophoretic analysis of polyamines in exhaled breath condensate based on gold-nanoparticles microextraction coupled with field-amplified sample stacking

In this work, citrate-capped gold-nanoparticles (citrate-AuNPs) have been firstly used for selective extraction of trace polyamines, putrescine (Put) and cadaverine (Cad), followed by field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) coupled with capillary electrophoresis and capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (FASS-CE-C⁴D). Put and Cad were extracted by electrostatic attractions between the amine group of the polyamines and the citrate ligands adsorbed on the surfaces of AuNPs. AuNPs microextraction (AuNPs-ME) effectively shortened preparation time (50 min) by introducing ultrasound, and the required sample extraction volume was only 1 mL. Furthermore, a synergistic enrichment strategy based on off-line AuNPs-ME and on-line FASS significantly improved the detection sensitivity, making the enrichment factors up to 1726-1887 times. Under the optimum conditions, Put and Cad could be well separated from the potential coexisting substances and then directly determined by CE-C⁴D without derivatization. Due to its low sample consumption, high sensitivity (LODs: 0.070-0.17 ng mL^-1), and acceptable recoveries (90-105%), this AuNPs-ME/FASS-CE-C⁴D method provides a rapid, economical and eco-friendly approach for direct determination of polyamines in human exhaled breath condensate, and has potential application prospects in preliminary noninvasive diagnosis of oral and respiratory inflammation.

Sol-gel-adsorbent-coated extraction needles to detect volatile compounds in spoiled fish

Volatile compounds generated by fish spoilage were investigated by an inside-needle microextraction method followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. The inside of a needle was coated with an adsorbent to extract the target analytes from the headspace of the sample. The examined adsorbents included β-cyclodextrin, polystyrene resin cross-linked with 1% divinylbenzene, and polyethylene glycol mixed with polydimethylsiloxane. The investigated volatile compounds generated by fish spoilage were acetone, 2-butanone, 2-butanol, 2-propanol, dimethyl disulfide, acetic acid, and benzaldehyde. The analysis conditions for the sorption and desorption processes were optimized. Each optimized condition was validated by determining the limit of detection and the limit of quantitation from the calibration curves, as well as the recovery, reproducibility, and concentration factors. As a result, all of the fabricated needles afforded successful recoveries, above 90%, with relative standard deviations below 10%. In particular, cyclodextrin and polystyrene resin cross-linked with 1% divinylbenzene mixed with polydimethylsiloxane show good sensitivities and concentration factors for the standard volatile compounds. The storage of fresh mackerel and salted mackerel at room temperature for 14 days caused the concentrations of dimethyl disulfide and acetic acid to significantly increase while those of acetone, 2-butanone, 2-propanol, and 2-butanol changed only slightly.

Langmuir–Blodgett films of perylene bisimide derivatives and fluorescent recognition of diamines

A fluorescent film was constructed with the well-known Langmuir–Blodgett technique, and it showed exceptional sensing performances for some diamine vapors.