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Zhang W, Xu L, Zhang H. Recent advances in mass spectrometry techniques for atmospheric chemistry research on molecular-level. MASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS 2024; 43:1091-1134. [PMID: 37439762 DOI: 10.1002/mas.21857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
The Earth's atmosphere is composed of an enormous variety of chemical species associated with trace gases and aerosol particles whose composition and chemistry have critical impacts on the Earth's climate, air quality, and human health. Mass spectrometry analysis as a powerful and popular analytical technique has been widely developed and applied in atmospheric chemistry for decades. Mass spectrometry allows for effective detection, identification, and quantification of a broad range of organic and inorganic chemical species with high sensitivity and resolution. In this review, we summarize recently developed mass spectrometry techniques, methods, and applications in atmospheric chemistry research in the past several years on molecular-level. Specifically, new developments of ion-molecule reactors, various soft ionization methods, and unique coupling with separation techniques are highlighted. The new mass spectrometry applications in laboratory studies and field measurements focused on improving the detection limits for traditional and emerging volatile organic compounds, characterizing multiphase highly oxygenated molecules, and monitoring particle bulk and surface compositions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Lu Xu
- NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Haofei Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
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Thoben C, Hartner NT, Hitzemann M, Raddatz CR, Eckermann M, Belder D, Zimmermann S. Regarding the Influence of Additives and Additional Plasma-Induced Chemical Ionization on Adduct Formation in ESI/IMS/MS. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2023; 34:857-868. [PMID: 37052511 PMCID: PMC10161231 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.2c00348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) separate ions based on their ion mobility, which depends mainly on collision cross-section, mass, and charge of the ions. However, the performance is often hampered in electrospray ionization (ESI) by the appearance of multiple ion mobility peaks in the spectrum for the same analyte due to clustering and additional sodium adducts. In this work, we investigate the influence of solvents and buffer additives on the detected ion mobility peaks using ESI. Additionally, we investigate the effects of an additional chemical ionization (CI) induced by plasma ionization on the ions formed by electrospray. For this purpose, we coupled our high-resolution IMS with a resolving power of Rp = 100 to a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Depending on the analyte and the chosen additives, the ionization process can be influenced during the electrospray process. For the herbicide isoproturon, the addition of 5 mM sodium acetate results in the formation of the sodium adduct [M + Na]+, which is reflected in the ion mobility K0 of 1.22 cm2/(V·s). In contrast, the addition of 5 mM ammonium acetate yields the protonated species [M + H]+ and a correspondingly higher K0 of 1.29 cm2/(V·s). In some cases, as with the herbicide pyrimethanil, the addition of sodium acetate can completely suppress ionizations. By carefully choosing the solvent additive for ESI-IMS or additional CI, the formation of different ion mobility peaks can be observed. This can facilitate the assignment of ions to ion mobility peaks using IMS as a compact, stand-alone instrument, e.g., for on-site analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Thoben
- Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Measurement Technology, Department of Sensors and Measurement Technology, Appelstr. 9A, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Nora T Hartner
- Leipzig University, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Linnéstraße 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Moritz Hitzemann
- Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Measurement Technology, Department of Sensors and Measurement Technology, Appelstr. 9A, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Christian-Robert Raddatz
- Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Measurement Technology, Department of Sensors and Measurement Technology, Appelstr. 9A, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Manuel Eckermann
- Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Measurement Technology, Department of Sensors and Measurement Technology, Appelstr. 9A, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Detlev Belder
- Leipzig University, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Linnéstraße 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefan Zimmermann
- Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Electrical Engineering and Measurement Technology, Department of Sensors and Measurement Technology, Appelstr. 9A, 30167 Hannover, Germany
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Creydt M, Fischer M. Food metabolomics: Latest hardware-developments for nontargeted food authenticity and food safety testing. Electrophoresis 2022; 43:2334-2350. [PMID: 36104152 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202200126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The analytical requirements for food testing have increased significantly in recent years. On the one hand, because food fraud is becoming an ever-greater challenge worldwide, and on the other hand because food safety is often difficult to monitor due to the far-reaching trade chains. In addition, the expectations of consumers on the quality of food have increased, and they are demanding extensive information. Cutting-edge analytical methods are required to meet these demands. In this context, non-targeted metabolomics strategies using mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers (mass spectrometry [MS]) have proven to be very suitable. MS-based approaches are of particular importance as they provide a comparatively high analytical coverage of the metabolome. Accordingly, the efficiency to address even challenging issues is high. A variety of hardware developments, which are explained in this review, have contributed to these advances. In addition, the potential of future developments is highlighted, some of which are currently not yet commercially available or only used to a comparatively small extent but are expected to gain in importance in the coming years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Creydt
- Hamburg School of Food Science - Institute of Food Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Markus Fischer
- Hamburg School of Food Science - Institute of Food Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Lin HJ, Jhang SS, Hung JH, Zhang YS, Wu HL, Shiea J. Thermogravimetry combined with electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry for characterization of synthetic polymers. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY : RCM 2022; 36:e9351. [PMID: 35802517 DOI: 10.1002/rcm.9351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Thermogravimetry (TG) combined with electrospray and atmospheric chemical ionization (ESI+APCI) mass spectrometry (MS) was developed to rapidly characterize thermal decomposition products of synthetic polymers and plastic products. The ESI-based TG-MS method is useful for characterizing thermally labile, nonvolatile, and polar compounds over an extensive mass range; and the APCI-based TG-MS counterpart is useful for characterizing volatile and nonpolar compounds. Both polar and nonpolar compounds can be simultaneously detected by ESI+APCI-based TG-MS. METHODS Analytes with different volatility were produced from TG operated at different temperatures, which were delivered through a heated stainless-steel tube to the ESI+APCI source where they reacted with the primary charged species generated from electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (ESI+APCI) of solvent and nitrogen. The analyte ions were then detected by an ion trap mass spectrometer. RESULTS A semi-volatile PEG 600 standard was used as the sample and protonated and sodiated molecular ions together with adduct ions including [(PEG)n + 15]+ , [(PEG)n + 18]+ , and [(PEG)n + 29]+ were detected by TG-ESI+APCI-MS. The technique was further utilized to characterize thermal decomposition products of nonvolatile polypropylene glycol (PPG) and polystyrene (PS) standards, as well as a PS-made water cup and coffee cup lid. The characteristic fragments of PPG and PS with mass differences of 58 and 104 between respective ion peaks were detected at the maximum decomposition temperature (Tmax ). CONCLUSIONS The information obtained from the TG-ESI+APCI-MS analysis is useful in rapidly distinguishing different types of polymers and their products. In addition, the signals of the additives in the polymer products, including antioxidants and plasticizers, were also detected before the TG temperature reached Tmax .
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsing-Jung Lin
- Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Siou-Sian Jhang
- Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Jui-Hung Hung
- Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Sheng Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Heng-Liang Wu
- Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Center of Atomic Initiative for New Materials, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jentaie Shiea
- Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Department of Medicinal and Applied Chemistry, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Rapid Screening Research Center for Toxicology and Biomedicine, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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Wei X, Cui S, Xie Y. Synthesis and Antibacterial Properties of Oligomeric Dehydrogenation Polymer from Lignin Precursors. Molecules 2022; 27:1466. [PMID: 35268566 PMCID: PMC8911982 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27051466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The lignin precursors of coniferin and syringin were synthesised, and guaiacyl-type and guaiacyl-syringyl-type oligomeric lignin dehydrogenation polymers (DHP and DHP-GS) were prepared with the bulk method. The carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that both DHP-G and DHP-GS contained β-O-4, β-5, β-β, β-1, and 5-5 substructures. Extraction with petroleum ether, ether, ethanol, and acetone resulted in four fractions for each of DHP-G (C11-C14) and DHP-GS (C21-C24). The antibacterial experiments showed that the fractions with lower molecular weight had relatively strong antibacterial activity. The ether-soluble fractions (C12 of DHP-G and C22 of DHP-GS) had strong antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus. The C12 and C22 fractions were further separated by preparative chromatography, and 10 bioactive compounds (G1-G5 and GS1-GS5) were obtained. The overall antibacterial activities of these 10 compounds was stronger against E. coli than S. aureus. Compounds G1, G2, G3, and GS1, which had the most significant antibacterial activities, contained β-5 substructures. Of these, G1 had the best antibacterial activity. Its inhibition zone diameter was 19.81 ± 0.82 mm, and the minimum inhibition concentration was 56.3 ± 6.20 μg/mL. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) showed that the antibacterial activity of G1 was attributable to a phenylcoumarin dimer, while the introduction of syringyl units reduced antibacterial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wei
- Research Institute of Pulp and Paper Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; (X.W.); (S.C.)
| | - Sheng Cui
- Research Institute of Pulp and Paper Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; (X.W.); (S.C.)
| | - Yimin Xie
- Research Institute of Pulp and Paper Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; (X.W.); (S.C.)
- Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Materials for Light Industry, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
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Huang DY, Wang MJ, Wu JJ, Chen YC. Ionization of Volatile Organics and Nonvolatile Biomolecules Directly from a Titanium Slab for Mass Spectrometric Analysis. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26226760. [PMID: 34833852 PMCID: PMC8623480 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26226760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-mass spectrometry (MS) and electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS can cover the analysis of analytes from low to high polarities. Thus, an ion source that possesses these two ionization functions is useful. Atmospheric surface-assisted ionization (ASAI), which can be used to ionize polar and nonpolar analytes in vapor, liquid, and solid forms, was demonstrated in this study. The ionization of analytes through APCI or ESI was induced from the surface of a metal substrate such as a titanium slab. ASAI is a contactless approach operated at atmospheric pressure. No electric contacts nor any voltages were required to be applied on the metal substrate during ionization. When placing samples with high vapor pressure in condensed phase underneath a titanium slab close to the inlet of the mass spectrometer, analytes can be readily ionized and detected by the mass spectrometer. Furthermore, a sample droplet (~2 μL) containing high-polarity analytes, including polar organics and biomolecules, was ionized using the titanium slab. One titanium slab is sufficient to induce the ionization of analytes occurring in front of a mass spectrometer applied with a high voltage. Moreover, this ionization method can be used to detect high volatile or polar analytes through APCI-like or ESI-like processes, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- De-Yi Huang
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan;
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
| | - Meng-Jiy Wang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan;
| | - Jih-Jen Wu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 700, Taiwan;
| | - Yu-Chie Chen
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan;
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-3-5131527; Fax: +886-3-5723764
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Brecht D, Uteschil F, Schmitz OJ. Development of an inverse low-temperature plasma ionization source for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY : RCM 2021; 35:e9071. [PMID: 33625792 DOI: 10.1002/rcm.9071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE An argon inverse low-temperature plasma (iLTP) ionization source for liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry was developed. The iLTP is constructed from simple chromatographic supply materials and is implemented into an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source replacing the APCI discharge needle electrode. The newly developed ion source was coupled to an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system. METHODS The argon iLTP was characterized by optical emission spectroscopy. The soft ionization of selected standards was also demonstrated by direct infusion experiments. In addition to the use of argon as the discharge gas, helium, synthetic air, and oxygen were used, which were tested for their performance using testosterone and vitamin D3 . RESULTS Spectroscopic measurements of the argon plasma were conducted, demonstrating the main emission band of argon metastables with corresponding energies of 11.53 eV and 11.72 eV. Infusion experiments indicate a gentle ionization by iLTP, e.g. caffeine, testosterone, reserpine, vitamin D3 , and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 , which resulted in the corresponding protonated molecules. The splitless coupling with UHPLC (possible flow rates >1000 μL min-1 ) shows promising results in interday repeatability (n = 10) for the substances with a relative standard deviation of less than 5% and limits of detection for caffeine, testosterone, reserpine, vitamin D3 , and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 of 10 ng L-1 , 50 ng L-1 , 500 ng L-1 , 5 μg L-1 , and 5 μg L-1 , respectively. CONCLUSIONS The argon iLTP ion source presented in this work shows promising approaches in the field of ionization of small organic molecules. The mechanism related to the discharge gas argon has not been elucidated so far and further investigations are needed. The iLTP ion source shows a very good performance with UHPLC coupling, even at increased flow rates. It could be shown that an argon iLTP can compete with the helium dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) preferred in the literature, making it a more economical choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Brecht
- Department of Applied Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitaetsstrasse 5, Essen, 45141, Germany
| | - Florian Uteschil
- Department of Applied Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitaetsstrasse 5, Essen, 45141, Germany
| | - Oliver J Schmitz
- Department of Applied Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitaetsstrasse 5, Essen, 45141, Germany
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Abstract
Biofuel produced from biomass pyrolysis is a good example of a highly complex mixture. Detailed understanding of its composition is a prerequisite for optimizing transformation processes and further upgrading conditions. The major challenge in understanding the composition of biofuel derived from biomass is the wide range of compounds with high diversity in polarity and abundance that can be present. In this work, a comprehensive analysis using mass spectrometry is reported. Different operation conditions are studied by utilizing multiple ionization methods (positive mode atmospheric pressure photo ionization (APPI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) and negative mode ESI) and applying different resolving power set-ups (120 k, 240 k, 480 k and 960 k) and scan techniques (full scan and spectral stitching method) to study the complexity of a pyrolysis biofuel. Using a mass resolution of 960 k and the spectral stitching scan technique gives a total of 21,703 assigned compositions for one ionization technique alone. The number of total compositions is significantly expanded by the combination of different ionization methods.
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