Purification of dinosterol for hydrogen isotopic analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Simultaneous, High-Precision Measurements of δ2H and δ13C in Nanomole Quantities of Acetate Using Electrospray Ionization-Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry

Stable hydrogen isotope compositions (²H/¹H ratios) have been an invaluable tool for studying biogeochemical processes in nature, but the diversity of molecular targets amenable to such analysis is limited. Here, we demonstrate a new technique for measuring δ²H of biomolecules via Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS) using acetate as a model analyte. Acetate was chosen as a target molecule because its production and consumption are central to microbial carbon cycling, yet the mechanisms behind acetate turnover remain poorly understood. δ²H of acetate could provide a useful constraint on these processes; however, it remains uncharacterized in nature due to analytical challenges. Electrospray ionization (ESI)-Orbitrap MS circumvents these challenges and delivers methyl-specific H-isotope compositions of acetate with nanomole sensitivity, enough to enable analyses of environmental samples. This approach quantifies the methyl-specific δ²H and molecular-average δ¹³C of acetate simultaneously while achieving <3 and <0.5‰ uncertainty, respectively. Using optimized ionization and Orbitrap parameters, this level of precision is obtained within 15 min using only 15 nmol of acetate. As a demonstration of our analytical approach, we cultured three acetogenic bacteria and found a large ²H-fractionation between acetate and water (>310‰ depletion) associated with the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, while fermentation expressed a muted (∼80‰) fractionation. With its high precision and sensitivity, Orbitrap MS is a promising tool for investigating these signals in nature after offline purification. Furthermore, the ESI-Orbitrap method presented here could be applied to other molecules amenable to ESI, including central metabolites and sugars, greatly expanding the molecular targets used in hydrogen isotope biogeochemistry.

Determination of the δ2 H values of high molecular weight lipids by high-temperature gas chromatography coupled to isotope ratio mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

The hydrogen isotopic composition of lipids (δ² H_lipid ) is widely used in food science and as a proxy for past hydrological conditions. Determining the δ² H values of large, well-preserved triacylglycerides and other microbial lipids, such as glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) lipids, is thus of widespread interest but has so far not been possible due to their low volatility which prohibits analysis by traditional gas chromatography/pyrolysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/P/IRMS).

METHODS

We determined the δ² H values of large, polar molecules and applied high-temperature gas chromatography (HTGC) methods on a modified GC/P/IRMS system. The system used a high-temperature 7-m GC column, and a glass Y-splitter for low thermal mass. Methods were validated using authentic standards of large, functionalised molecules (triacylglycerides, TGs), purified standards of GDGTs. The results were compared with δ² H values determined by high-temperature elemental analyser/pyrolysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (HTEA/P/IRMS), and subsequently applied to the analysis of GDGTs in a sample from a methane seep and a Welsh peat.

RESULTS

The δ² H values of TGs agreed within error between HTGC/P/IRMS and HTEA/IRMS, with HTGC/P/IRMS showing larger errors. Archaeal lipid GDGTs with up to three cyclisations could be analysed: the δ² H values were not significantly different between methods with standard deviations of 5 to 6 ‰. When environmental samples were analysed, the δ² H values of isoGDGTs were 50 ‰ more negative than those of terrestrial brGDGTs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that the HTGC/P/IRMS method developed here is appropriate to determine the δ² H values of TGs, GDGTs with up to two cyclisations, and potentially other high molecular weight compounds. The methodology will widen the current analytical window for biomarker and food light stable isotope analyses. Moreover, our initial measurements suggest that bacterial and archaeal GDGT δ² H values can record environmental and ecological conditions.

Development of a Method to Isolate Glutamic Acid from Foodstuffs for a Precise Determination of Their Stable Carbon Isotope Ratio

Recent growing health awareness is leading to increasingly conscious decisions by consumers regarding the production and traceability of food. Stable isotopic compositions provide useful information for tracing the origin of foodstuffs and processes of food production. Plants exhibit different ratios of stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) because they utilized different photosynthetic (carbon fixation) pathways and grow in various environments. The origins of glutamic acid in foodstuffs can be differentiated on the basis of these photosynthetic characteristics. Here, we have developed a method to isolate glutamic acid in foodstuffs for determining the δ13C value by elemental analyzer-isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (EA/IRMS) without unintended isotopic fractionation. Briefly, following acid-hydrolysis, samples were defatted and passed through activated carbon and a cation-exchange column. Then, glutamic acid was isolated using preparative HPLC. This method is applicable to measuring, with a low standard deviation, the δ13C values of glutamic acid from foodstuffs derived from C3 and C4 plants and marine algae.

Kinetic isotope effects on dehalogenations at an aromatic carbon

In order to interpret the observed isotopic fractionation it is necessaryto understand its relationship with the isotope effect(s) on steps that occur during the conversion of the initial reactant to the final product. We examine this relationship from the biochemical point of view and elaborate on the consequences of the assumptions that it is based on. We illustrate the discrepancies between theoretical and experimental interpretation of kinetic isotope effects on examples of dehalogenation reactions that occur at an aromatic carbon atom. The examples include 4-chlorobenzoyl-CoA dehalogenase-catalyzed conversion of 4-chlorobenzoyl-CoA to 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA, dehaloperoxidase-catalyzed conversion of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol to 2,6-dichloroquinone, and spontaneous hydrolysis of atrazine at pH 12. For this latter reaction we have measured the chlorine kinetic isotope effect and estimated its value theoretically at the DFT level of theory. Results of chlorine kinetic isotope effects suggest that the studied dechlorination reactions proceed in a single step with significant weakening of the carbon-chlorine bond in the transition state.