Hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry analysis with accurate-mass database and parallel reaction monitoring for high-throughput screening and quantification of multi-xenobiotics in honey

Development and comparison of parallel reaction monitoring and data-independent acquisition methods for quantitative analysis of hydrophilic compounds in white tea

In the present work, parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) and data-independent acquisition (DIA) methods were developed for the accurate quantitation of amino acids, alkaloids nucleosides and nucleotides in tea. The quality peaks were significantly enhanced by optimizing the LC elution procedure, HCD voltage, MS resolution, and scanning event. Both methods were validated with good liner linearity (0.004-200 μg/mL), LODs (0.001-0.309 μg/mL for PRM and 0.001-0.564 μg/mL for DIA). Applied to white tea sample, the contents of these hydrophilic compounds were range from 34,655.39 to 70,586.14 mg/kg, and caffeine (32,529.02 mg/kg) and theanine (5483.46 mg/kg) were determined as the most abundant ones. Based on the quantitation data set, the white tea samples from Puer, Lincang and Xishuangbanna were clearly discriminated using multivariate data analysis. The results of the present works show that PRM and DIA have great potential in quantitative analysis of multiple hydrophilic compounds in food samples.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs: A Single Parallel Monitoring-Based Quantification Approach on Whole Blood

Driving under the influence of psychoactive substances is a major cause of motor vehicle crashes. The identification and quantification of substances most frequently involved in impaired-driving cases in a single analytic procedure could be an important asset in forensic toxicology. In this study, a highly sensitive and selective liquid chromatography (LC) approach hyphenated with Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) was developed for the quantification of the main drugs present in the context of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) using 100 μL of whole blood. This procedure involves a simple sample preparation and benefit from the selectivity brought by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) allowing to solve most DUID cases using a single multi-analyte injection. The method was fully validated for the quantification of the major classes of psychoactive substances associated with impaired-driving (cannabinoids, cocaine and its metabolites, amphetamines, opiates and opioids, and the major benzodiazepines and z-drugs). The validation guidelines set by the “Société Française des Sciences et des Techniques Pharmaceutiques” (SFSTP) were respected for 22 psychoactive substances using 15 internal standards. Trueness was measured to be between 95.3 and 107.6% for all the tested concentrations. Precision represented by repeatability and intermediate precision was lower than 12% while recovery (RE) and matrix effect (ME) ranged from 49 to 105% and from −51 to 3%, respectively. The validated procedure provides an efficient approach for the simultaneous and simple quantification of the major drugs associated with impaired driving benefiting from the selectivity of PRM.

Technical Overview of Orbitrap High Resolution Mass Spectrometry and Its Application to the Detection of Small Molecules in Food (Update Since 2012)

Food safety and quality issues are becoming increasingly important and attract much attention, requiring the development of better analytical platforms. For example, high-resolution (especially Orbitrap) mass spectrometry simultaneously offers versatile functions such as targeted/non-targeted screening while providing qualitative and quantitative information on an almost unlimited number of analytes to facilitate routine analysis and even allows for official surveillance in the food field. This review covers the current state of Orbitrap mass spectrometry (OMS) usage in food analysis based on research reported in 2012-2019, particularly highlighting the technical aspects of OMS application and the achievement of OMS-based screening and quantitative analysis in the food field. The gained insights enhance our understanding of state-of-the-art high-resolution mass spectrometry and highlight the challenges and directions of future research.

Recent advances in the application of metabolomics for food safety control and food quality analyses

As one of the omics fields, metabolomics has unique advantages in facilitating the understanding of physiological and pathological activities in biology, physiology, pathology, and food science. In this review, based on developments in analytical chemistry tools, cheminformatics, and bioinformatics methods, we highlight the current applications of metabolomics in food safety, food authenticity and quality, and food traceability. Additionally, the combined use of metabolomics with other omics techniques for "foodomics" is comprehensively described. Finally, the latest developments and advances, practical challenges and limitations, and requirements related to the application of metabolomics are critically discussed, providing new insight into the application of metabolomics in food analysis.

Antifungal residues analysis in various Romanian honey samples analysis by high resolution mass spectrometry

Given that the pesticide and fungicide residues determination in honey is not a routine analysis in Romania, information on these emerging contaminants is useful for consumer's safety. High resolution mass spectrometry technique was applied by Q-Exactive Orbitrap LC-MS/MS to identify and quantify environmental contaminants in honey. A list of 25 compounds, biocides and antifungals was selected for the method development, based on the occurrence in the Romanian environment and their potential usage in agriculture. The method was applied for 18 various honey samples collected in different geographic regions of Romania. Eleven compounds were present in the honey samples: carbendazim, enilconazole, hexaconazole, penconazole, tebuconazole, flusilazole, thiabendazole, terconazole, cyproconazole, propiconazole, metalaxyl. Targeted MS/MS analyses were performed for confirmation. The measured quantities ranged from 1.7-7.2 μg kg^-1, lower than MRLs established by the legislation. The most abundant compound was enilconazole (imazalil), which was detected in fourteen samples. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first one concerning antifungal contamination of honey in Romania. The results proved that the tested honey samples are safe for human consumption.

Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Hyphenated with Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry for Simultaneous Determination of Necine-Core-Structure Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. without all Corresponding Standards

INTRODUCTION

Crotalaria sessiliflora L. is a Chinese traditional herb for treatment of cutaneum carcinoma and cervical carcinoma. In addition to monocrotaline, coexisting pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) also require further quantification for quality control and pharmaceutical uses of the herb.

OBJECTIVE

To establish a UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS method of simultaneous determination of coexisting PAs with same parent structure for quality control and comprehensive researches of Crotalaria sessiliflora L.

METHODOLOGY

PAs in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. were analysed by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS method. Coexisting PAs were identified by mass data of full MS-dd-MS² based on the characteristic fragmentation pattern and necine-core structure. Moreover, quantification of PAs was conducted by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) mode using m/z 138, m/z 120 and m/z 94 from identical necine-core structure as quantitative ions with single monocrotaline standard for accurate calibration.

RESULTS

Five PAs, named monocrotaline, retrorsine, senecionine, integerrimine, O-9-angeloylretronecine, were indentified and confirmed. Quantitative ions of m/z 138, m/z 120 and m/z 94 were used for quantification of PAs containing the necine-core structure in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. The results demonstrated that contents, precision and recoveries of the five PAs mentioned earlier were respectively 3.307-30.35 μg/g, 1.1-4.5% and 88.91-92.33% while using m/z 120 as the best quantitative ion.

CONCLUSION

The UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS method was established for simultaneous determination of five PAs in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. without all corresponding standards, and was proved that it was simple, convenient and effective for comprehensive quality control and pharmaceutical uses. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quantification of 16 β-lactams in chicken muscle by QuEChERS extraction and UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS with parallel reaction monitoring

A method is described for the analysis of 16 β-lactams in chicken muscle by UPLC-quadrupole(Q)-Orbitrap-MS with parallel reaction monitoring (PRM). QuEChERS approach includes clean-up step by sorbent of primary-secondary amine (PSA) and C18 was adopted for sample preparation. Q-Orbitrap with PRM showed high sensitivity with limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.01μgkg^-1 to 0.35μgkg^-1. The method was further validated by intra- and inter-day test with spiking levels less than MRLs (maximum residue limits, the European Union). Recovery (83-112%) and precision values (RSDs <15%) for all studied analytes were obtained. The result indicates that UPLC-Q-Orbitrap coupled with QuEChERS preparation can serve as a routine quantification method for β-lactam residues in chicken muscles.

The exposure of honey bees (Apis mellifera; Hymenoptera: Apidae) to pesticides: Room for improvement in research

Losses of honey bees have been repeatedly reported from many places worldwide. The widespread use of synthetic pesticides has led to concerns regarding their environmental fate and their effects on pollinators. Based on a standardised review, we report the use of a wide variety of honey bee matrices and sampling methods in the scientific papers studying pesticide exposure. Matrices such as beeswax and beebread were very little analysed despite their capacities for long-term pesticide storage. Moreover, bioavailability and transfer between in-hive matrices were poorly understood and explored. Many pesticides were studied but interactions between molecules or with other stressors were lacking. Sampling methods, targeted matrices and units of measure should have been, to some extent, standardised between publications to ease comparison and cross checking. Data on honey bee exposure to pesticides would have also benefit from the use of commercial formulations in experiments instead of active ingredients, with a special assessment of co-formulants (quantitative exposure and effects). Finally, the air matrix within the colony must be explored in order to complete current knowledge on honey bee pesticide exposure.

Strategy for comparative untargeted metabolomics reveals honey markers of different floral and geographic origins using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry

Honey discrimination based on floral and geographic origins is limited by the ability to determine reliable markers because developing hypothetical substances in advance considerably limits the throughput of metabolomics studies. Here, we present a novel approach to screen and elucidate honey markers based on comparative untargeted metabolomics using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap). To reduce metabolite information losses during sample preparation, the honey samples were dissolved in water and centrifuged to remove insoluble particles prior to UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap analysis in positive and negative electrospray ionization modes. The data were pretreated using background subtraction, chromatographic peak extraction, normalization, transformation and scaling to remove interferences from unwanted biases and variance in the experimental data. The pretreated data were further processed using principal component analysis (PCA) and a three-stage approach (t-test, volcano plot and variable importance in projection (VIP) plot) to ensure marker authenticity. A correlation between the molecular and fragment ions with a mass accuracy of less than 1.0ppm was used to annotate and elucidate the marker structures, and the marker responses in real samples were used to confirm the effectiveness of the honey discrimination. Moreover, we evaluated the data quality using blank and quality control (QC) samples based on PCA clustering, retention times, normalized levels and peak areas. This strategy will help guide standardized, comparative untargeted metabolomics studies of honey and other agro-products from different floral and geographic origins.