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Thlaijeh S, Lepot K, Carpentier Y, Riboulleau A, Duca D, Vojkovic M, Tewari A, Sarazin J, Bon M, Nuns N, Tribovillard N, Focsa C. Characterization of Sulfur-Rich Microbial Organic Matter in Jurassic Carbonates Using Laser-Assisted Mass Spectrometry. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:61-83. [PMID: 38109217 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
Laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (MS) shows great potential for in situ molecular analysis of planetary surfaces and microanalysis of space-returned samples or (micro)fossils. Coupled with pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) in ESA's ExoMars project, this technique could help assess further the origin of sulfur-bearing organic matter (OM) recently detected on Mars. To unravel this potential, we analyzed sulfurized microbial OM from ca. 150 million year-old carbonates with laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (single- and two-step: LDI-MS and L2MS), in comparison with time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and Py-GC-MS. We show that LDI-MS and L2MS readily detect sulfur-bearing moieties such as (alkyl)thiophenes and (alkyl)benzothiophenes. The mineral matrix, however, made the identification of sulfur-bearing molecules challenging in our L2MS experiment. The dominance of small aromatic hydrocarbons (≤14 carbons) in the LDI-MS and L2MS of the extracted soluble and insoluble OM and of the bulk rock is consistent with the low thermal maturity of the sediment and contrasts with the predominance of larger polycyclic aromatic structures commonly observed in meteorites with these techniques. We detected inorganic ions, in particular VO+, in demineralized OM that likely originate from geoporphyrins, which derive from chlorophylls during sediment diagenesis. Finally, insoluble OM yielded distinct compositions compared with extracted soluble OM, with a greater abundance of ions of mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) over 175 and additional N-moieties. This highlights the potential of laser-assisted MS to decipher the composition of macromolecular OM, in particular to investigate the preservation of biomacromolecules in microfossils. Studies comparing diverse biogenic and abiogenic OM are needed to further assess the use of this technique to search for biosignatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siveen Thlaijeh
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523 - PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Kevin Lepot
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Yvain Carpentier
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523 - PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Armelle Riboulleau
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Dumitru Duca
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523 - PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Marin Vojkovic
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523 - PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Split, Ruđera Boškovića 33, 21 000 Split, Croatia
| | - Anuradha Tewari
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Johan Sarazin
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, INRAE, Centrale Lille, UMR 8207 - UMET - Unité Matériaux et Transformations, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Mathilde Bon
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523 - PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France
- Department of Geology (WE13), Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Nuns
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, INRAE, Centrale Lille, Univ. Artois, FR 2638 - IMEC - Institut Michel-Eugène Chevreul, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Nicolas Tribovillard
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Côte d'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187 - LOG Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Cristian Focsa
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523 - PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France
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Duca D, Irimiea C, Faccinetto A, Noble JA, Vojkovic M, Carpentier Y, Ortega IK, Pirim C, Focsa C. On the benefits of using multivariate analysis in mass spectrometric studies of combustion-generated aerosols. Faraday Discuss 2020; 218:115-137. [PMID: 31123727 DOI: 10.1039/c8fd00238j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The intricate chemistry of the carbonaceous particle surface layer (which drives their reactivity, environmental and health impacts) results in complex mass spectra. In this respect, detailed molecular-level analysis of combustion emissions may be challenging even with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Building on a recently proposed comprehensive methodology (encompassing all stages from sampling to data reduction), we propose herein a comparative analysis of soot particles produced by three different sources: a miniCAST standard generator, a laboratory diffusion flame and a single cylinder internal combustion engine. The surface composition is probed by either laser or secondary ion mass spectrometry. Two examples of multivariate analysis, Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis proved their efficiency in both identifying general trends and evidencing subtle differences that otherwise would remain unnoticed in the plethora of data generated during mass spectrometric analyses. Chemical information extracted from these multivariate statistical procedures contributes to a better understanding of fundamental combustion processes and also opens to practical applications such as the tracing of engine emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Duca
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523, PhLAM - Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, F-59000 Lille, France.
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Faccinetto A, Focsa C, Desgroux P, Ziskind M. Progress toward the Quantitative Analysis of PAHs Adsorbed on Soot by Laser Desorption/Laser Ionization/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2015; 49:10510-10520. [PMID: 26267485 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b02703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Ex situ analyses of substances extracted from flames provide useful albeit mostly qualitative information on the formation process of soot and on the impact of exhausts on the environment. An experimental setup based on the coupling of laser desorption, laser ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LD/LI/ToF-MS) is presented in past works as an alternative means to more traditional techniques like gas chromatography (GC) to characterize the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content of soot. In this paper, we go one step further in the understanding of the laser desorption/laser ionization dynamics and propose a combined experimental/simulation approach: we estimate the limit of detection of LD/LI/ToF-MS as low as [0.2, 2.8] fmol per laser pulse and we make quantitative predictions on the concentration of PAHs desorbed from soot. In particular, external calibration with model samples where PAHs are adsorbed on black carbon at known concentrations allows us to link the concentration of PAHs desorbed and detected by photoionization ToF-MS to the concentration of PAHs adsorbed on soot. The comparison of data obtained from the analysis of flame sampled soot with standard commercial GC-MS run in parallel validates the approach and defines limits and potentialities of both techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Faccinetto
- Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie des Processus de Combustion et de l'Atmosphère (PC2A), UMR CNRS 8522, Université de Lille Sciences et Technologies , 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
| | - Cristian Focsa
- Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molécules (PhLAM), UMR CNRS 8523, Université de Lille Sciences et Technologies , 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
| | - Pascale Desgroux
- Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie des Processus de Combustion et de l'Atmosphère (PC2A), UMR CNRS 8522, Université de Lille Sciences et Technologies , 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
| | - Michael Ziskind
- Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molécules (PhLAM), UMR CNRS 8523, Université de Lille Sciences et Technologies , 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
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Gámez F, Hortal AR, Martínez-Haya B, Soltwisch J, Dreisewerd K. Ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of single-core and multi-core polyaromatic hydrocarbons under variable conditions of collisional cooling: insights into the generation of molecular ions, fragments and oligomers. JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY : JMS 2014; 49:1127-1138. [PMID: 25395128 DOI: 10.1002/jms.3433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Revised: 06/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/09/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been investigated under different background pressures of an inert gas (up to 1.2 mbar of N2) in the ion source of a hybrid, orthogonal-extracting time-of-flight mass spectrometer (oTOF-MS). The study includes an ensemble of six model PAHs with isolated single polyaromatic cores and four ones with multiple cross-linked aromatic and polyaromatic cores. In combination with a weak ion extraction field, the variation of the buffer gas pressure allowed to control the degree of collisional cooling of the desorbed PAHs and, thus, to modulate their decomposition into fragments. The dominant fragmentation channels observed are related to dehydrogenation of the PAHs, in most cases through the cleavage of even numbers of C-H bonds. Breakage of C-C bonds leading to the fragmentation of rings, side chains and core linkages is also observed, in particular, at low buffer gas pressures. The precise patterns of the combined fragmentation processes vary significantly between the PAHs. The highest abundances of molecular PAH ions and cleanest mass spectra were consistently obtained at the highest buffer gas pressure of 1.2 mbar. The effective quenching of the fragmentation pathways at this elevated pressure improves the sensitivity and data interpretation for analytical applications, although the fragmentation of side chains and of bonds between (poly)aromatic cores is not completely suppressed in all cases. Moreover, these results suggest that the detected fragments are generated through thermal equilibrium processes rather than as a result of rapid photolysis. This assumption is further corroborated by a laser desorption/ionization post-source decay analysis using an axial time-of-flight MS. In line with these findings, covalent oligomers of the PAHs, which are presumably formed by association of two or more dehydrogenated fragments, are detected with higher abundances at the lower buffer gas pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Gámez
- Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013, Seville, Spain
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Henderson BL, Gudipati MS. Plume Composition and Evolution in Multicomponent Ices Using Resonant Two-Step Laser Ablation and Ionization Mass Spectrometry. J Phys Chem A 2014; 118:5454-63. [DOI: 10.1021/jp503111k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bryana L. Henderson
- Science Division, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, United States
| | - Murthy S. Gudipati
- Science Division, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, United States
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