Synthesis of water-compatible imprinted polymers of in situ produced fructosazine and 2,5-deoxyfructosazine

One sampler to see it all: The use of APIStrips for beehive characterization and pesticide residue evaluation based on mass spectrometry

Environmental monitoring is crucial for assessing the overall state of the ecosystems in terms of contaminant impact and chemical landscape. The use of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies considerably eases the sampling activities, as honey bees are exposed to a wide range of substances that are transported and accumulated within the beehives. In this work, combining low-resolution and high-resolution mass spectrometry, the APIStrip passive sampler has been employed to evaluate the presence of pesticide residues and the overall characterization of beehive environments. A total of 180 APIStrips have been deployed in 10 Danish apiaries, located in different landscapes, during a five-month sampling period. The targeted methodology for pesticide analysis was based on gas and liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, covering 430 pesticide residues. A total of 29 pesticide residues were identified (fluopyram and azoxystrobin being the most frequently detected), with remarkable differences in the pesticide load between apiaries. For its part, the use of non-targeted approaches through liquid chromatography coupled with an Orbitrap mass spectrometer allowed the detection of unknown compounds that were specific of certain environments. Natural products such as eupatilin and gnaphaliin, which are derived from plant sources, were present exclusively in one of the apiaries. Additionally, the detection of drimane sesquiterpenoids, including compounds potentially originating from the Aspergillus genus, suggests the capability of APIStrips to early detect fungal contamination within beehives. This dual approach of low- and high-resolution mass spectrometry maximizes the analytical potential of APIStrips as a tool capable of detecting a wide range of substances with implications for both agricultural practices and ecological health.

The effect of amino acids on non-enzymatic browning of glucosamine: Generation of butterscotch aromatic and bioactive health compounds without detectable levels of neo-formed alkylimidazoles

A mixture of glucosamine (GlcN, 15% w/v) and different amino acids in 1:1 M ratio was incubated at 70 °C for 12 h. The resulting GlcN-amino acid caramels were analysed for α-dicarbonyl compounds, polyhydroxyalkyl pyrazines, heterocyclic compound and alkylimidazoles. All the analyses were performed by using HPLC-MS/MS followed by pooling the variables with principal component analysis (PCA). GlcN-Gly caramels generated the greatest amount of butterscotch aromatic compound diacetyl and polyhydroxyalkyl pyrazines (fructosazine and deoxyfructosazine). The potentially toxic heterocyclic compound, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) was generated in greater amounts with the GlcN-Arg caramels. However, the toxic alkylimidazoles (4-MEI and THI) were not present in any of the GlcN-amino acid caramels. The results suggest that caramel with butterscotch aroma and bioactivity can be produced with GlcN-amino acid at 70 °C. The PCA performed discriminated the majority of the GlcN-amino acid combinations; GlcN-Gly and GlcN-Ser were best discriminated.

Sous-Vide Nonenzymatic Browning of Glucosamine at Different Temperatures

Sous-vide is an increasingly popular method of cooking under controlled conditions of temperature and time inside vacuumed pouches to preserve the nutritional and sensory qualities of food. Sous-vide nonenzymatic browning of glucosamine (GlcN) was investigated at 50, 60, and 70 °C for 12 h. Changes investigated were pH, color, level of browning, and the concentrations of the key Maillard and caramelization reaction products, including α-dicarbonyls and pyrazines. The concentrations of undesired 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), 2-acetyl-4(5)-tetrahydroxybutyl imidazole (THI), and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) were also determined. Six types of caramels were produced of unique composition with no detectable levels of 4-MEI. GlcN caramels produced under vacuum were more acidic and lighter in color, containing significantly less flavorful diacetyl, but more fructosazine (FR) as compared to nonvacuum caramels. THI concentration was well below the toxicity levels for all studied caramels. Principal component analyses showed that the incubation temperature played a key role in determining the composition of caramels.

Development and validation of a selective and effective pressurized liquid extraction followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the determination of fructosazine analogues in the ammonia treated extract of Eugenia jambolana Lamarck seeds

This study describes a selective and effective pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) coupled with HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS method for the identification and quantification of three fructosazine analogues (FZAs), fructosazine, 2,6- and 2,5-deoxyfructosazine in Madeglucyl^® (MG) which is an ammonia treated extract of Eugenia jambolana Lamarck seeds, and is the world's first anti-diabetic phytodrug. FZAs were extracted from MG by PLE using methanol as extraction solvent. The PLE extract was then analyzed directly by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS without cleanup step. Chromatographic separation of these highly related structures was achieved on a porous graphic carbon (PGC) column. The identification of the target FZAs was confirmed by the similar retention time, similar UV and MS spectra to the corresponding pure standards. The quantification was performed by using an electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The PLE procedure was optimized and overall method was validated in terms of sensitivity, linearity, selectivity and matrix effect, precision, accuracy and recovery, and stability of the target FZAs in the aqueous solution and in the PLE extracts solution of MG. The developed method was proved to be selective, sensitive, precise, accurate for the quantification of FZAs in MG.

Iron (Fe(2+))-Catalyzed Glucosamine Browning at 50 °C: Identification and Quantification of Major Flavor Compounds for Antibacterial Activity

Glucosamine browning at 50 °C with (GlcN/Fe(2+)) or without iron (GlcN) was studied over time from 0 to 48 h. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), H2O2, and (1)O2, along with α-dicarbonyls, fructosazine, and deoxyfructosazine, was evaluated. Singlet oxygen generation increased over time and was greater in GlcN/Fe(2+) caramel solution. The presence of iron significantly increased the concentration of α-dicarbonyls at an early incubation time (3 h). Fructosazine and deoxyfructosazine were the major degradation products at 48 h comprising together up to 37 and 49% in GlcN and GlcN/Fe(2+), respectively. GlcN/Fe(2+) (48 h) exhibited a MIC50 against highly heat-resistant Escherichia coli AW 1.7 at pH 5, but not at pH 7. Despite several antimicrobial compounds being produced during browning, GlcN/Fe(2+) created a synergistic environment for the fructosazine-organic acids to confer their antimicrobial activity. GlcN caramel solutions have the potential to serve as both flavoring compounds and antimicrobial agents in formulated food systems.

Boronate affinity materials for separation and molecular recognition: structure, properties and applications

Boronate affinity materials, as unique sorbents, have emerged as important media for the selective separation and molecular recognition of cis-diol-containing compounds. With the introduction of boronic acid functionality, boronate affinity materials exhibit several significant advantages, including broad-spectrum selectivity, reversible covalent binding, pH-controlled capture/release, fast association/desorption kinetics, and good compatibility with mass spectrometry. Because cis-diol-containing biomolecules, including nucleosides, saccharides, glycans, glycoproteins and so on, are the important targets in current research frontiers such as metabolomics, glycomics and proteomics, boronate affinity materials have gained rapid development and found increasing applications in the last decade. In this review, we critically survey recent advances in boronate affinity materials. We focus on fundamental considerations as well as important progress and new boronate affinity materials reported in the last decade. We particularly discuss on the effects of the structure of boronate ligands and supporting materials on the properties of boronate affinity materials, such as binding pH, affinity, selectivity, binding capacity, tolerance for interference and so on. A variety of promising applications, including affinity separation, proteomics, metabolomics, disease diagnostics and aptamer selection, are introduced with main emphasis on how boronate affinity materials can solve the issues in the applications and what merits boronate affinity materials can provide.

Selective removal of ATP degradation products from food matrices II: Rapid screening of hypoxanthine and inosine by molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion for evaluation of fish freshness

A water compatible molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), synthesized using theophylline (TPH) as dummy-template and acrylamide (AM) as functional monomer, has been employed as supporting material in matrix solid-phase dispersion combined with ultra performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection (MSPD-UPLC-PDA) for selective determination of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) derivatives in fish samples. ATP degradation products are used as freshness index for assessment of fish quality. The solid sample was directly blended with MIP in MSPD procedure resulting in sample disruption and subsequent adsorption of the compounds on the MIP. By using n-hexane and ammonium hydroxide aqueous solution at pH 9 as the washing and elution solvent, respectively, satisfactory recoveries and clean chromatograms have been obtained. Good linearity for hypoxanthine (HYP) and inosine (INO) has been observed with correlation coefficients (R(2)) of 0.9987 and 0.9986, respectively. The recoveries of the two ATP derivatives at three different spiked levels ranged from 106.5% to 113.4% for HYP and from 103.1% to 111.2% for INO, with average relative standard deviations lower than 4.2% in both cases. This new method, which is rapid, simple and sensitive, can be used as an alternative tool to conventional tedious methods.

Water-compatible molecularly imprinted microspheres in pipette tip solid-phase extraction for simultaneous determination of five fluoroquinolones in eggs

New water-compatible molecularly imprinted microspheres were synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using 3-(2-carboxyethylsulfanylthiocarbonyl-sulfanyl) propionic acid as a hydrophilic chain-transfer agent, and employed as the sorbent of pipet tip molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (PT-MISPE) for rapid extraction and screening of ofloxacin, pefloxacin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and enrofloxacin in eggs. In comparison to conventional SPE methods, the presented PT-MISPE showed special selectivity, easy operation, and accessible device without expensive SPE apparatus. The presented PT-MISPE method combined advantages of dummy molecularly imprinted polymers and pipet tip solid-phase extraction. The presented method was linear over a calibration range of 25-2500 μg/kg with the limits of detections of 0.53-1.07 μg/kg. Good recoveries (89.1-102.5%) were achieved with relative standard deviations of 2.6-4.8%.