Mass Spectrometry Techniques (mass + spectrometry_techniques)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Mass spectrometry techniques for detection of ligand-dependent changes in the conformational flexibility of cellular retinol-binding protein type I localized by hydrogen/deuterium exchange

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 13 2006
M. Careri
Hydrogen/deuterium exchange, measured by electrospray ionization with orthogonal quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOFMS) and by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS), was used as a means to probe and map differences in conformational flexibility between the ligand-free and ligand-bound forms of cellular retinol-binding protein type I. Labelled fragments were obtained by digestion of the protein with pepsin. The differences in space-resolved time courses of deuterium incorporation identified regions that exhibit a remarkably higher degree of flexibility in the apo-protein than in the holo-protein. These segments encompass residues that are thought, on the basis of structural homology of the retinol carrier with other members of the intracellular lipid-binding proteins family, to belong to the dynamic portal through which all- trans retinol can access its high-affinity, solvent-shielded, binding site. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Direct exposure electron ionization mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques to study organic coatings on archaeological amphorae

JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 5 2005
Maria Perla Colombini
Abstract Two different analytical approaches, direct exposure electron ionization mass spectrometry (DE-MS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), were compared in a study of archaeological resinous materials. DE-MS was found to be an efficient fingerprinting tool for the fast screening of organic archaeological samples and for providing information on the major components. GC/MS appeared to be more efficient in unravelling the sample composition at a molecular level, despite the long analysis time and the need for a wet chemical pretreatment. Both procedures were applied to characterize the organic material present as coatings in Roman and Egyptian amphorae. DE-MS successfully identified abietanic compounds, hence a diterpenic resinous material could be identified and its degree of oxidation assessed. GC/MS enabled us to identify dehydroabietic acid, 7-oxodehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxy-7-oxodehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxydehydroabietic acid, retene, tetrahydroretene, norabietatriene, norabietatetraene and methyl dehydroabietate. These oxidized and aromatized abietanes provided evidence that the amphorae examined were waterproofed with a pitch produced from resinous wood of plants from the Pinaceae family. The chemometric evaluation of the GC/MS data highlighted significant chemical differences between the pitches found in the two archaeological sites, basically related to differences in the production techniques of the materials and in their degradation pathways. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Investigation on Aggregate Formation of Ionic Liquids

ADVANCED SYNTHESIS & CATALYSIS (PREVIOUSLY: JOURNAL FUER PRAKTISCHE CHEMIE), Issue 9 2005
Sandra Dorbritz
Abstract Understanding the behavior of ionic liquids on the molecular level is essential for explaining solubilizing or reaction processes, including catalytic reactions in ionic liquids or with ionic liquids as co-solvent. Using mass spectrometry techniques it is possible to characterize their aggregate formation behavior, which depends on the used solvent. With increasing polarity of the solvent and decreasing ionic liquid concentration, the size of the formed aggregates decreases. From conductivity measurement curves "critical aggregate concentrations" were calculated, which confirm the results of mass spectrometry measurements. Addition of ionic liquids increases the solubility of acetophenone in water. This effect can be explained by the aggregate formation ability of ionic liquids. The findings can be used to explain the outstanding solubility and solvation properties of ionic liquids. [source]


Synthesis of carbohydrate-linked poly(polyoxometalate) poly(amido)amine dendrimers

JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 14 2005
Joel R. Morgan
Abstract Mannose-functionalized and ethoxyethanol-functionalized poly(amido)amine dendrimers bound multiple vanadate-substituted polyoxotungstate Wells,Dawson-type polyoxometalates (POMs). Dendrimers incorporating 10,30 POMs were characterized with NMR, transmission electron microscopy, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry techniques. The number of metal clusters per dendrimer molecule varied according to the dendrimer generation and the nature of the surface functional groups. Efforts aimed at using the poly(polyoxometalate) dendrimers as oxidation catalysts are also described. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3059,3066, 2005 [source]


Presence of methylated arginine derivatives in orthotopic human liver transplantation: Relevance for liver function

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 1 2003
Paloma Martín-Sanz
Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is a frequent option in the treatment of liver diseases. During the cold ischemia period of the donor liver, there is an accumulation of metabolites that are potent inhibitors of the cytokine-inducible and endothelial nitric oxide synthase isoenzymes. We identified the presence of L - N -monomethylarginine and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) as the main inhibitors by means of analytic high-pressure liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques. An average ADMA concentration of 450 ,mol/L was measured in the preservation medium of donor livers with poor outcomes after OLT. A statistically significant relationship was observed between the concentration of methylated arginine derivatives in the graft and liver function after OLT. These data suggest that measurement of methylated arginine, released after liver protein catabolism, might provide an indication of functional status of the liver that can help the development of strategies intended to improve graft viability. [source]


Application of hyphenated mass spectrometry techniques for the analysis of urinary free glucocorticoids

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 18 2009
Angela Cuzzola
Alteration of levels of glucocorticoids in plasma and urine can be related to several diseases. In particular, the determination of endogenous glucocorticoids in urine has been reported to provide information on cortisol and cortisone status, on the activities of steroid hormone enzymes and on glucocorticoid metabolism. In this study, the application of hyphenated mass spectrometry techniques (GC/MS without derivatization and LC/MS) for the simultaneous analysis of free urinary cortisol (F), cortisone (E), tetrahydrocortisol (THF), allo-tetrahydrocortisol (A-THF) and tetrahydrocortisone (THE) was evaluated. A sample preparation protocol by solid-phase extraction, mass spectrometry parameters and chromatographic conditions for both techniques were carefully optimized in terms of extracting phase and solvents, matrix effects, recovery, sensitivity and compound resolution. Baseline separation was achieved for the five underivatized analytes both in GC and LC. The LC/MS/MS technique was more suitable for the analysis of urine samples, being less influenced by matrix effects and showing excellent sensitivity and selectivity. A preliminary application of the reported method for the diagnosis of metabolic diseases was also described. The determination of each analyte in its free form, described for the first time in the paper, offers new perspectives in the application of glucocorticoid analysis for diagnostic purposes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Evaluation of tramadol and its main metabolites in horse plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography/fluorescence and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry techniques

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 2 2009
Marinella De Leo
Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic drug that has been used clinically for the last two decades to treat pain in humans. The clinical response of tramadol is strictly correlated to its metabolism, because of the different analgesic activity of its metabolites. O -Desmethyltramadol (M1), its major active metabolite, is 200 times more potent at the µ -receptor than the parent drug. In recent years tramadol has been widely introduced in veterinary medicine but its use has been questioned in some species. The aim of the present study was to develop a new sensible method to detect the whole metabolic profile of the drug in horses, through plasma analyses by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with fluorimetric (FL) and photodiode array electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (PDA-ESI-MS) detection, after its sustained release by oral administration (5,mg/kg). In HPLC/FL experiments the comparison of the horse plasma chromatogram profile with that of a standard mixture suggested the identification of the major peaks as tramadol and its metabolites M1 and N,O -desmethyltramadol (M5). LC/PDA-ESI-MS/MS analysis confirmed the results obtained by HPLC/FL and also provided the identification of two more metabolites, N -desmethyltramadol (M2), and N,N -didesmethyltramadol (M3). Another metabolite, M6, was also detected and identified. The present findings demonstrate the usefulness and the advantage of LC/ESI-MS/MS techniques in a search for tramadol metabolites in horse plasma samples. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Comparison of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry techniques in the determination of platinum in urine: quadrupole vs. sector field

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 11 2005
Sandro Spezia
In recent years the increasing use of platinum (Pt) both in medical and in industrial applications has caused its growing anthropogenic emission and spread in the environment. Pt is released into the atmosphere by exhaust catalytic converters, and Pt compounds are often used in antitumour therapies. As a consequence, significant amounts of Pt can be detected in hospital wastewaters. This can lead to an increase in the exposure levels to Pt, especially in urban areas. It is therefore necessary to determine Pt reference values in the general population, by using suitable procedures able to achieve adequate analytical performances. Several measurements of Pt in biological fluids have been reported, but the analytical methods used for the determination of Pt often lack information about the uncertainty of the results, especially for low concentrations of urinary Pt in non-occupationally exposed subjects. The present paper considers the measurement of urinary Pt levels in a general population group from central Italy, by both quadrupole (Q) and sector field (SF) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The two procedures were validated and their expanded uncertainties were evaluated. The limits of detection (LODs), calculated taking into account dilution factors, were 0.18 and 0.05,ng L,1 of Pt for the Q and SF procedures, respectively. The median value observed was 4.13,ng L,1 of Pt in urine, while the relative combined uncertainty at 5,ng L,1 was below 20% with both ICP-MS techniques. These data are in good agreement with those reported in the literature for similar studies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Analysis of flavonoid constituents from leaves of Acanthopanax senticosus Harms by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 4 2002
Maolian Chen
Three known flavonoids, quercetin, quercitrin (quercetin-3-0-rhamnoside) and rutin (quercetin-3-0-rutinoside), have been identified for the first time in the leaves of Acanthopanax senticosus Harms by using electrospray tandem mass spectrometry techniques (ESI,MSn). The flavonoid hyperin (quercetin-3-0-,-galactoside), already known to be present, was also investigated. The diagnostic fragment ions of the aglycone quercetin were obtained in the ESI,MSn experiments, and a fragmentation mechanism proposed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The spliceosome: the most complex macromolecular machine in the cell?

BIOESSAYS, Issue 12 2003
Timothy W. Nilsen
The primary transcripts, pre-mRNAs, of almost all protein-coding genes in higher eukaryotes contain multiple non-coding intervening sequences, introns, which must be precisely removed to yield translatable mRNAs. The process of intron excision, splicing, takes place in a massive ribonucleoprotein complex known as the spliceosome. Extensive studies, both genetic and biochemical, in a variety of systems have revealed that essential components of the spliceosome include five small RNAs,U1, U2, U4, U5 and U6, each of which functions as a RNA, protein complex called an snRNP (small nuclear ribonucleoprotein). In addition to snRNPs, splicing requires many non-snRNP protein factors, the exact nature and number of which has been unclear. Technical advances, including new affinity purification methods and improved mass spectrometry techniques, coupled with the completion of many genome sequences, have now permitted a number of proteomic analyses of purified spliceosomes. These studies, recently reviewed by Jurica and Moore,1 reveal that the spliceosome is composed of as many as 300 distinct proteins and five RNAs, making it among the most complex macromolecular machines known. BioEssays 25:1147,1149, 2003. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Separation of product associating E. coli host cell proteins OppA and DppA from recombinant apolipoprotein A-IMilano in an industrial HIC unit operation

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 2 2009
Alan K. Hunter
Abstract We have shown how product associating E. coli host cell proteins (HCPs) OppA and DppA can be substantially separated from apolipoprotein A-IMilano (apo A-IM) using Butyl Sepharose hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC). This work illustrates the complex problems that frequently arise during development and scale-up of biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Product association of the HCPs is confirmed using co-immunoprecipitation and Western blotting techniques. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry techniques are used to confirm the identity of OppA and DppA. In this example, clearance of these difficult to separate HCPs decreased significantly when the process was scaled to a 1.4 m diameter column. Laboratory-scale experimentation and trouble shooting identified several key parameters that could be further optimized to improve HCP clearance. The key parameters included resin loading, peak cut point on the ascending side, wash volume, and wash salt concentration. By implementing all of the process improvements that were identified, it was possible to obtain adequate HCP clearance so as to meet the final specification. Although it remains speculative, it is believed that viscosity effects may have contributed to the lower HCP clearance observed early in the manufacturing campaign. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009 [source]


The Structure of a Novel Neutral Lipid,A from the Lipopolysaccharide of Bradyrhizobium elkanii Containing Three Mannose Units in the Backbone

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 9 2010
Iwona Komaniecka Dr.
Abstract The chemical structure of the lipid,A of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Bradyrhizobium elkanii USDA 76 (a member of the group of slow-growing rhizobia) has been established. It differed considerably from lipids,A of other Gram-negative bacteria, in that it completely lacks negatively charged groups (phosphate or uronic acid residues); the glucosamine (GlcpN) disaccharide backbone is replaced by one consisting of 2,3-dideoxy-2,3-diamino- D -glucopyranose (GlcpN3N) and it contains two long-chain fatty acids, which is unusual among rhizobia. The GlcpN3N disaccharide was further substituted by three D -mannopyranose (D -Manp) residues, together forming a pentasaccharide. To establish the structural details of this molecule, 1D and 2D,NMR spectroscopy, chemical composition analyses and high-resolution mass spectrometry methods (electrospray ionisation Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS)) were applied. By using 1D and 2D,NMR spectroscopy experiments, it was confirmed that one D -Manp was linked to C-1 of the reducing GlcpN3N and an ,-(1,6)-linked D -Manp disaccharide was located at C-4, of the non-reducing GlcpN3N (,-linkage). Fatty acid analysis identified 12:0(3-OH) and 14:0(3-OH), which were amide-linked to GlcpN3N. Other lipid,A constituents were long (,-1)-hydroxylated fatty acids with 26,33 carbon atoms, as well as their oxo forms (28:0(27-oxo) and 30:0(29-oxo)). The 28:0(27-OH) was the most abundant acyl residue. As confirmed by high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques, these long-chain fatty acids created two acyloxyacyl residues with the 3-hydroxy fatty acids. Thus, lipid,A from B. elkanii comprised six acyl residues. It was also shown that one of the acyloxyacyl residues could be further acylated by 3-hydroxybutyric acid (linked to the (,-1)-hydroxy group). [source]


An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Gas-Phase Reactions of Ca2+ with Glycine

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 26 2006
Inés Corral Dr.
Abstract The gas-phase reactions between Ca2+ and glycine ([Ca(gly)]2+) have been investigated through the use of mass spectrometry techniques and B3-LYP/cc-pWCVTZ density functional theory computations. The major peaks observed in the electrospray MS/MS spectrum of [Ca(gly)]2+ correspond to the formation of the [Ca,C,O2,H]+, NH2CH2+, CaOH+, and NH2CH2CO+ fragment ions, which are produced in Coulomb explosion processes. The computed potential energy surface (PES) shows that not only are these species the most stable product ions from a thermodynamic point of view, but they may be produced with barriers lower than for competing processes. Carbon monoxide is a secondary product, derived from the unimolecular decomposition of some of the primary ions formed in the Coulomb explosions. In contrast to what is found for the reactions of Ca2+ with urea ([Ca(urea)]2+), minimal unimolecular losses of neutral fragments are observed for the gas-phase fragmentation processes of [Ca(gly)]2+, which is readily explained in terms of the topological differences between their respective PESs. [source]


Oxidation kinetics of pentachlorophenol by manganese dioxide

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 11 2006
Ling Zhao
Abstract This study examined the abiotic transformation kinetics of pentachlorophenol (PCP) by manganese dioxide (MnO2) at different solution chemistry and initial concentrations of PCP and MnO2. The measured PCP transformation rates were found to be on the order of 1.07 with respect to [PCP] and 0.91 and 0.87 with respect to [MnO2] and [H+], respectively. Dissolved Mn2+ and Ca2+ as background electrolytes considerably decreased the reaction rate because of their adsorption and hence blocking of active sites on MnO2 surfaces. The dechlorination number, 0.59 chloride ions per transformed PCP after a 1-h reaction, suggests that a fraction of the transformed PCP was not dechlorinated and may be coupled directly to dimeric products. Gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry techniques were used to identify two isomeric nonachlorohydroxybiphenylethers as major products and 2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-1,4-hydroquinone and tetrachlorocatechol as minor products. Product identification suggested that the reaction may include two parallel reactions to form either dimers or 2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-1,4-hydroquinone and tetrachlorocatechol via simultaneous dehydrochlorination and hydroxylation. [source]