A simple and rapid GC/MS method for the simultaneous determination of gaseous metabolites

We modified and tuned a commercial model of a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) instrument to develop a simple and rapid method for the simultaneous quantification of a variety of gas species. Using the developed method with the newly modified instrument, gas species such as H₂, N₂, O₂, CO, NO, CH₄, CO₂, and N₂O, which are common components of microbial metabolism, were accurately identified based on their retention times and/or mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) in less than 2.5 min. By examining the sensitivities and dynamic ranges for the detection of H₂, N₂, O₂, CH₄, CO₂, and N₂O, it was demonstrated that the method developed in this study was sufficient for accurately monitoring the production and the consumption of these gaseous species during microbial metabolism. The utility of the new method was demonstrated by a denitrification study with Pseudomonas aureofaciens ATCC 13985^T. This method will be suitable for a variety of applications requiring the identification of gaseous metabolites in microorganisms, microbial communities, and natural ecosystems.     

Determination of volatile products of human colon cell line metabolism by GC/MS analysis

Colon cancer is one of the most reasons for cancer death worldwide. Thus, it is important to find new prognostic and diagnostic marker, as well as to throw light on the special metabolic pathways of colon cancer cells. This paper highlights for the first time some qualitative differences in the profiles of the volatile metabolites of colon cancer cell lines SW 480 (grade IV, Duke B) and SW 1116 (grade II, Duke A) among themselves and in comparison to the normal colon cell line NCM460, which are mostly represented by ketones and alcohols. These results, which were obtained by applying solid phase micro extraction (SPME) and combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), are consistent with Warburg’s hypothesis because the found reaction products may indicate that the cancer cells show the Crabtree’s effect. Furthermore, compounds like undecan-2-ol and pentadecan-2-one were associated for the first time with the human metabolism. In summary, these findings indicate that the metabolism of colon cancer cells differs extremely from the metabolism of healthy cells and it changes during the progress of the disease. Compounds that are present in the breath, the blood and the tissue of patients represent the differences and they can serve as new biomarker for colon cancer in future.     

GC/MS analysis of the plant hormones in seeds of Cucurbita maxima

The GC/MS detection is reported of over 30 compounds, in extracts of the endosperm and embryos from seeds of Cucurbita maxima. The compounds which were identified from reference spectra include: cis,trans-ABA; trans,trans-ABA; dihydrophaseic acid; IAA; GA₄; GA₁₂; GA₁₃; GA₂₅; GA₃₉; GA₄₃; GA₄₉; ent-13-hydroxy-, ent-6α,7α-and ent-7α,13-dihydroxy-, and ent-6α,7α,13-trihydroxykaur-16-en-19-oic acids; ent-7α,16,17-trihydroxy- and ent-6α,7α,16,17-tetrahydroxy-kauran-19-oic acids, ent-6,7-seco-7-oxokauren-6,19-dioic acid and/or ent-6,7-secokauren-6,7,19-trioic acid, and 7β,12α-dihydroxykaurenolide. New compounds, the structures of which were deduced from GC/MS data, include: the 12α-hydroxy-derivatives of GA₁₂, GA₁₄, GA₃₇ and GA₄, and the 12β-hydroxy-derivatives of ent-7α-hydroxy- and ent-6α,7α-dihydroxykaurenoic acids.     

Essential oil variation of cultivated and wild Perilla analyzed by GC/MS

Twenty components extracted from the essential oil in the leaves of 172 samples of Perilla frutescens var. crispa (vegetable crop form), P. frutescens var. frutescens (oil crop form), the wild/weedy form of P. frutescens, and three wild Perilla species, Perilla citriodora, Perilla hirtella and Perilla setoyensis were analyzed using GC/MS. A wide range of essential oil components were found among the wild/weedy form of P. frutescens, whereas distinctive components were detected in each wild Perilla species. Egomaketone, asaron, methyleugenol and 4,6-dimethoxy- or 4,7-dimethoxy-5-(2-propenyl)-1,3-dioxaindan were detected from Perilla for the first time. Limonene derivatives, piperitone and piperitenone, were detected from P. citriodora. Discovery of the limonene derivatives in this Perilla species provides evidence of this wild species being a genome donor of P. frutescens, while limonene synthase has been considered to be a specific enzyme in cultivated P. frutescens. These results will be useful for the evaluation and utilization of Perilla genetic resources.     

In vivo labeling with stable isotopes as a tool for the identification of unidentified peaks in the metabolome analysis of Corynebacterium glutamicum by GC/MS

Of the hyphenated techniques used for metabolic profiling of cell and tissue extracts, GC/MS is in some ways advantageous as it allows the simultaneous fingerprinting of chemically very different metabolites, and the electron impact mass spectra recorded in many cases lead to unambiguous identification of the compounds. However, prior to chromatography, the hydrophilic substances of the cell extracts have to be converted to vaporizable derivatives, the mass spectra of which often are not known or not listed in the available spectral libraries, even if they are derived from simple biochemicals. Thus, numerous chromatographic peaks remain as yet unidentified. Attempts to identify these peaks afford the acquisition of more data on these compounds. The value of in vivo labeling of metabolites with (13)C and (15)N for this purpose is described.     

Detection and identification of plasma progesterone metabolites in the female Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) using GC/MS/MS

Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) have relatively low peripheral concentrations of progesterone (P4). The objective of this study was to determine if these relatively low P4 concentrations are associated with a high ratio of progestin metabolites and to document metabolite concentrations from individual blood samples obtained from manatees during diestrus or pregnancy. Metabolites known to exist in elephants—terrestrial manatee relatives—were targeted. These included 5α-reduced progestins (5α-pregnane-3,20-dione [5α-DHP] and 3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one [5α-P3-OH]) and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (17α-OHP), which occurs in Asian elephants. An additional, inactive metabolite, 20α-hydroxyprogesterone (20α-OHP), indicative of P4 overproduction, was also targeted. Progesterone itself was the predominant progestin detected in pregnant and nonpregnant manatee plasma (n = 10) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with tandem quadrupole detectors (GC/MS/MS). Progesterone concentrations in pregnant females varied from early (moderate to high) through mid and late (low) pregnancy. Progesterone concentrations ranged from low to high in nonpregnant, nonlactating females. The most commonly detected metabolite was 5α-P3-OH (n = 7), which occurred in pregnant (lower limit of detection [LLOD] to high) and nonpregnant (trace to high) females. The 5α-DHP metabolite was also detected in pregnant (LLOD to moderate) and nonpregnant (low) females. The 17α-OHP metabolite was not detected in any tested female. The 20α-OHP metabolite was detected in one nonpregnant, nonlactating, captive female (LLOD). Metabolites were most prevalent during early pregnancy, concurrent with maximum P4 concentrations. Based on their concentrations in peripheral circulation, we inferred that these metabolites may have, opposite to elephants, a limited physiologic role during luteal, pregnant, and nonpregnant phases in the manatee.     

灰树花菌丝体不同培养时期代谢组学分析

为了解不同生长时期灰树花(Grifola frondosa)菌丝体的代谢产物差异及其通路,该研究采用HPLC-MS/MS分析方法对培养10、20、30 d的灰树花菌丝体进行分析。结果表明:(1)共42类584种代谢物被鉴定出,其中159种、47种和165种代谢物在对照组(10 d vs 20 d、20 d vs 30 d、10 d vs 30 d)中表现出不同的积累模式,不同培养时间的代谢物成分差异显著。(2)培养10 d产生较多与促进菌丝体生长和氧化供能有关的物质,培养20 d产生或积累了多种对人体有益的次生代谢物,如橄榄苦甙、甘胆酸、N-甲基酪胺、Alprazolam,培养30 d菌丝体中含有多种与产生香气有关的物质。(3)KEGG代谢通路富集分析,10 d vs 20 d比较组、20 d vs 30 d比较组和10 d vs 30 d比较组分别富集到163条、81条、137条代谢通路,氨基酸代谢在菌丝体不同培养时间中的影响最大。该研究初步探索了灰树花菌丝体的差异代谢物及代谢通路,并发现不同培养时间灰树花菌丝体代谢产物具有明显的差异,以及菌丝体中部分成分含量与培养时间有关,对灰树花菌丝体的质量控制和机理研究具有一定的参考价值。     

Metabolite profiling of saponins in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Balanites</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">aegyptiaca</Emphasis> plant tissues using LC (RI)-ESI/MS and MALDI-TOF/MS

Saponins are a major family of secondary metabolites which consist of a sugar moiety glycosidically linked to a hydrophobic aglycone (sapogenin). In recent years the interest in saponins has increased significantly because of their diverse properties as natural detergents and foaming agents, their cardiac, immunostimulating, and anti-cancer activity, as well as other health promoting functions. This study deals with metabolitic analysis of saponins from methanolic extracts of fruit mesocarp (ME), seed kernel (KE) and root (RE) of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. (desert date) plant grown in Israel using LC (RI)-ESI/MS and MALDI-TOF/MS. The structural assignment was carried out by fragmentation experiments of LC (RI)-ESI/MS and literature data. The study has revealed that, all together, twenty-four furostanol saponins were found in ME, KE and RE. Of these, four saponins are found only in ME, five only in KE and six only in RE. Diosgenin was found to be the sole aglycone in all the saponins. The smallest saponin (MW 740 Da) was found with two sugar units (glucose) and the largest saponin (MW 1678 Da) was found with eight sugar units (5 glucose, 2 rhamnose and 1 xylose) attached to diosgenin. The results suggest that MALDI-TOF/MS with positive ion mode is particularly effective for determining the metabolites of saponins in B. aegyptiaca plant tissues. MALDI-TOF/MS not only verified the results of the LC (RI)-ESI/MS, but also identified additional saponins that are now systematically organized in a database of B. aegyptiaca saponins. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Dopamine in tissues of the hydrozoan jellyfishPolyorchis penicillatus as revealed by HPLC and GC/MS

Summary High performance liquid chromatography of alumina extracts of several tissues inPolyorchis penicillatus show the presence of dopamine and a catecholamine resembling norepinephrine. Dopamine is found in the highest concentrations in nerve-rich tissue (120 fmol·mg wet wt^–1), at intermediate concentrations in endoderm-rich tissue (30 fmol·mg^–1), and at the lowest concentrations in the mesoglea (10 fmol·mg^–1). The presence of dopamine was confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with negative ion chemical ionization, but norepinephrine and epinephrine could not be detected in nerve-rich tissue.     

Quantitation of fumonisins in corn by HPLC with o-phthalaldehyde postcolumn derivatization and their identification by LC/MS

Fumonisins B₁(FB₁) and B₂(FB₂) were isocratically separated on a fluorocarbon column without using an ion pair reagent and nonvolatile buffer during the HPLC and were detected by an o-phthalaldehyde postcolumn derivatization system using a fluorescence detector. The minimum detectable concentrations of FB₁ and FB₂ in corn by this system were 0.01 μg/g and 0.01 μg/g, respectively. The separated fumonisins were further identified by a directly interfaced ion trap MS using electrospray ionization. FB₁ and FB₂ in naturally contaminated corn were identified in the selective ion monitoring mode at concentrations of 3.75μg/g and 1.44 μg/g, respectively. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于LC-MS/MS分析马缨杜鹃花代谢物的变化

为分析马缨杜鹃(Rhododendron delavayi)花开花至凋谢过程中的代谢产物差异及其通路,该文采用LC-MS/MS技术对其花苞期、开裂期、传粉期、盛开期、衰老期和凋谢期的化学成分进行非靶向代谢组学分析。结果表明:(1)共鉴定到973种代谢物,主要包含黄酮类、有机酸、酚酸类、氨基酸及其衍生物、脂类、生物碱等。(2)主成分分析(PCA)表明样本间代谢物存在差异,结合正交偏最小二乘判别分析(OPLS-DA)、t检验的P值和单变量分析的差异倍数(fold-change)筛选差异代谢物(VIP>1,P<0.05,Fc>2或Fc<0.5),涉及591种,在马缨杜鹃花期进入衰老期和凋谢期后差异代谢物数量和表达量显著上升,其中花苞期至开裂期差异代谢物的表达主要呈现下调,而进入衰老期和凋谢期后差异代谢物的表达主要呈现上调。(3)KEGG注释到68条代谢通路,其中差异代谢物极显著富集(P < 0.01)通路3条,包括苯丙素类生物合成、植物激素的生物合成和类黄酮生物合成。(4)结合苯丙素类、黄酮类等有效成分生物合成通路共筛选到10种代谢物包括苯丙氨酸(L-phenylalanine)、反式肉桂酸(trans-cinnamic acid)、查耳酮(chalcone)、柚皮素(naringenin)、对香豆酰基莽草酸(p-coumaroyl shikimic acid)、阿魏酸(ferulic acid)、松柏醇(coniferyl alcohol)、芥子酸(sinapic acid)、紫丁香苷(syringin)、槲皮素(quercetin)。此外,有效成分的差异代谢物表明苯丙素类生物合成代谢活动随马缨杜鹃花的发育逐渐增强,而黄酮类化合物生物合成逐渐减弱,这些关键差异代谢物可能对马缨杜鹃花的发育有重要的调控作用。该研究为马缨杜鹃花开花至凋谢进程中的有效成分代谢途径活性物质的研究提供了代谢组学基础,为进一步研究马缨杜鹃花花期调控的分子机理提供参考。     

Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction Coupled to GC/MS for the Analysis of Volatiles of Honeys from Arid and Mediterranean Areas of Algeria

The volatile composition of seven honey samples collected from various regions of Algeria and feeding on different plants have been determined. The Headspace Solid‐Phase MicroExtraction (HS‐SPME) coupled with Gas Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to achieve the purpose. In this work, different parameters of the HS‐SPME analytical method were investigated in order to reach maximal sensitivity, and thus to obtain maximum information about the volatile profile of Algerian honey. These parameters include saline medium, HS extraction temperature, and the nature of the fiber used. The results showed a great diversity in the chemical composition, in total 124 compounds from different chemical classes were identified, including compounds found for the first time in honey. The Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC) demonstrated the importance of choosing SPME extraction conditions to find volatile compounds, which could be as specific markers of the floral or geographical origin of honey, the latter was optimized in the parameter PDMS‐55 °C.     

Evaluation of Chemical Derivatisation Methods for Protein Identification using MALDI MS/MS

In proteomic studies, assigning protein identity from organisms whose genomes are yet to be completely sequenced remains a challenging task. For these organisms, protein identification is typically based on cross species matching of amino acid sequence obtained from collision induced dissociation (CID) of peptides using mass spectrometry. The most direct approach of de novo sequencing is slow and often difficult, due to the complexity of the resultant CID spectra. For MALDI-MS, this problem has been addressed by using chemical derivatisation to direct peptide fragmentation, thereby simplifying CID spectra and facilitating de novo interpretation. In this study, milk whey proteins from the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) were used to evaluate three chemical derivatisation methods compatible with MALDI MS/MS. These methods included (i) guanidination and sulfonation using chemically-assisted fragmentation (CAF), (ii) guanidination and sulfonation using 4-sulfophenyl isothiocyanate (SPITC) and (iii) derivatising the epsilon-amino group of lysine residues with Lys Tag 4H. Derivatisation with CAF and SPITC resulted in more protein identification than Lys Tag 4H. Sulfonation using SPITC was the preferred method due to the low cost per experiment, the reactivity with both lysine and arginine terminated peptides and the resultant simplified MS/MS spectra.*Australian Peptide Conference Issue.**This project was funded by an ARC Linkage grant to Deane supported by TGR Biosciences and facilitated by access to the Australian Proteome Analysis Facility established under the Australian Government’s Major National Research Facilities program.     

Validated GC/MS method for the simultaneous determination of clozapine and norclozapine in human plasma. Application in psychiatric patients under clozapine treatment

A sensitive and specific GC/MS method for the determination of clozapine (CLZ) and its major metabolite norclozapine (NCLZ), in plasma has been developed, optimized and validated. Specimen preparation includes solid-phase extraction of both analytes using Bond-Elut Certify cartridge and further derivatization with TFAA. Clozapine-d8 was used as internal standard for the determination of CLZ and NCLZ. Limits of detection were 0.45 ng/mL for CLZ and 1.59 ng/mL for NCLZ, while limits of quantification were 1.37 ng/mL for CLZ and 4.8 ng/mL for NCLZ, as calculated by the calibration curves. The calibration curves were linear up to 600 ng/mL for CLZ and NCLZ. Absolute recovery ranged from 82.22% to 95.35% for both analytes. Intra- and interday accuracy was less than 7.13% and −12.52%, respectively, while intra- and interday precision was between 9.47% and 12.07%, respectively, for CLZ and NCLZ. The method covers all therapeutic range and proved suitable for the determination of CLZ and NCLZ not only in psychiatric patients but also in forensic cases with clozapine implication.     

Unusual regulation of the uptake system for branched-chain amino acids in Corynebacterium glutamicum

The uptake of branched-chain amino acids in threonine-dehydratase deficient mutants of Corynebacterium glutamicum is dependent on the presence of relatively high (>1 mM) intracellular concentrations of isoleucine, valine or leucine. This indicates that the respective uptake-system is induced by its substrate, i.e. branched-chain amino acids, at the internal side. This unusual regulation presumably is the reason for the failure to obtain mutants deficient in isoleucine uptake by use of a selection scheme which starts from isoleucine auxotroph mutants. The physiological meaning of this regulation is discussed with respect to isoleucine efflux and the cyclic retention hypothesis.Abbreviations amp ampicillin - dw dry weight - Km kanamycin - kb kilobase(s) - NMG N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine - ®, resistant resistance     

Statistical multivariate metabolite profiling for aiding biomarker pattern detection and mechanistic interpretations in GC/MS based metabolomics

A strategy for robust and reliable mechanistic statistical modelling of metabolic responses in relation to drug induced toxicity is presented. The suggested approach addresses two cases commonly occurring within metabonomic toxicology studies, namely; 1) A pre-defined hypothesis about the biological mechanism exists and 2) No such hypothesis exists. GC/MS data from a liver toxicity study consisting of rat urine from control rats and rats exposed to a proprietary AstraZeneca compound were resolved by means of hierarchical multivariate curve resolution (H-MCR) generating 287 resolved chromatographic profiles with corresponding mass spectra. Filtering according to significance in relation to drug exposure rendered in 210 compound profiles, which were subjected to further statistical analysis following correction to account for the control variation over time. These dose related metabolite traces were then used as new observations in the subsequent analyses. For case 1, a multivariate approach, named Target Batch Analysis, based on OPLS regression was applied to correlate all metabolite traces to one or more key metabolites involved in the pre-defined hypothesis. For case 2, principal component analysis (PCA) was combined with hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to create a robust and interpretable framework for unbiased mechanistic screening. Both the Target Batch Analysis and the unbiased approach were cross-verified using the other method to ensure that the results did match in terms of detected metabolite traces. This was also the case, implying that this is a working concept for clustering of metabolites in relation to their toxicity induced dynamic profiles regardless if there is a pre-existing hypothesis or not. For each of the methods the detected metabolites were subjected to identification by means of data base comparison as well as verification in the raw data. The proposed strategy should be seen as a general approach for facilitating mechanistic modelling and interpretations in metabolomic studies.     

HPLC-MS/MS法对琯溪蜜柚中吡唑醚菌酯残留的测定及套袋对残留量的影响

[目的] 明确吡唑醚菌酯在琯溪蜜柚上使用的安全性以及套袋对残留量的影响,对其残留消解动态进行研究。[方法] 通过田间试验,在蜜柚上进行施药,设置2种施药剂量,分套袋和无套袋2种处理,利用高效液相色谱-串联质谱法进行残留检测。[结果] 吡唑醚菌酯在1~500 μg·L^-1浓度范围内线性关系良好（r²=0.9993）,检出限为0.7 μg·kg^-1。在2、50、1000 μg·kg^-1添加水平下,吡唑醚菌酯的平均回收率为83.8%~105.8%,相对标准偏差（RSD）为2.9%~9.1%,该方法能够满足检测要求。吡唑醚菌酯在蜜柚中的残留消解动态符合一级动力学方程,套袋处理的半衰期（T_1/2）为5.10~5.26 d,无套袋处理的T_1/2为4.48~4.79 d。[结论] 吡唑醚菌酯套袋处理的半衰期略长于无套袋处理的半衰期,但施药后65 d在蜜柚中均没有检出吡唑醚菌酯残留。     

基于核糖体蛋白质标志物及MALDI-TOF MS技术快速鉴定伦茨菌属放线菌

【目的】伦茨菌属(Lentzea)放线菌(Actinobacteria)代谢产物具有广泛的生物活性,在医药领域展现出潜在的应用价值。本研究尝试建立以核糖体蛋白质为标志物,利用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight masss pectrometry,MALDI-TOF MS)技术鉴定伦茨菌属放线菌的方法。【方法】检索基因组数据库,提取伦茨菌属菌种模式菌株15种核糖体蛋白质的序列并计算理论分子量;通过分子量比对分析伦茨菌属菌种模式菌株之间及其与邻近属菌种模式菌株之间15种核糖体蛋白质的匹配度,提出鉴定至菌种及属的核糖体蛋白质匹配数标准;选取目标属和非目标属菌种进行MALDI-TOFMS测试和分析并修正鉴定标准。【结果】将待测菌株的MALDI-TOF质谱峰与伦茨菌属各菌种模式菌株的15种核糖体蛋白质分别匹配,通过最大匹配数及质谱峰强度模式可鉴定至属或种。【结论】本研究建立了基于15种核糖体蛋白质标志物及MALDI-TOF MS技术鉴定伦茨菌属放线菌的方法,可为放线菌纲其他类群的快...