Mass Spectrometer

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a minor and direct metabolite of ethanol. EtG is incorporated into the growing hair allowing retrospective investigation of chronic alcohol abuse. In this study, we report the development and the validation of a method using gas chromatography–negative chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (GC–NCI-MS/MS) for the quantification of EtG in hair. EtG was extracted from about 30mg

Abstract. The gravitational wave detector VIRGO is in the final commissioning phase and some preliminary data has already been acquired. The aim of VIRGO is to directly detect gravitational waves emitted by compact objects at the time of coalescence and by other astrophysical sources. Here we report on the present sensitivity for detecting these sources and what we Will achieve in the near future. We also discuss some details of our data analysis methods and we show some preliminary results related to the fraction of the ...

An electrothermal vaporization (ETV) system useful for the analysis of solutions and slurries has been coupled with a sector-field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP–MS) equipped with an array detector. The ability of this instrument to record the transient signals produced for a number of analytes in ETV–ICP–MS is demonstrated. Detection limits for Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Ga are in the range of 4–60 pg μL− 1 for aqueous solutions and in the low μg g− 1 range for the analysis of 10 mg mL− 1 slurries of Al2O3 powders. The dynamic ranges measured for Fe, Cu and Ga spanned 3–5 orders of magnitude when the detector was operated in the low-gain mode and appear to be limited by the ETV system. Trace amounts of Fe, Cu and Ga could be directly determined in Al2O3 powders at the 2–270 μg g− 1 level without the use of thermochemical reagents. The results well agree with literature values for Fe and Cu, whereas deviations of 50% at the 90 μg g− 1 level for Ga were found.

Molecular and tissue damage induced by reactive oxygen species is a serious consequence of the production of free radicals in biological systems. Biological markers produced by reactions with hydroxyl radicals are useful indices of free radical processesin vivo.In this respect, hydroxylation of aromatic compounds such as salicylate (2-hydroxybenzoate) has been used extensively as a measure of hydroxyl radical formation. 4-Hydroxybenzoate

Peptide mass-fingerprint is widely used for protein identification while studying proteome with the use of 1D or 2D electrophoresis. Peptide mass tolerance indicates the fit of theoretical peptide mass with the experimental measurements, and choice of this parameter sufficiently influences the protein identification. The role of peptide mass tolerance was estimated by counting the number of identified proteins for the reference set of mass-spectra. The reference set of 400 Ultraflex (Bruker Daltonics, Germany) mass-spectra was obtained for the slices of 1D gel of liver microsomes. Using Mascot server for protein identification, the peptide mass tolerance value was varied in the range from 0.02 to 0.40 Da with a step 0.01 Da. Depending on the tolerance the number of identified protein changes up to 10 times. Maximal number of identified proteins was reported for the tolerance value of 0.15 Da (120 ppm), which is 1.5 - 2 times higher than the recommended values for such type of mass-s...

This review highlights the many roles mass spectrometry plays in the discovery and development of new therapeutics by both the pharmaceutical and the biotechnology industries. Innovations in mass spectrometer source design, improvements to mass accuracy, and implementation of computer-controlled automation have accelerated the purification and characterization of compounds derived from combinatorial libraries, as well as the throughput of pharmacokinetics studies. The use of accelerator mass spectrometry, chemical reaction interface-mass spectrometry and continuous flow-isotope ratio mass spectrometry are promising alternatives for conducting mass balance studies in man. To meet the technical challenges of proteomics, discovery groups in biotechnology companies have led the way to development of instruments with greater sensitivity and mass accuracy (e.g., MALDI-TOF, ESI-Q-TOF, Ion Trap), the miniaturization of separation techniques and ion sources (e.g., capillary HPLC and nanospra...

In this work, chemical structures and molecular parameters of grafted materials of PP-g-MAH prepared by melt reactive extrusion were studied by using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometer and gel permeation chromatography. It was found that the initial radicals, due to homolitic scission of dicumyl peroxide could be combined with maleic anhydride (MAH) monomers as well as polypropylene (PP) molecular chains. The homopolymerization of MAH cannot occur and the MAH radicals undergo a dismutational reaction under the processing condition (180–190°C). A modified mechanism of melt grafting MAH onto PP has been proposed tentatively on the basis of our experimental results and other experimental findings published in the literature.

Photooxidation of triethylamine (TEA) in the presence of O2, N2, and H2O over titanium oxide (TiO2) was investigated using a flat plate reactor. TEA was photocatalytically oxidized to CO2 and some by-products on TiO2 thin film catalysts. The intrinsic oxidation rate of the reaction was determined and was dependent on TEA concentration, humidity level, and light intensity. Photocatalytic deactivation was observed in these reactions. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and temperature-programmed desorption with a mass spectrometer as a detector (TPD-MS) were used to characterize the surface of the catalyst and study the deactivation mechanism. FTIR and TPD-MS results suggest that accumulation of carboxylic acid species, –N–N=O, and some other carbonaceous species occurred during the reaction. These by-product species or intermediates were chemisorbed on the catalyst surface. They were stable under reaction conditions and might be responsible for deactivation of TiO2 by either poisoning the active sites directly or blocking the adsorption of TEA on the catalyst surface.

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The cobalt content of Australian foods is unknown, and as this content is, at least in part, related to the respective concentrations in the Australian soil, data collected previously in other countries may not reflect the levels in Australian produce. To compare reported food cobalt levels to that found in Australian foods, one hundred and fifty different food and beverage items from each of the major food groups were selected for analysis, based on annual sales figures in Australia. Food digests were analysed for cobalt content using a Finnigan High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer. While some variation in cobalt content was seen in a small selection of foods from different States, in general terms, the cobalt content of Australian foods is similar to that seen in data from other countries.