Molecular chemistry of organic aerosols through the application of high resolution mass spectrometry

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 3612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey A. Nizkorodov ◽  
Julia Laskin ◽  
Alexander Laskin
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela G. Rincón ◽  
Ana I. Calvo ◽  
Mathias Dietzel ◽  
Markus Kalberer

Environmental contextUnderstanding the molecular composition and chemical transformations of organic aerosols during atmospheric aging is a major challenge in atmospheric chemistry. Ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry can provide detailed information on the molecular composition of organic aerosols. Aerosol samples collected in summer and winter at an urban site are characterised and compared in detail with respect to the elemental composition of their components, especially nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds, and are discussed with respect to atmospheric formation processes. AbstractOrganic compounds are major constituents of atmospheric aerosol particles. The understanding of their chemical composition, their properties and reactivity are important for assessing aerosol effects upon both global climate change and human health. The composition of organic aerosols is poorly understood, mainly due to its highly complex chemical composition of several thousand compounds. There is currently no analytical technique available covering a wide enough chemical space to characterise this large number of organic compounds. In recent years ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry has been increasingly used to explore the chemical complexity in organic aerosols from laboratory and ambient samples. In the present study ambient particles <1 µm were collected at an urban site in Cambridge, UK, from August to December 2009. The water-soluble organic fraction of the filters was separated from inorganic ions following a procedure developed for humic-like substance isolation. Ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry analyses were performed in negative and positive polarity. Data in the mass range of m/z 50–350 were analysed for their elemental composition. Summer samples generally contained more components than winter samples. The large number of compounds was subdivided into groups according to their elemental composition. Up to 80 % of the peaks contain nitrogen and sulfur functional groups and only ~20 % of the compounds contain only C, H and O atoms. In summer the fraction of compounds with oxidised nitrogen and sulfur groups increases compared with winter indicating a photo-chemical formation route of these multifunctional compounds. In addition to oxidised nitrogen compounds a large number of amines was identified.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 2461-2480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren T. Fleming ◽  
Peng Lin ◽  
Alexander Laskin ◽  
Julia Laskin ◽  
Robert Weltman ◽  
...  

Abstract. Emissions of airborne particles from biomass burning are a significant source of black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) in rural areas of developing countries where biomass is the predominant energy source for cooking and heating. This study explores the molecular composition of organic aerosols from household cooking emissions with a focus on identifying fuel-specific compounds and BrC chromophores. Traditional meals were prepared by a local cook with dung and brushwood-fueled cookstoves in a village in Palwal district, Haryana, India. Cooking was done in a village kitchen while controlling for variables including stove type, fuel moisture, and meal. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions were collected on filters, and then analyzed via nanospray desorption electrospray ionization–high-resolution mass spectrometry (nano-DESI-HRMS) and high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array–high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-HRMS) techniques. The nano-DESI-HRMS analysis provided an inventory of numerous compounds present in the particle phase. Although several compounds observed in this study have been previously characterized using gas chromatography methods a majority of the species in the nano-DESI spectra were newly observed biomass burning compounds. Both the stove (chulha or angithi) and the fuel (brushwood or dung) affected the composition of organic aerosols. The geometric mean of the PM2.5 emission factor and the observed molecular complexity increased in the following order: brushwood–chulha (7.3 ± 1.8 g kg−1 dry fuel, 93 compounds), dung–chulha (21.1 ± 4.2 g kg−1 dry fuel, 212 compounds), and dung–angithi (29.8 ± 11.5 g kg−1 dry fuel, 262 compounds). The mass-normalized absorption coefficient (MACbulk) for the organic-solvent extractable material for brushwood PM2.5 was 3.7 ± 1.5 and 1.9 ± 0.8 m2 g−1 at 360 and 405 nm, respectively, which was approximately a factor of two higher than that for dung PM2.5. The HPLC-PDA-HRMS analysis showed that, regardless of fuel type, the main chromophores were CxHyOz lignin fragments. The main chromophores accounting for the higher MACbulk values of brushwood PM2.5 were C8H10O3 (tentatively assigned to syringol), nitrophenols C8H9NO4, and C10H10O3 (tentatively assigned to methoxycinnamic acid).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Cheng ◽  
Yuchen Tang ◽  
Baoquan Bao ◽  
Ping Zhang

<p><a></a><a></a><a></a><a><b>Objective</b></a>: To screen all compounds of Agsirga based on the HPLC-Q-Exactive high-resolution mass spectrometry and find potential inhibitors that can respond to 2019-nCoV from active compounds of Agsirga by molecular docking technology.</p> <p><b>Methods</b>: HPLC-Q-Exactive high-resolution mass spectrometry was adopted to identify the complex components of Mongolian medicine Agsirga, and separated by the high-resolution mass spectrometry Q-Exactive detector. Then the Orbitrap detector was used in tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry, and the related molecular and structural formula were found by using the chemsipider database and related literature, combined with precise molecular formulas (errors ≤ 5 × 10<sup>−6</sup>) , retention time, primary mass spectra, and secondary mass spectra information, The fragmentation regularities of mass spectra of these compounds were deduced. Taking ACE2 as the receptor and deduced compounds as the ligand, all of them were pretreated by discover studio, autodock and Chem3D. The molecular docking between the active ingredients and the target protein was studied by using AutoDock molecular docking software. The interaction between ligand and receptor is applied to provide a choice for screening anti-2019-nCoV drugs.</p> <p><b>Result</b>: Based on the fragmentation patterns of the reference compounds and consulting literature, a total of 96 major alkaloids and stilbenes were screened and identified in Agsirga by the HPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS method. Combining with molecular docking, a conclusion was got that there are potential active substances in Mongolian medicine Agsirga which can block the binding of ACE2 and 2019-nCoV at the molecular level.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (8) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
V. G. Amelin ◽  
D. S. Bolshakov

The goal of the study is developing a methodology for determination of the residual amounts of quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) in food products by UHPLC/high-resolution mass spectrometry after water-acetonitrile extraction of the determined components from the analyzed samples. The identification and determination of QAC was carried out on an «UltiMate 3000» ultra-high-performance liquid chromatograph (Thermo Scientific, USA) equipped with a «maXis 4G» high-resolution quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometric detector and an ion spray «ionBooster» source (Bruker Daltonics, Germany). Samples of milk, cheese (upper cortical layer), dumplings, pork, chicken skin and ground beef were used as working samples. Optimal conditions are specified for chromatographic separation of the mixture of five QAC, two of them being a mixture of homologues with a linear structure (including isomeric forms). The identification of QAC is carried out by the retention time, exact mass of the ions, and coincidence of the mSigma isotopic distribution. The limits for QAC detection are 0.1 – 0.5 ng/ml, the determination limits are 1 ng/ml for aqueous standard solutions. The determinable content of QAC in food products ranges within 1 – 100 ng/g. The results of analysis revealed the residual amount of QAC present in all samples, which confirms data of numerous sources of information about active use of QAC-based disinfectants in the meat and dairy industry. The correctness of the obtained results is verified by introduction of the additives in food products at a level of 10 ng/g for each QAC. The relative standard deviation of the analysis results does not exceed 0.18. The duration of the analysis is 30 – 40 min.


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