Search for evidence of life in space: analysis of enantiomeric organic molecules by N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal derivative dependant Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.

Within the context of the future space missions to Mars (MSL 2011 and Exomars 2016), which aim at searching for traces of life at the surface, the detection and quantitation of enantiomeric organic molecules is of major importance. In this work, we have developed and optimized a method to derivatize and analyze chiral organic molecules suitable for space experiments, using N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal (DMF-DMA) as the derivatization agent. The temperature, duration of the derivatization reaction, and chromatographic separation parameters have been optimized to meet instrument design constraints imposed upon space experiment devices. This work demonstrates that, in addition to its intrinsic qualities, such as production of light-weight derivatives and a great resistance to drastic operating conditions, DMF-DMA facilitates simple and fast derivatization of organic compounds (three minutes at 140 degrees C in a single-step) that is suitable for an in situ analysis in space. By using DMF-DMA as the derivatization agent, we have successfully identified 19 of the 20 proteinic amino acids and been able to enantiomerically separate ten of the potential 19 (glycine being non-chiral). Additionally, we have minimized the percentage of racemized amino acid compounds produced by optimizing the conditions of the derivatization reaction itself. Quantitative linearity studies and the determination of the limit of detection show that the proposed method is also suitable for the quantitative determination of both enantiomeric forms of most of the tested amino acids, as limits of detection obtained are lower than the ppb level of organic molecules already detected in Martian meteorites.

Paraquat detoxication with multiple emulsions.

In this study, we show that detoxifying W/O/W multiple emulsions, prepared with an appropriate extractant/trapping couple, represent a promising technology for quick and safe poisoning treatments, with application to the highly toxic herbicide Paraquat, responsible of poisonings from low-dose exposure leading to several deaths every year. In vitro tests led to the choice of an appropriate extractant/trapping couple system with significant detoxication performance. In vivo tests showed (i) that rats receiving high doses of Paraquat, then a detoxifying emulsion, presented an increase from 50% to 100% of the MST (median survival time) and (ii) that no mortality was observed during 30 days with rats dosed with emulsions initially loaded with Paraquat at a concentration much higher than the lethal dose, proving the stability and the inocuity of the detoxifying multiple emulsion in the gastrointestinal tract.

Modelization of the release from a tetradecane/water/hexadecane multiple emulsion: evidence of significant micellar diffusion.

The release of tetradecane from a multiple emulsion of the type tetradecane/water/hexadecane was studied experimentally using the differential scanning calorimetry technique. The kinetics of the tetradecane release was measured for three formulations containing different concentrations of hydrophilic surfactant (2%, 4%, and 7%). A new mass transfer model derived from the shrinking core model was developed. The values of the model parameters deduced from the least-squares fittings led to the determination of the tetradecane diffusivity. Thus, the preponderant mechanism of mass transfer was proved to be micellar diffusion and not molecular diffusion. This conclusion was confirmed by considering the effect of the change in the hydrophilic surfactant concentration.