Magnesium-Isotope Fractionation in Chlorophyll-a Extracted from Two Plants with Different Pathways of Carbon Fixation (C3, C4).

Relatively few studies have been focused so far on magnesium-isotope fractionation during plant growth, element uptake from soil, root-to-leaves transport and during chlorophylls biosynthesis. In this work, maize and garden cress were hydroponically grown in identical conditions in order to examine if the carbon fixation pathway (C4, C3, respectively) might have impact on Mg-isotope fractionation in chlorophyll-a. The pigment was purified from plants extracts by preparative reversed phase chromatography, and its identity was confirmed by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The green parts of plants and chlorophyll-a fractions were acid-digested and submitted to ion chromatography coupled through desolvation system to multiple collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Clear preference for heavy Mg-isotopes was found in maize green parts (∆26Mgplant-nutrient 0.65, 0.74 for two biological replicates, respectively) and in chlorophyll-a (∆26Mgchlorophyll-plant 1.51, 2.19). In garden cress, heavy isotopes were depleted in green parts (∆26Mgplant-nutrient (-0.87)-(-0.92)) and the preference for heavy isotopes in chlorophyll-a was less marked relative to maize (∆26Mgchlorophyll-plant 0.55-0.52). The observed effect might be ascribed to overall higher production of energy in form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), required for carbon fixation in C4 compared to C3, which could reduce kinetic barrier and make equilibrium fractionation prevailing during magnesium incorporation to protoporphyrin ring.

Determination of sulfonated azo dyes in chili powders by MALDI-TOF MS.

The application of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is presented for the determination of five sulfonated azo dyes in chili powders. To circumvent problems related to spectral noise and overall poor precision, acid red 88 was used as internal standard and sample cleanup was performed via ion pairing of anionic species with benzyltributylammonium bromide (BTAB) and extraction into chloroform. The key parameters influencing analytical performance were BTAB concentration, pH of the aqueous phase, amount of sample and deposition technique, concentration of 9-aminoacridine (chemical matrix), number of instant spectra per laser shot, and the raster of laser movement. The highest sample load corresponded to 100 µL of water/methanol extract taken for extraction and the method quantification limits for sunset yellow (Y6), ponceau 2R (R5), allura red (R40), and amaranth (R2) were within the range 1.50-3.10 µg g-1 (29.0 µg g-1 for tartrazine, Y5). Two-point standard addition performed in three samples yielded percentage recoveries in the range 86.4-115%; the quantification results were consistent with those obtained by HPLC-DAD. Twelve chili powders were analyzed and the results for nine of them disagreed with information provided by the manufacturers; R40 was determined in seven products at concentrations from 32.5 ± 2.1 µg g-1 to 1125 ± 73 µg g-1; Y6 and Y5 were found at lower concentrations and in fewer samples. The MALDI-TOF MS procedure can be recommended for routine control of sulfonated azo dyes in food products as a memory-free, procedurally simple, high-throughput procedure with minimal costs of instrument operation. Outline of the proposed MALDI-TOF MS procedure.

Determination of fatty acid methyl esters in cosmetic castor oils by flow injection - electrospray ionization - high resolution mass spectrometry.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this work was to set up a high throughput procedure for the determination of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) in cosmetic castor oils using flow injection - electrospray ionization - high resolution mass spectrometry, and to demonstrate the need of such analysis for the quality control purposes. METHODS: The sample aliquot was mixed with isooctane:chloroform (1:1) and submitted to transesterification; the obtained FAMEs were appropriately diluted using water:isopropanol:acetonitrile (20:50:30) with addition of sodium formate which served as an internal standard, lock mass calibrant and promoted the formation of sodium adducts during electrospray ionization (ESI). The principle of flow injection analysis (FIA) was applied for sample introduction to an ESI - quadrupole- time of flight mass spectrometer (ESI-QTOFMS). The carrier solution was composed of water:isopropanol:acetonitrile (20:50:30). From the acquired MS data, flowgrams of the extracted [M+Na]+ ions were obtained using the following m/z values for individual FAMEs: 293.2451 (C16:0); 315.2295 (C18:3); 317.2451 (C18:2); 319.2608 (C18:1); 321.2764 (C18:0); 335.2557 (C18:1,OH); 349.3077 (C20:0); 377.3390 (C22:0) and m/z 226.9515 for IS. Baseline-subtracted and filtered signals were integrated and the list of peaks intensities was exported to Excel, where calibration functions were obtained and quantification carried out. Gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) was used as an alternative analytical tool. RESULTS: The calibration detection limits for FAMEs of unsaturated fatty acids were in the range 3.61 - 8.62 µg L-1 and for saturated compounds in the range 8.51 - 82.4 µg L-1 . The results obtained for commercial were in good agreement with GC-FID data; among nine cosmetic oils analyzed, three contained low concentrations of ricinoleic acid (C18:1, OH), indicating adulteration of castor bean oil with other vegetable oils. CONCLUSION: Application of FIA for the sample introduction to ESI-QTOFMS enabled for reliable determination of FAMEs in cosmetic oils with sampling frequency of thirty per hour as compared to two samples per hour achievable using GC-FID. The proposed procedure is especially well suited for FAMEs of unsaturated fatty acids that are primary components of castor triacylglycerides, and contribute to desirable properties of any cosmetic oil. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Determination of chromium(III) picolinate in dietary supplements by flow injection - electrospray ionization - tandem mass spectrometry, using cobalt(II) picolinate as internal standard.

In this work, a principle of flow injection analysis (FIA) was applied for sample introduction to an electrospray ionization - ion trap mass spectrometer (ESI-ITMS) with the aim to quantify chromium(III) picolinate (CrPic3) in commercial supplements by multiple reaction monitoring, and using cobalt(II) picolinate as internal standard (IS). FIA system was operated with ammonium formate 10 mmol L-1 in methanol-water (1:1, v/v) as a carrier solution at a flow rate 200 µL min-1; 100 µL injections were performed in 2-min intervals. Setting ion transitions m/z 419 â†’ 270 and 304 â†’ 260 for the analyte and IS, respectively, and 100 ms integration time, the method detection and quantification limits 12 ng g-1 and 40 ng g-1 of Cr (as CrPic3) in the air-dried powder. Acetonitrile extracts of the real-world samples presented varying from sample-to-sample chemical composition and IS efficiently compensated for ionization interferences. Mean results from triplicate analysis of four different supplements were obtained with relative standard deviation 0.1-4.0%, indicating acceptable precision. Trueness of the proposed FIA-ESI-ITMS/MS procedure was demonstrated by 95.8-108% percentage recoveries attained in the analysis of the CrPic3-spiked samples. For comparative purposes, total Cr was determined by ICP-MS. The quantitative results obtained indicate the necessity of analytical control of Cr(III) supplements commercially available and demonstrate that the proposed FIA-ESI-ITMS/MS procedure is well-suited for the determination of CrPic3 in such products.