[New advances in exposomics-analysis methods and research paradigms based on chromatography-mass spectrometry].

The occurrence and development of human diseases are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Research models that describe disease occurrence only from the perspective of genetics present certain limitations. In recent years, effects of environment factors on the occurrence and development of diseases have attracted extensive attentions. Exposomics focuses on the measurement of all exposure factors in an individual's life and how these factors are related to disease development. Exposomics provides new ideas to promote studies on the relationship between human health and environmental factors. Environmental exposures are characterized with different physical and chemical properties, as well as very low concentrations in vivo, which contribute great challenges in the comprehensive measurement of chemical residues in the human body. Chromatography-mass spectrometry-based technologies combine the high-efficiency separation ability of chromatography with the high resolution and sensitive detection characteristics of mass spectrometry; the combination of these techniques can achieve the high-coverage, high-throughput, and sensitive detection of environmental exposures, thus providing a powerful tool for measuring chemical exposures. Exposomics-analysis methods based on chromatography-mass spectrometry mainly include targeted quantitative analysis, suspect screening, and non-targeted screening. To explore the relationship between environmental exposure and the occurrence and development of diseases, researchers have developed research paradigms, including exposome wide association study, mixed-exposure study, exposomics and multi-omics (genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome)-association study, and so on. The emergence of these methods has brought about unprecedented developments in exposomics studies. In this manuscript, analytical methods based on chromatography-mass spectrometry, exposomics research paradigms, and their relevant prospects are reviewed.

Effective adsorption of Congo red by a MOF-based magnetic material.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an exciting class of porous crystallized materials, which have attracted great interest in sustainable energy and environmental remediation. Magnetite (Fe3O4) is one of the best-known magnetic materials and has been extensively studied with respect to properties involving high saturation magnetization, biocompatibility and low toxicity. The combination of MOFs and Fe3O4 has shown its potential applications in drug delivery, catalysis and wastewater treatment. However, only classical porous MOFs are used to encapsulate magnetic nanoparticles, such as MIL-100(Fe), ZIF-8, UiO-66 and so on. Herein, we firstly synthesized a new MOF ZTB-1 and surveyed its applications in magnetic materials. As a result, a highly water-stable MOF-based magnetic material Fe3O4@ZTB-1 has been obtained, and it was for the first time used as an excellent adsorbent for the fast adsorption of Congo red (CR) from aqueous solutions, exhibiting an adsorption capacity of 458 mg CR per gram. The electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bond are responsible for binding of CR with Fe3O4@ZTB-1. The magnetic material Fe3O4@ZTB-1 shows a potential application in dyeing wastewater treatment.

Two MOFs as dual-responsive photoluminescence sensors for metal and inorganic ion detection.

Two metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), [Zn(BIPA)(tfbdc)]n (1) and {[Cd(BIPA)(tfbdc)(H2O)]·DMF}n (2), were hydrothermally synthesized using the self-assembly of the "V-shape" BIPA ligand (bis(4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)amine) and the H2tfbdc ligand (2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid) with Zn/Cd metal salts. 1 is a 2D hcb framework and 2 is a 2D sql network. Their applications in detecting metal and inorganic ions were also explored. The results indicate that 1 exhibits dual-responsive photoluminescence sensing for Fe3+ and Cr2O72- ions while 2 can detect Hg2+ and Cr2O72- ions.