The Tannins from Sanguisorba officinalis L. (Rosaceae): A Systematic Study on the Metabolites of Rats Based on HPLC–LTQ–Orbitrap MS2 Analysis

Sanguisorba tannins are the major active ingredients in Sanguisorba ofJicinalis L. (Rosaceae), one of the most popular herbal medicines in China, is widely prescribed for hemostasis. In this study, three kinds of tannins extract from Sanguisorba officinalis L. (Rosaceae), and the metabolites in vivo and in vitro were detected and identified by high-pressure liquid chromatography, coupled with linear ion trap orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–LTQ–Orbitrap). For in vivo assessment, the rats were administered at a single dose of 150 mg/kg, after which 12 metabolites were found in urine, 6 metabolites were found in feces, and 8 metabolites were found in bile, while metabolites were barely found in plasma and tissues. For in vitro assessment, 100 μM Sanguisorba tannins were incubated with rat liver microsomes, liver cytosol, and feces, after which nine metabolites were found in intestinal microbiota and five metabolites were found in liver microsomes and liver cytosol. Moreover, the metabolic pathways of Sanguisorba tannins were proposed, which shed light on their mechanism.     

Characterization and tentative identification of new flunitrazepam metabolites in authentic human urine specimens using liquid chromatography‐Q exactive‐HF hybrid quadrupole‐Orbitrap‐mass spectrometry (LC‐QE‐HF‐MS)

Flunitrazepam (FNZ) is a potent hypnotic, sedative, and amnestic drug used to treat severe insomnia. In our recent study, FNZ metabolic profiles were investigated carefully. Six authentic human urine samples were purified using solid phase extraction (SPE) without enzymatic hydrolysis, and urine extracts were then analyzed by liquid chromatography‐Q exactive‐HF hybrid quadrupole‐Orbitrap‐mass spectrometry (LC‐QE‐HF‐MS), using the full scan positive ion mode and targeted MS/MS (ddms2) technique to make accurate mass measurements. There were 25 metabolites, including 13 phase I and 12 phase II metabolites, which were detected and tentatively identified by LC‐QE‐HF‐MS. In addition, nine previously unreported phase II glucuronide conjugates and four phase I metabolites are reported here for the first time. Eight metabolic pathways, including N‐reduction and O‐reduction, N‐glucuronidation, O‐glucuronidation, mono‐hydroxylation and di‐hydroxylation, demethylation, acetylation, and combinations, were implicated in this work, and 2‐O‐reduction together with dihydroxylation were two novel metabolic pathways for FNZ that were identified tentatively. Although 7‐amino FNZ is widely considered to be the primary metabolite, a previously unreported metabolites (M12) can also serve as a potential biomarker for FNZ misuse.     

Dilute-and-shoot approach for determination of several biomarkers and pharmaceuticals in wastewater using nanoflow liquid chromatography – Orbitrap mass spectrometry

A new method for quantitative analysis of several biomarkers and pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater has been developed employing nanoflow liquid chromatography with Orbitrap mass spectrometry. An easy dilute-and-shoot approach has been used for sample preparation with a dilution factor of 5. Improved retention of ionic and highly polar compounds has been achieved by the addition of tetrabutylammonium bromide as an ion pair reagent into the final diluted sample. The new nanoflow liquid chromatography method has demonstrated low matrix effects (70%–111%), high sensitivity in terms of limits of quantification (0.005 to 0.3 μg/L), low injection volume (70 nl) and solvent consumption, and the ability to analyze diverse polar and ionic analytes within one run using a single reversed-phase nanoflow liquid chromatography column. Wastewater samples (n = 116) from the wastewater treatment plants of different cities in Latvia were analyzed using the developed method. The observed concentrations of biomarkers were in line with the literature data.     

Urinary exposure marker discovery for toxicants using ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry and three untargeted metabolomics approaches

Human biomonitoring is the assessment of actual internal contamination of chemicals by measuring exposure markers, chemicals or their metabolites, in human urine, blood, serum, and other body fluids. However, the metabolism of chemicals within an organism is extremely complex. Therefore, the identification of metabolites is often difficult and laborious. Several untargeted metabolomics methods have been developed to perform objective searching/filtering of accurate-mass-based LC-MS data to facilitate metabolite identification. In this study, three metabolomics data processing approaches were used for chemical exposure marker discovery in urine with an LTQ-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) dataset; di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) was used as an example. The data processing techniques included the SMAIT, mass defect filtering (MDF), and XCMS Online. Sixteen, 83, and 139 probable DINP metabolite signals were obtained using the SMAIT, MDF, and XCMS procedures, respectively. Fourteen probable metabolite signals mined simultaneously by the three metabolomics approaches were confirmed as DINP metabolites by structural information provided by LC-MS/MS. Among them, 13 probable metabolite signals were validated as exposure-related markers in a rat model. Six (m/z 319.155, 361.127, 373.126, 389.157, 437.112 and 443.130) of the 13 exposure-related DINP metabolite signals have not previously been reported in the literature. Our data indicate that SMAIT provided an efficient method to discover effectively and systematically urinary exposure markers of toxicant. The DINP metabolism information can provide valuable information for further investigations of DINP toxicity, toxicokinetics, exposure assessment, and human health effects.     

Evaluation of gas chromatography – electron ionization – full scan high resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry for pesticide residue analysis

Gas chromatography with electron ionization and full scan high resolution mass spectrometry with an Orbitrap mass analyzer (GC-EI-full scan Orbitrap HRMS) was evaluated for residue analysis. Pesticides in fruit and vegetables were taken as an example application.     

超高效液相色谱-线性离子阱/静电场轨道阱质谱法快速检测化妆品中66种抗生素

采用超高效液相色谱-线性离子阱/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法同时测定化妆品中磺胺类、沙星类等66种抗生素类化合物,建立了快速筛查数据库和定量分析方法。待测物用乙腈超声提取,C18色谱柱（100 mm×2.1 mm,1.8 μm）分离,以0.1%（v/v）甲酸水溶液和乙腈为流动相进行梯度洗脱。在正离子模式下,以保留时间和一级母离子精确质量数进行快速筛查,以高能碰撞诱导解离获得的二级碎片离子精确质量数进行确证。结果表明,化合物的线性关系良好,线性相关系数（R²）>0.99;检出限（LOD）为2~4 μg/kg;定量限（LOQ）为5~10 μg/kg;3个添加水平（1LOQ、10LOQ、30LOQ）的平均回收率为58.2%~119.1%,相对标准偏差为1.03~11.9%。该方法简便快速、定性定量可靠,适用于化妆品中抗生素类化合物的快速筛查和定量检测。     

高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱测定奶粉中的低聚果糖

建立了高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法测定奶粉中低聚果糖的方法。奶粉样品用水溶解,加乙酸锌沉淀蛋白,经离心、0.22 μm粒径的微孔膜过滤后,采用Carbohydrate色谱柱(100 mm×2.1 mm, 2.6 μm)进行分离,以乙腈与0.1%乙酸水溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱。质谱采用正离子Target-MS/MS模式,在分离窗口为m/z 4.0和碰撞能为30 eV的条件下,提取响应值较高且在待测样品中无干扰的目标子离子的精确质量数,此方法能够很好地排除样品中的基质干扰。在所建立的色谱-质谱条件下,蔗果三糖(GF₂)、蔗果四糖(GF₃)和蔗果五糖(GF₄)能够得到较好的分离,高分辨质谱提取的质量准确度小于5×10^-6(5 ppm),整个分析时间只需10 min。该方法对GF₂和GF₃的检出限可达100 μg/kg,对GF₄的检出限可达55 μg/kg。待测物质采用外标法定量,线性关系良好,相关系数均大于0.998。通过加标验证,在5、10和20 mg/kg 3个加标水平下,奶粉中GF₂、GF₃和GF₄的平均回收率在75.8%~107.3%范围内,相对标准偏差(RSD)在1.6%~8.3%范围内。该方法样品前处理过程简单,只需沉淀蛋白质,通过二级子离子的选择即可排除基质干扰,分析时间短,测定结果准确、可靠,适用于任何奶粉的高通量测定。     

Accurate mass screening and identification of emerging contaminants in environmental samples by liquid chromatography-hybrid linear ion trap Orbitrap mass spectrometry

The European Reach legislation will possibly drive producers to develop newly designed chemicals that will be less persistent, bioaccumulative or toxic. If this innovation leads to an increased use of more hydrophilic chemicals it may result in higher mobilities of chemicals in the aqueous environment. As a result, the drinking water companies may face stronger demands on removal processes as the hydrophilic compounds inherently are more difficult to remove. Monitoring efforts will also experience a shift in focus to more water-soluble compounds. Screening source waters on the presence of (emerging) contaminants is an essential step in the control of the water cycle from source to tap water. In this article, some of our experiences are presented with the hybrid linear ion trap (LTQ) FT Orbitrap mass spectrometer, in the area of chemical water analysis. A two-pronged strategy in mass spectrometric research was employed: (i) exploring effluent, surface, ground- and drinking-water samples searching for accurate masses corresponding to target compounds (and their product ions) known from, e.g. priority lists or the scientific literature and (ii) full-scan screening of water samples in search of 'unknown' or unexpected masses, followed by MS(n) experiments to elucidate the structure of the unknowns. Applications of both approaches to emerging water contaminants are presented and discussed. Results are presented for target analysis search for pharmaceuticals, benzotriazoles, illicit drugs and for the identification of unknown compounds in a groundwater sample and in a polar extract of a landfill soil sample (a toxicity identification evaluation bioassay sample). The applications of accurate mass screening and identification described in this article demonstrate that the LC-LTQ FT Orbitrap MS is well equipped to meet the challenges posed by newly emerging polar contaminants.     

Mass defect filter technique and its applications to drug metabolite identification by high‐resolution mass spectrometry

Identification of drug metabolites by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) involves metabolite detection in biological matrixes and structural characterization based on product ion spectra. Traditionally, metabolite detection is accomplished primarily on the basis of predicted molecular masses or fragmentation patterns of metabolites using triple‐quadrupole and ion trap mass spectrometers. Recently, a novel mass defect filter (MDF) technique has been developed, which enables high‐resolution mass spectrometers to be utilized for detecting both predicted and unexpected drug metabolites based on narrow, well‐defined mass defect ranges for these metabolites. This is a new approach that is completely different from, but complementary to, traditional molecular mass‐ or MS/MS fragmentation‐based LC/MS approaches. This article reviews the mass defect patterns of various classes of drug metabolites and the basic principles of the MDF approach. Examples are given on the applications of the MDF technique to the detection of stable and chemically reactive metabolites in vitro and in vivo. Advantages, limitations, and future applications are also discussed on MDF and its combinations with other data mining techniques for the detection and identification of drug metabolites. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超高效液相色谱-线性离子阱/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱鉴别纺织品中禁用芳香胺及其异构体

针对目前纺织品中禁用偶氮染料检测中的假阳性问题,建立了一套应用超高效液相色谱-线性离子阱/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱（UPLC-LTQ/Orbitrap）同时筛选24种禁用芳香胺及其常见的14种异构体的方法。样品经连二亚硫酸钠还原,叔丁基甲醚提取后,以水/甲醇（9/1,v/v）稀释定容,用ZORBAX SB-C₁₈色谱柱（150 mm×2.1 mm,5 μm）分离,以0.1%甲酸水溶液和甲醇为流动相,电喷雾正离子（ESI⁺）模式电离。以准分子离子峰的精确质量数和保留时间定性,以提取的色谱图峰面积定量。38种芳香胺的线性相关系数大于0.99,方法检出限为0.5~5 μg/kg。该方法可通过一次实验同时对24种禁用芳香胺及其常见的14种异构体准确定性定量,大大缩短检测周期,实际样品检测也进一步验证了其灵敏性和准确性。