TY - JOUR A1 - Hildebrandt, L. A1 - von der Au, Marcus A1 - Zimmermann, T. A1 - Reese, A. A1 - Ludwig, J. A1 - Pröfrock, D. T1 - A metrologically traceable protocol for the quantification of trace metals in different types of microplastic JF - PLOS ONE N2 - The presence of microplastic (MP) particles in aquatic environments raised concern About possible enrichment of organic and inorganic pollutants due to their specific surface and chemical properties. In particular the role of metals within this context is still poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop a fully validated acid digestion protocol for metal analysis in different polymers, which is a prerequisite to study such interactions. The proposed digestion protocol was validated using six different certified reference materials in the microplastic size range consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polyvinyl chloride. As ICP-MS/MS enabled time-efficient, sensitive and robust analysis of 56 metals in one measurement, the method was suitable to provide mass fractions for a multitude of other elements beside the certified ones (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn). Three different microwaves, different acid mixtures as well as different temperatures in combination with different hold times were tested for optimization purposes. With the exception of Cr in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, recovery rates obtained using the optimized protocol for all six certified reference materials fell within a range from 95.9% ± 2.7% to 112% ± 7%. Subsequent optimization further enhanced both precision and recoveries ranging from 103% ± 5% to 107 ± 4% (U; k = 2 (n = 3)) for all certified metals (incl. Cr) in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. The results clearly show the analytical challenges that come along with metal analysis in chemically resistant plastics. Addressing specific analysis Tools for different sorption scenarios and processes as well as the underlying kinetics was beyond this study’s scope. However, the future application of the two recommended thoroughly validated total acid digestion protocols as a first step in the direction of harmonization of metal analysis in/on MP will enhance the significance and comparability of the generated data. It will contribute to a better understanding of the role of MP as vector for trace metals in the environment. KW - Microplatic KW - Digestion KW - Analytical Chemistry PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-510727 DO - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236120 VL - 15 IS - 7 SP - e0236120 AN - OPUS4-51072 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tukhmetova, Dariya A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Vogl, Jochen A1 - Meermann, Björn T1 - Development of an Online Isotope Dilution CE/ICP–MS Method for the Quantification of Sulfur in Biological Compounds JF - Analytical Chemistry N2 - We report an analytical methodology for the quantification of sulfur in biological molecules via a speciesunspecific postcolumn isotope dilution (online ID) approach using capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled online with inductively coupled plasma−mass spectrometry (online ID CE/ICP−MS). The method was optimized using a mixture of standard compounds including sulfate, methionine, cysteine, cystine, and albumin, yielding compound recoveries between 98 and 105%. The quantity of sulfur is further converted to the quantity of the compounds owing to the prior knowledge of the sulfur content in the molecules. The limit of detection and limit of quantification of sulfur in the compounds were 1.3−2.6 and 4.1−8.4 mg L−1, respectively, with a correlation coefficient of 0.99 within the concentration range of sulfur of 5−100 mg L−1. The capability of the method was extended to quantify albumin in its native matrix (i.e., in serum) using experimentally prepared serum spiked with a pure albumin standard for validation. The relative expanded uncertainty of the method for the quantification of albumin was 6.7% (k = 2). Finally, we tested the applicability of the method on real samples by the analysis of albumin in bovine and human sera. For automated data assessment, a software application (IsoCor) which was developed by us in a previous work was developed further for handling of online ID data. The method has several improvements compared to previously published setups: (i) reduced adsorption of proteins onto the capillary wall owing to a special capillary-coating procedure, (ii) baseline separation of the compounds in less than 30 min via CE, (iii) quantification of several sulfur species within one run by means of the online setup, (iv) SI traceability of the quantification results through online ID, and (v) facilitated data processing of the transient signals using the IsoCor application. Our method can be used as an accurate approach for quantification of proteins and other biological molecules via sulfur analysis in complex matrices for various fields, such as environmental, biological, and pharmaceutical studies as well as clinical diagnosis. Sulfur is an essential element in living organisms, where it plays important roles in various biological processes, such as protein synthesis, enzyme activity, and antioxidant defense. However, the biological effects of different sulfur species can vary widely, and imbalances in sulfur speciation have been observed in a range of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes.1−3 The accurate quantification of sulfur and its species in biological samples requires sensitive and selective analytical techniques. In recent years, separation techniques coupled online with inductively coupled plasma−mass spectrometry (ICP−MS) have emerged as powerful online analytical tools complementary to molecular spectrometric methods for speciation analysis of biological compounds. External calibration4−9 and isotope dilution (ID)10−15 are common calibration approaches applied for online quantification of sulfur species in complex samples. The ID analysis is advantageous over. KW - Analytical Chemistry KW - CE/MC-ICP-MS KW - species-specific isotope information PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-594736 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c03553 SN - 0003-2700 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-59473 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Temgoua, Ranil C.T. A1 - Dontsi, Fabiola T. A1 - Lebègue, Estelle A1 - Thobie-Gautier, Christine A1 - Tonlé, Ignas K. A1 - Boujtita, Mohammed T1 - Understanding the behavior of phenylurazole-tyrosine-click electrochemical reaction using hybrid electroanalytical techniques JF - Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis N2 - In this work, the electrochemical behavior of 4-phenylurazole (Ph-Ur) was studied and the latter was used as a molecular anchor for the electrochemical bioconjugation of tyrosine (Y). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and controlled potential coulometry (CPC) allowed the in-situ generation of the PTAD (4-phenyl-3 H-1,2,4-triazole-3,5(4 H)-dione) species from phenylurazole on demand for tyrosine electrolabeling. The chemoselectivity of the reaction was studied with another amino acid (lysine, Lys) and no changes in Lys were observed. To evaluate the performance of tyrosine electrolabeling, coulometric analyses at controlled potentials were performed on solutions of phenylurazole and the phenylurazole-tyrosine mixture in different proportions (2:1, 1:1, and 1:2). The electrolysis of the phenylurazole-tyrosine mixture in the ratio (1:2) produced a charge of 2.07 C, very close to the theoretical value (1.93 C), with high reaction kinetics, a result obtained here for the first time. The products obtained were identified and characterized by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS and LC- HRMS2). Two products were formed from the click reactions, one of which was the majority. Another part of this work was to study the electrochemical degradation of the molecular anchor 4-phenylazole (Ph-Ur). Four stable degradation products of phenylurazole were identified (C7H9N2O, C6H8N, C6H8NO, C14H13N4O2) based on chromatographic profiles and mass spectrometry results. The charge generated during the electrolysis of phenylurazole (two-electron process) (2.85 C) is inconsistent with the theoretical or calculated charge (1.93 C), indicating that secondary/parasitic reactions occurred during the electrolysis of the latter. In conclusion, the electrochemically promoted click phenylurazole-tyrosine reactions give rise to click products with high reaction kinetics and yields in the (1:2) phenylurazole-tyrosine ratios, and the presence of side reactions is likely to affect the yield of the click phenylurazole-tyrosine reaction. KW - Clinical Biochemistry KW - Spectroscopy KW - Drug Discovery KW - Pharmaceutical Science KW - Analytical Chemistry PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-599267 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116147 VL - 245 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier BV AN - OPUS4-59926 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuner, Maximilian A1 - Lisec, Jan A1 - Picher, Marie-Idrissa A1 - Rigo, Massimo A1 - Konetzki, Jörg A1 - Haase, Hajo A1 - Koch, Matthias T1 - Development and Application of Isotope Labelled Internal Standards in a Sum Parameter Method for Ergot Alkaloid Screening of Food JF - Food Analytical Methods N2 - Ergot alkaloids are a group of toxic compounds, formed by fungi on infested grasses. In 2022, the European Commission set into effect maximum levels for the sum of the twelve major ergot alkaloids in multiple foods. To facilitate the laborious and costly individual quantification of the twelve major ergot alkaloids by HPLC–MS/MS or -FLD, we recently reported a sum parameter method (SPM) for ergot alkaloid quantification. Here, derivatization to lysergic acid hydrazide—a derivative of the mutual ergoline backbone in all ergot alkaloids—allowed simplified determination of all ergot alkaloids in flour via HPLC-FLD. For the measurement of more complex matrices like processed foods, we now developed a MS/MS-based SPM. Two internal standards (IS), isotopically labelled at different positions of the molecule, were synthesized and employed in the MS/MS-measurements. Method performance using either the 13CD3-labelled or the 15N2-labelled IS was evaluated on naturally contaminated rye and wheat flour samples as well as on processed food matrices. Employing the 13CD3-labelled IS leads to lower variances and better consistency with the reference data (obtained by the FLD-based SPM) in flour samples compared to the 15N2-labelled IS. The novel method significantly improves the measurement of ergot alkaloids in complex food matrices, due to their increased selectivity and thus lower interferences. Furthermore, the application of isotope labelled IS obviates the need for time-consuming steps like the determination of recovery rate based, matrix specific correction factors as described in the MS/MS-based European standard method for ergot alkaloid quantification (EN 17425). KW - Mycotoxins KW - Sum Parameter Method KW - Isotope Labelling KW - HPLC-MS/MS KW - Analytical Chemistry KW - Lysergic acid hydrazide PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-588582 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-023-02553-x SN - 1936-976X VL - 17 IS - 1 SP - 119 EP - 128 PB - Springer CY - New York, NY AN - OPUS4-58858 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -