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Mass Spectrometry

Protein allergens have been identified in natural latex gloves using the first reported MALDI imaging method for a natural polymer surface, say scientists in Austria. A simple surface etching step was required to release the proteins from the latex and reveal different allergen contents on the inner and outer surfaces.

Green vegetation from western US forests produces large amounts of polar and apolar organic compounds when burned, giving a different profile to that of dry vegetation or wood. The data will help to explore the role of this type of burning biomass in atmospheric chemistry.

An LC-MS/MS analytical technique that mimics field application was developed to screen systemic and non-systemic fungicides for translocation in wheat leaves.

Four separate classes of enzymes have been differentiated in cleaning products by mass spectrometric analysis of the component amino acids acquired after acidic hydrolysis. Linear discriminant analysis models constructed from training sets of the data correctly predicted the enzyme class in industrial concentrates and commercial products.

The levels of traffic-derived volatile organic compounds in public buses serving a medium-sized European city vary according to the route, the time of day and the day of the week. The data have been used to estimate exposures of the driver and passengers in this typical urban environment.

The use of mass spectrometry for rapidly identifying potential bioagents by detecting the masses of unique biomarkers has been discussed in a special feature.

A simple and rapid ambient ionisation technique has been used for the almost instantaneous detection of counterfeit perfumes by mass spectrometry. It provides highly reproducible spectra in seconds and was illustrated using some high profile perfumes and their forgeries.

A new source based on a flowing afterglow operating at atmospheric pressure has been used to detect pesticides of various classes on fruit peel and salad leaves and in fruit juices. The method is suitable for high throughput screening with detection limits below EU maximum residue levels.

Laser-desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry is shown to be a powerful technique for analyzing complete organic devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes or organic solar cells.

Meats that have been smoked over wood accumulate different levels of PAHs, depending on the type of wood, say researchers in Latvia. The safest woods investigated were apple and alder and the worst was spruce.

The Tyrolean ice mummy named Oetzi, who was more than 5300 years old when discovered in 1991, was wearing a sheepskin coat and moccasins made from cows, say scientists in Germany who used a mass spectrometric approach to classify the preserved keratins in the materials.

The technique of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and its uses are described, including the advantages of the technique over conventional radiometric methods.

The levels of synthetic musks in the milk of Swedish mothers appear to correlate with the use of perfumes and perfumed laundry detergent during pregnancy, according to European researchers. However, it is difficult to assess the risk to breastfeeding infants due to the lack of toxicity data for these compounds.

The stable isotope signatures of the excreta of snakes and lizards are amended by food limitation and starvation, say US scientists. The news will be useful for studying the nutritional status of free-living reptiles and possibly other animal groups to which they are related.

This review of the part played by mass spectrometry in doping control from Munich 1972 to Beijing 2008 Olympics gives an overview of how doping analysis has developed and where we are today.

Pesticides from neighbouring states and from across the Pacific Ocean have been identified in the air at an observatory in the Cascade Range in Oregon. The measurements reveal the influence of historic and current use pesticides locally and remotely on the overall pesticide burden.

The sources of contaminants and interferents commonly encountered in LC/MS and MALDI mass spectrometry have been summarised by Canadian scientists who also provided a spreadsheet holding the details of more than 650 species of interest.

The predicted behaviour of imperfect QMS filters has been examined for filters with one rod displaced radially inward as this is a simple manufacturing defect that arises when a rod does not fit correctly into the mounting.

Genuine and counterfeit perfumes can be distinguished in a matter of seconds using a relatively new form of ambient mass spectrometry developed in Switzerland. Neutral desorption extractive electrospray ionisation allows the real-time analysis of complex matrices with reduced ion suppression.

Everyday exposure to fuel emissions from operations like filling up the car can be estimated by analysing a panel of alkanes in blood by GC/MS, say scientists from the USA.