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Mass Spectrometry

A simple method for ionising peptides, proteins and other biomolecules for mass spectrometric analysis relies solely on ultrasound emitted from a piezoelectric device, producing largely singly protonated molecules by the cavitation process.

Ready-to-eat food that has been irradiated with electron beams to kill pathogens is safe from mutagenic heterocyclic aromatic amines, say researchers in Spain, who devised a novel LC/MS method for their measurement at low ppb detection limits.

Animal urine has been used to prepare white pigments for rock art by African tribesman, say French researchers, who used Tof-SIMS to compare the profiles of pigments from a painted stone and snake urine.

The importance of olive oil to the world economy has been underlined by two studies to detect its adulteration, one by lower quality olive oils and one by hazelnut oil. Both methods rely on mass spectrometry but take two very different approaches.

The numerous ways in which inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been used for the analysis of environmental samples since it was commercially introduced in 1983 have been reviewed.

MassBank is the first public repository of mass spectra of small chemical compounds for life sciences, with molecular masses less than 3000 Da, covering metabolites, drugs and volatile natural and synthetic compounds.

Following the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001, state employees working in the vicinity of the ruins were exposed to polychlorinated pollutants from the dust and smoke, with PCDFs constituting the most critical dioxin-like compounds, an analysis of their plasma has shown.

TLC has been coupled with mass spectrometry using an atmospheric pressure thermal desorption probe held in slight contact with the moving plate. The desorbed substances were drawn into the ionisation region for a choice of electrospray ionisation or APCI with rapid switching.

Progress in the author's lab in developing methods for total solvent-free analysis by mass spectrometry consisting of solvent-free ionization followed by solvent-free gas-phase separation is described, including a novel MALDI laserspray ionization source.

Participants in alcohol abstinence maintenance programs should avoid non-alcoholic beers because they produce the conventional alcohol markers ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulphate in their urine, say European researchers.

The levels of certain aldehydes in the breath are indicative of lung cancer, say researchers in Germany, who measured their levels by GC/MS following SPME on-fibre derivatisation. The findings may lead to a non-invasive test for lung malignancies.

A rapid assay for the benzodiazepine alprazolam in rat plasma using sub-2 µm particle LC and tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry gave a limit of quantification using SPE of 1.0 pg/mL.

The feathers of the endangered California condor hold a history of exposure to lead along their length, in a similar manner to drugs of abuse in hair, say US researchers, so that they can be used for long-term monitoring of lead exposure in the wild.

Register <a target=_blank href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/aboutus/new_journals_opt-in_form.html">here</a> first, then you can access for free the full content of all 2009 and 2010 articles published within this exciting new journal, including these top read reviews...

The levels of ethanol and its metabolites have been measured simultaneously in real time in the breath exhaled through the noses and mouths of two volunteers by non-invasive sampling and SIFT MS, to give detailed information on the kinetics of ethanol decay in the blood stream.

Equine liver/lung microsomes/S9 tissue fractions were used to study the phase I metabolism of eight drugs of relevance to equine drug surveillance using accurate mass LC/MS, to reduce the dependence on <em>in vivo</em> studies.

Carelessly discarded newspapers and magazines contribute to the high levels of a particular PCB in river water, say US researchers. In some cases, the levels of this compound alone exceed the recommended total maximum daily load for the sum of all PCBs.

A new LC/MS method has been developed for measuring the delta-<sup><font size=1>13</font></sup>C values of amino acids extracted from hair and bone. Comparison of the results indicated that hair could be an alternative medium for analysing samples from archaeological individuals for dietary reconstruction.

Improvements in the fundamental understanding of ion motion in ion funnels, the evolution in its implementations, and the applications of the ion funnel have been reviewed.

The scope of paper spray ionisation, a new ambient ionisation technique, has been explored by its inventors. It can detect small and large molecules at ppm levels and presents a genuine opportunity for developing point-of-care applications.