Determination of stale-flavor carbonyl compounds in beer by stir bar sorptive extraction with in-situ derivatization and thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

HiSorb sorptive extraction for determining salivary short chain fatty acids and hydroxy acids in heart failure patients

Variations in salivary short-chain fatty acids and hydroxy acids (e.g., lactic acid, and 3-hydroxybutyric acid) levels have been suggested to reflect the dysbiosis of human gut microbiota, which represents an additional factor involved in the onset of heart failure (HF) disease. The physical-chemical properties of these metabolites combined with the complex composition of biological matrices mean that sample pre-treatment procedures are almost unavoidable. This work describes a reliable, simple, and organic solvent free protocol for determining short-chain fatty acids and hydroxy acids in stimulated saliva samples collected from heart failure, obese, and hypertensive patients. The procedure is based on in-situ pentafluorobenzyl bromide (PFB-Br) derivatization and HiSorb sorptive extraction coupled to thermal desorption and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The HiSorb extraction device is completely compatible with aqueous matrices, thus saving on time and materials associated with organic solvent-extraction methods. A Central Composite Face-Centred experimental design was used for the optimization of the molar ratio between PFB-Br and target analytes, the derivatization temperature, and the reaction time which were 100, 60 °C, and 180 min, respectively. Detection limits in the range 0.1-100 µM were reached using a small amount of saliva (20 µL). The use of sodium acetate-1-13C as an internal standard improved the intra- and inter-day precision of the method which ranged from 10 to 23%. The optimized protocol was successfully applied for what we believe is the first time to evaluate the salivary levels of short chain fatty acids and hydroxy acids in saliva samples of four groups of patients: i) patients admitted to hospital with acute HF symptoms, ii) patients with chronic HF symptoms, iii) patients without HF symptoms but with obesity, and iv) patients without HF symptoms but with hypertension. The first group of patients showed significantly higher levels of salivary acetic acid and lactic acid at hospital admission as well as the lowest values of hexanoic acid and heptanoic acid. Moreover, the significant high levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid observed in HF respect to the other patients suggest the potential link between oral bacteria and gut dysbiosis.

Prediction of flavor and retention index for compounds in beer depending on molecular structure using a machine learning method

In order to make a preliminary prediction of flavor and retention index (RI) for compounds in beer, this work applied the machine learning method to modeling depending on molecular structure. Towards this goal, the flavor compounds in beer from existing literature were collected. The database was classified into four groups as aromatic, bitter, sulfury, and others. The RI values on a non-polar SE-30 column and a polar Carbowax 20M column from the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) were investigated. The structures were converted to molecular descriptors calculated by molecular operating environment (MOE), ChemoPy and Mordred, respectively. By combining the pretreatment of the descriptors, machine learning models, including support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) and k-nearest neighbour (kNN) were utilized for beer flavor models. Principal component regression (PCR), random forest regression (RFR) and partial least squares (PLS) regression were employed to predict the RI. The accuracy of the test set was obtained by SVM, RF, and kNN. Among them, the combination of descriptors calculated by Mordred and RF model afforded the highest accuracy of 0.686. R² of the optimal regression model achieved 0.96. The results indicated that the models can be used to predict the flavor of a specific compound in beer and its RI value.

In order to make a preliminary prediction of flavor and retention index (RI) for compounds in beer, this work applied the machine learning method to modeling depending on molecular structure.

Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction/Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for the Determination of 2-Nonenal and Its Application to Body Odor Analysis

The odors and emanations released from the human body can provide important information about the health status of individuals and the presence or absence of diseases. Since these components often emanate from the body surface in very small quantities, a simple sampling and sensitive analytical method is required. In this study, we developed a non-invasive analytical method for the measurement of the body odor component 2-nonenal by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry by selective ion monitoring. Using a StableFlex PDMS/DVB fiber, 2-nonenal was efficiently extracted and enriched by fiber exposition at 50 °C for 45 min and was separated within 10 min using a DB−1 capillary column. Body odor sample was easily collected by gauze wiping. The limit of detection of 2-nonenal collected in gauze was 22 pg (S/N = 3), and the linearity was obtained in the range of 1–50 ng with a correlation coefficient of 0.991. The method successfully analyzed 2-nonenal in skin emissions and secretions and was applied to the analysis of body odor changes in various lifestyles, including the use of cosmetics, food intake, cigarette smoking, and stress load.

Flavor stability assessment of lager beer: what we can learn by comparing established methods

Beer is prone to flavor changes during aging that influence consumer acceptance within shelf life. The shelf life of beer is defined as the period over which flavor changes remain acceptable. Assessment of flavor changes caused by volatiles is typically achieved with a combination of sensory evaluation and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Volatile indicators causing flavor changes during beer aging are commonly determined with headspace solid–phase microextraction (HS-SPME), solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE), or steam distillation (SD). However, discrepancies occur when comparing results from different analytical methods that affect the assessment of the degree of flavor stability. This article discusses the effect of different established analytical methods on flavor stability assessment. Reaction potentials of de novo formation, release from adducts, and degradation are hypothesized to participate in the observed discrepancies, and evidence is verified using model systems. Three extraction methods were qualitatively compared by multiple gas chromatography–olfactometry experiments (GC–O) of a one-year, naturally aged, pale lager beer. SD showed the highest number of detected aroma compounds (41), followed by HS-SPME (33), and SAFE (26). Aroma intensities for SD were more pronounced for most aging indicators than with other methods. With SAFE, only 11 aging compounds could be identified confidently, with weak aroma intensities at GC–O, and this method was thereby excluded from further experiments. Certain aging compounds were calibrated for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) from HS-SPME and SD, although most compounds were present at the lower limits of detection and quantification. Relative standard deviation and recoveries for all compounds were acceptable for both methods. Quantitative comparison was conducted for four different commercial pale lager beers at different stages of aging at 20 °C (fresh, 5 months, 10 months). Aging-related changes of pale lager beer presented with altered profiles and behavior in SD compared to the non-invasive HS-SPME due to heat intake, and were borne out by GC–O results. Model systems were used to describe the impact of isolated aging-relevant mechanisms and precursors during distillation. Our findings suggest that results from different methods in reactive matrices should be compared cautiously, especially regarding aroma activity, and indicate that the most gentle or non-invasive method should be applied for analysis.

A simple device for headspace sorptive extraction prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis

A device for headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE) combined with gas chromatography separation and mass spectrometry detection (GC-MS) is presented. The gadget is based on a simple magnetic disk that permits the stir bar to be placed at the top of the sample vial. The complete surface of the coated stir bar is exposed to the headspace atmosphere, and the movement of the bar caused by the magnetic stirrer in the liquid sample facilitates the sorption process. The final consequence is increased sensitivity and repeatability when compared with a glass-made comercial device for the same purpose. Successful determination of ten chlorobenzenes in waters testifies the good performance of the new device.

Recent Developments of Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction for Food Applications: Extension to Polar Solutes

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) is a miniaturized and solvent-less sample preparation method for extraction and concentration of organic compounds from aqueous samples. The method is based on sorptive extraction, whereby the solutes are extracted into a polymer, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), coated on a stir bar. Using an apolar PDMS coating, SBSE provides high recoveries for apolar solutes; however, SBSE recoveries for polar solutes are low. Although several more polar coatings for SBSE were developed, these extraction phases are mostly not compatible with thermal desorption (TD) and/or have inferior performance characteristics related to robustness, bleeding, stability, etc. compared to PDMS. In this perspective, two recently introduced SBSE approaches are described that can be used to extend the applicability of a PDMS coating to more polar solutes: (1) SBSE with freeze concentration [ice concentration linked with extractive stirrer (ICECLES)], which is based on the concentration of analytes by gradually reducing the phase ratio (sample/extraction phase), and (2) SBSE using a solvent-swollen PDMS [solvent-assisted SBSE (SA-SBSE)], which is based on a combination of polarity modification and volume increase by PDMS phase swelling using certain types of solvents while maintaining the original characteristics of the PDMS phase.

Simulation of Pilsner-type beer aroma using 76 odor-active compounds

Gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) analyses of the aroma components extracted from Pilsner-type beer were performed. The concentrations of all 76 components, that were identified after the GC-O analyses, were accurately quantitated. The aroma compounds were then used in the following aroma simulation experiments, with ethanol and water as matrices. The odorants with higher odor intensity in GC-O analysis and odor activity values (OAVs) were selected first, and the selected 25 odorants were used in an aroma simulation experiment. The results of sensory analysis showed that the simulation model using 25 odorants exhibited unbalanced characteristics and lacked the malty/cereal, estery characteristics, the total amount of aroma, and the similarity compared to the reference Pilsner-type beer. Addition of the 24 odorants, which were identified through the fractionations of whole aroma extract of beer and expected to complement the malty/cereal characteristic, could not improve the aroma quality of the simulation model. The aroma simulation experiments using 76 odorants indicated that the synergistic contributions of the multiple odorants, with no independent contribution to the overall characteristics (including sub-threshold components) and with no reminiscence of beer aroma, were necessary for the construction of beer aroma.

Development of a Method for the Quantitation of Three Thiols in Beer, Hop, and Wort Samples by Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction with in Situ Derivatization and Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A method for analysis of hop-derived polyfunctional thiols, such as 4-sulfanyl-4-methylpentan-2-one (4S4M2Pone), 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3SHol), and 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate (3SHA), in beer, hop water extract, and wort at nanogram per liter levels was developed. The method employed stir bar sorptive extraction with in situ derivatization (der-SBSE) using ethyl propiolate (ETP), followed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS/MS) with selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. A prior step involved structural identification of the ETP derivatives of the thiols by TD-GC-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry with parallel sulfur chemiluminescence detection (Q-TOF-MS/SCD) after similar der-SBSE. The der-SBSE conditions of the ETP concentration, buffer concentration, salt addition, and extraction time profiles were investigated, and the performance of the method was demonstrated with spiked beer samples. The limits of detection (LODs) (0.19-27 ng/L) are below the odor threshold levels of all analytes. The apparent recoveries at 10-100 ng/L (99-101%) and the repeatabilities [relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.3-7.2%; n = 6] are also good. The method was successfully applied to the determination of target thiols at nanogram per liter levels in three kinds of beer samples (hopped with Cascade, Citra, and Nelson Sauvin) and the corresponding hop water extracts and wort samples. There was a clear correlation between the determined values and the characteristics of citrus hop aroma for each sample.

In situ aqueous derivatization as sample preparation technique for gas chromatographic determinations

The use of derivatization reactions is a common practice in analytical laboratories. Although in many cases it is tedious and time-consuming, it does offer a good alternative for the determination of analytes not compatible to gas chromatography. Many of the reactions reported in the literature occur in organic medium. However, in situ aqueous derivatization reactions, which can be performed directly in aqueous medium, offer important advantages over those mentioned above, such as no need of a previous extraction step and easy automation. Here we review the most recent developments and applications of in situ aqueous derivatization. The discussion focuses on the derivatization reactions used for the determination of alcohols and phenols, carboxylic acids, aldehydes and ketones, nitrogen-containing compounds and thiols in different aqueous matrices, such as environmental, biological and food samples. Several reactions are described for each functional group (acylation, alkylation, esterification, among others) and, in some cases, the same reagents can be used for several functional groups, such that there is an unavoidable overlap between sections. Finally, attention is also focused on the techniques used for the introduction of the derivatives formed in the aqueous medium into the chromatographic system. The implementation of in situ aqueous derivatization coupled to preconcentration techniques has permitted the enhancement of recoveries and improvements in the separation, selectivity and sensitivity of the analytical methods.

Simultaneous quantitation of volatile compounds in citrus beverage through stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with thermal desorption-programmed temperature vaporization

Due to disparate concentrations and physiochemical properties of analytes, difficulties in terms of sensitivity and reproducibility are commonly encountered in flavour analysis. In this study, we attempted to improve the performance of stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with thermal desorption and programmed temperature vaporization (SBSE-TD-PTV) based on a model citrus beverage. Through response surface methodology, thermal desorption conditions (i.e. desorption flow, thermal desorption time and cryofocusing temperature) were optimised based on constrained optimisation. Solute discrimination during injection was alleviated by normalising the variability of peak responses of different analytes. In addition, the effects of extraction conditions (i.e. ionic strength, stirring speed, extraction time, temperature and pH) were also investigated using partial factorial design. The obtained method showed high precision and good linearity over the concentration ranged from 0.10 to 20.00 μg L(-1) with the correlation coefficients higher than 0.991 for most of the selected chemicals, except indole. The limit of detection ranged from 0.03 to 3.89 μg L(-1). Hence, our results indicated that through the systematic study, SBSE-TD-PTV method became much less solute discriminative and more reliable to quantitate complex analytes.

On the origin of free and bound staling aldehydes in beer

The chemistry of beer flavor instability remains shrouded in mystery, despite decades of extensive research. It is, however, certain that aldehydes play a crucial role because their concentration increase coincides with the appearance and intensity of "aged flavors". Several pathways give rise to a variety of key flavor-active aldehydes during beer production, but it remains unclear as to what extent they develop after bottling. There are indications that aldehydes, formed during beer production, are bound to other compounds, obscuring them from instrumental and sensory detection. Because freshly bottled beer is not in chemical equilibrium, these bound aldehydes might be released over time, causing stale flavor. This review discusses beer aging and the role of aldehydes, focusing on both sensory and chemical aspects. Several aldehyde formation pathways are taken into account, as well as aldehyde binding in and release from imine and bisulfite adducts.

Novel sorption-based methodologies for static microextraction analysis: A review on SBSE and related techniques

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) became a well-established analytical technique in the last years, for which hundreds of applications in almost all types of scientific fields can be found in the literature. In spite of the great enrichment capacity and outstanding performance to operate at the ultra-trace level, this remarkable static sorption-based method is already not quite effective for some complex systems, in particular to monitor the large group of polar organic compounds. This review aims to cover the state-of-the-art in SBSE, as well as supplying a discussion of the analytical potential of the novel adsorptive microextraction techniques, as complementary enrichment approaches, by explaining the main principles and providing technical know-how for the beginners.

Quantitation of free and total bisphenol A in human urine using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Bisphenol A (BPA) is employed in the synthesis of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins and is widely used in consumer products including as a coating for the inside of almost all food and beverage containers and thermal-imaging paper. Bisphenol A is considered to have important health implications because it possesses weak estrogenic activity and can leach from storage containers resulting in its consumption by both humans and animals. It is metabolized in the body and excreted into urine as a glucuronide derivative. In this report, we present an accurate, selective, sensitive, and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) method for the quantitation of BPA in human urine, which is not prone to exogenous contamination. BPA-glucuronide is hydrolyzed enzymatically, extracted with toluene, derivatized with dansyl chloride, and the BPA-(dansyl)(2) derivative is analyzed using reversed-phase HPLC/MS/MS. Calibration was linear to 50 ng/mL with a limit of quantitation of 50 pg/mL and a limit of detection of 5 pg/mL.

Study on the migration of bisphenol-A from baby bottles by stir bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-capillary GC-MS

Migration of bisphenol-A (BPA), the principal monomer of polycarbonate (PC) baby bottles, was investigated using an aqueous migration simulant. BPA was determined in 200 mL water samples using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) after in situ derivatization with acetic acid anhydride followed by thermal desorption (TD)-capillary GC-MS. The concentration of BPA was calculated using the deuterated internal standard d6-BPA. Calibration for BPA was shown to be linear in a concentration range from 1 ng/L to 10 microg/L with a correlation coefficient >0.99. The LOD for BPA (as acetate) was 0.12 ng/L and LOQ 0.40 ng/L (ppt). PC bottles were heated in a water bath and in a microwave oven at four different temperatures (37, 53, 65, and 85 degrees C). The higher the temperature, the more the BPA was released, and after a few heating cycles, the released concentrations became constant. At normal use, i.e. at 37 degrees C, concentrations are ca. 10 ng/L. No significant difference was noted between water bath and microwave heating illustrating that migration of BPA is mainly temperature dependent.

Multivariate modeling of aging in bottled lager beer by principal component analysis and multiple regression methods

Data collected from the sensory test score evaluation of bottled lager beer, together with the chemical components related to aging, including carbonyl compounds, higher alcohols, unsaturated fatty acid, organic acids, alpha-amino acids, dissolved oxygen, and staling evaluation indices, including lag time of electron spin resonance (ESR) curve, 1,1'-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenged amounts, and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values, were used to predict the extent of aging in bottled lager beer, using both multiple linear regression and principal component analysis methods. Carbonyl compounds, higher alcohols, and TBA value were significantly and positively correlated with sensory evaluation of staling flavor. While lag time and DPPH scavenging amount were negatively correlated with taste test score. Multiple regression analysis was used to fit the sensory test data using the above chemical compound aging related parameters and evaluation indices as predictors. A variable selection method based on high loadings of varimax rotated principal components was used to obtain subsets of the predominant predictor variables to be included in the regression model of beer aging, so as to eliminate the multicollinearity of the original nine variables. It was found that staling extent was influenced significantly by higher alcohols, TBA value, and DPPH scavenging amount, and the multicollinearity of the regression model was found to be weak by examining the variance inflation factors of the new predictor variables. A mathematic model of the organoleptic test score for beer aging using these three predictors was obtained by multiple linear regression, showing that the major contributors to the sensory taste of beer aging were higher alcohols, TBA index, and DPPH scavenging amount, with the adjusted R(2) of the model being 0.62.

Stir bar sorptive extraction for trace analysis

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) was introduced in 1999 as a solventless sample preparation method for the extraction and enrichment of organic compounds from aqueous matrices. The method is based on sorptive extraction, whereby the solutes are extracted into a polymer coating on a magnetic stirring rod. The extraction is controlled by the partitioning coefficient of the solutes between the polymer coating and the sample matrix and by the phase ratio between the polymer coating and the sample volume. For a polydimethylsiloxane coating and aqueous samples, this partitioning coefficient resembles the octanol-water partitioning coefficient. In comparison to solid phase micro-extraction, a larger amount of sorptive extraction phase is used and consequently extremely high sensitivities can be obtained as illustrated by several successful applications in trace analysis in environmental, food and biomedical fields. Initially SBSE was mostly used for the extraction of compounds from aqueous matrices. The technique has also been applied in headspace mode for liquid and solid samples and in passive air sampling mode. In this review article, the principles of stir bar sorptive extraction are described and an overview of SBSE applications is given.

Fast screening of pesticide multiresidues in aqueous samples by dual stir bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-low thermal mass gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A method for fast screening of pesticide multiresidues in aqueous samples using dual stir bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-low thermal mass gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (dual SBSE-TD-LTM-GC-MS) has been developed. Recovery of 82 pesticides - organochlorine, carbamate, organophosphorous, pyrethroid and others - for the SBSE was evaluated as a function of octanol-water distribution coefficients (log K(o/w): 1.7-8.35), sample volume (2-20 mL), salt addition (0-30% NaCl), and methanol addition (0-20%). The optimized method consists of a dual SBSE performed simultaneously on respectively a 20-mL sample containing 30% NaCl and a 20-mL sample without modifier (100% sample solution). One extraction with 30% NaCl is mainly targeting solutes with low K(o/w) (log K(o/w)<3.5) and another extraction with unmodified sample solution is targeting solutes with medium and high K(o/w) (log K(o/w)>3.5). After extraction, the two stir bars are placed in a single glass desorption liner and are simultaneously desorbed. The desorbed compounds are analyzed by use of LTM-GC-MS with fast temperature programming (75 degrees C min(-1)) using a 0.18 mm i.d. narrow-bore capillary column and fast scanning (10.83 scan s(-1)) using quadrupole MS. The method showed good linearity (r(2)>0.9900) and high sensitivity (limit of detection: <10 ng L(-1)) for most of the target pesticides. The method was applied to the determination of pesticides at nanograms per liter levels in river water and brewed green tea.

Urinalysis of 4-hydroxynonenal, a marker of oxidative stress, using stir bar sorptive extraction–thermal desorption–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A simple and fast method for the measurement of 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE), a highly toxic end-product of lipid peroxidation, in urine samples is described. The method combines stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) with two derivatization steps, followed by thermal desorption and GC/MS. 4HNE is derivatized in situ with O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl) hydroxylamine and the oxime is extracted from the aqueous phase with SBSE. The 4HNE-oxime is further acylated by headspace derivatization prior to thermal desorption. Derivatization reactions and extraction were optimized in terms of reagent quantities, temperature and time. The method is linear over a concentration range of 0.5-5 ng mL(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.997. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation are 22 and 75 pg mL(-1) urine, respectively. The high sensitivity of the method allows the measurement of physiological concentrations of 4HNE in urine samples.

Gas chromatographic quantification of aliphatic aldehydes in freshly distilled Calvados and Cognac using 3-methylbenzothiazolin-2-one hydrazone as derivative agent

A new precise and sensitive method was used for the quantification of aliphatic aldehydes from C5 to C11 in highly ethanolic beverages such as freshly distilled spirits. Carbonyl compounds were derivatized using 3-methylbenzothiazolin-2-one hydrazone (MBTH) and then separated and detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Selective mass spectrometric detection of molecular ions of derivatives was performed to obtain a good sensibility (0.2-1.2 microg l(-1)) and a good selectivity. For a concentration of 20 microg l(-1), relative standard deviations were lower than 10% except for heaviest compounds (decanal and undecanal) where RSD were between 11 and 13%. The concentrations of aliphatic aldehydes were determined in nine samples of freshly distilled Calvados and two samples of freshly distilled Cognac with highest concentrations reported for 3-methylbutanal (from 170 to 1220 microg l(-1) in Calvados and from 1540 to 5500 microg l(-1) in Cognac). 3-Methylbutanal and hexanal, due to their low detection thresholds, could be important olfactive markers of these two products. Less than 1h30 is required to quantify the nine studied aliphatic aldehydes in freshly distilled spirits.