Quantitative 1H NMR with External Standards: Use in Preparation of Calibration Solutions for Algal Toxins and Other Natural Products

Fermentation Analytical Technology (FAT): Monitoring industrial E. coli fermentations using absolute quantitative 1H NMR spectroscopy

BACKGROUND

To perform fast, reproducible, and absolute quantitative measurements in an automated manner has become of paramount importance when monitoring industrial processes, including fermentations. Due to its numerous advantages - including its inherent quantitative nature - Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy provides an ideal tool for the time-resolved monitoring of fermentations. However, analytical conditions, including non-automated sample preparation and long relaxation times (T1) of some metabolites, can significantly lengthen the experimental time and make implementation in an industrial set up unfeasible.

RESULTS

We present a high throughput method based on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and 1H NMR, which lays the foundation for what we call Fermentation Analytical Technology (FAT). Our method was developed for the accurate absolute quantification of metabolites produced during Escherichia coli industrial fermentations. The method includes: (1) a stopped flow system for non-invasive sample collection followed by sample quenching, (2) automatic robot-assisted sample preparation, (3) fast 1H NMR measurements, (4) metabolites quantification using multivariate curve resolution (MCR), and (5) metabolites absolute quantitation using a novel correction factor (k) to compensate for the short recycle delay (D1) employed in the 1H NMR measurements. The quantification performance was tested using two sample types: buffer solutions of chemical standards and real fermentation samples. Five metabolites - glucose, acetate, alanine, phenylalanine and betaine - were quantified. Absolute quantitation ranged between 0.64 and 3.40 mM in pure buffer, and 0.71-7.76 mM in real samples.

SIGNIFICANCE

The proposed method is generic and can be straight forward implemented to other types of fermentations, such as lactic acid, ethanol and acetic acid fermentations. It provides a high throughput automated solution for monitoring fermentation processes and for quality control through absolute quantification of key metabolites in fermentation broth. It can be easily implemented in an at-line industrial setting, facilitating the optimization of the manufacturing process towards higher yields and more efficient and sustainable use of resources.

Universally Quantitative Band-Selective Pure Shift NMR Spectroscopy

NMR spectroscopy is often described as a quantitative analytical technique. Strictly, only the simple pulse-acquire experiment is universally quantitative, but the poor signal resolution of the 1H NMR pulse-acquie experiment frequently complicates quantitative analysis. Pure shift NMR techniques provide higher resolution, by reducing signal overlap, but they are susceptible to a variety of sources of site-dependent signal loss. Here, we introduce a new method that corrects for signal loss from such sources in band-selective pure shift NMR experiments, by performing different numbers of iterations of the same pulse sequence elements before acquisition to allow extrapolation back to the loss-free signal. We apply this method to both interferogram and semi-realtime acquisition modes, obtaining integrals within 1% of those acquired from a pulse-acquire experiment for a three-component mixture.

In situ setup for screening of drug permeation by NMR spectroscopy

There are various commercially available setups for studying drug permeation, which differ in cost and manual labor. We explore an artificial membrane in an NMR tube to assess drug permeation with automated measurements. NMR-based concentrations were validated with HPLC and compared to a conventional setup. Setup-specific challenges and workarounds as well as future setup-designs for this and other applications are discussed.

A reliable external calibration method for reaction monitoring with benchtop NMR

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique with the ability to acquire both quantitative and structurally insightful data for multiple components in a test sample. This makes NMR spectroscopy a desirable tool to understand, monitor, and optimize chemical transformations. While quantitative NMR (qNMR) approaches relying on internal standards are well-established, using an absolute external calibration scheme is beneficial for reaction monitoring as resonance overlap complications from an added reference material to the sample can be avoided. Particularly, this type of qNMR technique is of interest with benchtop NMR spectrometers as the likelihood of resonance overlap is only enhanced with the lower magnetic field strengths of the used permanent magnets. The included study describes a simple yet robust methodology to determine concentration conversion factors for NMR systems using single- and multi-analyte linear regression models. This approach is leveraged to investigate a pharmaceutically relevant amide coupling batch reaction. An on-line stopped-flow (i.e., interrupted-flow or paused-flow) benchtop NMR system was used to monitor both the 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) promoted acid activation and the amide coupling. The results highlight how quantitative measurements in benchtop NMR systems can provide valuable information and enable analysts to make decisions in real time.

Identification of a Dual Autophagy and REV-ERB Inhibitor with in Vivo Anticancer Efficacy

The autophagy process appears as a promising target for anticancer interventions. Chloroquine (CQ) and its derivative hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are the only FDA-approved autophagy flux inhibitors. Although diverse anticancer clinical trials are providing encouraging results, several limitations associated with the need of high dosage and long-term administration of these autophagy inhibitors are also emerging. We showed that the inhibition of REV-ERB, a nuclear receptor regulating circadian rhythm and metabolism, enhances CQ-mediated cancer cell death and identified a class of dual inhibitors of autophagy and REV-ERB displaying an in vitro anticancer activity against diverse tumor cells greatly higher than CQ. Herein, we describe our lead optimization strategy that led to the identification of compound 24 as a dual autophagy and REV-ERB inhibitor, showing improved potency in blocking autophagy, enhanced toxicity against cancer cells, optimal drug-like properties, and efficacy in a mouse xenograft model of melanoma as a single anticancer agent.

New unifying metric for NMR/MRI probe evaluation based on optimized solenoid coil geometry

A three-dimensional numerical simulation of the magnetic field distribution and Bloch equations for arbitrary radio frequency (RF) coils is developed and compared against nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experimental results to evaluate the NMR signal intensity. Because NMR is inherently insensitive and its signal intensity is dependent on RF coil geometry, the investigation of RF coil geometry to maximize signal intensity for a given sample volume is important for improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and shortening the accumulation time. The developed simulation can optimize the RF coil geometry, specifically a single-layer solenoid coil with a constant winding pitch, and the result of the solenoid coil simulation serves as a new unifying metric for evaluating NMR/MRI probes. It is found that the most efficient sample aspect ratio (ratio of sample length to sample diameter) and pitch to wire diameter ratio for the highest signal intensity are around 2.2 and 1.65, respectively. Some discrepancies from the solenoid coil geometry ratios for higher signal intensity in previous studies can be explained by the difference in the gap between the inner diameter of the solenoid coil and the sample diameter. These results are confirmed through NMR signal intensity expressed in voltages with three approaches: 3D simulation, experiment, and estimation based on probe parameters. The simulated signal intensity shows a maximum error of approximately 5 % and an average error of 1 % when compared to the experimental results. This result suggests that the developed methods hold the potential for application in quantitative NMR (qNMR) without relying on standard reference materials. Finally, this study introduces a standardized geometry for the optimized solenoid coil for higher signal intensity and uses it to establish an evaluation metric called the signal-to-optimized-solenoid-signal ratio (3SR). The 3SR addresses the volume-dependence problem in conventional metrics like SNR and SNR per sample volume. It provides a standardized approach for the unified evaluation of all RF coils and probe designs, regardless of sample volume and measurement frequency. Therefore, 3SR can be utilized as a useful metric in the search for optimal coil geometry, while metrics such as SNR or SNR per sample volume are currently used for such purpose. This metric is expected to be useful for NMR/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) users and developers.

The effect of tube quality on externally calibrated quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance analysis: How bad can it be?

Externally calibrated quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) approaches offer practical means to simultaneously evaluate chemical identity and content without the addition of calibrants to the test sample. Despite continuous advances in external calibration over the last few decades, adoption of these approaches has been slower than expected. Variations in NMR tube geometry are a commonly overlooked factor that can have a substantial effect on externally calibrated quantitation methods. In this report, we investigate the extent to which tube-to-tube volume variability can affect quantitative NMR outcomes. The results highlight the importance of considering tube quality during the development stages of externally calibrated quantitative methods. In addition, we propose a simple, yet effective volume correction strategy using the residual protonated solvent signal that, based on experiments with mixed NMR tubes of varying quality, alleviates the effect of tube-to-tube variability.

Quantification of sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids from genus Tripterygium by band-selective HSQC NMR

Sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids (SPAs) are bioactive analogues derived from the genus Tripterygium and have anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic properties. Attributed to the similar sesquiterpene structures, the total SPAs showed severe peak overlap in 1D NMR and HPLC, leading to difficulties in identification and quantification. Interestingly, the application of band-selective HSQC NMR that specifically excited the region corresponding to the H-3 of SPAs prompted a signal separation of the total SPAs. Based on the high resolution, 23 SPAs were identified from the band-selective HSQC spectrum. The coupling constants (J_CH, J_HH) and relaxation times (T₁, T₂) of SPAs were measured, and it was found that they caused less than 1% attenuation of the HSQC signals, so the HSQC signals of SPAs had almost uniform responses. The concentrations of 23 SPAs were determined by standard curve method, using wilforgine as the calibration. In addition, we extended the pulse length-based concentration determination (PULCON) as a more efficient external standard method to the band-selective HSQC spectrum, and the results showed that the concentrations of alkaloids determined by PULCON were consistent with those measured by standard curve method. The developed quantification approach was validated according to the <761> of United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), demonstrating that the established band-selective HSQC approach is reliable for the rapid quantification of analogues in botanical extracts.

Cross-Platform Comparison of Amino Acid Metabolic Profiling in Three Model Organisms Used in Environmental Metabolomics

Environmental metabolomics is a promising approach to study pollutant impacts to target organisms in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. To this end, both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)- and mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods are used to profile amino acids in different environmental metabolomic studies. However, these two methods have not been compared directly which is an important consideration for broader comparisons in the environmental metabolomics field. We compared the quantification of 18 amino acids in the tissue extracts of Daphnia magna, a common model organism used in both ecotoxicology and ecology, using both 1H NMR spectroscopy and liquid chromatography with tandem MS (LC-MS/MS). 1H NMR quantification of amino acids agreed with the LC-MS/MS quantification for 17 of 18 amino acids measured. We also tested both quantitative methods in a D. magna sub-lethal exposure study to copper and lithium. Again, both NMR and LC-MS/MS measurements showed agreement. We extended our analyses with extracts from the earthworm Eisenia fetida and the plant model Nicotiana tabacum. The concentrations of amino acids by both 1H NMR and LC-MS/MS, agreed and demonstrated the robustness of both techniques for quantitative metabolomics. These findings demonstrate the compatibility of these two analytical platforms for amino acid profiling in environmentally relevant model organisms and emphasizes that data from either method is robust for comparisons across studies to further build the knowledge base related to pollutant exposure impacts and toxic responses of diverse environmental organisms.

Analysis and Discrimination of Canadian Honey Using Quantitative NMR and Multivariate Statistical Methods

To address the growing concern of honey adulteration in Canada and globally, a quantitative NMR method was developed to analyze 424 honey samples collected across Canada as part of two surveys in 2018 and 2019 led by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Based on a robust and reproducible methodology, NMR data were recorded in triplicate on a 700 MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with a cryoprobe, and the data analysis led to the identification and quantification of 33 compounds characteristic of the chemical composition of honey. The high proportion of Canadian honey in the library provided a unique opportunity to apply multivariate statistical methods including PCA, PLS-DA, and SIMCA in order to differentiate Canadian samples from the rest of the world. Through satisfactory model validation, both PLS-DA as a discriminant modeling technique and SIMCA as a class modeling method proved to be reliable at differentiating Canadian honey from a diverse set of honeys with various countries of origins and floral types. The replacement method of optimization was successfully applied for variable selection, and trigonelline, proline, and ethanol at a lower extent were identified as potential chemical markers for the discrimination of Canadian and non-Canadian honeys.

Contribution of Mass Spectrometry to the Advances in Risk Characterization of Marine Biotoxins: Towards the Characterization of Metabolites Implied in Human Intoxications

A significant spread and prevalence of algal toxins and, in particular, marine biotoxins have been observed worldwide over the last decades. Marine biotoxins are natural contaminants produced during harmful algal blooms being accumulated in seafood, thus representing a threat to human health. Significant progress has been made in the last few years in the development of analytical methods able to evaluate and characterize the different toxic analogs involved in the contamination, Liquid Chromatography coupled to different detection modes, including Mass Spectrometry, the method of choice due to its potential for separation, identification, quantitation and even confirmation of the different above-mentioned analogs. Despite this, the risk characterization in humans is still limited, due to several reasons, including the lack of reference materials or even the limited access to biological samples from humans intoxicated during these toxic events and episodes, which hampered the advances in the evaluation of the metabolites responsible for the toxicity in humans. Mass Spectrometry has been proven to be a very powerful tool for confirmation, and in fact, it is playing an important role in the characterization of the new biotoxins analogs. The toxin metabolization in humans is still uncertain in most cases and needs further research in which the implementation of Mass Spectrometric methods is critical. This review is focused on compiling the most relevant information available regarding the metabolization of several marine biotoxins groups, which were identified using Mass Spectrometry after the in vitro exposition of these toxins to liver microsomes and hepatocytes. Information about the presence of metabolites in human samples, such as human urine after intoxication, which could also be used as potential biomarkers for diagnostic purposes, is also presented.

Methods for the SI-traceable value assignment of the purity of organic compounds (IUPAC Technical Report)

The “purity” of an organic compound typically refers, in practice, to an assignment of the mass fraction content of the primary organic component present in the material. The “purity” value of an organic primary calibrator material is the ultimate source of metrological traceability of any quantitative measurement of the content of that compound in a given matrix. The primary calibrator may consist of a Certified Reference Material (CRM) whose purity has been assigned by the CRM producer or a laboratory may choose to value-assign a material to the extent necessary for their intended application by using appropriately valid methods. This report provides an overview of the approach, performance and applicability of the principal methods used to determine organic purity including mass balance, quantitative NMR, thermal methods and direct-assay techniques. A statistical section reviews best practice for combination of data, value assignment as the upper limit values corresponding to 100 % purity are approached and how to report and propagate the standard uncertainty associated with the assigned values.

Quantitative NMR Interpretation without Reference

As has been documented numerous times over the years, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are intrinsically quantitative. Still, quantitative NMR methods have not been widely adopted or largely introduced into pharmacopoeias. Here, we describe the quantitative interpretation of the 1D proton NMR experiment using only absolute signal intensities with the variation of common experimental parameters and their application.

Stability of valeriana-type iridoid glycosides from rhizomes of Nardostachys jatamansi and their protection against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells

Nardostachys jatamansi is close to Valerian in consideration of their same psychoactive effects, such as sedation and neuroprotection. Valeriana-type iridoids are major active components of Valerian, but few valeriana-type iridoids have been isolated from N. jatamansi. Iridoid-targeting chemical investigation of the rhizomes of N. jatamansi resulted in the isolation of seven valeriana-type iridoid glycosides, four of which are previously undescribed. Their structures were determined through NMR spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and optical rotation experiments. In addition, the inaccurate configurations of patrinalloside and 6″-acetylpatrinalloside from previous reports were corrected. These compounds, unstable due to alcoholic solvents, were more stable in the mixtures than in purified forms, as monitored by the qNMR method, supporting the use of natural products as mixtures. Furthermore, the isolates, as well as crude and solvent partition extracts, were found to have a protective effect against hydrogen-peroxide-induced toxicity in human neuroblastoma cells, as confirmed by assays for cell viability and antioxidation. These findings suggest the potential therapeutic application of the valeriana-type iridoid glycosides isolated herein with improved biochemical stability.

Quantification of polyols in sugar-free foodstuffs by qNMR

We present a qNMR method for the determination of low calories sweeteners (erythritol, mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt and xylitol) in sugar-free foodstuff. The structural similarities of these compounds determine often a severe spectral overlap that hampers their quantification via conventional 1D and 2D NMR spectra. This problem is here overcome by exploiting the resolving capabilities of the CSSF-TOCSY experiment, allowing the quantification of all six polyols, with satisfactory results in terms of LoQ (2.8-7.4 mg/L for xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, 15 mg/L for erythritol, 38 mg/L for maltitol and 91 mg/L for isomalt), precision (RSD% 0.40-4.03), trueness (bias% 0.15-4.81), and recovery (98-104%). Polyol's quantification in different sugar-free confectionary products was performed after a simple water extraction without any additional sample treatment. While these results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method for polyols quantification in low calories foods, its applicability can be further extended to other food matrices or biofluids.

Analysis of Lignins Using 31P Benchtop NMR Spectroscopy: Quantitative Assessment of Substructures and Comparison to High-Field NMR

Lignin is quickly emerging as a biomass-derived source for the production of some crucial organic chemistry building blocks, typically obtained from unsustainable and non-renewable petroleum feedstocks. As a complex polymer, lignin characterization is often challenging, due to its random structure and multitudes of different repeating substructures. Over the last 20 years, advances in our understanding and processing of lignin, as well as important work on its characterization using 31P NMR, have led to numerous publications highlighting the many potential uses for this material. With the emergence of high-resolution benchtop NMR instruments, these types of analyses can now be accessed by many laboratories and industries that have historically not been able to take advantage of NMR due to cost or size constraints. Herein, we demonstrate that benchtop NMR is a viable technique for the 31P NMR analysis of lignin and compare our results to those obtained on a traditional high-field instrument.

In Situ Real-Time Quantitative Determination in Electrochemical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

For the purpose of acquiring highly sensitive and differential spectra in in situ electrochemical nuclear magnetic resonance (EC-NMR) spectroscopy, uniform distributions of amplitudes and phases of radio frequency (RF) fields in the sample are needed for consistent flip angles of all nuclei under scrutiny. However, intrinsic electromagnetic incompatibility exists between such requirements with electric properties of the conductive material in an electrolytic cell, including metallic electrodes and ionic electrolytes. This proposed work presents the adverse repercussions of gradually varying electrolyte conductivity, which is strongly associated with the change of ion concentrations in a real-time electrochemical reaction, on spatial distributions of RF field amplitude and phase in the detective zone of an NMR probe coil. To compensate for such a non-linear trend of the spatial dependent distribution, we eliminate different excitation effects of the RF field on the build-in external standard and the electrolyte both situated in nearly the same detection area, as well as promote the greater accuracy of quantitative determination of reactant concentrations. The reliability and effectiveness of the improved in situ EC-qNMR (quantitative NMR) method are confirmed by the real-time monitoring of the electrochemical advanced oxidation process for phenol, in which instant concentrations of reactants and products are detected simultaneously to verify the degradation reaction scheme of phenol.

NMR Metabolite Profiles of the Bivalve Mollusc Mytilus galloprovincialis Before and After Immune Stimulation With Vibrio splendidus

The hemolymph metabolome of Mytilus galloprovincialis injected with live Vibrio splendidus bacteria was analyzed by ¹H-NMR spectrometry. Changes in spectral hemolymph profiles were already detected after mussel acclimation (3 days at 18 or 25 °C). A significant decrease of succinic acid was accompanied by an increase of most free amino acids, mytilitol, and, to a smaller degree, osmolytes. These metabolic changes are consistent with effective osmoregulation, and the restart of aerobic respiration after the functional anaerobiosis occurred during transport. The injection of Vibrio splendidus in mussels acclimated at 18°C caused a significant decrease of several amino acids, sugars, and unassigned chemical species, more pronounced at 24 than at 12 h postinjection. Correlation heatmaps indicated dynamic metabolic adjustments and the relevance of protein turnover in maintaining the homeostasis during the response to stressful stimuli. This study confirms NMR-based metabolomics as a feasible analytical approach complementary to other omics techniques in the investigation of the functional mussel responses to environmental challenges.

Precise NMR Method for Titering Organometal Reagents

The concentration of organometal reagents can be conveniently determined by obtaining the NMR spectra of the neat reagent solution, and, in a second NMR tube, of a neat reference solvent. The PULCON relationship, implemented in all major NMR software, is then used to calculate the concentration of the reagent based on the absolute integrals in the spectra, the known concentration of the reference, and the number of protons under the integrals.

Fraud Detection of Herbal Medicines Based on Modern Analytical Technologies Combine with Chemometrics Approach: A Review

Fraud in herbal medicines (HMs), commonplace throughout human history, is significantly related to medicinal effects with sometimes lethal consequences. Major HMs fraud events seem to occur with a certain regularity, such as substitution by counterfeits, adulteration by addition of inferior production-own materials, adulteration by chemical compounds, and adulteration by addition of foreign matter. The assessment of HMs fraud is in urgent demand to guarantee consumer protection against the four fraudulent activities. In this review, three analysis platforms (targeted, non-targeted, and the combination of non-targeted and targeted analysis) were introduced and summarized. Furthermore, the integration of analysis technology and chemometrics method (e.g., class-modeling, discrimination, and regression method) have also been discussed. Each integration shows different applicability depending on their advantages, drawbacks, and some factors, such as the explicit objective analysis or the nature of four types of HMs fraud. In an attempt to better solve four typical HMs fraud, appropriate analytical strategies are advised and illustrated with several typical studies. The article provides a general workflow of analysis methods that have been used for detection of HMs fraud. All analysis technologies and chemometrics methods applied can conduce to excellent reference value for further exploration of analysis methods in HMs fraud.

Quantitative measurement of solid fraction in a silo using SPRITE

The purpose of this study is to develop MRI methods to measure the solid fraction in granular flows quantitatively. It is increasingly recognised that solid fraction plays a key role in granular rheology, but experimental characterisation of it during flow is challenging. Here centric sectoral-SPRITE imaging is applied to image mustard seeds discharging from a 3D-printed hopper. Quantitative images are obtained after considering and correcting artefacts that may arise from flow and relaxation. The image intensity is then further corrected for spatial variations in the B₁ field. Various maps of nominally homogeneous samples were tested to correct for variations in the B₁ field. The B₁ field was found to be sensitive to the geometry of the sample and the material in the sample. Hence, here static images of the seeds in the hopper were used to correct for B₁ field variations. Moreover, small signal variations were observed from measurements performed on different days owing to subtle differences in the spectrometer operation. Here an internal standard was used to scale the signal intensity and correct for these variations. Following these corrections, a linear correlation (R² = 0.999) was observed between the scaled image intensities and the known solid fractions of packed samples with solid fractions between 0.55 and 0.64. This correlation was used as a calibration of the 3D image of the hopper to extract quantitative time-averaged spatial maps of solid fraction during steady flow. The measurements were confirmed to be quantitative by also measuring the velocity of the particles. Together these measurements were used to calculate a mass flow rate in the hopper, which was consistent with the mass flow measured gravimetrically.

A Workup Protocol Combined with Direct Application of Quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Aqueous Samples from Large-Scale Steam Explosion of Biomass

Methods for thermochemical conversion of biomass into renewable energy and materials rapidly increase in range and outreach. A focus on the target product streams for valorization is natural, yet several pretreatment steps and conversion methods also result in an aqueous byproduct, which has been given less attention. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap in the existing literature on identification and quantification of organic components in such aqueous phases by reporting a fast and direct workup protocol combined with application of quantitative analytical nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Laboratory workup procedures combined with subsequent proton NMR spectroscopy with water signal suppression using presaturation pulses during relaxation delay, noesygppr1d, have been established, evaluated, and approved by testing on three different Bruker BioSpin NMR spectrometers; an 850 MHz AVANCE III HD with a 5 mm TCI CryoProbe, a 600 MHz AVANCE NEO with a QCI CryoProbe, and a 500 MHz AVANCE with a 5 mm BBO room-temperature probe additionally confirmed the quantification method to be applicable. The analytical procedure identified furfural, methanol, acetic acid, and formic acid as the dominating compounds in the analyzed aqueous samples, which were process effluents generated by the patented Arbacore pellet production process using steam explosion of wood shavings. A selected range of quantitative results in the aqueous phase from large-scale steam explosion is included in the study. The described procedure provides excellent quantitative reproducibility with experimental series standard deviations of <1% (mM), is nondestructive, and can be automated on demand.

Accurate and Precise External Calibration Enhances the Versatility of Quantitative NMR (qNMR)

Quantitative ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (qHNMR) is a highly regarded analytical methodology for purity determination as it balances metrological rigor, practicality, and versatility well. While ideal for intrinsically mass-limited samples, external calibration (EC) qHNMR is overshadowed by the prevalence of internal calibration and perceived rather than real practical limitations. To overcome this hurdle, this study applied the principle of reciprocity, certified reference materials (caffeine as analyte, dimethyl sulfone as calibrant), and a systematic evaluation of data acquisition workflows to extract key factors for the achievement of accuracy and precision in EC-qHNMR. Automatic calibration of the 90° pulse width (90 PW) formed the foundation for the principle of reciprocity and used optimized nutation experiments, showing good agreement with values derived from manual high-precision measurement of 360 PW. Employing the automatic 90 PW calibration, EC-qHNMR with automatic vs manual tuning and matching (T&M) yielded the certified purity value within 1% error. The timing of T&M (before vs after shimming) turned out to be critically important: sufficient time is required to achieve full-temperature equilibrium relative to thermal gradients in the air inside the probe and the sample. Achievable accuracy across different NMR solvents varies with differences in thermal conductivity and leads to 2% or greater errors. With matching solvents, the demonstrated accuracy of ∼1.0% underscores the feasibility of EC-qHNMR as a highly practical research tool.

Quantitative NMR as a Versatile Tool for the Reference Material Preparation

The assessment of primary calibrator purity is critical for establishing traceability to the International System of Units (SI). Recently, quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) has been used as a purity determination method for reference material development, and many related measurement techniques have been designed to acquire accurate and reliable results. This review introduces the recent advances in these techniques (including multidimensional methods), focusing on the application of qNMR to reference material preparation.

Rapid quantitative screening of cyanobacteria for production of anatoxins using direct analysis in real time high-resolution mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

Anatoxins (ATXs) are a potent class of cyanobacterial neurotoxins that are increasingly problematic in drinking water reservoirs and recreational water bodies worldwide. Because of their high polarity and low molecular weight, analysis of ATXs is challenging and they can be considered underreported compared with other classes of cyanobacterial toxins. Improved screening methods are therefore needed to effectively assess their occurrence and concentrations in the environment.

METHODS

A rapid screening method was developed for ATXs in cyanobacteria using direct analysis in real time combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry (DART-HRMS), requiring less than 2 min per sample for triplicate analysis. The developed method was evaluated for its quantitative capabilities, applied to the screening of 30 cyanobacterial culture samples for the presence of anatoxin-a, homoanatoxin-a and dihydroanatoxin-a, and compared with a more typical liquid chromatography (LC)/HRMS method.

RESULTS

Excellent linearity was observed in the analysis of a matrix-matched calibration curve using DART-HRMS, with ionization suppression of about 50% and relative standard deviations between replicate analyses of approximately 30%. Limits of detection for both anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a were estimated as 1 ng/mL. Excellent agreement was observed between DART-HRMS and LC/HRMS with all ATX-producing cultures correctly identified and only one false positive culture by DART-HRMS.

CONCLUSIONS

DART-HRMS shows excellent promise for the rapid, quantitative screening of ATXs in cyanobacteria and could be expanded in the future to include the analysis of field samples and drinking water, as well as additional ATX analogues.

Ecological and toxicological assessments of anthropogenic contaminants based on environmental metabolomics

There has long been a great concern with growing anthropogenic contaminants and their ecological and toxicological effects on living organisms and the surrounding environment for decades. Metabolomics, a functional readout of cellular activity, can capture organismal responses to various contaminant-related stressors, acquiring direct signatures to illustrate the environmental behaviours of anthropogenic contaminants better. This review entails the application of metabolomics to profile metabolic responses of environmental organisms, e.g. animals (rodents, fish, crustacean and earthworms) and microorganisms (bacteria, yeast and microalgae) to different anthropogenic contaminants, including heavy metals, nanomaterials, pesticides, pharmaceutical and personal products, persistent organic pollutants, and assesses their ecotoxicological impacts with regard to literature published in the recent five years. Contaminant-induced metabolism alteration and up/down-regulation of metabolic pathways are revealed in typical organisms. The obtained insights of variations in global metabolism provide a distinct understanding of how anthropogenic contaminants exert influences on specific metabolic pathways on living organisms. Thus with a novel ecotechnique of environmental metabolomics, risk assessments of anthropogenic contaminants are profoundly demonstrated.

Quantitative NMR Methodology for the Authentication of Roasted Coffee and Prediction of Blends

In response to the need from the food industry for new analytical solutions, a fit-for-purpose quantitative ¹H NMR methodology was developed to authenticate pure coffee (100% arabica or robusta) as well as predict the percentage of robusta in blends through the study of 292 roasted coffee samples in triplicate. Methanol was chosen as the extraction solvent, which led to the quantitation of 12 coffee constituents: caffeine, trigonelline, 3- and 5-caffeoylquinic acid, lipids, cafestol, nicotinic acid, N-methylpyridinium, formic acid, acetic acid, kahweol, and 16-O-methylcafestol. To overcome the chemical complexity of the methanolic extract, quantitative analysis was performed using a combination of traditional integration and spectral deconvolution methods. As a result, the proposed methodology provides a systematic methodology and a linear regression model to support the classification of known and unknown roasted coffees and their blends.

Quantitative analysis using external standards with a benchtop NMR spectrometer

This paper investigates the use of benchtop NMR spectrometers for quantitative analysis with external standards. Specifically, it focuses on the measurement of aqueous samples with analyte concentrations ranging from 30 mM to 1.7 M and electrical conductivity of up to 84mScm^-1 using a 43 MHz instrument. It is demonstrated that measurements using the PULCON method cannot achieve an average error in quantification of <4% with the benchtop NMR tested here unless the standard and analyte are very similar. Our analysis indicates that this comparatively large error arises from the fixed tuning and matching of the benchtop spectrometer. We confirm that for moderately dilute samples (less than 0.2 M), the integral area of the solvent peak is suitable for use as an internal standard to mitigate this error. Furthermore, a round robin study demonstrates that the second major source of uncertainty in these measurements arises from the manual processing of the spectra by different analysts. Here we propose heuristics for manual baseline and phase correction to reduce this analyst-dependent error to about 3 %. We also demonstrate that semi-automated quantification using qGSD is able to achieve similar accuracy of integration, but with reduced sensitivity to the processing of the operator.

2 H SOLCOR: A novel tool for reducing volume variation as a source of error in external standard quantitative NMR

Tube to tube volume difference presents a challenge in obtaining correct external standard quantitative NMR (esqNMR) results. Deuterium (² H) NMR is easily observable, intrinsically quantitative, present in all samples, free of interfering signals, and insensitive to probe tune/match and sample saltiness. These properties make ² H peak integral an ideal parameter in esqNMR for correcting volume differences between the reference standard and analyte. We demonstrate a novel and practical technique abbreviated as "² H SOLCOR" (² H SOLvent CORrected), where the ² H peak integral from the solvent is used as a universal internal standard to correct volume variations in NMR tubes, thereby improving accuracy and precision of esqNMR method. Herein, this simple yet effective technique is described, and practical considerations for successful implementation are presented. ² H SOLCOR can be applied anywhere esqNMR is used, including where precious samples need to be accurately quantified for qualification as an authentic analytical standard.

Semiquantitation of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Using Relative Molar Response Factors

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are a complex class of analogs of the potent neurotoxin saxitoxin (STX). Since calibration standards are not available for many PSTs, including C-11 hydroxyl analogs called M-toxins, accurate quantitation by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can be challenging. In the absence of standards, PSTs are often semiquantitated using standards of a different analog (e.g., STX), an approach with a high degree of uncertainty due to the highly variable sensitivity between analytes in electrospray ionization. Here, relative molar response factors (RMRs) were investigated for a broad range of PSTs using common LC-MS approaches in order to improve the quantitation of PSTs for which standards are unavailable. First, several M-toxins (M1-M6, M9 and dcM6) were semipurified from shellfish using preparative gel filtration chromatography and quantitated using LC-charged aerosol detection (LC-CAD). The RMRs of PST certified reference materials (CRMs) and M-toxins were then determined using selective reaction monitoring LC-MS/MS and full scan LC-high-resolution MS (LC-HRMS) methods in positive and negative electrospray ionization. In general, RMRs for PSTs with similar chemical structures were comparable, but varied significantly between subclasses, with M-toxins showing the lowest sensitivity. For example, STX showed a greater than 50-fold higher RMR than M4 and M6 by LC-HRMS. The MS instrument, scan mode and polarity also had significant impacts on RMRs and should be carefully considered when semiquantitating PSTs by LC-MS. As a demonstration of their utility, the RMRs determined were applied to the semiquantitation of PSTs in contaminated mussels, showing good agreement with results from calibration with CRMs.

Isolation and Characterization of [DLeu1]microcystin-LY from Microcystis aeruginosa CPCC-464

[D-Leu¹]MC-LY (1) ([M + H]⁺m/z 1044.5673, Δ 2.0 ppm), a new microcystin, was isolated from Microcystis aeruginosa strain CPCC-464. The compound was characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, liquid chromatography–high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS/MS) and UV spectroscopy. A calibration reference material was produced after quantitation by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and LC with chemiluminescence nitrogen detection. The potency of 1 in a protein phosphatase 2A inhibition assay was essentially the same as for MC-LR (2). Related microcystins, [D-Leu¹]MC-LR (3) ([M + H]⁺m/z 1037.6041, Δ 1.0 ppm), [D-Leu¹]MC-M(O)R (6) ([M + H]⁺m/z 1071.5565, Δ 2.0 ppm) and [D-Leu¹]MC-MR (7) ([M + H]⁺m/z 1055.5617, Δ 2.2 ppm), were also identified in culture extracts, along with traces of [D-Leu¹]MC-M(O₂)R (8) ([M + H]⁺m/z 1087.5510, Δ 1.6 ppm), by a combination of chemical derivatization and LC–HRMS/MS experiments. The relative abundances of 1, 3, 6, 7 and 8 in a freshly extracted culture in the positive ionization mode LC–HRMS were ca. 84, 100, 3.0, 11 and 0.05, respectively. These and other results indicate that [D-Leu¹]-containing MCs may be more common in cyanobacterial blooms than is generally appreciated but are easily overlooked with standard targeted LC–MS/MS screening methods.

Purity determination of a new antifungal drug candidate using quantitative 1 H NMR spectroscopy: Method validation and comparison of calibration approaches

Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) is an analytical technique that offers numerous advantages in pharmaceutical applications including minimum sample preparation and rapid data collection times with no need for response factor corrections, being a powerful tool for assaying drug content in both drug discovery and early drug development. In the present work, we have applied qNMR, using both the internal standard and the electronic reference to access in vivo concentrations 2 calibration methods, to assess the purity of RI76, a novel antifungal drug candidate. NMR acquisition and processing parameters were optimized in order to obtain spectra with intense, well-resolved signals of completely relaxed nuclei. The analytical method was validated following current guidelines, demonstrating selectivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness. The calibration approaches were statistically compared, and no significant difference was observed when comparing the obtained results and their dispersion in terms of relative standard deviation. The proposed qNMR method may, therefore, be used for both qualitative and quantitative assessments of RI76 in early drug development and for characterization of this compound.

Structural Diversity, Characterization and Toxicology of Microcystins

Hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs) are the most widespread class of cyanotoxins and the one that has most often been implicated in cyanobacterial toxicosis. One of the main challenges in studying and monitoring MCs is the great structural diversity within the class. The full chemical structure of the first MC was elucidated in the early 1980s and since then, the number of reported structural analogues has grown steadily and continues to do so, thanks largely to advances in analytical methodology. The structures of some of these analogues have been definitively elucidated after chemical isolation using a combination of techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance, amino acid analysis, and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Others have only been tentatively identified using liquid chromatography-MS/MS without chemical isolation. An understanding of the structural diversity of MCs, the genetic and environmental controls for this diversity and the impact of structure on toxicity are all essential to the ongoing study of MCs across several scientific disciplines. However, because of the diversity of MCs and the range of approaches that have been taken for characterizing them, comprehensive information on the state of knowledge in each of these areas can be challenging to gather. We have conducted an in-depth review of the literature surrounding the identification and toxicity of known MCs and present here a concise review of these topics. At present, at least 279 MCs have been reported and are tabulated here. Among these, about 20% (55 of 279) appear to be the result of chemical or biochemical transformations of MCs that can occur in the environment or during sample handling and extraction of cyanobacteria, including oxidation products, methyl esters, or post-biosynthetic metabolites. The toxicity of many MCs has also been studied using a range of different approaches and a great deal of variability can be observed between reported toxicities, even for the same congener. This review will help clarify the current state of knowledge on the structural diversity of MCs as a class and the impacts of structure on toxicity, as well as to identify gaps in knowledge that should be addressed in future research.

Quantitation of Tetrodotoxin and Its Analogues with a Combination of Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry and Quantitative 1H-NMR Spectroscopy

Tetrodotoxin and its analogues are the causative toxins of pufferfish poisoning. Tetrodotoxin has been recently detected in bivalve mollusks collected in New Zealand and Europe, highlighting the need to include tetrodotoxin in monitoring programs for bivalves by instrumental methods. In the present study, tetrodotoxin and its analogues in commercially available tetrodotoxin reagents were quantitated accurately by quantitative ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) spectroscopy. The results were applied to estimate relative molar responses of tetrodotoxin and its analogues in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC/MS/MS). All four components (tetrodotoxin hemilactal form (1), tetrodotoxin 10,7-lactone form (2), 4-epitetrodotoxin (3), and 4,9-anhydrotetrodotoxin (4)) generated by equilibrating tetrodotoxin in aqueous solution were prepared as a mixture. From the HSQC spectrum of the mixture, the separated signals derived from three components, excluding 1, were selected and used for the quantitation. In addition, the relative molar responses of 3 and 4 on HILIC/MS/MS were calculated to be 0.73 and 0.46, respectively. These values could be useful for quantitation of 3 and 4 using the tetrodotoxin standard by HILIC/MS/MS. Our results also indicate that qNMR is useful for preparation of tetrodotoxin certified reference material.

H-Content Is Not Predictive of Perfluorocarbon Ocular Endotamponade Cytotoxicity in Vitro

In recent years, cases of retinal toxicity occurred in some European, Middle Eastern, and South American countries following the use of perfluorocarbon liquids (PFCLs) on vitreoretinal surgeries owing to impurities in the product. Moreover, Spanish ophthalmologists reported several toxic cases on the use of perfluoro-n-octane Ala Octa (Alamedics, Dornstadt, Germany), raising the necessity of reviewing the current validated methods used for assessing the safety of PFCLs. We proved that in samples of PFCLs contaminated on purpose with impurities previously detected in Ala Octa devices, the determination of the so-called H-content using a ¹H NMR quantitative assay implemented with the electronic reference to access in vivo concentrations 2 technology failed to demonstrate a correlation between the H-content and in vitro cytotoxicity test in ARPE-19 and BALB 3T3 cell lines. Therefore, direct information on the safety of PFCLs was provided only by the cytotoxicity test in vitro validated according to ISO 10993-5, and the H-content was not predictive of perfluorocarbon ocular endotamponade cytotoxicity in vitro.

Structure Elucidation and Relative Toxicity of (24R)-24-Hydroxyyessotoxin from a Namibian Isolate of Gonyaulax spinifera

Liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis of a Namibian strain of Gonyaulax spinifera showed the presence of a number of yessotoxins (YTXs). Principal among these were YTX (1), homoYTX (2), and a tentative hydroxylated analogue that did not correspond to any previously confirmed YTX structures. Culturing the G. spinifera strain afforded sufficient biomass for purification of the new analogue through a series of solvent partitioning and chromatographic steps, yielding ∼0.9 mg as a solid. NMR spectroscopy, ion-trap mass spectrometry, and HRMS identified the new analogue as 24-hydroxyYTX (7). Purified 24-hydroxyYTX was quantitated by NMR, and its relative toxicity evaluated using two embryonic zebrafish toxicity assays. 24-HydroxyYTX demonstrated reduced toxicity compared to YTX.

Chemical Barcoding: A Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance-Based Approach To Ensure the Quality and Safety of Natural Ingredients

One of the greatest challenges facing the functional food and natural health product (NHP) industries is sourcing high-quality, functional, natural ingredients for their finished products. Unfortunately, the lack of ingredient standards, modernized analytical methodologies, and industry oversight creates the potential for low quality and, in some cases, deliberate adulteration of ingredients. By exploring a diverse library of NHPs provided by the independent certification organization ISURA, we demonstrated that nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy provides an innovative solution to authenticate botanicals and warrant the quality and safety of processed foods and manufactured functional ingredients. Two-dimensional NMR experiments were shown to be a robust and reproducible approach to capture the content of complex chemical mixtures, while a binary normalization step allows for emphasizing the chemical diversity in each sample, and unsupervised statistical methodologies provide key advantages to classify, authenticate, and highlight the potential presence of additives and adulterants.

Optimal flip angle for robust practical quantitative NMR measurement using a fixed pulse length

NMR quantification has been traditionally performed by using internal standards. Although methods using external reference in NMR quantification have been developed, the major obstacles in using external referencing method are the measurement deviations associated with changing sample conditions and the requirement of pulse width calibration for every sample in order to compensate these errors. The calibration process is time consuming and in some cases impossible. We developed a quantitative NMR method fixed pulse length (FIXPUL) for all measurements without sample-by-sample calibration. The method is based on the use of an optimal flip angle calibrated for an external standard so that the quantitative errors associated with the pulse width variations are minimized. FIXPUL can be implemented on most basic NMR spectrometers and is robust and easily automated. The method is applicable to a wide range of solution NMR samples in chemistry, biology, and drug research and discovery.

Dynamics of the isoflavone metabolome of traditional preparations of Trifolium pratense L

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The flowering tops of Trifolium pratense L., popularly known as red clover, are used in ethnic Western and Traditional Chinese medicine, in a variety of preparations, including infusions, decoctions and tinctures. Red clover has been reported to be helpful for treatment of menopausal symptoms, premenstrual syndrome, mastalgia, high cholesterol, and other conditions.

AIMS OF THE STUDY

The aims were to compare the chemical dynamics between traditional preparations of infusions, decoctions, and tinctures, as well as to identify the chemical variability over time in a traditional red clover tincture. For this purpose, eight isoflavone aglycones as well as two glucosides, ononin and sissotrin, were used as marker compounds.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Quantitative NMR (qHNMR), LC-MS-MS, and UHPLC-UV methods were used to identify and quantitate the major phenolic compounds found within each extract.

RESULTS

Infusions, decoctions and tinctures were shown to produce different chemical profiles. Biochanin A and formononetin were identified and quantified in infusion, decoction, and tinctures of red clover. Both infusion and decoction showed higher concentrations of isoflavonoid glucosides, such as ononin and sissotrin, than 45% ethanolic tinctures. Dynamic chemical variability ("dynamic residual complexity") of the red clover tincture was observed over time (one-month), with biochanin A and formononetin reaching peak concentrations at around six days.

CONCLUSIONS

Insight was gained into why different formulation methods (infusions, decoctions, and tinctures) are traditionally used to treat different health conditions. Moreover, the outcomes show that tinctures, taken over a period of time, are dynamic medicinal formulations that allow for time-controlled release of bioactive compounds.

Preparation of DESIGNER extracts of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) by centrifugal partition chromatography

Starting with an isoflavone-rich red clover extract (RCE), this study expands on the DESIGNER approach to Deplete and Enrich Select Ingredients to Generate Normalized Extract Resources using countercurrent separation (CCS) methodology. A hydrostatic CCS (also known as centrifugal partition chromatography, CPC) technique was used to enrich and deplete selected bioactive isoflavones of RCE extracts. In order to efficiently prepare large enough DESIGNER extracts from RCE for biological testing including in vivo assays, it was necessary to choose a balance between resolution and a loading capacity of at least 1 g per separation for the selected solvent system (SS). Adding 3 mL of DMSO to the sample containing equal amounts of upper and lower phases of hexanes-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (HEMWat 5.5/4.5/5/5, v/v) allowed 1 g of RCE to be dissolved in the sample without disrupting the chromatographic resolution of the target isoflavones. CPC experiments using other solubility modifiers, acetone and acetonitrile indicated that these modifiers increase solubility significantly, even better than DMSO, but the separation of target compounds was sufficiently disturbed to be unacceptable for producing the desired DESIGNER extracts. The preparation of DESIGNER extracts was achieved with two sequential CPC separations. The first produced a biochanin A enriched fraction (93.60% w/w) with only small amounts of other isoflavones: 2.30% w/w prunetin, 1.17% w/w formononetin, and 0.12% w/w irilone. Gravimetric investigations of this step demonstrated the high efficiency of CCS technology for full and unbiased sample recovery, confirmed experimentally to be 99.80%. A formononetin enriched fraction from this first separation was re-chromatographed on a more polar HEMWat (4/6/4/6, v/v) SS to produce a formononetin enriched DESIGNER fraction of 94.70% w/w purity. The presence of the minor (iso)flavonoids: 3.16% w/w pseudobaptigenin, 0.39% w/w kaempferol, and 0.31% w/w genistein was also monitored in these fractions. Chromatographic fractions, combined fractions, and DESIGNER extracts were analyzed with quantitative ¹H NMR (qHNMR) spectroscopy which provided purity information, quantitation, and structural identification of the components.

Measuring Protein Concentration by Diffusion-Filtered Quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The concentration of macromolecules in solution is a crucial property in many areas of research, including the development and commercialization of biological therapeutics. For proteins in particular, none of the reported methods for measuring concentration detect a molecular property that is known a priori; rather, they rely on ligand binding, degradation and derivitization, or an intrinsic property that must be determined experimentally. The purpose of this report is to describe (1) a diffusion-filtered qNMR experiment (DF-qNMR) for quantitating macromolecules in complex matrices and (2) an overall method for measuring absolute protein concentration based on this DF-qNMR experiment. This method combines protein denaturation with the diffusion filter to produce clean spectra of the protein with well-resolved resonances, regardless of the matrix complexity. The concentration is then obtained by comparing the peak area of the valine/isoleucine/leucine methyl groups to an external, certified, small-molecule quantitation standard. The method, which is referred to as VILMHA (valine isoleucine leucine methyl hydrogen analysis), was tested on three proteins of various sizes. In all cases, the measured concentration was within 1.8% of the labeled value for the undiluted standard reference material evaluated. In addition, the RSD's were less than 1.25% in all cases and less than 1% in most cases. The accuracy, precision, and ease of use make this method superior to existing absolute protein concentration methods. Furthermore, VILMHA is ideally suited to serve as the basis for converting the relative protein concentration methods into absolute methods or establishing molecular-specific parameters. Finally, DF-qNMR has the potential to quantitate other types of macromolecules (e.g., such as polymers, surfactants, etc.) in the presence of small-molecule contaminants.

Assessing the potential of quantitative 2D HSQC NMR in 13C enriched living organisms

In vivo Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has great potential to interpret the biochemical response of organisms to their environment, thus making it an essential tool in understanding toxic mechanisms. However, magnetic susceptibility distortions lead to 1D NMR spectra of living organisms with lines that are too broad to identify and quantify metabolites, necessitating the use of 2D ¹H-¹³C Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence (HSQC) as a primary tool. While quantitative 2D HSQC is well established, to our knowledge it has yet to be applied in vivo. This study represents a simple pilot study that compares two of the most popular quantitative 2D HSQC approaches to determine if quantitative results can be directly obtained in vivo in isotopically enriched Daphnia magna (water flea). The results show the perfect-HSQC experiment performs very well in vivo, but the decoupling scheme used is critical for accurate quantitation. An improved decoupling approach derived using optimal control theory is presented here that improves the accuracy of metabolite concentrations that can be extracted in vivo down to micromolar concentrations. When combined with 2D Electronic Reference To access In vivo Concentrations (ERETIC) protocols, the protocol allows for the direct extraction of in vivo metabolite concentrations without the use of internal standards that can be detrimental to living organisms. Extracting absolute metabolic concentrations in vivo is an important first step and should, for example, be important for the parameterization as well as the validation of metabolic flux models in the future.

A New Realization of SI for Organic Chemical Measurement: NIST PS1 Primary Standard for Quantitative NMR (Benzoic Acid)

Metrological traceability to common references supports the comparability of chemical measurement results produced by different analysts, at various times, and at separate places. Ideally, these references are realizations of base units of the International System of Units (SI). ISO/IEC 17025 (Clause 6.5) states that traceability of measurement results is a necessary attribute of analytical laboratory competence, and as such, has become compulsory in many industries, especially clinical diagnostics and healthcare. Historically, claims of traceability for organic chemical measurements have relied on calibration chains anchored on unique reference materials with linkage to the SI that is tenuous at best. A first-of-its-kind National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reference material, ultrapure and extensively characterized PS1 Benzoic Acid Primary Standard for quantitative NMR (qNMR), serves as a definitive, primary reference (calibrant) that assuredly links the qNMR spectroscopy technique to SI units. As qNMR itself is a favorable method for accurate, direct characterization of chemical reference materials, PS1 is a standard for developing other traceable standards and is intended to establish traceability for the measurement of thousands of organic chemical species. NIST PS1 will play a critical role in directly promoting accuracy and worldwide comparability of measurement results produced by the chemical measurement community, supporting the soundness of clinical diagnostics, food safety and labeling, forensic investigation, drug development, biomedical research, and chemical manufacturing. Confidence in this link to the SI was established through (i) unambiguous identification of chemical structure; (ii) determinations of isotopic composition and molecular weight; (iii) evaluation of the respective molecular amount by multiple primary measurement procedures, including qNMR and coulometry; and (iv) rigorous evaluation of measurement uncertainty using state-of-the-art statistical methods and measurement models.

Capillary electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry for multiclass analysis of polar marine toxins

Polar marine toxins are more challenging to analyze by mass spectrometry-based methods than lipophilic marine toxins, which are now routinely measured in shellfish by multiclass reversed-phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) methods. Capillary electrophoresis (CE)-MS/MS is a technique that is well suited for the analysis of polar marine toxins, and has the potential of providing very high resolution separation. Here, we present a CE-MS/MS method developed, with use of a custom-built interface, for the sensitive multiclass analysis of paralytic shellfish toxins, tetrodotoxins, and domoic acid in seafood. A novel, highly acidic background electrolyte (5 M formic acid) was designed to maximize protonation of analytes and to allow a high degree of sample stacking to improve the limits of detection. The method was applied to a wide range of regulated and less common toxin analogues, and exhibited a high degree of selectivity between toxin isomers and matrix interference. The limits of detection in mussel tissue were 0.0052 mg/kg for tetrodotoxins, 0.160 mg/kg for domoic acid, and between 0.0018 and 0.120 mg/kg for paralytic shellfish toxins, all of which showed good linearity. Minimal ionization suppression was observed when the response from neat and mussel-matrix-matched standards was corrected with multiple internal standards. Analysis of shellfish matrix reference materials and spiked samples demonstrated good accuracy and precision. Finally, the method was transferred to a commercial CE-MS/MS system to demonstrate its widespread applicability for use in both R & D and routine regulatory settings. The approach of using a highly acidic background electrolyte is of broad interest, and can be considered generally applicable to simultaneous analysis of other classes of small, polar molecules with differing pK_a values. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Absolute Quantification of Lipophilic Shellfish Toxins by Quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Using Removable Internal Reference Substance with SI Traceability

Okadaic acid (OA), a lipophilic shellfish toxin, was accurately quantified using quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance with internal standards for the development of an authentic reference standard. Pyridine and the residual proton in methanol-d4 were used as removable internal standards to limit any contamination. They were calibrated based on a maleic acid certified reference material. Thus, the concentration of OA was traceable to the SI units through accurate quantitative NMR with an internal reference substance. Signals from the protons on the oxygenated and unsaturated carbons of OA were used for quantification. A reasonable accuracy was obtained by integrating between the lower and upper (13)C satellite signal range when more than 4 mg of OA was used. The best-determined purity was 97.4% (0.16% RSD) when 20 mg of OA was used. Dinophysistoxin-1, a methylated analog of OA having an almost identical spectrum, was also quantified by using the same methodology.