Comment on "Gas-Phase Chiral Separations by Ion Mobility Spectrometry"

From sound check to encore: A journey through high-resolution mass spectrometry-based food analyses and metabolomics

This manuscript presents a comprehensive review of high-resolution mass spectrometry in the field of food analysis and metabolomics. We have followed the historical evolution of metabolomics, its associated techniques and technologies, and its increasing role in food science and research. The review provides a critical comparison and synthesis of tentative identification guidelines proposed for over 15 years, offering a condensed resource for researchers in the field. We have also examined a wide range of recent metabolomics studies, showcasing various methodologies and highlighting key findings as a testimony of the versatility of the field and the possibilities it offers. In doing so, we have also carefully provided a compilation of the software tools that may be employed in this type of studies. The manuscript also explores the prospects of high-resolution mass spectrometry and metabolomics in food science. By covering the history, guidelines, applications, and tools of metabolomics, this review attempts to become a comprehensive guide for researchers in a rapidly evolving field.

Online-Monitoring of the Enantiomeric Ratio in Microfluidic Chip Reactors Using Chiral Selector Ion Vibrational Spectroscopy

A novel experimental approach for the rapid online monitoring of the enantiomeric ratio of chiral analytes in solution is presented. The charged analyte is transferred to the gas phase by electrospray. Diastereomeric complexes are formed with a volatile chiral selector in a buffer-gas-filled ion guide held at room temperature, mass-selected, and subsequently spectrally differentiated by cryogenic ion trap vibrational spectroscopy. Based on the spectra of the pure complexes in a small diastereomer-specific spectral range, the composition of diastereomeric mixtures is characterized using the cosine similarity score, from which the enantiomeric ratio in the solution is determined. The method is demonstrated for acidified alanine solutions and using three different chiral selectors (2-butanol, 1-phenylethanol, 1-amino-2-propanol). Among these, 2-butanol is the best choice as a selector for protonated alanine, also because the formation ratio of the corresponding diastereomeric complexes is found to be independent of the nature of the enantiomer. Subsequently, a microfluidic chip is implemented to mix enantiomerically pure alanine solutions continuously and determine the enantiomeric ratio online with minimal sample consumption within one minute and with competitive accuracy.

On the separation of enantiomers by drift tube ion mobility spectrometry

Racemic mixtures of twelve common α-amino acids and three chiral drugs were tested for the separation of their enantiomers by drift tube ion mobility spectrometry (IMS)-quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) by introducing chiral selectors into the buffer gas of the IMS instrument. (R)-α-(Trifluoromethyl)benzyl alcohol, (L)-ethyl lactate, methyl (S)-2-chloropropionate, and the R and S enantiomers of 2-butanol and 1-phenyl ethanol were evaluated as chiral selectors. Experimental conditions were varied during the tests, including buffer gas temperature, concentration and type of chiral selectors, analyte concentration, electrospray (ESI) voltage, ESI solvent pH, and buffer gas flow rate. The individual enantiomers yielded the same drift times and the racemic mixtures could not be separated. Energy calculations of the chiral selector-ion interactions showed that these separations are unlikely using 2-butanol as a chiral selector but they might be theoretically feasible depending on the chiral selector nature and the type of enantiomers. Several plausible explanations for not achieving separations were analyzed. Recommendations for potential enantiomer separations by IMS are proposed.

Exploiting Self-Association to Evaluate Enantiomeric Composition by Cyclic Ion Mobility–Mass Spectrometry

The characterization of enantiomers is an important analytical challenge in the chemical and life sciences. Thorough evaluation of the purity of chiral molecules is particularly required in the pharmaceutical industry where safety concerns are paramount. Assessment of the enantiomeric composition is still challenging and time-consuming, meaning that alternative approaches are required. In this study, we exploit the formation of dimers as diastereomeric pairs of enantiomers to affect separation by high resolution cyclic ion mobility–mass spectrometry. Using the example of (R/S)-thalidomide, we show that even though this is not an enantiomer separation, we can determine which enantiomer is in excess and obtain quantitative information on the enantiomer composition without the need for a chiral modifier. Further examples of the approach are presented, including d/l-tryptophan and (R/S)-propanolol, and demonstrate the need for mobility resolving power in excess of 400 (CCS/ΔCCS).