Direct Analysis of Oil Additives by High-Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry Combined with Electrospray Ionization and Desorption Electrospray Ionization

Integrating Post-Ionization Separation via Differential Mobility Spectrometry into Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry for Toy Safety Screening

Direct analysis in real time (DART) enables direct desorption and ionization of analytes, bypassing the time-consuming chromatographic separation traditionally required for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. However, DART-MS suffers from matrix interference of complex samples, resulting in compromised detection sensitivity and quantitation accuracy. In this study, DART-MS was combined with differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) to provide an additional dimension of post-ionization ion mobility separation within a millisecond time scale, compensating for the lack of separation in DART-MS analysis. As proof-of-concept, primary aromatic amines (PAAs), a class of potentially hazardous chemicals, were analyzed in various toy products, including bubble solutions, finger paints, and plush toys. In addition to commercial Dip-it glass rod and metal mesh sampling tools, a customized rapid extractive evaporation device was designed for the accelerated extraction and sensitive analysis of solid toy samples. The incorporation of DMS in DART-MS analysis enabled the rapid separation and differentiation of isomeric analytes, leading to improved accuracy and reliability. The developed protocols were optimized and validated, achieving good linearity with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99 and acceptable repeatability with relative standard deviations less than 10%. Moreover, satisfactory sensitivity was realized with limits of detection and quantitation ranges of 0.2-5 and 1-20 μg/kg (μg/L) for the 11 PAA analytes. The established methodology was applied for the analysis of real toy samples (n = 18), which confirmed its appealing potential for toy safety screening and consumer health protection.

Atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of engine oil additive components

RATIONALE

The efficiency of lubricants strongly depends on the content of functional additives. In order to assess the chemical and structural changes taking place in the lubricating oil and its additives during operation, it is essential to develop a method for simple and prompt analysis.

METHODS

Two single additives as well as a fully formulated engine oil were analysed using an atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (AP-MALDI) source coupled to a linear trap quadrupole Orbitrap XL hybrid tandem mass spectrometer and compared with results obtained by means of electrospray ionization (ESI) including additional low-energy collision-induced dissociation (LE-CID). The identification of additives directly from technical surfaces was simulated by using steel substrates as AP-MALDI targets with varying roughness.

RESULTS

After assessment and selection of the most suited AP-MALDI matrix it was found that pure additives such as calcium sulfonate and zinc dialkyldithiophosphates (ZDDPs) could well be identified with abundant signal intensity based on their elemental composition. Molecular identification was corroborated by LE-CID in ESI mode. Additionally, additives present in the fully formulated commercial oil such as ZDDPs and salicylates could be reliably identified based on the elemental composition of the deprotonated molecules by means of the Orbitrap unit on different substrates including steel surfaces with high roughness.

CONCLUSIONS

AP-MALDI is an efficient technique for determination of lubricant additives directly from commercial oil blends. Identification of additive components was also achieved on steel surfaces with high roughness as applied in tribological systems and thus it is expected that it will be possible to assess additive degradation in real applications, enabling more effective and timely maintenance measures.

Pocket-Size "MasSpec Pointer" for Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Current ambient ionization sources for mass spectrometry (MS) are typically connected to gas cylinders, high-voltage supply, injection pump, and other accessory equipment, which hinder the popularization of MS in the field of on-site detection. Here, we developed a wireless pocket-size "MasSpec Pointer" (weights 65 g) based on arc discharge powered by a 3.7 V polymer Li battery for ambient ionization MS. A high voltage of 5600 V and 20 kHz was generated from the boost coil to penetrate air and form a plasma. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the high-voltage pulses is 3.8%, leading to a stable discharge and a good quantification performance. A mini diaphragm pump was used to cool the plasma from ∼600 to ∼40 °C and to blow the plasma into a jet, which facilitates sampling. MasSpec Pointer can work well at both positive- and negative-ion modes without any modification and can quickly test gaseous, liquid, or solid samples. The limit of detection of this device for atrazine (an agrochemical) is lower than 0.1 ng/mL. MasSpec Pointer has shown its ability to pinpoint the double-bond location of fatty acid isomers without derivatization reagents or light illumination. Agrochemicals from the surface of an apple and daily chemicals from the surface of a finger were detected successfully using MasSpec Pointer coupled with a miniature mass spectrometer. We believe the "point-and-shoot" device coupled with mini-MS brings the hope for an age of detecting chemicals on-site by nonprofessionals.

Comparison of Thermal and Flow-Based Modulation in Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography—Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS) for the Analysis of Base Oils

Base oils are produced by refining crude oil or through chemical synthesis. They are a key component of engine oils. With an immense range of carbon numbers and boiling points, analyzing such complex mixtures is very difficult. The need to monitor industrial petroleum processing steps, as well as to identify petrochemical environmental pollutants, drives the search for improved characterization methods. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) is one of the best tools for that. The modulator used in GC × GC is responsible for trapping/sampling the first dimension (1D) column analytes, then reinjecting them in the form of narrow bands onto the second dimension (2D) column for further separation. Modulators used today generally fall into two categories, thermal and flow ones. Heater-based thermal modulators trap the 1D column effluent at or above ambient temperatures. Flow-based modulators utilize storage loop(s) to collect the 1D effluent, which is subsequently flushed into the second-dimension column for further separation. A single-stage, consumable-free thermal modulator and a reverse fill/flush flow modulator were compared for the characterization of base oils. Both were evaluated on their ability to achieve separation of several conventional and synthetic engine oils components. A reverse column set, polar 1D and nonpolar 2D, allowed group-type analysis of all classes, including linear, branched, and aromatic species. The results show the ability to achieve a comprehensive separation of specific compound classes and the differentiation of engine oil types and manufacturers. Soft ionization assisted in tentative identification of two alkylated diphenylamines in each sample. The advantages and limitations of both thermal and flow modulation are presented.

Ambient Ionization and FAIMS Mass Spectrometry for Enhanced Imaging of Multiply Charged Molecular Ions in Biological Tissues

Ambient ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has been increasingly used to investigate the molecular distribution of biological tissue samples. Here, we report the integration and optimization of desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) and liquid-microjunction surface sampling probe (LMJ-SSP) with a chip-based high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) device to image metabolites, lipids, and proteins in biological tissue samples. Optimized FAIMS parameters for specific molecular classes enabled semitargeted detection of multiply charged molecular species at enhanced signal-to-noise ratios (S/N), improved visualization of spatial distributions, and, most importantly, allowed detection of species which were unseen by ambient ionization MSI alone. Under static DESI-FAIMS conditions selected for transmission of doubly charged cardiolipins (CL), for example, detection of 71 different CL species was achieved in rat brain, 23 of which were not observed by DESI alone. Diagnostic CL were imaged in a human thyroid tumor sample with reduced interference of isobaric species. LMJ-SSP-FAIMS enabled detection of 84 multiply charged protein ions in rat brain tissue, 66 of which were exclusive to this approach. Spatial visualization of proteins in substructures of rat brain, and in human ovarian cancerous, necrotic, and normal tissues was achieved. Our results indicate that integration of FAIMS with ambient ionization MS allows improved detection and imaging of selected molecular species. We show that this methodology is valuable in biomedical applications of MSI for detection of multiply charged lipids and proteins from biological tissues.