Novel Electrosorption-Enhanced Solid-Phase Microextraction Device for Ultrafast In Vivo Sampling of Ionized Pharmaceuticals in Fish

A fast solid-phase microextraction scheme for in vivo monitoring of bio-accumulation and bio-transformation of arbidol in living plants

Large quantity of the antiviral drug arbidol is used for resisting virus infection like the Corona Virus Disease 2019 and influenza, resulting in unanticipated environmental pollution. Herein, to investigate the environmental risks of the unanticipated arbidol contamination, a novel in vivo sampling probe was developed based on a bromo-substituted porous organic polymer (Br-POP) and then adopted for tracking the bio-accumulation and bio-transformation of arbidol in living plants by coupling with a nano-electrospray ionization fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (Nano-ESI-FT-ICR-MS) method. The established method showed good extraction performance towards arbidol with limit of detection (LOD) of 0.48 ng g-1, and relative standard deviation (RSD) of single-and multiple- probe of 2.2 and 14 %. Owing to the interactions between the Br-POP and the target analytes, as well as the fast analysis process of Nano-ESI-FT-ICR-MS, <6 min was cost for total sampling and analysis duration, achieving hourly tracking of arbidol and its metabolites in this work. During 21-d in vivo tracking, the concentration of arbidol in living plant stems increased rapidly within 6 h and peaked at 413.93 ± 47.09 ng g-1. Meanwhile, it was found that dissolved organic matters (DOM) had significant effect on arbidol behaviors in living plants, resulting in a decrease of the maximum concentration of arbidol in plant stems (152.70 ± 42.44 ng g-1) and the change of dominant metabolite of arbidol that the S-oxidation rather than N-demethylation product of arbidol was dominant with DOM participation. Additionally, the plant root secretion was found to be significantly altered by arbidol exposure. To summarized, the combination of in vivo SPME and the FT-ICR-MS analysis provide new and important information regarding arbidol contamination and related alternation of plant root metabolism.

Swellable microneedle-coupled light-addressable photoelectrochemical sensor for in-situ tracking of multiple pesticides pollution in vivo

In vivo monitoring of multiple pesticide contamination is of great significance for evaluating the health risks of different pesticides, agricultural production safety, and ecological and environmental assessment. Here, we report a hydrogel microneedle array coupled light-addressable photoelectrochemical sensor for tracking multiple pesticide uptake and elimination in living animals and plants, holding three prominent merits: i) enables in-situ detection of in vivo pesticides, avoiding cumbersome and complex sample transportation and handling processes; ii) allows repeated in vivo sampling of the same organism, improving tracking test controllability and accuracy; iii) avoids lethal sampling, providing a better understanding of the pesticides fate in living organisms. The coupled sensor is mechanically robust for withstanding more than 0.35 N per needle and highly swellable (800 %) for timely extraction of sufficient in vivo solution for analysis. For proof-of-concept, it achieves in-situ detection of atrazine, acetamiprid, and carbendazim efficiently and quantitatively in artificial agarose skin models, mouse skin interstitial fluids, and plant leaves with little inflammatory reaction. This simple, highly integrated, minimally invasive, and high-throughput in vivo monitoring method is ideal for future field environmental monitoring and plant and animal disease diagnosis.

Probing the stability of metal-organic frameworks by structure-responsive mass spectrometry imaging

The widespread application of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is seriously hindered by their structural instability and it is still very challenging to probe the stability of MOFs during application by current techniques. Here, we report a novel structure-responsive mass spectrometry (SRMS) imaging technique to probe the stability of MOFs. We discovered that intact CuBTC (as a model of MOFs) could generate the characteristic peaks of organic ligands and carbon cluster anions in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, but these peaks were significantly changed when the structure of CuBTC was dissociated, thus enabling a label-free probing of the stability. Furthermore, SRMS can be performed in imaging mode to visualize the degradation kinetics and reveal the spatial heterogeneity of the stability of CuBTC. This technique was successfully applied in different application scenarios (in water, moist air, and CO2) and also validated with different MOFs. It thus provides a versatile new tool for better design and application of environment-sensitive materials.

Toxicity Assessment of Environmental Liquid Crystal Monomers: A Bacteriological Investigation on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis

The widespread existence of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) in various environmental matrices has been demonstrated, yet studies on the toxicological effects of LCMs are considerably scarce and are urgently needed to be conducted to assess the adverse impacts on ecology and human health. Here, we conducted a bacteriological study on two representative human commensal bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), to investigate the effect of LCMs at human-relevant dosage and maximum environmental concentration on growth, metabolome, enzymatic activity, and mRNA expression. Microbial growth results exhibited that the highest inhibition ratio of LCMs on S. epidermidis reached 33.6% in our set concentration range, while the corresponding data on E. coli was only 14.3%. Additionally, LCMs showed more dose-dependent toxicity to S. epidermidis rather than E. coli. A novel in vivo solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was applied to capture the in vivo metabolites of microorganisms. In vivo metabolomic analyses revealed that dysregulated fatty acid metabolism-related products of both bacteria accounted for >50% of the total number of differential substances, and the results also showed the species-specific and concentration-dependent metabolic dysregulation in LCM-exposed bacteria. The determination of enzymatic activity and mRNA relative expression levels related to oxidative stress confirmed our speculation that the adverse effects were related to the oxidative metabolism of fatty acids. This study complements the gaps in toxicity data for LCMs against bacteria and provides a new and important insight regarding metabolic dysregulation induced by environmental LCMs in human commensal bacteria.

In Vivo Tracking of Persistent Organic Pollutants via a Coaxially Integrated and Implanted Photofuel Microsensor

In vivo tracking of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is of great significance for assessing their risks to the ecological environment and human health. However, existing in vivo POPs detection methods are limited by the lethal sampling of living organisms, complex sample preparation processes, or bulky testing equipment. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing with the merits of high sensitivity and simple equipment is a fast-developed method for in vivo analysis. A major obstacle for in vivo PEC sensors is the separated implantation of multiple electrodes and a light source, which raises concerns like multielectrode biofouling and electroactive molecules interference in the complex environment, uncertain electrode implant distance, and multiple insertion operations. Here, a coaxially implanted photofuel microsensor was developed by hiding the optical fiber-based photoanode inside the glass capillary-based biocathode, and the model target PCB77 can be detected with an ultralow detection limit (2.8 fg/mL). This unique photoanode-biocathode-light source integrated structure ensures excellent selectivity, good antifouling ability and biocompatibility, high accuracy, and less implant mechanical damage. Combined with a handheld pH meter, our sensor achieved convenient and direct tracking of the bioaccumulation levels of PCB77 in freely swimming fish.

In vivo environmental metabolomic profiling via a novel microextraction fiber unravels sublethal effects of environmental norfloxacin in gut bacteria

Emerging contaminants (ECs), especially antibiotics, have significantly polluted the environment and threaten the living circumstance of organisms. Environmental metabolomic has emerged to investigate the sublethal effects of ECs. However, lacking noninvasive and real-time sample pretreatment techniques restricts its development in environmental toxicology. Hence, in this study, a real-time and in vivo untargeted analytical technique towards microbial endogenous metabolites was developed via a novel composite solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber of ZIF-67 and polystyrene to realize the high-coverage capture of living gut microbial metabolites. To reveal the exposure risks of typical antibiotic - norfloxacin (NFX) to gut bacteria, four representative bacteria were exposed to NFX at environmentally relevant levels. Using the proposed SPME fiber, 70 metabolites were identified to obtain an apparent metabolic separation feature between control and NFX-treated (10 ng/mL) microbial groups, which revealed that the low environmental relevant concentration of NFX would affect normal metabolism of gut bacteria. Additionally, NFX exhibited species-specific toxic effects on microbial growth, especially Escherichia coli displaying a distinct dose-dependent trend. Antioxidative enzymatic activities results demonstrated that beneficial bacteria maintained the state of oxidative stress while symbiotic bacteria suffered from oxidative stress injury under NFX contamination, further corroborating its impact on human intestinal health. This study highlights the suitability of in vivo SPME in the field of metabolite extraction and simultaneously possesses a brilliant application foreground in the environmental metabolomics.

Dynamic SPME-SERS Induced by Electric Field: Toward In Situ Monitoring of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products

The core of the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based techniques for dynamic monitoring is to realize rapid and reversible adsorption. Herein, the integration technology of electro-enhanced adsorption, solid-phase microextraction, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EE-SPME-SERS) was developed to obtain sensitive, ultrafast, and reversible SERS response toward in situ monitoring of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). In the EE-SPME-SERS method, a roughened Ag fiber with Au modification (r-Ag/Au fiber) was used as the SERS substrate, SPME sorbent, and working electrode. The r-Ag/Au fiber displayed good SERS sensitivity, ultrahigh photostability, and adsorption properties. The adsorption efficiency of benzidine was 76 times accelerated in EE-SPME-SERS compared to that in static adsorption. The whole process of "sampling and detection" in EE-SPME-SERS can be finished within 1 s. Reversible adsorption and desorption can be achieved in situ by switching the direction of electric field, and the regeneration process takes only a few minutes. Simulated release of benzidine from household wastewater was in situ and dynamically monitored using this strategy. EE-SPME-SERS was proved universal for ionized PPCPs and can detect multicomponents simultaneously. In addition, EE-SPME-SERS showed very good analytical properties. Great potential of EE-SPME-SERS can be expected in environmental monitoring.

In Vivo Solid-Phase Microextraction and Applications in Environmental Sciences

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a well-established sample-preparation technique for environmental studies. The application of SPME has extended from the headspace extraction of volatile compounds to the capture of active components in living organisms via the direct immersion of SPME probes into the tissue (in vivo SPME). The development of biocompatible coatings and the availability of different calibration approaches enable the in vivo sampling of exogenous and endogenous compounds from the living plants and animals without the need for tissue collection. In addition, new geometries such as thin-film coatings, needle-trap devices, recession needles, coated tips, and blades have increased the sensitivity and robustness of in vivo sampling. In this paper, we detail the fundamentals of in vivo SPME, including the various extraction modes, coating geometries, calibration methods, and data analysis methods that are commonly employed. We also discuss recent applications of in vivo SPME in environmental studies and in the analysis of pollutants in plant and animal tissues, as well as in human saliva, breath, and skin analysis. As we show, in vivo SPME has tremendous potential for the targeted and untargeted screening of small molecules in living organisms for environmental monitoring applications.

Stress symptoms and plant hormone-modulated defense response induced by the uptake of carbamazepine and ibuprofen in Malabar spinach (Basella alba L.)

Due to their wide applications and extensive discharges, pharmaceuticals have recently become a potential risk to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The uptake of pharmaceuticals have been shown to stimulate plant defense systems and induce phytotoxic effects. Signaling molecules such as plant hormones play crucial roles in plant stress and defense responses, but the relationship between these molecules and pharmaceutical uptake has rarely been investigated. In this study, two common pharmaceuticals, carbamazepine and ibuprofen, and three stress-related plant hormones, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid, were simultaneously tracked in the roots and stems of Malabar spinach (Basella alba L.) via an in vivo solid phase microextraction (SPME) method. We also monitored stress-related physiological markers and enzymatic activities to demonstrate plant hormone modulation. The results indicate that pharmaceutical uptake, subsequent stress symptoms, and the defense response were all significantly correlated with the upregulation of plant hormones. Moreover, the plant hormones in the exposure group failed to recover to normal levels, indicating that plants containing pharmaceutical residues might be subject to potential risks.

Monolith/aminated graphene oxide composite-based electric field-assisted solid phase microextraction for efficient capture of phenoxycarboxylic acids herbicides in environmental waters

Efficient capture of strongly polar, ionizable and trace phenoxycarboxylic acids herbicides (PCAHs) from aqueous samples is essential and challenging for environmental monitoring. In the present work, electric field-assisted solid-phase microextraction (EFA-SPME) based on monolith/aminated graphene oxide composite was developed for the first time to efficiently extract trace PCAHs prior to HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) quantification. First, poly (1-allyl-3-methylimidazole difluoromethanesulfonylamide salt-co-divinylbenzene/ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith/aminated graphene oxide composite (MAC) was prepared on the surface of stainless steel wire and employed as the extraction phase of SPME. After that, the MAC-based fiber and a stainless steel wire were connected to a DC power supply that allowed the implement of variable electric fields during adsorption and desorption processes. Various key factors influencing the extraction performance were inspected in detailed. Results well evidenced that the exertion of electric fields improved the enrichment performance, accelerated the trap and release procedures. The proposed MAC/EFA-SPME-HPLC-MS/MS method achieved wide linear ranges (0.005-50.0 μg/L), low limits of detection (0.54-1.3 ng/L) and good precision (2.7-7.0%) for the quantification of PCAHs. The related extraction mechanism was deduced. Additional, the current approach was successfully applied to monitor studied PCAHs at trace contents in environment waters, and the accuracy was confirmed by confirmatory experiments.

A review on analytical methods for pharmaceutical and personal care products and their transformation products

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) and corresponding transformation products have caused widespread concern due to their persistent emissions and potential toxicity. They have wide octanol-water partition coefficients (K_ow) and different ionization constants (pK_a) resulting in a poor analysis accuracy and efficiency. A suitable analytical method is the first prerequisite for further research on their environmental behavior to prioritize the substances. This study reviewed a full-scale analytical protocol for environmental samples in the recent ten years: from sampling to instrumental methods. Passive sampling techniques were compared and recommended for long-term continuous and scientific observation. A quick and effective sample extraction and clean-up method are highly required. Chromatographic methods coupled to mass spectrometry for determining PPCPs with a wide range of logK_ow (-7.53 to 10.80) were summed up. High-resolution mass spectrometry was confirmed to be a promising strategy for screening unknown transformation products, which would provide a nanogram level of detection limits and more accurate mass resolution. Screening strategies and mass change principles were summarized in detail. The recovery rate was important in multiple contaminants analysis identification and factors affecting the recovery rate of PPCPs were also discussed in this review, including sample matrix, target compounds characteristics, extraction method and solid-phase adsorbent. This review provides useful information for the selection of appropriate analytical methods and future development directions.

Miniaturized analytical methods for determination of environmental contaminants of emerging concern - A review

The determination of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in environmental samples has become a challenging and critical issue. The present work focuses on miniaturized analytical strategies reported in the literature for the determination of CECs. The first part of the review provides brief overview of CECs whose monitoring in environmental samples is of particular significance, namely personal care products, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, UV-filters, newly registered pesticides, illicit drugs, disinfection by-products, surfactants, high technology rare earth elements, and engineered nanomaterials. Besides, an overview of downsized sample preparation approaches reported in the literature for the determination of CECs in environmental samples is provided. Particularly, analytical methodologies involving microextraction approaches used for the enrichment of CECs are discussed. Both solid phase- and liquid phase-based microextraction techniques are highlighted devoting special attention to recently reported approaches. Special emphasis is placed on newly developed materials used for extraction purposes in microextraction techniques. In addition, recent contributions involving miniaturized analytical flow techniques for the determination of CECs are discussed. Besides, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of point of need and portable devices have been identified and critically compared with chromatographic methods coupled to mass chromatography. Finally, challenging aspects regarding miniaturized analytical methods for determination of CECs are critically discussed.

In vivo monitoring and exposure potency assessment of phase I metabolism of fenthion in vegetables

In this study, the phase I metabolism of fenthion was monitored in three common vegetables in different chamber situations via an in vivo solid-phase microextraction method. The phase I metabolic pathways of fenthion were evaluated based on the in vivo monitoring results and their comparisons among the chamber situations. Enzyme catalysis was found to play a basic and dominant role, whereas light catalysis could promote subsequent transformations that were difficult for enzyme catalysis. Moreover, according to the concentrations of the metabolites and their toxicity, the total concentrations and total toxicity weighted concentrations were calculated to reveal actual residual levels. The relative total and weighted exposure potency values were calculated to account for the fact that only the parent pesticide was considered in the diet exposure risk assessment. In result, both total and weighted approaches indicated a much higher exposure risk. Present study uncovered the potential pesticide exposure risk associated with phase I metabolism and highlighted the toxicity weighted approach, both of which more realistically reflect the exposure risk than the parent compound concentration does. In general, this study may facilitate further illustrating the phase I metabolism of ubiquitous agricultural pesticides, and provide a more realistically understanding of their exposure risk.

Sheathed in situ heteroepitaxial growth metal-organic framework probe for detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in river water and living fish

Exploring the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic environment is an important task. Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) are commonly used as sorbents for enriching PAHs but their crystal synthesis, sorbent preparation and robustness remain challenging. In the present study, under mild conditions, a novel sheathed MOF fiber coating was fabricated via in situ heteroepitaxial growth of copper-2,5-diaminoterephthalate (Cu-DAT) crystals and subsequent polyimide (PI) sheath. The copper hydroxide nanotubes were first synthesized on the copper wire to provide a substrate for further in situ heteroepitaxial Cu-DAT growth, and the coating was then sheathed with PI via a simple dip-coating procedure. The well-ranged copper hydroxide nanotubes, the unique adsorption property of Cu-DAT, and the PI sheath, the prepared fiber all contributed to a successful solid-phase microextraction (SPME) device for detecting PAHs. Results demonstrated that the SPME methods using the novel fiber possessed great sensitivity, wide linear range, good reproducibility, and the robustness was significantly improved with PI sheath. The novel SPME material was successfully applied for detection of PAHs in river water samples and in vivo detection of PAHs in fish dorsal muscle. In general, this study explored an effective and convenient method to prepare high-efficient MOF-based SPME fiber for PAHs analysis in complex environmental water samples and living organisms via in situ growth and polymer sheath.

A polymeric solid-phase microextraction fiber for the detection of pharmaceuticals in water samples

A novel disposable styrene based solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was synthesized for the detection of lipid-lowering and antihypertensive drugs in real aquatic environment. Styrene and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate were co-polymerized on quartz fibers by thermal polymerization in capillary molds. The polymeric fiber possessed a homogeneous, dense as well as porous surface, showing excellent chemical and mechanical stability. The performance of the fiber was evaluated through the extraction of seven pharmaceuticals by coupling SPME with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry under the optimized extraction conditions. The extraction efficiency of the fiber was up to 278 times of PDMS fiber and the enrichment factors ranged from 55 to 1183. The limits of detection were in the range from 1.7 ng L^-1 to 11.7 ng L^-1, with good reproducibility. Moreover, the fiber was used in the real water samples of the Pearl River Delta. The recoveries of the target analytes from river water and sea water samples at different spiked concentrations were in the range from 84.1% to 133.4% and from 81.5% to 105.5%, respectively.

Recent Advances in In Vivo SPME Sampling

In vivo solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has been recently proposed for the extraction, clean-up and preconcentration of analytes of biological and clinical concern. Bioanalysis can be performed by sampling exo- or endogenous compounds directly in living organisms with minimum invasiveness. In this context, innovative and miniaturized devices characterized by both commercial and lab-made coatings for in vivo SPME tissue sampling have been proposed, thus assessing the feasibility of this technique for biomarker discovery, metabolomics studies or for evaluating the environmental conditions to which organisms can be exposed. Finally, the possibility of directly interfacing SPME to mass spectrometers represents a valuable tool for the rapid quali- and quantitative analysis of complex matrices. This review article provides a survey of in vivo SPME applications focusing on the extraction of tissues, cells and simple organisms. This survey will attempt to cover the state-of- the-art from 2014 up to 2019.

Uptake of pharmaceuticals acts as an abiotic stress and triggers variation of jasmonates in Malabar spinach (Basella alba. L)

In recent years, pharmaceuticals have received increasing attentions because of their potential risks to the environment, but researches focusing on their impacts on defense system of living plants are still lacking. As an important class of phytohormones, jasmonates play crucial roles in plant defense system against environmental stress. In order to investigate the effect of pharmaceuticals uptake on endogenous jasmonates, an in vivo solid phase microextraction (SPME) method was established to simultaneously detect and monitor both pharmaceuticals and jasmonates in living plants. The proposed method exhibited wide linear ranges, high sensitivity (limits of detection ranging 0.0043-0.035 ng g^-1 for pharmaceuticals and 0.091-0.22 ng g^-1 for jasmonates, respectively), and satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviation of intrafiber ranging 4.2%-8.6% and interfiber ranging 5.2%-8.2%, respectively). Subsequently, this method was successfully applied to track the concentrations of each pharmaceutical and corresponding jasmonates in living Malabar spinach plants (Basella alba. L) exposed to three common pharmaceuticals (i.e. gemfibrozil, mefenamic acid and tolfenamic acid) over 15 days. In result, all pharmaceuticals appeared to trigger intensive biosynthesis of jasmonic acid (JA) (3.1-9.4 times of control) while reduced the concentration of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) (18.3%-38.1% of control). We inferred that uptake of pharmaceuticals acted as an abiotic stress and stimulated the plant defense response because of the variation of jasmonates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study applying SPME to detect and track both pharmaceuticals and phytohormones in living plants, which not only provided a glimpse to the adverse effect of pharmaceuticals on plants as well as the regulation of endogenous jasmonates, but also set a promising template for future in vivo analysis of xenobiotics and plant endogenous substances.

A Novel Water-Swelling Sampling Probe for in Vivo Detection of Neonicotinoids in Plants

Ecotoxicological risks of neonicotinoid insecticides are raising significant concerns, including their potential role in bee population declines. Neonicotinoids are water-soluble, systemic insecticides, and exposure of nontarget organisms such as pollinators occurs mainly through residues in nectar and pollens of flowering plants. To better elucidate the underlying mechanisms for such nontarget exposure, it is highly valuable to develop analytical capabilities for in vivo monitoring of neonicotinoids in live plants. In this study, we developed a novel biomimetic water-swelling solid-phase microextraction (SPME) probe, with limits of detection for neonicotinoids as low as 0.03 ng mL^-1, and applied it for in vivo detection of seven neonicotinoids in plant sap. The preparation of this fiber was simple and free of stringent or complex physical-chemical reactions. Equilibrium in neonicotinoid accumulation on the fiber was reached in <10 min, allowing for near instantaneous sampling. The water-swelling fiber displayed much greater sampling capacity than the commercially available polydimethylsiloxane and polyacrylate fibers, good reproducibility (RSD of inter- and intrafiber <8.9% and 7.8%, respectively), and antibiofouling property (no loss in performance after 20 use cycles). After treating lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) by foliar spray and soybean (Glycine max M.) by seed soaking, the in vivo assays provided a wealth of information, including changes in levels and distribution of neonicotinoids over time in the same plants. Kinetics and distribution patterns suggested that after treatment at the same level, neonicotinoids differed significantly in their levels in the sap. The in vivo sampling and monitoring of neonicotinoids in live plants may provide unique and much needed information in achieving breakthrough understanding of the connection between neonicotinoid use and pollinator exposure.