Inhibition of the enzyme autotaxin reduces cortical excitability and ameliorates the outcome in stroke

Stroke penumbra injury caused by excess glutamate is an important factor in determining stroke outcome; however, several therapeutic approaches aiming to rescue the penumbra have failed, likely due to unspecific targeting and persistent excitotoxicity, which continued far beyond the primary stroke event. Synaptic lipid signaling can modulate glutamatergic transmission via presynaptic lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) 2 receptors modulated by the LPA-synthesizing molecule autotaxin (ATX) present in astrocytic perisynaptic processes. Here, we detected long-lasting increases in brain ATX concentrations after experimental stroke. In humans, cerebrospinal fluid ATX concentration was increased up to 14 days after stroke. Using astrocyte-specific deletion and pharmacological inhibition of ATX at different time points after experimental stroke, we showed that inhibition of LPA-related cortical excitability improved stroke outcome. In transgenic mice and in individuals expressing a single-nucleotide polymorphism that increased LPA-related glutamatergic transmission, we found dysregulated synaptic LPA signaling and subsequent negative stroke outcome. Moreover, ATX inhibition in the animal model ameliorated stroke outcome, suggesting that this approach might have translational potential for improving the outcome after stroke.

Excited-State N Atoms Transform Aromatic Hydrocarbons into N-Heterocycles in Low-Temperature Plasmas

The direct formation of N-heterocycles from aromatic hydrocarbons has been observed in nitrogen-based low-temperature plasmas; the mechanism of this unusual nitrogen-fixation reaction is the topic of this paper. We used homologous aromatic compounds to study their reaction with reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in a dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI) source. Toluene (C₇H₈) served as a model compound to study the reaction in detail, which leads to the formation of two major products at "high" plasma voltage: a nitrogen-replacement product yielding protonated methylpyridine (C₆H₈N⁺) and a protonated nitrogen-addition (C₇H₈N⁺) product. We complemented those studies by a series of experiments probing the potential mechanism. Using a series of selected-ion flow tube experiments, we found that N⁺, N₂⁺, and N₄⁺ react with toluene to form a small abundance of the N-addition product, while N(⁴S) reacted with toluene cations to form a fragment ion. We created a model for the RNS in the plasma using variable electron and neutral density attachment mass spectrometry in a flowing afterglow Langmuir probe apparatus. These experiments suggested that excited-state nitrogen atoms could be responsible for the N-replacement product. Density functional theory calculations confirmed that the reaction of excited-state nitrogen N(²P) and N(²D) with toluene ions can directly form protonated methylpyridine, ejecting a carbon atom from the aromatic ring. N(²P) is responsible for this reaction in our DBDI source as it has a sufficient lifetime in the plasma and was detected by optical emission spectroscopy measurements, showing an increasing intensity of N(²P) with increasing voltage.

Plasmon-Driven Photocatalysis Leads to Products Known from E-beam and X-ray-Induced Surface Chemistry

Plasmonic metal nanostructures can concentrate incident optical fields in nanometer-sized volumes, called hot spots. This leads to enhanced optical responses of molecules in such a hot spot but also to chemical transformations, driven by plasmon-induced hot carriers. Here, we employ tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) to study the mechanism of these reactions in situ at the level of a single hot spot. Direct spectroscopic measurements reveal the energy distribution of hot electrons, as well as the temperature changes due to plasmonic heating. Therefore, charge-driven reactions can be distinguished from thermal reaction pathways. The products of the hot-carrier-driven reactions are strikingly similar to the ones known from X-ray or e-beam-induced surface chemistry despite the >100-fold energy difference between visible and X-ray photons. Understanding the analogies between those two scenarios implies new strategies for rational design of plasmonic photocatalytic reactions and for the elimination of photoinduced damage in plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy.

Mechanistic Understanding Leads to Increased Ionization Efficiency and Selectivity in Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Case Study with Perfluorinated Compounds

Perfluorinated compounds have unique properties and many practical applications, but are difficult to ionize efficiently with soft ionization methods. An active capillary plasma ionization source based on dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI) coupled with mass spectrometry was used to study the ionization pathway of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), with the aim of both increasing the ionization efficiency and influencing the selectivity for generating product ions in negative ion mode. Cyclic and linear perfluorinated alkanes were found to mainly form [M - F]^- and [M - F + O]^- ions, respectively; the [M]^-• ion was only obtained at low discharge voltage. Additionally, fluorine attachment [M + F]^- was observed mostly for perfluorinated alkenes. An isotope labeling experiment with ¹⁸O₂ showed that the primary source of oxygen in the substitution reaction is molecular oxygen, reacting with the analyte in the form of O^-• ions. The abundance of [M - F + O]^- ions can thus be enhanced by increasing the plasma voltage to produce a higher O^-• ion density. The loss of the fluorine (without substitution by oxygen) was mainly observed at high frequency, a fact which can be exploited for tuning the ionization toward specific product ions. Overall, the mechanistic understanding of the ionization of PFCs allowed to increase the selectivity of the product ions, resulting in increased ionization efficiency.

A Radical-Mediated Pathway for the Formation of [M + H](+) in Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization

Active capillary plasma ionization is a highly efficient ambient ionization method. Its general principle of ion formation is closely related to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). The method is based on dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI), and can be constructed in the form of a direct flow-through interface to a mass spectrometer. Protonated species ([M + H](+)) are predominantly formed, although in some cases radical cations are also observed. We investigated the underlying ionization mechanisms and reaction pathways for the formation of protonated analyte ([M + H](+)). We found that ionization occurs in the presence and in the absence of water vapor. Therefore, the mechanism cannot exclusively rely on hydronium clusters, as generally accepted for APCI. Based on isotope labeling experiments, protons were shown to originate from various solvents (other than water) and, to a minor extent, from gaseous impurities and/or self-protonation. By using CO2 instead of air or N2 as plasma gas, additional species like [M + OH](+) and [M - H](+) were observed. These gas-phase reaction products of CO2 with the analyte (tertiary amines) indicate the presence of a radical-mediated ionization pathway, which proceeds by direct reaction of the ionized plasma gas with the analyte. The proposed reaction pathway is supported with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These findings add a new ionization pathway leading to the protonated species to those currently known for APCI. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.