Evaluation of a high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry method for the determination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in soil and water.

An analytical protocol for the determination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) and total TCDDs in soil, sediment, and aqueous samples using high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) was evaluated through replicate analyses of fortified and unspiked soil and aqueous samples. The results of these analyses demonstrated that the method is useful for the determination of 2,3,7,8-TCDD and total TCDDs at concentrations ranging from 10 to 200 pg/g (ppt) in soil samples and from 100 to 2000 pg/l (ppq) in aqueous samples. Absolute recoveries of the method internal standard, (13C12-2,3,7,8-TCDD, ranged from 24 to 88%. Lower levels of detection can be achieved through a slight modification of the method with respect to initial sample size and/or final extract volume. Instrumental parameters that affect data quality, specifically HRGC column performance, mass resolution and mass measurement accuracy are presented.

Environmental semivolatiles and nonvolatiles analysis by hyphenated spectral techniques.

Environmental sample extracts contain a variety of volatile and nonvolatile organic compounds exhibiting a range of polarities and concentrations. Although gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is the method of choice thus far for such analyses, this technique used alone cannot adequately characterize the volatiles in such samples and is not amenable to environmental nonvolatiles. A more complete characterization of environmental and hazardous waste samples is required to assess the dangers posed to the nation's groundwater by hazardous waste dumps. Online spectral confirmation by directly linked GC/Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)/MS is shown to provide useful structural information on environmental volatiles in hazardous wastes, even when the analyte's spectrum is not in either spectral database. This information can lead to biological-hazard estimation. The diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared (DRIFT) technique, used in conjunction with thermospray MS or fast atom bombardment (FAB) MS, provides confirmed identifications or confirmed compound class assignments of organic nonvolatiles in solid wastes. This is believed to be the first report of spectral confirmation (identification or functionality) of organic volatiles and nonvolatiles in environmental samples.

Bromo- and bromochloro-polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and dibenzofurans in municipal incinerator fly ash.

A fly ash sample found to contain polychlorinated dioxins and dibenzofurans was analyzed for brominated analytes. Bromochloro-polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and dibenzofurans, as well as bromo PAH were found in ppt to ppb concentrations. Analytical results were confirmed by high-resolution mass spectrometric accurate mass determinations and by tandem mass spectrometry.

A hybrid HRGC/MS/MS method for the characterization of tetrachlorinated-p-dioxins in environmental samples.

A new instrumental method for the characterization of the analyte 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) by selected reaction monitoring (SRM) analysis is investigated. The method uses high-resolution gas chromatography coupled to a hybrid tandem mass spectrometer. The technique was evaluated with regard to four performance parameters: sensitivity, linearity, repeatability and selectivity. The method compares favorably with the traditional selected ion monitoring HRGC/HRMS technique, and the selectivity of the new method is shown to surpass the established HRGC/HRMS method. This new method could allow the characterization of samples that have undergone less rigorous cleanup than is now possible by the traditional mass spectrometric methods. The presence of TCDDs in a real sample was confirmed by using the new HRGC/(hybrid)MS/MS SRM method, which was not possible by using HRGC/HRMS analysis.

Metabolic studies of 15N-labeled N-nitrosoproline in isolated rat hepatocytes and subcellular fractions.

The metabolism of the non-carcinogenic N-nitrosoproline (NPRO) was investigated in vitro using both S9 preparations and isolated hepatocytes from F344 rats. The studies were performed using 15N-labeled nitrosamine and the reaction mixtures were examined mass spectrometrically for the presence of 15N2 or other 15N-labeled gaseous products. In addition, the metabolism of NPRO was monitored by capillary gas chromatography. The results indicated no 15N2 production from either the hepatocyte or S9 preparations, as well as no detectable loss of substrate from the reaction mixtures. Mass spectrometric analysis failed to reveal any metabolites of NPRO. The results suggest that NPRO may be refractory to the normal nitrosamine activating enzymes, confirming its suitability for use in human epidemiological studies of endogenous nitrosation.

Fast atom bombardment and collisional activation mass spectrometry of retinyl phosphate mannose synthesized by liver membranes.

Fast atom bombardment (FAB) and collisional activation dissociation (CAD) mass-analysed ion kinetic energy (MIKE) spectra have confirmed the structures of retinyl phosphate (Ret-P), retinyl phosphate mannose (Ret-P-Man) and guanosine 5'-diphospho-D-mannose (GDP-Man). Ret-P-Man was made in vitro while Ret-P and GDP-Man were chemically synthesized. Positive ion FAB mass spectrometry of Ret-P showed an observable short-lived spectrum with a mass ion at m/z 367 [M + H]+, and a major fragment ion at m/z 269 [M + H - H3PO4]+. Negative ion FAB mass spectrometry of Ret-P showed a strong stable spectrum with a parent ion at m/z 365 [M - H]-, a glycerol (G) adduct ion at m/z 457 [M - H + G]- and a dimer ion at m/z 731 [2M - H]-. GDP-Man showed an intense spectrum with parent ion at m/z 604 [M - H]- and cationized species at m/z 626 [M + Na - 2H]- and 648 [M + 2Na - 3H]-. Negative ion FAB mass spectrometry of Ret-P-Man showed a parent ion at m/z 527 [M - H]- and a fragment ion at m/z 259 [C6H12PO9]-. The CAD-MIKE spectra showed structurally significant fragment ions at m/z 442 and 361 for the [M - H]- ion of GDP-Man, and at m/z 509, 406, 364 and 241 for the [M - H]- ion of Ret-P-Man. FAB and CAD-MIKE spectra have been applied successfully to confirm the structure of Ret-P-Man made in vitro from Ret-P and GDP-Man.

Acid lability of the hydrocarbon-deoxyribonucleoside linkages in 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-modified deoxyribonucleic acid.

DNA containing bound radioactive 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene was isolated from mouse fetal cell cultures exposed to this carcinogen. The carcinogen-deoxyriboside adducts within the DNA were found to be sensitive to acid-catalyzed hydrolysis. Adducts derived from reaction of a syn-dihydrodiol epoxide with deoxyadenosine residues in DNA were the most sensitive to acid and were hydrolyzed to yield a 1,2,3,4-tetrahydrotetraol of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene under mild conditions. The structure of this tetraol was established by synthesis and mass spectrometry. Although definitive structures cannot be assigned at present to the nucleic acid adducts of this potent carcinogen, the present findings confirm and extend earlier work assigning partial structures to the major adducts.

Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry in antibiotics: identification of nucleoside antitumor antibiotic toyocamycin in fermentation broth.

The presence of the nucleoside antitumor antibiotic toyocamycin in the fermentation broth was determined by a combination of negative and positive ion fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrometry, high resolution FAB mass spectrometry and mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectrometry (MIKES). A reasonable limit of detection for toyocamycin in the whole broth was obtained by combining the specificity of mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (also called tandem mass spectrometry) to FAB. The role played by the fermentation matrix upon the production and the observation of characteristic ions by FAB using xenon atoms was examined. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and FAB mass spectrometry were used to monitor toyocamycin at all stages of strain development, fermentation and recovery.

Structure and properties of major largomycin FII chromophore components.

Largomycin FII, a protein antitumor antibiotic of molecular weight 29,300 daltons, contains a chromophore that is separable under mild denaturing conditions. The chromophore complex was found to be considerably less stable than the holoprotein towards light and heat, suggesting a protective effect of the protein on the chromophore. Separation of the chromophore into several components was achieved using high performance liquid chromatography, and the biological activity of the isolated components was determined. Data gathered from UV, IR, proton and carbon NMR, and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry indicated that all the chromophore components belong to the pluramycin class of antitumor agents. Pluramycin A and deacetylpluramycin A were found to be the two major components.

Metabolism of 15N-labelled N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitroso-N-methylaniline by isolated rat hepatocytes.

The N-demethylation of 15N-labeled N-nitrosodimethylamine (DMN) and N-nitroso-N-methylaniline (NMA) by isolated rat hepatic cells has been investigated. The values obtained in this system for molecular nitrogen formed during metabolism, compared with substrate consumed, were DMN 47%, NMA 23%, and N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU) 105%. The results for DMN are roughly halfway between those previously determined with rat liver S-9 fraction in vitro (33%) and in vivo (67%). For NMA, the hepatocyte data are closer to those obtained from S-9 in vitro (19%), rather than the in vivo (52%). No mixed nitrogen ( 15N14N ) or labeled nitrogen oxides were found.

Formation of epsilon-hydroxycaproate and epsilon-aminocaproate from N-nitrosohexamethyleneimine: evidence that microsomal alpha-hydroxylation of cyclic nitrosamines may not always involve the insertion of molecular oxygen into the substrate.

The formation of the products of microsomal metabolism of the cyclic nitrosamine, nitrosohexamethyleneimine (NO-HEX) were studied. Information on the origins of the oxygen atoms in four major metabolites of NO-HEX was obtained by metabolizing this compound in an 18O2 atmosphere using microsomes and cytosol, beta- and gamma-Hydroxy-NO-HEX are formed as a result of the insertion of a hydroxyl group derived from molecular oxygen into NO-HEX. All of the oxygen atoms in epsilon-aminocaproate (EAC) were derived from water. Approximately half of the molecules of epsilon- hydroxycaproate ( EHC ) contain an 18O atom; thus, half of the alpha-hydroxy-NO-HEX formed incorporates a hydroxyl group derived from molecular oxygen with the remainder of the hydroxyls being from water. To account for the above data and the related metabolic origins of EAC and EHC ( Hecker and McClusky , Cancer Res., 42 (1982) 59; Hecker et al., Teratogen. Carcinogen. Mutagen (1982) in press), we have proposed a mechanism for the formation of these compounds from cyclic nitrosamines catalyzed by microsomal and cytosolic enzymes.

alpha-Hydroxylation of nitrogen-15 labelled N-nitrosamines by isolated hepatocytes.

The principal pathway of nitrosamine metabolism has long been considered to be alpha-hydroxylation. For N-nitrosodialkylamines, this hypothesis requires that a molecule of molecular nitrogen be released for every molecule of nitrosamine that is alpha-hydroxylated. Thus, the quantitative determination of nitrogen formation should provide a measure of the importance of this pathway. This method was applied earlier to the doubly-labelled nitrogen-15 compounds, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylphenylamine (NMPhA) and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), using both a 9 000 X g supernatant fraction of liver and the intact animal as metabolic systems. The in-vitro results were quite different from those obtained in vivo. The majority of the NDMA (67%) and the MNU (88%) were converted to nitrogen in vivo, while NMPhA gave considerably less nitrogen (52%). These results differed by a factor of approximately two from those obtained in vitro (NDMA, 33%; NMPhA, 18.8% and MNU, 96%). Since such differences may be a result of the loss of cellular architecture, we have extended the work to include isolated hepatocytes. It had been shown previously that isolated hepatocytes constitute a practical alternative to in-vivo systems, even though the correlation with in-vivo metabolism appears to depend on the substrate analysed. The values obtained using this system (NDMA, 47%; NMPhA, 23%; and MNU 105%) reconfirm that metabolism may be substrate dependent. As in our previous studies, no mixed nitrogen (15N14N) or labelled nitrogen oxides were found. The data are all consistent with the hypothesis that at least one demethylase for each of the nitrosamine substrates is associated with a cell membrane.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)