Time trends of polybrominated diphenylether (PBDE) congeners in serum of Swedish mothers and comparisons to breast milk data.

In the present study our main focus was blood serum levels and time trends of the fully brominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) BDE-209 in Swedish first-time mothers, as relatively a few human data on this congener are currently available. Also, levels and temporal trends in serum of other more commonly reported PBDE congeners and HBCD were studied. In an ongoing study on POPs in Uppsala Primiparas (POPUP), serum samples (N=413) from first-time mothers from 1996 to 2010 were used. Pooling of individual samples (5-25 individuals/pool, approx. 3 pools/year) resulted in 36 pooled samples used for PBDE/HBCD analysis on GC-LRMS. In addition, serum/breast milk correlations for PBDE and HBCD levels in 30 paired samples from individual mothers sampled 2010 were studied. The mean serum level of BDE-209 (1.3ng/g lipid wt.) was highest of all studied PBDE congeners, followed by BDE-47 and BDE-153. There was no significant temporal trend for BDE-209 during the study period, whereas the levels of BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100 and of HBCD decreased significantly in pooled serum 1996-2010. After omission of one outlier, a significant increasing trend was observed for BDE-153. The serum/milk PBDE quotients in paired individual samples from 2010 ranged from 0.83 to 17, with the highest quotient for BDE-209. Differences in PBDE transfer from blood to milk are probably related to molecular weight or size. The correlations between serum and milk levels of tetra- to hexa-brominated congeners were generally strong (r=0.83-0.97), but weaker for BDE-183 (r=0.57) and BDE-209 (r=0.38). Regarding HBCD, serum levels in 2010 were mostly beneath LOQ which made serum/milk quotients impossible. The decreasing levels of some BFR compounds in serum over time show that exposures have decreased after the production and use of some of these substances have been restricted. The lack of temporal trend of BDE-209 suggests that the human exposure to this congener in Sweden has been stable for more than a decade.

New method for resolving the enantiomeric composition of 2-methyltetrols in atmospheric organic aerosols.

In order to facilitate the determination of the primary and secondary origin of atmospheric organic aerosols, a novel method involving chiral capillary gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry has been developed and validated. The method was focused on the analysis of 2-methylerythritol and 2-methylthreitol, considered to be tracers of secondary organic aerosols from the oxidation of atmospheric isoprene. The method was validated by performing various tests using authentic standards, including pure enantiomeric standards. The result showed that the analytical method itself does not affect the enantiomeric composition of the samples analyzed. The method was applied on atmospheric aerosols from a boreal forest collected in Aspvreten, Sweden and on laboratory samples obtained from liquid phase oxidation of isoprene and smog chamber experiments. Aerosol samples contained one enantiomer of 2-methylerythritol in significantly larger quantities than the others. In contrast, the liquid-phase oxidation of isoprene and its gas-phase oxidation in the smog chamber produced all enantiomers in equal quantities. The results obtained where the enantiomer fraction, EF, is larger than 0.50 suggest that 2-methyltetrols in atmospheric aerosols may also have biological origin. Information about the differences between enantiomer fractions obtained using this method brings new insights in the area of atmospheric aerosols.

Electrostatic sample nebulization for improved sample vaporization in the split/splitless gas chromatography inlet.

The split/splitless inlet system has basically the same fundamental drawbacks it had when it was introduced: poor repeatability of the injected amount of sample and discrimination of high-boiling analytes. Hot needle injection improves the repeatability of the sample transfer but suffers from in-needle discrimination. Injection with a fast autosampler, resulting in minimal heating of the needle, solves this problem but usually requires a glass wool packing in the inlet liner to assist in vaporization of the sample. As glass wool has been reported to cause degradation of labile analytes, it cannot be applied as a general remedy for improving incomplete vaporization. In this paper, a novel concept, based on electrostatic nebulization of the injected sample, is presented. The resulting fine droplets promote a more effective heat transfer and a rapid vaporization. Evaluation of the electrospray inlet in the split mode, using a straight, empty glass liner and a cold needle, showed an improvement in peak area repeatability by about 1 order of magnitude, compared with the results obtained when no electrostatic field was applied. Splitless injection of a series of hydrocarbons up to C(28) in the electrospray inlet with an empty, tapered liner, using a cold needle, showed no measurable analyte discrimination. The relative standard deviation in terms of area count for the largest hydrocarbon (C(28)) was <1.5%, compared to approximately 30% for injections where no high voltage was applied.

Mixed sorbent phases for thick film open tubular traps.

In this work, we present a technique for the preparation of tailor-made sorbent phases for thick film open tubular traps. Solid or liquid polymers are dispersed in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pre-polymer, which is cross-linked in situ after coating. The technique is evaluated by preparing thick film open tubular traps with PDMS containing solid or liquid poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). A significant increase in retention for polar analytes is observed, even when only 7.5% PEG is present. The increase in retention for 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol is more than tenfold. The preparation method is simple and no solvents are required. Also, the concept provides great flexibility in terms of phase composition.

Non-contact protein microarray fabrication using a procedure based on liquid bridge formation.

Contemporary microarrayers of contact or non-contact format used in protein microarray fabrication still suffer from a number of problems, e.g. generation of satellite spots, inhomogeneous spots, misplaced or even absent spots, and sample carryover. In this paper, a new concept of non-contact sample deposition that reduces such problems is introduced. To show the potential and robustness of this pressure-assisted deposition technique, different sample solutions known to cause severe problems or to be even impossible to print with conventional microarrayers were accurately printed. The samples included 200 mg mL(-1) human serum albumin, highly concentrated sticky cell adhesion proteins, pure high-salt cell-lysis buffer, pure DMSO, and a suspension of 5-microm polystyrene beads. Additionally, a water-immiscible liquid fluorocarbon, which was shown not to affect the functionality of the capture molecules, was employed as a lid to reduce evaporation during microarray printing. The fluorocarbon liquid lid was shown to circumvent hydrolysis of water-sensitive activated surfaces during long-term deposition procedures.