Development of a quantitative method for the analysis of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in mainstream cigarette smoke using isotope dilution liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

An improved method has been developed for the determination of the four major tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) in mainstream cigarette smoke. The new method offers decreased sample preparation and analysis time as compared to traditional methodologies. This method uses isotope dilution liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization and is significantly more sensitive than traditional methods. It also shows no evidence of artifactual formation of TSNA. Sample concentrations were determined for four TSNA in mainstream smoke using two isotopically labeled TSNA analogues as internal standards. Mainstream smoke was collected on an industry standard 44-mm Cambridge filter pad, extracted with an aqueous buffer solution, and analyzed without further sample cleanup. This method has been validated through intra- and interlaboratory studies and has shown excellent recoveries, sensitivity, and repeatability. The limits of detection of each TSNA varied from 0.01 to 0.1 ng/mL, and the linear calibration range of the instrument in sample matrix spanned 0.5-200 ng/ mL, which allowed for the determination of the TSNA levels in cigarettes with a wide range of deliveries. Data are also reported from two commercially available industry reference cigarettes and show excellent agreement and reproducibility over a six-month time period (n > 50).

Ordered silicon nanocavity arrays in surface-assisted desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

We report here a simple method to generate ordered nanocavity arrays on a Si wafer and use it in surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS). A close-packed SiO2 nanosphere array was first deposited on a low-resistivity Si wafer using a convective self-assembly method. The nanoparticle array was then used as a mask in a reactive ion etching (RIE) process to selectively remove portions of the Si surface. Subsequent sonication removed those physically adsorbed SiO2 nanoparticles and exposed an ordered nanocavity array underneath. The importance of this approach is its capability of systematically varying surface geometries to achieve desired features, which makes detailed studies of the impacts of surface features on the desorption/ionization mechanism feasible. We demonstrated that the in-plane width and out-of-plane depth of the cavities were adjustable by varying etching times, and the intercavity spacing was controllable by varying the number of particle layers deposited. MS detection of small peptides on these substrates showed comparable sensitivity to conventional porous Si substrates (DIOS, desorption/ ionization on porous silicon). The desorption and ionization efficiency of these roughened surfaces exhibited a nonmonotonic relationship to the increased total surface area. Several possible factors contributing to the observed phenomenon are speculated upon. The application of this arrayed surface in metabolite detection of Arabidopsis thaliana root extracts is also demonstrated.