Development of Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Coupled Nanospray Ion Source for Analysis of Cephalosporin Antibiotics in Food Samples.

A magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) coupled nanospray ion source was developed for analysis of cephalosporin antibiotics in food samples. MIP coated Fe3O4 nanospheres were prepared for magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) of the antibiotics in the extract of samples and then integrated into the nanospray capillary for further desorption and mass spectrometry analysis. The developed device combines the advantages of high extraction efficiency of MSPE, unique selectivity of MIPs, and fast analysis speed of ambient ionization mass spectrometry (AIMS). Five cephalosporin antibiotics in milk, egg, and beef samples were analyzed using the developed methods. High sensitivities with limits of detection (LODs) from 0.3 to 0.5 µg kg-1 were achieved for cephalosporin antibiotics in milk, egg, and beef samples, respectively. Good linearity, determination coefficient values (R2 > 0.992), and precision (RSD < 15%) with recoveries ranging from 72.6% to 115.5% were obtained using the spiked milk, egg, and beef sample matrices.

Tissue distribution study of perfluorooctanoic acid in exposed zebrafish using MALDI mass spectrometry imaging.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as an emerging environmental contaminant, has become ubiquitous in the environment. It is of significance to study bioconcentration and tissue distribution of aquatic organisms for predicting the persistence of PFOA and its adverse effects on the environment and human body. However, the distribution of PFOA in different tissues is a complex physiological process affected by many factors. It is difficult to be accurately described by a simple kinetic model. In present study, a new strategy was introduced to research the PFOA distribution in tissues and estimate the exposure stages. Zebrafish were continuously exposed to 25 mg/L PFOA for 30 days to simulate environmental process. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) method was used to monitor the spatio-temporal distribution of PFOA in zebrafish tissues. By analyzing the law of change obtained from the high spatial resolution MSI data, two different enrichment trends in ten tissues were summarized by performing curve fitting. Analyzing the ratio of two types of curves, a new "exposure curve" was defined to evaluate the exposure stages. With this model, three levels (mild, moderate, and deep pollution stage) of PFOA pollution in zebrafish can be simply evaluated.

Fast construction of core-shell structured magnetic covalent organic framework as sorbent for solid-phase extraction of zearalenone and its derivatives prior to their determination by UHPLC-MS/MS.

Magnetic covalent organic framework nanocomposite denoted as Fe3O4@TAPB-Tp with core-shell structure was fabricated via a simple template-mediated precipitation polymerization method at mild conditions. The polyimine network shell was created through the polymerization of 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)-benzene (TAPB) and 1,3,5-triformyl-phloroglucinol (Tp) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) by the Schiff-base reaction. Featuring with large specific surface area (163.19 m2 g-1), good solution dispersibility, and high stability, the obtained Fe3O4@TAPB-Tp exhibited high adsorption capacities and fast adsorption for zearalenone and its derivatives (ZEAs). The adsorption isotherms showed multilayer adsorption dominated at low concentration and monolayer adsorption at high concentration between the interface of ZEAs and Fe3O4@TAPB-Tp. With the Fe3O4@TAPB-Tp as sorbent, a magnetic solid-phase extraction-ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was established for simultaneous adsorption and detection of five ZEAs in complex samples. The proposed method displayed favorable linearity, low limits of detection (0.003 ~ 0.018 µg kg-1), and good repeatability (2.37~10.4%). The developed method has been applied for real sample analysis, with recoveries of 81.27~90.26%. These results showed that Fe3O4@TAPB-Tp has a good application potential for the adsorption of ZEAs in food samples. Magnetic covalent organic framework nanocomposite (Fe3O4@TAPB-Tp) were quickly fabricated at mild conditions and used as effective adsorbent for magnetic solid-phase extraction of zearalenone and its derivatives (ZEAs) from food samples prior to ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis.