Sensitivity enhancement of aminoglycosides in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry by post-column addition of trace sodium acetate in methanol

<p>The development of a sensitive and accurate analytical method for monitoring aminoglycosides in food, environmental, and clinical samples is needed for many purposes. This study found that the responses of sodiated and protonated aminoglycosides in hydrophilic interaction chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry were enhanced upon addition of sodium acetate in methanol (5 mg L⁻¹ at a flow rate of 0.2 mL min⁻¹) as a post-column reagent. The sensitivities of sodiated spectinomycin, kanamycin, gentamicins, neomycin, and amikacin were significantly higher than those of the protonated molecules. Streptomycin and dihydrostreptomycin only formed protonated molecules, suggesting the preferential ionisation of the guanidine moieties in these aminoglycosides. The limits of quantification of these aminoglycosides were 0.19–2.5 ng mL⁻¹. Notably, this is the first quantification of aminoglycosides that uses the sodiated molecules. The enhancement technique enables us to eliminate a concentration step from the clean-up process from food samples. We also proposed a rapid analytical method for residual aminoglycosides in milk and meat samples; validation showed good accuracy and precision of this method at the Japanese maximum residual limits of aminoglycosides (40–500 µg kg⁻¹). The application of this method to contaminated bovine tissues revealed remarkably high residual levels of kanamycin. This technique will be useful for the sensitive detection of aminoglycosides not only in food, but also in environmental samples and human plasma.</p

Chemical Structural Characteristics of HULIS and Other Fractionated Organic Matter in Urban Aerosols: Results from Mass Spectral and FT-IR Analysis

The chemical characteristics of complex organic matter in atmospheric aerosols remain poorly understood. Water-insoluble organic matter (WISOM) and water-soluble organic matter (WSOM) in the total suspended particulates collected in the city of Nagoya in summer/early autumn and winter were extracted using multiple solvents. Two fractions of humic-like substances, showing neutral and acidic behavior (HULIS-n and HULIS-a, respectively), and the remaining highly polar part (HP-WSOM) were fractionated from WSOM using solid phase extraction. The chemical structural characteristics and concentrations of the organic matter were investigated using mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. WISOM and HULIS-n had low O/C ratios (0.1 and 0.4, respectively) and accounted for a large fraction of the organics in aerosols (70%). HULIS-a and HP-WSOM had higher O/C ratios (0.7 and 1.0, respectively), and their concentrations in summer and early autumn were on average ∼2 times higher than those in winter. The mass spectrum and FT-IR analyses suggest the following: (1) WISOM were high-molecular-weight aliphatics (primarily C₂₇–C₃₂) with small proportions of −CH₃, −OH, and CO groups; (2) HULIS-n was abundant in aliphatic structures and hydroxyl groups (primarily C₉–C₁₈) and by branched structures; (3) HULIS-a and HP-WSOM contained relatively large amounts of low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids and alcohols (primarily C₄–C₁₀); and (4) WISOM and HULIS-n were relatively abundant in amines and organic nitrates