Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of hexafluoroacetone derivatives: First time utilization of a gaseous phase derivatizing agent for analysis of extraterrestrial amino acids

International audienceWithin the perspective of the current and next space missions to Mars (MSL 2011 and Exomars 2016-2018), the detection and enantioselective separation of building blocks such as the amino acids are important subjects which are becoming fundamental for the search for traces of life on the surface and subsurface of Mars. In this work, we have developed and optimized a method adapted to space experimentation to derivatize and analyze amino acids, using hexafluoroacetone as the derivatizing agent. The temperature, duration of the derivative transfer to the analyser, and chromatographic separation parameters have been optimized to meet the instrument design constraints imposed on devices for extraterrestrial experiments. The work presented in this rationale has established that hexafluoroacetone, in addition to its intrinsic qualities, such as the production of light-weight derivatives (no racemization) and great resistance to the drastic operating conditions, has indeed facilitated simple and fast derivatization that appears to be suitable for in situ analysis in space. By using hexafluoroacetone as the derivatizing agent, we successfully identified, 21 amino acids including 12 of the 20 proteinic amino acids without stirring or extraction steps. Ten of these derivatized amino acids were enantioselectively separated. The precision and accuracy measurements for the D/L ratio showed that the proposed method was also suitable for the determination of both enantioselective forms of most of the tested amino acids. The limits of detection obtained were lower than the ppb level of organic molecules detected in Martian meteorites

Thermochemolysis in search for organics in extraterrestrial environments

International audienceIt has been suggested that extraterrestrial organic material may well represent an important part of the organic material available for the origin of life. It may be expected that early life on Mars was similar to prokaryotic life on Earth and whatever preceded the prokaryotes. Detection of markers of microorganisms on Mars is then a key point in the search for life. The analytical technique has to be robust, sensitive and non-specific due to the large scope of targeted molecules. The main objective of this work is to present the capabilities of a TMAH-PY-GC-MS technique for the in situ analysis of organic matter in extraterrestrial soil samples. Two Martian analogues were analyzed to validate the technique. Biomarkers of microbial and higher plants origin such as lipids (n-alkenes, fatty acids) and carbohydrates were detected in samples. In the two samples, fatty acids had a microbial origin. On the other hand, n-alkenes and n-alkanols were from preserved higher plants biopolymers. TMAH-PY-GC-MS technique presented the advantage to wider the scopes of targeted molecules without adding additional device as pyrolysers are already used in spacecraft

Pilot for Validation of Online Pretreatments for Analyses of Organics by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry: Application to Space Research

International audienceThe search for complex organic molecules in extraterrestrial environments, including important biomolecules such as amino and fatty acids, will require a space compatible sample handling system to enable their detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For the future Mars exploratory mission Exomars 2018 aimed at organic molecules detection, a dedicated laboratory pilot, called Device for Pretreatment of Sample (DPS), reproducing representative space operating conditions has been developed. After its optimization, it aimed at validating under development protocols and interpreting forthcoming in situ resulting data. The DPS, dedicated to organic compounds' analysis, is discussed in terms of its technical features. The derivatization is carried out on a 50-100 mg mineral sample in a 4 mL reactor coupled with a GC-MS injector to simulate on line in situ derivatization-volatilization-transfer steps. Three derivatization reactions have been carried out with N-methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) as silylating reagent, N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal (DMF-DMA) and tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) as methylating agents. The performances are illustrated by comparison of conventional and in situ silylation, developed for space research applications, using terrestrial mineral matrix and Mars analog materials enriched with 25 nmol of each targeted organic molecule. The work presented in this rationale has established that the use of derivatization reactions widens the scope of targeted molecules but also clearly points out mineral matrix effect. Decreasing mineral influence on pretreatment will be the next scientific challenge in in situ analysis

Search for evidence of life in space: Analysis of enantiomeric organic molecules by N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal derivative dependant Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

International audienceWithin the context of the future space missions to Mars (MSL 2011 and Exomars 2016), which aim at searching for traces of life at the surface, the detection and quantitation of enantiomeric organic molecules is of major importance. In this work, we have developed and optimized a method to derivatize and analyze chiral organic molecules suitable for space experiments, using N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal (DMF-DMA) as the derivatization agent. The temperature, duration of the derivatization reaction, and chromatographic separation parameters have been optimized to meet instrument design constraints imposed upon space experiment devices. This work demonstrates that, in addition to its intrinsic qualities, such as production of light-weight derivatives and a great resistance to drastic operating conditions, DMF-DMA facilitates simple and fast derivatization of organic compounds (three minutes at 140 °C in a single-step) that is suitable for an in situ analysis in space. By using DMF-DMA as the derivatization agent, we have successfully identified 19 of the 20 proteinic amino acids and been able to enantiomerically separate ten of the potential 19 (glycine being non-chiral). Additionally, we have minimized the percentage of racemized amino acid compounds produced by optimizing the conditions of the derivatization reaction itself. Quantitative linearity studies and the determination of the limit of detection show that the proposed method is also suitable for the quantitative determination of both enantiomeric forms of most of the tested amino acids, as limits of detection obtained are lower than the ppb level of organic molecules already detected in Martian meteorites

Spectral characteristics of soil dissolved organic matter: Long-term effects of exogenous organic matter on soil organic matter and spatial-temporal changes

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TCA precipitation and ethanol/HCl single-step purification evaluation: One-dimensional gel electrophoresis, bradford assays, spectrofluorometry and Raman spectroscopy data on HSA, Rnase, lysozyme - Mascots and Skyline data

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The Sample Analysis at Mars Investigation and Instrument Suite

International audienceThe Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) addresses the chemical and isotopic composition of the atmosphere and volatiles extracted from solid samples. The SAM investigation is designed to contribute substantially to the mission goal of quantitatively assessing the habitability of Mars as an essential step in the search for past or present life on Mars. SAM is a 40 kg instrument suite located in the interior of MSL's Curiosity rover. The SAM instruments are a quadrupole mass spectrometer, a tunable laser spectrometer, and a 6-column gas chromatograph all coupled through solid and gas processing systems to provide complementary information on the same samples. The SAM suite is able to measure a suite of light isotopes and to analyze volatiles directly from the atmosphere or thermally released from solid samples. In addition to measurements of simple inorganic compounds and noble gases SAM will conduct a sensitive search for organic compounds with either thermal or chemical extraction from sieved samples delivered by the sample processing system on the Curiosity rover's robotic arm