La conservazione preventiva del patrimonio librario come possibile alternativa al restauro tradizionale

The present paper focuses on the close relation between library collections and their preservation environment, aiming, in particular, at highlighting the importance of promoting and sustaining the monitoring. The paper proposes some simple and ready-to-use technologies – smart monitoring – to prevent future damages

Art and Cultural Heritage – where analytical sciences contribute to preserve our heritage

International audienceFor this special issue of ESPR, entitled “Art and cultural heritage – where analytical chemistry may help in preserving our heritage”, contributions were solicited from those participants, who had made an oral or poster presentation at the Euroanalysis 2015. This compilation of application studies is addressed to the broader scientific community interested in cultural heritage issues. We formulate the wish that the publication of this issue will give raise to an increased interest among the heritage scientist community for application of their works to ESPR

Mass spectrometry of free radicals: A methodological overview

International audienceThis review outlines the advances that have been made in the area of mass spectrometric investigations of gas-phase radicals, and follows the guidelines appearing in the literature from the works covering this field during the period 2000-2004. An overview is presented of some topics of contemporary gas-phase radical investigations using techniques derived from physical chemistry, mainly supersonic jet pyrolysis combined with laser-based ionization methods. Specifically considered is the ion attachment mass spectrometry method because of its incoming contribution to radical chemistry, especially in the dynamic studies of individual free radical species. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2005

Mass spectrometry of free radicals

International audienceIn the past 60 years, a tremendous amount of experimental work has been published on free radical mass spectrometry studies. This review provides an overview of this subject where mass spectrometry has been involved through its two complementary aspects: (i) its fundamental aspect for the study of structures and energetics of radicals, and (ii) its analytical aspect for the study and characterization of species emanating from plasmas, or flames. The coverage of this review is tentatively as exhaustive as possible from 1960 up to approximately the start of 2002

Characterization by mass spectrometry of an unknown polysiloxane sample used under uncontrolled medical conditions for cosmetic surgery.

International audienceFor a complete understanding of the raw material used for cosmetic surgery under uncontrolled medical conditions, an unknown sample of polydimethylsiloxanes has been investigated utilizing a combination of analytical techniques: pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py/GC/MS), electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF)MS, and liquid chromatography (LC)/MS. Among these techniques, the LC/APCI-MS coupling allowed the fastest and more effective analysis. In addition, the complexity of the mass spectra deduced from these LC/MS experiments was simplified compared to the mass spectra obtained by MALDI-TOF. In this work, we have demonstrated how the LC/APCI-MS coupling applied to polydimethylsiloxane samples permits the full characterization of samples where end groups of different nature can be present in very small quantities

Letter: Does the reagent gas influence collisional activation when performing in situ chemical ionization with an ion trap mass spectrometer?

International audienceUsers of ion trap mass spectrometers frequently develop methods that associate chemical ionization with tandem mass spectrometry detection. With apparatus using internal ionization, the chemical reagent is present in the trap during the collision induced dissociation (CID) step and one may wonder if the reagent influences the fragmentation ratios in MS/MS. We report a comparison of the fragmentation ratios of protonated molecules when using the most common reagents (methane, ammonia, methanol, acetonitrile, isobutane) for performing in situ chemical ionization. Four molecules were chosen in the medical field to serve as models: alprazolam, diazepam, flunitrazepam and acetaminophen. In the non-resonant CID mode, the influence of the reagent mass is clearly seen in spite of its low partial pressure in the ion trap; the reagent acts as a "heavy target": the degree of fragmentation increases with the molecular weight of the reagent. In the resonant CID mode, there is no evident correlation between the fragmentation ratio of MH+ ions and the nature of the CI reagent; a slight shift of the secular frequency of the precursor ion, which tends to reduce the CID efficiency, could compensate for the "heavy target" effect underscored in the non-resonant mode. © IM Publications 2007

Py-GCxGC/MS in cultural heritage studies: An illustration throughanalytical characterization of traditional East Asian handmade papers

International audienceWe tested the performance of pyrolysis-comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/massspectrometry in the course of our cultural heritage studies, and compared its potentialities for the char-acterization of traditional East Asian handmade papers with those previously obtained by pyrolysis-gaschromatography/mass spectrometry. The evaluation of the two methods was conducted in consider-ing the number of detected peaks, the compounds separation, the sensitivity, and the identificationof marker compounds. The results showed that the number of plant markers (triterpenes and phytos-terols) detected in a Japanese kozo reference paper was improved in the pyrolysis fingerprint. With again in sensitivity in the order of six, the case study of a museum sample confirmed that pyrolysis-comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is more efficient for a reliableidentification of museum collections samples and/or archaeological samples where tiny quantities ofmaterials are the rule. The present study has been successful in refining a micro-destructive methodbased on analytical pyrolysis for the characterization of traditional East Asian handmade papers usingpyrolysis-comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry