The diploma thesis focuses on analysis of fatty alcohols with mass spectrometry. Theoretical part describes distribution, main properties, usage and analytical methods for analysis of fatty alcohols. Experimental work focuses on the search for a proper derivatisation procedure for fatty alcohols, which would enable their detection with soft ionisation techniques of mass spectrometry, as well as their structural analysis. The main aim of the structural analysis is to find the methyl branching in the fragmentation spectra of derivatives of the fatty alcohols.

in English This master thesis is focused on verifying the possibility of optimizing FTIR spectrometric analysis of terpenic resins using derivatized (fluorinated) samples using XtalFluor-E in combination with triethylamine trihydrofluoride as an agent. Terpenic resins have very similar FTIR spectra, so for their better differentiation, they need to be derivatized to minimize the influence of overlapping spectral bands in FTIR spectra. This work aimed to create a methodology for derivatization of samples of natural polymers for the National Technical Museum in Prague, where the work was performed. Samples of terpenic resins were measured non-fluorinated by the ATR crystal method and by transmission, after fluorination, only the ATR crystal method was used. Different fluorination conditions, different times (2, 4, 6, 24 and 96 hours), the effect of sample rinsing (diethyl ether, ethylene tetrachloride) and the effect of matrix on the sample (KBr pellet) were tested. Fluorination has shown to be effective. Four hours of fluorination and the need to rinse the sample with diethyl ether were chosen as the optimal fluorination conditions. After testing the resins themselves, fluorinated samples of violin varnishes and samples of historical varnishes from harp and piano were analyzed. Their spectra before...

D-γ-tocotrienol (G-T3) chiefly present in palm oil has stolen the spotlight as a promising radiation protective agent for the treatment of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). Although G-T3 is a promising counteracting agent discovered, the separation and purification from its matrix are painstaking. These have limited its characterization, derivatization, and biomedical application. In this study, we developed chromatographic and distillation methods to enhance the purity and synthesis of G-T3 derivatives. Exactly 8% ethyl acetate (EA) in hexanes used in TLC resulted in right spots separation. Two gradient column chromatographic methods were examined using solvent mixtures of EA/hexanes and EA/petroleum ether (PE), respectively. We verified that a gradient elution with EA in PE led to the maximum purity (≥95%) based on the NMR and GC-MS outcomes. Also, G-T3 was stable in an emulsion to some extent, and some soluble G-T3 derivatives were synthesized, and their structure was confirmed

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The clinical consequences of ionizing radiation exposure remain one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Much research has been carried out to discover a potential countermeasure for acute radiation syndrome (ARS) without success. The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has not accepted any effective and harmless ionizing radiation therapy agents (radioprotectors) for treating ARS. It has recently been discovered that g-tocotrienol (GT-3), one of the E vitamers chiefly present in palm oil, has radioprotective abilities in mice and nonhuman primate (NHP) models. Though GT-3 is one of the most promising countermeasures discovered, the separation and purification from other vitamers or its matrix is difficult. This has limited its characterization, derivatization, and biomedical application. We have therefore designed novel chromatographic methods to optimize separation and purification. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was used to ascertain the best solvent system for column chromatography (CC). Exactly 8% ethyl acetate in hexane employed in TLC and CC resulted in good separation (Rf ≥ 0.3) and purification. Various fractions presumed to contain GT-3 were collected and analyzed to confirm the exact structure using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, DEPT, and GC-MS. Results obtained so far have revealed the exact structure of the compound. However, some traces of impurities have been indicated by the NMR outcomes; therefore, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) will be used to maximize GT-3 purification. This present study will be instrumental in elucidating the biochemical structure of various complex plant bioactive components that are hard to isolate and analyze. It is envisioned that this work will help to erase the knowledge deficit in medicinal chemistry and assist in the development of new medications for ARS.

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Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), as the histone code assumes, are related with regulation of gene transcription, an important mechanism of cells in the differentiation process. Many PTMs are simultaneously present in histone proteins, and changes in the PTM stoichiometric ratios can have several effects, like changes in the chromatin structure leading to a transcriptionally active or repressive state. Significant progresses were made to map variations of histone PTMs by mass spectrometry (MS), and although many protocols were developed there are still some drawbacks. Incomplete and side reactions were identified, which can directly affect the quantification of histone PTMs, because both (incomplete and side reactions) can be misinterpreted as endogenous histone post translational modifications. Therefore, a protocol for derivatization of histones with no noticeable undesired reactions (<10%) was required. In this thesis a new chemical modification methodology is presented, which allows the improvement of sequence coverage by acylation with propionic anhydride of lysine residues and N-terminal (free ε- and α- amino groups) and trypsin digestion. more than 95% of complete reaction was achieved with the new derivatization methodology. This strategy (chemical derivatization of histones), in combination with bottom-up MS approach, allows the quantification of lysine methylation (Kme) and acetylation (Kac) in histones from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S.cerevisiae), mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and human cell lines. The results showed histone H3 PTM pattern as the most variable profile regarding histone Kme and Kac across the three different organisms and experimental conditions. Therefore, it was concluded that quantification of H3 PTM pattern can be used to examine changes in chromatin states when cells are subjected to any kind of perturbation.

The thesis describes the development of new and improved methods for analyzing degradation markers from organophosphorus Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs). Paper I and II describes an innovative and significantly improved method for the enrichment, derivatization (trimethysilylation) and GC-MS analysis of a broad range of organophosphorus CWAs degradation markers, namely the alkylphosphonic acids and a zwitterionic compound. That was achieved using solid phase disc extraction in combination with solid phase derivatization. The new method overcomes most limitations observed with existing techniques: it offers almost 100 % recoveries, requires no elution or evaporation steps, facilitates miniaturization of the solid sorbent and reagent, is compatible with in-vial derivatization, and minimizes the chromatographic background due to the use of a highly selective anion exchange sorbent disc. Paper III describes the development of new fluorinated diazomethane derivatization reagents and their evaluation for rapid and high sensitivity screening and identification of nerve agent degradation markers. The reagents are water-tolerant to some extent, which simplifies the derivatization step. The best reagent identified was 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzyl diazomethane, which outperformed the other reagent isomers tested and also the established commercial alternative, pentafluorobenzylbromide, allowing for the rapid (5 min) and direct derivatization of a 25 μL aqueous sample in acetonitrile. The spectra of the formed derivatives (high-energy collision induced fragmentation MS/MS) were used to construct a database (Paper IV) that proved to be superior in terms of match factor and probability compared to EI data gathered for trimethylsilyl derivatives. The study also focused on efforts towards achieving detailed structure information on the alkyl chains of the compounds in question using diagnostic ion interpretation. The final paper (paper V) describes the first rapid direct derivatization method for analyzing nerve agent metabolites in urine at trace levels. The method is based on the derivative from the paper III and the unambiguous identification was proven using a combination of low resolution and high resolution negative ion chemical ionization selected ion monitoring techniques. Novel results presented in these papers include: the first in-situ derivatization of alkylphosphonic acids on an SPE disc; the first direct derivatization of nerve agent markers in water and biomedical samples; the first high sensitivity GC-MS screening for these markers; and the first highly reproducible high-energy isomer specific CID MS/MS library. Overall, the results presented in this thesis represent significant contributions to the analysis of nerve agent degradation products.

In this thesis, it is shown how aflatoxins can be determined in biological material. The thesis is a summary of five papers. Aflatoxins are carcinogenic mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus moulds. Methods were developed for the determination of aflatoxins in samples of airborne dust and human urine collected at feed factories. For the dust samples from such agricultural products as copra, cotton seed and maize, methods were developed for the determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2. For urine samples, methods were developed for analysing the four aflatoxins above that naturally occur in dust, and the metabolites aflatoxins M1 and Q1. Sample preparation of dust samples included solvent extraction, filtration and immunoaffinity column extraction. Urine samples were cleaned up using immunoaffinity column extraction or solid-phase extraction using ethyl bonded-phase columns. All extractions with these columns were automated by means of a laboratory robot. Reversed-phase liquid chromatography was used to separate the aflatoxins in the cleaned-up extracts. Detection was performed by fluorescence after post-column derivatization by addition of bromine. Parameters for the derivatization were studied using factorial designs. To confirm the identity of aflatoxins in naturally contaminated airborne dust samples and spiked urine, liquid chromatography was combined with electrospray mass spectrometry. The detection limits of the aflatoxins in dust samples were in the range 1.8-3.1 ng/g in 10-mg dust samples using fluorescence detection. Aflatoxins were determined in spiked urine down to the 6.8-18 pg/ml level. In naturally contaminated dust of copra and cotton seed, aflatoxins were detected with a content of 9-50 pg/mg of aflatoxin Bi. No aflatoxins could be detected in any urine sample obtained from feed factory workers that were less than 6.8 pg/ml of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 and less than 18 pg/ml of aflatoxins M1 and Q1. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., härtill 5 uppsatser</p> / digitalisering@umu

The theoretical part of the Master´s thesis describes steroids, their features, and the methods for their determination in waters. In experimental part three steroid hormones, namely 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione (ADD), 1,4-androstadiene-3-one-17(beta)-ol (boldenone) and 17(beta)-estradiol were selected. The compounds were concentrated from water by LLE and SPE extraction and determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Several experiments were conducted to assess the recovery of specific extraction for studied compound.