De tous temps, les Pinacées ont été utilisés pour leur résine ou le goudron que l’on peut en tirer, principalement dans le domaine maritime (calfatage, protection des cordages) et pour le poissage d’amphores. Ces travaux ont été consacrés au développement de nouveaux outils moléculaires et isotopiques pour la caractérisation de tels matériaux trouvés en contexte archéologique (distinction goudron / résine, origine taxonomique et géographique, modes de fabrication). Sur la base des outils développés, il apparait que l’utilisation de goudron prévaut dans ce contexte sur celle de résine et que les Pinus, dont les espèces peuvent être partiellement discriminées, sont les principaux Pinacées utilisés. Il a aussi pu être montré que les matériaux de calfatage et d’enduits de cordages sont globalement issus d’une cuisson moins poussée que ceux utilisés dans le poissage de récipients. Une distinction des échantillons archéologiques sur la base de leur composition isotopique en D a été proposée. / Resins and tars of Pinaceae have been used in the past mainly in the maritime field (caulking, protection of the ropes) and for the waterproofing of jars and amphorae. This study was devoted to the development of new molecular and isotopic tools for the characterization of such materials found in archaeological context (discrimination between tar / resin, taxonomic and geographical origin, manufacturing methods). Based on the detailed molecular and isotopic investigation of diterpenic compounds, in particular, it appears that the use of tar prevails in this context over that of resin and that trees from the genus Pinus, which can be partially discriminated in terms of species, have been preferentially used. It could be shown that the caulking material and the tar protecting ropes result overall from a less intense heating process than the material used to waterproof containers. A distinction of the archaeological samples on the basis of their isotopic composition in D was proposed.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are two commonly found contaminants associated with various manufacturing products, such as firefighting foam, non-stick coatings, electronics and water repellants. These compounds are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic and may therefore pose a serious health risk to living organisms. Earlier studies have shown that PFOS and PFOA affected the fatty acid β-oxidation, i.e. the energy metabolism in liver. This study evaluates the effects of PFOS and PFOA on fatty acid metabolism in domestic chicken liver cells.  Liver tissues were obtained from chicken embryos treated in ovo with PFOS or with PFOA at low (0.1 µg/g) and high (1.0 and 1.6 µg/g) concentration levels. The fatty acids were extracted and derivatized into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). The analysis was conducted by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Results showed that a lower concentration of PFOS and a lower percentage of DMSO significantly affected the concentrations of fatty acids in livers of chicken embryos. PFOA-treated samples also showed some significant elevated fatty acid concentrations. Almost all fatty acid concentrations of treated liver samples exceeded the concentrations of the untreated samples.

A LLE-GC-MS method was developed to detect PPCPs in surface water samples from Big Cypress National Park, Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park in South Florida. The most frequently found PPCPs were caffeine, DEET and triclosan with detected maximum concentration of 169 ng/L, 27.9 ng/L and 10.9 ng/L, respectively. The detection frequencies of hormones were less than PPCPs. Detected maximal concentrations of estrone, 17β-estradiol, coprostan-3-ol, coprostane and coprostan-3-one were 5.98 ng/L, 3.34 ng/L, 16.5 ng/L, 13.5 ng/L and 6.79 ng/L, respectively. An ASE-SPE-GC-MS method was developed and applied to the analysis of the sediment and soil area where reclaimed water was used for irrigation. Most analytes were below detection limits, even though some of analytes were detected in the reclaimed water at relatively high concentrations corroborating the fact that PPCPs do not significantly partition to mineral phases. An online SPE-HPLC-APPI-MS/MS method and an online SPE-HPLC-HESI-MS/MS method were developed to analyze reclaimed water and drinking water samples. In the reclaimed water study, reclaimed water samples were collected from the sprinkler for a year-long period at Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus, where reclaimed water was reused for irrigation. Analysis results showed that several analytes were continuously detected in all reclaimed water samples. Coprostanol, bisphenol A and DEET’s maximum concentration exceeded 10 µg/L (ppb). The four most frequently detected compounds were diphenhydramine (100%), DEET (98%), atenolol (98%) and carbamazepine (96%). In the study of drinking water, 54 tap water samples were collected from the Miami-Dade area. The maximum concentrations of salicylic acid, ibuprofen and DEET were 521 ng/L, 301 ng/L and 290 ng/L, respectively. The three most frequently detected compounds were DEET (93%), carbamazepine (43%) and salicylic acid (37%), respectively. Because the source of drinking water in Miami-Dade County is the relatively pristine Biscayne aquifer, these findings suggest the presence of wastewater intrusions into the delivery system or the onset of direct influence of surface waters into the shallow aquifer.

There is limited scientific knowledge on the composition of human odor from different biological specimens and the effect that physiological and psychological health conditions could have on them. There is currently no direct comparison of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emanating from different biological specimens collected from healthy individuals as well as individuals with certain diagnosed medical conditions. Therefore the question of matching VOCs present in human odor across various biological samples and across health statuses remains unanswered. The main purpose of this study was to use analytical instrumental methods to compare the VOCs from different biological specimens from the same individual and to compare the populations evaluated in this project. The goals of this study were to utilize headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS) to evaluate its potential for profiling VOCs from specimens collected using standard forensic and medical methods over three different populations: healthy group with no diagnosed medical or psychological condition, one group with diagnosed type 2 diabetes, and one group with diagnosed major depressive disorder. The pre-treatment methods of collection materials developed for the study allowed for the removal of targeted VOCs from the sampling kits prior to sampling, extraction and analysis. Optimized SPME-GC/MS conditions has been demonstrated to be capable of sampling, identifying and differentiating the VOCs present in the five biological specimens collected from different subjects and yielded excellent detection limits for the VOCs from buccal swab, breath, blood, and urine with average limits of detection of 8.3 ng. Visual, Spearman rank correlation, and PCA comparisons of the most abundant and frequent VOCs from each specimen demonstrated that each specimen has characteristic VOCs that allow them to be differentiated for both healthy and diseased individuals. Preliminary comparisons of VOC profiles of healthy individuals, patients with type 2 diabetes, and patients with major depressive disorder revealed compounds that could be used as potential biomarkers to differentiate between healthy and diseased individuals. Finally, a human biological specimen compound database has been created compiling the volatile compounds present in the emanations of human hand odor, oral fluids, breath, blood, and urine.

The aim of this research was to demonstrate the potential of the novel pre-concentration device, capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV), for breath analysis. The CMV offers dynamic sampling of volatile organic compounds with its simple coupling to a GC inlet for GC/MS analysis, avoiding expensive thermal desorption instrumentation needed for sorbent tubes, as well as an increased surface area over a single SPME fiber. CMV collectively identified 119 compounds in the breath of 13 self-reported smokers and 7 nonsmokers. The presence and intensity of twelve compounds were used to classify all the nonsmokers 100% of the time using Principal Component Analysis to elucidate the groupings. In some cases, nicotine was not detected in smokers and they were confused with the nonsmokers. Nicotine was detected in the breath of 69% of smokers with an average mass of 143 ± 31 pg for cigarette smokers from the approximate 5 L sample of breath collected. The successful use of the CMV sampler and preconcentration of breath to distinguish between smokers and nonsmokers served as a proof of concept for future applications of the CMV for detection of marijuana smokers’ breath for impaired driver management.

Mangroves are the dominant vegetation in Everglades estuarine environment and are known to contain polyphenols such as tannins, which present similar fluorescence properties as some amino acid fluorophores. In the present study, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to quantify gallic acid, which is a normal monomer of polyphenols. The quantitative GC/MS analytical method was developed using gallic acid and tannic acid standards to quantify the false ‘protein-like’ fluorescence in DOM. The present study also compared the optical properties, reactive species (RS) production and radical scavenging ability of DOM from different regions of the Everglades and a correlation was observed between DOM composition and its photo-productivity. In general, the reactive species quantum yield decreased with increased DOM redox potential. The RS formation rates were controlled by the DOC and CDOM abundace. Normalized RS formation rates were shown to be influenced by DOM aromaticity and molecular weight characteristics

The capillary microextraction of volatiles (CMV) device was equipped with a novel Peltier cooler to investigate cryofocused extraction of organic gunshot residue (OGSR) for the first time. Prior research demonstrated the CMV’s capabilities for detecting nitroglycerin, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, diphenylamine, and ethyl centralite on shooters’ hands via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Further method development increased the recoveries of these four target compounds with an optimal 20-minute equilibrium time at 80˚C followed by extracting 3 L at a 1 L/min flow rate. The Cryo-CMV was evaluated for detection of semi-volatile OGSR compounds. The unique challenges presented with sampling of semi-volatiles were overcome by sample heating, applying high (>1 L/min) sampling flow rates and heating the transfer line between the container and cooled CMV. Cryofocusing at -10˚C provided increased recoveries for smokeless powders and OGSR compounds and therefore demonstrates excellent potential for other forensic applications with analysis of VOCs from fire debris and illicit drugs.

Ce travail a eu pour objectif d’étudier la formation des Aérosols Organiques Secondaires (AOS) à partir de réactions de composés monoterpèniques (alpha-pinene, béta-pinene, d-limonene et gamma-terpinene) avec les radicaux OH. Il s’agissait dans un premier temps de se focaliser sur la première étape d’oxydation qui consiste en l’addition du radical OH sur la double liaison ou en l’abstraction d’un atome d’hydrogène avec formation de H2O. Le rapport de branchement entre l’addition et l’abstraction a donc été mesuré à différentes pressions. Ces réactions ont été étudiées à pression atmosphérique en utilisant la photolyse laser associée à la détection par absorption UV et à basse pression en utilisant un réacteur à écoulement couplé à un spectromètre de masse à temps de vol. Dans un second temps les produits d’oxydation formés à pression atmosphérique, qui composent les AOS, ont été piégés puis analysés par chromatographie gazeuse couplée à la spectrométrie de masse. / This aim of this work was to study the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) from reactions of monoterpene compounds (alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, d-limonene, and gamma-terpinene) with OH radicals. In a first time, we focused on the first oxidation steps which may occur by two different reaction pathways: OH addition on the double bond and abstraction of a hydrogen atom (with formation of H2O). The branching ratio between addition and abstraction has been measured at different pressures. These reactions were studied at atmospheric pressure using laser photolysis coupled with detection by UV absorption and at low pressure using a fast flow reactor coupled to a time of flight mass spectrometer. In a second time, the oxidation products formed at atmospheric pressure, which composed the SOA, were trapped and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.

Metabolomics is a post genomic field of research concerned with the study of low molecular weight compounds within a biological system permitting the investigation of the metabolite differences between natural and perturbed systems (such as cells, organs and tissues). Rapid identification and discrimination of biological samples based upon metabolic differences and physiological status in microbiology, mammalian systems (particularly for disease diagnosis), plants and food science is highly desirable. Volatile organic compound (VOC) profiling is a novel area of research where the composition of the VOCs emitted by the biological samples can be correlated to its origin and physiological status. The aim of this project was to investigate the applicability of VOC profiling as a potential complementary tool within metabolomics.In this project the discrimination of bacteria using a novel gas phase separation method was investigated and the development of VOC-based profiling tools for the collections of VOCs emitted from biological samples was also studied. The optimisation and validation of a high throughput method for VOC analysis was achieved and this was used to assess wound healing.VOC metabolite profiling was further extended to the discrimination of S. typhimurium contaminated meat; the study was conducted in parallel with metabolite profiling analysis for the analysis of non-volatile small molecules. Finally, enhanced vibrational spectroscopic techniques were applied to the characterisation and screening of dye molecules in contaminated foodstuffs using Raman spectroscopy. This thesis clearly demonstrates that VOC metabolic profiling is a complementary tool within the metabolomics toolbox, one of its great attractions is that it permits the characterisation of biological samples in a rapid and non-invasive manner. The technique provides detailed chemical information regarding the VOC composition present above the headspace of the sample and can be used to understand its physiological status and biological origin. VOCs metabolite profiling will become a valuable tool for non-invasive analysis of many biological systems. Raman spectroscopy is a sensitive and non-destructive technique which can generate detailed chemical and structural information regarding the analyte under investigation with little or no sample preparation needed. The effect of the weak Raman signal can be significantly amplified by coupling the analyte molecule to surfaces of nanoparticles and demonstrated that it is ideal for analysing aqueous dye solutions in a quantitative manner.

The aim of this diploma thesis was to determine the optimal extraction conditions for obtaining an extract from the plant Plectranthus amboinicus. Plectranthus amboinicus is an aromatic herb of the Lamiaceae family containing a large number of bioactive compounds. Because of this, it has a number of biological effects – antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, etc. To maintain the maximum of sensory and nutritionally valuable components of P. amboinicus, a simple maceration of fresh chopped herb was chosen. Maceration was performed under the following conditions: 40 minutes at 40 ° C, solvent 40% ethanol, weight 20 g of herb per 100 ml of solvent. The extract prepared under these optimal conditions was comprehensively characterized in terms of the content of total polyphenols, their concentration was determined to 0,08 ± 0,02 mgGEA·ml-1, which corresponds to 0,40 ± 0,07 mgGEA·g-1 of the plant. The antioxidant activity of the extract was 241,24 ± 29,24 µgTEAC·ml-1 and the radical scavenging activity of ABTS•+ was determined to be 49,29 ± 5,97 %. The antimicrobial activity was verified by the agar well diffusion method. Two types of bacteria were selected for the determination – gram-positive Bacillus cereus, gram-negative Escherichia coli and yeast Candida glabrata. The results showed that the extracts have the highest antimicrobial activity against B. cereus. There were 64 volatile aromatic compounds identified in the extract, with monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes dominating. The obtained results confirm that P. amboinicus, or its prepared extract, has a good potential for use as a new and non-traditional flavor in various foods and delicacies, which can also increase their nutritional value.