Georg Häubl

Characterization and application of isotope-substituted (13C15)-deoxynivalenol (DON) as an internal standard for the determination of DON

The powerful combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) is often limited by matrix effects during ionization in the MS ion source. The use of fully isotope-substituted (13C15)-deoxynivalenol ((13C15)-DON) as an internal standard (IS) corrects matrix effects and improves the accuracy of analytical methods using mass spectrometry for the quantitative determination of the Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). The IS was characterized with respect to its chromatographic purity by liquid chromatography-ultraviolet light and its isotope distribution by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Its low-energy collision-induced dissociation behaviour was compared with DON. Moreover, this work describes the successful application of (13C15)-DON as IS for the determination of DON in maize using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) electrospray (ESI) with tandem mass spectrometry. The results demonstrate that the IS can successfully correct for fluctuations during extraction and clean-up of the sample as well as the ionization of DON in the MS ion source. Random variations in ionization affect the IS in the same way as the analyte. Recoveries for DON in maize of 76% ± 1.9% (external calibration) or 101% ± 2.4% (internal calibration) were reached, respectively, after sample clean-up.

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Pentahydroxyscirpene, a Trichothecene Fusarium Mycotoxin

Pentahydroxyscirpene, a novel trichothecene-type compound, was isolated from Fusarium-inoculated rice. The structure of pentahydroxyscirpene was elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The conformation in solution was determined by NOESY experiments supported by quantum chemical calculations. In vitro toxicity tests showed that pentahydroxyscirpene inhibits protein synthesis as do other trichothecenes.

Determining and characterizing hapten loads for carrier proteins by MALDI-TOF MS and MALDI-TOF/RTOF MS

The increasing number of bioconjugates used for bioanalytical purposes and in pharmaceutical industries has led to an increasing demand for robust quality control of products derived from covalently linking small molecules to proteins. Here we report, for the first time, a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF)-based method to determine the quantity and location of the hapten zearalenone (ZEN) introduced to the carrier protein conalbumin (Con). This bioconjugate is of special interest because of its application in lateral flow immunoassays commercially available for fast testing of food and feed for the presence of ZEN, a common contaminant of all major cereal grains worldwide. Mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of the intact protein turned out to be highly reproducible allowing for the determination of the average hapten load of the carrier protein. In that way an easy and fast method to screen for changes in ZEN load after bioconjugate synthesis was established. For a more detailed hapten load characterization, measurements at the peptide level were of importance. Systematic studies, implementing post-source decay (PSD) and high- and low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID), showed characteristic fragmentation pattern for three model peptides carrying between one and three lysines (the primary target for the ZEN modification) besides other, less obvious modification sites (serine, arginine and the N-terminus). By this, indicative reporter ions (m/z 203 and 316) and neutral losses (Δm/z 373 and 317) for the ZEN modification in general, plus immonium ions (m/z 87, 142 and 159) for the lysine modification in particular were identified. Based on these findings, proteolytic peptides, tentatively assigned to be modified, were unequivocally confirmed to be affected by bioconjugation. For a protein carrying on average only 2-3 modifications per molecule 29 Lys out of 59 potential modifications sites were actually modified. Considerations taking the protein structure into account showed that the affected Lys were predominantly located on the proteins surface.

UDP-Glucosyltransferases from Rice, Brachypodium, and Barley: Substrate Specificities and Synthesis of Type A and B Trichothecene-3-O-β-d-glucosides

Trichothecene toxins are confirmed or suspected virulence factors of various plant-pathogenic Fusarium species. Plants can detoxify these to a variable extent by glucosylation, a reaction catalyzed by UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGTs). Due to the unavailability of analytical standards for many trichothecene-glucoconjugates, information on such compounds is limited. Here, the previously identified deoxynivalenol-conjugating UGTs HvUGT13248 (barley), OsUGT79 (rice) and Bradi5g03300 (Brachypodium), were expressed in E. coli, affinity purified, and characterized towards their abilities to glucosylate the most relevant type A and B trichothecenes. HvUGT13248, which prefers nivalenol over deoxynivalenol, is also able to conjugate C-4 acetylated trichothecenes (e.g., T-2 toxin) to some degree while OsUGT79 and Bradi5g03300 are completely inactive with C-4 acetylated derivatives. The type A trichothecenes HT-2 toxin and T-2 triol are the kinetically preferred substrates in the case of HvUGT13248 and Bradi5g03300. We glucosylated several trichothecenes with OsUGT79 (HT-2 toxin, T-2 triol) and HvUGT13248 (T-2 toxin, neosolaniol, 4,15-diacetoxyscirpenol, fusarenon X) in the preparative scale. NMR analysis of the purified glucosides showed that exclusively β-d-glucosides were formed regio-selectively at position C-3-OH of the trichothecenes. These synthesized standards can be used to investigate the occurrence and toxicological properties of these modified mycotoxins.

Chemical Glucosylation of Labile Natural Products Using a (2-Nitrophenyl)acetyl-Protected Glucosyl Acetimidate Donor: Chemical Glucosylation of Labile Natural Products Using a (2-Nitrophenyl)acetyl-Protected Glucosyl Acetimidate Donor

The synthesis of (2‐nitrophenyl)acetyl (NPAc)‐protected glucosyl donors is described that were designed for the neighboring‐group assisted glucosylation of base‐labile natural products also being sensitive to hydrogenolysis. Glycosylation conditions were optimized using a trichloroacetimidate glucosyl donor, and cyclohexylmethanol and (+)‐menthol as model acceptors. The approach was then extended to a one‐pot procedure for the synthesis of 1,2‐trans‐glycosides. This method was finally applied for improved synthesis of the masked mycotoxin T2‐O‐β,d‐glucoside.