Luca Cappellin

On quantitative determination of volatile organic compound concentrations using Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Proton transfer reaction - mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has become a reference technique in environmental science allowing for VOC monitoring with low detection limits. The recent introduction of time-of-flight mass analyzer (PTR-ToF-MS) opens new horizons in terms of mass resolution, acquisition time, and mass range. A standard procedure to perform quantitative VOC measurements with PTR-ToF-MS is to calibrate the instrument using a standard gas. However, given the number of compounds that can be simultaneously monitored by PTR-ToF-MS, such a procedure could become impractical, especially when standards are not readily available. In the present work we show that, under particular conditions, VOC concentration determinations based only on theoretical predictions yield good accuracy. We investigate a range of humidity and operating conditions and show that theoretical VOC concentration estimations are accurate when the effect of water cluster ions is negligible. We also show that PTR-ToF-MS can successfully be used to estimate reaction rate coefficients between H(3)O(+) and VOC at PTR-MS working conditions and find good agreement with the corresponding nonthermal theoretical predictions. We provide a tabulation of theoretical rate coefficients for a number of relevant volatile organic compounds at various energetic conditions and test the approach in a laboratory study investigating the oxidation of alpha-pinene.

Organosulfates as Tracers for Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) Formation from 2-Methyl-3-Buten-2-ol (MBO) in the Atmosphere

2-Methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) is an important biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emitted by pine trees and a potential precursor of atmospheric secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in forested regions. In the present study, hydroxyl radical (OH)-initiated oxidation of MBO was examined in smog chambers under varied initial nitric oxide (NO) and aerosol acidity levels. Results indicate measurable SOA from MBO under low-NO conditions. Moreover, increasing aerosol acidity was found to enhance MBO SOA. Chemical characterization of laboratory-generated MBO SOA reveals that an organosulfate species (C5H12O6S, MW 200) formed and was substantially enhanced with elevated aerosol acidity. Ambient fine aerosol (PM2.5) samples collected from the BEARPEX campaign during 2007 and 2009, as well as from the BEACHON-RoMBAS campaign during 2011, were also analyzed. The MBO-derived organosulfate characterized from laboratory-generated aerosol was observed in PM2.5 collected from these campaigns, demonstrating that it is a molecular tracer for MBO-initiated SOA in the atmosphere. Furthermore, mass concentrations of the MBO-derived organosulfate are well correlated with MBO mixing ratio, temperature, and acidity in the field campaigns. Importantly, this compound accounted for an average of 0.25% and as high as 1% of the total organic aerosol mass during BEARPEX 2009. An epoxide intermediate generated under low-NO conditions is tentatively proposed to produce MBO SOA.

Proton transfer reaction time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry monitoring of the evolution of volatile compounds during lactic acid fermentation of milk

We apply, for first time, the recently developed proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS) apparatus as a rapid method for the monitoring of lactic acid fermentation (LAF) of milk. PTR-TOF-MS has been proposed as a very fast, highly sensitive and versatile technique but there have been no reports of its application to dynamic biochemical processes with relevance to the food industry. LAF is a biochemical-physicochemical dynamic process particularly relevant for the dairy industry as it is an important step in the production of many dairy products. Further, LAF is important in the utilization of the by-products of the cheese industry, such as whey wastewaters. We show that PTR-TOF-MS is a powerful method for the monitoring of major volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) formed or depleted during LAF, including acetaldehyde, diacetyl, acetoin and 2-propanone, and it also provides information about the evolution of minor VOCs such as acetic acid, 2,3-pentanedione, ethanol, and off-flavor related VOCs such as dimethyl sulfide and furfural. This can be very important considering that the conventional measurement of pH decrease during LAF is often ineffective due to the reduced response of pH electrodes resulting from the formation of protein sediments. Solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) data on the inoculated milk base and final fermented product are also presented to supporting peak identification. We demonstrate that PTR-TOF-MS can be used as a rapid, efficient and non-invasive method for the monitoring of LAF from headspace, supplying important data about the quality of the final product and that it may be used to monitor the efficacy of manufacturing practices.

Monitoring of volatile compound emissions during dry anaerobic digestion of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste by Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) formed during anaerobic digestion of aerobically pre-treated Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW), have been monitored over a 30 day period by a direct injection mass spectrometric technique: Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS). Most of the tentatively identified compounds exhibited a double-peaked emission pattern which is probably the combined result from the volatilization or oxidation of the biomass-inherited organic compounds and the microbial degradation of organic substrates. Of the sulfur compounds, hydrogen sulfide had the highest accumulative production. Alkylthiols were the predominant sulfur organic compounds, reaching their maximum levels during the last stage of the process. H(2)S formation seems to be influenced by the metabolic reactions that the sulfur organic compounds undergo, such as a methanogenesis induced mechanism i.e. an amino acid degradation/sulfate reduction. Comparison of different batches indicates that PTR-ToF-MS is a suitable tool providing information for rapid in situ bioprocess monitoring.

Rapid characterization of dry cured ham produced following different PDOs by proton transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS)

In the present study, the recently developed proton transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) technique was used for the rapid characterization of dry cured hams produced according to 4 of the most important Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs): an Iberian one (Dehesa de Extremadura) and three Italian ones (Prosciutto di San Daniele, Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto Toscano). In total, the headspace composition and respective concentration for nine Spanish and 37 Italian dry cured ham samples were analyzed by direct injection without any pre-treatment or pre-concentration. Firstly, we show that the rapid PTR-ToF-MS fingerprinting in conjunction with chemometrics (Principal Components Analysis) indicates a good separation of the dry cured ham samples according to their production process and that it is possible to set up, using data mining methods, classification models with a high success rate in cross validation. Secondly, we exploited the higher mass resolution of the new PTR-ToF-MS, as compared with standard quadrupole based versions, for the identification of the exact sum formula of the mass spectrometric peaks providing analytical information on the observed differences. The work indicates that PTR-ToF-MS can be used as a rapid method for the identification of differences among dry cured hams produced following the indications of different PDOs and that it provides information on some of the major volatile compounds and their link with the implemented manufacturing practices such as rearing system, salting and curing process, manufacturing practices that seem to strongly affect the final volatile organic profile and thus the perceived quality of dry cured ham.

Extending the dynamic range of proton transfer reaction time‐of‐flight mass spectrometers by a novel dead time correction

Proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS) allows for very fast simultaneous monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in complex environments. In several applications, food science and food technology in particular, peaks with very different intensities are present in a single spectrum. For VOCs, the concentrations range from the sub-ppt all the way up to the ppm level. Thus, a large dynamic range is necessary. In particular, high intensity peaks are a problem because for them the linear dependency of the detector signal on VOC concentration is distorted. In this paper we present, test with real data, and discuss a novel method which extends the linearity of PTR-TOF-MS for high intensity peaks far beyond the limit allowed by the usual analytical correction methods such as the so-called Poisson correction. Usually, raw data can be used directly without corrections with an intensity of up to about 0.1 ions/pulse, and the Poisson correction allows the use of peaks with intensities of a few ions/pulse. Our method further extends the linear range by at least one order of magnitude. Although this work originated from the necessity to extend the dynamic range of PTR-TOF-MS instruments in agro-industrial applications, it is by no means limited to this area, and can be implemented wherever dead time corrections are an issue.

PTR-ToF-MS and data mining methods: a new tool for fruit metabolomics

Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) in its recently developed implementation based on a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) has been evaluated as a possible tool for rapid non-destructive investigation of the volatile compounds present in the metabolome of apple cultivars and clones. Clone characterization is a cutting-edge problem in technical management and royalty application, not only for apple, aiming at unveiling real properties which differentiate the mutated individuals. We show that PTR-ToF-MS coupled with multivariate and data mining methods may successfully be employed to obtain accurate varietal and clonal apple fingerprint. In particular, we studied the VOC emission profile of five different clones belonging to three well known apple cultivars, such as ‘Fuji’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Gala’. In all three cases it was possible to set classification models which can distinguish all cultivars and some of the clones considered in this study. Furthermore, in the case of ‘Gala’ we also identified estragole and hexyl 2-methyl butanoate contributing to such clone characterization. Beside its applied relevance, no data on the volatile profiling of apple clones are available so far, our study indicates the general viability of a metabolomic approach for volatile compounds in fruit based on rapid PTR-ToF-MS fingerprinting.

Rapid "breath-print" of liver cirrhosis by proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A pilot study.

The aim of the present work was to test the potential of Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and the assessment of disease severity by direct analysis of exhaled breath. Twenty-six volunteers have been enrolled in this study: 12 patients (M/F 8/4, mean age 70.5 years, min-max 42–80 years) with liver cirrhosis of different etiologies and at different severity of disease and 14 healthy subjects (M/F 5/9, mean age 52.3 years, min-max 35–77 years). Real time breath analysis was performed on fasting subjects using a buffered end-tidal on-line sampler directly coupled to a PTR-ToF-MS. Twelve volatile organic compounds (VOCs) resulted significantly differently in cirrhotic patients (CP) compared to healthy controls (CTRL): four ketones (2-butanone, 2- or 3- pentanone, C8-ketone, C9-ketone), two terpenes (monoterpene, monoterpene related), four sulphur or nitrogen compounds (sulfoxide-compound, S-compound, NS-compound, N-compound) and two alcohols (heptadienol, methanol). Seven VOCs (2-butanone, C8-ketone, a monoterpene, 2,4-heptadienol and three compounds containing N, S or NS) resulted significantly differently in compensate cirrhotic patients (Child-Pugh A; CP-A) and decompensated cirrhotic subjects (Child-Pugh B+C; CP-B+C). ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) analysis was performed considering three contrast groups: CP vs CTRL, CP-A vs CTRL and CP-A vs CP-B+C. In these comparisons monoterpene and N-compound showed the best diagnostic performance. Conclusions Breath analysis by PTR-ToF-MS was able to distinguish cirrhotic patients from healthy subjects and to discriminate those with well compensated liver disease from those at more advanced severity stage. A breath-print of liver cirrhosis was assessed for the first time.

Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry for the study of the production of volatile compounds by bakery yeast starters

The aromatic impact of bakery yeast starters is currently receiving considerable attention. The flavor characteristics of the dough and the finished products are usually evaluated by gas chromatography and sensory analysis. The limit of both techniques resides in their low-throughput character. In the present work, proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), coupled to a time-of-flight mass analyzer, was employed, for the first time, to measure the volatile fractions of dough and bread, and to monitor Saccharomyces cerevisiae volatile production in a fermented food matrix. Leavening was performed on small-scale (1 g) dough samples inoculated with different commercial yeast strains. The leavened doughs were then baked, and volatile profiles were determined during leavening and after baking. The experimental setup included a multifunctional autosampler, which permitted the follow-up of the leavening process on a small scale with a typical throughput of 500 distinct data points in 16 h. The system allowed to pinpoint differences between starter yeast strains in terms of volatile emission kinetics, with repercussions on the final product (i.e. the corresponding micro-loaves). This work demonstrates the applicability of PTR-MS for the study of volatile organic compound production during bread-making, for the automated and online real-time monitoring of the leavening process, and for the characterization and selection of bakery yeast starters in view of their production of volatile compounds.

PTR-MS in Italy: A Multipurpose Sensor with Applications in Environmental, Agri-Food and Health Science

Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) has evolved in the last decade as a fast and high sensitivity sensor for the real-time monitoring of volatile compounds. Its applications range from environmental sciences to medical sciences, from food technology to bioprocess monitoring. Italian scientists and institutions participated from the very beginning in fundamental and applied research aiming at exploiting the potentialities of this technique and providing relevant methodological advances and new fundamental indications. In this review we describe this activity on the basis of the available literature. The Italian scientific community has been active mostly in food science and technology, plant physiology and environmental studies and also pioneered the applications of the recently released PTR-ToF-MS (Proton Transfer Reaction-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry) in food science and in plant physiology. In the very last years new results related to bioprocess monitoring and health science have been published as well. PTR-MS data analysis, particularly in the case of the ToF based version, and the application of advanced chemometrics and data mining are also aspects characterising the activity of the Italian community.