Norbert Hertkorn

High molecular diversity of extraterrestrial organic matter in Murchison meteorite revealed 40 years after its fall

Numerous descriptions of organic molecules present in the Murchison meteorite have improved our understanding of the early interstellar chemistry that operated at or just before the birth of our solar system. However, all molecular analyses were so far targeted toward selected classes of compounds with a particular emphasis on biologically active components in the context of prebiotic chemistry. Here we demonstrate that a nontargeted ultrahigh-resolution molecular analysis of the solvent-accessible organic fraction of Murchison extracted under mild conditions allows one to extend its indigenous chemical diversity to tens of thousands of different molecular compositions and likely millions of diverse structures. This molecular complexity, which provides hints on heteroatoms chronological assembly, suggests that the extraterrestrial chemodiversity is high compared to terrestrial relevant biological- and biogeochemical-driven chemical space.

The chemodiversity of wines can reveal a metabologeography expression of cooperage oak wood

Wine chemical compositions, which result from a complex interplay between environmental factors, genetic factors, and viticultural practices, have mostly been studied using targeted analyses of selected families of metabolites. Detailed studies have particularly concerned volatile and polyphenolic compounds because of their acknowledged roles in the organoleptic and therapeutic properties. However, we show that an unprecedented chemical diversity of wine composition can be unraveled through a nontargeted approach by ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry, which provides an instantaneous image of complex interacting processes, not easily or possibly resolvable into their unambiguous individual contributions. In particular, the statistical analysis of a series of barrel-aged wines revealed that 10-year-old wines still express a metabologeographic signature of the forest location where oaks of the barrel in which they were aged have grown.

Fluoranthene metabolism in Mycobacterium sp. strain KR20 : identity of pathway intermediates during degradation and growth

Mycobacterium sp. strain KR20, which was isolated from a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated soil of a former gaswork plant site, metabolized about 60% of the fluoranthene added (0.5 mg ml(-1)) to batch cultures in mineral salts medium within 10 d at 20 degrees C. It thereby increased its cell number about 30-fold and produced at least seven metabolites. Five metabolites, namely cis-2,3-fluoranthene dihydrodiol, Z-9-carboxymethylene-fluorene-1-carboxylic acid, cis-1,9a-dihydroxy-1-hydro-fluorene-9-one-8-carboxylic acid, 4-hydroxybenzochromene-6-one-7-carboxylic acid and benzene-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid, could be identified by NMR and MS spectroscopic techniques and ascribed to an alternative fluoranthene degradation pathway. Besides fluoranthene, the isolate could not use any of the PAHs tested as a sole source of carbon and energy.

Mechanisms of humic acids degradation by white rot fungi explored using 1H NMR spectroscopy and FTICR mass spectrometry.

Enzymatic activities involved in decay processes of natural aromatic macromolecules, such as humic acids (HA) and lignin by white rot fungi, have been widely investigated. However, the physical and chemical analysis of degradation products of these materials has not been intensively explored. Fourier transform cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS) and 1H NMR as well as CHNOS and size exclusion chromatography were employed to study the mechanisms of HA degradation by Trametes sp. M23 and Phanerochaete sp. Y6. Size exclusion chromatography analyses demonstrate and provide evidence for HA breakdown into low MW compounds. The 1H NMR analysis revealed oxidation, a decrease in the aromatic content, and an indication of demethylation of the HA during biodegradation. Evidence for oxidation was also obtained using CHNOS. Analysis of FTICR MS results using a new software program developed by our group (David Mass Sort) revealed consecutive series of masses suggesting biochemical degradation trends such as oxidation, aromatic cleavage, and demethylation. These results are in agreement with the 1H NMR analysis and with the suggested role of the ligninolytic system leading to HA degradation.

Automated microextraction sample preparation coupled on-line to FT-ICR-MS: application to desalting and concentration of river and marine dissolved organic matter.

AbstractSample preparation procedures are in most cases sample- and time-consuming and commonly require the use of a large amount of solvents. Automation in this regard can optimize the minimal-needed injection volume and the solvent consumption will be efficiently reduced. A new fully automated sample desalting and pre-concentration technique employing microextraction by packed sorbents (MEPS) cartridges is implemented and coupled to an ion cyclotron resonance Fourier-transform mass spectrometer (ICR-FT/MS). The performance of non-target mass spectrometric analysis is compared for the automated versus off-line sample preparation for several samples of aqueous natural organic matter. This approach can be generalized for any metabolite profiling or metabolome analysis of biological materials but was optimized herein using a well characterized but highly complex organic mixture: a surface water and its well-characterized natural organic matter and a marine sample having a highly salt charge and enabling to validate the presented automatic system for salty samples. The analysis of Suwannee River water showed selective C18-MEPS enrichment of chemical signatures with average H/C and O/C elemental ratios and loss of both highly polar and highly aromatic structures from the original sample. Automated on-line application to marine samples showed desalting and different chemical signatures from surface to bottom water. Relative comparison of structural footprints with the C18-concentration/desalting procedure however enabled to demonstrate that the surface water film was more concentrated in surface-active components of natural (fatty acids) and anthropogenic origin (sulfur-containing surfactants). Overall, the relative standard deviation distribution in terms of peak intensity was improved by automating the proposed on-line method.n FigureThe efficient use of MEPS technique in automated form with high resolution FT-ICR-MS gives a selective spectrum, which reveals rich see water organic content. The shown high sensitivity of detected organic matter is due to effective desalting achieved by automated MEPS coupling to FT-ICR-MS technique.

Metabolic Influence of Botrytis cinerea Infection in Champagne Base Wine

Botrytis cinerea infection of grape berries leads to changes in the chemical composition of grape and the corresponding wine and, thus, affects wine quality. The metabolic effect of Botrytis infection in Champagne base wine was investigated through a (1)H NMR-based metabolomic approach. Isoleucine, leucine, threonine, valine, arginine, proline, glutamine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), succinate, malate, citrate, tartarate, fructose, glucose, oligosaccharides, amino acid derivatives, 2,3-butanediol, acetate, glycerol, tyrosine, 2-phenylethanol, trigonelline, and phenylpropanoids in a grape must and wine were identified by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and contributed to metabolic differentiations between healthy and botrytized wines by using multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA). Lowered levels of glycerol, 2,3-butanediol, succinate, tyrosine, valine derivative, and phenylpropanoids but higher levels of oligosaccharides in the botrytized wines were main discriminant metabolites, demonstrating that Botrytis infection of grape caused the fermentative retardation during alcoholic fermentation because the main metabolites responsible for the differentiation are fermentative products. Moreover, higher levels of several oligosaccharides in the botrytized wines also indicated the less fermentative behavior of yeast in the botrytized wines. This study highlights a metabolomic approach for better understanding of the comprehensive metabolic influences of Botrytis infection of grape berries in Champagne wines.

Regioselective synthesis of a branched isomer of nonylphenol, 4-(3',6'-dimethyl-3'-heptyl)phenol, and determination of its important environmental properties.

A method for the synthesis of a pure nonylphenol isomer, 4-(3,6-dimethyl-3-heptyl)phenol, by Friedel-Crafts reaction between anisole and 3-bromo-3,6-dimethylheptane that gives a 47.3% overall yield is reported. The reactions were followed by GC-MS, and the chemical structures are in agreement with the NMR and IR spectra. The log K(ow) value for this compound, its water solubility, vapor pressure, and Henrys Law constant were also determined. These physicochemical properties were required for prediction of the compounds behavior in aquatic ecosystems.

Expressing Forest Origins in the Chemical Composition of Cooperage Oak Woods and Corresponding Wines by Using FTICR‐MS

A non-targeted, ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometric, direct analysis of oak-wood extracts from two species (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea Liebl.) from three French forests, and of a wine aged in barrels derived therefrom has been performed to identify families of metabolites that could discriminate both the species and the geographical origin of woods. From 12 T ultra-high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectra of wood extracts, hundreds of mass signals were identified as possible significant biomarkers of the two species, with phenolic and carbohydrate moieties leading the differentiation between Q. robur and Q. petraea, respectively, as corroborated by both FTMS and NMR data. For the first time, it is shown that oak woods can also be discriminated on the basis of hundreds of forest-related compounds, and particular emphasis is put on sessile oaks from the Tronçais forest, for which sugars are significantly discriminant. Despite the higher complexity and diversity of wine metabolites, forest-related compounds can also be detected in wines aged in related barrels. It is only by using these non-targeted analyses that such innovative results, which reveal specific chemodiversities of natural materials, can be obtained.

Exploring the Potential of Fulvalene Dimetals as Platforms for Molecular Solar Thermal Energy Storage: Computations, Syntheses, Structures, Kinetics, and Catalysis

A study of the scope and limitations of varying the ligand framework around the dinuclear core of FvRu2 in its function as a molecular solar thermal energy storage framework is presented. It includes DFT calculations probing the effect of substituents, other metals, and CO exchange for other ligands on ΔHstorage . Experimentally, the system is shown to be robust in as much as it tolerates a number of variations, except for the identity of the metal and certain substitution patterns. Failures include 1,1,3,3-tetra-tert-butyl (4), 1,2,2,3-tetraphenyl (9), diiron (28), diosmium (24), mixed iron-ruthenium (27), dimolybdenum (29), and ditungsten (30) derivatives. An extensive screen of potential catalysts for the thermal reversal identified AgNO3 -SiO2 as a good candidate, although catalyst decomposition remains a challenge.

High-field FT-ICR mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy to characterize DOM removal through a nanofiltration pilot plant

Ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were combined to evaluate the molecular changes of dissolved organic matter (DOM) through an ultrafiltration-nanofiltration (UF-NF) pilot plant, using two dissimilar NF membranes tested in parallel. The sampling was performed on seven key locations within the pilot plant: pretreated water, UF effluent, UF effluent after addition of reagents, permeate NF 1, permeate NF 2, brine NF 1 and brine NF 2, during two sampling campaigns. The study showed that there is no significant change in the nature of DOM at molecular level, when the water was treated with UF and/or with the addition of sodium metabisulfite and antiscaling agents. However, enormous decrease of DOM concentration was observed when the water was treated on the NF membranes. The NF process preferentially removed compounds with higher oxygen and nitrogen content (more hydrophilic compounds), whereas molecules with longer pure aliphatic chains and less content of oxygen were the ones capable of passing through the membranes. Moreover, slight molecular selectivity between the two NF membranes was also observed.