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In this article, an analytical methodology to investigate the proteinaceous content in atmospheric size-resolved aerosols collected at the Zeppelin observatory (79 °N, 12 °E) at Ny Ålesund, Svalbard, from September to December 2015, is proposed. Quantitative determination was performed after acidic hydrolysis using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography in reversed-phase mode coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Chromatographic separation, as well as specificity in the identification, was achieved by derivatization of the amino acids with N-butyl nicotinic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester prior to the analysis. The chromatographic run was performed within 11 min and instrumental levels of detection (LODs) were between 0.2 and 8.1 pg injected on the column, except for arginine which exhibited an LOD of 37 pg. Corresponding method LODs were between 0.01 and 1.9 fmol/m, based on the average air sampling volume of 57 m. The sum of free amino acids and hydrolyzed polyamino acids was shown to vary within 6-2914 and 0.02-1417 pmol/m for particles in sizes < 2 and 2-10 μm in equivalent aerodynamic diameter, respectively. Leucine, alanine, and valine were the most abundant among the amino acids in both aerosol size fractions. In an attempt to elucidate source areas of the collected aerosols, 5- to 10-day 3D backward trajectories reaching the sampling station were calculated. Overall, the method described here provides a first time estimate of the proteinaceous content, that is, the sum of free and polyamino acids, in size-resolved aerosols collected in the Arctic. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

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Consumption of SPS for 12 months did not affect sexual maturation or the onset of puberty in prepubertal boys and girls; however, it may have induced an increase in height, BMI/age, height/age and weight/age of the girls, associated with variations in fat-free mass.

β-N-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is an important non-protein amino acid linked to neurodegenerative diseases, specifically amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Because it can be transferred and bioaccumulated higher up the food chain, it poses significant public health concerns; thus, improved detection methods are of prime importance for the identification and management of these toxins. Here, we report the successful use of N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of N-butylnicotinic acid (C4-NA-NHS) for the efficient separation of BMAA from its isomers and higher sensitivity in detecting BMAA compared to the current method of choice using 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC) derivatization. Implementation of this efficient method allowed localization of BMAA in the non-visceral tissues of blue mussels, suggesting that more efficient depuration may be required to remove this toxin prior to consumption. This is a crucial method in establishing the absence or presence of the neurotoxic amino acid BMAA in food, environmental or biomedical samples.