Analysis of environmental organic matters by Ultrahigh‐Resolution mass spectrometry—A review on the development of analytical methods

Abstract

Owing to the increasing environmental and climate changes globally, there is an increasing interest in the molecular-level understanding of environmental organic compound mixtures, that is, the pursuit of complete and detailed knowledge of the chemical compositions and related chemical reactions.Environmental organic molecule mixtures, including those in air, soil, rivers, and oceans, have extremely complex and heterogeneous chemical compositions. For their analyses, ultrahigh-resolution and sub-ppb level mass accuracy, achievable using Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS), are important. FT-ICR MS has been successfully used to analyze complex environmental organic molecule mixtures such as natural, soil, particulate, and dissolved organic matter. Despite its success, many limitations still need to be overcome. Sample preparation, ionization, structural identification, chromatographic separation, and data interpretation are some key areas that have been the focus of numerous studies. This review describes key developments in analytical techniques in these areas to aid researchers seeking to start or continue investigations for the molecular-level understanding of environmental organic compound mixtures.

Data-Based Chemical Class Regions for Van Krevelen Diagrams

“…Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (UHR-MS) has become a routine analytical technique to characterize natural organic matter (NOM). − NOM is a complex mixture of biotically and abiotically degraded organic compounds . NOM is ubiquitous in environmental and engineered systems and impacts electrochemical, photochemical, and biological processes. − We lack structural information for most NOM compounds, but UHR-MS characterization of NOM provides molecular level information through accurate mass assignment of chemical formulas .…”

Chemodiversity of Dissolved Organic Matter and Its Molecular Changes Driven by Rhizosphere Activities in Fe Ore Tailings Undergoing Eco-Engineered Pedogenesis

“…To reveal the overall DOM characteristics and molecular composition in the tailings driven by microbial and plant root activities, nontarget high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques are necessary. Electrospray ionization ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FT-ICR-MS) is one of the best techniques that could simultaneously distinguish thousands of different molecular compounds in complex environmental samples, − which was employed in the study to characterize DOM molecular composition in tailings. Spectroscopic methodologies including synchrotron-based X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) , and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy analysis were used for detecting Fe-bearing mineral transformation and their association with DOM.…”

Characterisation of riverine dissolved organic matter using a complementary suite of chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods

“…In addition, there has been an increase in the number of studies using high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques, such as Orbitrap MS (Pemberton et al 2020;Prasert et al 2021) or Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) (Kamjunke et al 2019;Simon et al 2019;Spencer et al 2019;Chen et al 2021) as an analytical tool to investigate riverine DOM composition. A recent review by Kim et al (2021), for example, discusses the most recent advances in ultrahigh-resolution MS for terrestrial organic matter. These novel molecular-scale approaches are now enabling significant advances in the elucidation of riverine DOM composition.…”