The use of selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry to detect and quantify polyamines in headspace gas and oral air

Abstract

Polyamines are a class of aliphatic compounds which include putrescine, cadaverine, spermine and spermidine. They are involved in a variety of cellular processes and have been implicated in a number of different pathophysiological mechanisms. Polyamines are volatile compounds having a distinctive odour normally perceived as being unpleasant. The measurement of their abundance has, however, been restricted to compounds present in the aqueous phase. Using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) we have shown that the polyamines react with the ions H3O+, NO+ and O2+ to form distinctive product ions allowing their levels to be quantified in the vapour phase. The low volatility of spermine did not allow extensive analysis of this compound by SIFT-MS while the adherent properties of cadaverine and putrescine required the use of PTFE transfer lines and couplers. Our data suggested the presence of cadaverine and putrescine in both oral air and the headspace of putrefying bovine muscle, while product ions corresponding to putrescine and spermidine were found in the headspace of human semen. SIFT-MS therefore appears to be a practical means of measuring vapour-phase polyamine levels, having applications in biology, medicine and dentistry, and food science.

Progress in SIFT‐MS: Breath analysis and other applications

“…The performance of Profile 3 SIFT-MS instruments has been illustrated by the data presented in several research papers produced by the teams at Keele , 2009Smith et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2008a;Wang, Š paněl, & Smith, 2008b;, at Prague (Španěl, Dryahina, & Smith, 2007a,b,c) and at Thunder Bay (Ross & Vermeulen, 2007;Ross, 2008;Hryniuk & Ross, 2009;Ross, Babay, & Ladouceur, 2009;). Scrutiny of these papers reveals the value and the quality of trace gas analyses obtained using current Profile 3 instruments.…”

“…These compounds, especially the diamines, are extremely ''sticky'' at surfaces (Ross, Babay, & Ladouceur, 2009) and so are very difficult to collect and then release from containers.…”

Changes in oral trace gas concentrations following orthognathic surgery and intermaxillary fixation: a case study using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry

“…The tube had an outer diameter of 1/16 inch and an inner diameter of 0.025 inch, and was held at a temperature of 100 ℃. The sampling flow was reduced to the desired rate using a short length of 1/16 inch PTFE tubing which possessed an internal diameter of 0.007 inch [9]. The compounds of interest (sulphides, organic acids, ammonia, isoprene and acetone) were quantified by monitoring the specific ion product of the reaction between the compound of interest and the precursor ion transformed into absolute concentrations using a predetermined reaction rate coefficient [6][7][11][12][13][14] .…”

“…The current limits of detection of the technique are in the low PPBV and high PPTV ranges. This is sufficient to allow the quantification of the known odiferous oral volatiles using previously reported mass spectrometric data [7,9]. SIFT-MS was therefore chosen to investigate oral gases in a patient who had recently undergone orthognathic surgery.…”

Communication is Key: Do Bacteria use a Universal ‘Language‘ to Spread Resistance?

“…The filtered supernatant of an overnight culture of a highly resistant subpopulation of B. cenocepacia in polymyxin B communicated higher-level resistance to physically less distant polymyxin-resistant mutant of B. cenocepacia and three different E. coli strains. This volatile-dependant protection was proposed to be attributed to the overexpression of putrescine in response to polymyxin B [7], owing to the volatile nature of polyamines [16].…”