Semiquantitation of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Using Relative Molar Response Factors

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are a complex class of analogs of the potent neurotoxin saxitoxin (STX). Since calibration standards are not available for many PSTs, including C-11 hydroxyl analogs called M-toxins, accurate quantitation by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can be challenging. In the absence of standards, PSTs are often semiquantitated using standards of a different analog (e.g., STX), an approach with a high degree of uncertainty due to the highly variable sensitivity between analytes in electrospray ionization. Here, relative molar response factors (RMRs) were investigated for a broad range of PSTs using common LC-MS approaches in order to improve the quantitation of PSTs for which standards are unavailable. First, several M-toxins (M1-M6, M9 and dcM6) were semipurified from shellfish using preparative gel filtration chromatography and quantitated using LC-charged aerosol detection (LC-CAD). The RMRs of PST certified reference materials (CRMs) and M-toxins were then determined using selective reaction monitoring LC-MS/MS and full scan LC-high-resolution MS (LC-HRMS) methods in positive and negative electrospray ionization. In general, RMRs for PSTs with similar chemical structures were comparable, but varied significantly between subclasses, with M-toxins showing the lowest sensitivity. For example, STX showed a greater than 50-fold higher RMR than M4 and M6 by LC-HRMS. The MS instrument, scan mode and polarity also had significant impacts on RMRs and should be carefully considered when semiquantitating PSTs by LC-MS. As a demonstration of their utility, the RMRs determined were applied to the semiquantitation of PSTs in contaminated mussels, showing good agreement with results from calibration with CRMs.

Methylation Analysis as a Tool for Structural Analysis of Wood Polysaccharides

Summary In modern structural analysis of complex mixtures of wood polysaccharides, methylation analysis is still a valuable and powerful tool for linkage analysis. In this paper, methylation analysis is described for the procedure methylation, methanolysis, silylation and GC/MS. The retention time indexes for the partly methylated methyl glycosides of the relevant wood polysaccharides are listed together with the ratios of the isomers of the different structural units. A calculation model for relative molar response factors is suggested based on a published model for FID detection and on experimental data. Tested for oligosaccharides of known structure including xylotetraose, mannotriose and 63, 64-α-D-galactosyl-mannopentaose, the model gives reproducible and sufficiently correct results. The fate of xylose units substituted with 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid at position 2 is investigated with a model compound.