Tulsi or Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum Linn) is a medicinally important plant. Ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) are among its major constituents which account for many medicinal activities of the plant. In the present work, we deployed a new ambient ionization method, leaf spray ionization, for rapid detection of UA, OA and their oxidation products from tulsi leaves. Tandem electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has been performed on tulsi leaf extracts in methanol to establish the identity of the compounds. We probed changes occurring in the relative amounts of the parent compounds (UA and OA) with their oxidized products and the latter show an increasing trend upon ageing. The findings are verified by ESI-MS analysis of tulsi leaf extracts, which shows the same trend proving the reliability of the leaf spray method. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Pradeep Thalappil

Department Of Chemistry

Depanjan Sarkar

Amitava Srimany

Methanol

OLEANOLIC ACID

triterpene

URSOLIC ACID

article

chemistry

electrospray mass spectrometry

OCIMUM

oxidation reduction reaction

plant leaf

time

Oxidation-Reduction

PLANT LEAVES

Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Time Factors

Triterpenes

IIT Madras is a public technical and research university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1959, it is recognised as an Institute of National Importance.

IIT Madras has been ranked as the top engineering institute in India for four years in a row by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the MHRD

It currently offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees across 16 disciplines in Engineering, Sciences, Humanities and Management. About 596 faculty belonging to science and engineering departments and centres of the Institute are engaged in teaching, research and industrial consultancy.

IIT Madras

Analyst

A new kind of ambient ionization method named superhydrophobic preconcentration paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (SHPPSI MS) is introduced, where superhydrophobicity and paper spray mass spectrometry (PS MS) are coupled. The SHPPSI MS requires only microliter amounts of analyte solutions, allows easy sampling procedure, and provides high sensitivity for a diverse array of analytes. It can be used to detect food adulteration at extremely low concentrations. The experimental methodology involves modifying one of the surfaces of a triangularly cut filter paper to make it acquire low surface energy by drop casting a green and ecofriendly superhydrophobic coating material over it followed by drying. A micrometer scale defect was made at close proximity to one of the tips of the paper using a pin. Preconcentration of the sample was accomplished by allowing a 10 μL droplet of an aqueous solution of the analyte to stand at the defect followed by drying naturally. The dried paper was used as the substrate for paper spray mass spectrometry by eluting the analyte with a suitable solvent. This novel technique was used to detect melamine in adulterated milk, whose detection at the ppt level in milk normally needs sophisticated instruments, a larger amount of sample, and a complex sampling procedure, including further purification and separation. The SHPPSI MS detects melamine directly from milk at the sub-ppb level by simply putting a microdroplet of adulterated milk at the substrate and eluting the sample with methanol. This paper-based technique can be a promising tool for direct sensing of analytes such as drugs in body fluids, pesticides in water and soil, etc. © 2019 American Chemical Society.

Analytical Chemistry

Sub-Parts-per-Trillion Level Detection of Analytes by Superhydrophobic Preconcentration Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (SHPPSI MS)

Materials are making inroads into mass spectrometry, and an example is the use of advanced materials for enhanced ionization by transformation of a less-ionizable molecule to an easily ionizable one. Here we show the use of Pt nanoparticle-decorated nanotubes as highly active catalysts for the reduction of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene to 2,4,6-triaminotoluene and subsequent easy detection of the product by in situ ambient ionization mass spectrometry. © 2017 American Chemical Society.

Catalytic Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry with Metal Nanotubes and the Detection of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene

DESI MS, has been successfully employed for the analysis of molecules from a wide variety of surfaces without prior sample treatment. The efficiency of DESI MS relies on various parameters. However, those that critically affect the ionization of biological samples include: the solvent system and the sample or sample spotting surfaces. These parameters gain unequivocal dominance specially whilst dealing with sensitive and intricate biological samples. This review is meant to capture the attention of the DESI-MS researchers towards the crucial role of the solvent and sample spotting surfaces for successful biological DESI-MS. This review highlights these parameters as the backbone of the breakthroughs achieved in the analysis of biological materials of plant, bacterial, animal and human origins. © 2016 Elsevier B.V..

TrAC - Trends in Analytical Chemistry

Biological Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (DESI MS) - unequivocal role of crucial ionization factors, solvent system and substrates

Basil (Ocimum sp.), a medicinal herb is used fresh and/or dry in various (culinary, cosmetic and pharmaceutical) preparations. Fusarium wilt caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. basilici is limiting basil cultivation in many countries. Since the leaf is the edible part in basil, new approaches are required to identify, and to prevent the spread of Fusarium pathogens. Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI MS) was used for imaging thin layer chromatography (TLC) - imprints of leaves of three different species of basil (Ocimum basilicum L., O. tenuiflorum L., and O. gratissimum L.), and the molecular manifestations during Fusarium contamination are recorded. DESI MS images showed the chemotaxonomic differences of basil species and the changes in metabolite ion peaks during pathogen infection. Besides easy detection of reported toxic metabolite(s) of the pathogen(s), the results include molecular images showing spatial distribution of all coexisting surface-bound metabolites in plant leaves, their fragment ions, and the transient changes in their spatial distribution during Fusarium attack under natural conditions. Demonstration of the same protocol to image seedling, young/mature leaves, basil/other related plant (Patchouli - Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth.), wilt/other disease symptoms shows that prior knowledge of the metabolite profile of the plant/pathogen is not required. This rapid detection method can be tailored to large scale screening programs for plant diseases suggesting potential implications in agriculture and quarantine requirements. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.

RSC Advances

Rapid detection of Fusarium wilt in basil (Ocimum sp.) leaves by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI MS) imaging

We report in-situ production and detection of intermediates at graphenic surfaces, especially during alcohol oxidation. Alcohol oxidation to acid occurs on graphene oxide-coated paper surface, driven by an electrical potential, in a paper spray mass spectrometry experiment. As paper spray ionization is a fast process and the time scale matches with the reaction time scale, we were able to detect the intermediate, acetal. This is the first observation of acetal formed in surface oxidation. The process is not limited to alcohols and the reaction has been extended to aldehydes, amines, phosphenes, sugars, etc.; where reaction products were detected instantaneously. By combining surface reactions with ambient ionization and mass spectrometry, we show that new insights into chemical reactions become feasible. We suggest that several other chemical transformations may be studied this way. This work opens up a new pathway for different industrially and energetically important reactions using different metal catalysts and modified substrate. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2013 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry

Studying reaction intermediates formed at graphenic surfaces

Desorption electrospray ionization was employed for fast and direct ambient detection of the anti-tumor drug, camptothecin, and its derivative, 9-methoxycamptothecin in Nothapodytes nimmoniana. Different parts of the plant such as leaves, stems and bark were examined. The ion intensities suggest that the concentration in bark is higher than that in the leaves and stems. The method does not require any sample preparation or preseparation. The identity of the alkaloids was further confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011.

Direct analysis of camptothecin from Nothapodytes nimmoniana by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS)

Cross-sections of Myristica malabarica (Lam) seed and mouse brain tissue were imprinted on such ordinary surfaces as printer paper and TLC plates, and successfully imaged by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) at 250 μm resolution. Chemical images representing the distribution of the alkaloid malabaricone C in the seed substructures and individual lipids in the substructures of the brain were obtained. Practical implications include analysis of irregular or soft materials, easy recording, transportation and storage of the latent image, and posterior analysis of the samples by different techniques without the requirement of addition of matrices or use of specific types of surfaces. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011.

Analytical Methods

Tissue imprint imaging by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The Analyst

Rapid detection of urushiol allergens of Toxicodendron genus using leaf spray mass spectrometry

Direct ionization of biological tissue for mass spectrometric analysis

Journal of Mass Spectrometry

Characterization of barley leaf tissue using direct and indirect desorption electrospray ionization imaging mass spectrometry

Rapid identification of molecular changes in tulsi (Ocimum sanctum Linn) upon ageing using leaf spray ionization mass spectrometry

Journal	Data powered by TypesetAnalyst
Publisher	Data powered by TypesetRoyal Society of Chemistry
ISSN	00032654
Open Access	No