Zarzycki Paweł K, Portka Joanna K
Section of Toxicology and Bioanalytics, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Koszalin University of Technology, Śniadeckich 2, 75-453 Koszalin, Poland.
Apteka "Na Słowińców", Słowińców 8/1, 78-100 Kołobrzeg, Poland.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2015 Sep;153:3-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2015.04.017. Epub 2015 May 6.
Pentacyclic triterpenoids, particularly hopanoids, are organism-specific compounds and are generally considered as useful biomarkers that allow fingerprinting and classification of biological, environmental and geological samples. Simultaneous quantification of various hopanoids together with battery of related non-polar and low-molecular mass compounds may provide principal information for geochemical and environmental research focusing on both modern and ancient investigations. Target compounds can be derived from microbial biomass, water columns, sediments, coals, crude fossils or rocks. This create number of analytical problems due to different composition of the analytical matrix and interfering compounds and therefore, proper optimization of quantification protocols for such biomarkers is still the challenge. In this work we summarizing typical analytical protocols that were recently applied for quantification of hopanoids like compounds from different samples. Main steps including components of interest extraction, pre-purification, fractionation, derivatization and quantification involving gas (1D and 2D) as well as liquid separation techniques (liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, planar and low resolution column chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography) are described and discussed from practical point of view, mainly based on the experimental papers that were published within last two years, where significant increase in hopanoids research was noticed. The second aim of this review is to describe the latest research trends concerning determination of hopanoids and related low-molecular mass lipids analyzed in various samples including sediments, rocks, coals, crude oils and plant fossils as well as stromatolites and microbial biomass cultivated under different conditions. It has been found that majority of the most recent papers are based on uni- or bivariate approach for complex data analysis. Data interpretation involves number of physicochemical parameters and hopanoids quantities or given biomarkers mass ratios derived from high-throughput separation and detection systems, typically GC-MS and HPLC-MS. Based on quantitative data reported in recently published experimental works it has been demonstrated that multivariate data analysis using e.g. principal components computations may significantly extend our knowledge concerning proper biomarkers selection and samples classification by means of hopanoids and related non-polar compounds.
五环三萜类化合物，尤其是藿烷类化合物，是生物体特异性化合物，通常被视为有用的生物标志物，可用于生物、环境和地质样品的指纹识别和分类。同时对各种藿烷类化合物以及一系列相关的非极性和低分子量化合物进行定量分析，可为聚焦于现代和古代研究的地球化学和环境研究提供重要信息。目标化合物可来源于微生物生物量、水柱、沉积物、煤、原油化石或岩石。由于分析基质的不同组成和干扰化合物，这产生了许多分析问题，因此，针对此类生物标志物的定量分析方法进行适当优化仍然是一项挑战。在这项工作中，我们总结了最近用于定量分析来自不同样品的类藿烷化合物的典型分析方法。主要步骤包括目标成分提取、预纯化、分馏、衍生化和定量分析，涉及气相（一维和二维）以及液相分离技术（液液萃取、固相萃取、平面和低分辨率柱色谱、高效液相色谱），本文将从实际应用的角度进行描述和讨论，主要基于过去两年发表的实验论文，这些论文中藿烷类化合物的研究有显著增加。本综述的第二个目的是描述有关在各种样品（包括沉积物、岩石、煤、原油和植物化石以及叠层石和在不同条件下培养的微生物生物量）中分析藿烷类化合物和相关低分子量脂质的最新研究趋势。研究发现，大多数最新论文基于单变量或双变量方法进行复杂数据分析。数据解释涉及许多物理化学参数以及藿烷类化合物的数量或从高通量分离和检测系统（通常是气相色谱 - 质谱联用仪和高效液相色谱 - 质谱联用仪）得出的特定生物标志物质量比。基于最近发表的实验工作中报告的定量数据，已证明使用例如主成分计算的多变量数据分析可以显著扩展我们关于通过藿烷类化合物和相关非极性化合物进行适当生物标志物选择和样品分类的知识。
