Yang Yan, Lin Meiqing, Tang Jian, Ma Shengtao, Yu Yingxin
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China.
Synergy Innovation Institute of GDUT, Shantou, 515100, Guangdong, China.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2020 Oct;412(25):6679-6690. doi: 10.1007/s00216-020-02762-x. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
Gas chromatography negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-NCI-MS) is a preferred instrumental approach for the trace and ultra-trace analysis of various toxic organics and their metabolites in human biological fluids. Specifically, the method has played an important role in the highly sensitive and specific quantitative detection of persistent highly halogenated compounds in environmental matrices and biota during the past few decades. However, for the analysis of toxic metabolites with active hydrogen atoms, such as acids, alcohols, and phenolic compounds, from biological matrixes or organics without electronegative atoms or groups, a derivatization step is often needed prior to GC analysis. Such derivatization aims to change the properties of targets to improve their separation, increase their volatility, and enhance the sensitivity of instrumental detection. This review summarizes three derivatization strategies commonly used for GC methods, i.e., alkylation, silylation, and acylation, together with their application combined with GC-NCI-MS for the high sensitivity analysis of toxic organic metabolites in the human body. The advantages and disadvantages of each derivatization method and potential directions for future applications are discussed. Given the broad variety of applications as well as the compound-specific sensitivity for the ultra-trace analysis of target xenobiotics in human biological fluids, subsequent studies are required to develop convenient, faster derivatization procedures and reagents better suited for routine analysis. Graphical abstract.
气相色谱负化学电离质谱法（GC-NCI-MS）是用于痕量和超痕量分析人体生物流体中各种有毒有机物及其代谢物的首选仪器方法。具体而言，在过去几十年中，该方法在环境基质和生物群中持久性高卤代化合物的高灵敏度和特异性定量检测中发挥了重要作用。然而，对于来自生物基质或不含电负性原子或基团的有机物中具有活性氢原子的有毒代谢物（如酸、醇和酚类化合物）的分析，在气相色谱分析之前通常需要进行衍生化步骤。这种衍生化旨在改变目标物的性质，以改善其分离效果、提高其挥发性并增强仪器检测的灵敏度。本综述总结了气相色谱方法常用的三种衍生化策略，即烷基化、硅烷化和酰化，以及它们与GC-NCI-MS联用在人体有毒有机代谢物高灵敏度分析中的应用。讨论了每种衍生化方法的优缺点以及未来应用的潜在方向。鉴于其广泛的应用以及对人体生物流体中目标外源性物质超痕量分析的化合物特异性灵敏度，后续研究需要开发更方便、更快的衍生化程序和更适合常规分析的试剂。图形摘要。
