Centro Interdisciplinar de Energia e Ambiente-CIEnAm, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, 40170-115, Brazil.
ThoMSon Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-970, Brazil.
Sci Rep. 2023 Mar 14;13(1):4248. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31119-4.
We investigated if pristine and functionalized fullerenes could be actual constituents of fine atmospheric aerosols. Comprehensive profiles of fullerenes from 1 µL extracts were made through matrix laser desorption ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-MS) within a few minutes. The ion with m/z 720, corresponding to [C], was identified as fullerene after 1 µL of α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid matrix solution was spotted over the dried extracts. The ions with the m/z corresponding to C, C, C, C, C, C, and C were also attributed to other fullerene species detected within the samples. The ion m/z 878 was found to be the fullerene derivative diethyl methano[60]fullerene dicarboxylate. Since ions of fragmented fullerene molecules were not detected even at high laser energies, we considered the fullerenes' occurring as original constituents of real atmospheric particle matrices instead of being formed as artifacts of the laser action on samples. Therefore, this protocol would be helpful in the understanding of the distribution of either pristine or functionalized fullerenes in the environment and their participation in atmospheric chemistry under typical conditions, as well as its application in vitro and in vivo (eco)toxicity studies.
我们研究了原始和功能化富勒烯是否可能成为细颗粒大气气溶胶的实际成分。通过基质激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（MALDI-MS），在几分钟内即可对 1 µL 提取物中的富勒烯进行全面分析。用 1 µLα-氰基-4-羟基肉桂酸基质溶液点在干燥提取物上后，鉴定出 m/z 720 的离子为富勒烯，对应于 [C]。m/z 对应于 C、C、C、C、C、C 和 C 的离子也归因于样品中检测到的其他富勒烯物种。发现 m/z 878 的离子是富勒烯衍生物二乙酯甲烷[60]富勒烯二羧酸酯。由于即使在高激光能量下也未检测到富勒烯分子碎片的离子，因此我们认为富勒烯作为真实大气颗粒基质的原始成分存在，而不是作为激光对样品作用的产物形成。因此，该方案将有助于理解原始或功能化富勒烯在环境中的分布及其在典型条件下参与大气化学的情况，以及在体外和体内（生态）毒性研究中的应用。
