<p>Here we demonstrate the use of a switchable reagent ion proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (SRI-PTR-MS) instrument to improve the instrument&#39;s selectivity for the detection of the explosive compounds 2,4,6 trinitrotoluene (TNT), 1,3,5 trinitrobenzene (TNB), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX). Selectivity is improved owing to the production of different product ions resulting from changes in the reagent ion-molecule chemistry. To be of use as an analytical tool for homeland security applications, it is important that the reagent ions (and hence product ions) can be rapidly changed (within seconds) from H3O+ to another dominant ion species if the technology is to be acceptable. This paper presents measurements that show how it is possible to rapidly switch the reagent ion from H3O+ to either O2+ or NO+ to enhance selectivity for the detection of the four explosives named above. That switching reagent ions can be done quickly results from the fact that the recombination energies of O2+ and NO+ are less than the ionisation potential of H2O, i.e. charge transfer cannot occur which otherwise would result in ions that can react efficiently with water (e.g. H2O+ + H2O &rarr; H3O+ + OH) leading to H3O+ becoming the dominant reagent ion. Reaction processes observed are non-dissociative charge transfer (O2+ with TNT and TNB), dissociative charge transfer (O2+ with TNT) and adduct formation (NO+ with PETN and RDX). O2+ is found to be unreactive with PETN and RDX, and under the conditions operating in the reaction region of the PTR-MS only a low signal associated with NO+&middot;TNT was observed. No NO+&middot;TNB was detected.</p>

We present here a slightly modified PTR-MS instrument that is not only capable to ionize trace compounds in air via proton-transfer-reactions (PTR) but is also able to ionize via charge-transfer-reactions (CTR) with help of reagent ions (Kr+ in particular) possessing higher ionization energies than common air constituents. This means that with minor adaptations a common PTR-MS instrument can be used for the analysis of nearly all available substance classes by using both PTR and/or CTR ionization. Especially in environmental research, the field of application where PTR-MS is used most widely, now not only trace volatile organic compounds (benzene, toluene, etc.) but additionally also very important (inorganic) substances, such as CO, CO2, CH4, NOx, and SO2, can be detected and quantified with the same instrument. As all ionizing agents are produced in a hollow cathode discharge ion source with good purity no additional mass filter is needed for reagent ion selection (as in other analytical methods employed) and remaining reagent ion impurities can be clearly distinguished from isobaric sample compounds due to the high mass resolution of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer used in the present PTR-MS instrument (PTR-TOF 8000). We present data obtained with various gas standards ranging from a “classical” PTR-MS aromatics mixture to samples containing molecules possessing ionization energies all the way up to 14 eV (CO).

Flavor release from 6 commercial apple cultivars (Fuji, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Morgen Dallago, and Red Delicious) under static conditions (intact or fresh-cut samples) and during consumption of fresh-cut samples (nosespace) was determined by proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry. Textural (firmness, fracturability, flesh elasticity, and rupture) and physicochemical (pH, acidity, and water content) properties of the apples were also measured. Static headspace analysis of intact fruits revealed Fuji and Granny Smith apples had the lowest concentration for all measured flavor compounds (esters, aldehydes, alcohols, and terpenes), whereas Red Delicious apples had the highest. Fresh-cut samples generally showed a significant increase in total volatile compounds with acetaldehyde being most abundant. However, compared to intact fruits, cut Golden and Red Delicious apples had a lower intensity for ester related peaks. Five parameters were extracted from the nosespace data of peaks related to esters (m/z 43, 61), acetaldehyde (m/z 45), and ethanol (m/z 47): 2 associated with mastication (duration of mastication–tcon; time required for first swallowing event–tswal), and 3 related with in-nose volatile compound concentration (area under the curve–AUC; maximum intensity–Imax; time for achieving Imax–tmax). Three different behaviors were identified in the nosespace data: a) firm samples with low AUC and tswal values (Granny Smith, Fuji), b) mealy samples with high AUC, Imax, tswal values, and low tcon (Morgen Dallago, Golden Delicious), and c) firm samples with high AUC and Imax values (Red Delicious). Strengths and limitations of the methodology are discussed.

In the present study, the effects of milk fat (0.3% and 3.5% w/w), solids non-fat (8.4% and 13% w/w), and modified tapioca starch (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% w/w) concentrations on the textural and physicochemical properties as well as the concentration of several endogenous flavor compounds in the headspace of set and stirred yogurts were investigated. The novel proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry technique was implemented for the non-invasive determination of the amounts of volatile organic compounds in the samples headspace. Milk fat and skim milk powder supplementation of the milk samples increased significantly the firmness and adhesiveness of yogurts (p < 0.001) and improved the stability of the formed gels by increasing their water holding capacity and reducing the amounts of expulsed whey (3.94 and 5.1 g for the milk fat and SNF-fortified samples). Acetaldehyde was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the low fat-unfortified systems (6.15 ± 0.48 and 5.6 ± 0.60 ppmv, respectively). A similar trend was also reported in the case of 2-propanone (0.91 ± 0.11 and 1.13 ± 0.07 ppmv), diacetyl (334 ± 37 and 350 ± 34 ppbv), 2,3-pentanedione (54 ± 6 and 55 ± 6 ppbv), and 2-butanone (56 ± 7 and 68 ± 5 ppbv) for the same systems. In contrast, the concentration of flavor compounds in the headspace with hydroxyl groups (ethanol and acetoin) increased (p < 0.001) by solid non-fat fortification of milk base (350 ± 32 and 206 ± 7 ppbv, respectively, for the systems fortified with skim milk powder). Modified tapioca starch addition improved the textural properties and gel stability of yogurts whereas affected only the ethanol concentration (222 ± 16 and 322 ± 55 for the control and 2.0% w/w containing systems, respectively). Our data suggested that the reinforcement of textural and structural properties combined with the protein binding affinity of the flavor compounds seemed to be responsible for the aforementioned observations. In the case of stirred yogurts, the gel breakdown did not provoke significant changes in the headspace concentration of the most compounds, with the exception of ethanol, acetoin, and 2,3-pentanedione being significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the stirred yogurts (267 ± 29, 153 ± 11, and 38 ± 1 ppbv, respectively) than set style ones (232 ± 19, 134 ± 9, and 45 ± 3 ppbv, respectively).

Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) in its recently developed implementation based on a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) has been evaluated as a possible tool for rapid non-destructive investigation of the volatile compounds present in the metabolome of apple cultivars and clones. Clone characterization is a cutting-edge problem in technical management and royalty application, not only for apple, aiming at unveiling real properties which differentiate the mutated individuals. We show that PTR-ToF-MS coupled with multivariate and data mining methods may successfully be employed to obtain accurate varietal and clonal apple fingerprint. In particular, we studied the VOC emission profile of five different clones belonging to three well known apple cultivars, such as ‘Fuji’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Gala’. In all three cases it was possible to set classification models which can distinguish all cultivars and some of the clones considered in this study. Furthermore, in the case of ‘Gala’ we also identified estragole and hexyl 2-methyl butanoate contributing to such clone characterization. Beside its applied relevance, no data on the volatile profiling of apple clones are available so far, our study indicates the general viability of a metabolomic approach for volatile compounds in fruit based on rapid PTR-ToF-MS fingerprinting.

In the present study, PTR-TOF-MS was applied to better understand the influence of sugar composition on flavour release in a strawberry flavoured cereal bar system. To achieve this, measurements were made both statically from the headspace above cereal bar samples (in vitro) and dynamically from flavour release in the nose space during consumption (in vivo). An artificial strawberry flavour of known constituents (17 flavour active volatile compounds) was used in the preparation of cereal bars. For in vitro measurements, eight samples varying in the glucose syrup solids 42DE to polydextrose ratio were assessed. Measurements clearly showed that the level of glucose syrup solids substitution by polydextrose influenced the release of the added flavour compounds. In addition, distinguishable differences were detected for the release of volatile compounds between samples with different levels of glucose syrup solids and polydextrose during in vivo measurements. The improved mass resolution, sensitivity and speed of PTR-TOF-MS enabled direct comparisons between the rate compounds reached the nose space, maximum nose space concentration of compounds, and the time after which compounds were no longer detected in the nose-space.

In the past decade, we have witnessed rapid development of direct-injection mass spectrometric (DIMS) technologies that combine ever-improving mass and time resolution with high sensitivity and robustness. Here, we review some of the most significant DIMS technologies, which have been applied to rapid monitoring and quantification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and biogenic VOCS (BVOCs). They include MS-e-noses, atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization (APCI), proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS), and selected ion-flow-tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS). DIMS-based MS-e-noses provide the possibility to screen large sample sets and may yield rich analytical information. APCI is a widespread ionization method and pioneered DIMS in environmental and flavor-release applications. SIFT-MS and PTR-MS allow better control of precursor-ion generation and hence of the ionization process. SIFT-MS puts the focus on control of the ionization process, while PTR-MS does so on sensitivity. Most (B)VOCs of interest can be efficiently detected and often identified by DIMS, thanks also to the possibility of switching between different precursor ions and the recent realization of time-of-flight-based equipments. Finally, we give selected examples of applications for each of the key technologies, including research in food-quality control (MS-e-nose), flavor release (APCI), environmental sciences (PTR-MS) and health sciences (SIFT-MS).

The volatile compositions of 192 olive oil samples from five different European countries were investigated by PTR-MS sample headspace analysis. The mass spectra of all samples showed many masses with high abundances, indicating the complex VOC composition of olive oil. Three different PLS-DA models were fitted to the data to classify samples into ‘country’, ‘region’ and ‘district’ of origin, respectively. Correct classification rates were assessed by cross-validation. The first fitted model produced an 86% success rate in classifying the samples into their country of origin. The second model, which was fitted to the Italian oils only, also demonstrated satisfactory results, with 74% of samples successfully classified into region of origin. The third model, classifying the Italian samples into district of origin, yielded a success rate of only 52%. This lower success rate might be due to either the small class set, or to genuine similarities between olive oil VOC compositions on this tight scale.

A new method for measuring volatile profiles of alcoholic beverages (or other ethanol-containing analytes such as perfumes or herbs) has been developed. The method is based on proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). However, instead of hydronium ions (H3O+) protonated ethanol clusters (C2H5OH2+(C2H5OH)n = 1,2) are used as chemical ionization reagent ions. A stable reagent ion distribution is obtained by a 10-fold dilution of analyte headspace into ethanol-saturated nitrogen. Samples with different ethanol content can thus be directly compared. Characteristic mass spectral fingerprints have been obtained for four wine varieties. Principal component analysis discriminates between different wine varieties and shows specific correlations between wine variety and selected ions.

Heterobasidion annosum represents one of the most dangerous fungi in the conifer forest of the boreal hemisphere. This fungus was differentiated into three biological species (Intersterile groups; ISGs) characterized by different host specificity, patogenicity and distribution. A fast and easy identification of the ISG has important consequences on the silvicultural decition making. However, the determination of the ISG from the morphological traits of fruit bodies or, least of all, from mycelium is usually not easy. Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a new technique proposed and realised by the University of Innsbruck, and now issued also to the market. This technique allows high performance on-line measurements for a large number of VOCs. The aim of this work was to verify the possibility to discriminate the H. annosum ISGs based on their volatile compound emission and to identify putative characteristic masses that may play an important role in the host specificity and in the specific antagonistic fungi among each ISGs. Twelve strains belong to the three ISGs (here idicated by F, P and S) were analysed by PTRMS fingerprinting. P ISG was definitely separated from F and S ISGs. In addition, several masses show to be significantly different among the three ISGs. ANOVA on PTR-MS peak values identified 16 significant masses out of 230. Applications and limitations of this approach are discussed.

A membrane introduction proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (MI-PTRMS) has been employed for the characterisation of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane. For this purpose the diffusion and partition coefficients (which serve as a measure for solubility) have been determined experimentally for different classes of chemical compounds both non-polar and polar species, i.e., aromatics, alcohols, and ketones. It turned out that not only polar compounds exhibit strong interaction with a hydrophobic membrane such as the PDMS, but also non-polar compounds as trimethylbenzene or propylbenzene show strong interaction with a PDMS membrane. Stronger analyte–membrane interaction leads to a slower diffusion coefficient and larger partition coefficient. The effect of the temperature on the diffusion coefficient and partition coefficient has also been investigated, i.e., at higher temperature diffusion becomes faster and solubility lower. Permeability can be calculated from diffusion and partition coefficients and the activation energy has been derived from corresponding Arrhenius plots. The MI-PTRMS system shows detection limits in the order of tens of pptv and its response is linear for more than four orders of magnitude.

The use of a membrane inlet proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (MI-PTRMS) system was investigated for the quantitative analysis of VOCs directly from water. Compounds playing an important role in environmental, biological and health issues such as methanol, acetonitrile, acetone, dimethylsulfide (DMS), isoprene, benzene, and toluene have been analyzed both in fresh and salty water. The system shows very good sensitivity, reproducibility, and a linear response of up to five orders of magnitude. The detection limit for DMS is about 100 ppt and for methanol is about 10 ppb both in fresh and salty water. The response time of the various compounds across the membrane is on the order of a few minutes. This fast response and the fact that the PTRMS can perform absolute measurements without the necessity of calibration make the system suitable for on-line and -site measurements of VOCs directly from water.

Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) was used as an analytical tool to measure gas-phase concentrations of short-chain fatty acids. Chemical ionisation of C2single bondC6 carboxylic acids by PTR-MS produced intense protonated molecular ions (with traces of hydrates) along with acylium ion fragments. Gas-phase concentrations were derived using the established method for calculating PTR-MS sensitivity factors. Henry's law constants of carboxylic acids for aqueous solutions at 40 °C were determined. Direct monitoring of volatile fatty acids, known to be associated with secretions from the human axilla, was performed via a specially designed transfer device situated in the axilla. Mass spectral data corresponded with the findings of a sensory assessor.

We studied the possibility of monitoring with proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) odours emitted in various situations related to composting plants of municipal solid waste (MSW), i.e., waste storage, waste management, and biofilters. Comparison of PTR-MS volatile profiles of the gaseous mixtures entering and exiting a biofilter suggests the possibility of fast and reliable monitoring biofilter efficiency. Moreover, we investigated the relationships between the olfactometric assessment of odour concentration and PTR-MS spectral line intensity finding a positive correlation between the former and several masses and their overall intensity. The application of multivariate calibration methods allows to determine odour concentrations based only on PTR-MS instrumental data. The possibility of avoiding the use of time consuming and expensive olfactometric methods and applications in monitoring waste treatments plants and, in particular, of biofilters is suggested.

The combination of membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS) and proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is explored. The PTR-MS is used to measure properties of a well-characterized membrane material, poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS). It is found that the ability of the PTR-MS to measure absolute concentrations in real-time makes it an ideal tool for the characterization of membrane properties and the interaction of the membrane with multiple organic species. Values for the diffusion coefficients of several molecules are measured and found to be in agreement with literature values. Time modulation of the analyte across the membrane is explored as a method of resolving isobaric interferences for different chemical species. This is demonstrated for acetone and propanal. Finally, the benefit of combining MIMS with PTR-MS is demonstrated by the direct analysis of organic species in the headspace of a hot water solution where the high humidity would not allow analysis using the PTR-MS alone.