Measurement of airborne gunshot particles in a ballistics laboratory by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The present study aimed determines lead (Pb), antimony (Sb) and barium (Ba) as the major elements present in GSR in the environmental air of the Ballistics Laboratory of the Sao Paulo Criminalistics Institute (I.C.-S.P.), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. Micro environmental monitors (mini samplers) were located at selected places. The PM2.5 fraction of this airborne was collected in, previously weighted filters, and analyzed by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (SF-HR-ICP-MS). The higher values of the airborne lead, antimony and barium, were found at the firing range (lead (Pb): 58.9 mu g/m(3); barium (Ba): 6.9 mu g/m(3); antimony (Sb): 7.3 mu g/m(3)). The mean value of the airborne in this room during 6 monitored days was Pb: 23.1 mu g/m(3); Ba: 2.2 mu g/m(3); Sb: 1.5 mu g/m(3). In the water tank room, the air did not show levels above the limits of concern. In general the airborne lead changed from day to day, but the barium and antimony remained constant. Despite of that, the obtained values suggest that the workers may be exposed to airborne lead concentration that can result in an unhealthy environment and could increase the risk of chronic intoxication. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metabolic oligosaccharide engineering of Plasmodium falciparum intraerythrocytic stages allows direct glycolipid analysis by mass spectrometry

A recent addition to the arsenal of tools for glycome analysis is the use of metabolic labels that allow covalent tagging of glycans with imaging probes. In this work we show that N-azidoglucosamine was successfully incorporated into glycolipidic structures of Plasmodium falciparum intraerythrocytic stages. The ability to tag glycoconjugates selectively with a fluorescent reporter group permits TLC detection of the glycolipids providing a new method to quantify dynamic changes in the glycosylation pattern and facilitating direct mass spectrometry analyses. Presence of glycosylphosphatidylinositol and glycosphingolipid structures was determined in the different extracts. Furthermore, the fluorescent tag was used as internal matrix for the MALDI experiment making even easier the analysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pancreatic iron stores assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in beta thalassemic patients

Purpose: To assess the correlation between MRI findings of the pancreas with those of the heart and liver in patients with beta thalassemia; to compare the pancreas T2* MRI results with glucose and ferritin levels and labile plasma iron (LPI). Materials and methods: We retrospectively evaluated chronically transfused patients, testing glucose with enzymatic tests, serum ferritin with chemiluminescence, LPI with cellular fluorescence, and T2* MRI to assess iron content in the heart, liver, and pancreas. MRI results were compared with one another and with serum glucose, ferritin, and LPI. Liver iron concentration (LIC) was determined in 11 patients' liver biopsies by atomic absorption spectrometry. Results: 289 MRI studies were available from 115 patients during the period studied. 9.4% of patients had overt diabetes and an additional 16% of patients had impaired fasting glucose. Both pancreatic and cardiac R2* had predictive power (p < 0.0001) for identifying diabetes. Cardiac and pancreatic R2* were modestly correlated with one another (r(2) = 0.20, p < 0.0001). Both were weakly correlated with LIC (r(2) = 0.09, p < 0.0001 for both) and serum ferritin (r(2) = 0.14, p < 0.0001 and r(2) = 0.03, p < 0.02, respectively). None of the three served as a screening tool for single observations. There is a strong log-log, or power-law, relationship between ratio of signal intensity (SIR) values and pancreas R2* with an r(2) of 0.91. Conclusions: Pancreatic iron overload can be assessed by MRI, but siderosis in other organs did not correlate significantly with pancreatic hemosiderosis. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanoassisted Laser Desorption-Ionization-MS Imaging of Tumors

The ability of nanoassisted laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (NALDI-MS) imaging to provide selective chemical monitoring with proper spatial distribution of lipid profiles from tumor tissues after plate imprinting has been tested. NALDI-MS imaging identified and mapped several potential lipid biomarkers in a murine model of melanoma tumor (inoculation of B16/F10 cells). It also confirmed that the in vivo treatment of tumor bearing mice with synthetic supplement containing phosphoethanolamine (PHO-S) promoted an accentuated decrease in relative abundance of the tumor biomarkers. NALDI-MS imaging is a matrix-free LDI protocol based on the selective imprinting of lipids in the NALDI plate followed by the removal of the tissue. It therefore provides good quality and selective chemical images with preservation of spatial distribution and less interference from tissue material. The test case described herein illustrates the potential of chemically selective NALDI-MS imaging for biomarker discovery.