Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2026

High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 23, 2019
A sensitive method for simultaneous screening exposure to 14 alkylating agents based on tripeptide adducts: an
Bo Chen1, Deshen Liang2, Huilan Yu1
1State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing, 102205, P. R. China.
Abstract:
For the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) designates laboratories for the analysis of chemicals that can be used as chemical warfare agents (CWAs). In these laboratories, analytical methods for detecting CWAs have been developed for environmental and biomedical samples. Protein adducts from exposed biomedical samples are an important type of biomarker for verification of their abuse. Moreover, these adducts could also be applied in chemical impurity profiling studies of biomedical samples. Alkylating agents, as cytotoxicants, can react with Cys34 in human serum albumin, and cysteine-proline-phenylalanine (CPF) tripeptide adducts generated from proteinase K digestion of modified albumin have been used as biomarkers for retrospective detection of exposure to sulfur mustards or nitrogen mustards. In this study, a sensitive screening method for detecting exposure to 14 alkylating agents in one analytical run was established through sample preparation and instrumental detection optimization. Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-TQ MS) operated in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode and combined with an optimized chromatographic program was used for detecting the 14 corresponding CPF tripeptide adducts. The limits of detection (LODs) are in the range of 0.200-10.0 ng/mL exposure concentrations in human plasma. This method could also allow impurity profiling applicable for potential attribution of sulfur and nitrogen mustard in plasma through retrospective analysis of exposed biomedical samples with impurity compositions as low as 0.1%. This method has potential in clinical diagnosis, CWA verification and forensic identification applications.
More Related Videos
09:04Identifying Per- and Polyfluorinated Chemical Species with a Combined Targeted and Non-Targeted-Screening High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Workflow
Published on: April 18, 2019
10:12Author Spotlight: Quantitative Detection of DNA Protein Crosslinks and Their Post-Translational Modifications
Published on: April 21, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Mass Spectrometry: Complex Analysis
GC–MS is a powerful hyphenated method commonly used in forensics and environmental...
Development of Analytical Methods
Sample Preparation for Analysis: Advanced Techniques
Acid digestion with strong acids is commonly used to dissolve inorganic materials that are insoluble (do not dissolve) in water. This method can be useful for...
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Types of Detectors
Methods of Classification and Identification
Rapid Identification of Pathogens