Toxicological Drug Screening using Paper Spray High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HR-MS/MS).

Immunoassays and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) are both widely used methods for drug screening in toxicology. We investigated an alternative approach for rapid drug screening: paper spray MS (PS-MS). In paper spray, the biofluid sample is spotted onto a paper substrate.

Detection of chemical warfare agent simulants and hydrolysis products in biological samples by paper spray mass spectrometry.

Paper spray ionization coupled to a high resolution tandem mass spectrometer (a quadrupole orbitrap) was used to identify and quantitate chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulants and their hydrolysis products in blood and urine. Three CWA simulants, dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), trimethyl phosphate (TMP), and diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), and their isotopically labeled standards were analyzed in human whole blood and urine. Calibration curves were generated and tested with continuing calibration verification standards.

HOBS methods for enhancing resolution and sensitivity in small DNA oligonucleotide NMR studies.

(1) H NMR spectra from biopolymers give chemical shifts classified according to proton type and often suffer from signal degeneracy. Data from nucleic acids are particularly prone to this failing. Recent developments in proton broadband decoupling techniques with the promise of enhanced resolution at full sensitivity have allowed us to investigate the application of homonuclear band-selective (HOBS) decoupling to the study of small synthetic DNA molecules and to compare these with results from classical and pure shift techniques.