Electrospray mass spectrometry for characterization of lipid A from Enterobacter agglomerans.

Negative ion and positive ion electrospray mass spectrometry have been employed to characterize the lipid A mixture produced by hydrolysis of lipopolysaccharides from Enterobacter agglomerans, a Gram-negative bacterium commonly found in field cotton. Neutral monophosphoryl lipid A molecules form stable anions via deprotonation, but adduct formation via cation attachment occurs in low yield. Dephosphorylated lipid A molecules, on the other hand, readily form adducts with Na+, whereas deprotonation occurs in low yield.

252Cf plasma-desorption mass spectrometry of lipid A from Enterobacter agglomerans.

Endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria are believed to be causative agents of byssinosis, an occupational pulmonary disease associated with exposure to cotton dust in textile mills. Lipid A preparations from Enterobacter agglomerans, a gram-negative bacterium commonly found in cotton and cotton dust, have been analyzed using plasma-desorption mass spectrometry. Results indicate the existence of at least two lipid A types which differ only by the presence of an additional oxygen atom whose position has been localized to the acyloxyacyl ester-linked side-chain of the distal portion of the molecule.

Effect of alkali treatment on physiological activity of cotton condensed tannin.

Cotton dusts contain condensed tannins and endotoxins, which are suspected of contributing to the development of acute and chronic biological responses in some cotton textile mill workers. Condensed tannin extracted from cotton dust was coated on to cellulose powder, and the tannin coated powder was treated with an alkali solvent system previously developed to reduce the endotoxin content and pulmonary toxicity of cotton dust. Physiological activities of the dusts and powders were compared by assaying the production of the arachidonic acid metabolites prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha), thromboxane A2 (TxA2) (the precursor to thromboxane B2 (TxB2], leukotriene C4 (LTC4), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by guinea pig pulmonary cells obtained by lung lavage.

Production of mannitol by fungi from cotton dust.

Cotton dust associated with high pulmonary function decrements contains relatively high levels of mannitol. In this study, cotton leaf and bract tissue and dust isolated from cotton leaf tissue were examined by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and capillary gas chromatography. Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarum, Epicoccum purpurascens, and Fusarium pallidoroseum were isolated from cotton leaf dust.

Capillary gas chromatography of cotton dusts associated with human pulmonary function studies.

The effects of geographical area of growth and cotton variety on pulmonary activity have been evaluated through human volunteer exposure studies conducted by NIOSH and USDA at the Cotton Quality Research Station, Clemson, S.C. These studies demonstrate that carding California cottons releases dust with less human pulmonary activity than dust released from the corresponding Mississippi cottons.