Sequential derivatization of polar organic compounds in cloud water using O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine hydrochloride, N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide, and gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis.

Cloud water samples from Whiteface Mountain, NY were used to develop a combined sampling and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GCMS) protocol for evaluating the complex mixture of highly polar organic compounds (HPOC) present in this atmospheric medium. Specific HPOC of interest were mono- and di keto-acids which are thought to originate from photochemical reactions of volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons from biogenic and manmade emissions and be a major fraction of atmospheric carbon. To measure HPOC mixtures and the individual keto-acids in cloud water, samples first must be derivatized for clean elution and measurement, and second, have low overall background of the target species as validated by GCMS analysis of field and laboratory blanks.

BioMOL: a computer-assisted biological modeling tool for complex chemical mixtures and biological processes at the molecular level.

A chemical engineering approach for the rigorous construction, solution, and optimization of detailed kinetic models for biological processes is described. This modeling capability addresses the required technical components of detailed kinetic modeling, namely, the modeling of reactant structure and composition, the building of the reaction network, the organization of model parameters, the solution of the kinetic model, and the optimization of the model. Even though this modeling approach has enjoyed successful application in the petroleum industry, its application to biomedical research has just begun.

Molecular identification of organic compounds in atmospheric complex mixtures and relationship to atmospheric chemistry and sources.

This article describes a chemical characterization approach for complex organic compound mixtures associated with fine atmospheric particles of diameters less than 2.5 m (PM2.5).

Atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry: a new analytical chemical characterization method for dissolved organic matter in rainwater.

The complex mixture of organic compounds in the atmosphere influences climate, air quality, and ecosystem processes. Atmospheric pressure electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (APESI-MS) was evaluated as a potential tool for direct measurement of the total suite of individual dissolved organic matter (DOM) compounds in rainwater. The APESI-MS response was linear to all DOM compounds of atmospheric significance examined as standard solutions.