Historical and contemporary stable isotope tracer approaches to studying mammalian protein metabolism

Over a century ago, Frederick Soddy provided the first evidence for the existence of isotopes; elements that occupy the same position in the periodic table are essentially chemically identical but differ in mass due to a different number of neutrons within the atomic nucleus. Allied to the discovery of isotopes was the development of some of the first forms of mass spectrometers, driven forward by the Nobel laureates JJ Thomson and FW Aston, enabling the accurate separation, identification, and quantification of the relative abundance of these isotopes. As a result, within a few years, the number of known isotopes both stable and radioactive had greatly increased and there are now over 300 stable or radioisotopes presently known. Unknown at the time, however, was the potential utility of these isotopes within biological disciplines, it was soon discovered that these stable isotopes, particularly those of carbon (¹³C), nitrogen (¹⁵N), oxygen (¹⁸O), and hydrogen (²H) could be chemically introduced into organic compounds, such as fatty acids, amino acids, and sugars, and used to “trace” the metabolic fate of these compounds within biological systems. From this important breakthrough, the age of the isotope tracer was born. Over the following 80 yrs, stable isotopes would become a vital tool in not only the biological sciences, but also areas as diverse as forensics, geology, and art. This progress has been almost exclusively driven through the development of new and innovative mass spectrometry equipment from IRMS to GC‐MS to LC‐MS, which has allowed for the accurate quantitation of isotopic abundance within samples of complex matrices. This historical review details the development of stable isotope tracers as metabolic tools, with particular reference to their use in monitoring protein metabolism, highlighting the unique array of tools that are now available for the investigation of protein metabolism in vivo at a whole body down to a single protein level. Importantly, it will detail how this development has been closely aligned to the technological development within the area of mass spectrometry. Without the dedicated development provided by these mass spectrometrists over the past century, the use of stable isotope tracers within the field of protein metabolism would not be as widely applied as it is today, this relationship will no doubt continue to flourish in the future and stable isotope tracers will maintain their importance as a tool within the biological sciences for many years to come. © 2016 The Authors. Mass Spectrometry Reviews Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev     

Liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry for 13C isotopic analysis in life science research

Among the different disciplines covered by mass spectrometry, measurement of (13)C/(12)C isotopic ratio crosses a large section of disciplines from a tool revealing the origin of compounds to more recent approaches such as metabolomics and proteomics. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and molecular mass spectrometry (MS) are the two most mature techniques for (13)C isotopic analysis of compounds, respectively, for high and low-isotopic precision. For the sample introduction, the coupling of gas chromatography (GC) to either IRMS or MS is state of the art technique for targeted isotopic analysis of volatile analytes. However, liquid chromatography (LC) also needs to be considered as a tool for the sample introduction into IRMS or MS for (13)C isotopic analyses of non-volatile analytes at natural abundance as well as for (13)C-labeled compounds. This review presents the past and the current processes used to perform (13)C isotopic analysis in combination with LC. It gives particular attention to the combination of LC with IRMS which started in the 1990's with the moving wire transport, then subsequently moved to the chemical reaction interface (CRI) and was made commercially available in 2004 with the wet chemical oxidation interface (LC-IRMS). The LC-IRMS method development is also discussed in this review, including the possible approaches for increasing selectivity and efficiency, for example, using a 100% aqueous mobile phase for the LC separation. In addition, applications for measuring (13)C isotopic enrichments using atmospheric pressure LC-MS instruments with a quadrupole, a time-of-flight, and an ion trap analyzer are also discussed as well as a LC-ICPMS using a prototype instrument with two quadrupoles.     

不同城市居民头发中碳、氮稳定同位素比值特征研究

头发中蕴含了个体的饮食情况等信息,不同地区居民饮食习惯不同,其头发中碳（C）、氮（N）稳定同位素比值也具有一定的差异性。本研究采集了华中、华东、华南、西南和西北地区8个城市常住居民的头发样本,利用元素分析仪 稳定同位素比质谱（EA-IRMS）进行C、N稳定同位素比值检测。结果表明：部分城市间居民头发中C、N稳定同位素比值存在显著差异。居民头发δ¹³C与人均蔬菜消费量呈显著负相关,居民头发δ¹⁵N与人均肉类消费量呈显著正相关,鱼类的大量摄入可能会提高居民头发δ¹⁵N值。男性和女性居民头发中C、N稳定同位素比值没有显著性差异,女性居民头发δ¹³C与年龄呈较弱负相关。中国与其他国家居民头发中C、N稳定同位素比值存在差异,这主要是由不同国家居民的饮食习惯不同导致的。     

天然同位素信息在多级质谱裂解规律解析中的应用——以磺胺类化合物为例

为了更好的对多级质谱裂解信息进行解析,本研究在多级质谱中应用同位素峰信息进行分子式确证。使用二级质谱中同位素峰丰度比例和峰形信息,对化合物的质谱裂解碎片分子组成进行预测和推断。通过改变LTQ Orbitrap XL仪器的离子阱参数,将isolation width设为6 u,使目标母离子的最轻同位素峰和两个较重同位素峰共同裂解,报道了在二级质谱中获得目标化合物的同位素信息,并使用这些信息对化合物裂解碎片进行推测。以磺胺甲基嘧啶为例,通过同位素信息提供的丰度比和峰形信息,对主要裂解碎片离子进行解析,大多数结果与文献报道的裂解途径一致,但对于磺胺甲基嘧啶二级质谱中m/z 65的碎片离子,与已发表的文献报道不同,通过高分辨质谱和同位素丰度比的佐证,重新对其进行了解析,证明这是一个不含硫元素的子离子。结果表明,该方法能够有效减少分子式推测过程中产生的错误备选结果,可以为多级质谱的解析提供更准确的依据。     

Stable isotopes in obesity research

Obesity is recognized as a major public health problem. Obesity is a multifactorial disease and is often associated with a wide range of comorbidities including hypertension, non-insulin dependent (Type II) diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease, all of which contribute to morbidity and mortality. This review deals with stable isotope mass spectrometric methods and the application of stable isotopes to metabolic studies of obesity. Body composition and total energy expenditure (TEE) can be measured by mass spectrometry using stable isotope labeled water, and the metabolism of protein, lipid, and carbohydrate can be measured using appropriate labeled tracer molecules.     

PreCon-IRMS测定土壤游离氨基酸态氮稳定同位素丰度

土壤氮大部分为有机氮,大分子类有机氮-蛋白质转化成可溶性氨基酸态氮是土壤氮循环的关键过程和土壤氮素有效性的主要限制因子,其中氨基酸态氮消耗速率在研究土壤肥力、生物机制等方面有着重要的指示作用.本研究建立了一种蒸馏结合化学转化N2 O产生法的氨基酸态氮稳定同位素丰度测定前处理方法,并结合气体预浓缩装置与稳定同位素质谱仪(...     

离线平衡法与GC-IRMS联用测定水中δ18O

水中氧稳定同位素比值（δ¹⁸O）测定在研究地球水圈循环和鉴别食品真实性领域具有重要作用,准确、方便的分析技术是进行上述研究的基础保障。本工作建立了气相色谱-稳定同位素比值质谱（GC-IRMS）联用,离线同位素交换平衡测定水中δ¹⁸O的方法,并考察了进样针记忆效应及稳定性、反应瓶密封性、充气装置稳定性和交换平衡条件对水中δ¹⁸O的影响。该方法所分析的水中δ¹⁸O的标准偏差为0.1‰,相同水样的分析结果与GasBench II-IRMS法具有良好的相关性,目前该技术已获得欧洲同位素分析实验室的认可。     

进样量和信号强度对气相色谱-燃烧-同位素比值质谱测定δ13C和δ15N的影响

采用气相色谱-燃烧-同位素比值质谱（GC-C-IRMS）法对咖啡因化合物和混合体系中特定氨基酸的δ13C和δ15N进行测定,在保证高测定精度和准确度的前提下,探讨GC C IRMS对进样量和信号强度变化的响应特征。分析结果表明,当C质量≥ 1 ng或m/z 44信号≥ 100 mV时,以及N质量≥5 ng或m/z 28信号≥ 100 mV时,咖啡因δ13C和δ15N测定结果的精度（<03‰）和准确度（<02‰）均能够满足实验室测试要求。针对混合体系中氨基酸δ13C和δ15N的测定,GC C IRMS可以在极少的进样量下实现对特定氨基酸色谱峰的有效分离。12种氨基酸δ13C测定结果未表现出对m/z 44信号强度的依赖性（斜率接近0）,其δ13C平均测定精度为056‰;而δ15N测定结果表现出良好的时间稳定性（4天）,与元素分析 稳定同位素比值质谱（EA IRMS）单独测定结果的平均偏差为077‰。     

镉新原子量测定计量学与 MC-ICP-MS测定水稻中的镉含量(英文)

天然镉是与铜矿共生的高挥发性元素 ,含有 8个稳定同位素。测量其同位素丰度的不确定度只能达到 0 .9%～ 4.8%。因此 ,必须按国际理论和应用化联合会原子量和同位素丰度分会 ( IUPACCAWIA)的要求来测定天然丰度镉的新镉原子量。IUPAC CAWIA要求的条件和步骤是采用高真空蒸馏法纯化浓缩镉和天然镉样品 ,测量和计算这些样品中杂质元素的含量 ,用计量学称重法制备同位素混合样品 ,用多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱 ( MC-ICP-MS)和热电离质谱 ( TIMS)测定镉的同位素比值 ,计算镉原子量并评估相关的不确定度。一些国家实验室用 MC-ICP-MS获得了稻米中镉的含量 ,可用作对照的关键参考值是 1 4 .48± 0 .0 87nmol·g- 1。     

阿克苏、连云港和淮安城市居民头发中氢、氧稳定同位素比值差异研究

人类头发中氢、氧稳定同位素比值（δ²H、δ¹⁸O）与其生活的地理位置具有相关性。为考察不同城市常住居民头发中δ²H、δ¹⁸O的差异性,本研究选择了西部的阿克苏和东部沿海的连云港、淮安3个城市常住居民的头发样本为研究对象,利用元素分析仪-稳定同位素比质谱仪（EA-IRMS）进行氢、氧稳定同位素比值检验,采用Bayes算法对检验结果进行判别分析。同时,采用波长扫描光腔衰荡光谱仪对3个城市的居民饮用水进行氢、氧稳定同位素比值检验,分析居民头发与其饮用水中氢、氧稳定同位素比值的相关性。结果表明：阿克苏与连云港、淮安的常住居民头发中氢、氧稳定同位素比值差异显著（P<0.05）;连云港与淮安的差异不显著（P>0.05）。Bayes判别分析结果表明：阿克苏与连云港、淮安的检测结果能够实现较好的区分,而连云港与淮安的区分效果较差;利用δ²H和δ¹⁸O共同作为判别因子的判别准确率高于单独使用δ¹⁸O或δ²H。3个城市常住居民头发与其饮用水中氢、氧稳定同位素比值具有相关性（δ²H：r=0.933;δ¹⁸O：r=0.998）。     

挥发性有机化合物标准样品的碳同位素δ13C测定:以甲酸、乙酸为例

密闭石英管燃烧法制备挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）标准同位素样品时,可有效避免制备过程中因挥发所导致的同位素分馏。以市售高纯度的甲酸、乙酸为标准同位素样品,重复制备它们的同位素分析样各5次,并在Finnigan MAT-252气体同位素比值质谱仪上测定其碳同位素δ¹³C。结果显示此法具有极高的重现性,相对标准偏差分别为0.07% (n=5)、0.04% (n=5)。与之对比,另一套同位素测定系统（气相色谱-燃烧炉-同位素比值质谱,GC/C/IRMS）对同一标准物质的同位素测定结果并无显著差别,但在精度上却明显不及前者。密闭石英管燃烧-气体同位素质谱法的测定误差相对较小,可作为VOCs标准同位素样品的δ¹³C分析方法。     

高粱中氮同位素丰度的测定和应用

为研究不同肥料对高粱中氮稳定同位素丰度的影响,采用稳定同位素质谱法测定高粱中氮同位素比值,并对有机和常规两种农业体系种植的高粱果实进行同位素分析。结果表明：高粱δ¹⁵N值与高粱生长过程中所施的肥料密切相关;施有机肥的高粱δ¹⁵N值普遍高于施化肥的高粱,因此δ¹⁵N值可作为鉴别有机高粱和常规高粱的重要参考要素。该方法可对有机高粱酿造的白酒和其他高粱酿造的白酒进行鉴别和区分,以维护企业和消费者的合法权益。     

Mass spectrometric studies on brain metabolism, using stable isotopes

In fields related to biomedicine, mass spectrometry has been applied to metabolism research and chemical structural analysis. The introduction of stable isotopes has advanced research related to in vivo metabolism. Stable-isotope labeling combined with mass spectrometry appears to be a superior method for the metabolism studies, because it compensates for the shortcomings of conventional techniques that use radioisotopes. Biomolecules labeled with stable isotopes have provided solid evidence of their metabolic pathways. Labeled large molecules, however, cannot homogeneously mix in vivo with the corresponding endogenous pools. To overcome that problem, small tracers labeled with stable isotopes have been applied to in vivo studies because they can diffuse and attain a homogeneous distribution throughout the inter- and intracellular spaces. In particular, D(2)O-labeling methods have been used for studies of the metabolism in different organs, including the brain, which is isolated from other extraneural organs by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Cellular components, such as lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and DNA, can be endogenously and concurrently labeled with deuterium, and their metabolic fluxes examined by mass spectrometry. Application of the D(2)O-labeling method to the measurements of lipid metabolism and membrane turnover in the brain is described, and the potential advantages of this method are discussed in this review. This methodology also appears to have the potential to be applied to dynamic and functional metabolomics.     

稳定同位素比例质谱仪在土壤碳循环研究中的应用

稳定同位素比例质谱仪已发展成为研究土壤碳周转和循环的得力工具。本文简单介绍了稳定同位素比例质谱仪的结构和测量原理,详细介绍了碳稳定同位素技术在土壤有机碳和碳酸盐研究中的应用,包括土壤碳稳定同位素比值在评估土壤有机质的分解和周转速率、重现C_3/C_4植被的变化历史和古气候状况、探讨土壤有机质的来源以及对土壤原生和次生碳酸盐进行区分等研究中的应用。     

土壤铵态氮中氮稳定同位素丰度测定的两种前处理方法比较

为了建立一种更准确、更快速的土壤铵态氮中氮稳定同位素丰度测定的前处理方法,分别采用扩散法和N₂O产生法进行前处理,通过稳定同位素质谱仪（Flash HT-IRMS）和气体预浓缩-稳定同位素质谱仪（PreCon-IRMS）分析了硫酸铵参比溶液和不同类型稻田土壤浸提液铵态氮中氮稳定同位素丰度。结果表明,采用扩散法和N₂O产生法测定硫酸铵参比溶液,均能获得较好的氮同位素分析精度,精密度分别小于0.5%和0.2%。但扩散法前处理过程中存在氮同位素分馏现象,需要通过标准曲线对测试结果进行校正。而对于不同类型稻田土壤浸提液铵态氮中氮稳定同位素丰度的测定,采用N₂O产生法结合PreCon-IRMS的分析方法所获得分析结果的准确度和精密度均优于扩散法结合Flash HT-IRMS的分析方法。另外,改进后的N₂O产生法结合辅助的全自动微量氮转化N₂O发生装置可以实现对土壤浸提液铵态氮的在线批量前处理,分析时间短、样品消耗量少,仅需10 μg的氮量。因此,针对土壤中微量铵态氮中氮稳定同位素丰度测定,采用N₂O产生法结合Precon-IRMS的分析方法比扩散法结合Flash HT-IRMS的分析方法更具有优势。     

铕浓缩同位素全蒸发-1012Ω高阻信号放大器的热电离质谱分析方法

浓缩同位素是校正质谱法、同位素稀释质谱法和双稀释剂法等同位素质谱分析技术的基础,其化学纯度及丰度量值的准确性直接影响着分析结果的准确性。但由于浓缩同位素中低丰度同位素的离子信号较难准确测量,且缺乏合适的标准物质校正,给高精准的同位素丰度分析带来挑战。本文建立了适用于微量铕浓缩同位素样品纯化的锌还原-萃取色层法,纯化后的151 Eu和153 Eu两种浓缩同位素纯度优于99.99%,有效消除了其他稀土元素杂质的干扰。通过采用1012Ω信号放大器的法拉第杯接收样品中的低丰度同位素离子信号,建立了铕浓缩同位素的全蒸发-热电离分析方法。两种浓缩同位素样品的主丰度测量结果分别为151 Eu 0.9683676(11)和153 Eu 0.9876851(21),测量重复性比1011Ω信号放大器的法拉第杯以及文献中校正质谱法的测量结果提高了3倍。     

植物样品中稳定碳同位素的EA-IRMS系统分析方法

通过多组实验对比,分析并讨论了利用元素分析仪-稳定同位素比率质谱仪（EA-IRMS）联用技术测定植物样品中碳同位素比值的实验条件。初步建立了植物样品中稳定碳同位素组成的分析方法,同时对系统分析的稳定性和精密度等进行了检验分析。结果表明：当IRMS真空度为7×10^-8kPa,高压3.0 kV,EA系统Carrier-He载气流量在90～100 mL•min-1,Conflo-He载气压力为80 kPa,氧喷条件为110 mL•min^-1时,使用Cr₂O₃/Co₃O₄作为EA氧化柱氧化剂填料,在严格控制样品残余和本底空白的条件下,植物样品的测定精密度为±0.20‰,测定值与给定值值偏离0.01‰。     

The use of the stable isotope 44Ca in studies of calcium incorporation into dentin

The incorporation into rat incisor dentin of two calcium isotopes, the stable ⁴⁴Ca and the radioactive ⁴⁵Ca, was studied using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) stepscanning and imaging, and autoradiography, respectively. The results demonstrated a time-dependent incorporation of the calcium isotopes into the mineral phase of dentin. With the SIMS step-scanning, detecting ⁴⁴Ca, the ion yield was high in the odontoblasts 2 min after intravenous injection. After 10 min a marked increase in signal intensity was found at the dentin mineralization front. This result was consistent with those obtained by ⁴⁵Ca autoradiography; a peak of incorporation occurred 10 min after injection of the isotope. Likewise, localization of ⁴⁴Ca to the mineralization front could be demonstrated 10 min after injection by SIMS imaging. In images obtained at earlier intervals, no such increase in ion yield could be detected. The results show that the nonradioactive, stable isotope ⁴⁴Ca can be used as a marker for biomineralization in a similar way to radioactive ⁴⁵Ca.     

Protein‐based stable isotope probing (protein‐SIP) in functional metaproteomics

The community phenotype as the sum of molecular functions of organisms living in consortia strongly depends on interactions within these communities. Therefore, the analyses of the most significant molecules in terms of the phenotype, the proteins, have to be performed on samples without disrupting the meta‐species environment. Due to the increasing genomic information, proteins provide insights into a potential molecular function and the phylogenetic structure of the community. Unfortunately, the lists of identified proteins are often based first on the technical capacity of the used methods or instruments, and second on the interpretation of them by the assignment of molecular functions to proteins in databases. Especially in non‐model organisms the functions of many proteins are often not known and an increasing number of studies indicate a significant amount of uncertainty. To decrease the dependency on assumptions and to enable functional insights by metaproteome approaches, the metabolic labeling from an isotopically labeled substrate can be used. Since the metabolites deriving from the substrate are very rarely species‐specific, the incorporation of the stable isotope into proteins can be used as a surrogate marker for metabolic activity. The degree of incorporation can be determined accurately on the peptide level by mass spectrometry; additionally, the peptide sequence provides information on the metabolic active species. Thereby, protein‐stable isotope probing (protein‐SIP) adds functional information to metaproteome approaches. The classical metaproteome approaches will be reviewed with an emphasis on their attempts towards functional interpretation. The gain from functional insights into metaproteomics by using metabolic labeling of stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur is reviewed with a focus on the techniques of measurement, calculation of incorporation and data processing. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 31:683–697, 2012     

气相色谱-高分辨飞行时间质谱法测定大气中六氯苯的氯同位素丰度比值

为了探索用同位素丰度比值指纹表征大气中有机氯污染物降解现象的可行性,采用气相色谱-高分辨飞行时间质谱法（GC-HR-TOF MS）测定天津市工业区(塘沽,汉沽)与远郊区（于桥）大气污染物六氯苯的氯同位素丰度比值（³⁷Cl/³⁵Cl）。实验数据表明,氯同位素丰度比值的测量精度RSD为2‰~5‰;工业区汉沽、塘沽六氯苯的氯同位素丰度比值分别为0.320 7±0.000 8、0.319 3±0.001 6,远郊区于桥的比值为0.323 9±0.000 8;随着污染物浓度的下降（距离污染源渐远）,六氯苯的氯同位素丰度比值有上升的趋势,符合理论预期,这可以归因于六氯苯伴随大气传输过程发生了化学降解现象。本方法可用于大气中有机氯污染物（如六氯苯）的氯同位素丰度比值的测定,并有望用于研究有机氯污染物的降解等环境过程。