Marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an extremely complex mixture of organic compounds that plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. In the Arctic, climate change accelerates the release of terrestrial organic carbon. Since chemical information is the only way to track DOM sources and fate, it is essential to improve analytical and data science approaches to assess the DOM composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMarine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is one of Earth's largest long-term carbon reservoirs, critical to the global carbon cycle. A key breakthrough in understanding this pool is the identification of biorefractory carboxyl-rich alicyclic molecules (CRAM). Recent studies have challenged the biorecalcitrance of CRAM but lacked detailed molecular evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
July 2025
The complex composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) has been extensively studied by modern high-resolution analytical methods. However, DOM reactivity is still enigmatic due to a lack of experimental data with sufficiently high temporal resolution to resolve the intrinsic dynamics within DOM. Likewise, extensive isomeric overlap prevents studying transformation of DOM components with respect to their chemical properties, e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent environmental pollutants with many unknown variants, posing potential ecosystem and human health risks. To comprehensively assess PFAS contamination and overcome the challenge of unknown PFAS identification, we combined Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) and liquid chromatography─quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF MS) to identify novel and PFAS in archived bream liver samples collected in Germany between 1996 and 2020. By leveraging the ultrahigh resolution and mass accuracy of FT-ICR MS, we generated a mass list for cross-comparison with common precursor ion features from LC-QTOF MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater Res
April 2025
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) present in surface aquatic systems is a heterogeneous mixture of organic compounds reflecting its allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter (OM) sources. The composition of DOM is determined by environmental factors like land use, water chemistry, and climate, which influence its release, movement, and turnover in the ecosystem. However, studying the impact of these environmental factors on DOM composition is challenging due to the dynamic nature of the system and the complex interactions of multiple environmental factors involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWastewater ozonation is commonly employed to enhance the subsequent biodegradation of effluent organic matter (EfOM) and contaminants of concern. However, there is evidence suggesting the formation of recalcitrant ozonation products (OPs) from EfOM. To investigate the biodegradability of OPs we conducted batch biodegradation experiments using wastewater effluent ozonated with mass-labeled (O) ozone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe hydrogen and carbon isotope fractionation factor (εH, εC) of dimethyl-, diethyl‑ and dibutyl phthalic acid ester during photosensitized degradation by artificial sunlight with Fe(III) ions and iron minerals (hematite, goethite and magnetite) in aqueous solution were examined by compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) in order to analyze the degradation mechanism. Hematite does not catalyze photosensitized degradation of phthalates. The correlation of H and C isotope fractionation (Λ = ΔδH/ΔδC) of phthalates with increasing chain length (dimethyl-; diethyl‑; and dibutyl-) were compared with values of the ∙OH radical model reaction with the aromatic ring as well as acidic and alkaline hydrolysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAquaculture is a climate-relevant source of greenhouse gases like methane. Methane emissions depend on various parameters, with organic matter playing a crucial role. Nevertheless, little is known about the composition of organic matter in aquaculture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
July 2024
A growing number of studies have reported that routinely monitored per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are not sufficient to explain the extractable organic fluorine (EOF) measured in human blood. In this study, we address this gap by screening pooled human serum collected over 3 decades (1986-2015) in Tromsø (Norway) for >5000 PFAS and >300 fluorinated pharmaceuticals. We combined multiple analytical techniques (direct infusion Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-Orbitrap-high-resolution mass spectrometry, and total oxidizable precursors assay) in a three-step suspect screening process which aimed at unequivocal suspect identification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUltrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (UHRMS) routinely detects and identifies thousands of mass peaks in complex mixtures, such as natural organic matter (NOM) and petroleum. The assignment of several chemically plausible molecular formulas (MFs) for a single accurate mass still poses a major problem for the reliable interpretation of NOM composition in a biogeochemical context. Applying sensible chemical rules for MF validation is often insufficient to eliminate multiple assignments (MultiAs)─especially for mass peaks with low abundance or if ample heteroatoms or isotopes are included - and requires manual inspection or expert judgment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUltrahigh resolution mass spectrometry hyphenated with liquid chromatography (LC) is an emerging tool to explore the isomeric composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM). However, matrix effects limit the potential for semi-quantitative comparison of DOM molecule abundances across samples. We introduce a post-column infused internal standard (PCI-IS) for reversed-phase LC-FT-ICR MS measurements of DOM and systematically evaluate matrix effects, detector linearity and the precision of mass peak intensities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Ecotechnol
September 2024
Environ Sci Technol
March 2024
Marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important component of the global carbon cycle, yet its intricate composition and the sea salt matrix pose major challenges for chemical analysis. We introduce a direct injection, reversed-phase liquid chromatography ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry approach to analyze marine DOM without the need for solid-phase extraction. Effective separation of salt and DOM is achieved with a large chromatographic column and an extended isocratic aqueous step.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
November 2023
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a complex mixture of thousands of natural molecules that undergo constant transformation in the environment, such as sunlight induced photochemical reactions. Despite molecular level resolution from ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (UHRMS), trends of mass peak intensities are currently the only way to follow photochemically induced molecular changes in DOM. Many real-world relationships and temporal processes can be intuitively modeled using graph data structures (networks).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs ozonation becomes a widespread treatment for removal of chemicals of emerging concern from wastewater treatment plant effluents, there are increasing concerns regarding the formation of ozonation products (OPs), and their possible impacts on the aquatic environment and eventually human health. In this study, a novel method was developed that utilizes heavy oxygen (O) for the production of heavy ozone ([O]O, [O]O, [O]) to actively label OPs from oxygen transfer reactions. To establish and validate this new approach, venlafaxine with a well-described oxygen transfer reaction (tertiary amine -> N-oxide) was chosen as a model compound.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater Res
April 2023
The molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is of relevance for global carbon cycling and important for drinking water processing also. The detection of variation of DOM composition as function of time and space from a methodological viewpoint is essential to observe DOM processing and was addressed so far. High resolution concerning DOM quality was achieved with Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRoot exudation is a major pathway of organic carbon input into soils. It affects soil physical properties, element solubility as well as speciation, and impacts the microbial community in the rhizosphere. Root exudates contain a large number of primary and secondary plant metabolites, and the amount and composition are highly variable depending on plant species and developmental stage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite effluent organic matter (EfOM) being a major consumer of ozone during wastewater treatment, little is known about ozonation byproducts (OBPs) produced from EfOM. To unambiguously identify OBPs, heavy ozone was used to ozonate EfOM, resulting in O labeled and unlabeled OBPs. Labeled OBPs mostly represent a single O transfer and were classified as either direct or indirect OBPs based on the O/O intensity ratios of the isotopologues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancers (Basel)
September 2022
Salivary gland carcinomas (SGC) are a heterogeneous group of tumors. The prognosis varies strongly according to its type, and even the distinction between benign and malign tumor is challenging. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCy) is one subgroup of SGCs that is prone to late metastasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural organic matter (NOM) components measured with ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (UHRMS) are often assessed by molecular formula-based indices, particularly related to their aromaticity, which are further used as proxies to explain biogeochemical reactivity. An aromaticity index (AI) is calculated mostly with respect to carboxylic groups abundant in NOM. Here, we propose a new constrained AI based on the measured distribution of carboxylic groups among individual NOM components obtained by deuteromethylation and UHRMS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
February 2022
Sorption of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is one major pathway in the formation of mineral-associated organic matter (MOM), but there is little information on how previous sorption events feedback to later ones by leaving their imprint on mineral surfaces and solutions ("legacy effect"). In order to conceptualize the role of legacy effects in MOM formation, we conducted sequential sorption experiments with kaolinite and gibbsite as minerals and DOM derived from forest floor materials. The MOM formation efficiency leveled off upon repeated addition of identical DOM solutions to minerals due to the retention of highly sorptive organic molecules (primarily aromatic, nitrogen-poor, hydrogen-poor, and oxygen-rich molecules), which decreased the sorption site availability and simultaneously modified the mineral surface charge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
February 2022
Effluent organic matter (EfOM), a major ozone consumer during wastewater ozonation, is a complex mixture of natural and anthropogenic organic molecules. Ozonation of EfOM adds to molecular complexity by introducing polar and potentially mobile ozonation byproducts (OBPs). Currently, nontargeted direct infusion (DI) ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF