This week’s Mass Spec News
Jannik Sinner’s doping scandal explored by Douwe de Boer, enhancing gene therapeutics, learning about crude oil dynamics and more…
| 2 min read | News
Essential Reading
Crude Oil Dynamics
How does weathering impact crude oil contaminants on land?
Researchers at the US Naval Research Laboratory have used high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry to reveal compositional changes in aromatic hydrocarbons in weathered crude oil – specifically in non-aqueous environments. The study identified 12 distinct homologous ion series (HIS) in the non-weathered crude oil, which showed varying degrees of susceptibility to weathering.
"Despite the accidental rise of oil spilled onto landmasses, less research has been dedicated to evaluating the compositional changes/fate of oil prior to its introduction into bodies of water," said lead author Mark Romanczyk in a press release.
You can read a full writeup of the story here.
The Analytical Scientist Presents:
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Worth Your Time...
Luka Rodda and colleagues introduce a new streamlined LC-MS/MS method that consolidates drug-facilitated crime, postmortem, and DUID testing – detecting 57 drugs/metabolites in six minutes. Link
Cyclic IMS-MS could enhance the characterization of therapeutics for gene expression regulation – after successfully analyzing diastereomers in modified oligonucleotides without enzymatic digestion. Link
An in vitro culture of Digitalis purpurea successfully induces bioactive compound production, including flavonoids and steroids – through GC-MS and UPLC-MS analyses – enabling drug discovery without harming natural populations. Link
Researchers quantify BTEXs and chlorobenzenes in goat’s milk, demonstrating high sensitivity and recovery rates with their green HS-SPME-GC-MS/MS approach. Link
Osilodrostat and its metabolite M1c are detectable in horse urine for up to two weeks, enhancing doping control, say researchers employing LC/ESI-HRMS. Link
Community Corner
Speaking of doping control…
In March 2024, world number one – and as of last Sunday, 2024 US Open champion – tennis player Jannik Sinner failed two anti-doping tests due to the presence of clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid. Clostebol metabolites are identified in urine samples using LC-MS/MS at extremely low levels, but distinguishing between intentional and accidental use based solely on these results is impossible.
An independent tribunal cleared Sinner of fault, but the case highlighted the limitations of current anti-doping methods. And that’s why expert Douwe de Boer weighed in with his view:
"Our profession can provide sophisticated solutions for analytical questions, but the lack of transparency in these rulings cannot be solved through analytical means alone," he states.
