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M Vairamani

Publications and source records attributed to M Vairamani.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Ion-pair solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric determination of acidic hydrolysis products of chemical warfare agents from aqueous samples.

The chemical warfare agents (CWA) degrade rapidly in aqueous samples and convert to acidic degradation products. Extraction and identification of the degradation products from complex matrices using simple sample preparation and sensitive detection and identification is the most important step in the off-site analysis of samples. In this present study, we report a simple sample preparation step based on ion-pair (IP) solid-phase extraction (SPE) for the extraction of acidic degradation products of CWA namely methyl, ethyl, propyl phosphonic acids, thiodiglycolic acid and benzilic acid. The analysis was performed on GC-MS in electron impact ionization mode. Three IP reagents triethylamine (TEA), tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were used. The recoveries were estimated using the internal and external standard methods. The recovery of the compounds was almost negligible when TEA was used as IP reagent. The recoveries obtained when TBAB and CTAB were used as IP reagents were high and reproducible. The recovery of test chemicals is above 90%, except for methyl phosphonic acid and ethylphosphonic acid (20.6 +/- 3.2% and 35.8 +/- 2.5%, respectively). The minimum detection limits of the method were calculated for all chemicals in both full scan and selected ion monitoring modes. The test chemicals could be detected in microgram per litre quantities by the IP-SPE method.

Cetrimonium↗
PubMed2006

Characterisation of a series of acetals/ketals of bis(2-nitrophenyl) ethanediol and bis(4,5-dimethoxy-2-nitrophenyl) ethanediol under APCI mass spectrometric conditions.

A series acetals/ketals of aldehydes and ketones formed by the reaction of two photolabile protecting groups, bis(2-nitrophenyl) ethanediol and bis(4,5-dimethoxy-2-nitrophenyl) ethanediol (I and II, respectively), were analysed under EI, LSIMS, ESI and APCI conditions to obtain molecular weights as well as structural information. The EI and LSIMS techniques failed to give molecular weight information. The positive ESI yielded [M + H](+) ions only for I; however, with added Na(+) both I and II formed [M + Na](+) adducts. But upon decomposition, the [M + Na](+) ions yielded Na(+) ion as the only product ion. Similarly, under negative ion ESI conditions both I and II gave molecular weight information by forming adduct ions with halide anions (F(-), Cl(-), Br(-) and I(-)); however, they did not give structural information as they resulted in only the halide anion as the abundant fragment ion upon dissociation. All the compounds formed abundant M(-*) ions under negative ion APCI conditions, and their MS/MS spectra showed characteristic fragment ions; hence the acetals/ketals of I and II could be successfully characterized under negative ion APCI conditions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Mass spectral studies of a series of N,N-dialkyl aminoethyl-2-chlorides and trimethyl silyl ethers of N,N-dialkyl aminoethane-2-ols under electron impact conditions.

The electron impact (EI) mass spectra of a series of N,N-dialkyl-aminoethyl-2-chlorides, N(R(1))(R(2))-CH(2)-CH(2)Cl and trimethylsilyl ethers of N,N-dialkyl aminoethane-2-ols, N(R(1))(R(2))-CH(2)-CH(2)-O-Si(CH(3))(3), where R(1) and R(2) = methyl, ethyl, propyl and isopropyl, which are precursors of VX type of compounds, are studied. All the compounds (1-20) show abundant molecular ions, in addition to a weak [M - H](+) ion, except the N,N-diisopropyl group containing compounds (8 and 18). A general EI fragmentation pattern for the above two series of compounds is discussed. The observed fragment ions are due to simple homolytic cleavages, and they are distinct to allow the identification of the compounds unequivocally including those of isomeric compounds. The primary fragmentation of compounds 1-20 is beta-cleavage, i.e. homolytic cleavage of C-C bond, which is linked to the nitrogen atom. Three types of beta-cleavages are possible for these compounds, in which the abundance of beta-cleavage product ions is found to depend on the size and structure of the alkyl group attached to nitrogen. The alpha-cleavage fragment ions are found only for N,N-dialkyl aminoethyl-2-chlorides but are absent in the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers of N,N-dialkyl aminoethane-2-ols. The retention indices are calculated for all the studied compounds (1-20) and are in the ranges of 750.38-1079.24 for 1-10 and 905.23-1190.25 for 11-20.

Alkanes↗
PubMed2006

Electrospray ionisation mass spectral studies on hydrolysed products of sulfur mustards.

Off-site detection of the hydrolysed products of sulfur mustards in aqueous samples is an important task in the verification of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)-related chemicals. The hydrolysed products of sulfur mustards are studied under positive and negative electrospray ionisation (ESI) conditions using an additive with a view to detecting them at trace levels. In the presence of cations (Li(+), Na(+), K(+) and NH(4) (+)), the positive ion ESI mass spectra of all the compounds include the corresponding cationised species; however, only the [M+NH(4)](+) ions form [M+H](+) ions upon decomposition. The tandem mass (MS/MS) spectra of [M+H](+) ions from all the hydrolysed products of the sulfur mustard homologues were distinct and allowed these compounds to be characterised unambiguously. Similarly, the negative ion ESI mass spectra of all the compounds show prominent adducts with added anions (F(-), Cl(-), Br(-), and I(-)), but the [M-H](-) ion can only be generated by decomposition of an [M+F](-) ion. The MS/MS spectra of the [M-H](-) ions from all the compounds result in a common product ion at m/z 77. A precursor ion scan of m/z 77 is shown to be useful in the rapid screening of these compounds in aqueous samples at trace levels, even in the presence of complex masking agents, without the use of time-consuming sample preparation and chromatography steps. An MS/MS method developed to measure the detection limits of the hydrolysed products of sulfur mustards found these to be in the range of 10-500 ppb.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Generation of regiospecific carbanions under electrospray ionisation conditions and their selectivity in ion-molecule reactions with CO2.

Regiospecific formation of carbanions from a set of geometrical (cis and trans isomers) and five different sets of positional isomers (ortho, meta and para isomers) of aromatic carboxylic acids is reported under negative electrospray ionisation conditions by decarboxylation of the carboxylate anions. The structures of decarboxylated anions, [(M-H)-CO(2)](-), are studied by ion-molecule reactions with carbon dioxide in the collision cell of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The [(M-H)-CO(2)](-) ions generated from the trans and meta/para isomers react with CO(2) to produce product ions corresponding to the addition of one CO(2), which confirms the survival of the [(M-H)-CO(2)](-) ions as carbanions. On the other hand, the [(M-H)-CO(2)](-) ions generated from cis and ortho isomers failed to react with CO(2) due to rapid isomerisation of the initially generated carbanion to a aromatic carboxylate/oxide anion, which is unreactive with CO(2), through a facile intramolecular proton transfer from the proton-containing substituent to the carbanion site. When the experiments were performed at high desolvation temperatures (300 degrees C), instead of 100 degrees C, the relative abundance of [(M-H)-CO(2)](-) ions and the corresponding CO(2) adduct in ion-molecule reaction experiments increased significantly due to minimisation of proton exchange. Quantum chemical calculations on some of the generated isomeric carbanions and their isomerised products due to proton transfer support the selective stability of carbanions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

In situ nucleophilic substitution reaction of N,N-dialkylaminoethyl-2-chlorides monitored by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

The detection and identification of degradation products of scheduled chemicals, which are characteristic markers of Chemical Warfare agents (CWAs), plays a key role in verification analysis. Identification of such non-scheduled but specific markers of CWAs helps in deciphering the kind of agent that was present in the sample submitted for off-site analysis. This paper describes the stability of N,N-dialkylaminoethyl-2-chlorides, which are precursors for highly toxic chemicals like VX, in different solvents. These compounds are stable in chloroform, acetonitrile, hexane and dichloromethane but tend to undergo in situ nucleophilic substitution reaction in the presence of alcohols giving the corresponding alkyl ether. The study shows that N,N-dialkylaminoethyl alkyl ethers can be used as markers of N,N-dialkylaminoethyl-2-chlorides. A detailed degradation study of these compounds in the presence of alcohols was carried out and it was found that the reaction follows pseudo-first order kinetics. Electron ionization mass spectral data for the methyl ethers of all the compounds are briefly discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Generation of alkoxide anions from a series of aliphatic diols and alcohols and their ion-molecule reactions with carbon dioxide in the gas phase.

Alkoxide anions, [M-H](-) from a series of aliphatic diols and alcohols are generated in the source under negative ion electrospray ionisation conditions by cone-voltage fragmentation of the corresponding [M + F](-) ions. The collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra of [M-H](-) ions consist of [M-H-2H](-) ions, in addition to the other characteristic fragment ions, and the relative abundance of [M-H-2H(-) ions among the series of diols varies as a function of chain length that could be explained based on their stabilities through intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The reactivity of alkoxide anions is studied through ion-molecule reactions with CO(2) in the collision cell of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. All the alkoxide anions reacted with CO(2) and formed corresponding carbonate anions, [M-H + CO(2)](-) ions. The reactivity of alkoxide anions within the series of diols also reflected the stability of their [M-H](-) ions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Differentiation of isomeric substituted diaryl ethers by electron ionization and chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

A series of isomeric substituted diaryl ethers, i.e., 2- or 4-NO2, 5- FC6H3OC6H4 (4-R), where R=H, COCH3, COOCH3, NO2, CHO, OCH3 etc., which comprise ortho and para isomers with respect to the position of the nitro group are studied under GC-EI-MS and CI-MS conditions. The EI mass spectra of ortho and para isomers show distinct fragment ions, where the [MOH]+ and [MOHO]+ ions specifically appeared in all spectra of the ortho isomers (I), whereas the para isomers (II) contain [MO]+ and [MNO]+ ions. The [MOHCO]+ and [MOHNO]+ ions in I, and [MNO2]+ ion in II are the other specific fragment ions observed but feasibility of these fragment ions are found to depend on the nature of the substituent (R). The substitution (R) effect is also clearly reflected in the formation of fragment ions due to sigma-cleavage process with or without hydrogen migration. Similar differences in the formation of specific fragment ions are also observed in ortho and para isomers of substituted aryl naphthyl ethers. The methane/CI of isomeric compounds resulted in the same set of fragment ions, but prominent differences are observed in the relative abundance of [MHNO]+, which is relatively higher in para isomers compared with corresponding ortho isomer.

Phenyl Ethers↗
PubMed2005

Amplified fragment length polymorphism and metabolomic profiles of hairy roots of Psoralea corylifolia L.

A reproducible protocol for establishment of hairy root cultures of Psoralea corylifolia L. was developed using Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC 15834. The hairy root clones exhibited typical sigmoid growth curves. Genomic and metabolomic profiles of hairy root clones along with that of untransformed control were analysed. Hairy root clones, Ps I and Ps II, showed significant differences in their amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) profiles as compared to that of control, besides exhibiting Ri T-DNA-specific bands. These results amply indicate the stable integration of Ri T-DNA into the genomes of these clones. Further, the variations observed between clones in the AFLP profiles suggest the variable lengths and independent nature of Ri T-DNA integrations into their genomes. An isoflavonoid, formononetin, and its glycoside were present only in the hairy root clones while they were absent in the untransformed control. Variations observed in the metabolite profiles of these clones may be attributed to the random T-DNA integrations and associated changes caused by them in the recipient genomes. GC/MS analyses revealed the production of three and six clone-specific compounds in Ps I and Ps II, respectively, suggesting that the clones are dissimilar in their secondary metabolism. HPLC/UV-MS analyses disclosed substantial increases in the total isoflavonoids produced in Ps I (184%) and Ps II (94%) compared to untransformed control.

Cell Culture Techniques↗
PubMed2005

Mass spectral analysis of chloropicrin under negative ion chemical ionization conditions.

A chemical ionization (CI) method is developed for the first time to obtain molecular weight information for chloropicrin (CP), which is used as a chemical warfare agent and as an insecticide. The study includes a detailed investigation on the behavior of CP under electron impact (EI) and CI. Reagent gases of different nature, i.e., methane, isobutane, ammonia, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, were used for CI analysis. Negative ion mode is found more sensitive than positive ion mode for the EI/CI mass spectrometric analysis of CP, but none of the methods provided molecular weight information, except negative ion CI using ammonia as the reagent gas (NICI (NH3)). The NICI (NH3) showed formation of the quasi-molecular ion, [M + H]-, in addition to other adduct ions. The [M + H]- abundance critically depends on the source temperature, reagent gas pressure, and concentration of the analyte, and it can be 13% under optimized conditions by which CP can be confirmed unambiguously. This method meets the criteria used in official proficiency tests conducted by OPCW for confirming the molecular weight of the unknowns.

Chemical Warfare Agents↗
PubMed2005

Dissociation of gas-phase dimeric complexes of lactic acid and transition-metal ions formed under electrospray ionization conditions; the role of reduction of the metal ion.

Dimeric complex ions of the type [M(A-H)A]+, where M=metal ion (Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) and A=ligand (lactic acid, methyl lactate or ethyl lactate), were generated in the gas phase under electrospray ionization conditions. The collision-induced dissociation spectra of [M(A-H)A]+ ions were recorded to study the behaviour of ligand and metal ions in decomposition of these dimeric complex ions. Based on the fragmentation pathways observed for complex ions of lactic acid, it is found that both the carboxylic and hydroxyl groups of lactic acid are involved in the complex formation following displacement of a proton by the metal ion. The dimeric complex ions of Co, Ni, and Zn dissociated to yield similar types of ions, whereas that of Cu behaved differently. The dissociations of Co-, Ni-, and Zn-bound dimeric complexes involved losses of neutral molecules while keeping the oxidation state of the metal ion unchanged. However, elimination of radicals is found in the dissociation of dimeric complex ions of Cu, and the oxidation state of copper is reduced from Cu(II) to Cu(I) in the resulting fragment ions. The deprotonated ligand is involved in the fragmentation pathway of Cu complexes, whereas it is intact in other complexes. The oxidation state of the metal ion, nature of the ligand, and site of attachment to the metal ion are found to control the dissociation of these dimeric complex ions.

Dimerization↗
PubMed2005

Electrospray ionization studies of transition-metal complexes of 2-acetylbenzimidazolethiosemicarbazone using collision-induced dissociation and ion-molecule reactions.

The complexes of transition-metal ions (M2+, where M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Hg) with 2-acetylbenzimidazolethiosemicarbazone (L) are studied under electrospray ionization (ESI) conditions. The ESI mass spectra of Fe and Co complexes showed the complex ions corresponding to [M+2L-2H]+, and those of Ni and Zn complexes showed [M+2L-H]+ ions, wherein the metal/ligand ratio is 1:2 and the oxidation state of the central metal ion is +3 in the case of Fe and Co and +2 in the case of Ni and Zn. The Cd and Cu complexes showed preferentially 1:1 complex ions, i.e., [M+L-H]+ or [M+L+Cl]+, whereas Hg formed both 1:1 and 1:2 complex ions. During formation of the above complex ions one or two ligands are deprotonated after keto-enol tautomerism, depending on the nature and oxidation state of central metal ion. The structures and coordination numbers of the metal ions in the complex ions were studied by their collision-induced dissociation spectra and ion-molecule reactions with acetonitrile or propylamine in the collision cell. Based on these results it is concluded that Fe, Co, Ni and Zn form stable octahedral complexes, whereas tetrahedral or square planar complexes are formed preferentially for other metals. In addition, the Cu complex showed a [2L+2Cu-3H]+ ion with a Cu-Cu bond.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Differentiation of underivatized diastereomeric hexosamine monosaccharides and their quantification in a mixture using the kinetic method under electrospray ionization conditions.

A simple method to differentiate underivatized diastereomeric hexosamine monosaccharides, glucosamine, galactosamine, and mannosamine is reported by applying the kinetic method using N-acetylhexosamines or naturally occurring amino acids as reference bases under electrospray ionization conditions. The observed differences to distinguish the diastereomeric hexosamines are found mainly due to the proton affinity (PA) differences between the analyte and the reference base. The PA values of the hexosamines are not available in the literature, and hence, we estimated them by the kinetic method using N-acetylhexosamines as reference bases. The determined PA values are 223.97 kcal/mol for glucosamine, 224.99 kcal/mol for mannosamine, and 224.71 kcal/mol for galactosamine. The similar PA values were also obtained by using amino acids as reference bases. We have applied the same methodology to quantify these hexosamines in a mixture following the three-point calibration method suggested in the literature.

Calibration↗
PubMed2004

Trace level detection and identification of chemicals related to the chemical weapons convention from complex organic samples.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method involving selective usage of solvents has been developed for trace level identification of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) present in a complex organic background. The total ion chromatograms obtained from direct gas chromatography-electron ionization mass spectrometric analysis of samples spiked with CWAs in the presence of diesel are very complex and dominated by hydrocarbon peaks and the same after treatment with SPE show distinct peaks corresponding to spiked chemicals. The recovery of samples from SPE is found to be 70-85% at the 10 ppm level.

Chemical Warfare Agents↗
PubMed2004

Removal of lead from aqueous solutions using an immobilized biomaterial derived from a plant biomass.

Because of the severity of heavy metal contamination and potential adverse health impact on the public, a tremendous effort has taken place to purify waters containing toxic metal ions. Traditional methods which have been employed prove to be costly and prohibitive for low level waste remediation. Biosorption is presented as an alternative to traditional physicochemical means for removing toxic metals from ground and wastewaters. Most recently, plant based biomaterials have been of interest. The bark of Hemidesmus indicus, an extensively available plant biomass commonly called as Indian sarsaparilla was used as biomaterial for removal of lead from aqueous streams. Batch experiments were carried out with immobilized biomass of H. indicus (IPBFIX) to optimize the experimental parameters like effect of contact time, initial metal concentration, initial IPBFIX concentration and co-metal ion effect on biosorption of lead from contaminated waters. Column experiments were performed under flow conditions for regeneration and recycle efficiency of IPBFIX and was found to be effective for three cycles. Elution experiments were carried out to remove lead ions from loaded IPBFIX and 100% elution was achieved with a 0.1M HNO(3) solution. The effectiveness of the IPBFIX for biosorption of lead ions was demonstrated using the wastewater samples emanating from a non-ferrous metal industry and the results are presented in this paper. The results from these studies will be useful for a novel phytofiltration technology to remove and recover lead from wastewaters and this can also be well adapted for secondary treatment or polishing of wastewaters. An attempt has been made to remove lead from the lead polluted waters (both ground and surface) from an industrially contaminated sites.

Adsorption↗