Discovering Nature’s Fingerprints: Isotope Ratio Analysis on Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometers
2023
Neubauer, Cajetan | Kantnerová, Kristýna | Lamothe, Alexis | Savarino, Joël | Hilkert, Andreas | Juchelka, Dieter | Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe | Elvert, Marcus | Heuer, Verena | Elsner, Martin | Bakkour, Rani | Julien, Maxime | Öztoprak, Merve | Schouten, Stefan | Hattori, Shohei | Dittmar, Thorsten | Institute of Arctic Alpine Research [University of Colorado Boulder] (INSTAAR) ; University of Colorado [Boulder] | Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP ) ; Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH | Center for Marine Environmental Sciences [Bremen] (MARUM) ; Universität Bremen | Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich | GFZ, German Research Center for Geosciences | GFZ, German Research Center for Geosciences, Potsdam | Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) | School of Earth Sciences and Engineering ; Nanjing University (NJU) | Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) ; University of Oldenburg | European Project: 101054558,ERC-2021-ADG Doc-Past
For a generation or more, the mass spectrometry that developed at the frontier of molecular biology was worlds apart from isotope ratio mass spectrometry, a label-free approach done on optimized gas-source magnetic sector instruments. Recent studies show that electrospray-ionization Orbitraps and other mass spectrometers widely used in the life sciences can be fine-tuned for high-precision isotope ratio analysis. Since isotope patterns form everywhere in nature based on well-understood principles, intramolecular isotope measurements allow unique insights into a fascinating range of research topics. This Perspective introduces a wider readership to current topics in stable isotope research with the aim of discussing how soft-ionization mass spectrometry coupled with ultrahigh mass resolution can enable long-envisioned progress. We highlight novel prospects of observing isotopes in intact polar compounds and speculate on future directions of this adventure into the overlapping realms of biology, chemistry, and geology.
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