Disposable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-Coated Fused Silica Optical Fibers for Sampling Pheromones of Moths

PLoS One. 2016 Aug 17;11(8):e0161138. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161138. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

In the past decades, the sex pheromone composition in female moths has been analyzed by different methods, ranging from volatile collections to gland extractions, which all have some disadvantage: volatile collections can generally only be conducted on (small) groups of females to detect the minor pheromone compounds, whereas gland extractions are destructive. Direct-contact SPME overcomes some of these disadvantages, but is expensive, the SPME fiber coating can be damaged due to repeated usage, and samples need to be analyzed relatively quickly after sampling. In this study, we assessed the suitability of cheap and disposable fused silica optical fibers coated with 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by sampling the pheromone of two noctuid moths, Heliothis virescens and Heliothis subflexa. By rubbing the disposable PDMS fibers over the pheromone glands of females that had called for at least 15 minutes and subsequently extracting the PDMS fibers in hexane, we collected all known pheromone compounds, and we found a strong positive correlation for most pheromone compounds between the disposable PDMS fiber rubs and the corresponding gland extracts of the same females. When comparing this method to volatile collections and the corresponding gland extracts, we generally found comparable percentages between the three techniques, with some differences that likely stem from the chemical properties of the individual pheromone compounds. Hexane extraction of cheap, disposable, PDMS coated fused silica optical fibers allows for sampling large quantities of individual females in a short time, eliminates the need for immediate sample analysis, and enables to use the same sample for multiple chemical analyses.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromatography, Gas
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes / chemistry*
  • Female
  • Moths / physiology*
  • Optical Fibers
  • Sex Attractants / analysis*
  • Sex Attractants / chemistry*
  • Silicon Dioxide

Substances

  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes
  • Sex Attractants
  • baysilon
  • Silicon Dioxide

Grants and funding

This project is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research NWO-ALW (www.nwo.nl/alw) under award no. 822.01.012, and the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov) under award no. IOS-1052238 and IOS-1456973. The grants were awarded to ATG. The funders did not play any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.