Focusing on Volatile Organic Compounds of Natural Resins by Selected-Ion Flow Tube-Mass Spectrometry

J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2022 Aug 3;33(8):1465-1473. doi: 10.1021/jasms.2c00042. Epub 2022 Jun 28.

Abstract

The analysis of archeological artifacts, due to the high value of antique objects, is preferably performed by nondestructive, noninvasive, and in situ techniques. At present, the most common in situ protocols used for the analysis of organic materials are spectroscopic approaches. In this work, we tested selected-ion flow tube-mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS), a transportable mass spectrometry system for the characterization and discrimination of natural resins by the analysis of their volatile organic compounds profiles. We chose diterpenoid, triterpenoid, and aromatic resins as reference materials, focusing on the most identified in archeological artifacts. This work aims to create a SIFT-MS database of mass spectra suitable for characterizing archeological samples. The spectral data obtained by SIFT-MS were interpreted with the aid of chromatograms and mass spectra obtained by head space-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS). Finally, principal components analysis (PCA) was used to further underline the differences among the different materials and to investigate the possibility of discriminating different classes of resins based on their SIFT spectra.

MeSH terms

  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis
  • Volatile Organic Compounds* / chemistry

Substances

  • Volatile Organic Compounds