Influence of host-guest interactions on analytical performance of direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry

To systematically study the influence of host-guest interactions on the analytical performance of direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS), the interactions between cyclodextrins (CDs) and different Sudan dyes were investigated. The results showed that the host-guest interaction between CDs and Sudan dyes did not affect qualitative analysis of the target compounds, but led to a lower signal intensity for Sudan dyes, thus affecting quantitative analysis of the target compounds. The stronger the host-guest interaction, the weaker the signal intensity of target compound on DART-MS. The results also show that both in solution and in solid-phase microextraction (SPME), the addition of organic solvents can weaken the host-guest interaction between CDs and Sudan dyes, thus improving the signal intensity in DART-MS. In SPME, adding organic solvents has a certain practical value and can improve the efficiency of Sudan dye analysis. This study suggests that appropriate sample pretreatment is needed to weaken noncovalent interactions prior to DART-MS analysis to obtain more accurate quantitative results. The data provide some insight into the effects of other noncovalent interactions on the efficiency of DART-MS as an analytical tool, as well as the potential to study intermolecular interactions with DART-MS.

Automated summary

This study systematically investigated the influence of host-guest interactions on the analytical performance of direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) by studying the interactions between cyclodextrins (CDs) and Sudan dyes. The results showed that the host-guest interaction between CDs and Sudan dyes affected the quantitative analysis of the target compounds by lowering the signal intensity. Furthermore, the addition of organic solvents weakened the host-guest interaction and improved the signal intensity in DART-MS, particularly in solid-phase microextraction (SPME).