Supercritical fluid extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array-electrochemical detection of signature redox compounds from sand and soil samples.
A supercritical fluid extraction procedure and a chromatographic separation/detection method were developed for the detection of Earth-based microorganisms. After microbes in a sand or a soil sample were hydrolyzed in a diluted NH(4)OH/acetone solution, several redox compounds from bacteria could be effectively extracted with trimethylamine-modified supercritical CO(2) at 35 degrees C and 300 atm. These signature redox-active compounds were separated by a reversed-phase HPLC column in an ion-pair mode and then monitored with a diode array detector and an electrochemical detector. The analytical results demonstrated the feasibility of using the reported techniques to detect the chemical signature of life in barren desert sand samples.
Lang
Qingyong
Q
Department of Chemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844, USA.
Cheng
I Francis
IF
Wai
Chien M
CM
Paszczynski
Andrzej
A
Crawford
Ronald L
RL
Barnes
Bruce
B
Anderson
Tony J
TJ
Wells
Richard
R
Corti
Giancarlo
G
Allenbach
Lisa
L
Erwin
Daniel P
DP
Assefi
Touraj
T
Mojarradi
Mohammad
M
D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D025924:Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D005486:Flavin Mononucleotide / Q000032:analysis; D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide / Q000032:analysis; D006427:Hemin / Q000032:analysis; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D012256:Riboflavin / Q000032:analysis*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000032:analysis
D012987:Soil; D014451:Ubiquinone; D005182:Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide; D006427:Hemin; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D005486:Flavin Mononucleotide; D012256:Riboflavin