Thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry approach for characterization of the volatile fraction from amber specimens: a possibility of tracking geological origins.
Research on the chemical composition of fossil resins has evolved during the last decades as a multidisciplinary field and is strongly oriented toward the correlation with their geological and botanical origin. Various extraction procedures and chromatographic techniques have been used together for identifying the volatile compounds contained in the fossil resin matrix. Hyphenation between thermal desorption (TD), gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry detection (MS) has been chosen to investigate the volatile compounds fraction from ambers with a focus on Romanite (Romanian amber) and Baltic amber species. A data analysis procedure was developed for the main purpose of fingerprinting ambers based on the MS identity of the peaks generated by the volatile fraction, together with their relative percentual area within the chromatogram. Chromatographic data analysis was based entirely on Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution &Identification System (AMDIS) software to produce deconvoluted mass spectra which were used to build-up a mixed mass spectra and relative retention scale library. Multivariate data analysis was further applied on AMDIS results with successful discrimination between Romanite and Baltic ambers. A special trial was conducted to generate pyrolysis "like" macromolecular structure breakdown to volatile compounds by gamma irradiation with a high absorbed dose of 500 kGy. Contrary to our expectations the volatile fraction fingerprints were not modified after irradiation experiments. A complementary non-destructive new approach by ESR spectroscopy was also proposed for discriminating between Romanite and Baltic ambers.
Multipurpose Irradiation Facility-IRASM Department, Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering-IFIN-HH, 407 Atomiştilor Str., Com. Măgurele, P.O. Box MG-6, Ilfov County, 077125 Bucharest, Romania. virgolicimarian@yahoo.com
Marian
M
Vîrgolici
Corneliu
C
Ponta
Mihaela
M
Manea
Daniel
D
Neguţ
Mihalis
M
Cutrubinis
Ioan
I
Moise
Rareş
R
Suvăilă
Eugen
E
Teodor
Costel
C
Sârbu
Andrei
A
Medvedovici
D018647:Amber / Q000737:chemistry*; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D005580:Fossils; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D013696:Temperature; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*
D018647:Amber; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds