title: Isotope dilution mass spectrometry for the quantification of sulfane sulfurs.
abstract: Sulfane sulfurs are one type of important reactive sulfur species. These molecules have unique reactivity that allows them to attach reversibly to other sulfur atoms and exhibit regulatory effects in diverse biological systems. Recent studies have suggested that sulfane sulfurs are involved in signal transduction processes regulated by hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Accurate and reliable measurements of sulfane sulfurs in biological samples are thus needed to reveal their production and mechanisms of actions. Herein we report a convenient and accurate method for the determination of sulfane sulfur concentrations. The method employs a triphenylphosphine derivative (P2) to capture sulfane sulfurs as a stable phosphine sulfide product, PS2. The concentration of PS2 was then determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry, using a (13)C3-labeled phosphine sulfide, PS1, as the internal standard. The specificity and efficiency of the method were proven by model reactions. It was also applied to the measurement of sulfane sulfurs in mouse tissues including brain, kidney, lung, liver, heart, spleen, and blood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Research Institute of Science and Technology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.
authors.forename: Chunrong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
authors.forename: Faya
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive Biology, Molecular Biology and Genomics Core, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Munske
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA. Electronic address: mxian@wsu.edu.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000737:chemistry*; D007553:Isotope Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010720:Phosphines / Q000737:chemistry*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D013457:Sulfur Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D010720:Phosphines; D013457:Sulfur Compounds; C044646:phosphine; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide
keywords: Free radicals; Isotope dilution assay; Mass; Reactive sulfur species; Sulfane sulfur