ENANTIOMERIC DISTRIBUTION OF TERPENOIDS IN ESSENTIAL OIL OF AMAZONIAN AROMATIC PLANTS BY TRAVELING WAVE ION MOBILITY - MASS SPECTROMETRY

• Grant number: 12/07472-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: January 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Nogueira Eberlin
• Grantee: Carlos Henrique de Vasconcelos Fidelis
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Traveling Wave Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry (TWIM-MS) is a modern and powerful analytical tool for the characterization of complex samples. While mass spectrometry measures primarily the ratio of mass/charge (m/z) ions, TWIM adds a new dimension to the data providing for each value of m/z a drift of time spectrum, separating the ions in the order of milliseconds, by their cross sections. This technique has been widely used in structural determinations of various classes of compounds in different matrices. However, the versatility and separation power of TWIM-MS has not been used in studies of essential oils (EO). In this project we propose a method for using TWIM-MS to analyze the enantiomeric distribution of linalool in three species of aromatic plants (Aniba rosaeodora, Aniba parviflora and Aniba spp) of economic value and environmental impact. Aniba rosaeodora is an endangered species. Those three species contains linalool in the chemical composition of essential oil which gives them unique fragrance. Obtaining the EO of these species from the leaves is an alternative not only economical, but environmentally sustainable. The ratios between the optical isomers vary with a number of factors, including species, plant organ and age of trees from which the oil is extracted, and climatic and seasonal factors. Within this context, we will study the composition of EO terpenes from Amazonian species, mainly linalool, concerning the enantiomeric distribution and detailed correlation of this with organoleptic characteristics and eventually biological activity.