Molar Basis Research Articles

Increasing the Selectivity for Sulfur Formation in Biological Gas Desulfurization.

In the biotechnological desulfurization process under haloalkaline conditions, dihydrogen sulfide (H2S) is removed from sour gas and oxidized to elemental sulfur (S8) by sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. Besides S8, the byproducts sulfate (SO42–) and thiosulfate (S2O32–) are formed, which consume caustic and form a waste stream. The aim of this study was to increase selectivity toward S8 by a new process line-up for biological gas desulfurization, applying two bioreactors with different substrate conditions (i.e., sulfidic and microaerophilic), instead of one (i.e., microaerophilic). A 111-day continuous test, mimicking full scale operation, demonstrated that S8 formation was 96.6% on a molar H2S supply basis; selectivity for SO42– and S2O32– were 1.4 and 2.0% respectively. The selectivity for S8 formation in a control experiment with the conventional 1-bioreactor line-up was 75.6 mol %. At start-up, the new process line-up immediately achieved lower SO42– and S2O32– formations compared to the 1-bioreactor line-up. When the microbial community adapted over time, it was observed that SO42– formation further decreased. In addition, chemical formation of S2O32– was reduced due to biologically mediated removal of sulfide from the process solution in the anaerobic bioreactor. The increased selectivity for S8 formation will result in 90% reduction in caustic consumption and waste stream formation compared to the 1-bioreactor line-up.

Estimating direct CO2 and CO emission factors for industrial rare earth metal electrolysis

Rare earth (RE) metals are now being widely applied in new material industries with rapidly increasing production. However, there is limited research on greenhouse gas emission factors from RE metals production by electrolysis and currently no method exists to account for this industry’s CO2 emissions in the ‘2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories’. This study employed two independent methods to determine direct carbon emission factors for industrial rare earth metals production by molten-salt electrolysis: continuous emissions monitoring by FTIR and time-integrated sampling with offline lab analysis, both measuring CO2 and CO concentrations in the exhaust gases from Pr-Nd, Dy-Fe and La potlines in three companies in China. The study confirmed that CO2 contributes >97% of the total carbon emission factor. Direct carbon emissions per tonne RE metal electrolysis is equivalent to one tenth to a half of the emission factor for aluminum production (due to much lighter molar mass of Al) but is similar on a mole basis (carbon emissions per mole metal). Emission factors vary with the type of rare earth metal or alloy produced and from one facility to another, ranging from 165.0 to 672.4 kg/t-RE metal for CO2, 3.00 to 8.23 kg/t-RE metal for CO and 46.4 to 186.8 kg/t-RE metal for total carbon. Direct CO2 and CO emission factors from the two exhaust gas monitoring methods agreed well considering the uncertainties.

Cross-reactivity of commercial and non-commercial deoxynivalenol-antibodies to emerging trichothecenes and common deoxynivalenol-derivatives

Immunoassay based techniques are an important and fast option for the detection and quantification of mycotoxins. They are frequently used as on-site screening tools in grain elevators, storage and production facilities. However, accurate quantification may be hampered by the co-recognition of structurally related metabolites by the used antibodies. Therefore, it is crucial to assess their cross-reactivity to avoid misinterpretation of the results. Several immunoassays for the determination of deoxynivalenol (DON) are commercially available. Recently, novel trichothecene mycotoxins with structures similar to DON, the NX-toxins (NX-2, NX-3 and NX-4), were discovered, which can potentially co-occur with DON in cereals. So far, no data about the cross-reactivity of those toxins with DON-antibodies are available. The aim of this study was to assess the cross-reactivities of NX-toxins and some other DON-related metabolites with DON-antibodies in buffer solutions. Six commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and two previously developed DON-antibodies (Mab#1 and Mab#22) were tested. Cross-reactivity with NX-metabolites was not observed for any of the ELISA-kits nor Mab#22, whereas Mab#1 reacted moderately against NX-3 and NX-4 (cross-reactivity based on a molar basis of 14 and 30%, respectively). Modifications at position C-3 (3-acetyl-DON and DON-3-glucoside) led to moderate or high cross-reactivity with Mab#22 and the commercial ELISA-kits, whereas these compounds were not recognised by Mab#1. Similar to NX-metabolites, 15-acetyl-DON interacted only weakly with Mab#22 and the commercial ELISA-kits, but strongly with Mab#1. The results demonstrate the importance of proper antibody characterisation. If NX-metabolites prove to be widely distributed and reach significant levels, the development of specific antibodies targeting these novel metabolites might become necessary.

Effect of TiO2 nanoshape on the photoproduction of hydrogen from water-ethanol mixtures over Au3Cu/TiO2 prepared with preformed Au-Cu alloy nanoparticles

A series of TiO2 nanoshapes (microurchins, nanobelts, nanowires, microrods and nanotubes) were prepared and decorated with preformed nanoparticles of Au-Cu alloy (Au:Cu = 3:1 molar, 1 wt.% metal content). The resulting photocatalysts were tested for the photogeneration of hydrogen using water-ethanol gaseous mixtures (H2O:EtOH = 1:9 molar basis) under dynamic conditions (26,000 h−1) and compared with a conventional sample prepared using P25. The use of preformed nanoparticles of Au-Cu alloy with the same geometric and electronic characteristics ensured a proper assessment of the influence of the different TiO2 supports on the photoproduction of hydrogen by providing a similar number and quality of metal-support contact points. The yield of hydrogen produced on a weight basis over the Au3Cu/TiO2 samples followed the trend microrods ∼P25 > >nanotubes > nanowires > nanobelts > microurchins. A stable hydrogen photogeneration rate of ca. 270 μmol H2 g−1 min−1 was obtained over titania microrods decorated with Au3Cu whereas the photogeneration of hydrogen over P25 decorated with Au3Cu decreased progressively over time on stream.

Hydrogenotrophic biogas upgrading integrated into WWTPs: enrichment strategy.

Within the European circular economy roadmap, it is important for wastewater treatment plant (WWTPs) to recover energy and become energy-neutral or -positive. In the last few years, it has become increasingly interesting to boost energy recovery through the biogas upgrading. The aim of this work is to study a rapid hydrogenotrophic methanogenic culture enrichment strategy capable of limiting the organic degradation unbalance and allowing a fast start-up phase of the in situ biogas upgrading reactors, at pilot- or full-scale. The approach was tested with two, plus one control, laboratory-scale continuous stirred tank reactors filled with anaerobic sludge collected from a full-scale WWTP. The experimentation lasted 50 days and was divided into five phases: the anaerobic digestion start-up followed by four H2 injection phases (H2/CO2 ranging from 1:1 to 4:1 on molar basis). Despite a temporary slight increase in the total concentration of volatile fatty acids during phase II (2.56 gCH3COOH·L-1), and in phase III a mild pH increase (anyway, below 7.4) indicating the expected CO2 depletion, the strategy proposed was effective. In the last phase, in the biogas a methane content of about 80% was achieved, thus suggesting that the use of H2/CO2 above the stoichiometric value could further improve the biological biogas upgrading.

Systematic dependence of kinetic and thermodynamic barriers to homogeneous silica nucleation on NaCl and amino acids

Abstract

Clean Synthesis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural and Levulinic Acid by Aqueous Phase Conversion of Levoglucosenone over Solid Acid Catalysts

Levoglucosenone (LGO) is an emerging biorenewable platform for the fine and commodity chemical industries. Herein, we report an aqueous phase conversion of LGO to 5-hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF) and levulinic acid (LA) over solid acid catalyst. Several types of solid acid catalysts such as zeolites, strongly acidic ion-exchange resin, and sulfonated activated carbon were investigated for this reaction. Among the tested catalysts, ZSM-5 and Amberlyst 70 showed the best performances for selectively producing the target products, resulting in the highest total yield of HMF and LA at 72.2% on a molar basis. Factors decreasing the reaction selectivity were identified through the comparison of catalysts and kinetic analysis to the pore morphology, presence of Lewis acid sites, and formation of degradation products directly from LGO or its hydrated product. ZSM-5 and Amberlyst 70, after a single-batch experiment, contained deposits from the degradation products but could be reused with little loss in activity, although calcination was required for ZSM-5. The catalytic system, employing LGO as feedstock and recyclable solid acid catalysts, uses only water as reaction media and thus has the potential to be a clean route for producing the key building blocks HMF and LA.

Gambaran kejadian karies gigi molar pertama permanen dan tingkat pengetahuan tentang kesehatan gigi pada anak usia 9-12 tahun di SD Negeri 4 Sanur Denpasar

Introduction: Dental caries is a disease caused by multifactorial, one of which is a factor in behavior or attitude of oral hygiene. This is caused by to lack of knowledge about maintain oral hygiene. The purpose of this study is to describe the incidence of dental caries of permanent first molar basis of age, gender, behavior and knowledge levels in children aged 9-12 years in SD Negeri 4 Sanur Denpasar. Method: Descriptive study used with cross sectional study with 107 student in SD Negeri 4 Sanur as the sample, the samples was obtained by systematic random sampling. Result: This study shows the prevalence of caries in SD 4 Sanur Denpasar amounted to 52.3%. The prevalence of dental caries in respondents who had a poor behavior of 77.6%. There is a significant associated between the prevalence of caries by the behavior of maintain oral health (p=0.000). While the prevalence of caries based knowledge tends to occur in respondents who have less knowledge both in the amount of 100% and there is a significant associated between dental caries based knowledge to maintain oral health (p=0.003). Conclusion: Based on these results the incidence of caries in SD 4 Sanur Denpasar relatively high. Student in SD 4 Sanur Denpasar mostly caries have poor healthy behavior and have less knowledge. Public health center expected to provide counseling and common practices on how to maintain healthy teeth and mouth regularly.

Equilibrium conditions of xenon hydrates in the presence of water-soluble additives of dimethyl sulfoxide, amides and amines

Equilibrium conditions of clathrate hydrates formed from xenon and aqueous solutions of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), formamide, acetamide, isobutylamine and pyrrolidine were experimentally measured up to 1.0 MPa using an isochoric method. Adding DMSO, formamide and acetamide shifted the xenon hydrate equilibria toward low temperature, indicating that these additives acted as thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors. The inhibiting effects of the additives were almost as strong as those of methanol and ethylene glycol on a mole basis. In contrast, isobutylamine and pyrrolidine had promoting effects on xenon hydrate formation. The promoting effects were stronger than that of acetone but weaker than that of 1,3-dioxolane.

Experimental investigation of the Ca-Cu process for H2 production: Evaluation of reduction/calcination strategies

The exothermic reduction of the CuO present in a bed of solids (39% wt. CuO, 24.5% wt. CaCO3 and 1.5% wt. Ni, being the rest inert species for the process) with a fuel gas, generated a pure CO2 stream once steam was condensed (and free of N2). In this way, a Cu/Ca molar ratio of approximately 2 in the bed of solids allowed for CaCO3 calcination efficiencies of around 95% molar basis at the reducing gases break-through. This allowed performing consecutive cycles of the main reaction steps involved in the Ca/Cu H2 production process. The mixture CaO-based sorbent, reforming catalyst and Cu-based material was able to produce a gas stream with a 94.0% vol. H2 at 10 bar during the CH4 sorption enhanced reforming stage. The Cu-based material was oxidized with a highly diluted air stream at 10 bar, reacting in a well defined reaction front. A pure CO2 gas stream was obtained at reactor exit during the calcination/reduction stage with a fuel gas typical composition of a Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) stage with low steam to carbon molar ratio (S/C). The experimental results indicated that it was possible to cool the bed and to produce a syngas with a H2/CO molar ratio of about 3.5 suitable for its use in the calcination/reduction stage, in a SMR stage with low (S/C). It was also possible to perform the calcination/reduction and SMR in one single stage.

Occurrence of disinfection by-products in swimming pools and the estimated resulting cytotoxicity

Swimming pools are disinfected to protect against the risk of microbial disease, however, the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) is an unwanted consequence. While many studies have reported the occurrence of commonly investigated DBPs (trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids) in pools, few studies have investigated emerging DBP classes, such as the haloketones or haloacetaldehydes, and the nitrogenous haloacetamides, halonitromethanes, haloacetonitriles and N-nitrosamines. This study investigated the occurrence of sixty four DBPs from the eight aforementioned DBP classes in pools employing different treatment methods. Approximately 70% of the DBPs were detected in at least one of the pools, with most concentrations being equal to or greater than those previously reported. Chloral hydrate (trichloroacetaldehyde) was one of many DBPs detected in all chlorinated waters (202 to 1313 μg/L), and, on a molar basis, was the predominant DBP. Several other DBPs, namely chloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetamide, dibromoacetamide, dibromochloroacetamide and trichloroacetamide, and many of the N-nitrosamines, were measured at concentrations greater than previously reported: up to 200 to 479 μg/L for the haloacetic acids, 56 to 736 μg/L for the haloacetamides and up to 1093 ng/L for some N-nitrosamines. The higher disinfectant residuals required to be employed in Australian pools, and poor pool management (e.g. of chlorine residual and pH) are likely factors contributing to these relatively high DBP concentrations. Where possible, the cytotoxicity values of the investigated DBPs were evaluated, with chloral hydrate representing over 90% of the total chronic cytotoxicity despite only representing up to 64% of the total molar DBP concentration. This study is the first report of bromodichloroacetaldehyde and bromochloroacetaldehyde in pools and is the first investigation of N-nitrosamines in a brominated pool. Furthermore, this work aids in understanding DBPs in both chlorine and bromine treated pools, the latter being the subject of only limited previous studies.

Adsorption of humid air in compacted montmorillonite: A Monte Carlo simulation study

Compacted montmorillonite (the most significant constituent of bentonite) was employed as a proxy for bentonite in atomistic Monte Carlo simulations in the grand canonical ensemble. Air, described in this study as a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide, was considered near ambient conditions, and with absolute humidity (i.e. total water content) varying from 0% up to 5% on a molar basis. The adsorption of each species constituting the mixture was computed under these conditions and the selectivity relative to nitrogen was considered. The species of particular interest in this study were water and oxygen, due to their role in the spoilage of foodstuffs. The results of the simulations suggest that molecular shape plays about as much of a role in sorption as dipole moment, with argon and oxygen displaying favourable uptake in bentonite as compared to all other species in the system. Water was somewhat more likely to be adsorbed in bentonite than nitrogen, although the disparity was less marked than for oxygen. The results suggest that bentonite may selectively separate oxygen from noble gases, which can have an impact on its use in packaging materials.

Biological Response of and Blood Plasma Protein Adsorption on Silver-Doped Hydroxyapatite.

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) is an extensively used orthopedic biomaterial because of its high biocompatibility and osteoconductivity. Implant-related infection is a major cause of orthopedic device failure. Previous research showed that silver-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (Ag-HAP NPs) have prominent antimicrobial activity, but their biocompatibility and plasma protein response remained unexplored. Here we investigated the effects of synthesis conditions on Ag-HAP NP antimicrobial (E. coli and S. epidermidis) activity, biocompatibility, and the adsorption of two blood plasma proteins, human serum albumin (HSA) and fibrinogen (Fib). It was found that synthesis pH affected the Ag content of Ag-HAP NPs and subsequent Ag+ release from the NPs in solution. This, in turn, affected antimicrobial efficiency and cytotoxicity to murine preosteoblast cells (MC3T3-E1). More HSA than Fib was adsorbed on a molar basis. The conformation of HSA changed drastically from predominantly α-helix and minor β-sheet content in solution to greater β-sheet than α-helix content when adsorbed. Correspondingly, the melting temperature Tm of HSA changed significantly from 76 °C in solution to ∼65-66 °C when adsorbed. Fib exhibited a modest decrease in α-helix content while theβ-sheet content increased modestly upon adsorption and its Tm remained unchanged at ∼60 °C. These differences in behavior of HSA and Fib are ascribed to the much smaller size of HSA, which allows a greater molecular packing density on the surface, which induces greater conformational changes. The protein adsorption behavior on Ag-HAP was similar to that on pure HAP. Thus, we show that Ag-HAP NPs have antimicrobial activity without deleterious effects on biocompatibility and blood plasma protein adsorption.

Experimental Investigation of the Ca-Cu Process for H2 Production: Evaluation of Reduction/Calcination Strategies

The exothermic reduction of the CuO present in a bed of solids (39 % wt. CuO, 20 % wt. CaCO3 and 1.5 % wt. Ni, being the rest inert materials) with a fuel gas, generated a pure CO2 stream once steam was condensed (and free of N2). In this way, a Cu/Ca molar ratio of approximately 2 in the bed of solids allowed for CaCO3 calcination efficiencies of around 95 % molar basis at the reducing gases break-through. This allowed performing consecutive cycles of the main reaction steps involved in the Ca/Cu H2 production process. The mixture CaO-based sorbent, reforming catalyst and Cu-based material was able to produce a gas stream with a 94.0 % vol. H2 at 10 bar during the CH4 sorption enhanced reforming stage. The Cu-based material was oxidized with a highly diluted air stream at 10 bar, reacting in a well defined reaction front. A pure CO2 gas stream was obtained at reactor exit during the calcination/reduction stage with a fuel gas typical composition of a SMR stage at high temperature. The experimental results indicated that it was possible to cool the bed and to produce a syngas with a H2/CO molar ratio of about 3.5 suitable for its use in the calcination/reduction stage, in a SMR stage at high temperature. It was also possible to perform the calcination/reduction and SMR in one single stage.

Amphiphilic Bottlebrush Block Copolymers: Analysis of Aqueous Self-Assembly by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering and Surface Tension Measurements

A systematic series of 16 amphiphilic bottlebrush block copolymers (BCPs) containing polystyrene and poly(N-acryloylmorpholine) (PACMO) side chains were prepared by a combination of atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), photoiniferter polymerization, and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). The grafting-through method used to prepare the polymers enabled a high degree of control over backbone and side-chain molar masses for each block. Surface tension measurements on the self-assembled amphiphilic bottlebrush BCPs in water revealed an ultralow critical micelle concentration (cmc), 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than linear BCP analogues on a molar basis, even for micelles with >90% PACMO content. Combined with coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, fitting of small-angle neutron scattering traces (SANS) allowed us to evaluate solution conformations for individual bottlebrush BCPs and micellar nanostructures for self-assembled macromolecules. Bottlebrush BCPs showed an increase in a...

Simulation of CO2/CH4 high pressure separation on microporous activated carbon

Pure component adsorption equilibrium of CH4 and CO2 on activated carbon have been studied at three different temperatures, 298, 323, and 348 K within a pressure range of 10–2000 kPa. Binary adsorption equilibrium isotherm was described using extended Sips equation and ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) model. Experimental breakthrough curves of CO2/CH4 (40:60 in a molar basis) were performed at four different pressures (300, 600, 1200, and 1800 kPa). The experimental results of binary isotherms and breakthrough curves have been compared to the predicted simulation data in order to evaluate the best isotherm model for this scenario. The IAST and Sips models described significantly different results for each adsorbed component when higher pressures are set. These different results cause a significant discrepancy in the estimation of the equilibrium selectivity. Simulated and experimental equilibrium selectivity data provided by IAST presented values of around 4, for CO2/CH4, and extended Sips presented values of around 2. Also, simulated breakthrough curves showed that IAST fits better to the experimental data at higher pressures. According to the simulations, in a binary mixture at total pressure over 800 kPa, extended Sips model underestimated significantly the CO2 adsorbed amount and overestimated the CH4 adsorbed amount.

Effect of the premixing of MgB2 powder on microstructures and electromagnetic properties in PIT-processed MgB2 wires

Nowadays, in situ- and ex situ-processed MgB2 superconducting wires are commercially available. A premix process is a hybrid of the in situ and ex situ processes, in which a mixture of magnesium, boron, and MgB2 powders is used as a precursor. Hence, the premix process should cause less trouble in the manufacturing of practical wires. In this study, to clarify the potential regarding the critical current density of the premix process, the mono-filamentary MgB2 wires are prepared at premix ratios, xp, of 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 by drawings with a large total area reduction ratio of 99.92%, and their electromagnetic properties and microstructures are investigated. Here, xp is defined as the mass ratio of MgB2 to the total mixture; that is, the composition of the mixture is Mg: B: MgB2 = 1 − xp: 2(1 − xp): xp on a molar basis. Although a high MgB2 packing factor is obtained by the premix process, it does not lead to an increase in electrical connectivity of MgB2 filaments because of the poor sinterability of the premixed MgB2 powder. On the other hand, strong electron scattering, which is introduced to the premixed MgB2 particles in the pulverisation process, leads to the enhancement of the upper critical field in the low temperature region. As a result, the critical current density in a low temperature and high magnetic field region is improved in wires prepared at xp = 0.50.

Electrochemical Corrosion Measurements of MEA Aqueous Solutions at Elevated Temperatures

Corrosion can cause serious problems to amine treating plants as it can lead to unexpected downtime, production loss, and even personnel injury. This work utilizes electrochemical method to study the corrosion behavior of C1018 mild steel in aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA) upon addition of carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as nitric acid at temperatures of 25 °C to 80 °C. Solvent pH decreased upon temperature increase and CO2 loading, while the corrosion rates were most influenced by solvent temperature as both anodic and cathodic reaction rates increased. Addition of nitric acid gave a similar pH and corrosion rate as the addition of CO2 on a molar basis. Solvent rich in CO2 was found to have similar corrosivity as lean MEA despite the lower pH of solvent.

A systematic approach for the thermodynamic modelling of CO2-amine absorption process using molecular-based models

The development of new amine systems for CO2 capture is a topic of high interest because of the limitations current aqueous amine systems have for capturing CO2 at large scale. Having a robust and systematic approach for describing the absorption of CO2 would help accelerating the discovery of high performance amine solvents. In this contribution, a molecular-based equation of state is applied to describe the absorption of CO2 in aqueous solutions of single and blended amines at conditions of relevance for post-combustion CO2 capture. A scheme of implicit reactions is used to describe the formation of carbamate and/or bicarbonate products resulting from the chemical reactions between CO2 and five amines of practical industrial interest. This procedure eliminates the need to specify the detailed equilibrium reactions and significantly reduces the number of parameters required to represent the absorption process. A maximum of two adjustable model parameters (one of which with a linear temperature dependence), optimised for a fixed amine concentration, suffices to represent the absorption of CO2 in aqueous solutions of single amines over a broad range of temperatures (298–413 K) and partial pressures of CO2 (0.1–1000 kPa). The extrapolation capabilities of the model are tested by predicting the absorption of CO2 in aqueous solutions of single amines for different amines concentrations (∼8.5–35 wt%), with modelling results showing good quantitative agreement with solubility, speciation and enthalpy of absorption data available in literature. Furthermore, without introducing any new model parameter, the absorption of CO2 in various amine blends is satisfactorily predicted by considering competing interactions for the reactive sites in the model of CO2. The developed models are then used to assess the CO2 capture performance of selected amine systems in terms of two key process parameters: solvent cyclic capacity and regeneration energy. Results for systems with the same total amine mass concentration show that the highest molar cyclic capacities are obtained for 30 wt% piperazine (0.45 molCO2.molAmine-1), whereas the greatest energy savings for solvent regeneration are estimated for 30 wt% methyldiethanolamine (2.3 GJ.tCO2-1). Moreover, two piperazine–promoted blends showed the potential for reducing up to ∼26% the energy consumption for solvent regeneration and separating up to ∼41% more CO2 in a molar basis when compared to the benchmark 30 wt% monoethanolamine. Altogether, these results demonstrate the feasibility of the developed approach as a reliable platform for the screening of amine solvents as function of key process parameters, and as a valuable tool for process modelling.

Development of a novel UHPLC-MS/MS-based platform to quantify amines, amino acids and methylarginines for applications in human disease phenotyping

Amine quantification is an important strategy in patient stratification and personalised medicine. This is because amines, including amino acids and methylarginines impact on many homeostatic processes. One important pathway regulated by amine levels is nitric oxide synthase (NOS). NOS is regulated by levels of (i) the substrate, arginine, (ii) amino acids which cycle with arginine and (iii) methylarginine inhibitors of NOS. However, biomarker research in this area is hindered by the lack of a unified analytical platform. Thus, the development of a common metabolomics platform, where a wide range of amino acids and methylarginines can be measured constitutes an important unmet need. Here we report a novel high-throughput ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) platform where ≈40 amine analytes, including arginine and methylarginines can be detected and quantified on a molar basis, in a single sample of human plasma. To validate the platform and to generate biomarkers, human plasma from a well-defined cohort of patients before and after coronary artery bypass surgery, who developed systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), were analysed. Bypass surgery with SIRS significantly altered 26 amine analytes, including arginine and ADMA. Consequently, pathway analysis revealed significant changes in a range of pathways including those associated with NOS.