News from µL2-HRMS
Actuality from the project
In 2024, the IRAP team in Toulouse reported the first detection of large polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of interstellar origin in grain C0083 from the asteroid Ryugu, using the L2 oToF MS AROMA technique (Sabbah et al., 2024, INSU News). The identified molecules, composed of 30 to 61 carbon atoms, include condensed aromatic species characteristic of soot chemistry. These large structures are strong candidates for explaining the aromatic emission bands observed by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Although present only in trace amounts, these aromatic compounds offer new prospects for the analysis of primitive materials. This result underscores the need to develop even more sensitive instruments for future sample-return missions and the study of meteorites. This is precisely the goal of the new μL2 HRMS instrument (high-resolution mass spectrometry using two-step laser desorption/ionization), currently under development as part of the Origins PEPR (WP 2.3).
In 2026, IRAP received 19 mg of precious samples from the asteroid Bennu brought back by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission—a rare allocation that underscores the international recognition of the expertise of IRAP and the University of Toulouse. We are currently analyzing these grains using the L2 oToF MS AROMA technique to characterize the presence of large aromatic species, particularly large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fullerenes. These molecular families serve as essential tracers for reconstructing the history of carbon in the universe, from dying stars to the primordial bodies of the solar system. (UT Press Release).
December 2025: Mathilde Bon’s thesis defense (funded by the University of Lille) took place, titled “Molecular Characterization of Microfossils by Mass Spectrometry at the Cellular Level.” This thesis laid the groundwork for the application of laser desorption/ionization to fossil microorganisms (example shown in the photo below). A paper was submitted to *Organic Geochemistry* in May 2026, and several presentations were given at conferences (links below).
In 2024, a co-funding arrangement was established with the CPER Wavetech@HdF, as part of its Pillar 3, “Wave-Matter Interaction Applied to the Ecological Transition.” The associated R201 project (co-led by C. Pirim at PhLAM) aims to precisely characterize the surface composition of small, complex natural samples of environmental interest (micro/nanoplastics, additives, pollutants).
In 2025, the Thermo Orbitrap™ Eclipse spectrometer was installed and qualified at PhLAM, with a mass resolution of 1 million (m/Δm), which allows for the reliable assignment of the chemical formulas of molecules in complex mixtures. Extracts of soluble organic matter from terrestrial rocks and a meteorite were analyzed using the infusion method. The spectrometer was installed on an anti-vibration optical table with a view to coupling it with laser desorption/ionization techniques and optimizing the spatial resolution of molecular imaging in mass spectrometry.
Focus
Installation of a desorption-ionization source on an ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometer; technical validations; applications to ancient fossils, meteorites, and asteroids. Launch of the Attributor data processing tool.
Relation with others WP
Two collaborations with other projects in the PEPR Origins program are providing us with additional information on the molecular signatures of the samples that are (or will be) characterized using laser desorption-ionization in our project. First, AFMIR (Atomic Force Microscopy–Infrared Spectroscopy) experiments were conducted in March 2024, in collaboration with A. Dazzi and J. Mathurin (the Astro-AFMIR project of the PEPR Origins ICP Orsay), to characterize the spectroscopic signature of organic matter in microfossils at the nanoscale. Second, gas chromatography and Orbitrap™ GC-MS analyses, coupled with thermodesorption, pyrolysis, and/or thermochemolysis analyses, were conducted in 2026 with colleagues involved in Axis 4 of the PEPR Origins project at PIIM–Marseille: Grégoire Danger and Adeline Garcia.
Relation with industries
no relationship with companies
Publication links to the project
Application :
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(Data > Load > use msConvert)
Articles :
Hassan Sabbah, Ghylaine Quitté, Karine Demyk, Christine Joblin. First direct detection of large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on asteroid (162173) Ryugu samples: An interstellar heritage. Natural Sciences, 2024, pp.e20240010. ⟨10.1002/ntls.20240010⟩. ⟨hal-04684653⟩
Conférences :
Francois-Regis Orthous-Daunay, Junko Isa, Laurène Flandinet, Véronique Vuitton, Shogo Tachibana, Hiroshi Naraoka. Aqueous alteration fingerprints in the molecular complexity of carbonaceous chondrites and Ryugu. 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Mar 2025, The Woodlands, United States. ⟨hal-05517134⟩
Chloé Arthozoul, Véronique Vuitton, Lydie Bonal, François-Régis Orthous-Daunay, Laurène Flandinet. Exploring the influence of chemical extraction on the complexity of the Soluble Organic Matter (SOM) in carbonaceous chondrites. Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Sep 2024, Berlin (Freie Universität), Germany. ⟨10.5194/epsc2024-29⟩. ⟨hal-05191743⟩
Mathilde Bon, Kevin Lepot, Yvain Carpentier, Fabrice Bray, Armelle Riboulleau, Nicolas Nuns, Christian Rolando, Cristian Focsa, Thijs R.A. Vandenbroucke. Investigating the molecular composition of Middle Ordovician and Upper Silurian microfossils using mass spectrometry at the microscale. GSA Connects 2024 Meeting in Anaheim, California, The Geological Society of America, Sep 2024, Anaheim, CA, France. ⟨10.1130/abs/2024AM-404561⟩. ⟨hal-05018164⟩
Mathilde Bon, Kevin Lepot, Yvain Carpentier, Armelle Riboulleau, Fabrice Bray, François Baudin, Maxime Bridoux, Ilwan Meignant, Nicolas Nuns, Cristian Focsa, Christian Rolando, Philippe Steemans, Thijs R. A. Vandenbroucke. Apport de la spectrométrie de masse à ultra-haute résolution pour la caractérisation moléculaire d’organismes fossiles unicellulaires. Colloque français en Planétologie et Exobiologie 2024, Jul 2024, Nantes, France. ⟨hal-05020365⟩
Mathilde Bon, Kevin Lepot, Yvain Carpentier, Fabrice Bray, Armelle Riboulleau, François Baudin, Nicolas Nuns, Ilwan Meignant, Maxime Bridoux, Christian Rolando, Cristian Focsa, Thijs R. A. Vandenbroucke. Ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry applied to micropalaeontology. Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Proteomic Analysis (SMAP), Société Française de Spectrométrie de Masse; French Proteomics Society, Sep 2024, Lille, France. ⟨hal-05020400⟩
Francois-Regis Orthous-Daunay, Junko Isa, L. Flandinet, Véronique Vuitton. Aqueous alteration fingerprints in the molecular complexity of carbonaceous chondrites. 86th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, Jul 2024, Bruxelles, Belgium. ⟨hal-04788745⟩
Hassan Sabbah, Ghylaine Quitté, Karine Demyk, Christine Joblin. Large Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ryugu Samples C0083 and A00145. 2024. ⟨hal-05632954⟩
Hassan Sabbah, Véronique Vuitton, Sebastian Mehmed, Chloé Arthozoul, Francois-Regis Orthous-Daunay, Ghylaine Quitte, Karine Demyk, Laurent Remusat, Christine Joblin. Large Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Fullerenes in Carbonaceous Chondrites and Samples from Asteroid Ryugu. 2024. Colloque français en Planétologie et Exobiologie 2024, Jul 2024, Nantes, France. ⟨hal-05632964⟩