Partial structure elucidation of the most abundant octa and nonachlorotoxaphene congeners in marine mammals by using conventional electron ionization mass spectrometry and mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry

Summary Conventional electron ionization (EI) mass spectrometry (MS) and MS/MS techniques were applied to the analysis of two abundant octa and nonachlorobornanes isolated from seals of the Baltic sea and originating from technical toxaphene. The exact sterical structures of the two compounds were previously determined using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy by two independent research groups. The MS and MS/MS data generated in this study allowed partial structure elucidation of these polychlorobornanes, in particular revealing the distribution of the Cl substituents between the six-membered carbon ring, the bridge and the bridgehead in the parent bornane structure. Fragmentation of the six-membered carbon ring and the bridge by retro-Diels-Alder (RDA) and related mechanisms was discovered by studying specific parent/daughter ion transitions. The detailed fragmentation pathways formulated may be applicable to the structure elucidation of other toxaphene congeners and the monitoring of strategic transitions is highly selective for the detection of these compounds in technical toxaphene and in environmental samples.     

Comments concerning the HPLC separation of acrolein from other C3 carbonyl compounds as 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones: A proposal for improvement

The separation of the toxicologically important aldehyde acrolein from other carbonyl compounds by high performance liquid chromatography after derivatization to 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones is critically discussed on the basis of a selection of published methods. A method is proposed whereby the compounds acrolein, acetone, and propanal may be reproducibly separated to baseline by a reversed phase HPLC procedure employing a ternary mixture of methanol, water, and acetonitrile as mobile phase.