气相色谱-质谱联用分析5种有机磷农药时氢气代替氦气作为载气的可行性考察

迄今为止,氦气几乎是气相色谱-质谱联用仪运行中唯一可选的载气.本文使用气相色谱-质谱联用仪考察了氢气和氦气分别作为载气时,对5种有机磷农药混合标准溶液的检测,以确定氢气代替氦气作为气相色谱-质谱联用仪载气用于有机磷农药分析的可行性.用工作站自带解卷积软件(自动质谱解卷积鉴定系统,AMDIS32),结合自建"有机农药质谱库"对结果进行了解析,而后用SPSS统计软件对数据进行了聚类分析.结果发现,以氢气为载气时虽然出峰稍快,但色谱峰分离度较低,解良度较低,且待测物信号不稳定,测定准确度较低,有些化合物甚至检测不到.因此以氢气为载气分析有机磷农药时应对测定准确度、信号稳定性、安全性等诸多因素进行慎重考虑.     

Indirect hydrogen analysis by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS)

Gas chromatography (GC) is an analytical tool very useful to investigate the composition of gaseous mixtures. The different gases are separated by specific columns but, if hydrogen (H₂) is present in the sample, its detection can be performed by a thermal conductivity detector or a helium ionization detector. Indeed, coupled to GC, no other detector can perform this detection except the expensive atomic emission detector. Based on the detection and analysis of H₂ isotopes by low‐pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (MS), a new method for H₂ detection by GC coupled to MS with an electron ionization ion source and a quadrupole analyser is presented. The presence of H₂ in a gaseous mixture could easily be put in evidence by the monitoring of the molecular ion of the protonated carrier gas. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of hydrogen as a carrier gas for the analysis of steroids with anabolic activity by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Due to the impact in the media and the requirements of sensitivity and robustness, the detection of the misuse of forbidden substances in sports is a really challenging area for analytical chemistry, where any study focused on enhancing the performance of the analytical methods will be of great interest. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of using hydrogen instead of helium as a carrier gas for the analysis of anabolic steroids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with electron ionization. There are several drawbacks related with the use of helium as a carrier gas: it is expensive, is a non-renewable resource, and has limited availability in many parts of the world. In contrast, hydrogen is readily available using a hydrogen generator or high-pressure bottled gas, and allows a faster analysis without loss of efficiency; nevertheless it should not be forgotten that due to its explosiveness hydrogen must be handled with caution. Throughout the study the impact of the change of the carrier gas will be evaluated in terms of: performance of the chromatographic system, saving of time and money, impact on the high vacuum in the analyzer, changes in the fragmentation behaviour of the analytes, and finally consequences for the limits of detection achieved with the method.     

High speed analysis of underivatized drugs by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

The technique of choice for many types of forensic drug confirmations is gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Significant amounts of analytical time can be involved in a GC/MS run. The use of a 0.1 mm i.d. fused silica capillary column with hydrogen carrier gas can significantly increase the speed of an analysis without sacrificing resolution. Nanogram levels of underivatized drugs, from amphetamine to strychnine, can be eluted in less than twelve minutes. The multitasking system permits data acquisition, while performing data reduction on the previous run.     

Characterization of medieval proteinaceous painting media using gas chromatography and gas chromatography — mass spectrometry

Proteinaceous organic materials used as ancient painting media were investigated by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and capillary gas chromatography — mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Medieval wall paintings made by the tempera technique were considered and their binding media were studied by the characterization of their main chemical components. The basic methodology is based on the determination of amino acids in samples of paint layers after hydrolysis and derivatization and on the comparison with reference proteinaceous materials. Multivariate chemometric techniques were used to facilitate the recognition of the protein source from chromatographic data. To characterize the binders further, a method was developed for the determination of fatty acids, present as minor components, by GC/MS. The use of fused-silica capillary columns coated with selected stationary phases allowed the separation of amino acid and fatty acid derivatives in a single analytical run.     

One-dimensional and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to soft photo ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: a two- and three-dimensional separation approach

Soft laser photo-ionization mass spectrometry is presented as a separation dimension hyphenated with gas chromatographic techniques. Single photon ionization (SPI) is a universal soft ionization method which ionizes organic molecules with an ionization potential below 10.5 eV if 118 nm laser radiation is used. The inherently soft ionization of photo ionization techniques can further be utilized together with gas chromatography as a comprehensive two-dimensional separation method (GC x MS), using the GC retention time as first separation dimension and the molecular mass as second separation dimension. Some GC x MS chromatograms of diesel petroleum samples using SPI are presented and discussed. Finally, it is demonstrated that the coupling of soft SPI mass spectrometry with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) provides a three-dimensional separation technique (GC x GC x SPI-MS).     

The potential of composite pyrolysis gas chromatographic mass spectra in the study of lignocellulosics

The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of composite mass spectral (CMS) data from pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (PY–GC/MS) for lignocellulosic materials. Various forages, by-products and fiber fractions derived from them were examined as CMS by PY–GC/MS. The PY–GC/MS system consisted of a heated platinum filament, a capillary gas chromatograph and an ion trap detector (ITD) mass spectrometer operated under electron impact conditions. Mass spectra were then composited in several ways by summing all the mass spectra acquired within retention times corresponding to major product classes. CMS data were entered in a dedicated library and compared using the ITD library editor software. The usefulness of such a simple procedure for studies related to lignocellulose analysis, such as forage recognition, development of analytical methods and digestibility/maturity correlation, is discussed.     

Tracking juniper berry content in oils and distillates by spectral deconvolution of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry data

The complex nature of botanicals and essential oils makes it difficult to identify all of the constituents by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) alone. In this paper, automated sequential, multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-GC/MS) was used to obtain a matrix-specific, retention time/mass spectrometry library of 190 juniper berry oil compounds. GC/MS analysis on stationary phases with different polarities confirmed the identities of each compound when spectral deconvolution software was used to analyze the oil. Also analyzed were distillates of juniper berry and its oil as well as gin from four different manufacturers. Findings showed the chemical content of juniper berry can be traced from starting material to final product and can be used to authenticate and differentiate brands.     

Practical fast gas chromatography for contract laboratory program pesticide analyses

An approach to shortening the analysis time for practical fast gas chromatography (GC) by using Method Translator software, which can be downloaded free from the Internet, is presented. This software simplifies the process of optimizing temperature programming while changing column dimensions, carrier gas type, and flow. Basic chromatographic theory is employed in a practical manner for adjusting column dimensions for optimal performance. In addition, electronic pneumatic control and high oven ramp rates make it easier to achieve fast analysis times without reproducibility problems. This practical approach is demonstrated using Contract Laboratory Program pesticide analytes. The factors found to be most important in decreasing the analysis time without a loss of performance are utilization of GC columns having smaller diameters and substitution of hydrogen for helium as the carrier gas.     

Effects of pressure drop on absolute retention matching in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) analysis has the capability to resolve many more components of complex mixtures than traditional single column GC analysis. There is an increasing need to provide reliable identification of these separated components; time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) is the most appropriate technology to achieve this task. Rather than require MS for all GC x GC separations, it is desirable to assign peak identities to specific peak positions in the GC x GC separation space, and this necessitates matching peak retentions in the two experiments - GC x GC-FID and GC x GC-TOFMS. The atmospheric vs. vacuum outlet conditions confound this task. It is shown here that by employing a supplementary gas supply, provided to a T-union between the column outlet and the MS interface, it is possible to generate 2D chromatograms for GC x GC-FID and GC x GC-TOFMS that are essentially exactly matched. There is no degradation in separation performance or efficiency in the second column in the system interfaced to the T-union. Since the GC x GC-FID experiment uses hydrogen for maximum efficiency, and GC x GC-TOFMS uses helium carrier, translation of (conditions/retentions) must account for the different viscosities of the carrier gases. Translation of conditions is based on well-known principles established in single column analysis. Tabulated data illustrate that retention reproducibility was of the order of better than 4 s for the average first dimension retention difference, and about 40 ms for the average second dimension retention difference when comparing GC x GC-FID and GC x GC-TOFMS results. This should provide considerable support for identification in routine GC x GC-FID analysis of specific sample types, once the peaks in 2D separation space have been assigned identities through GC x GC-TOFMS analysis.     

A single glucose derivative suitable for gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry

The incorporation of stable isotopes improves the assessment of glucose metabolism and, with some researchers using two tracers, (2)H-glucose assessed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and (13)C-glucose by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS), a common derivative for both is advantageous. The most commonly used derivatives for GC/MS are inappropriate for GC/C/IRMS as additional functional groups dilute the label. We therefore considered the suitability of six derivatives for both GC/MS and GC/C/IRMS. Glucose alkylboronates were prepared by adding the appropriate alkylboronic acid (butyl- or methylboronic acid) in pyridine to desiccated glucose. The derivatisation was completed by reacting this with either (a) acetic anhydride or trifluoroacetic anhydride (acetate derivatives) or (b) bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide BSTFA (TMS derivatives). All six derivatives were assessed using GC/MS and (13)C GC/C/IRMS.Neither TMS derivative exhibited any signal intensity in the molecular ion, although a M-15 ion showed good agreement between experimental and theoretical data and, whilst still low in intensity, could be suitable for isotope work. Similarly, none of the acetate derivatives showed any intensity at the molecular ion although three key fragmentation series were identified. The most attractive sequence, initiated by the loss of 1,2 cyclic boronate, resulted in the main fragment ion of interest, m/z 240, corresponding to the fluorinated methylboronate derivate. Minimal carbon and hydrogen atoms are added to this derivative making it an excellent choice for stable isotope work, while proving suitable for analysis by both GC/MS and GC/C/IRMS.     

Nitrogen and hydrogen as carrier and make-up gases for GC-MS with Cold EI

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with Cold EI is based on interfacing GC and MS with a supersonic molecular beam (SMB) and sample compounds ionization with a fly-through ion source as vibrationally cold compounds in the SMB (hence the name Cold EI). We explored the use of nitrogen and hydrogen as carrier and make-up gases with Cold EI and found:

1. Nitrogen is very effective in cooling compounds in SMB and while helium requires 60 ml/min nitrogen provides effective cooling with only 7–8 ml/min combined column and make-up flow rate. Hydrogen is less effective than helium and requires higher flow rates.
2. The transition from helium to nitrogen (or hydrogen) is simple and fast and requires just closing the helium valve and opening the nitrogen valve.
3. The same column used with helium can be used with nitrogen or hydrogen.
4. The same elution times could be obtained with nitrogen or hydrogen as with helium.
5. The GC separation with nitrogen was reduced compared with helium and peak widths were increased by an average factor of 1.5 for similar elution times. Hydrogen provided ~0.7 narrower peak widths than helium.
6. The signal with nitrogen was reduced compared with helium by an average factor of 3.3 and the signal loss was reduced with higher compounds mass. With hydrogen the signal loss was about a factor of 1.5 but the baseline noise was higher thus with similar S/N as with nitrogen.
7. USEPA 8270 semivolatile mixture was easily analyzed with both nitrogen and hydrogen carrier gases.

     

An overview of the doping control analysis during the Olympic Games of 2004 in Athens, Greece

This study summarizes the results obtained from the doping control analysis during the period of the XXVIII summer Olympic Games (30 July-29 August 2004). The analysis of all doping control samples was performed at the Doping Control Laboratory (DCL)—the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Accredited Laboratory of Athens. Three thousand six hundred and seventeen tests were conducted in total throughout the games. In 23 specimens the presence of a prohibited substance was confirmed. Sixteen of those were related to anabolic agents. The screened results were confirmed with various mass spectrometry analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (ion trap) (LC/MS). The results of the first time applied screening and confirmatory procedures for the detection of recombinant human growth hormone in serum were also presented. Besides, 107 therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) were verified for glucocorticosteroid and beta2-agonist use.     

Identification of volatiles from pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) pulp by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Combining qualitative data from the chromatographic structure of 2-D gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC×GC-FID) and that from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) should result in a more accurate assignment of the peak identities than the simple analysis by GC/MS, where coelution of analytes is unavoidable in highly complex samples (rendering spectra unsuitable for qualitative purposes) or for compounds in very low concentrations. Using data from GC×GC-FID combined with GC/MS can reveal coelutions that were not detected by mass spectra deconvolution software. In addition, some compounds can be identified according to the structure of the GC×GC-FID chromatogram. In this article, the volatile fractions of fresh and dehydrated pineapple pulp were evaluated. The extraction of the volatiles was performed by dynamic headspace extraction coupled to solid-phase microextraction (DHS-SPME), a technique appropriate for slurries or solid matrices. Extracted analytes were then analyzed by GC×GC-FID and GC/MS. The results obtained using both techniques were combined to improve compound identifications.     

Selective determination of 2,4-xylenol by gas chromatography/supersonic jet/resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Gas chromatography/supersonic jet/resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/SSJ/REMPI/TOF-MS) was employed for isomer-selective determination of 2,4-xylenol in river and seawater samples. The sample containing 2,4-xylenol was measured using argon, rather than helium, as the GC carrier gas to cool the analyte molecule sufficiently. The instrumental detection limit (IDL) achieved at a flow rate of 1 mLmin(-1) was 14 pg. Although this value was comparable to the value (ca. 10 pg) obtained by gas chromatography/electron impact/quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/EI/QMS). When the flow rate was increased to 8 mLmin(-1), interference from the 2,5-xylenol isomer was completely suppressed. The IDL was degraded to 83 or 160 pg at a flow rate of 5 or 8 mLmin(-1), respectively. The recovery of 2,4-xylenol from the river and the seawater samples was 85 and 93%, respectively. The time for analysis was only 10 min per one sample in GC/SSJ/REMPI/TOF-MS. These results suggest that GC/SSJ/REMPI/TOF-MS is useful for the selective measurement of 2,4-xylenol, which has been designated a Class I chemical substance in the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR).     

Chromatographic efficiency of polar capillary columns applied for the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters by gas chromatography

The chromatographic efficiency that could be achieved in temperature‐programmed gas chromatography was compared for four capillary columns that are typically applied for analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Three different carrier gases, hydrogen, helium and nitrogen, were applied. For each experiment, the carrier gas velocities and the temperature rates were varied with a full 9 × 3 design, with nine levels on the carrier gas velocity and temperature rates of 1, 2 or 3°C/min. Response surface methodology was used to create models of chromatographic efficiency as a function of temperature rate and carrier gas velocity. The chromatographic efficiency was defined as the inverse of peak widths measured in retention index units. The final results were standardized so that the efficiencies that could be achieved within a certain time frame, defined by the retention time of the last compound in the chromatogram, could be compared. The results show that there were clear differences in the efficiencies that could be achieved with the different columns and that the efficiency decreased with increasing polarity of the stationary phase. The differences can be explained by higher resistance to mass transfer in the stationary phase in the most polar columns.     

The determination of total and unbound midazolam in human plasma. A comparison of high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Midazolam concentrations in patients' plasma was determined after extraction with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). GC was selected for routine plasma assays in terms of selectivity, simplicity, precision, accuracy and sensitivity (0.02 microgram/mL); HPLC analysis was less sensitive (0.1 microgram/mL) than GC; GC/MS was used for analysis validation. Plasma protein binding of midazolam was determined by GC in patients' plasma after in vitro incubation with midazolam, ultrafiltration and extraction; 5% of the drug was unbound to plasma proteins. Midazolam distribution in lipoprotein fractions separated by ultracentrifugation of plasma obtained from patients on prolonged midazolam treatment was also assayed by GC.     

气相色谱-单光子电离飞行时间质谱的联用及在柴油组分表征中的应用

建立了一种气相色谱(GC)与单光子电离-飞行时间质谱(SPI-TOF MS)联用(GC/SPI-TOF MS)的分析方法。首先,设计了一种双层套管的传输管用于连接GC与SPI-TOF MS,实现了GC与单光子电离离子源的无缝连接。在此基础上,以n-十五烷标准品和苯/甲苯/二甲苯的标准气为对象,对电离源的重要电压参数进行了优化,得到了纯净的分子离子峰,实现了对各类有机物的快速和准确定性。最后,将该方法用于分析柴油中的挥发性与半挥发性有机物,获得了柴油组分的二维GC×SPI-TOF MS谱图。不需要复杂的谱图解析和数据处理,根据谱图中离子的质荷比(m/z)归纳了柴油的主要成分,包括脂肪烃、芳香烃和含量很低的苯并吡咯等含氮化合物;根据色谱的保留时间将柴油中的同分异构体区分开来。结果表明GC/SPI-TOF MS法是一种简单、有效的分析方法,非常适于柴油及复杂环境样品等的分析表征。     

安眠镇静药物的串联质谱分析方法

气相色谱以及气相色谱／质谱联用经常被用来分析生物体液样品中的药物。用这些方法分析时，需要在色谱分析前，进行长时间的样品制备和衍生化过程。本文描述了用地识别１６安眠镇静药物的ＥＩ／ＭＳ／ＭＳ过程，并且对两例服毒自杀者的尿样进行了检测。     

Study of the fragmentation pattern of ketamine‐heptafluorobutyramide by gas chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry

Ketamine is an anaesthetic compound used in human and veterinary medicine with hallucinogen properties that have resulted in its increased illicit use by teenagers at rave parties. Although several gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methods have been reported for the quantification of the drug both in urine and in hair, its electron ionization (EI) fragmentation after derivatization with different reagents has been not yet fully investigated. The present work reports the study of the fragmentation of ketamine, derivatized with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA‐Ket), using gas chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry (GC/EI‐MS). The complete characterization of the fragmentation pattern represented an intriguing exercise and required tandem mass spectrometry (MSⁿ) experiments, high‐resolution accurate mass measurements and the use of deuterated d⁴‐ketamine to corroborate the proposed structures and to characterize the fragment ions carrying the unchanged aromatic moiety. Extensive fragmentation was observed, mainly located at the cyclohexanone ring followed by rearrangement of the fragment ions, as confirmed by the mass spectra obtained from the deuterated molecule. The GC/EI‐MS analysis of HFBA‐Ket will represent a useful tool in forensic science since high‐throughput analyses are enabled, preserving both the GC stationary phase and the cleanliness of the mass spectrometer ion optics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.