Application of tandem mass spectrometry to the analysis of chlorinated compounds

Abstract

The application of high-resolution gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) in environmental analysis is demonstrated with three typical compound types, i.e., polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated alkanes (PCAs) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), found in/or during the preparation of some environmental samples from a contaminated area. With ‘multiple reaction monitoring’ of some selected reaction products from a collision cell (i.e., loss of one or two chlorine radicals from a molecular ion) by the Q-analyser of a VG-AutospecQ mass spectrometer, unambiguous qualitative and quantitative data for various isomeric PCBs and PCNs could be obtained. By using this approach, time consuming and extremely demanding sample preparation could be reduced or avoided. In addition, the determination of trace amounts of higher chlorinated PCBs in paraffin oil illustrates the unique capability of MS–MS.