Fast-gas chromatography with tandem quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometry applied to the detection of explosives

ANYL 291

Olivier L. Collin, olivier.collin.1@ohio.edu, Matthias J. Beier, Carolyn M. Zimmermann, Ünige A. Laskay, and Glen P. Jackson, jacksong@ohio.edu. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio University, 136 Clippinger Laboratories, Athens, OH 45701
This work aims to develop a fast method to confirm trace levels of high explosives using fast-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (fast-GC-MS). This is a continuation of previous work, which used fast-GC coupled with a pulsed-discharge electron capture detector (PDECD) to separate a mixture of nine explosives, including nitrate esters, nitroaromatics and a nitramine in less than 2.5 minutes. However, the PDECD cannot be used to confirm a compound's identity; therefore mass spectrometry must be used. The proposed improvements involve modifying the scanning parameters of a quadrupole ion-trap-mass spectrometer (QIT-MS) (Finnigan Polaris Q, Thermo Electron, Austin, TX) to obtain faster scanning rates and to incorporate the new method of collision-induced dissociation during mass acquisition for tandem MS on the timescale required for fast-GC. This presentation will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a fast-mass-scanning QIT-MS as a potential detection method for fast confirmatory analyses.