Ultra-trace-level determination of polar pesticides and their transformation products in surface and estuarine water samples using column liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

A method is developed for the determination of polar pesticides and their transformation products [atrazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, hydroxyatrazine, diuron, 3,4-dichlorophenylmethylurea, 3,4-dichlorophenylurea (DPU), monuron, bentazone, anthranil-isopropylamide, chloridazon, metolachlor] in surface, estuarine and sea water samples at the low ng/l level. Solid-phase extraction is combined off-line with column liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric detection (LC-ESI-MS-MS). The applicability of two solid-phase materials, i.e., LiChrolut EN cartridges and graphitized carbon black extraction disks, is evaluated. The influence of the organic solvent used in gradient LC, as well as the amount of co-extracted humic material on the ESI process is studied. The eluotropic strength of the organic solvent was found to have a distinct effect on the sensitivity of ESI-MS if coupled with LC gradient separations. Methanol gave much better results than acetonitrile and phenylurea compounds are more susceptible to solvent changes than triazines. Co-extracted humic material causes signal suppression in ESI-MS-MS detection. The degree of suppression depends upon the sample pH and the nature of the samples, i.e., surface or estuarine water. Detection limits in LC-ESI-MS-MS ranged from 0.2 to 2 ng/l, with the exception of DPU (8 ng/l). The applicability of the procedure was demonstrated by analyzing surface and estuarine water.

On the stabilization of carbanions by adjacent phenyl, cyano, methoxy-carbonyl, and nitro groups in the gas phase.

Institute of Mass Spectrometry, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands By using the method of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, substituent stabilization energies of homologous series of cycloalkyl carbanions, Ξ-c-CnH2n-2 (n = 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with π-accepting substituents (Ξ = Ph, CN, COOMe, NO2) have been determined experimentally in the gas phase as the difference between the proton affinity of the substituted and corresponding unsubstituted (Ξ = H) cycloalkyl carbanions.The stabilization energy data have been analyzed in terms of Taft's parametrization of polarizability, field/inductive, and resonance effects. The linear regression analyses show excellent correlations within the ΞCH2 (-) Ξ-c-CnH2n-2 (-) (n = 4, 5, 6, 7), and Ξ-c-C3H4 (-) carbanion series, from which it appears that the contributions of polarizability effects are independent of the above type of carbanions and only depend on the nature of the substituent.Further, it follows that inductive stabilization is more effective in the substituted methyl, ΞCH2 (-), than in the substituted cycloalkyl, Ξ-c-CnH2n-2 (-) (n = 4, 5, 6, 7) carbanions. This result suggests that inductive stabilization is counteracted by the electron releasing effect of alkyl groups.Resonance stabilization is significantly more effective in the substituted cycloalkyl, Ξ-c-CnH2n-2 (-) (n = 4, 5, 6, 7), than in the substituted methyl, ΞCH2 (-), carbanions, which suggests that m contrast to inductive stabilization, resonance stabilization is assisted by the electron releasing effect of alkyl groups.Finally, it appears that substitutent stabilization in the geometrically restricted substituted cyclopropyl carbanions, Ξ-c-C3H4 (-), is dramatically less effective than in the corresponding geometrically unrestricted larger substituted cycloalkyl carbanions, Ξ-c-CnH2n-2 (-) (n = 4, 5, 6, 7). The linear regression analyses of the substituted cycloalkyl carbanions indicate that reduction of the stabilization energy is caused not exclusively by a geometrically hindered resonance stabilization, but also to a smaller extent by a less efficient inductive stabilization in the substituted cyclopropyl carbanions.