Sensitive and comprehensive detection of chemical warfare agents in air by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ion trap tandem mass spectrometry with counterflow introduction.

A highly sensitive and specific real-time field-deployable detection technology, based on counterflow air introduction atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, has been developed for a wide range of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) comprising gaseous (two blood agents, three choking agents), volatile (six nerve gases and one precursor agent, five blister agents), and nonvolatile (three lachrymators, three vomiting agents) agents in air. The approach can afford effective chemical ionization, in both positive and negative ion modes, for ion trap multiple-stage mass spectrometry (MS(n)). The volatile and nonvolatile CWAs tested provided characteristic ions, which were fragmented into MS(3) product ions in positive and negative ion modes. Portions of the fragment ions were assigned by laboratory hybrid mass spectrometry (MS) composed of linear ion trap and high-resolution mass spectrometers. Gaseous agents were detected by MS or MS(2) in negative ion mode. The limits of detection for a 1 s measurement were typically at or below the microgram per cubic meter level except for chloropicrin (submilligram per cubic meter). Matrix effects by gasoline vapor resulted in minimal false-positive signals for all the CWAs and some signal suppression in the case of mustard gas. The moisture level did influence the measurement of the CWAs.

Sensitive monitoring of volatile chemical warfare agents in air by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry with counter-flow introduction.

A new method for sensitively and selectively detecting chemical warfare agents (CWAs) in air was developed using counter-flow introduction atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (MS). Four volatile and highly toxic CWAs were examined, including the nerve gases sarin and tabun, and the blister agents mustard gas (HD) and Lewisite 1 (L1). Soft ionization was performed using corona discharge to form reactant ions, and the ions were sent in the direction opposite to the airflow by an electric field to eliminate the interfering neutral molecules such as ozone and nitrogen oxide. This resulted in efficient ionization of the target CWAs, especially in the negative ionization mode. Quadrupole MS (QMS) and ion trap tandem MS (ITMS) instruments were developed and investigated, which were movable on the building floor. For sarin, tabun, and HD, the protonated molecular ions and their fragment ions were observed in the positive ion mode. For L1, the chloride adduct ions of L1 hydrolysis products were observed in negative ion mode. The limit of detection (LOD) values in real-time or for a 1 s measurement monitoring the characteristic ions were between 1 and 8 µg/m(3) in QMS instrument. Collision-induced fragmentation patterns for the CWAs were observed in an ITMS instrument, and optimized combinations of the parent and daughter ion pairs were selected to achieve real-time detection with LOD values of around 1 µg/m(3). This is a first demonstration of sensitive and specific real-time detection of both positively and negatively ionizable CWAs by MS instruments used for field monitoring.