Determination of airborne organics by direct sampling mass spectrometry.

摘要

Two new state-of-the-art mass spectrometer systems are currently being evaluated for the determination of part-per-billion levels of organics in ambient air. These instruments include an ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS) and a glow discharge quadrupole mass spectrometer (GDMS). Both of these instruments can be configured for direct air sampling or may be operated in conjunction with thermal desorbers for the analysis of samples preconcentrated on resin traps. Glow discharge ionization is particularly amenable to direct air monitoring; however, the use of a single quadrupole mass analyzer limits the ultimate specificity of this particular system. Important features of the ITMS include the ability to perform selective chemical ionization as well as collision induced dissociation (CID) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for compound identification. Applications of this technology have included the determination of ambient nicotine in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), the determination of trace levels of organo-phosphonates in air, and the detection of target volatile organics in indoor atmospheres. 2 refs., 5 figs.