Brian C. Laughlin

Coupling Desorption Electrospray Ionization with Solid-Phase Microextraction for Screening and Quantitative Analysis of Drugs in Urine

Direct analysis of silica C(18)-coated solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) for the purpose of analyzing drugs from raw urine is presented. The method combines a simple, inexpensive, and solvent-less sample preparation technique with the specificity and speed of DESI-MS and MS/MS. Extraction of seven drugs from raw urine is performed using specially designed SPME fibers coated uniformly with silica-C(18) stationary phase. Each SPME device is inserted into unprocessed urine under gentle agitation and, then, removed, rinsed, and analyzed directly by DESI-MS (MS/MS). Rapid screening over a wide mass range is afforded by coupling the method with a time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometer while quantitative analysis is performed using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The performance of the SPME DESI-MS/MS method was evaluated by preparing calibration standards and quality control (QC) samples of the seven drug compounds from urine over a range from 20 to 1000 ng/mL, with the exception of meprobamate which was prepared from 200 to 10000 ng/mL. The calibration curves constructed for each analyte had an R(2) > 0.99. The range of precision (%CV) and accuracy values (% bias) for low QC samples was 1-11% and 3-38%, respectively. Precision and accuracy values for high QC samples range from 0.9 to 8% and -31 to -8%. Results from urine specimens of actual exposure to drugs screened using the SPME DESI-MS/MS method showed good agreement with the conventional immunoassays and GC/MS analysis. Liquid desorption of the SPME fiber followed by LC/MS/MS also showed good agreement with the SPME DESI-MS/MS method.

Ion/molecule reactions performed in a miniature cylindrical ion trap mass spectrometer

A recently constructed miniature mass spectrometer, based on a cylindrical ion trap (CIT) mass analyzer, is used to perform ion/molecule reactions in order to improve selectivity for in situ analysis of explosives and chemical warfare agent simulants. Six different reactions are explored, including several of the Eberlin reaction type (M. N. Eberlin and R. G. Cooks, Org. Mass Spectrom., 1993, 28, 679-687) as well as novel gas-phase Meerwein reactions. The reactions include (1) Eberlin transacetalization of the benzoyl, 2,2-dimethyloximinium, and 2,2-dimethylthiooximinium cations with 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane to form 2-phenyl-1,3-dioxolanylium cations, 2,2-dimethylamine-1,3-dioxolanylium cations and the 2,2-dimethylamin-1,3-oxathiolanylium cations, respectively; (2) Eberlin reaction of the phosphonium ion CH3P(O)OCH3+, formed from the chemical warfare agent simulant dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), with 1,4-dioxane to yield the 1,3,2-dioxaphospholanium ion, a new characteristic reaction for phosphate ester detection; (3) the novel Meerwein reaction of the ion CH3P(O)OCH3+ with propylene sulfide forming 1,3,2-oxathionylphospholanium ion; (4) the Meerwein reaction of the benzoyl cation with propylene oxide and propylene sulfide to form 4-methyl-2-phenyl-1,3-dioxolane and its thio analog, respectively; (5) ketalization of the benzoyl cation with ethylene glycol to form the 2-phenyl-1,3-dioxolanylium cation; (6) addition/NO2 elimination involving benzonitrile radical cation in reaction with nitrobenzene to form an arylated nitrile, a diagnostic reaction for explosives detection and (7) simple methanol addition to the C7H7+ ion, formed by NO2 loss from the molecular ion of p-nitrotoluene to form an intact adduct. Evidence is provided that these reactions occur to give the products described and their potential analytical utility is discussed.

Trace analysis of organics in air by corona discharge atmospheric pressure ionization using an electrospray ionization interface

A corona discharge ion source operating at atmospheric pressure in the point-to-plane configuration was constructed by reconfiguring the ion source of a commercial electrospray ionization (ESI) quadrupole mass spectrometer. This new source allows direct air analysis without modification to the mass spectrometer. Detection and quantitation of semi-volatile compounds in air is demonstrated. The analytical performance of the system was established using the chemical warfare agent simulants methyl salicylate and dimethyl methylphosphonate. Limits of detection are 60 pptr in the negative-ion mode and 800 pptr in the positive-ion mode for methyl salicylate and 800 pptr in the negative-ion mode and 3.6 ppb in the positive-ion mode for dimethyl methylphosphonate. A linear response was observed from 60 pptr to 8 ppb for methyl salicylate in air in the negative-ionization mode. Cluster ion formation versus production of analyte ions was investigated and it was found that dry air or an elevated capillary interface temperature (130°C) was needed to avoid extensive clustering, mostly of water. Reagent gases are not needed as proton sources, as is usually the case for atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, and this, together with the simplicity, sensitivity and speed of the technique, makes it promising for miniaturization and future field studies.