Analysis of explosives using corona discharge ionization combined with ion mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry

A facile one-step photochemical strategy for preparation of polyacrylamide functionalized CdTe(S) quantum dots and their application in sensitive determination of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene

“…Considering the enrichment achieved by the extraction, LOD and LOQ for the real water sample were 0.42 and 1.4 nmol/L. These values are higher than that of GC with solid-phase extraction (100 times of enrichment), LOD of 0.04 g/L (∼0.18 nmol/L) [7], comparable with HPLC (LODs 0.35-0.54 g/L, 1.5-2.4 nmol/L; LOQs 1.17-1.80 g/L, 5-8 nmol/L) [8], electrochemical method (LOD of 1.5 nmol/L) [10], mass spectrometry (LOD of 0.1 g/L, ∼0.44 nmol/L) [15]. But because of the simple operation and instrumentation, the proposed method is advantageous over these conventional techniques, especially for on-site analyses.…”

“…Therefore, fast and reliable detection of trace TNT has attracted considerable attentions [5]. Various analytical techniques, including gas chromatography [6,7], high performance liquid chromatography [8,9], voltammetry [10,11], ion mobility spectrometry [12,13], mass spectrometry [14,15], energy dispersive X-ray diffraction [16,17], surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy [18,19], and surface plasmon resonance [20][21][22], just name a few, have been applied in the detection of trace amounts of TNT. These techniques are all effective, but the requirement of complicated analytical instruments, lengthy and tedious operation procedures of these methods exclude their application in on-site analysis, especially in emergencies.…”

Recent Developments in Spectroscopic Techniques for the Detection of Explosives

“…Lee et al analyzed five commonly used explosives (RDX, HMX, TNT, DNT, and PETN) by using ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) [129] RDX·NO 3 − , TNT − , PETN·NO 3 − , HMX·NO 3 − , and DNT − were detected and the average drift times were 6.93 ms, 10.20 ms, 9.15 ms, 12.24 ms, 11.30 ms, and 8.89 ms, respectively. The detection limits were 0.1 ng for RDX, 10 ng for TNT, 0.5 ng for PETN, 5.0 ng for HMX, and 10 ng for DNT.…”

Recent advances in capillary electrophoresis instrumentation for the analysis of explosives

“…The LODs ranged between 0.1 ng for RDX and 10 ng for DNT, thus demonstrating its potential for trace analysis. [51] Consequently, the use of MS or its coupling to separation techniques provides an improved sensitivity and confirmation of the molecules detected, at the expense of more expensive and complex equipment and limitations regarding the portable formats compared to CE.…”