Detection of trace peroxide explosives in environmental samples using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Abstract

This article presents solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods for the trace detection of the peroxide explosives triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD). Furthermore, experimental studies use these methods to explore the efficiency of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processes at removing trace levels of peroxide explosives from water samples to assess the application of the developed methods for the detection of explosives in the environment. The principal results of this study showed that the greatest removal of TATP and HMTD from spiked water samples occurred following the biological treatment stage, however, the WWTP processing did not completely remove all of the analytes from the water, suggesting that such chemicals could contaminate downstream river water samples. The toxicity of chemical pollutants is often determined by their concentration, however, even at trace levels, the monitoring of explosives in the natural environment could be extremely informative for the detection of criminal activity as well as long-term effects upon aquatic life. These findings also have significant implications for crime prevention and disruption approaches that can use this type of data as intelligence to guide investigations regarding the source and attribution of detected explosives.

Detection of ɣ‐hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and ɣ‐butyrolactone (GBL) in alcoholic beverages via total vaporization solid‐phase microextraction (TV‐SPME) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

“…Nonanoic acid, 2-propenyl ester hexanoic acid, and α-terpineol are compounds used as flavoring agents [3,42]. Monoethyl succinate is a compound found in wines that is formed during fermentation [43].…”

Applications of liquid‐based separation in conjunction with mass spectrometry to the analysis of forensic evidence

“…Hence, identification of the chemicals used can determine the exact location where the HMEs were made by tracing the urban waste water system. Therefore, identification of high explosives and their post‐blast degradation products is important both forensically due to their wide military use and by their potential acute and chronic effects on the environment and population . Table lists name, chemical composition, structure, and calculated accurate masses of 22 common explosives.…”

“…Also, a fast liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric analysis of PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate), RDX (3,5‐trinitro‐1,3,5‐triazacyclohexane) and HMX (octahydro‐1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocine) in soil was achieved utilizing a simple ultrasonic‐assisted extraction with minimum solvent . Moreover, solid phase extraction in conjunction with LC‐MS was used to detection trace peroxide explosives in environmental samples . LC‐MS analysis is better suited for nitramine and nitrate ester type explosives because they are thermally labile and have low vapour pressure.…”

Investigations of hollow-core photonic crystal fibres (HC-PCF) for trace explosive vapour detection

“…Since TATP and DADP does not possess any chromophoric group (example, nitro explosives such as RDX, TNT, PETN), metallic elements and aromaticity, general explosive trace detectors ETDs or fluorescent detectors are unable to detect them. Several sophisticated analytical techniques used for trace vapor detection are, solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (DBDIMS), ultraviolet femtosecond multiphoton ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and metal oxide based conductometric sensors 1,[4][5][6][7][8] . Chromatographic and spectrometric techniques require swabbing of surfaces, conductometric sensors have poor selectivity, whereas other techniques either require installation of bulky instrumentation or are time consuming and cannot be employed in fast moving venues.…”