Fast Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Complex Mixtures of Organic Compounds Based on Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry with Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization

Abstract

The research is devoted to the investigation of the selectivity detection of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), electron ionization (EI) GC-MS with atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPhI) and GC-MS atmospheric pressure photochemical ionization (APPhCI) when vapors of different substances (benzene, toluene, and naphthalene) were used as gas reagents. Capillary columns of different lengths were used for the separation of the components of the mixture of 44 semivolatile organic compounds. It was shown that the most-selective detection of 16 PAHs in a 44- component mixture was possible when GC-MS APPhCI was used. Only 16 PAHs were registered on the respective mass chromatograms and a fast detection of them was possible. The respective APPhI and APPhCI mass spectra consisted of only peak of the respective molecular ion, M⁺⁺ - the radical cation. Detection limits were 3 pg μL⁻¹ to 15 pg μL.

Analysis of 62 synthetic cannabinoids by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with photoionization

“…The PI technique is unique in that the radical cation is produced by ultraviolet light radiation by depriving one electron from a target molecule with a low ionization threshold [6], while EI requires the deprivation of two electrons at a time for ion formation with relatively high ionization threshold. Therefore, the PI technique has been used as a convenient method for detecting stable neutral compounds such as volatile organic compounds or neutral oil components [2, 3, 6, 7, 9].…”

“…Therefore, the PI technique has been used as a convenient method for detecting stable neutral compounds such as volatile organic compounds or neutral oil components [2, 3, 6, 7, 9]. …”

“…During our literature search on PI, we were surprised to find as many as seven articles on applications of PI published in international scientific journals in 2015–2016 [4–10]. Among these reports, various combinations of PI with atmospheric pressure MS [6, 7, 9] and with low-pressure MS [4, 10] were reported to provide extremely high sensitivity. It appears that PI technology is now under rapid development.…”

The Formation of a M + 2 Compound in the Analysis of a Trimethylsilyl Derivative of Monocarboxylic Acids by Gas Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

“…Combining GC with MS has proved highly successful, and GC-MS has become one of the most powerful instruments in chemical analysis. [5][6][7][8] Electron ionization (EI) is the most commonly used ionization technique in GC-MS. In EI, the molecular ion is often fragmented extensively.…”