Published:Journal of Chromatographic Science,
ISSN 0021-9665 Volume
47, Number 1, January 2009, pp. 57-66
The Use of MIMS-MS–MS in Field Locations
as an On-Line Quantitative Environmental Monitoring Technique
for Trace Contaminants in Air and Water
J.M. Etzkorn1, N.G. Davey1,
A.J. Thompson1,
A.S. Creba1, C.W. LeBlanc2, C.D. Simpson3,
E.T. Krogh1, and
C.G. Gill1, 1Applied Environmental Research Laboratories (AERL), Department
of Chemistry, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street,
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada; 2Cantest Limited, Environmental
Division, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada (present address:
ALS Laboratory Group, Environmental Division, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada); 3 University of Washington, Department of Environmental
and Occupational Health Sciences, Seattle, Washington, USA
Membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS)
is emerging as an important technique for on-line, real-time
environmental monitoring. Because MIMS interfaces are simple
and robust, they are ideally suited for operation in MS instrumentation
used for in-field applications. We report the use of an on-line
permeation tube to continuously infuse an isotopically labeled
internal standard for continuous quantitative determinations
in atmospheric and aqueous samples without the need for off-line
calibration. This approach also provides important information
on the operational performance of the analytical system during
multi-day deployments. We report measured signal stability during
on-line deployments in air and water of 7% based on variation
of the internal standard response and have used this technique
to quantify BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzenes, and xylenes),
pinenes, naphthalene and 2-methoxyphenol (guaiacol) in urban
air plumes at parts-per-billion by volume levels. Presented are
several recent applications of MIMS-MS–MS for on-line environmental
monitoring in atmospheric and aqueous environmental samples demonstrating
laboratory, remote and mobile deployments. We also present the
use of a thermally assisted MIMS interface for the direct measurement
of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, alkylphenols, and other SVOCs in
the low ppb range in aqueous environmental samples and discuss
improvements in both the sensitivity and response times for selected
SVOCs. The work presented in this paper represents significant
improvements in field deployable mass spectrometric techniques,
which can be applied to direct on-site analytical measurements
of VOC and SVOCs in environmental samples.
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