Electrospray liquid chromatography quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry determination of phenyl urea herbicides in water.

Phenyl urea herbicides were determined in water by electrospray quadrupole ion trap liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (ES-QIT-LC-MS). Over a wide concentration range [M - H](-) and MH(+) ions were prominent in ES spectra. At high concentrations dimer and trimer ions appeared, and sodium, potassium, and ammonium adducts also were observed. In the case of isopturon, source collision-induced dissociation (CID) fragmentation with low offset voltages increased the ion current associated with MH(+) and diminished dimer and trimer ion abundance. In the mass analyzer CID involved common pathways, for example, daughter ions of [M - H](-) resulted from loss of R(2)NH in N',N'-dialkyl ureas or loss of C(3)H(5)NO(2) (87 amu) in N'-methoxy ureas. A 2 mm (i.d.) x 15 cm C(18) reversed phase column was used for LC-MS with a linear methanol/water gradient and 0.5 mL/min flow rate. Between 1 and 100 pg/microg/L the response was highly linear with instrument detection limits ranging from <10 to 50 pg injected. Whereas the positive ES signal intensity was greater for each of the compounds except fluometuron, negative ion monitoring gave the highest signal-to-noise ratio. Analysis of spiked Colorado River water, a source high in total dissolved solids and total organic carbon, demonstrated that ES-QIT-LC-MS was routinely capable of quantitative analysis at low nanogram per liter concentrations in conjunction with a published C(18) SPE method. Under these conditions experimental method detection limits were between 8.0 and 36 ng/L, and accuracy for measurements in the 20-50 parts per trillion range was from 77 to 96%. Recoveries were slightly lower in surface water (e.g., 39-76%), possibly due to suppression of ionization.

Multiresidue HPLC methods for phenyl urea herbicides in water.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for the determination of phenyl urea herbicides in water are described. The target compounds include chlortoluron, diuron, fluometuron, isoproturon, linuron, metobromuron, metoxuron, monuron, neburon, and siduron. Water was subjected to solid phase extraction (SPE) using either automated SPE with 47 mm C(18) Empore disks or on-line precolumn concentration. Herbicides were separated on a C(18) reversed phase column with an acetonitile-water gradient and were detected with either a diode array detector (DAD) or a postcolumn photolysis and derivatization (PPD) detector system. Photolysis converted the phenyl ureas to monoalkylamines that were derivatized to fluorescent isoindoles by reaction with o-phthalaldehyde and 2-mercaptoethanol. The DAD monitoring at 245 nm was linear over three decades with instrument detection limits of approximately 0.01 mg/L. SPE efficiency was between 48 and 70% in laboratory reagent water, but use of the internal standard quantitation method improved accuracy. High total dissolved solids and total organic carbon values in surface water improved recoveries relative to laboratory reagent water for all of the phenyl ureas. In Colorado River water spiked at 1 or 50 microg/L, mean recoveries ranged from 74 to 104%. Method detection limits (MDLs) ranged from 4 to 40 ng/L (parts per trillion) with the DAD instrument. PPD detection was highly specific but resulted in a slight loss in chromatographic efficiency and average MDLs approximately 5 times higher using a single set of detection conditions. The study indicates that methods based on SPE followed by HPLC with diode array or PPD detection have practical utility for trace analysis of phenyl ureas in drinking water or surface waters.

LC-MS compatible HPLC separation for xenobiotics and their phase I and phase II metabolites: simultaneous anion exchange and reversed-phase chromatography.

Benzene and five of its mammalian metabolites, phenol, phenyl-beta-D-glucuronide, phenylsulfate, phenylmercapturate, and t,t-muconic acid, are separated on a methylstyrene-divinylbenzene-based anion exchange--reversed-phase column. The retention of the model compounds is manipulated by modifying the type, ionic strength, and pH of the mobile phase buffer, and the type and percent of organic mobile phase modifier. The separations developed are compatible with both particle beam (PB) and thermospray (TSP) interfaces used in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). These separations should be adaptable to the study of a wide range of xenobiotics and their phase I and phase II metabolites, and provide an LC-MS compatible alternative to the use of iron pairing reagents.

The matrix effect in particle beam liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and reliable quantification by isotope dilution.

The transport efficiency of the particle beam liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer interface is influenced by analyte concentration contributing to a widely reported non-linearity. In this work, coeluting, isotope-labeled internal standards were investigated as 'carriers' to improve the transport efficiency and linearity. Three styrene metabolites--mandelic, phenylglyoxylic and hippuric acids--and their pentadeutero analogs were separated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) with an ammonium acetate-acetonitrile mobile phase. Selected positive ions produced by electron ionization were monitored to generate particle beam LC/MS calibration curves. The present study demonstrates that particle beam LC/MS not only is non-linear, but also is subject to a matrix effect presumably by the same mechanism responsible for non-linearity. Coeluting, isotope-labeled internal standards were ineffective at linearizing the particle beam liquid chromatograph/mass spectrometer detector response. Isotope dilution quantification, however, compensates for variable transport efficiencies, linearizes calibration and compensates for the matrix effect, affording reliable quantification of the styrene metabolites.

Applicator exposure to 2,4-D, dicamba, and a dicamba isomer.

Potential respiratory and dermal exposure to applicators were estimated in a ground boom spray application of 2,4-D and dicamba. Time-weighted averages for airborne herbicide residues did not exceed 2.2 microgram/cu.m. in the cabs of application vehicles allowing only minor respiratory exposure. Dermal exposure was important as relatively large amounts of 2,4-D (1.2 - 18 mg) and dicamba (0.32-6.6 mg) were rinsed from applicators' hands. Urine analysis showed that the maximum elimination of herbicides occurred between 16 and 40 h after terminating exposure. A dicamba isomer (20% of the active material in the commercial formulation) was excreted in higher concentrations than dicamba in applicators' urine suggesting different toxicokinetic properties for the two compounds.

Determination of rotenoids and piperonyl butoxide in water, sediments and piscicide formulations.

Rotenone is a naturally occurring insecticide and piscicide (fish poison) found in many leguminous plants. This paper describes high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for the quantitative analysis of rotenone's principal biologically active components (rotenone, tephrosin, rotenolone, deguelin) and the synergist piperonyl butoxide (PBO) in various media. Compounds were separated on a C18 reversed phase column with an acetonitrile-0.025 M phosphoric acid mobile phase and detected by UV absorbance or fluorescence (PBO only). Solid phase extraction (SPE) was used in either coupled (on-line) mode with a C18 concentrator column or automated off-line mode using Empore C18 disks. The on-line extraction efficiency was improved significantly by adding small amounts of methanol to water. Method detection limits (MDLs) for rotenoids and PBO in reagent water were 0.3 and 2 micrograms L-1, respectively, with optimal recoveries ranging from 90% to 99%. Aquatic sediments were extracted with methanol and the extracts were diluted in water prior to analysis by coupled SPE-HPLC. In wet sediments, detection limits were approximately 20-100 micrograms kg-1 with recoveries of 71% to 87%. Sonication in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) followed by dilution in acetonitrile and filtration allowed determination of the active ingredients in powdered rotenone formulations. Details of sample preparation, cartridge column cleanup and analyte confirmation are provided.

Trace-level determination of 1,4-dioxane in water by isotopic dilution GC and GC-MS.

The volatile and polar solvent 1,4-dioxane has recently been reported as a contaminant of ground and surface waters, establishing the need to determine this substance in drinking water. This investigation established that 1,4-dioxane can be determined in water by various techniques including direct aqueous injection (DAI) gas chromatography (GC) and purge and trap GC-mass spectrometry (MS). Purge and trap GC-MS is limited by 1,4-dioxane's poor purge efficiency, resulting in detection limits up to 100 times greater than the efficiently purged volatile organic compounds. To attain the sensitivity required for drinking water monitoring, a method based on continuous liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane was developed. Isotope dilution was more accurate and reproducible than quantification with external standards, and the improvement in precision led to a lower method detection limit, 0.2 microgram L-1, using a quadrupole ion trap instrument in the electron ionization mode. Isotope dilution accuracy approached 100% in ppb determinations. Isotopic dilution quantification was also possible using a non-selective GC detector owing to the high efficiency of capillary GC columns that resolve the deuterium-labeled solvent from the natural isotopes.

Thermospray mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry of polar, urinary metabolites and metabolic conjugates.

This paper describes the characterization of glucuronide and sulfuric acid conjugates and alkyl phosphates by thermospray tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Primary thermospray mass spectra were generated using ammonium acetate buffer and filament-on ionization with both positive and negative ion detection. In positive ion mode molecular weight information was obtained for glucuronic, phosphoric and other weak acids. Under these conditions, however, spectra were not obtained for the sulfate adducts or phosphate salts. Negative ion thermospray mass spectrometry was more versatile, providing spectra of all metabolic structures examined. Positive and negative ion mass spectra provided complementary information for glucuronic acids. Collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) mass spectra of the glucuronide [M + NH4]+ or [M - H]- ions exhibited characteristic glucuronide 'fingerprints' as well as prominent aglycone ions. The aryl sulfates were hydrolyzed to the corresponding phenols under buffer/thermospray conditions and for these analytes CAD mass spectra were obtained from [phenate]- or [phenol + acetate]- parent ions. The M- of dimethyl thiophosphate underwent sequential loss of alkyl and alkoxy radicals and formaldehyde with collisional activation. MS/MS greatly enhances the power of the thermospray interface by providing fragmentation information useful both in the identification of unknowns and for improved mass spectrometry specificity.