A Comparison of the Limits of Detection for a Number of Surrogates of Organophosphorus Toxic Agents and Methylphosphonic Acid Silyl Derivatives and its O-Alkyl Esters by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry with Various Ionization Methods and a Flameless Thermionic Ionization Detector

Abstract

Electron ionization (EI) and chemical ionization (CI) mass spectra of methylphosphonic acid phosphates and phosphonates (surrogates of respective chemical war agents) and silyl derivatives and its O-alkyl esters (markers of hydrolysis products of chemical war agents) were investigated and respective limits of detection were determined by GC/MS (EI) and GC/MS (CI) in a single ion monitoring mode. Atmospheric pressure photo- and photochemical ionization (APPI/APPCI) mass spectra of the same compounds were investigated by GC/MS (APPI/APPCI) and conditions providing the registration of mass spectra consisting of only one peak, corresponding to the M+ or [M + H]+ ion, were chosen and the limits of detection in the single ion monitoring mode were determined. In addition, the limits of detection for all of the studied compounds by GC with a flameless thermionic detector (FTID) were determined. The limits of detection for phosphates and phosphonates by GC/MS (EI) (MS/MS), GC/MS (CI), GC/MS (APPI), and GC/MS (APPCI) and in the single ion monitoring mode were 0.2–1.0 pg, 1.0–6.0 pg, 10–30 pg, and 0.1–0.3 pg, respectively. For methylphosphonic acid silyl derivatives and its O-alkyl esters, the respective limits of detection were 0.2–4.0 pg, 1.0–5.0 pg, 10–25 pg, and 1.0–3.0 pg. The limits of detection for all the studied compounds by GC with FTID were 0.3–0.4 pg. This means that the rapid screening of the samples to be investigated should be based on the last named method and GC/MS must be used only for the selected samples.