Evaluation of N-methyl-N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl trifluoroacetamide for environmental analysis under both EIMS and electron capture NICIMS conditions and comparison to trimethylsilyl reagents under EIMS

Abstract

N-Methyl-N-tert-butyldimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) is a silylating agent with a range of applicability in clinical and environmental analysis, particularly when substrates possess at least moderate acidity. In this paper, we demonstrate its applicability and limitations as a reagent for environmental analysis by comparing and contrasting two different target analyte problems in a sewage effluent matrix. In one case, electron ionization was used for the determination of three potential endocrine disrupting compounds: 17β-oestradiol, ethynyl oestradiol, and oestrone where the phenolic functionality was silylated with MTBSTFA and compared with results using N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) as the reagent. In this instance, a large volume of effluent was subjected to either solid-phase extraction followed by cleanup using high-performance gel permeation chromatography (AppI) or liquid/liquid extraction followed by SPE fractionation and HPLC fractionation (AppII). The method using BSTFA rather than MTBSTFA was demonstrated to work down to low and sub-ppt levels where the target compounds were found. In a parallel and contrasting study, sewage effluent was analysed for 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCP) by extracting one liter of water using liquid–liquid extraction and determined by GC/MS operated in the negative ion chemical ionization (electron capture) mode after derivatization with MTBSTFA. TCP is the major metabolite of the commonly used insecticide, chlorpyrifos, and herbicide trichlorpyr. The recoveries using dichloromethane as the extractant were 59%, with a relative standard deviation of 2%. This method was used to investigate levels of TCP in sewage effluent. During this analysis, a tentatively identified additional isomer of TCP (X-TCP) was found. The 3,5,6-TCP, the common chlorpyrifos metabolite and the synthesized isomer, 3,4,5-TCP were compared with X-TCP. All three isomers have significantly different retention times. The average level of 3,5,6-TCP was 3.4 ng L−1, while the level of X-TCP was 39.8 ng L−1. The two approaches are compared and contrasted with respect to artefact formation and matrix component effects. The reagent MTBSTFA is found to be suitable for quantitative analysis of environmental samples for relatively acidic substrates (e.g. phenols and carboxylic acids). More powerful silylating agents such as N-methyl-N-trimethylacetamide or BSTFA are required for sterols and similar substrates. The stability of the two silylating reagents appears to be similar and practical for accurate quantitative analysis. Differences in EI spectra with respect to fragmentation may also dictate which reagent is preferred.