Abstract
A method for an unbiased search for volatile organics is described. It is based on direct headspace extraction, capillary GC separation on an apolar stationary phase and ion-trap detection. By automatic reconstruction of the chromatogram with each ion in the scanned mass range (29–199 u), peaks that did not appear on the total ion chromatogram could be spotted. The concentration of some organics at the limit of detection was in the range 0.03–8 μmol/1 in blood. Owing to the high sensitivity, the mass spectrum of a peak was not reliable as the sole proof of a substance present at a low concentration. The identification was therefore made on the basis of joint data from mass spectra, searched on-line in a library, and retention indices, retrieved from the literature. To show the value of the method, examples are given of some scarce intoxicants found in post-mortem samples.
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