Pressure programmed microbore column supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of organophosphorus insecticides.

Abstract

The use of the high flow rate (HFR) interface for supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry (SFC-MS) is shown to allow operation under conditions which provide efficient pressure programmed separations with appropriate microbore (packed) HPLC columns. The combined advantages of selectivity offered by the microparticle-packed stationary phase and variable solvating power of the supercritical fluid are fully utilized in this approach. The greater sample loadings and lower detection limits possible using packed columns (based on concentration of sample in the injection solvent) compared with commercially available capillary columns are demonstrated for the determination of a series of organophosphorus insecticides. Low concentrations of polar fluid modifiers, generally required for high-quality separations in packed-column SFC, also function as mild chemical ionization reagents. Broad classes of thermally labile, higher molecular weight, moderately polar pesticides are amenable to identification by SFC-MS, which provides a sensitive, selective, and broadly applicable technique for the identification of pesticide compounds with detection limits in the part-per-billion range.