Rapid on-site detection of persistent organic pollutants using multiwalled carbon nanotube-modified paper spray ionization and a miniature mass spectrometer.

Abstract

Rapid on-site detection of persistent organic pollutants (POP) is highly desirable for environmental protection. Herein, a rapid on-site analytical workflow was developed for the investigation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and perfluorinated compounds using multiwalled carbon nanotube-modified paper spray ionization (PSI) coupled with a miniature ion trap mass spectrometer. Critical parameters regarding PSI and miniature mass spectrometry analysis were optimized. The analytical performance of the developed method was evaluated under optimized conditions, obtaining a short analysis duration of less than 1min, sufficient linearity with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99, acceptable recovery rates of 93.1%-105.8% with relative standard deviations of between 3.5% and 10.3%, and reasonable sensitivity with limits of detection and quantitation of 2-200 and 5-500 μg/L, respectively. Considering these aspects, it was concluded that the present approach demonstrated a promising solution for rapid on-site detection of emerging POPs.