Liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry for chlorinated phenolic compounds -: Application to the analysis of polluted soils

Liquid chromatography coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (LC-APCI-MS) with negative ion detection was applied to the determination of chlorinated phenolic compounds in contaminated soils. A ternary mobile phase [ammonium acetate-acetic acid (5 mM, pH 4.5)]-acetonitrile-methanol (60.30.10, v/v/v) was used to separate 17 chlorophenols. MS conditions were optimized in order to achieve maximum sensitivity. The [M-H](-) ion was the main ion for the low chlorinated phenols whereas the [M-H-HCl](-) ion was the main one for the high (tri-, tetra- and penta-) chlorophenols. Abundant structure information can be obtained even at low extraction voltages from losses of HCl units. Detection limits for standard solutions between 0.1 and 10 ng injected and good linearity and reproducibility were observed. The optimum LC-APCI-MS conditions were applied to the analysis of chlorophenols in a contaminated soil. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.