title: On the signal response of various pesticides in electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization depending on the flow-rate of eluent applied in liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
abstract: The API-MS signal response of several pesticides (atrazine, simazine, isoproturon, diuron, chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos, alachlor, trifluralin) depending on the flow-rate of eluent entering the MS interface was investigated. The investigations were based on API-MS-MS analyses of standard pesticide mixtures in the flow injection mode (FIA) at systematically varied eluent flow-rates using both an ESI interface (Turboionspray) and a heated nebulizer type APCI source. In the result, the individual compounds included in this study showed significant differences in their signal response behaviour depending on the flow-rate of eluent applied. The most hydrophobic compounds among the investigated pesticides (chlorpyrifos and trifluralin) showed drastic losses of sensitivity with increasing eluent flow-rate in both ESI and APCI, while more hydrophilic compounds like atrazine, simazine and isoproturon showed the expected signal response (concentration-sensitive in ESI, mass-flow-sensitive in APCI) at least within a certain range of flow-rates (200-600 microl/min in ESI, 200-2000 microl/min in APCI). These findings lead to the conclusion that application of a programmed HPLC eluent flow-rate may be advantageous to achieve maximum sensitivity of API-MS detection for all pesticides of interest. This is exemplified by the implementation of a flow gradient into an online SPE-HPLC-APCI-MS/MS method for improved analysis of pesticides in drinking water.
authors.affiliation: Leipzig University, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Germany. asperger@sonne.tachemie.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asperger
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Efer
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koal
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Engewald
mesh_terms: D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides