title: Selective and sensitive trace analysis of sulfur mustard with thermal desorption and two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
abstract: An improved method is presented for the trace analysis of sulfur mustard (HD) in biological samples, such as blood and tissue from laboratory animals. Using the internal standard method and liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate, up to 400 microL of the extract was injected by thermal desorption from Tenax and analyzed by two-dimensional GC-MS/EI in SIM mode. The analysis was compared with a direct GC injection. Reversed thermal desorption was used as a tool for handling heavily contaminated (fat) samples, thus preventing contamination of the injection system and pre-column. A successful analytical configuration has been set up for the bioanalysis of HD at the low, toxicologically relevant pM level. A detection limit of 10 pg mL(-1) blood or pg g(-1) tissue of sulfur mustard (S/N=3) was established by using this configuration.
authors.affiliation: Varian B.V., Department R&D Consumable Products, Herculesweg 8, 4338 PL Middelburg, The Netherlands. john.oostdijk@varianinc.com
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Oostdijk
authors.forename: C E A M
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Degenhardt
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Trap
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Langenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D000882:Haplorhini; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009151:Mustard Gas / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D009151:Mustard Gas