title: Global and selective detection of organohalogens in environmental samples by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: We successfully detected halogenated compounds from several kinds of environmental samples by using a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatograph coupled with a tandem mass spectrometer (GC×GC-MS/MS). For the global detection of organohalogens, fly ash sample extracts were directly measured without any cleanup process. The global and selective detection of halogenated compounds was achieved by neutral loss scans of chlorine, bromine and/or fluorine using an MS/MS. It was also possible to search for and identify compounds using two-dimensional mass chromatograms and mass profiles obtained from measurements of the same sample with a GC×GC-high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer (HRTofMS) under the same conditions as those used for the GC×GC-MS/MS. In this study, novel software tools were also developed to help find target (halogenated) compounds in the data provided by a GC×GC-HRTofMS. As a result, many dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and many other halogenated compounds were found in fly ash extract and sediment samples. By extracting the desired information, which concerned organohalogens in this study, from huge quantities of data with the GC×GC-HRTofMS, we reveal the possibility of realizing the total global detection of compounds with one GC measurement of a sample without any pre-treatment.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa 16-2, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan. shunji@nies.go.jp
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Yoshikatsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takazawa
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fushimi
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Teruyo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ieda
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ochiai
authors.forename: Hirooki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohura
authors.forename: Qingping
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Reichenbach
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D060729:Coal Ash; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / Q000032:analysis*; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000737:chemistry; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D060729:Coal Ash; D004147:Dioxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D002244:Carbon; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls