Analytical mass spectrometry of herbicides

Abstract    I. Introduction  2    II. Scope of Information Within Each Herbicide Category  3   III. Herbicides by Category  4A.  Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids, Esters, and Salts  4B.  Amides, Including Chloroacetanilides  4C.  Aminoacids and Derivatives  5D.  Benzoic and Phthalic Acids, Esters, and Salts  6E.  Benzonitriles  7F.  Cyclohexanediones  7G.  Dinitrophenylamines (Dinitroanilines)  7H.  Diphenyl Ethers  8I.  Imidazolinones  9J.  Miscellaneous Heterocyclics 10K.  Phenols 11L.  Phenoxycarboxylic Acids, Esters, and Salts 12M.  Pyridines 13N.  Pyridazines 14O.  Quaternary Ammonium Salts 15P.  Sulfonylureas 16Q.  Sulfonamides and Other Sulfur Compounds 16R.  Thiocarbamates and Carbamates 19S.  Triazines and Related Compounds 19T.  Triazoles 20U.  Ureas 21 References 22Herbicides are chemical substances that are applied to agricultural soils, gardens, lawns, or plants to destroy or to prevent the growth of undesirable vegetation. The herbicides included in this review are generally synthetic organic compounds that are ingredients in commercial herbicide products that were designated active during late 2002 in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's database of registered and canceled pesticide products. The compounds are organized into 21 categories according to their general chemical structures or a common structural group. The herbicides in each category are discussed in terms of their structures, their database electron ionization mass spectra, and their amenability to separation and measurement with gas chromatography, reversed‐phase liquid chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis combined with mass spectrometry. Ionization techniques that are considered here are mainly electron ionization, electrospray, and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization. Sixty‐six references are provided to herbicide reviews, and to the recent herbicide analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry research literature. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 23:1–24, 2004