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Determination of chlorate, perchlorate and bromate anions in water samples by microbore reversed‐phase liquid chromatography coupled to sonic‐spray ionization mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Mavroudakis Leonidas,
Mavrakis Emmanouil,
Kouvarakis Antonis,
Pergantis Spiros A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.7866
Subject(s) - chemistry , bromate , chromatography , chlorate , mass spectrometry , perchlorate , detection limit , electrospray ionization , liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry , chemical ionization , tandem mass spectrometry , high performance liquid chromatography , analytical chemistry (journal) , ionization , ion , bromide , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry
Rationale Sonic‐spray ionization mass spectrometry (SSI‐MS) has recently been shown to provide similar mass spectra to those generated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for a wide range of compounds, i.e. from small inorganic species to peptides, proteins and numerous other biomolecules. However, limited information about this new ionization technique, such as sensitivity, limit of detection and quantification accuracy, has been reported. In particular, its coupling to liquid chromatography needs further development and assessment, along with the introduction of a broad range of applications. Methods A high‐efficiency glass pneumatic nebulizer, used for decades for sample introduction in atomic spectrometry, was used for the SSI‐MS analysis of chlorate (ClO 3 – ), perchlorate (ClO 4 – ) and bromate (BrO 3 – ) anions, following their separation using reversed‐phase microbore high‐performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) operated in selected reaction monitoring mode. Results The developed and optimized microbore HPLC/SSI‐MS/MS technique exhibited low limits of detection: 5.3 ng L –1 for chlorate, 10 ng L –1 for perchlorate and 33.7 ng L –1 for bromate, and provided reliable and accurate measurements of chlorate concentrations in water samples as demonstrated when comparing it with Ion Chromatography–Conductivity Detection (IC‐CD), the benchmark technique for ion quantitation. Conclusions This is the first time that the use of HPLC/SSI‐MS/MS has been reported for the detection and quantitation of chlorate, perchlorate and bromate in water samples. In addition, the exceptionally low LODs achieved using SSI render the technique competitive with the established and dominating electrospray ionization technique. Here, we have demonstrated that a commercially available high‐efficiency glass pneumatic nebulizer can also be used, without any further modification, as an efficient gas‐phase ion source. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.