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Mathias S, Amerio-Cox M, Jackson T, Douce D, Sage A, Luke P, Sleeman R, Crean C, Sears P. Selectivity of Explosives Analysis with Ambient Ionization Single Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry: Implications for Trace Detection. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2024; 35:50-61. [PMID: 38086767 PMCID: PMC10767746 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.3c00305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
Ambient ionization (AI) is a rapidly growing field in mass spectrometry (MS). It allows for the direct analysis of samples without any sample preparation, making it a promising technique for the detection of explosives. Previous studies have shown that AI can be used to detect a variety of explosives, but the exact gas-phase reactions that occur during ionization are not fully understood. This is further complicated by differences in mass spectrometers and individual experimental set ups between researchers. This study investigated the gas-phase ion reactions of five different explosives using a variety of AI techniques coupled to a Waters QDa mass spectrometer to identify selective ions for explosive detection and identification based on the applied ambient ionization technique. The results showed that the choice of the ion source can have a significant impact on the number of ions observed. This can affect the sensitivity and selectivity of the data produced. The findings of this study provide new insights into the gas-phase ion reactions of explosives and could lead to the development of more sensitive and selective AI-based methods for their detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Mathias
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, U.K.
| | - Marius Amerio-Cox
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, U.K.
| | - Toni Jackson
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, U.K.
| | - David Douce
- Waters
Corporation, Stamford
Avenue, Wilmslow SK9 4AX, U.K.
| | - Ashley Sage
- Waters
Corporation, Stamford
Avenue, Wilmslow SK9 4AX, U.K.
| | - Peter Luke
- Mass
Spec Analytical, Future Space UWE North Gate, Bristol BS34 8RB, U.K.
| | - Richard Sleeman
- Mass
Spec Analytical, Future Space UWE North Gate, Bristol BS34 8RB, U.K.
| | - Carol Crean
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, U.K.
| | - Patrick Sears
- School
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University
of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, U.K.
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Choi HR, Choi SS. Ionization behaviors of nitrotoluenes and dinitrotoluenes by reactions with acetone-related reactant ion. JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY : JMS 2023; 58:e4983. [PMID: 37950649 DOI: 10.1002/jms.4983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
Dinitrotoluenes (DNTs) and nitrotoluenes (NTs) are found in the environment as metabolites of trinitrotoluene (TNT). When acetone is used as the solvent/eluent in atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (APCI-MS), the reactant ion is [2Acetone + O2 ]•- for the negative ion mode. The reactant ion reacts with an analyte to produce M•- and/or [M - H]- under atmospheric pressure. In this study, ionization behaviors of NT (2-, 3-, and 4-NTs) and DNT isomers (2,3-, 2,4-, and 2,6-DNTs) by reactions with [2Acetone + O2 ]•- were investigated. The energy-minimized structures of the product ions and their energies were calculated to explain the differences in the ionization behaviors. Typical NT- and DNT-related ions were produced by reactions with [2Acetone + O2 ]•- ; NT•- , [NT - H]- , DNT•- , [DNT - H]- , and [DNT - NO]- ions. The ionization efficiencies of NT- and DNT-related ions increased by increasing the source fragmentor voltage, and those of DNT-related ions were higher than those of the NT-related ions owing to the presence of an additional nitro group. The ionization efficiency of 3-NT•- was higher than that of [NT - H]- , while that of [DNT - H]- was higher than those of DNT•- and [DNT - NO]- . The ionization efficiency order of NT•- was 3-NT > 4-NT > 2-NT, while that of [DNT - H]- was 2,4-DNT > 2,6-DNT > 2,3-DNT. The [NT - H]- and [DNT - H]- ions were stabilized by resonance structures containing nitro groups. The [DNT - NO]- ions were formed through the transition state.
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Affiliation(s)
- He-Ryun Choi
- Department of Chemistry, Sejong University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung-Seen Choi
- Department of Chemistry, Sejong University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Kong W, Liu M, Zhang J, Wu H, Wang Y, Su Q, Li Q, Zhang J, Wu C, Zou WS. Room-temperature phosphorescence and fluorescence nanocomposites as a ratiometric chemosensor for high-contrast and selective detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1282:341930. [PMID: 37923408 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Revised: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Reports on using complementary colours for high-contrast ratiometric assays are limited to date. In this work, graphitized carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets and mercaptoethylamine (MEA) capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs were fabricated by liquid exfoliation of bulk g-C3N4, and by a coprecipitation and postmodification strategies, respectively. Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots were deposited onto g-C3N4 nanosheets through an electrostatic self-assembly to form new nanocomposites (denoted as Mn-ZnS QDs@g-C3N4). Mn-ZnS QDs@g-C3N4 can emit a pair of complementary colour light, namely, orange room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) at 582 nm and blue fluorescence at 450 nm. After 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) dosing into Mn-ZnS QDs@g-C3N4 aqueous solution, and pairing with MEA to generate TNT anions capable of quenching the emission of Mn-doped ZnS QDs, the fluorescence colours of the solution changed from orange to blue across white, exhibiting unusual high-contrast fluorescence images. The developed ratiometric chemosensor showed very good linearity in the range of 0-12 μM TNT with a limit of detection of 0.56 μM and an RSD of 6.4 % (n = 5). Also, the ratiometric probe had an excellent selectivity for TNT over other nitroaromatic compounds, which was applied in the ratiometric test paper to image TNT in water, and TNT sensing under phosphorescence mode to efficiently avoid background interference. A high-contrast dual-emission platform for selective ratiometric detection of TNT was therefore established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weili Kong
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Meina Liu
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Jinhui Zhang
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Hongbo Wu
- School of Chemical Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, 232001, China
| | - Yaqin Wang
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China.
| | - Qin Su
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Qin Li
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China; New Energy Photovoltaic Industry Research Center, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China
| | - Chengli Wu
- School of Chemical Engineering, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, 232001, China.
| | - Wen-Sheng Zou
- School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Molecule Design and Interface Procedure, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230022, China.
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Moon S, Yoo J, Lee W, Lee K. Enhancement of electrochemical detection performance towards 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene by a bottom layer of ZnO nanorod arrays. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15880. [PMID: 37215872 PMCID: PMC10192408 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The ZnO nanostructure layers have been widely investigated as electrodes for sensors due to their intrinsic advantages such as high active area and low cost. In this work, to enhance the detection properties of ZnO nanostructural electrodes, self-organized ZnO nanorod arrays were synthesized using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method on FTO glasses and ZnO nanoparticles. The fabricated ZnO electrodes on the two different substrates were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, and XPS. Subsequently, the detection performance of ZnO nanorod electrodes was electrochemically measured in a 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (2,4,6-TNT) solution by CV and EIS. The differences in current densities between the ZnO electrodes were determined by the width of the ZnO nanorods, resulting in a ∼45% higher detection efficiency with F-CBD (the ZnO nanorods on FTO) electrodes compared to S-CBD (the ZnO nanorods on ZnO nanoparticles) electrodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanghyeon Moon
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, 22212, Republic of Korea
| | - JeongEun Yoo
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, 22212, Republic of Korea
| | - Wonjoo Lee
- Aerospace and Defence Reliability Center, Korea Testing Laboratory, 10 Chungui-ro, Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 52852, Republic of Korea
| | - Kiyoung Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, 22212, Republic of Korea
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