Kinetics of Ion−Molecule Reactions with 2-Chloroethyl Ethyl Sulfide at 298 K: A Search for CIMS Schemes for Mustard Gas

In-Line Ozonation for Sensitive Air-Monitoring of a Mustard-Gas Simulant by Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry

A highly sensitive method for real-time air-monitoring of mustard gas (bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, HD), which is a lethal blister agent, is proposed. Humidified air containing a HD simulant, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2CEES), was mixed with ozone and then analyzed by using an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ion trap tandem mass spectrometer. Mass-spectral ion peaks attributable to protonated molecules of intact, monooxygenated, and dioxygenated 2CEES (MH(+), MOH(+), and MO(2)H(+), respectively) were observed. As ozone concentration was increased from zero to 30 ppm, the signal intensity of MH(+) sharply decreased, that of MOH(+) increased once and then decreased, and that of MO(2)H(+) sharply increased until reaching a plateau. The signal intensity of MO(2)H(+) at the plateau was 40 times higher than that of MH(+) and 100 times higher than that of MOH(+) in the case without in-line ozonation. Twenty-ppm ozone gas was adequate to give a linear calibration curve for 2CEES obtained by detecting the MO(2)H(+) signal in the concentration range up to 60 μg/m(3), which is high enough for hygiene management. In the low concentration range lower than 3 μg/m(3), which is equal to the short-term exposure limit for HD, calibration plots unexpectedly fell off the linear calibration curve, but 0.6-μg/m(3) vapor was actually detected with the signal-to-noise ratio of nine. Ozone was generated from instrumentation air by using a simple and inexpensive home-made generator. 2CEES was ozonated in 1-m extended sampling tube in only 1 s.

Facility monitoring of chemical warfare agent simulants in air using an automated, field-deployable, miniature mass spectrometer

Vapors of four chemical warfare agent (CWA) stimulants, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), diethyl malonate (DEM), dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), and methyl salicylate (MeS), were detected, identified, and quantitated using a fully automated, field-deployable, miniature mass spectrometer. Samples were ionized using a glow discharge electron ionization (GDEI) source, and ions were mass analyzed with a cylindrical ion trap (CIT) mass analyzer. A dual-tube thermal desorption system was used to trap compounds on 50:50 Tenax TA/Carboxen 569 sorbent before their thermal release. The sample concentrations ranged from low parts per billion [ppb] to two parts per million [ppm]. Limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.26 to 5.0 ppb. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves are presented for each analyte. A sample of CEES at low ppb concentration was combined separately with two interferents, bleach (saturated vapor) and diesel fuel exhaust (1%), as a way to explore the capability of detecting the simulant in an environmental matrix. Also investigated was a mixture of the four CWA simulants (at concentrations in air ranging from 270 to 380 ppb). Tandem mass (MS/MS) spectral data were used to identify and quantify the individual components.