A highly sensitive and specific real-time field-deployable detection technology, based on counterflow air introduction atmospheric pressure chemical ionization, has been developed for a wide range of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) comprising gaseous (two blood agents, three choking agents), volatile (six nerve gases and one precursor agent, five blister agents), and nonvolatile (three lachrymators, three vomiting agents) agents in air. The approach can afford effective chemical ionization, in both positive and negative ion modes, for ion trap multiple-stage mass spectrometry (MS(n)). The volatile and nonvolatile CWAs tested provided characteristic ions, which were fragmented into MS(3) product ions in positive and negative ion modes. Portions of the fragment ions were assigned by laboratory hybrid mass spectrometry (MS) composed of linear ion trap and high-resolution mass spectrometers. Gaseous agents were detected by MS or MS(2) in negative ion mode. The limits of detection for a 1 s measurement were typically at or below the microgram per cubic meter level except for chloropicrin (submilligram per cubic meter). Matrix effects by gasoline vapor resulted in minimal false-positive signals for all the CWAs and some signal suppression in the case of mustard gas. The moisture level did influence the measurement of the CWAs.

No abstract

A new method enabling sensitive real-time air monitoring of highly reactive chemical warfare agents, namely, mustard gas (HD) and Lewisite 1 (L1), by detecting ions of their in-line reaction products instead of intact agents, is proposed. The method is based on corona discharge-initiated atmospheric pressure chemical ionization coupled with ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (MS(n)) via counterflow ion introduction. Therefore, it allows for highly sensitive and specific real-time detection of a broad range of airborne compounds. In-line chemical reactions, ionization reactions, and ion fragmentations of these agents were investigated. Mustard gas is oxygenated in small quantity by reactive oxygen species generated in the corona discharge. With increasing air humidity, the MS(2) signal intensity of protonated molecules of mono-oxygenated HD decreases but exceeds that of dominantly existing intact HD. This result can be explained in view of proton affinity. Lewisite 1 is hydrolyzed and oxidized. As the humidity increases from zero, the signal of the final product, namely, didechlorinated, dihydroxylated, and mono-oxygenated L1, quickly increases and reaches a plateau, giving the highest MS(2) and MS(3) signals among those of L1 and its reaction products. The addition of minimal moisture gives the highest signal intensity, even under low humidity. The method was demonstrated to provide sufficient analytical performance to meet the requirements concerning hygienic management and counter-terrorism. It will be the first practical method, in view of sensitivity and specificity, for real-time air monitoring of HD and L1 without sample pretreatment.

Drift tube ion mobility spectrometry with a novel atmospheric electron emission (AEE) source was developed for determination of gaseous and blister chemical warfare agents (CWAs) in negative mode. The AEE source was fabricated from an aluminum substrate electrode covered with 1 μm silver nanoparticle-dispersed silicone resin and a thin gold layer. This structure enabled stable tunneling electron emission upon the application of more than 11 V potential under atmospheric pressure. The reactant ion peak (RIP) was observed for the reduced mobility constant (K 0) of 2.18 and optimized at the charging voltage of 20 V. This RIP was assigned to O2 – by using a mass spectrometer. Hydrogen cyanide was detected as a peak (K 0 = 2.47) that was discriminatively separated from the RIP (resolution = 1.4), with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.057 mg/m3, and assigned to CN– and OCN–. Phosgene was detected as a peak (K 0 = 2.36; resolution = 1.2; and LOD = 0.6 mg/m3), which was assigned to Cl–. Lewisite 1 was detected as two peaks (K 0 = 1.68 and 1.34; LOD = 12 and 15 mg/m3). The K 0 = 1.68 peak was ascribed to a mixture of adducts of molecules or the product of hydrolysis with oxygen or chloride. Cyanogen chloride, chlorine, and sulfur mustard were also well detected. The detection performance with the AEE source was compared with those under corona discharge and 63Ni ionizations. The advantage of the AEE source is the simple RIP pattern (only O2 –), and the characteristic marker ions contribute to the discriminative CWAs detection.

A gas-cylinder-free plasma desorption/ionization system was developed to realize a mobile on-site analytical device for detection of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). In this system, the plasma source was directly connected to the inlet of a mass spectrometer. The plasma can be generated with ambient air, which is drawn into the discharge region by negative pressure in the mass spectrometer. High-power density pulsed plasma of 100 kW could be generated by using a microhollow cathode and a laboratory-built high-intensity pulsed power supply (pulse width: 10-20 μs; repetition frequency: 50 Hz). CWAs were desorbed and protonated in the enclosed space adjacent to the plasma source. Protonated sample molecules were introduced to the mass spectrometer by airflow through the discharge region. To evaluate the analytical performance of this device, helium and air plasma were directly irradiated to CWAs in the gas-cylinder-free plasma desorption/ionization system and the protonated molecules were analyzed by using an ion-trap mass spectrometer. A blister agent (nitrogen mustard 3) and nerve gases [cyclohexylsarin (GF), tabun (GA), and O-ethyl S-2-N,N-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate (VX)] in solution in n-hexane were applied to the Teflon rod and used as test samples, after solvent evaporation. As a result, protonated molecules of CWAs were successfully observed as the characteristic ion peaks at m/z 204, 181, 163, and 268, respectively. In air plasma, the limits of detection were estimated to be 22, 20, 4.8, and 1.0 pmol, respectively, which were lower than those obtained with helium plasma. To achieve quantitative analysis, calibration curves were made by using CWA stimulant dipinacolyl methylphosphonate as an internal standard; straight correlation lines (R(2) = 0.9998) of the peak intensity ratios (target per internal standard) were obtained. Remarkably, GA and GF gave protonated dimer ions, and the ratios of the protonated dimer ions to the protonated monomers increased with the amount of GA and GF applied.