Determination of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Solid Samples by Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry Using ³⁷Cl-Labeled Analogues

Abstract

This work describes the first application of (37)Cl-labeled compounds to isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). The synthesis of 12 (37)Cl-labeled polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was carried out by the chlorination of biphenyl with isotopically enriched chlorine gas, generated by the direct oxidation of Na(37)Cl with potassium peroxymonosulfate. After an exhaustive purification due to the presence of other congeners, the concentration and the isotopic enrichment of all (37)Cl-labeled PCBs in the mixture was determined. The proposed procedure allows the simultaneous quantification of every isotope diluted PCB congener in a single gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) injection without resorting to a methodological calibration graph. The results obtained here demonstrate that the use of (37)Cl-labeled analogues provides results in agreement with the certified values of three different Certified Reference Materials (marine sediment SRM 1944, fish tissue 1947, and loamy soil CRM 962-50) and analytical figures of merit comparable to those obtained using regular IDMS procedures based on the use of commercially available (13)C-labeled analogues.

Ascertaining Hydrogen-Abstraction Reaction Efficiencies of Halogenated Organic Compounds in Electron Impact Ionization Processes by Gas Chromatography–High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

“…HOCs are a large category of chemicals produced by both natural and anthropogenic activities, [35][36][37][38] and have been contributing enormous influences to human beings and the environment, in either positive or negative ways. [39][40][41][42][43] Many HOCs are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic pollutants, such as polychlorinated dioxins/furans, [44][45][46] dishlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), [47][48][49] polychlorinated biphenyls, 45,50 polybrominated diphenyl ethers, 48,49 polybrominated biphenyls, 51 chlorinated paraffins, 52 perfluorinated compounds 53 and etc., which have been posing serious pollution to the environment. In addition to known halogenated organic pollutants (HOPs), numerous unknown, novel and emerging HOPs have been continuously screened and identified in various matrices.…”

“…To date, reported studies concerning H-abstraction reactions in the EI source have mainly focused on quinones. , However, halogenated organic compounds (HOCs), e.g., organochlorines and organobromines, may also abstract hydrogen atoms in the EI source, in view of their lone electron pairs of halogen atoms (e.g., Cl and Br). HOCs are a large category of chemicals produced from both natural and anthropogenic activities − and have enormous influences on human beings and the environment, in either positive or negative ways. − Many HOCs are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutants, such as polychlorinated dioxins/furans, − dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), − polychlorinated biphenyls, , polybrominated diphenyl ethers, , polybrominated biphenyls, chlorinated paraffins, perfluorinated compounds, and etc., and have been posing serious pollution problems to the environment. In addition to known halogenated organic pollutants (HOPs), numerous previously unknown, novel, and emerging HOPs have been screened and identified in various matrices. − Most HOPs can be identified by gas chromatography coupled with EI-MS (GC-EI-MS), which is the mainstream approach for analysis of HOPs .…”

Visual Test Paper for on-Site Polychlorinated Biphenyls Detection and Its Logic Gate Applications

“…1,2 They are frequently found in water, soil, and food samples. 3,4 PCBs are closely linked to immunotoxicity, carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, and tumor promotion. 5 Chronic exposure to PCBs even at trace amounts can cause harmful effects on human health because they are easy to enrich through the food chain and are hard to degrade.…”

“…As a class of ubiquitous persistent organic pollutants (POPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have high chemical stability, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. , They are frequently found in water, soil, and food samples. , PCBs are closely linked to immunotoxicity, carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, and tumor promotion . Chronic exposure to PCBs even at trace amounts can cause harmful effects on human health because they are easy to enrich through the food chain and are hard to degrade. , Among the PCBs, 3,3′,4,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB77) is structurally coplanar and recognized as one of the most toxic dioxin-like PCB congeners. , The concentration of PCB77 can be used as an indicator to evaluate the pollution level of PCBs due to the high toxic equivalency factor (TEF) of PCB77. , Therefore, it is of great importance to establish simple, sensitive, and selective methods for PCB77 detection.…”