Fast quantitative detection of cocaine in beverages using nanoextractive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Without any sample pretreatment, effervescent beverage fluids were manually sprayed into the primary ion plume created by using a nanoelectrospray ionization source for direct ionization, and the analyte ions of interest were guided into an ion trap mass spectrometer for tandem mass analysis. Functional ingredients (e.g., vitamins, taurine, and caffeine, etc.) and spiked impurity (e.g., cocaine) in various beverages, such as Red Bull energy drink, Coco-cola, and Pepsi samples were rapidly identified within 1.5 s. The limit of detection was found to be 7 ϳ 15 fg (S/N ϭ 3) for cocaine in different samples using the characteristic fragment (m/z 150) observed in the MS 3 experiments. Typical relative standard deviation and recovery of this method were 6.9% ϳ 8.6% and 104% ϳ 108% for direct analysis of three actual samples, showing that nanoextractive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry is a useful technique for fast screening cocaine presence in beverages. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2010, 21, 290 -293)

Self‐aspiration sampling extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI‐MS) for high‐throughput analysis of liquid samples

“…The major fragment ions were detected at m/z 138 and m/z 110 and were assigned as the characteristic fragments of protonated caffeine generated by the loss of CH 3 NCO and CO, respectively. This CID spectrum agrees with the previous experimental results from tandem linear ion traps, [29] supporting the confirmation of caffeine. The intensity of the characteristic fragment ion at m/z 138 vs the concentrations shows a good linear relationship with a linear fit correlation coefficient of 0.9991.…”

“…With an improved nanoEESI-MS method, Hu et al [29] achieved the rapid analysis of a single sample within only 1.2 s. However, in nanoEESI-MS experiments, the solution must be poured into a spray bottle before MS analysis. This time-consuming operation brings concern about sample contamination, and the stability of results strongly depends on the proficiency of the operator.…”

Grand challenges in analytical chemistry: towards more bright eyes for scientific research, social events and human health

“…A versatile ion source for the analysis of materials in open air under ambient conditions (Robert et al, 2005) and an electrostatic axially harmonic orbital trapping (Alexander, 2000) have been proposed for mass spectral analysis. To simplify the detection process and extending the analytes, an extractive electrospray ionization method without need of sample pretreatment (Li et al, 2009), a nanoextractive electrospray ionization technique (Hu et al, 2010) and a direct infusion nanoelectrospray ionization strategy (Erve et al, 2008) have also been presented. The application of laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry has been further developed in different fields including chemical analysis of forensic evidence (Orellana et al, 2013).…”

Detection of trace levels of lead in aqueous liquids using extractive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

“…Selective detection of trace levels of analytes such as cocaine in beverages [57] and diethylene glycol in toothpastes [58] has been demonstrated with EESI tandem mass spectrometry implemented with selective ion/molecule reactions. In this study, EDTA selectively combined with lead in the EESI source because EDTA has a high affinity for Pb(II).…”