RAPID SCREENING TECHNIQUE FOR TETRACHLORODIBENZO-P-DIOXINS IN COMPLEXENVIRONMENTAL MATRICES BY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETRYWITH AN ION-TRAP DETECTOR

A capillary column gas chromatographic/ion-trap tandem mass spectromet ric (GC/MS/MS) technique was applied to the determination of tetrachlo rodibenzo-p-dioxins (TCDDs) in complex environmental matrices. A detec tion limit of 500 fg mul-1 injected, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 6 :1, was obtained when MS/MS was combined with broadband ion ejection o f matrix ions and selected ion isolation. Calibration graphs were cons tructed from extracted fragment ion mass chromatograms and were found to be linear over the range 0.5-200 pg. Concentrations of total TCDDs and of 2,3,7,8-TCDD were determined for extracts from fish, air and so il; in most cases, the results found by GC/MS/MS were comparable to th ose obtained by high-resolution MS and triple quadrupole MS.