IDENTIFICATION OF COMPONENTS IN WASTE STREAMS BY ELECTROSPRAY AND TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Highly polar, non-gas-chromatographable compounds have few unambiguous analysis protocols for environmental applications. A recent environme ntal investigation, concerning the identification of a non-gas-chromat ographable yellow component in chemical waste water and in effluents f rom a biological wastewater treatment plant required the use of a numb er of analytical approaches. Electrospray mass spectrometry, tandem ma ss spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography, nuclear magne tic resonance, and molecular spectroscopy of commercial and synthesize d chlorodinitrophenol isomers were required in order to identify the s pecific isomer causing the color. The present report summarizes the el ectrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometric studies that were used. The mass spectrometric study shows that two different isomers of chlorodinitrophenol exhibit very different collision-induced dissocia tion (CID) spectra. Differences in the tandem mass spectra can be attr ibuted to the different structures of the anions formed from these two different isomers. Instrumentation that uses electrospray ionization and produces CID mass spectra and optical absorption spectra in a sing le analysis may be required in order to produce highly specific inform ation on non-gas-chromatographable compounds found in the environment.