Toxaphene: a challenging analytical problem

The analysis of toxaphene, a highly complex mixture of chlorinated bornanes , bornenes and camphenes, is a challenging problem, especially as individua l congeners are present at trace levels in biota and other relevant samples . The complicated nomenclature of the compounds of interest is briefly disc ussed. Gas chromatographic techniques are the most important tools in toxap hene analysis because of their high resolution. The main focus of attention is devoted to important steps in the GC-based analytical procedure, such a s sample preparation and injection, separation by single-column and multidi mensional GC, both heart-cut and comprehensive, and detection by electron c apture and, increasingly, MS-based detection/identification. The gradual sh ift from total toxaphene to individual compound analysis is discussed, and the growing interest in enantiomer-selective separations is highlighted. Th e problems encountered when selecting appropriate indicator compounds for r apid toxaphene screening are also addressed.