A new halogen-specific detection method (XSD) was tested for determination
of chlorinated fatty acids in marine biota. In XSD, an increased emission o
f ions and electrons is caused by the high-temperature combustion of haloge
n-containing compounds. The detection limit of methyl dichlorooctadecanoate
and the selectivity at a reactor temperature of 900 degreesC match those o
f electrolytic conductivity detection (ELCD). The relative standard deviati
on is less than 11% for greater than or equal to0.2 ng methyl dichlorooctad
ecanoate. An XSD chromatogram of a complex sample, chlorinated fatty acid m
ethyl esters liberated from fish lipids, agreed with a previously obtained
ELCD chromatogram. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.