Mass spectrometry solvent selection

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Selective extractions are not only of interest to solvent extraction, but also to thermal extractions. For example, selective in situ detection of polymer additives is possible using laser mass spectrometry, notably UV laser desorption/MS [561]. The proper matching of extraction technique to a sample determines the success of the operation and enhances the precision and accuracy of the analysis. 

Sample preparation for the common desorption/ionisation (DI) methods varies greatly. Films of solid inorganic or organic samples may be analysed with DI mass spectrometry, but sample preparation as a solution for LSIMS and FAB is far more common. The sample molecules are dissolved in a low-vapour-pressure liquid solvent - usually glycerol or nitrobenzyl alcohol. Other solvents have also been used for more specialised applications. Key requirements for the solvent matrix are sample solubility, low solvent volatility and muted acid - base or redox reactivity. In FAB and LSIMS, the special art of sample preparation in the selection of a solvent matrix, and then manipulation of the mass spectral data afterwards to minimise its contribution, still predominates. Incident particles in FAB and LSIMS are generated in filament ionisation sources or plasma discharge sources. 

Shinohara et al. [299] have described a procedure based on gas chromatography for the determination of traces of two, three, and five-ring azarenes in seawater. The procedure is based on the concentration of the compounds on Amberlite XAD-2 resin, separation by solvent partition [300], and determination by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with a selective ion monitor. Detection limits by the flame thermionic detector were 0.5-3.0 ng and those by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were in the range 0.02-0.5 ng. The preferred solvent for elution from the resin was dichloromethane and the recoveries were mainly in the range 89-94%. 

The study of ILs in GLC has yielded important information regarding solute-solvent interactions providing valuable insights into their complex solvation interactions and thermodynamic properties for mixed solvent systems. Moreover, ILs have proven to be an important new class of stationary phases for the separation of a wide variety of different analytes. IL stationary phases will soon be commercially available which will inevitably promote further improvements in separation selectivity, thermal stability, immobilization bonding chemistry/stationary phase stability, and will broaden the range of separated compounds. IL-based stationary phases also hold great promise in GC mass spectrometry where the dual-nature selectivity of the stationary phase eliminates the need for frequent changing of columns. 

The number of detectors that are sensitive and selective enough to be applied online with LC is limited because the solvents used are not compatible, as in the case of immunochemical detection after reversed- or normal-phase LC. The technology of coupling is still under development and not yet available in a large number of laboratories not specialized in techniques such as LC-MS. Therefore, LC separations are frequently followed by offline detection. Confirmatory analysis of suspected liquid chromatographic peaks can be made possible by coupling liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. Atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization LC-MS has been employed for the identification of six steroid hormones in bovine tissues (448). 

SFC provides complementary quantitative data to the structural information afforded by mass spectrometry. Thermally label materials such as isocyanates can be easily analyzed with minimal sample preparation. Supercritical carbon dioxide is nontoxic and can be obtained in high purity as measured by FID. The easy coupling of SFE with SFC makes the selective isolation and quantification of targeted analytes possible. Furthermore, we are in an age of increased environmental awareness. Solvent disposal is discouraged and has become very expensive. The waste disposal costs associated with supercritical carbon dioxide are negligible when compared to the solvent disposal costs generated by traditional Soxhlet methods. 

Electrospray Ionization/Mass Spectrometry (ES/MS), a soft-ionization desorption technique using polar solvents such as water, methanol, or acetonitrile, was used for direct measurement of cations in solution. The first measurements carried out with mono or bis(crown-6) calix[4]arenes from an equimolar cation-extractant solution confirm that the calixarenes mono(crown-6) extract only one cesium cation. On the contrary, in the same conditions, bis(crown-6) calix[4]arenes can extract two cesium cations for a ratio Cs/BC6 equal to 2.5. The binuclear complex (composed of two cesium cations) is the major species. Cesium/sodium selectivity measurements implementing various mono or bis(crown-6) calix[4]arenes were in agreement with liquid/liquid results.42... 

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