Trinitrotoluene identification

H. Kramer, S. Semel J.E. Abel, Trace Elemental Survey Analysis of Trinitrotoluene , PATR 4767 (1975) (An evaluation of the applicability of spark source mass spectrometry and thermal neutron activation for the detn of origin-related trace elemental impurities in TNT) 10) C. Ribando J. Haber-man, Origin-Identification of Explosives Via Their Composite Impurity Profiles I. The... 

Ref C. Ribaudo J. Haberman, Origin— Identification of Explosives Via Their Composite Impurity Profiles, I, The Relation of the Origin of Military Grade TNT to its Mono-, Di-, and Trinitrotoluene Isomer Impurities , PATR 4768 (1975)... 

Vorbeck C, H Lenke, P Fischer, H-J Knackmnss (1994) Identification of a hydride-Meisenheimer complex as a metabolite of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene by a Mycobacterium strain. J Bacteriol 176 932-934. 

Bumpus JA, M Tatarko (1994) Biodegradation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene by Phanerochaete chrysosporium identification of initial degradation products and the discovery of a metabolite that inhibits lignin peroxidases. Curr Microbiol 28 185-190. 

Seliwanoff s test analy chem A color test helpful in the identification of ketoses, which develop a red color with resorcinol in hydrochloric acid. s3 liv3,nofs, test sellite liNORG chem A solution of sodium sulfite (Na2S03) used in the purification of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene to remove unsymmetrical isomers. se,lTt ... 

It has been known for a long time that polynitroaromatic compounds produce colored products in contact with aUcafis [1]. These color reactions have been extensively used for the identification of nitroaromatic explosives. In the Janowski reaction [7], a solution of the polynitroaromatic compound (di- or trinitroaromatic) in acetone is treated with concentrated aqueous KOH solution. 1,3,5-Trinitrobenzene (TNB) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), treated with 30% aqueous KOH, produced violet-red and red colors, respectively. Many variations of the Janowski reaction were reported, using KOH or NaOH in aqueous or ethanoHc solutions as reagents, and dissolving the explosives in acetone, ethanol or acetone-ethanol mixture [3,8]. The reaction was used both for spot tests and for spraying TLC plates [9]. 

Investigated explosives included 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4,6,N-tetranitro-N-methylaniline (tetryl), l,3,5-trinitro-l,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX), 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-l,3,5,7-tetrazacyclooctane (HMX) and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). The temperature of the injector, cooled with liquid CO2, was —5°C for 0.3 min, programmed from —5 to 250° C, at a rate of 200°C/min, with a final hold time of 8.4 min. The column temperature was 80° C for 2 min, programmed to 250° C at 25°C/min, with a final hold of 2 min. Electron ionization (El) in the positive-ion mode was used. Figure 4 shows the mass chromatograms of a mixture of explosives (lOppb each), extracted from water by Hquid—liquid extraction and X 100 concentration. Identification was based on typical fragment ions for each one of the explosives. 

The by-products of industrial TNT, including isomers of trinitrotoluene, dinitrotoluene, trinitrobenzene and dinitrobenzene, were investigated using LC/ MS-APCI in the negative-ion mode to build a profile for the characterization of TNT samples from various origins [21], MS/MS-CID was used for further identification of some of the nitroaromatic isomers. 

Figure 15.14 Separation of explosives extracted from water by using SPE-SFE-GC at several SFE trapping temperatures, peak identification is as follows NG, nitroglycerin 2,6-DNT, 2,6-dinitrotoluene 2,4-DNT, 2,4-dinitrotoluene TNT, trinitrotoluene IS, 1,3-trichloroben-zene. Adapted Journal of High Resolution Chromatography, 16, G. C. Slack et al., Coupled solid phase extraction supercritical fluid extraction-on-line gas chromatography of explosives from water , pp. 473-478,1993, with permission from Wiley-VCH.

The formation of coupling products by interactions between metabolites at different levels of oxidation may reasonably be presumed to account for the identification of azoxy compounds as biotransformation products of 2,4-dinitrotoluene by the fungus Mucrosporium sp. (Figure 6.114) (McCormick et al. 1978), and by a Pseudomonas sp. that uses 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene as a N-source (Duque et al. 1993). 

Ha fdour, A., and J.L. Ramos. 1996. Identification of products resulting from the biological reduction of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, 2,4-dinitrotoluene, and 2,6-dinitro-toluene by Pseudomonas sp. Environ. Sci. Technol. 30 2365-2370. 

Analytical Method for Determining Trinitrotoluene in Water , USP Applic 770718 (1978) 161) omit 162) R.J. Kopec et al, Forensic Applications of Sapphire Cell-Infrared Spectroscopy Companion to the Diamond Cell in Explosive and Leg Wire Identification , JForensic-Sci, 57-65 (1978) 163) S. Bulusu, Mass... 

Raman spectroscopy has also been applied to the identification of different explosives. Most explosives, both nitro-containing (i.e. 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT)) and non-nitro-containing (i.e. TATP), produce high quality, low fluorescence Raman spectra. Some plastic explosives (i.e. Semtex) have some fluorescence originating from the binder materials but this can be overcome by use of anti-Stokes bands and Boltzmann correction of the data. 

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