Project Details
Projekt
GC-atmospheric pressure laser ionisation-HR-time-of-flight mass spectrometer with FF-TG-GC option
Subject Area
Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
Term
Funded in 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 460121675
By the available gas chromatography-atmospheric pressure laser ionization – high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC-APLI-TOFMS) with high performance liquid chromatography (LC) option (funded in 2010), methods for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH, environmental pollutants) were developed which are more sensitive by a factor of about 1,000 compared to common GC-MS PAH analysis. To our knowledge, lower limits of detection for PAH have not yet been published. As a result of the successful method developments and due to the additional alternative use with LC, the APLI-MS system is now used to full capacity for the different applications. PAH are analyzed by GC- or LC-APLI-TOFMS in atmospheric particulate matter (PM), soots, soils, sediments, technogenic substrates, indoor air, surface water, sea water, ground water, etc. and PAH metabolites are measured in urine. In cooperation, toxic effects were additionally studied in selected PM and sediments. Furthermore, aromatic steroids were detected for the first time in oldest precambrian rocks, where this had not been possible before. Other application fields are pesticides and pharmaceuticals (target, non-target and in cooperation effect-directed analysis) in surface water and river bank filtration as well as benzenepolycarboxylic acid analysis for the determination of black carbon-like structures. Particularly, the GC-APLI-TOFMS method represents a milestone in PAH analysis due to its selectivity and may replace common PAH analysis by development of a cost-efficient compact system in the future. Here, as a first step, the suitability of an accelerated chromatography by flowfield-temperature gradient-GC (FF-TG-GC) and the comparability of the used KrF eximer laser with a DPSS laser will be studied. As a second method development with comprehensive work on the hardware of the instrument, an effect-directed GC-APLI-TOFMS with recycling-LC and mini EROD-assay is planned. By this, parallel information selectively about PAH and toxic effects are gained. With the available APLI-MS system, new method developments with comprehensive work on hardware is not possible anymore, therefore, a second identical GC-APLI-TOFMS system with an additional FF-TG-GC option is applied for here.
DFG Programme
Major Research Instrumentation
Major Instrumentation
GC-Atmosphärendruck-Laserionisations-Hochauflösungsflugzeitmassenspektrometer mit FF-TG-GC-Option
Instrumentation Group
1700 Massenspektrometer
Applicant Institution
Universität Münster
