Determination of N,N-dimethyldodecylamine and N,N-dimethyloctadecylamine in river and sea water using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Rapid mapping of various chemicals in personal care and healthcare products by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry

Residual chemicals on personal care and healthcare products, such as sanitary articles, sterile gauze bandages, nappies, plasters, were studied by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS). We have identified around 40 compounds in seventeen different commercially available items. The tentative identification was further supported for about half of the chemicals by tandem mass spectrometric experiments (DART MS/MS). The most notable hazardous substances were tributyl phosphate, tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite, phthalic acid esters, erucamide, and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). In addition, we developed an efficient DART-MS analysis to determine the concentration of NPE in a swab sample. The quantitative result obtained by DART-MS was confirmed by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (LC-MS).

Screening of additives and other chemicals in polyurethanes by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS)

Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was used to characterize commercial polyurethane (PUR) samples without sample pretreatment. More than 50 substances, such as catalysts, stabilizers, antioxidants, flame retardants, plasticizers, chain extenders, chain terminators, polyols, solvents, degradation products and contaminants, a few of them presumably toxic, were detected and identified in 18 PUR items. The identification of 16 compounds was further confirmed by DART MS/MS experiments. Catalysts were the largest class of compounds detected in the PURs by DART-MS. In each of the 18 PUR samples, at least one catalyst residue was identified. In addition, DART-MS was able to detect the migration of hazardous chemicals from the PURs to other objects. The collision-induced dissociation (CID) properties of two PUR catalysts, such as the protonated bis[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl] ether (DMAEE) and the protonated 2,2-dimorpholinodiethylether (DMDEE), as well as those of two PUR antioxidants (Antioxidant 1135 and Antioxidant 1076), were explored.