Using GC/MS/MS with High Efficiency Electron Ionization to Reduce Injection Volumes and Sample Extract Volumes for EPA Method 8270

Poster Presentation

Prepared by D. Walker, R. Honnold, F. Feyerherm, M. Curtis
Agilent Technologies, Inc., 2850 Centerville Road, Wilmington, DE, 19808, United States


Contact Information: [email protected]; 916-458-2940


ABSTRACT

EPA Method 8270 outlines parameters for the analysis of semi-volatile organic carbon (SVOC) in environmental matrices including soil and water. . Due to the high concentrations injected and number of target analytes in this mixture; column degradation, inlet contamination, and ion source contamination may occur causing significant instrument down time. In addition, the sample preparation requires large amounts of solvent for sample extraction and large sample volumes that need to be shipped, which is costly for large labs running this method routinely. This work demonstrates the application of GC/MS/MS for the detection of EPA 8270 analytes at detection limits better than required by the current method. An Agilent 7890B GC with Model 7010 tandem-quadrupole MS in electron ionization mode using the high efficiency ion source was configured with a MMI (multi-mode inlet), a narrow bore DB-8270D column, and a 7693 A/S. The narrow bore column allowed for shorter run times while still meeting the chromatographic separation criteria. Selected reaction monitoring allowed for low limits of detection and high specificity with closely eluting chromatographic peaks. Compared to data acquired in full scan on a single quadrupole instrument, limits of detection were increased up to 4 orders of magnitude, for the same mass on column.