ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF CHLORINATED DIBENZO-P-DIOXINS AND DIBENZOFURANS USING MASS-SPECTROMETRY MASS-SPECTROMETRY

A mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry-multiple reaction monitoring (MS/MS-MRM) technique for the analysis of all tetra- through octachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (Cl(x)DD, x = 4-8) and dibenzofurans (Cl(x)DF, x = 4-8) has been developed at the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) utilizing a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Optimization of instrumental parameters using the analyte of interest in a direct insertion probe (DIP) resulted in sensitivities approaching those obtainable by high-resolution mass spectrometric (HRMS) methods. All congeners of dioxins and furans were detected in the femtogram range. Results on selected samples indicated that for some matrices, fewer chemical interferences were observed by MS/MS than by HRMS. The technique used to optimize the instrument for chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs) and chlorinated dibenzofurans (CDFs) analysis is adaptable to other analytes.