Using metal complex ion-molecule reactions in a miniature rectilinear ion trap mass spectrometer to detect chemical warfare agents.

The gas-phase reactions of a series of coordinatively unsaturated [Ni(L)n](y+) complexes, where L is a nitrogen-containing ligand, with chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulants in a miniature rectilinear ion trap mass spectrometer were investigated as part of a new approach to detect CWAs. Results show that upon entering the vacuum system via a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane introduction, low concentrations of several CWA simulants, including dipropyl sulfide (simulant for mustard gas), acetonitrile (simulant for the nerve agent tabun), and diethyl phosphite (simulant for nerve agents sarin, soman, tabun, and VX), can react with metal complex ions generated by electrospray ionization (ESI), thereby providing a sensitive means of detecting these compounds. The [Ni(L)n](2+) complexes are found to be particularly reactive with the simulants of mustard gas and tabun, allowing their detection at low parts-per-billion (ppb) levels.

Multiplexed MS/MS in a miniature rectilinear ion trap.

A multiplexed method for performing MS/MS on multiple ions simultaneously in a miniature rectilinear ion trap (RIT) mass spectrometer has been developed. This method uses an ion encoding procedure that relies on the mass bias that exists when ions are externally injected into an RIT operated with only a single phase rf applied to one pair of electrodes. The ion injection profile under such conditions ions is Gaussian-like over a wide range of rf amplitudes, or low mass cutoff (LMCO) values, during ion accumulation.