Investigation of the ionisation and fragmentation behaviour of different nitroaromatic compounds occurring as polar metabolites of explosives using electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry.

In order to develop a liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) method for identification and quantification of polar metabolites of explosives using a triple quadrupole system, the mass spectrometric ionisation and fragmentation behaviour of different nitrophenols, nitro- and aminonitrobenzoic acids, nitrotoluenesulfonic acids, and aminonitrotoluenes was investigated. Due to their different molecular structures, the substances concerned showed a very different ionisation efficiency in the ESI process. Interestingly, 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid yielded no mass signals in the Q1 scan suggesting a thermal decarboxylation in the ion source, whereas the corresponding 3,5-isomer showed a high ionisation yield.

Determination of urinary acylcarnitines by ESI-MS coupled with solid-phase microextraction (SPME).

The determination of selected short-, medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is discussed. The differences in fragmentation behaviour and ionization efficiency are described in dependence on collision induced dissociation (CID) conditions and mixture composition. A new method combination, solid-phase microextraction (SPME)-ESI-MS, is introduced to characterize acylcarnitines in body fluids.

Toxicological investigations in the semiconductor industry: III: Studies on prenatal toxicity caused by waste products from aluminum plasma etching processes.

The prenatal toxic effects of contaminated vacuum pump oil (Sample A) and solid waste products (Samples B and C) originating from aluminum plasma etching processes in semiconductor manufacturing were investigated. Three strains of pregnant mice with different degrees of sensitivity during organogenesis (days 6-15 of gestation) were treated daily with 1000 mglkg b.w.

Genotoxicity assessment of waste products of aluminum plasma etching with the SOS chromotest.

We evaluated 36 characteristic waste products from the plasma etching of aluminum for genotoxicity with the SOS chromotest. The majority of the samples showed genotoxic activity in tester strain Escherichia coli PQ37 without metabolic activation using S9 mix. In the presence of S9, a deactivation of the samples was regularly observed.

Toxicological investigations in the semiconductor industry: I. Studies on the acute oral toxicity of a complex mixture of waste products from the aluminium plasma etching process.

In dry etching processes--one of the sources of potential exposure to toxic wastes in the semiconductor industry--complex mixtures of inorganic and organic compounds arise from reactions between feed stock gases (BCl3/Cl2), top layers (aluminium photoresist), and the carrier gas (N2). Two different fractions of the complex mixture--one an ethanolic solution (ES) and the other an insoluble liquid residue (LR)--were examined for acute oral toxicity in rats. Analytical data showed that the ethanol soluble fraction contained mainly inorganic compounds, whereas the residue contained various halogenated hydrocarbons.