Fragmentation Pattern-Based Screening Strategy Combining Diagnostic Ion and Neutral Loss Uncovered Novel -Phenylenediamine Quinone Contaminants in the Environment.

Identifying transformed emerging contaminants in complex environmental compartments is a challenging but meaningful task. Substituted -phenylenediamine quinones (PPD-quinones) are emerging contaminants originating from rubber antioxidants and have been proven to be toxic to the aquatic species, especially salmonids. The emergence of multiple PPD-quinones in various environmental matrices and evidence of their specific hazards underscore the need to understand their environmental occurrences. Here, we introduce a fragmentation pattern-based nontargeted screening strategy combining full MS/All ion fragmentation/neutral loss-ddMS scans to identify potential unknown PPD-quinones in different environmental matrices. Using diagnostic fragments of / 170.0600, 139.0502, and characteristic neutral losses of 199.0633, 138.0429 Da, six known and three novel PPD-quinones were recognized in air particulates, surface soil, and tire tissue. Their specific structures were confirmed, and their environmental concentration and composition profiles were clarified with self-synthesized standards. -(1-methylheptyl)-'-phenyl-1,4-benzenediamine quinone (8PPD-Q) and ,'-di(1,3-dimethylbutyl)--phenylenediamine quinone (66PD-Q) were identified and quantified for the first time, with their median concentrations found to be 0.02-0.21 μg·g in tire tissue, 0.40-2.76 pg·m in air particles, and 0.23-1.02 ng·g in surface soil. This work provides new evidence for the presence of unknown PPD-quinones in the environment, showcasing a potential strategy for screening emerging transformed contaminants in the environment.