Detection of polychlorinated biphenyls in transformer oils in Vietnam by multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry using a far-ultraviolet femtosecond laser as an ionization source

Vu Thi Thuy Duong; Vu Duong; Nghiem Thi Ha Lien; Tomoko Imasaka; Yuanyuan Tang; Shinpei Shibuta; Akifumi Hamachi; Do Quang Hoa; Totaro Imasaka

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2015.11.054

Detection of polychlorinated biphenyls in transformer oils in Vietnam by multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry using a far-ultraviolet femtosecond laser as an ionization source

Talanta. 2016 Mar:149:275-279. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2015.11.054. Epub 2015 Nov 25.

Authors

Vu Thi Thuy Duong¹, Vu Duong¹, Nghiem Thi Ha Lien¹, Tomoko Imasaka², Yuanyuan Tang³, Shinpei Shibuta³, Akifumi Hamachi³, Do Quang Hoa¹, Totaro Imasaka⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Physics, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Hanoi, Vietnam.
² Laboratory of Chemistry, Graduate School of Design, Kyushu University, 4-9-1, Shiobaru, Minami-ku, Fukuoka 815-8540, Japan.
³ Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
⁴ Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan; Division of Optoelectronics and Photonics, Center for Future Chemistry, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. Electronic address: imasaka@cstf.kyushu-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 26717841
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2015.11.054

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in transformer and food oils were measured using gas chromatography combined with multiphoton ionization mass spectroscopy. An ultrashort laser pulse emitting in the far-ultraviolet region was utilized for efficient ionization of the analytes. Numerous signal peaks were clearly observed for a standard sample mixture of PCBs when the third and fourth harmonic emissions (267 and 200nm) of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser (800nm) were employed. The signal intensities were found to be greater when measured at 200nm compared with those measured at 267nm, providing lower detection limits especially for highly chlorinated PCBs at shorter wavelengths. After simple pretreatment using disposable columns, PCB congeners were measured and found to be present in the transformer oils used in Vietnam.

Keywords: Femtosecond laser; Mass spectrometry; Multiphoton ionization; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Transformer oil.