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Ion Trap Mass Spectrometric Effect Leading to Peak Suppression and Solvent-Free Peak Focusing due to Co-Chromatography

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Abstract

During the enantioselective analysis of whisky lactones after headspace in-tube extraction and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection using an ion trap mass analyzer (ITMS), an unusual effect led to peak suppression for one of the four enantiomers of whisky lactones. Using the ITMS in the selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode, one of the four targeted whisky lactone enantiomers could not be detected due to an abundant co-eluting matrix compound. For troubleshooting, detection with a quadrupole MS proved the presence of the missing enantiomer peak. A hypothetical explanation of this phenomenon is at present based on the different ion scanning mechanism of the two MS instruments. Considering the irregular sampling during the discontinuous scanning process of the ITMS being dictated by the ion current, this might have led to the suppression of the analyte. Furthermore, a solvent trapping effect of the target analyte with a co-chromatographing abundant matrix compound created a peak distortion (focusing) of the minor whisky lactone enantiomer. In our case, the inexplicably missing enantiomer peak triggered this investigation, but such matrix effects could easily be overseen with ITMS (SIM) detection, then eventually causing false-negative results.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support from the Ministerium für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft, Ernährung, Weinbau und Forsten (MULEWF), Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum (DLR) Rheinpfalz, Kompetenzzentrum für Weinforschung, Breitenweg 71, 67435, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany

    Petra Slabizki, Theodoros Potouridis & Hans-Georg Schmarr

  2. Institut für Atmosphäre und Umwelt, Abteilung Umweltanalytik, Goethe Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Theodoros Potouridis

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  1. Petra Slabizki
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  2. Theodoros Potouridis
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  3. Hans-Georg Schmarr
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Correspondence to Hans-Georg Schmarr.

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Slabizki, P., Potouridis, T. & Schmarr, HG. Ion Trap Mass Spectrometric Effect Leading to Peak Suppression and Solvent-Free Peak Focusing due to Co-Chromatography. Chromatographia 77, 1727–1730 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-014-2761-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-014-2761-2

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