Rapid screening of precursor and degradation products of chemical warfare agents in soil by solid-phase microextraction ion mobility spectrometry (SPME-IMS)

The use of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) to detect precursor and degradation products of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) as soil contaminants was investigated. The development and characterization of a system to interface a thermal desorption solid-phase microextraction inlet with a hand held ion mobility spectrometer was demonstrated. The analytes used in this study were diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), diethyl methylphosphonate (DEMP), and dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP). Two SPME fibers with different stationary phases, 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and 65 μm polydimethylsiloxane divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB), were evaluated in this study to determine the optimal fiber and extraction conditions. Better results were obtained with the PDMS fiber. SPME-IMS offered good repeatability and detection of the precursor and degradation products in spiked soil at concentrations as low as 10 μg/g. Sample analysis time was less than 30 min for all the precursor and degradation products.