Analysis of enantiomeric and non-enantiomeric monoterpenes in plant emissions using portable dynamic air sampling/solid-phase microextraction (PDAS-SPME) and chiral gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A portable dynamic air sampler (PDAS) using a porous polymer solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibre has been validated for the determination of biogenic enantiomeric and non-enantiomeric monoterpenes in air. These compounds were adsorbed in the field, and then thermally desorbed at 250 °C in a gas chromatograph injector port connected via a ββ-cyclodextrin capillary separating column to a mass spectrometer. The optimized method has been applied for investigating the emissions of enantiomeric monoterpenes from Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas-fir), Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) and Lavandula lanata   (Lavender) which were selected as representative of coniferous trees and aromatic plants, respectively. The enantiomers of αα-pinene, sabinene, camphene, δδ-3-carene, ββ-pinene, limonene, ββ-phellandrene, 4-carene and camphor were successfully determined in the emissions from the three plants. While Douglas-fir showed a strong predominance toward (−)-enantiomers, Rosemary and Lavender demonstrated a large variation in enantiomeric distribution of monoterpenes. The simplicity, rapidity and sensitivity of dynamic sampling with porous polymer coated SPME fibres coupled to chiral capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) makes this method potentially useful for in-field investigations of atmosphere–biosphere interactions and studies of optically explicit atmospheric chemistry.