Collection method for chemical particulates on surfaces with detection using thermal desorption-ion trap mass spectrometry

•We developed a sticky screen sampler for contact sampling of surfaces.•We investigated the ability of the sticky screen sampler for collecting chemical particulates from a surface.•We demonstrated that the sticky screen was capable of collecting chemical particulates from a surface.•We demonstrated that chemical particulates collected by the sticky screen could be analyzed using thermal desorption-ion trap mass spectrometry.•We demonstrated nanogram (ng) level detection limits for DMMP immobilized into silica gel.

Successful analysis of particulate/low vapor pressure analytes such as explosives and toxic chemicals, and commercial pesticides require new sampling tools that enable detection of these analytes using current vapor phase detection instruments. We describe a sampling approach that uses stainless steel screens coated with a sticky polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) coating to capture particulates from surfaces. Preliminary results for the collection of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) sorbed onto silica gel (SG) particulates (DMMP/SG) from a surface with subsequent analysis by thermal desorption-cylindrical ion trap mass spectrometry (TD-CITMS) are reported.

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