Mass spectrometric characteristics of decabromodiphenyl ether and the application of isotopic dilution in the electron capture negative ionization mode for the analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

The mass spectrometric properties of (12)C-and (13)C-labeled decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) in the low-resolution mass spectrometry electron capture negative ionization mode (ECNI-MS) is described in detail and are compared with those of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) with a lower degree of bromination. The mass spectrometric properties of BDE-209 make it possible to apply (13)C-labeled BDE-209 as an internal surrogate standard for the determination of BDE-209 by isotopic dilution. A combination of the [Br](-) and [C(6)Br(5)O](-) fragment ions is proposed for the detection with ECNI-MS in the selected ion monitoring mode to increase selectivity, sensitivity and accuracy in the determination of decabromodiphenyl ether together with other polybrominated diphenyl ethers. The importance of optimizing the instrument parameters to obtain optimal response from the mass spectrometer in the analysis of PBDEs is discussed in detail. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.