The analysis of high explosives by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: multiplexed detection of negative ion adducts.

The negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (ESI-MS) detection of adducts of high explosives with chloride, formate, acetate, and nitrate was used to demonstrate the gas-phase interaction of neutral explosives with these anions. The relative intensities of the adduct species were determined to compare the competitive formation of the selected high explosives and anions. The relative stability of the adduct species varies, yielding preferential formation of certain anionic adducts with different high explosives. To exploit this effect, an isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/ESI-MS method was developed and used for the simultaneous analysis of high explosives using two different techniques for the addition of the anionic additives; pre- and post-column. The results show that the pre-column approach provides similar results with improved selectivity for specific explosives. By detecting characteristic adduct species for each explosive, this method provides a qualitative and quantitative approach for the analysis and identification of high explosives.