High-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

Selected ion chromatograms of the polyaromatic hydrocarbons anthracene, pyrene and 1,2-benzanthracene were recorded using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electropspray ionisation mass spectrometry after derivatisation with tropylium cation to produce positive ions. LC/ESI-MS/MS was then performed at five different collision energies (25–125eV) using m/z 178, 202 and 228 as precursor ions. Best fragment patterns were obtained in product ion mode at 100 eV. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.