Fast determination of 3-ethenylpyridine as a marker of environmental tobacco smoke at trace level using direct atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract A method with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS/MS) was developed and applied to direct analysis of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), using 3-ethenylpyridine (3-EP) as a vapour-phase marker. In this study, the ion source of APCI-MS/MS was modified and direct analysis of gas sample was achieved by the modified instrument. ETS samples were directly introduced, via an atmospheric pressure inlet, into the APCI source. Ionization was carried out in positive-ion APCI mode and 3-EP was identified by both full scan mode and daughter scan mode. Quantification of 3-EP was performed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The calibration curve was obtained in the range of 1–250 ng L −1 with a satisfactory regression coefficient of 0.999. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.5 ng L −1 and 1.6 ng L −1 , respectively. The precision of the method, calculated as relative standard deviation (RSD), was characterized by repeatability (RSD 3.92%) and reproducibility (RSD 4.81%), respectively. In real-world ETS samples analysis, compared with the conventional GC–MS method, the direct APCI-MS/MS has shown better reliability and practicability in the determination of 3-EP at trace level. The developed method is simple, fast, sensitive and repeatable; furthermore, it could provide an alternative way for the determination of other volatile pollutants in ambient air at low levels.