Mass Fragmentography as Applied to Some Organophosphate Insecticides

Abstract

Analysis of pesticides in environmental samples poses difficult problems for the chemist because he is looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Although the use of gas-liquid chromatography in conjunction with sensitive detectors specific to certain atoms has been of considerable help, there are many samples which require rigorous cleanup to prevent interference with the analysis. Furthermore, there are many instances where the absolute presence of the material under analysis is open to question because there is not even enough material for a mass spectral confirmation. A relatively new technique, mass fragmentography, shows considerable promise as a sensitive, selective, and confirmative means of handling picogram quantities of pesticides (as well as other environmental pollutants).