Analysis of degradation products of nerve agents via post-pentafluorobenzylation liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract In the work reported here, a screening procedure was developed for the detection and identification of RMPAs (nerve agent degradation products) after pentafluorobenzylation using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). With this method, all RMPAs, including highly hydrophilic types such as methylphosphonic acid (MPA) and ethyl methylphosphonic acid (EMPA), were sufficiently retained in commonly used reversed-phase columns (retention times: 15.7 and 11.0 min.), and the presence of RMPAs was determined more efficiently than with the conventional direct LC–MS/MS method. The detection limits of RMPAs using this approach (