Screening and identification of organophosphorus compounds related to the chemical weapons convention with 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy

Harri Koskela; Nicoleta Grigoriu; Paula Vanninen

doi:10.1021/ac052148c

Screening and identification of organophosphorus compounds related to the chemical weapons convention with 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy

Anal Chem. 2006 Jun 1;78(11):3715-22. doi: 10.1021/ac052148c.

Authors

Harri Koskela¹, Nicoleta Grigoriu, Paula Vanninen

Affiliation

¹ VERIFIN, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland. [email protected]

PMID: 16737228
DOI: 10.1021/ac052148c

Abstract

Two-dimensional 1H-31P Fast-HMQC was tested for determination of the presence in low concentrations of organophosphorus compounds related to the Chemical Weapons Convention. This method, based on inverse detection, demonstrated high sensitivity and selectivity. Background signals, such as solvent peaks, are suppressed with good efficiency, and organophosphorus compounds present at a concentration level 1-10 microg/mL can be detected within a few hours. In addition, phosphorus-selective one-dimensional 1H-31P HSQC-TOCSY was applied to produce a complete proton spectrum of selected organophosphorus compound from a sample containing intense background resonances. Application of the methods presented in this paper resulted in considerably improved performance of NMR spectroscopy as a complementary technique for screening as well as identification of chemical warfare agents in environmental samples.