Stable association complex electrospray mass spectrometry for the determination of cyanuric acid

Cyanuric acid, a suspected gastrointestinal or liver toxicant, has gained interest as a potential degradation product of triazine herbicides, such as simazine and atrazine. This paper investigates the determination of cyanuric acid by stable association complex electrospray mass spectrometry (cESI-MS). The cyanuric acid is extracted from the water through a microscale liquid-liquid extraction. The extract is evaporated to dryness, and an aqueous solution of quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant is added. When injected into the electrospray mass spectrometer, the surfactant and the cyanuric acid form a mass-selective stable association complex, which may be used for confident quantification of cyanuric acid. Several extraction solvents and surfactants were investigated. These studies provide insight into the mechanism of electrospray for the formation of these complexes, specifically with regard to the surface activity of the different surfactants and the chemistry of the surfactant-cyanuric acid complexes. From an analytical standpoint, the cESI-MS method detection limit for extraction of a 1 mL aqueous solution of cyanuric acid was 130 microg/L based on 3.14sigma(n-1) of seven replicate injections. Standard additions were used for quantification of eight aqueous samples. The cyanuric acid concentrations determined with cESI-MS were not significantly different at the 95% confidence level to those determined by conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A recovery of 100% from a fortified urine sample illustrates the robustness of the technique.