Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 9, 2025

Fast Enzymatic Processing of Proteins for MS Detection with a Flow-through Microreactor
Published on: April 6, 2016
Coated glass capillaries as SPME devices for DART mass spectrometry
Robert Cody1, Simin D Maleknia2,3
1JEOL USA, Inc, Peabody, MA, USA.
Rationale:
Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) provides high-throughput sample cleanup and pre-concentration. Here we demonstrate coated glass capillaries (CGCs) as SPME devices for specific applications in direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometry, referred to as "CGC-DART", for rapid screening of environmental contaminants at low parts-per-trillion detection limits and with accurate identification of analytes.
Methods:
The extraction is performed in a one-step process in minutes by dipping the CGC in solutions containing the analytes, and then placing the CGC in a DART source for analysis. CGCs are disposable and relatively inexpensive in comparison with SPME devices, and can be prepared with hydrophobic, hydrophilic or mixed-mode materials similar to SPME. CGCs were prepared by adsorption coating with incubation of capillaries in saturated solutions of octadecylamine or covalent activation of silanes.
Results:
Quantitation is shown with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at 1 ppt to 100 ppb, with the lowest detection at 500 parts-per quadrillion (ppq) in tap water. One-step extraction of contaminated groundwater from Northern Queensland, Australia, revealed perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexanesulfonamide as well as C4-C8 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids. A soil sample taken near a former military air base (New Hampshire, USA) revealed the presence of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) at 1 ppb and traces of perfluoroheptanoic acid.
Conclusions:
CGC-DART enabled one-step extraction of PFASs in minutes with mL sample volumes at low concentrations as shown for the standards and contaminated soil and water samples. DART-MS combined with Kendrick mass defect analysis enabled accurate identification of PFASs without chromatography steps, as fluorinated compounds are mass deficient and easily distinguished over background signal.
Related Concept Videos
Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS)
A gas chromatograph consists of a long, narrow capillary column with a polysiloxane coating on the inner wall....
Mass Spectrometry: Complex Analysis
GC–MS is a powerful hyphenated method commonly used in forensics and environmental...
Gas Chromatography: Types of Columns and Stationary Phases
For an analyte to remain on the column for a sufficient amount of time, it must exhibit some level of compatibility (or...
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Types of Detectors
Capillary Electrophoresis: Applications
Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separates ionic components based on their electrophoretic mobility. It has been used to separate proteins, amino acids,...
Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS): Overview

