Extraction of acidic degradation products of organophosphorus chemical warfare agents: Comparison between silica and mixed-mode strong anion-exchange cartridges

The analysis of alkyl alkylphosphonic acids (AAPAs) and alkylphosphonic acids (APAs), the hydrolyzed products of nerve agents, constitutes an important aspect for verifying the compliance to the Chemical weapons convention (CWC). This work devotes on the development of solid-phase extraction method using polymeric mixed-mode strong anion-exchange (Oasis MAX) cartridges for extraction of AAPAs and APAs from water. The extracted analytes were analyzed by GC–MS under full scan and selected ion monitoring mode. The extraction efficiencies of MAX and silica-based anion-exchange cartridges were compared, and results revealed that MAX sorbents yielded better recoveries. Extraction parameters, such as loading capacity, extraction solvent, its volume, and washing solvent were optimized. Best recoveries were obtained using 1 mL of acidic methanol (0.1 M), and limits of detection could be achieved up to 5 × 10−4 μg mL−1 (in SIM) and 0.05 μg mL−1 in full scan mode. The method was successfully employed for the detection and identification of alkylphosphonic acids present in soil sample sent by the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the official proficiency tests.