Development of a thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for quantitative determination of haloanisoles and halophenols in wineries' ambient air.

An analytical method for the detection and quantification of haloanisoles and their corresponding halophenols in wineries' ambient air was developed. The target analytes were haloanisoles and halophenols, reported by previous scientific literature as responsible for wine taint. A calibrated pump and active tubes filled with Tenax GR™ were used for sampling. These tubes were thermally desorbed and analyzed using gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry in the selected reaction monitoring mode. The adsorption efficiencies of five commercial sampling tubes filled with different materials were evaluated. The efficiencies of the selected adsorbent were close to 100% for all sampled compounds. Desorption, chromatographic and mass spectrometric conditions were accurately optimized allowing very low limits of quantification and wide linear ranges. The limits of quantification in ambient air ranged from 0.8pgtube(-1) for 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, to 28pgtube(-1) for pentachlorophenol. These results are of great importance because human sensory threshold for haloanisoles is very low. The chromatographic method was also validated and the instrumental precision and trueness were established, a maximum RSD of 9% and a mean recovery of 91-106% were obtained. The proposed method involves an easy and sensitive technique for the early detection of haloanisoles and their precursor halophenols in ambient air avoiding contamination of wine or winery facilities.