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Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS

[Image: see text] Military-grade explosives such as 2,4,6-trinitroluene (TNT) are still a major worldwide concern in terms of terror threat and environmental impact. The most common methods currently employed for the detection of explosives involve colorimetric tests, which are known to be rapid and...

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Autores principales: Milligan, Kirsty, Shand, Neil C., Graham, Duncan, Faulds, Karen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Chemical Society 2020
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7145293/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31927940
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b05062
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author Milligan, Kirsty
Shand, Neil C.
Graham, Duncan
Faulds, Karen
author_facet Milligan, Kirsty
Shand, Neil C.
Graham, Duncan
Faulds, Karen
author_sort Milligan, Kirsty
collection PubMed
description [Image: see text] Military-grade explosives such as 2,4,6-trinitroluene (TNT) are still a major worldwide concern in terms of terror threat and environmental impact. The most common methods currently employed for the detection of explosives involve colorimetric tests, which are known to be rapid and portable; however, they often display false positives and lack sensitivity. Other methods used include ion mobility mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), which despite producing more reliable results often require large, expensive instrumentation and specially trained staff. Here we demonstrate an alternative approach that utilizes the formation of a colored Janowsky complex with nitroaromatic explosives through reaction of the enolate ion of 3-mercapto-2-butanone. The colored complex is formed rapidly and can then be detected sensitively using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). We demonstrate that SERS can be used as a quick, sensitive, and selective technique for the detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexanitrostillbene (HNS), and 2,4,6-trinitrophenylmethylnitramine (tetryl) with a detection limit of 6.81 ng mL(–1) achieved for TNT, 17.2 ng mL(–1) for tetryl, and 135.1 ng mL(–1) for HNS. This method of detection also requires minimal sample preparation, can be done in a solution-based format, and utilizes the same precursor reagents for complex formation with each of the explosives which can then be identified due to the specificity of the unique SERS response obtained. We demonstrate the ability to simultaneously identify three explosive compounds within a total analysis time of 10 min. This method of detection shows promise for the development of rapid and portable SERS-based assays which can be utilized in the field in order to achieve reliable and quantitative detection.
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spelling pubmed-71452932020-04-10 Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS Milligan, Kirsty Shand, Neil C. Graham, Duncan Faulds, Karen Anal Chem [Image: see text] Military-grade explosives such as 2,4,6-trinitroluene (TNT) are still a major worldwide concern in terms of terror threat and environmental impact. The most common methods currently employed for the detection of explosives involve colorimetric tests, which are known to be rapid and portable; however, they often display false positives and lack sensitivity. Other methods used include ion mobility mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), which despite producing more reliable results often require large, expensive instrumentation and specially trained staff. Here we demonstrate an alternative approach that utilizes the formation of a colored Janowsky complex with nitroaromatic explosives through reaction of the enolate ion of 3-mercapto-2-butanone. The colored complex is formed rapidly and can then be detected sensitively using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). We demonstrate that SERS can be used as a quick, sensitive, and selective technique for the detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexanitrostillbene (HNS), and 2,4,6-trinitrophenylmethylnitramine (tetryl) with a detection limit of 6.81 ng mL(–1) achieved for TNT, 17.2 ng mL(–1) for tetryl, and 135.1 ng mL(–1) for HNS. This method of detection also requires minimal sample preparation, can be done in a solution-based format, and utilizes the same precursor reagents for complex formation with each of the explosives which can then be identified due to the specificity of the unique SERS response obtained. We demonstrate the ability to simultaneously identify three explosive compounds within a total analysis time of 10 min. This method of detection shows promise for the development of rapid and portable SERS-based assays which can be utilized in the field in order to achieve reliable and quantitative detection. American Chemical Society 2020-01-13 2020-02-18 /pmc/articles/PMC7145293/ /pubmed/31927940 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b05062 Text en Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License (http://pubs.acs.org/page/policy/authorchoice_ccby_termsofuse.html) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited.
spellingShingle Milligan, Kirsty
Shand, Neil C.
Graham, Duncan
Faulds, Karen
Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS
title Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS
title_full Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS
title_fullStr Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS
title_full_unstemmed Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS
title_short Detection of Multiple Nitroaromatic Explosives via Formation of a Janowsky Complex and SERS
title_sort detection of multiple nitroaromatic explosives via formation of a janowsky complex and sers
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7145293/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31927940
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b05062
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