@article {107,
	title = {Detection, identification, and quantification of hydroxylated bis(2-ethylhexyl)-tetrabromophthalate isomers in house dust.},
	journal = {Environ Sci Technol},
	volume = {49},
	year = {2015},
	month = {2015 Mar 03},
	pages = {2999-3006},
	abstract = {<p>Ultra-High Resolution LC/mass spectrometry (LC-UHRMS; Thermo Fisher Q-Exactive) was used to identify two novel isomers of hydroxylated bis(2-ethylhexyl)-tetrabromophthalate (OH-TBPH) which were unexpectedly observed in a commercial standard of TBPH. By combining ultra-high resolution (UHR) mass spectra (MS(1)), mass errors to theoretical [TBPH-Br+O](-) were 2.1 and 1.0 ppm for the two isomers, UHR-MS(2) spectra and NMR analysis; the structures of the two compounds were identified as hydroxylated TBPH with a hydroxyl group on the aromatic ring. Relatively great proportions of the two isomers of OH-TBPH were detected in two technical products, Firemaster 550 (FM-550; 0.1\% and 6.2\%, respectively) and Firemaster BZ 54 (BZ-54; 0.1\% and 7.9\%), compared to a commercial standard (0.4\% and 0.9\%). To simultaneously analyze OH-TBPH isomers and TBPH in samples of dust, a method based on LC-UHRMS was developed to quantify the two compounds, using negative and positive ion modes, respectively. The instrumental limit of detection for TBPH was 0.01 μg/L, which was 200-300 times better than traditional methods (2.5 μg/L) based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The analytical method combined with a Florisil cleanup was successfully applied to analyze TBPH and OH-TBPH in 23 indoor dust samples from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Two OH-TBPH isomers, OH-TBPH1 and OH-TBPH2, were detected in 52\% and 91\% of dust samples, respectively. Concentrations of OH-TBPH2 (0.35 {\textpm} 1.0 ng/g) were 10-fold greater than those of OH-TBPH1 (0.04 {\textpm} 0.88 ng/g) in dust, which was similar to profiles in FM-550 and BZ-54. TBPH was also detected in 100\% of dust samples with a mean concentration of 733 {\textpm} 0.87 ng/g. A significant (p \&lt; 0.001) log-linear relationship was observed between TBPH and OH-TBPH isomers, further supporting the hypothesis of a common source of emission. Relatively small proportions of OH-TBPH isomers were detected in dust (0.01\% {\textpm} 0.67 OH-TBPH1 and 0.1\% {\textpm} 0.60 OH-TBPH2), which were significantly less than those in technical products (p \&lt; 0.001). This result indicated different environmental behaviors of OH-TBPH and TBPH. Detection of isomers of OH-TBPH is important, since compounds with phenolic groups have often shown relatively greater toxicities than nonhydroxylated analogues. Further study is warranted to clarify the environmental behaviors and potential toxicities of OH-TBPH isomers.</p>},
	keywords = {Chromatography, Liquid, Dust, Flame Retardants, Limit of Detection, Mass Spectrometry, Phthalic Acids},
	issn = {1520-5851},
	doi = {10.1021/es505743d},
	author = {Peng, Hui and Saunders, David M V and Sun, Jianxian and Codling, Garry and Wiseman, Steve and Jones, Paul D and Giesy, John P}
}
@article {105,
	title = {Untargeted Identification of Organo-Bromine Compounds in Lake Sediments by Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry with the Data-Independent Precursor Isolation and Characteristic Fragment Method.},
	journal = {Anal Chem},
	volume = {87},
	year = {2015},
	month = {2015 Oct 20},
	pages = {10237-46},
	abstract = {<p>While previous studies have found that unknown natural and synthetic organo-bromine compounds (NSOBCs) contributed more than 99\% of the total organic bromine (Br) in the environment, there was no efficient method for untargeted screening to identify NSOBCs in environmental matrixes. A novel untargeted method for identifying NSOBCs, based on ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (UHRMS) with the Q Exactive instrument was developed. This method included a data-independent precursor isolation and characteristic fragment (DIPIC-Frag) procedure to identify NSOBCs. A total of 180 successive 5-m/z-wide windows were used to isolate precursor ions. This resulted in a sufficient dynamic range and specificity to identify peaks of Br fragment ions for analysis. A total of 2520 peaks of NSOBC compounds containing Br were observed in sediments from Lake Michigan, United States. A new chemometric strategy which combined chromatographic profiles, isotopic peaks, precursor isolation window information, and intensities was used to identify precursor ions and chemical formulas for detecting NSOBCs. Precursor ions for 2163 of the 2520 NSOBCs peaks (86\%) were identified, and chemical formulas for 2071 NSOBCs peaks (82\%) were determined. After exclusion of isotopic peaks, 1593 unique NSOBCs were identified and chemical formulas derived for each. Most of the compounds identified had not been reported previously and had intensities which were 100- to 1000-fold greater than the congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). In extracts of sediments, these compounds exhibited variations in intensities (\&lt;10(3) to \~{}10(8)), m/z values (170.9438-997.5217), retention times on a C18 column (1.0-29.3 min), and the number of Br atoms (1-8). Generally, compounds with greater m/z values had longer retention times and greater numbers of Br atoms. Three compounds were used in a proof-of-concept experiment to demonstrate that structures of some of the screened NSOBCs could be further predicted by combining searching of database libraries and high-resolution MS(2) spectra.</p>},
	keywords = {Databases, Chemical, Geologic Sediments, Hydrocarbons, Brominated, Lakes, Mass Spectrometry},
	issn = {1520-6882},
	doi = {10.1021/acs.analchem.5b01435},
	author = {Peng, Hui and Chen, Chunli and Saunders, David M V and Sun, Jianxian and Tang, Song and Codling, Garry and Hecker, Markus and Wiseman, Steve and Jones, Paul D and Li, An and Rockne, Karl J and Giesy, John P}
}
