Accurate quantitation of pentaerythritol tetranitrate and its degradation products using liquid chromatography-​atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-​mass spectrometry

After an explosion of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN)​, its degrdn. products pentaerythritol trinitrate (PETriN)​, dinitrate (PEDiN)​, and mononitrate (PEMN) were detected using liq. chromatog.-​atm.-​pressure chem.-​ionization-​mass spectrometry (LC-​APCI-​MS)​. Discrimination between post-​explosion and naturally degraded PETN could be achieved based on the relative amts. of the degrdn. products. This information can be used as evidence when investigating a possible relation between a suspect and a post-​explosion crime scene. The present work focuses on accurate quantitation of PETN and its degrdn. products, using PETriN, PEDiN, and PEMN stds. specifically synthesized for this purpose. With the use of these stds., the ionization behavior of these compds. was studied, and quant. method was developed. Quantitation of PETN and trace levels of its degrdn. products was shown to be possible with accuracy between 85.7 and 103.7​% and a precision ranging from 1.3-​11.5​%. The custom-​made stds. resulted in a more robust and reliable method to discriminate between post-​explosion and naturally-​degraded PETN.