Separation and Detection of Smokeless Powder Additives by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS)

A reversed phase gradient ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) method has been developed for the analysis of smokeless powders. A total of 20 different components were separated by UPLC and detected by MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. These compounds included diphenylamines, centralites, nitrotoluenes, nitroglycerin, and various phthalates. Simultaneous positive and negative electrospray ionization (ESI) was used along with negative atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) to detect all compounds in a single analysis. Analysis times were under 8min with a gradient of 1073% organic at a flow rate of 0.500mL/min. With this method, ultraviolet and MRM limits of detection ranging from 0.08 to 2.6ng and 0.464ng injected were achieved. Commercially available smokeless powders were also extracted with methylene chloride and characterized using the developed UPLC/MS/MS method. The procedure permits the determination of compositional differences between different brands as well as lot-to-lot variations.