Differential ion mobility spectrometry with temperature programmable micromachined gas chromatography for the determination of bis(chloromethyl) ether

A parts-per-million level screening technique for bis(chloromethyl)ether using micromachined differential ion mobility spectrometry combined with portable temperature programmable low thermal mass silicon micromachined gas chromatography is described. With its capability to operate in atmospheric pressure, the analytical system affords fast start-up with a high sample throughput. The technique described can be used to screen for bis(chloromethyl)ether in ambient air directly without pre-concentration or derivatization with a low possibility of false positive results. A complete analysis can be carried out in less than 240 s. A detection limit of 2 μL L⁻¹ and relative precision of less than 5% RSD (n = 10) over a range from 5 μL L⁻¹ to 500 μL L⁻¹ were obtained.