We have previously studied attribution signatures of sulfur mustard preparations to allow retrospective determination of the synthetic method used for its production. Experiences drawn from this work were used in the current study to develop methods for synthesis route attribution of sulfur mustard deposited on complex matrices. The aim was to evaluate if production routes were possible to determine retrospectively from soil, textile and flooring material. Sulfur mustard was prepared by eleven production methods, deposited on soil, textile and flooring material (0.05% w/w), and the samples were extracted and analysed by full scan GC high resolution MS. A non-targeted approach was used for data evaluation and isotope filters for sulfur and chlorine were applied. The use of isotope filters was a key step in the data processing to discriminate chemical attribution signatures such as byproducts and impurities relevant to sulfur mustard from the matrix background. The processed data (extracted ion peak areas) were evaluated with several classification tools such as OPLS-DA and random forest. All matrices had properties that made source attribution demanding, and the low spiking level challenged the analysis. Despite these difficulties, the use of GC-HRMS in combination with isotope filters made it possible to retrospectively determine synthesis routes in all three matrix types. A majority of the detected compounds were related to the chlorination method used.  A limited number of compounds relevant to thiodiglycol production methods were also found in textile samples.

Source attribution of sulfur mustard in complex matrices

2019 Fall National Meeting

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