2026-06-03 ローレンス・リバモア国立研究所（LLNL）
◆ 研究チームは高度な質量分析技術や化学分析手法を活用し、従来よりも幅広い化学兵器関連化合物を高感度で識別できる体制を整備した。これにより、国際的な化学兵器禁止体制の検証能力向上や、化学攻撃発生時の科学的証拠収集の強化が期待される。また、化学剤そのものだけでなく、時間経過によって変化した痕跡物質の解析にも対応可能であり、法科学的調査や国際査察活動への応用が見込まれる。今回の成果は、化学兵器不拡散と国際安全保障を支える分析科学の発展に貢献するものである。
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.llnl.gov/article/54491/llnls-forensic-science-center-develops-new-capability-detect-chemical-weapons
- https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c00271
EI-GC-MSおよびLC-HRMSによる土壌マトリックス中のソマン神経剤マーカーであるピナコリルアルコールの分析におけるカルバモイル化の有効なツール Carbamoylation as an Effective Tool in the Analysis of the Soman Nerve Agent Marker Pinacolyl Alcohol in Soil Matrices by EI-GC-MS and LC-HRMS
David Baliu-RodriguezDavid S. Cho,Adele F. Panasci-Nott,Saphon Hok,Alexander K. Vu,Mark L. Dreyer,and Carlos A. Valdez
ACS Omega Published: May 1, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.6c00271
Abstract
Pinacolyl alcohol (PA) is a Schedule 2 chemical commonly featured in most proficiency tests (PTs) administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) due to its direct as well as forensic link to the nerve agent Soman. Therefore, its detection by Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) inspection teams during on-site investigations is a strong indicator of the past or latent presence of Soman in the environment. Its small molecular weight (102), early elution time, and poor ionization profile make PA a challenging analyte to detect particularly at low concentrations (∼1–10 μg/g). In this work, 1,1′-carbonyldimidazole (CDI) has been used to effectively modify PA for the first time in two different soil matrices (Virginia type A soil and silt sediment) at two separate concentrations (1 and 10 μg/g) for its subsequent detection by EI-GC-MS and LC-HRMS methods. For the EI-GC-MS analysis, the PA carbamate derivative (PIC) exhibits improved chromatography relative to PA such as improved peak shape, increased molecular weight (196 for PIC and 102 for PA) and increased retention time (16.9 min for PIC and ∼4.1 min for PA). In addition, the derivatization also improves the detection of PA by LC-HRMS as the PIC product possesses protonation sites (i.e., imidazole ring) relative to none exhibited by PA. More importantly, the carbamoylation proceeds under mild conditions (55 °C, no base) and rapidly (3 h), characteristics that make it an appealing protocol for the analysis of PA during OPCW PTs or real case scenarios particularly in instances where it is present at low concentrations. It is anticipated that the protocol can be applied to the forensic analysis of this important Soman marker in various environmental matrices.
