Rapid Screening of Sulfur Fumigated Chinese Star Anises by Surface Desorption Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry
Without any sample pretreatment,the mass spectral fingerprints of sulfur fumigated Chinese star anises and untreated samples were rapidly obtained in either a positive or negative ion detection mode with a home-made surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization(DAPCI) source.The DAPCI-MS raw data were further analyzed by principal component analysis(PCA) and cluster analysis(CA),and several unknown samples were successfully discriminated using the PCA model.The results showed that the DAPCI-MS was able to detect some characteristic chemicals from the Chinese star anises' surface and identify the components by tandem mass spectrometry(MS/MS).The further principal component analysis(PCA) and cluster analysis(CA) of MS fingerprints allow a confident discrimination of sulfur fumigated star anise samples from the non-sulfur fumigated samples.The method developed here is attractive to provide a fast and effective way to screen sulfur fumigated products with sufficient sensitivity and no toxin pollution.This method is expected to be applied to rapid identification of the sulfur fumigated product on the market in future.