dc.contributor.advisor |
Miskelly, G |
en |
dc.contributor.advisor |
Fedrizzi, B |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Nair, Mansa |
en |
dc.date.accessioned |
2018-10-11T01:57:06Z |
en |
dc.date.issued |
2018 |
en |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2292/40750 |
en |
dc.description.abstract |
This thesis investigates two chemical aspects of the remediation of former clandestine methamphetamine laboratories: developing methods for detecting airborne methamphetamine with short (ca. 20 min) sampling times, and oxidation of methamphetamine as a possible decontamination method. Dynamic solid phase microextraction (SPME) had been previously used to detect μg m-3 concentrations of airborne methamphetamine at former clandestine laboratories, where surface methamphetamine concentrations exceeded 60 μg/100 cm2. The current study found that for sampling times under 20 min, relative humidity values up to 70% did not influence the sorption of methamphetamine for dynamic SPME sampling. A comparison of the sorption abilities of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and carboxen/divinylbenzene/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/DVB/PDMS) fibres revealed that the PDMS fibre was twice as effective at sampling methamphetamine, under identical conditions. Capillary microextraction (CME), a high-surface area microextraction technique that has been used for sampling volatile organic compounds, was investigated as a more sensitive alternative to dynamic SPME sampling. CME devices were used to sample methamphetamine vapour (0.42-4.2 μg m-3) and analysed using GC/MS. The CME-GC/MS technique was found to be over 30 times more sensitive than the original dynamic SPME-GC/MS method. The CME devices were not affected by changes in relative humidity, and could be stored for up to 3 days post-sampling, without any loss of analyte. We demonstrated that on-sorbent derivatisation of methamphetamine with pentafluorobenzyl chloroformate could be conducted using the CME devices, improving both the intra-device variability and the detection limit of the analysis. Finally, four peroxide-based oxidations of methamphetamine were examined as potential methods for decontamination, and the reaction products were identified. 10% hydrogen peroxide, in the presence of an Fe-TAML catalyst, was the most effective, decomposing >99% of the methamphetamine into products including ii phenyl-2-propanone and benzaldehyde. BioOxygenÒ Chem-Decon, a commercial proprietary formulation, was effective in the removal of 93% of the methamphetamine, with the major identified product being phenylacetone oxime. 10% hydrogen peroxide, and 15% alkalised hydrogen peroxide were less effective under the conditions used, oxidising less than half the methamphetamine into products that could not be identified using our GC/MS and LC/MS protocols. |
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dc.publisher |
ResearchSpace@Auckland |
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dc.relation.ispartof |
PhD Thesis - University of Auckland |
en |
dc.relation.isreferencedby |
UoA99265111109402091 |
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dc.rights |
Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
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dc.rights.uri |
https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/ |
en |
dc.title |
Methamphetamine: Airborne analysis and oxidative destruction |
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dc.type |
Thesis |
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thesis.degree.discipline |
Forensic Science |
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thesis.degree.grantor |
The University of Auckland |
en |
thesis.degree.level |
Doctoral |
en |
thesis.degree.name |
PhD |
en |
dc.rights.holder |
Copyright: The author |
en |
dc.rights.accessrights |
http://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccess |
en |
pubs.elements-id |
754666 |
en |
pubs.record-created-at-source-date |
2018-10-11 |
en |
dc.identifier.wikidata |
Q111963552 |
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