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Advancing towards universal screening for organic pollutants in waters
Félix Hernández1, María Ibáñez1, Tania Portolés1
1Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, Avda. Sos Baynat, E-12071 Castellón, Spain.
Journal of Hazardous Materials
|September 11, 2014
Summary
High resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) enables broad screening of over 2000 organic contaminants in water without reference standards. This powerful analytical method identifies pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and illicit drugs in various water samples.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
- Mass Spectrometry
Background:
- Investigating thousands of organic pollutants in aquatic environments is a significant challenge for environmental analytical chemists.
- High resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) coupled with chromatography offers sensitive, full-spectrum acquisition for detecting numerous contaminants without pre-selection.
- HRMS data allows tentative identification of compounds even without reference standards, facilitating broad screening.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a universal approach for comprehensive screening of a wide range of organic contaminants in water.
- To utilize hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry with both liquid and gas chromatography for broad contaminant analysis.
- To establish screening detection limits and qualitatively validate the method for a significant number of target compounds.
Main Methods:
- Coupling hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry with liquid chromatography and gas chromatography (GC) using a single instrument.
- Employing an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source in GC for enhanced applicability.
- Qualitative validation of screening for approximately 300 compounds at varying concentration levels (0.02, 0.1, 0.5 μg/L).
Main Results:
- Screening and identification of around 2000 compounds in various water matrices (surface, ground, and wastewater).
- Detection of a notable number of pesticides, transformation products, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and illicit drugs.
- Establishment of screening detection limits for the validated compounds.
Conclusions:
- The developed HRMS-based approach provides a universal method for broad screening of diverse organic contaminants in water.
- The combination of LC and GC with QTOF MS is effective for analyzing compounds with a wide range of polarities and volatilities.
- This method significantly advances the capability for comprehensive environmental monitoring of water quality.
