HRMS-Targeted-DIA methodology for quantification of wastewater-borne pollutants in surface water

A robust method was developed for the quantification of popular and highly occurrence contaminants of emerging concern from wastewater treatment plant effluents and is explained in detail. A homemade multi-layered and multi-sorbent solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge was used to cover the wide range of polarities of the selected contaminants. A non-discriminant elution protocol was also applied. Liquid chromatography coupled to a high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS) Q-Exactive Orbitrap system was used for the separation and detection of the contaminants. A targeted data independent acquisition (DIA) mode with an inclusion list with the exact mass, retention time window and collision energy was tried for the first time obtaining good sensitivity, selectivity and high quality MS2 product ions.•116 compounds of a wide-scope of polarities and physic-chemical properties were validated using a surface water pool matrix.•SPE followed by LC-HRMS with a targeted DIA was used for the method validation at three concentration levels 5, 50, 500 μg l^-1 in extract.•Good recoveries were obtained between 70 and 120% for the majority of the selected contaminants. Matrix effect, precision, and linearity were also evaluated and results proved the suitability for the method application.