Determination of Chemical Mixtures in Environmental, Food, and Human Samples Using High-Resolution Mass
Solène Motteau1, Gaud Dervilly1, Ronan Cariou1
1LABERCA, INRAE, Oniris, 44300 Nantes, France.
Environmental Science & Technology
|September 28, 2025
Summary
This study identifies 547 chemical contaminants across environmental, food, and health samples using advanced screening. Wastewater and environmental samples contained the most chemicals, including pharmaceuticals and pesticides.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Public Health
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Chemical contaminants pose widespread public health risks.
- Understanding the chemical exposome is crucial for risk assessment and policy.
- Nontargeted suspect screening expands knowledge of environmental stressors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a suspect screening method for comprehensive chemical profiling.
- To identify and confirm chemical contaminants across diverse sample types.
- To investigate the distribution of chemicals in the environment, food, and health continuum.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a suspect screening method with extensive spectral libraries.
- Employed a combined liquid chromatography- (LC-) and gas chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) approach.
- Analyzed 16 diverse samples from environmental, food, and health matrices.
Main Results:
- Likely identified 547 compounds, with 63 structures confirmed to the highest certainty.
- Wastewater and environmental samples exhibited the highest chemical loads.
- Pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and personal care products were prevalent, especially in water and serum.
Conclusions:
- The developed method effectively broadens the understanding of the chemical exposome.
- Environmental samples are significant reservoirs for diverse chemical contaminants.
- Further research is needed to assess the full impact of identified compounds on public health.
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