Chromatographic Methods for the Determination of Emerging Contaminants in Natural Water and Wastewater Samples: A Review

Abstract

This review is devoted to analytical methods published in the scientific literature in the last 10 years for the determination of emerging contaminants in aquatic media. The article is mainly focused on sample preparation and on instrumental techniques most used for the detection and quantification of the analytes of interest. The sample preparation techniques include classical liquid–liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction, but also recent microextraction techniques such as solid-phase microextraction, stir-bar sorptive extraction, dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction, ultrasound-assisted emulsification microextraction, or microextraction by packed sorbent. Most studies focus on minimizing the number of analysis steps and on the use of the lowest amount of solvents in the sample treatment step. Liquid chromatography and gas chromatography mainly coupled to tandem mass spectrometry are usually the employed analytical techniques. A large number of multiresidue methods are being developed for the determination of several families of these compounds with only one extraction step to minimize sample handling and treatment.

Keywords:

• Chromatography
• emerging contaminants
• mass spectrometry
• natural water sources
• sample treatment
• wastewater

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the University of Granada, Spain, for the Postdoctoral fellowship granted to R. Rodríguez-Gómez, to the Andalusia Regional Government and the European Social Fund for the Youth Guarantee Initiative granted to B. de Alarcón-Gómez, and to the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports for the pre-doctoral fellowship granted to L. Martín-Pozo (FPU14/02673).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The University of Granada, Spain; the Andalusia Regional Government; the European Social Fund; the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports.