Quantification and confirmation of priority organic micropollutants in water by LC-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with a triple quadrupole analyser was used to determine selected (medium) polar organic pollutants—isoproturon, diuron and pentachlorophenol, as the herbicides simazine, atrazine, terbuthilazine, alachlor, and metolachlor—in treated water from urban solid-waste leachates. Two millilitres of water was preconcentrated by on-line trace enrichment (solid-phase extraction liquid chromatography) which allowed rapid analysis, but still with a satisfactory sensitivity, as the limits of quantification were 0.05 µg L⁻¹, while the limits of detection were in the range of 0.001–0.01 µg L⁻¹. Confirmation of the identity of compounds was ensured by the use of two tandem mass spectrometry transitions. Moreover, a study of matrix effects was thoroughly investigated by applying the developed procedure to different ground and surface waters. A simple dilution of the water sample with high-performance-liquid-chromatography-grade water was sufficient to minimize and/or remove this undesirable effect in all water samples tested, this approach being feasible due to the excellent sensitivity of the method.

Keywords:

• Organic pollutants
• Water analysis
• Municipal solid waste leachates
• LC-MS
• Matrix effects
• Tandem mass spectrometry

Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to the Serveis Centrals d’Instrumentació Científica (SCIC) of University Jaume I for the use of the Quattro LC triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. This work has been developed under the financial support of RECIPLASA as a part of the project ‘Investigación de contaminantes orgánicos en las aguas de lixiviado de residuos urbanos de la planta de compostaje de Onda’ and of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Ref. REN2002-01818), Spain. We thank Mr Fernando Albarrán (RECIPLASA) for his support in carrying out this study, and Dr Pozo for his valuable comments.

The research stay of Dr Hogendoorn at the Universitat Jaume I was financially supported by Bancaixa, Castellón, Spain.