1
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Peets P, Rian MB, Martin JW, Kruve A. Evaluation of Nontargeted Mass Spectral Data Acquisition Strategies for Water Analysis and Toxicity-Based Feature Prioritization by MS2Tox. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:17406-17418. [PMID: 39297340 PMCID: PMC11447898 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 09/06/2024] [Accepted: 09/09/2024] [Indexed: 10/02/2024]
Abstract
The machine-learning tool MS2Tox can prioritize hazardous nontargeted molecular features in environmental waters, by predicting acute fish lethality of unknown molecules based on their MS2 spectra, prior to structural annotation. It has yet to be investigated how the extent of molecular coverage, MS2 spectra quality, and toxicity prediction confidence depend on sample complexity and MS2 data acquisition strategies. We compared two common nontargeted MS2 acquisition strategies with liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry for structural annotation accuracy by SIRIUS+CSI:FingerID and MS2Tox toxicity prediction of 191 reference chemicals spiked to LC-MS water, groundwater, surface water, and wastewater. Data-dependent acquisition (DDA) resulted in higher rates (19-62%) of correct structural annotations among reference chemicals in all matrices except wastewaters, compared to data-independent acquisition (DIA, 19-50%). However, DIA resulted in higher MS2 detection rates (59-84% DIA, 37-82% DDA), leading to higher true positive rates for spectral library matching, 40-73% compared to 34-72%. DDA resulted in higher MS2Tox toxicity prediction accuracy than DIA, with root-mean-square errors of 0.62 and 0.71 log-mM, respectively. Given the importance of MS2 spectral quality, we introduce a "CombinedConfidence" score to convey relative confidence in MS2Tox predictions and apply this approach to prioritize potentially ecotoxic nontargeted features in environmental waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilleriin Peets
- Department
of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 16, SE-106
91, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute
of Biodiversity, Faculty of Biological Science, Cluster of Excellence
Balance of the Microverse, Friedrich-Schiller-University
Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - May Britt Rian
- Department
of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 16, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jonathan W. Martin
- Department
of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 16, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- National
Facility for Exposomics, Metabolomics Platform, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Solna 171 65, Sweden
| | - Anneli Kruve
- Department
of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 16, SE-106
91, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department
of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius Väg 16, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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2
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Feldmann J, Hansen HR, Karlsson TM, Christensen JH. ICP-MS As a Contributing Tool to Nontarget Screening (NTS) Analysis for Environmental Monitoring. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:12755-12762. [PMID: 38984753 PMCID: PMC11271004 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c00504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Due to the increasing number of chemicals released into the environment, nontarget screening (NTS) analysis is a necessary tool for providing comprehensive chemical analysis of environmental pollutants. However, NTS workflows encounter challenges in detecting both known and unknown pollutants with common chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) methods. Identification of unknowns is hindered by limited elemental composition information, and quantification without identical reference standards is prone to errors. To address these issues, we propose the use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) as an element-specific detector. ICP-MS can enhance the confidence of compound identification and improve quantification in NTS due to its element-specific response and unambiguous chemical composition information. Additionally, mass balance calculations for individual elements (F, Br, Cl, etc.) enable assessment of total recovery of those elements and evaluation of NTS workflows. Despite its benefits, implementing ICP-MS in NTS analysis and environmental regulation requires overcoming certain shortcomings and challenges, which are discussed herein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jörg Feldmann
- TESLA-Analytical
Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University
of Graz, Universitätsplatz 1, Graz 8010, Austria
| | - Helle Rüsz Hansen
- Danish
Environmental Protection Agency, Tolderlundsvej 5, Odense
C 5000, Denmark
| | - Thomas Molnár Karlsson
- Analytical
Chemistry group, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C 1871 , Denmark
| | - Jan H. Christensen
- Analytical
Chemistry group, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C 1871 , Denmark
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3
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Vogel E, Neyra M, Larsen DA, Zeng T. Target and Nontarget Screening to Support Capacity Scaling for Substance Use Assessment through a Statewide Wastewater Surveillance Network in New York. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:8518-8530. [PMID: 38693060 PMCID: PMC11097395 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c01251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been widely implemented around the world as a complementary tool to conventional surveillance techniques to inform and improve public health responses. Currently, wastewater surveillance programs in the U.S. are evaluating integrated approaches to address public health challenges across multiple domains, including substance abuse. In this work, we demonstrated the potential of online solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry to support targeted quantification and nontargeted analysis of psychoactive and lifestyle substances as a step toward understanding the operational feasibility of a statewide wastewater surveillance program for substance use assessment in New York. Target screening confirmed 39 substances in influent samples collected from 10 wastewater treatment plants with varying sewershed characteristics and is anticipated to meet the throughput demands as the statewide program scales up to full capacity. Nontarget screening prioritized additional compounds for identification at three confidence levels, including psychoactive substances, such as opioid analgesics, phenethylamines, and cathinone derivatives. Consumption rates of 12 target substances detected in over 80% of wastewater samples were similar to those reported by previous U.S.-based WBE studies despite the uncertainty associated with back-calculations. For selected substances, the relative bias in consumption estimates was sensitive to variations in monitoring frequency, and factors beyond human excretion (e.g., as indicated by the parent-to-metabolite ratios) might also contribute to their prevalence at the sewershed scale. Overall, our study marks the initial phase of refining analytical workflows and data interpretation in preparation for the incorporation of substance use assessment into the statewide wastewater surveillance program in New York.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily
J. Vogel
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University, 151 Link Hall, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Milagros Neyra
- Department
of Public Health, Syracuse University, 444 White Hall, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - David A. Larsen
- Department
of Public Health, Syracuse University, 444 White Hall, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Teng Zeng
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University, 151 Link Hall, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
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4
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Zahn D, Arp HPH, Fenner K, Georgi A, Hafner J, Hale SE, Hollender J, Letzel T, Schymanski EL, Sigmund G, Reemtsma T. Should Transformation Products Change the Way We Manage Chemicals? ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:7710-7718. [PMID: 38656189 PMCID: PMC11080041 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
When chemical pollutants enter the environment, they can undergo diverse transformation processes, forming a wide range of transformation products (TPs), some of them benign and others more harmful than their precursors. To date, the majority of TPs remain largely unrecognized and unregulated, particularly as TPs are generally not part of routine chemical risk or hazard assessment. Since many TPs formed from oxidative processes are more polar than their precursors, they may be especially relevant in the context of persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT) and very persistent and very mobile (vPvM) substances, which are two new hazard classes that have recently been established on a European level. We highlight herein that as a result, TPs deserve more attention in research, chemicals regulation, and chemicals management. This perspective summarizes the main challenges preventing a better integration of TPs in these areas: (1) the lack of reliable high-throughput TP identification methods, (2) uncertainties in TP prediction, (3) inadequately considered TP formation during (advanced) water treatment, and (4) insufficient integration and harmonization of TPs in most regulatory frameworks. A way forward to tackle these challenges and integrate TPs into chemical management is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zahn
- Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hans Peter H. Arp
- Norwegian
Geotechnical Institute (NGI), P.O. Box 3930, Ullevål Stadion, 0806 Oslo, Norway
- Department
of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science
and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kathrin Fenner
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Anett Georgi
- Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jasmin Hafner
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sarah E. Hale
- TZW: DVGW
Water Technology Center, Karlsruher Str. 84, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Juliane Hollender
- Swiss
Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600 Dübendorf, Zürich, Switzerland
- ETH
Zurich, Institute of Biogeochemistry and
Pollutant Dynamics, Zürich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Letzel
- AFIN-TS
GmbH (Analytisches Forschungsinstitut für Non-Target Screening), Am Mittleren Moos 48, 86167 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Emma L. Schymanski
- Luxembourg
Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University
of Luxembourg, 6 avenue
du Swing, L-4367 Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Gabriel Sigmund
- Environmental
Technology, Wageningen University &
Research, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Thorsten Reemtsma
- Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- University of Leipzig, Linnéstrasse 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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5
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Egede Frøkjær E, Rüsz Hansen H, Hansen M. Non-targeted and suspect screening analysis using ion exchange chromatography-Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry reveals polar and very mobile xenobiotics in Danish drinking water. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 339:139745. [PMID: 37558003 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Non-targeted and suspect screening analysis is gaining approval across the scientific and regulatory community to monitor the chemical status in the environment and thus environmental quality. These holistic screening analyses provides the means to perform suspect screening and go beyond to discover previously undescribed chemical pollutants in environmental samples. In a case study, we developed and optimized a high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry platform hyphenated with anion exchange chromatography to screen drinking water samples in Denmark. The optimized non-targeted screening method was able to detect anionic and polar compounds and was successfully applied to drinking water from two drinking water facilities. Following a data analysis pipeline optimization, anionic pesticide residues and other environmental contaminants were detected at confidence identification level 1 such as dimethachlor ESA, mecoprop, and dichlorprop in drinking water. In addition to these three substances, it was possible to detect another 1662 compounds, of which 97 were annotated at confidence identification level 2. More research is urgently needed to health risk prioritize the detected substances and to determine their concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emil Egede Frøkjær
- Environmental Metabolomics Lab, Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark.
| | - Helle Rüsz Hansen
- Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Tolderlundsvej 5, 5000, Odense C, Denmark
| | - Martin Hansen
- Environmental Metabolomics Lab, Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark.
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6
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Tisler S, Savvidou P, Jørgensen MB, Castro M, Christensen JH. Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Coupled to High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Reveals Persistent Mobile Organic Compounds with Unknown Toxicity in Wastewater Effluents. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37307429 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Broad screening approaches for monitoring wastewater are normally based on reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). This method is not sufficient for the very polar micropollutants, neglected in the past due to a lack of suitable analytical methods. In this study, we used supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) to detect very polar and yet-undetected micropollutants in wastewater effluents. We tentatively identified 85 compounds, whereas 18 have only rarely been detected and 11 have not previously been detected in wastewater effluents such as 17α-hydroxypregnenolone, a likely transformation product (TP) of steroids, and 1H-indole-3-carboxamide, a likely TP from new synthetic cannabinoids. Suspect screening of 25 effluent wastewater samples from 8 wastewater treatment plants revealed several distinct potential pollution sources such as a pharmaceutical company and a golf court. The analysis of the same samples with LC-HRMS showed clearly how SFC increases the ionization efficiency for low-molecular-weight micropollutants (m/z < 300 Da) by a factor 2 to 87 times, which significantly improved the mass spectra for identifying very polar compounds. In order to assess which micropollutants might be of environmental concern, literature and toxicological databases were screened. There was a lack of available hazard and bio-activity data for regulatory-relevant in vitro and in vivo assays for >50% of the micropollutants. Especially, 70% of the data were lacking for the whole organism (in vivo) tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina Tisler
- Analytical Chemistry Group, Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Pinelopi Savvidou
- Analytical Chemistry Group, Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | | | - Mafalda Castro
- Analytical Chemistry Group, Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Jan H Christensen
- Analytical Chemistry Group, Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
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7
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Ciccarelli D, Christopher Braddock D, Surman AJ, Arenas BIV, Salal T, Marczylo T, Vineis P, Barron LP. Enhanced selectivity for acidic contaminants in drinking water: From suspect screening to toxicity prediction. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 448:130906. [PMID: 36764252 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
A novel analytical workflow for suspect screening of organic acidic contaminants in drinking water is presented, featuring selective extraction by silica-based strong anion-exchange solid-phase extraction, mixed-mode liquid chromatography-high resolution accurate mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), peak detection, feature reduction and compound identification. The novel use of an ammonium bicarbonate-based elution solvent extended strong anion-exchange solid-phase extraction applicability to LC-HRMS of strong acids. This approach performed with consistently higher recovery and repeatability (88 ± 7 % at 500 ng L-1), improved selectivity and lower matrix interference (mean = 12 %) over a generic mixed-mode weak anion exchange SPE method. In addition, a novel filter for reducing full-scan features from fulvic and humic acids was successfully introduced, reducing workload and potential for false positives. The workflow was then applied to 10 London municipal drinking water samples, revealing the presence of 22 confirmed and 37 tentatively identified substances. Several poorly investigated and potentially harmful compounds were found which included halogenated hydroxy-cyclopentene-diones and dibromomethanesulfonic acid. Some of these compounds have been reported as mutagenic in test systems and thus their presence here requires further investigation. Overall, this approach demonstrated that employing selective extraction improved detection and helped shortlist suspects and potentially toxic chemical contaminants with higher confidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Ciccarelli
- Environmental Research Group, MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; NIHR-HPRU Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards, NIHR-HPRU Environmental Exposures and Health, MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | | | - Andrew J Surman
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, UK
| | | | - Tara Salal
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, UK
| | - Tim Marczylo
- NIHR-HPRU Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards, NIHR-HPRU Environmental Exposures and Health, MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; UK Health Security Agency, Harwell Science Campus, Femi Avenue, Harwell, Didcot OX11 0GD, UK
| | - Paolo Vineis
- NIHR-HPRU Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards, NIHR-HPRU Environmental Exposures and Health, MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Leon P Barron
- Environmental Research Group, MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; NIHR-HPRU Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards, NIHR-HPRU Environmental Exposures and Health, MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK.
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8
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Liang X, Christensen JH, Bucheli TD, Nielsen NJ. Source-Supported Suspect Screening (4S) of Phytotoxins in Terrestrial and Aquatic Environments: A Field Study of Lupinus angustifolius L. (Blue Lupin). ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:2333-2340. [PMID: 36723500 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c05387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Phytotoxins (PTs) are bioactive secondary metabolites produced by plants. More recently, they have been recognized as important aquatic micropollutants. Despite that, only a few PTs have been detected and reported in terrestrial and aquatic environments, while their source and leaching pathways remain largely unclear. Herein, we established a novel approach named source-supported suspect screening (4S) to discover PTs in different environments, investigate their environmental occurrences, identify their sources, and initiate discussions on their leaching mechanisms. The 4S-approach was demonstrated on a five-month Lupinus angustifolius L. (L. angustifolius) crop field experiment, where plant, topsoil, drainage water, and surface water were sampled and analyzed. As a result, 72 PTs (flavonoids and alkaloids) were identified at high confidence, with 10 PTs fully confirmed. Fifty-three PTs detected in soil or water were linked to L. angustifolius, among which 26 PTs were coherently detected in all three environmental compartments. The occurrence and abundance of PTs in terrestrial soil and aquatic environments were influenced by the plant growth stage and precipitation. Soil served as an intermedium when PTs leached from L. angustifolius to the drainage water, while the degree of retardation and eventual occurrence in the aquatic environment depended on both PTs and soil physico-chemical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomeng Liang
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Jan H Christensen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | | | - Nikoline Juul Nielsen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
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9
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Nikolopoulou V, Ajibola AS, Aalizadeh R, Thomaidis NS. Wide-scope target and suspect screening of emerging contaminants in sewage sludge from Nigerian WWTPs by UPLC-qToF-MS. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159529. [PMID: 36270367 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
There is currently a paucity of scientific data in Africa on the analysis and occurrence of emerging contaminants in sewage sludge. In this work, the occurrence of European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive priority substances and wide-range emerging contaminants were investigated and discussed comprehensively in the sewage sludge samples from three different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Lagos, Nigeria. The identification strategy was implemented by target and suspect screening in liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. 250 compounds were identified in the sewage sludge samples from the investigated WWTPs. From 250 detected compounds, 182 compounds were quantified, and 78 compounds significantly show high environmental risk score (calculated from provisional no-effect concentrations values (PNEC) as well as their environmental quality data (EQs)). Most of contaminants detected at high amount belong to pharmaceuticals and are from hospital WWTP. While the highest concentration (72.4 mg kg-1) was measured for salicylic acid (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), antibiotics showed high concentrations up to 24.4 and 28.4 mg kg-1 for ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, respectively. Three simple factors including frequency of exceedance, frequency of occurrence and extent of exceedance were used to aid prioritization of these substances in future monitoring campaigns. This work presents the first comprehensive and wide-scope screening of a large number of emerging contaminants in sewage sludge from Nigerian WWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varvara Nikolopoulou
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Akinranti S Ajibola
- Analytical/Environmental Unit, Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Reza Aalizadeh
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos S Thomaidis
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece.
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10
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Gallé T, Bayerle M, Pittois D. Geochemical matrix differently affects the response of internal standards and target analytes for pesticide transformation products measured in groundwater samples. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 307:135815. [PMID: 35921885 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Electrospray ionization (ESI) is the most common technique in liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) allowing for sensitive detection of polar compounds with online water concentration. The technique is popular in groundwater monitoring programs and has permitted great progress in the detection and quantification of polar pesticide transformation products (TP) in recent years. However, ESI is also known to be prone to matrix effects. The common solution to this potential bias is the use of labelled internal standards. Unfortunately, these are not available for all target compounds, which leads to the linkage of target compounds to non-homologue internal standards with unknown consequences for quantification in variable geochemical settings. We investigated these matrix effects for polar TP with a molecular mass range of 225-350 Da and logDpH7 between -0.27 and -1.7 as well as for parent compounds with logDpH3 between 0.84 and 3.22. The acquired internal standards were tested on a gradient of DOC, anions, conductivity and inorganic carbon with a set of ten carefully chosen groundwater samples. Internal standards that were measured in positive ionization mode proved to be insensitive to geochemical variations while those that were measured in negative ionization mode showed reduced response with increasing anion concentration. All pairs of internal standards and target analytes were investigated for deviating matrix effects using standard addition experiments. Positive ionization compounds and target compounds with deuterated homologues showed little deviation while non-homologue pairs in negative mode proved to be strongly biased. Although bias was up to factor five for some compounds it was remarkably stable over the entire gradient studied, suggesting an identical suppression mode at varying matrix levels for different compounds. We advocate the conduct of standard addition experiments if homologue internal standards are not available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Gallé
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), ERIN Dept., 5, Avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
| | - Michael Bayerle
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), ERIN Dept., 5, Avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Denis Pittois
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), ERIN Dept., 5, Avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
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11
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Second Dimension Retention Indices in “Normal” Orthogonality Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography Using Single Standard Injection Generated Isovolatility Curves. J Chromatogr A 2022; 1683:463548. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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12
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Kronik OM, Liang X, Nielsen NJ, Christensen JH, Tomasi G. Obtaining clean and informative mass spectra from complex chromatographic and high-resolution all-ions-fragmentation data by nonnegative parallel factor analysis 2. J Chromatogr A 2022; 1682:463501. [PMID: 36155072 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
A major challenge in processing of complex data obtained from chromatography hyphenated to mass spectrometry is to resolve chromatographically co-eluting compounds. In this study, we present a workflow for the resolution of ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry data obtained by the broadband data-independent acquisition MSE operation (UHPLCHRMSE). The workflow is based on a recently introduced algorithm for Parallel Factor Analysis 2 (PARAFAC2) that allows to enforce non-negativity on all the model coefficients. The workflow was tested on three sets of UHPLC-HRMSE measurements from a Lupinus angustifolius L. crop field study, which included plant tissue samples, soil samples and samples from drainage water as well as stream water close to the field. The three datasets included 93, 59, and 75 chromatographic runs in total for the plant, soil and water batches, respectively. Nonnegative-PARAFAC2 models were fitted on the summed high and low energy (HE and LE) traces on chromatographic intervals corresponding to spiked standard for the three sample sets independently. In soil and plant samples, 13 out of 14 spiked standards were resolved by NN-PARAFAC2 even in presence of chromatographic co-elution, and their mass spectral loadings could be matched to a reference spectrum. In contrast, only seven spiked standards were correctly resolved and matched for the water samples because a higher chromatographic baseline rendered the data noisier. The results show that the workflow we present can provide improved mass spectral selectivity for data-independent acquisition compared to using the raw mass spectra and can be used to match fragment ions from the HE trace, and precursor and adduct ions from the LE trace even in presence of co-eluting compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oskar Munk Kronik
- Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, Frederiksberg DK-1871, Denmark.
| | - Xiaomeng Liang
- Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, Frederiksberg DK-1871, Denmark
| | - Nikoline Juul Nielsen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, Frederiksberg DK-1871, Denmark
| | - Jan H Christensen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, Frederiksberg DK-1871, Denmark
| | - Giorgio Tomasi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, Frederiksberg DK-1871, Denmark
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Performance of free-flow field-step electrophoresis as cleanup step for the non-target analysis of environmental water samples. Anal Bioanal Chem 2022; 414:2189-2204. [PMID: 35099581 PMCID: PMC8821473 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03856-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
For the analysis of low concentrations of micropollutants in environmental water samples, efficient sample enrichment and cleanup are necessary to reduce matrix effects and to reach low detection limits. For analytes of low and medium polarity, solid-phase extraction is used, but robust methods for the preconcentration of highly polar or ionizable analytes are scarce. In this work, field-step electrophoresis (FSE) was developed as an environmental sample cleanup technique for ionizable micropollutants and ionic transformation products. The FSE electrolyte system preconcentrated 15 acidic model analytes (pKa from −2.2 to 9.1) present in aqueous samples in two fractions by factors of 5–10. Simultaneously, highly mobile matrix compounds were removed including inorganic ions such as sulfate and chloride. The fractions were either directly injected for downstream analysis by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) or further processed by evaporative preconcentration with subsequent reconstitution in an organic solvent suitable for separation methods like hydrophilic interaction chromatography. The FSE/RPLC-MS method exhibited high quantitative precision with RSDs of 3–6%. The method was successfully applied to a spiked river water sample and its performance compared with common solid-phase extraction and evaporative concentration, demonstrating a high analyte coverage. FSE combined with non-target screening by RPLC-MS revealed a strong reduction in matrix load especially at low retention times. Seventeen compounds were identified in the FSE fractions sampled at the field step boundary by retention time, accurate mass, and mass fragments. Suspect screening by FSE/RPLC-MS was facilitated by FSE’s selectivity for anionic compounds.
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14
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Neuwald I, Muschket M, Zahn D, Berger U, Seiwert B, Meier T, Kuckelkorn J, Strobel C, Knepper TP, Reemtsma T. Filling the knowledge gap: A suspect screening study for 1310 potentially persistent and mobile chemicals with SFC- and HILIC-HRMS in two German river systems. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 204:117645. [PMID: 34547688 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Persistent and mobile chemicals (PM chemicals) were searched for in surface waters by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), both coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). A suspect screening was performed using a newly compiled list of 1310 potential PM chemicals to the data of 11 surface water samples from two river systems. In total, 64 compounds were identified by this approach. The overlap between HILIC- and SFC-HRMS was limited (31 compounds), confirming the complementarity of the two methods used. The identified PM candidates are characterized by a high polarity (median logD -0.4 at pH 7.5), a low molecular weight (median 187 g/mol), are mostly ionic (54 compounds) and contain a large number of heteroatoms (one per four carbons on average). Among the most frequently detected novel or yet scarcely investigated water contaminants were cyanoguanidine (11/11 samples), adamantan-1-amine (10/11), trifluoromethanesulfonate (9/11), 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate (10/11), and the inorganic anions hexafluorophosphate (11/11) and tetrafluoroborate (10/11). 31% of the identified suspects are mainly used in ionic liquids, a chemically diverse group of industrial chemicals with numerous applications that is so far rarely studied for their occurrence in the environment. Prioritization of the findings of PM candidates is hampered by the apparent lack of toxicity data. Hence, precautionary principles and minimization approaches should be applied for the risk assessment and risk management of these substances. The large share of novel water contaminants among these findings of the suspect screening indicates that the universe of PM chemicals present in the environment has so far only scarcely been explored. Dedicated analytical methods and screening lists appear essential to close the analytical gap for PM compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Neuwald
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, Idstein 65510, Germany
| | - Matthias Muschket
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
| | - Daniel Zahn
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, Idstein 65510, Germany
| | - Urs Berger
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
| | - Bettina Seiwert
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
| | - Till Meier
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
| | - Jochen Kuckelkorn
- Umweltbundesamt, Section Toxicology of Drinking Water and Swimming Pool Water, Heinrich-Heine-Strasse 12, Bad Elster 08645, Germany
| | - Claudia Strobel
- Umweltbundesamt, Section Toxicology of Drinking Water and Swimming Pool Water, Heinrich-Heine-Strasse 12, Bad Elster 08645, Germany
| | - Thomas P Knepper
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, Idstein 65510, Germany
| | - Thorsten Reemtsma
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany; University of Leipzig, Institute for Analytical Chemistry, Linnéstrasse 3, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
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15
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Sample preparation optimization by central composite design for multi class determination of 172 emerging contaminants in wastewaters and tap water using liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 2021; 1652:462369. [PMID: 34246959 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2021.462369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Multi-residue analysis is highly desirable for water quality control. To this end, a comprehensive workflow for the quantitative analysis of 172 anthropogenic organic compounds belonging to emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals and personal care products, illicit drugs, organophosphate flame retardants and perfluoroalkyl substances) has been developed for application to wastewater and tap water, based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Due to the large number of analytes with various physicochemical characteristics that should be efficiently extracted, the response surface methodology (RSM) employing a central composite design (CCD) and desirability function (DF) approach was exploited to optimize the sample preparation process, instead of the conventional single-factor analysis. The factors included in the design of experiments (DoE) were sample pH, eluent solvents composition and volume. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) proved the adequacy of the proposed model (2- factor interaction) as p-value < 0.05 followed by different diagnostic tests confirmed the good fitting. The best values to acquire DF close to 1 were pH 3.5, methanol/ethyl acetate ratio 87:13 and eluent volume 6 mL. The streamlined method was validated in terms of accuracy, linearity, method limits, reproducibility, and matrix effect. The proposed workflow combines sensitivity and robustness, with recoveries over 70%, method quantification limits <1 ng/L, and relative standard deviations <20% for most of the compounds. Slight matrix effect (ME) was observed for most of PPCPs, IDs and PFAs, in contrast with most of the OPFRs, for which strong ME was calculated. Method applicability was tested over wastewater collected from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Thessaloniki (Greece), revealing the presence of 69 and 40 compounds in influents and effluents, respectively, at varying concentrations.
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16
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Peralta-Maraver I, Stubbington R, Arnon S, Kratina P, Krause S, de Mello Cionek V, Leite NK, da Silva ALL, Thomaz SM, Posselt M, Milner VS, Momblanch A, Moretti MS, Nóbrega RLB, Perkins DM, Petrucio MM, Reche I, Saito V, Sarmento H, Strange E, Taniwaki RH, White J, Alves GHZ, Robertson AL. The riverine bioreactor: An integrative perspective on biological decomposition of organic matter across riverine habitats. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 772:145494. [PMID: 33581537 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Riverine ecosystems can be conceptualized as 'bioreactors' (the riverine bioreactor) which retain and decompose a wide range of organic substrates. The metabolic performance of the riverine bioreactor is linked to their community structure, the efficiency of energy transfer along food chains, and complex interactions among biotic and abiotic environmental factors. However, our understanding of the mechanistic functioning and capacity of the riverine bioreactor remains limited. We review the state of knowledge and outline major gaps in the understanding of biotic drivers of organic matter decomposition processes that occur in riverine ecosystems, across habitats, temporal dimensions, and latitudes influenced by climate change. We propose a novel, integrative analytical perspective to assess and predict decomposition processes in riverine ecosystems. We then use this model to analyse data to demonstrate that the size-spectra of a community can be used to predict decomposition rates by analysing an illustrative dataset. This modelling methodology allows comparison of the riverine bioreactor's performance across habitats and at a global scale. Our integrative analytical approach can be applied to advance understanding of the functioning and efficiency of the riverine bioreactor as hotspots of metabolic activity. Application of insights gained from such analyses could inform the development of strategies that promote the functioning of the riverine bioreactor across global ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Peralta-Maraver
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain; Department of Life Sciences, Roehampton University, London, UK.
| | - Rachel Stubbington
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| | - Shai Arnon
- Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Pavel Kratina
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Stefan Krause
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
| | - Vivian de Mello Cionek
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia Ambiental, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Nei Kavaguichi Leite
- Department of Ecology and Zoology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Aurea Luiza Lemes da Silva
- Department of Ecology and Zoology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | | | - Malte Posselt
- Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Andrea Momblanch
- Cranfield Water Science Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
| | - Marcelo S Moretti
- Laboratory of Aquatic Insect Ecology, Universidade Vila Velha, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil
| | - Rodolfo L B Nóbrega
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | | | - Mauricio M Petrucio
- Department of Ecology and Zoology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Isabel Reche
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Victor Saito
- Departamento de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Hugo Sarmento
- Department of Hydrobiology, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Emily Strange
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ricardo Hideo Taniwaki
- Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - James White
- River Restoration Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK
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Kiefer K, Du L, Singer H, Hollender J. Identification of LC-HRMS nontarget signals in groundwater after source related prioritization. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 196:116994. [PMID: 33773453 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.116994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater is a major drinking water resource but its quality with regard to organic micropollutants (MPs) is insufficiently assessed. Therefore, we aimed to investigate Swiss groundwater more comprehensively using liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS). First, samples from 60 sites were classified as having high or low urban or agricultural influence based on 498 target compounds associated with either urban or agricultural sources. Second, all LC-HRMS signals were related to their potential origin (urban, urban and agricultural, agricultural, or not classifiable) based on their occurrence and intensity in the classified samples. A considerable fraction of estimated concentrations associated with urban and/or agricultural sources could not be explained by the 139 detected targets. The most intense nontarget signals were automatically annotated with structure proposals using MetFrag and SIRIUS4/CSI:FingerID with a list of >988,000 compounds. Additionally, suspect screening was performed for 1162 compounds with predicted high groundwater mobility from primarily urban sources. Finally, 12 nontargets and 11 suspects were identified unequivocally (Level 1), while 17 further compounds were tentatively identified (Level 2a/3). amongst these were 13 pollutants thus far not reported in groundwater, such as: the industrial chemicals 2,5-dichlorobenzenesulfonic acid (19 detections, up to 100 ng L-1), phenylphosponic acid (10 detections, up to 50 ng L-1), triisopropanolamine borate (2 detections, up to 40 ng L-1), O-des[2-aminoethyl]-O-carboxymethyl dehydroamlodipine, a transformation product (TP) of the blood pressure regulator amlodipine (17 detections), and the TP SYN542490 of the herbicide metolachlor (Level 3, 33 detections, estimated concentrations up to 100-500 ng L-1). One monitoring site was far more contaminated than other sites based on estimated total concentrations of potential MPs, which was supported by the elucidation of site-specific nontarget signals such as the carcinogen chlorendic acid, and various naphthalenedisulfonic acids. Many compounds remained unknown, but overall, source related prioritisation proved an effective approach to support identification of compounds in groundwater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Kiefer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Letian Du
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Heinz Singer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Juliane Hollender
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
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18
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Enhancing the power of liquid chromatography-Mass spectrometry for chemical fingerprinting of phytotoxins in the environment. J Chromatogr A 2021; 1642:462027. [PMID: 33714772 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2021.462027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Phytotoxins are plant secondary metabolites. They have recently been considered as chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) and there is a growing interest in their environmental fate and potential threat to public health. Dedicated target and non-target screening (NTS) analysis of phytotoxins in environmental samples are sparse, meanwhile phytotoxins are rarely detected in NTS-based analysis due to lack of an efficient methodology. Development of new analytical measurement methods is therefore highly needed. In this study, we for the first time investigated key parameters of reversed phase liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (RPLC-HRMS) for five major classes of phytotoxins (alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids and aromatic polyketides) in environmental matrices; the investigation included analytical conditions which have not yet been explored by others, e.g. ionization at alkaline pH above 9. As the outcome we established a new analytical method for target/suspect screening and NTS of phytotoxins in the environment, which significantly improved the detection sensitivity with up to 40 times compared to previous methods, and enabled the discovery of over 30 phytotoxins in a NTS-based environmental study. We also observed that the negative ionization of phenols could be facilitated by the number of hydroxyl groups on the ring rather than their position of substitution. This study is of interest for a better fundamental understanding of the behavior of phytotoxins in LC-MS. Dedicated target/suspect screening and NTS methods will facilitate a better risk characterization of phytotoxins in the environment and stimulate implementation of new public regulation on phytotoxins.
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19
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Kruve A, Kiefer K, Hollender J. Benchmarking of the quantification approaches for the non-targeted screening of micropollutants and their transformation products in groundwater. Anal Bioanal Chem 2021; 413:1549-1559. [PMID: 33506334 PMCID: PMC7921029 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-03109-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A wide range of micropollutants can be monitored with non-targeted screening; however, the quantification of the newly discovered compounds is challenging. Transformation products (TPs) are especially problematic because analytical standards are rarely available. Here, we compared three quantification approaches for non-target compounds that do not require the availability of analytical standards. The comparison is based on a unique set of concentration data for 341 compounds, mainly pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and their TPs in 31 groundwater samples from Switzerland. The best accuracy was observed with the predicted ionization efficiency-based quantification, the mean error of concentration prediction for the groundwater samples was a factor of 1.8, and all of the 74 micropollutants detected in the groundwater were quantified with an error less than a factor of 10. The quantification of TPs with the parent compounds had significantly lower accuracy (mean error of a factor of 3.8) and could only be applied to a fraction of the detected compounds, while the mean performance (mean error of a factor of 3.2) of the closest eluting standard approach was similar to the parent compound approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneli Kruve
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Karin Kiefer
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Juliane Hollender
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
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20
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Perkons I, Rusko J, Zacs D, Bartkevics V. Rapid determination of pharmaceuticals in wastewater by direct infusion HRMS using target and suspect screening analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 755:142688. [PMID: 33059144 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A wide-scope screening of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and their transformation products (TPs) in wastewater can yield valuable insights and pinpoint emerging contaminants that have not been previously reported. Such information is relevant to investigate their occurrence and fate in various environmental compartments. In this study, we explored the applicability of direct infusion high resolution mass spectrometry (DI-HRMS) for comprehensive and rapid detection of APIs and their TPs in wastewater samples. The method was developed using a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) system and incorporated both wide-scope suspect screening and semi-quantitative determination of selected analytes. The identification strategy was based on the following criteria: narrow accurate mass window (±1.25 ppm) for two most abundant full-MS signals, isotopic pattern fit and additional confirmation on the basis of MS2 spectra at three fragmentation levels. The tentative identification of suspects and target compounds relied on an in-house database containing more than 500 different APIs and TPs. The measured fragment spectra were matched against experimental MS2 patterns obtained from a publicly available spectral library (MassBank of North America) and in-silico generated fragmentation features (from the CFM-ID algorithm). In total, 79 suspects were identified and 24 target compounds were semi-quantified in 72 wastewater samples. The highest detection frequencies in treated wastewater effluents were observed for diclofenac, metoprolol and telmisartan, while hydroxydiclofenac, dextrorphan, and carbamazepine metabolites were the most frequently detected TPs. The obtained API profiles were in accordance with the national consumption statistics and the origin of wastewater samples. The developed method is suitable for rapid screening of APIs in wastewater and can be used as a complementary tool to characterize API emissions from wastewater treatment facilities and to identify problematic compounds that require more rigorous monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingus Perkons
- Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Lejupes iela 3, Riga LV-1076, Latvia; University of Latvia, Faculty of Chemistry, Jelgavas iela 1, Riga LV-1004, Latvia.
| | - Janis Rusko
- Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Lejupes iela 3, Riga LV-1076, Latvia; University of Latvia, Faculty of Chemistry, Jelgavas iela 1, Riga LV-1004, Latvia
| | - Dzintars Zacs
- Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Lejupes iela 3, Riga LV-1076, Latvia
| | - Vadims Bartkevics
- Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Lejupes iela 3, Riga LV-1076, Latvia; University of Latvia, Faculty of Chemistry, Jelgavas iela 1, Riga LV-1004, Latvia
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21
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Abdighahroudi MS, Schmidt TC, Lutze HV. Determination of free chlorine based on ion chromatography-application of glycine as a selective scavenger. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:7713-7722. [PMID: 32944811 PMCID: PMC7550385 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02885-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Free available chlorine (FAC) is the most widely used chemical for disinfection and in secondary disinfection; a minimum chlorine residual must be present in the distribution system. FAC can also be formed as an impurity in ClO2 production as well as a secondary oxidant in the ClO2 application, which has to be monitored. In this study, a new method is developed based on the reaction of FAC with glycine in which the amine group selectively scavenges FAC and the N-chloroglycine formed can be measured by ion chromatography with conductivity detector (IC-CD). Utilizing IC for N-chloroglycine measurement allows this method to be incorporated into routine monitoring of drinking water anions. For improving the sensitivity, IC was coupled with post-column reaction and UV detection (IC-PCR-UV), which was based on iodide oxidation by N-chloroglycine resulting in triiodide. The method performance was quantified by comparison of the results with the N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPD) method due to the unavailability of an N-chloroglycine standard. The N-chloroglycine method showed limits of quantification (LOQ) of 24 μg L-1 Cl2 and 13 μg L-1 Cl2 for IC-CD and IC-PCR-UV, respectively. These values were lower than those of DPD achieved in this research and in ultrapure water. Measurement of FAC in the drinking water matrix showed comparable robustness and sensitivity with statistically equivalent concentration that translated to recoveries of 102% for IC-CD and 105% for IC-PCR-UV. Repeatability and reproducibility performance were enhanced in the order of DPD, IC-CD, and IC-PCR-UV. Measurement of intrinsic FAC in the ClO2 application revealed that the N-chloroglycine method performed considerably better in such a system where different oxidant species (ClO2, FAC, chlorite, etc.) were present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Sajjad Abdighahroudi
- Faculty of Chemistry, Instrumental Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstraße 5, 45141, Essen, Germany.,Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institute IWAR, Chair of Environmental Analytics and Pollutants, Technical University of Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Torsten C Schmidt
- Faculty of Chemistry, Instrumental Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstraße 5, 45141, Essen, Germany.,IWW Water Centre, Moritzstraße 26, 45476, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.,Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Universitätsstraße 5, 45141, Essen, Germany
| | - Holger V Lutze
- Faculty of Chemistry, Instrumental Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstraße 5, 45141, Essen, Germany. .,Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institute IWAR, Chair of Environmental Analytics and Pollutants, Technical University of Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Straße 7, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany. .,IWW Water Centre, Moritzstraße 26, 45476, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. .,Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Universitätsstraße 5, 45141, Essen, Germany.
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Kiefer K, Bader T, Minas N, Salhi E, Janssen EML, von Gunten U, Hollender J. Chlorothalonil transformation products in drinking water resources: Widespread and challenging to abate. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 183:116066. [PMID: 32652346 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Chlorothalonil, a fungicide applied for decades worldwide, has recently been banned in the European Union (EU) and Switzerland due to its carcinogenicity and the presence of potentially toxic transformation products (TPs) in groundwater. The spread and concentration range of chlorothalonil TPs in different drinking water resources was examined (73 groundwater and four surface water samples mainly from Switzerland). The chlorothalonil sulfonic acid TPs (R471811, R419492, R417888) occurred more frequently and at higher concentrations (detected in 65-100% of the samples, ≤2200 ngL-1) than the phenolic TPs (SYN507900, SYN548580, R611968; detected in 10-30% of the samples, ≤130 ngL-1). The TP R471811 was found in all samples and even in 52% of the samples above 100 ngL-1, the drinking water standard in Switzerland and other European countries. Therefore, the abatement of chlorothalonil TPs was investigated in laboratory and pilot-scale experiments and along the treatment train of various water works, comprising aquifer recharge, UV disinfection, ozonation, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), activated carbon treatment, and reverse osmosis. The phenolic TPs can be abated during ozonation (second order rate constant kO3 ∼104 M-1s-1) and by reaction with hydroxyl radicals (OH) in AOPs (kOH ∼109 M-1s-1). In contrast, the sulfonic acid TPs, which occurred in higher concentrations in drinking water resources, react only very slowly with ozone (kO3 <0.04 M-1s-1) and OH (kOH <5.0 × 107 M-1s-1) and therefore persist in ozonation and OH-based AOPs. Activated carbon retained the very polar TP R471811 only up to a specific throughput of 25 m3kg-1 (20% breakthrough), similarly to the X-ray contrast agent diatrizoic acid. Reverse osmosis was capable of removing all chlorothalonil TPs by ≥98%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Kiefer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Bader
- Laboratory for Operation Control and Research, Zweckverband Landeswasserversorgung, 89129, Langenau, Germany
| | - Nora Minas
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Elisabeth Salhi
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Elisabeth M-L Janssen
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Urs von Gunten
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland; School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Juliane Hollender
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Knoll S, Rösch T, Huhn C. Trends in sample preparation and separation methods for the analysis of very polar and ionic compounds in environmental water and biota samples. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:6149-6165. [PMID: 32710277 PMCID: PMC7442764 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02811-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Recent years showed a boost in knowledge about the presence and fate of micropollutants in the environment. Instrumental and methodological developments mainly in liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry hold a large share in this success story. These techniques soon complemented gas chromatography and enabled the analysis of more polar compounds including pesticides but also household chemicals, food additives, and pharmaceuticals often present as traces in surface waters. In parallel, sample preparation techniques evolved to extract and enrich these compounds from biota and water samples. This review article looks at very polar and ionic compounds using the criterion log P ≤ 1. Considering about 240 compounds, we show that (simulated) log D values are often even lower than the corresponding log P values due to ionization of the compounds at our reference pH of 7.4. High polarity and charge are still challenging characteristics in the analysis of micropollutants and these compounds are hardly covered in current monitoring strategies of water samples. The situation is even more challenging in biota analysis given the large number of matrix constituents with similar properties. Currently, a large number of sample preparation and separation approaches are developed to meet the challenges of the analysis of very polar and ionic compounds. In addition to reviewing them, we discuss some trends: for sample preparation, preconcentration and purification efforts by SPE will continue, possibly using upcoming mixed-mode stationary phases and mixed beds in order to increase comprehensiveness in monitoring applications. For biota analysis, miniaturization and parallelization are aspects of future research. For ionic or ionizable compounds, we see electromembrane extraction as a method of choice with a high potential to increase throughput by automation. For separation, predominantly coupled to mass spectrometry, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography applications will increase as the polarity range ideally complements reversed phase liquid chromatography, and instrumentation and expertise are available in most laboratories. Two-dimensional applications have not yet reached maturity in liquid-phase separations to be applied in higher throughput. Possibly, the development and commercial availability of mixed-mode stationary phases make 2D applications obsolete in semi-targeted applications. An interesting alternative will enter routine analysis soon: supercritical fluid chromatography demonstrated an impressive analyte coverage but also the possibility to tailor selectivity for targeted approaches. For ionic and ionizable micropollutants, ion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis are amenable but may be used only for specialized applications such as the analysis of halogenated acids when aspects like desalting and preconcentration are solved and the key advantages are fully elaborated by further research. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Knoll
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 18, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tobias Rösch
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 18, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Carolin Huhn
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 18, Tübingen, Germany.
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A fast and simple SPE-LC-MS/MS procedure for extraction and quantitative analysis of 1,2,4-triazole, N,N-dimethylsulfamide, and other small polar organic compounds in groundwater. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:5683-5693. [DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02788-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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25
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Mechelke J, Rust D, Jaeger A, Hollender J. Enantiomeric Fractionation during Biotransformation of Chiral Pharmaceuticals in Recirculating Water-Sediment Test Flumes. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020; 54:7291-7301. [PMID: 32388979 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Many organic contaminants entering the aquatic environment feature stereogenic structural elements that give rise to enantiomerism. While abiotic processes usually act identical on enantiomers, biotic processes, such as biodegradation often result in enantiomeric fractionation (EFr), i.e., the change of the relative abundance of enantiomers. Therefore, EFr offers the opportunity to differentiate biodegradation in complex environmental systems from abiotic processes. In this study, an achiral-chiral two-dimensional liquid chromatographic method for the enantioseparation of selected pharmaceuticals was developed. This method was then applied to determine the enantiomeric compositions of eight chiral pharmaceuticals in 20 water-sediment test flumes and test EFr as an indicator of biodegradation. While all eight substances were attenuated by at least 60%, five (atenolol, metoprolol, celiprolol, propranolol, and flecainide) displayed EFr. No EFr was observed for citalopram, fluoxetine, and venlafaxine despite almost complete attenuation (80 to 100%). Celiprolol, a barely studied β-blocker, revealed the most distinct EFr among all investigated substances; however, EFr varied considerably with biodiversity. Celiprolol-H2 was identified as a biological transformation product possibly formed by reduction of the celiprolol keto group through a highly regio- and enantioselective carbonyl reductase. While celiprolol-H2 was observed across all flumes, as expected, its formation was faster in flumes with high bacterial diversity where also EFr was highest. Overall, EFr and transformation product formation together served as good indicators of biological processes; however, the strong dependence of EFr on biodiversity limits its usefulness in complex environmental systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Mechelke
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Dominique Rust
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Anna Jaeger
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Geography Department, Humboldt University of Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Juliane Hollender
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
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26
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Development of an LC-MS method for determination of nitrogen-containing heterocycles using mixed-mode liquid chromatography. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:4921-4930. [PMID: 32458017 PMCID: PMC7334287 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02665-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
N-containing heterocycles (NCHs) are largely used as precursors for pharmaceuticals and can enter the environment. Some NCHs have been shown to be toxic, persistent, and very mobile in the environment. Thus, they have received increasing attention in the past years. However, the analysis of these polar compounds in environmental samples is still a challenge for liquid chromatography. This paper investigates the use of mixed-mode liquid chromatography (MMLC), which has reversed-phase and ion exchange characteristics for measurements of NCHs in water. NCHs with low pKa (i.e., < 2.5) display mainly reversed-phase interactions (neutral species) with the stationary phase and those with higher pKa (i.e., > 5) interact by a mixture of reversed-phase/ion exchange/HILIC mechanism. It was also shown that the presented method performs well in the quantification of the majority of the selected NCHs in surface water with MDLs between 3 and 6 μg/L, a low matrix effect and recoveries in the range of 77–96% except for pyridazine exhibiting 32% were achieved. The method was successfully employed to follow the degradation of NCHs in ozonation.
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27
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Goss M, Li Z, McLachlan MS. A simple field-based biodegradation test shows pH to be an inadequately controlled parameter in laboratory biodegradation testing. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2020; 22:1006-1013. [PMID: 32095797 DOI: 10.1039/c9em00491b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Biodegradation tests are essential for characterizing the behavior of organic micropollutants in the environment, but they are carried out almost exclusively in the laboratory. Test parameters such as temperature and test chemical concentration are often applied in ways that affect observed biodegradation, and laboratory testing requires sophisticated temperature-controlled facilities. We developed a field-based test based on OECD 309 which minimizes the need for laboratory resources such as temperature-controlled facilities by using bottles incubated in the natural water body. The test also utilized contaminant residues present in unspiked natural water to increase the relevance of the results to the local system. A test in a local river and a matching lab-based test were conducted in parallel. We quantified 26 of 40 targeted micropollutants and observed dissipation for 13. Significant differences in half-life (up to a factor of 3.5) between lab and field bottles were observed for 7 compounds, with 6 of 7 degrading more slowly in field bottles. For 4 of these, dissipation was positively correlated to the neutral fraction of the chemical. Differences in the neutral fraction arose due to a higher pH in the lab bottles induced by outgassing of CO2 from the oversaturated river water. We conclude that pH is an important parameter to control in biodegradation testing and that field-based tests may be more environmentally relevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Goss
- Department of Environmental Science (ACES), Stockholm University, Sweden.
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28
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Müller K, Zahn D, Frömel T, Knepper TP. Matrix effects in the analysis of polar organic water contaminants with HILIC-ESI-MS. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:4867-4879. [PMID: 32130441 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02548-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Matrix effects have been shown to be very pronounced and highly variable in the analysis of mobile chemicals, which may severely exacerbate accurate quantification. These matrix effects, however, are still scarcely studied in combination with hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and for very polar chemicals. In this study, the matrix effects of 26 polar model analytes were investigated in enriched drinking water, wastewater treatment plant effluent and solutions of inorganic salts, utilizing post-column infusion of the analytes into a HILIC-electrospray ionisation (ESI)-high-resolution mass spectrometry system. These experiments revealed the occurrence of structure-specific and unspecific matrix effects. The unspecific matrix effects were mainly observed in positive ESI polarity and predominantly coincided with a high ion count, resulting in ion suppression of all analytes. Thus, the excess charge is hypothesized to be the limiting factor in ion formation. Structure-specific matrix effects were more pronounced in negative ESI polarity and even structurally similar compounds were observed to react entirely differently: perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids were suppressed, while perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids were simultaneously enhanced. These matrix effects were traced back to inorganic anions and cations, which eluted over a significant fraction of the chromatographic run time with this setup. Hence, it was concluded that inorganic ions are a main cause for matrix effects in the analysis of mobile chemicals utilizing HILIC. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Müller
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, 65510, Idstein, Germany
| | - Daniel Zahn
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, 65510, Idstein, Germany.
| | - Tobias Frömel
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, 65510, Idstein, Germany
| | - Thomas P Knepper
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, 65510, Idstein, Germany
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29
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Brunner AM, Bertelkamp C, Dingemans MML, Kolkman A, Wols B, Harmsen D, Siegers W, Martijn BJ, Oorthuizen WA, Ter Laak TL. Integration of target analyses, non-target screening and effect-based monitoring to assess OMP related water quality changes in drinking water treatment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 705:135779. [PMID: 31818566 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 11/24/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The ever-increasing production and use of chemicals lead to the occurrence of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) in drinking water sources, and consequently the need for their removal during drinking water treatment. Due to the sheer number of OMPs, monitoring using targeted chemical analyses alone is not sufficient to assess drinking water quality as well as changes thereof during treatment. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) based non-target screening (NTS) as well as effect-based monitoring using bioassays are promising monitoring tools for a more complete assessment of water quality and treatment performance. Here, we developed a strategy that integrates data from chemical target analyses, NTS and bioassays. We applied it to the assessment of OMP related water quality changes at three drinking water treatment pilot installations. These installations included advanced oxidation processes, ultrafiltration in combination with reverse osmosis, and granular activated carbon filtration. OMPs relevant for the drinking water sector were spiked into the water treated in these installations. Target analyses, NTS and bioassays were performed on samples from all three installations. The NTS data was screened for predicted and known transformation products of the spike-in compounds. In parallel, trend profiles of NTS features were evaluated using multivariate analysis methods. Through integration of the chemical data with the biological effect-based results potential toxicity was accounted for during prioritization. Together, the synergy of the three analytical methods allowed the monitoring of OMPs and transformation products, as well as the integrative biological effects of the mixture of chemicals. Through efficient analysis, visualization and interpretation of complex data, the developed strategy enabled to assess water quality and the impact of water treatment from multiple perspectives. Such information could not be obtained by any of the three methods alone. The developed strategy thereby provides drinking water companies with an integrative tool for comprehensive water quality assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Bas Wols
- KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
| | - Danny Harmsen
- KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
| | - Wolter Siegers
- KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Thomas L Ter Laak
- KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands; Univerisity of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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30
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Zahn D, Neuwald IJ, Knepper TP. Analysis of mobile chemicals in the aquatic environment-current capabilities, limitations and future perspectives. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:4763-4784. [PMID: 32086538 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02520-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Persistent and mobile water contaminants are rapidly developing into a focal point of environmental chemistry and chemical regulation. Their defining parameter that sets them apart from the majority of regularly monitored and regulated contaminants is their mobility in the aquatic environment, which is intrinsically tied to a high polarity. This high polarity, however, may have severe implications in the analytical process and thus the most polar of these mobile contaminants may not be covered by widely utilized trace-analytical methods, and thus, alternatives are required. In this review, we infer the physical and chemical properties of mobile water contaminants from a set of almost 1800 prioritized REACH chemicals and discuss the implications these substance properties may have on four integral steps of the analytical process: sampling and sample storage, sample pre-treatment, separation and detection. We discuss alternatives to widely utilized trace-analytical methods, examine their application range and limitations, highlight potential analytical techniques on the horizon and emphasize research areas we believe still offer the most room for further improvement. While we have a comprehensive set of analytical methods to cover a large portion of the known mobile chemicals, these methods are still only infrequently utilized. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zahn
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, 65510, Idstein, Germany.
| | - Isabelle J Neuwald
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, 65510, Idstein, Germany
| | - Thomas P Knepper
- Hochschule Fresenius gem. GmbH, Limburger Str. 2, 65510, Idstein, Germany
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31
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Mechelke J, Vermeirssen ELM, Hollender J. Passive sampling of organic contaminants across the water-sediment interface of an urban stream. WATER RESEARCH 2019; 165:114966. [PMID: 31437634 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.114966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Passive sampling is a well-established tool for monitoring time-weighted average concentrations of polar and semi-polar organic contaminants in streams at flow velocities between 0.1 and 0.4 m s-1. However, its application under low-flow conditions (10-5 to 0.01 m s-1) - as encountered in hyporheic zones - has been scarcely reported. In this study, 3 novel passive sampler configurations were developed for the monitoring of (semi-)polar organic pollutants and related transformation products across the water-sediment interface and thus across varying hydrodynamic conditions. Their design was inspired by Chemcatcher and diffusive gradients in thin films for organics. To determine the most optimal sampler design, an uptake experiment was completed involving the 3 novel passive sampler configurations and a reference Chemcatcher in polar configuration. The experiments consisted of a circular flume that simulated the main channel of a stream and an aquarium with stagnant water that represented the underlying hyporheic zone. The systems were exposed to 192 organic pollutants at environmental concentrations, and the samplers were then collected, extracted and analyzed using liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry after 2, 6 and 14 days. The configuration that was most insensitive to different hydrodynamic conditions consisted of a reversed-phase sulfonated styrenedivinylbenzene disk as the receiving phase that was covered by an agarose diffusion gel and topped with a polyethersulfone membrane filter. To further evaluate its environmental application, samplers were installed downstream of a sewage treatment plant located at an urban stream in Berlin, Germany (Erpe). The samplers were mounted on custom-made holders which were subsequently embedded in the stream bed to position samplers above (0.30 m) and within the sediment (-0.15/-0.30/-0.45 m) for 11 days. Target and suspect screening workflows were then applied to identify common concentration patterns and link parent attenuation to transformation product formation. A total of 104 concentration profiles were determined, suggesting the efficiency of the proposed sampling strategy in the water-sediment interface. Valsartan acid was the only known transformation product indicative of hyporheic zone-driven attenuation as its concentration in porewater by far exceeded its concentration in surface water. Similar patterns were observed for a larger list of suspected transformation products, of which a sotalol transformation product was tentatively identified. Overall, the established sampling methodology can be effectively used to quantify organic contaminants during low-flow conditions and is suitable for the characterization of attenuation patterns of organic pollutants in hyporheic zones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Mechelke
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Juliane Hollender
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
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32
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Kiefer K, Müller A, Singer H, Hollender J. New relevant pesticide transformation products in groundwater detected using target and suspect screening for agricultural and urban micropollutants with LC-HRMS. WATER RESEARCH 2019; 165:114972. [PMID: 31450217 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.114972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater is a major drinking water resource, but its quality is threatened by a broad variety of anthropogenic micropollutants (MPs), originating from agriculture, industry, or households, and undergoing various transformation processes during subsurface passage. To determine a worst-case impact of pesticide application in agriculture on groundwater quality, a target and suspect screening for more than 300 pesticides and more than 1100 pesticide transformation products (TPs) was performed in 31 Swiss groundwater samples which predominantly originated from areas with intensive agriculture. To assess additional urban contamination sources, more than 250 common urban MPs were quantified. Most of the screened pesticide TPs were experimentally observed by the pesticide producers within the European pesticide registration. To cover very polar pesticide TPs, vacuum-assisted evaporative concentration was used for enrichment, followed by liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS). Based on intensity, isotope pattern, retention time, and in silico fragmentation, the suspect hits were prioritised and verified. We identified 22 suspects unequivocally and five tentatively; 13 TPs are reported here for the first time to be detected in groundwater. In 13 out of 31 groundwater samples, the total concentration of the 20 identified and quantified suspects (1 pesticide and 19 pesticide TPs) exceeded the total concentration of the 519 targets (236 pesticides and TPs; 283 urban MPs) for which we screened. Pesticide TPs had higher concentrations than the parent pesticides, illustrating their importance for groundwater quality. The newly identified very polar chlorothalonil TP R471811 was the only compound detected in all samples with concentrations ranging from 3 to 2700 ng/L. Agricultural MP concentration and detection frequency correlated with agricultural land use in the catchment, except for aquifers, where protective top layers reduced MP transport from the surface. In contrast to agricultural MPs, urban MPs displayed almost no correlation with land use. The dominating entry pathway of urban MPs was river bank filtration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Kiefer
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, 8600, Duebendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Universitätstrasse 16, ETH Zürich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adrian Müller
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, 8600, Duebendorf, Switzerland
| | - Heinz Singer
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, 8600, Duebendorf, Switzerland
| | - Juliane Hollender
- Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, 8600, Duebendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Universitätstrasse 16, ETH Zürich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
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