Simultaneous Determination of 266 Chemicals in Water at ppt Levels by GC-Ion Trap MS

Abstract

The authors have developed an analytical method for determining trace amounts of 266 kinds of chemicals, such as pesticides, in natural water samples by GC-ion trap MS. The advantage of the method is not only that one can perform simultaneous determinations of a large number of chemicals within a short time, but also that experiments can be performed with high precision and accuracy, because the method has some quality-control systems. One liter of water was extracted by dichloromethane; the extract was concentrated to 1 ml with a Kuderna-Danish concentrator. After adding internal standards, a qualitative and quantitative analysis by GC-ion trap MS was performed. The results concerning the overall recovery tests at 0.1 μg/l showed that the mean recovery was 92.1% and that the mean relative standard deviation was 10.8%. The mean detection limit of the method was 0.036 μg/l. To confirm the performance of the method, seawater and river water samples were analyzed. More than 100 chemicals were detected in water at below the 0.1 μg/ 1 level. This method is useful for elucidating the concentration levels and the fate of chemicals in the aquatic environment.