title: Determination of selected quaternary ammonium compounds by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. Part I. Application to surface, waste and indirect discharge water samples in Austria.
abstract: A method for simultaneous quantitative determination of alkyl benzyl, dialkyl and trialkyl quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) has been developed, validated and subsequently applied to real water samples in Austria. The method employs liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), using electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive mode. The overall method quantification limits range from 4 to 19ng/L for the enrichment of 500mL water samples and analyte recoveries are between 80 and 99%. The method was applied to 62 of the respective water samples without filtration to avoid the loss of the analytes due to the high adsorption capacity of these compounds. Maxima in the mg/L range, especially in the wastewater of hospitals and laundries, could be detected for the selected target compounds.
authors.affiliation: Umweltbundesamt GmbH (Austrian Federal Environment Agency), Environment Analysis/Hazardous Subsatnces & Metabolites, Spittelauer Lände 5, A-1090 Wien, Austria. elena.martinez@umweltbundesamt.at
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez-Carballo
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sitka
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: González-Barreiro
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kreuzinger
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fürhacker
authors.forename: Sigrid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scharf
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gans
mesh_terms: D001317:Austria; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical