title: A new method for differentiating adducts of common drinking water DBPs from higher molecular weight DBPs in electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry analysis.
abstract: With the presence of bromide in source waters, numerous brominated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are formed during chlorination. Many of them are polar/highly polar DBPs and thus hard to be detected by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) is reported to be an effective method in finding polar brominated DBPs by setting precursor ion scans of m/z 79 and 81. But as a soft ionization technique, ESI could form adducts of common DBPs, which may complicate ESI-MS/MS spectra and hinder the efforts in finding new brominated DBPs. In this paper, a new method was developed for differentiating adducts of common DBPs from higher molecular weight DBPs. This method was based on the ESI-MS/MS precursor ion scans of the fragments that correspond to the molecular ions of common DBPs. Adducts of common DBPs were selectively detected in the ESI-MS/MS spectra of a simulated drinking water sample. Moreover, the structures of several new brominated DBPs in the sample were tentatively proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Xiangru
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000737:chemistry*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D054879:Halogenation; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012015:Reference Standards; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D014867:Water; D019342:Acetic Acid