title: Analysis of 70 Environmental Protection Agency priority pharmaceuticals in water by EPA Method 1694.
abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1694 for the determination of pharmaceuticals in water recently brought a new challenge for treatment utilities, where pharmaceuticals have been reported in the drinking water of 41-million Americans. This proposed methodology, designed to address this important issue, consists of solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) using triple quadrupole. Under the guidelines of Method 1694, a multi-residue method was developed, validated, and applied to wastewater, surface water and drinking water samples for the analysis of 70 pharmaceuticals. Four distinct chromatographic gradients and LC conditions were used according to the polarity and extraction of the different pharmaceuticals. Positive and negative ion electrospray were used with two MRM transitions (a quantifier and a qualifier ion for each compound), which adds extra confirmation not included in the original Method 1694. Finally, we verify, for the first time, EPA Method 1694 on water samples collected in several locations in Colorado, where positive identifications for several pharmaceuticals were found. This study is a valuable indicator of the potential of LC/MS-MS for routine quantitative multi-residue analysis of pharmaceuticals in drinking water and wastewater samples and will make monitoring studies much easier to develop for water utilities across the US, who are currently seeking guidance on analytical methods for pharmaceuticals in their water supplies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Mass Spectrometry, Dpt. Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, 80309, USA. imferrer@ono.com
authors.forename: Imma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ferrer
authors.forename: Jerry A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zweigenbaum
authors.forename: E Michael
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Thurman
mesh_terms: D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D016014:Linear Models; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction / Q000379:methods; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water