Fast-Target Analysis and Hourly Variation of 60 Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater Using UPLC-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry.
A fast and sensitive monitoring method for trace pharmaceuticals in the environment is vital because many of these compounds are ubiquitous, persistent, and biologically active with recognized endocrine-disruption and pharmacological functions. A rapid and reliable ultra high-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry was developed in the present study to simultaneously identify, confirm, and quantify 60 target pharmaceuticals in wastewater samples. The method uses a sub-2 µm particle column for separating target compounds, which were subsequently quantified with the mass spectrometer. Using this high-throughput analysis method, a single injection could provide results within 5 min for the pharmaceuticals. All of the target compounds were analyzed by the multiple-reaction monitoring with 15-ms fast polarity switching. Both intraday and interday precision analyses indicate excellent coefficient of variability. To evaluate the performance of the method, a standard solution (100 and 1000 ng L(-1)) was spiked into complex wastewater samples. The tailing factor and peak width were also monitored and adjusted for optimizing peaks from the ultra high-performance liquid chromatograph. Of the target pharmaceuticals in wastewater of a sewage-treatment plant analyzed on an hourly basis, only 17 compounds were detected, and others were lower than the method detection limits. Acetaminophen, cimetidine, and iopromide were all detected at >1 μg L(-1), and their concentration profiles were similar to that of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug detected in wastewater. Other noticeable pharmaceuticals were sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. Sources of pharmaceuticals in wastewater are briefly discussed.
Department of Energy and Environmental System Engineering, The University of Seoul, 90 Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 130-743, Korea.
Youngmin
Y
Hong
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, 1266 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
Virender K
VK
Sharma
Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, 71 Chou-Shan Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Pen-Chi
PC
Chiang
Department of Energy and Environmental System Engineering, The University of Seoul, 90 Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 130-743, Korea. h_kim@uos.ac.kr.
Hyunook
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1256-480X
H
Kim
D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical