title: Diclofenac in municipal wastewater treatment plant: quantification using laser diode thermal desorption--atmospheric pressure chemical ionization--tandem mass spectrometry approach in comparison with an established liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method.
abstract: Diclofenac (DCF), a prevalent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) is often detected in wastewater and surface water. Analysis of the pharmaceuticals in complex matrices is often laden with challenges. In this study a reliable, rapid and sensitive method based on laser diode thermal desorption/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (LDTD/APCI) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has been developed for the quantification of DCF in wastewater and wastewater sludge. An established conventional LC-ESI-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry) method was compared with LDTD-APCI-MS/MS approach. The newly developed LDTD-APCI-MS/MS method reduced the analysis time to 12s in lieu of 12 min for LC-ESI-MS/MS method. The method detection limits for LDTD-APCI-MS/MS method were found to be 270 ng L(-1) (LOD) and 1000 ng L(-1) (LOQ). Furthermore, two extraction procedures, ultrasonic assisted extraction (USE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) for the extraction of DCF from wastewater sludge were compared and ASE with 95.6 ± 7% recovery was effective over USE with 86 ± 4% recovery. The fate and partitioning of DCF in wastewater (WW) and wastewater sludge (WWS) in wastewater treatment plant was also monitored at various stages of treatment in Quebec Urban community wastewater treatment plant. DCF exhibited affinity towards WW than WWS with a presence about 60% of DCF in WW in contrary with theoretical prediction (LogKow=4.51).
authors.affiliation: INRS-ETE, Université du Québec, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Québec G1K 9A9, Canada.
authors.forename: Linson
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lonappan
authors.affiliation: INRS-ETE, Université du Québec, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Québec G1K 9A9, Canada.
authors.forename: Rama
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pulicharla
authors.affiliation: INRS-ETE, Université du Québec, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Québec G1K 9A9, Canada.
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rouissi
authors.affiliation: INRS-ETE, Université du Québec, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Québec G1K 9A9, Canada. Electronic address: satinder.brar@ete.inrs.ca.
authors.forename: Satinder K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Brar
authors.affiliation: CO(2) Solutions Inc., 2300, Rue Jean-Perrin, Québec, Québec G2C 1T9, Canada.
authors.forename: Mausam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, N104 SEC P.O. Box 886105, Lincoln, NE 68588-6105, United States.
authors.forename: Rao Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Surampalli
authors.affiliation: INRS-ETE, Université du Québec, 490, Rue de la Couronne, Québec G1K 9A9, Canada.
authors.forename: José R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Valero
mesh_terms: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000032:analysis*; D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000032:analysis*; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D004008:Diclofenac; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Diclofenac-emerging contaminant; LC-ESI–MS/MS; LDTD-APCI-MS/MS; Quantification; Wastewater; Wastewater sludge