Citation:

JONES-LEPP, T. L. AND G. MOMPLAISIR. NEW APPLICATIONS OF LC-MS AND LC-MS2 TOWARD UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL FATE OF ORGANOMETALLICS. TRENDS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 24(7):590-595, (2005).

Impact/Purpose:

The research focused on in the subtasks is the development and application of state-of the-art technologies to meet the needs of the public, Office of Water, and ORD in the area of Water Quality. Located In the subtasks are the various research projects being performed in support of this Task and more in-depth coverage of each project. Briefly, each project's objective is stated below.

Subtask 1: To integrate state-of-the-art technologies (polar organic chemical integrative samplers, advanced solid-phase extraction methodologies with liquid chromatography/electrospray/mass spectrometry) and apply them to studying the sources and fate of a select list of PPCPs. Application and improvement of analytical methodologies that can detect non-volatile, polar, water-soluble pharmaceuticals in source waters at levels that could be environmentally significant (at concentrations less than parts per billion, ppb). IAG with USGS ends in FY05. APM 20 due in FY05.

Subtask 2: Coordination of interagency research and public outreach activities for PPCPs. Participate on NSTC Health and Environment subcommittee working group on PPCPs. Web site maintenance and expansion, invited technical presentations, invited articles for peer-reviewed journals, interviews for media, responding to public inquiries.

Subtask 3: To apply state-of-the-art environmental forensic techniques to the recognition and characterization of emerging pollutants in the aquatic environment. There is a need for high sensitivity and for a powerful method of structural characterization, advanced mass spectrometric and chromatographic techniques to be employed to meet the challenge of emerging pollutants, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, agents of sabotage, and explosives. Ongoing efforts continue to identify previously unrecognized pollutants from a range of problematic samples having importance to regional and state contacts.

Subtask 4: To provide the Agency with a set of practical analytical methods for the selective and sensitive determination of selenium species (organic, inorganic, volatile and non volatile forms) in multiple media to accurately assess and if necessary control the risk of selenium exposure to organisms. This includes development of optimal extraction, digestion, separation and detection approaches.

Subtask 5: To develop and apply an analytical method that can extract and detect synthetic musks. The extent of exposure may be determined by measuring levels of synthetic musks from their potential source (communal sewage effluent). This subtask ends in FY05 with the deliverable of APM 21. Future applications to biosolids will be covered in subtask 6.

Subtask 6: Application, and improvement, of previously in-house developed sensitive, robust, and green, methodologies regarding the use of urobilin and sterols as a possible markers of sewage contamination.

Subtask 7: Adaptation and improvement of previously developed in-house methods, for PPCPs (e.g., antibiotics and musks) to solid materials (e.g. biosolids, sediments).

Subtask 8: Study of the presence of personal care products, incombustible organic compounds from the direct-piping of small engines exhaust in Lake Tahoe, and lake deposition of airborne pollutants from industrial activity

Description:

Over the last 40 years, many organometallic compounds have been synthesized and used in a variety of consumer, agricultural, and industrial products. Including wastewater effluents, leaching, and direct land and water applications, there are many pathways that can disperse organometallics to the environment. Many of these compounds reach environmental compartments unchanged while others are transformed into chemical entities having different availability or toxicity to living organisms. Differences in the toxicological, biochemical, and environmental behavior of the various chemical forms of a trace-element often make the determination of the total element concentration inadequate. Considerable analytical progress in organometallic speciation has been made over the past decade, where hyphenated techniques involving highly efficient separation and sensitive detection have become the techniques of choice. Methods based on liquid chromatographic separation with mass spectrometric detection have revealed new organometallic compounds in environmental and biological matrices, contributing to a better understanding of biological effects and environmental fate of organometallics. This article surveys recent applications of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (LC- MS-MS) for the determination of organometallic compounds in environmental matrices.

Record Details: