DHI Water & Environment has acquired highly advanced LC-MS/MS equipment for measuring polar organic chemicals in the environment and in industrial processes
The development in the production and use of industrial chemicals features a transition from the "old", apolar chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants, phthalates, etc, to more polar and water-soluble chemicals, such as tensides, naphtalene sulfonates. Whereas the "old" chemicals could be analysed for using gas chromatography, perhaps combined with mass spectrometric detection, new instruments and methods are required for monitoring the new chemicals and their metabolites in the environment.
The instrument is an Agilent 1100/Sciex API 2000 LC-MS/MS combining the separation of different compounds by liquid chromatography (LC) with very sensitive and selective detection by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).
In the MS technology, the organic molecules ionise and fragment in a way characteristic of each compound type followed by the detection of the different fragments. Still, many molecules may produce the same fragments. With MS/MS, selected ions can be trapped and further fragmented and detected which gives a supreme certainty for measuring the correct molecules.
The instrument is highly advanced and enables the monitoring of specific chemicals in complicated mixtures at low levels without disturbances from other compounds. In particular, the instrument is well suited for analysing polar compounds such as tensides, many biomolecules such as carbohydrates, a variety of pesticides, metabolites of contaminants, as well as chemicals used in aqueous formulations etc.
The new LC-MS/MS instrument is used for, e.g., analyses of tensides in wastewater and in industrial products and processes.
Further information on DHI's laboratories is available from: http://www.dhi.dk/ Consulting/LabServices