Discovery of emerging organic pollutants in the atmosphere through an omics approach

● We review the framework of discovering emerging pollutants through an omics approach. ● High-resolution MS can digitalize atmospheric samples to full-component data. ● Chemical features and databases can help to translate untargeted data to compounds. ● Biological effect-directed untargeted analyses consider both existence and toxicity. Ambient air pollution, containing numerous known and hitherto unknown compounds, is a major risk factor for public health. The discovery of harmful components is the prerequisite for pollution control; however, this raises a great challenge on recognizing previously unknown species. Here we systematically review the analytical techniques on air pollution in the framework of an omics approach, with a brief introduction on sample preparation and analysis, and in more detail, compounds prioritization and identification. Through high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS, typically coupled with chromatography), the complicated environmental matrix can be digitalized into “full-component” data. A key step to discover emerging compounds is the prioritization of compounds from massive data. Chemical fingerprints, suspect lists and biological effects are the most vital untargeted strategies for comprehensively screening critical and hazardous substances. Afterward, compressed data of compounds can be identified at various confidence levels according to exact mass and the derived molecular formula, MS libraries, and authentic standards. Such an omics approach on full-component data provides a paradigm for discovering emerging air pollutants; nonetheless, new technological advancements of instruments and databases are warranted for further tracking the environmental behaviors, hence to evaluate the health risk of key pollutants.     

LC-MS/MS determination of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables

The aim of the research is to evaluate pesticide residue contamination of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, agricultural raw material, purchased from Polish farmers for production of frozen fruits and vegetables, and the estimation of the multiresidue method effectiveness expressed as the proportion of pesticides detected in food samples to the total number of pesticides analyzed by multiresidue methods. A total of 144 samples (of black currants, red currants, raspberries, cherries, strawberries, blackberries, cauliflowers and broccoli) were analyzed using LC-MS/MS method for the determination of 60 pesticides. QuEChERS extraction, matrix-matched calibration and dynamic multiple reaction monitoring method were used. Residues of 15 compounds, mainly fungicides and insecticides, were detected in 46 samples. The percentage of samples with residues above the maximum residue levels (MRL) was 15%, whereas samples with residues below MRL were 17%. A total of 13 samples contained more than one pesticide residue. Pesticide residues were detected most often in samples of black currants (50%), broccoli (36.4%), raspberries (29%) and red currants (21.8%). The most frequently detected pesticides were carbendazim and acetamiprid. The proportion of pesticides detected during our study to the total number of analyzed pesticides amounted to 25%. It was compared to literature findings. For three fourth of multiresidue methods, the proportion was below 50% for methods developed for the analysis of less than 100 pesticides, and below 30% for methods developed for the analysis of more than 100 pesticides. It appears that a lot of efforts and means is lost on pesticides never or rarely detected in examined samples. The workload and cost effectiveness of the development and application of multiresidue methods along with the range of pesticides covered by the method should be carefully and thoroughly considered anytime when a new method or workflow is developed. Including non-targeted screenings in pesticide residue control seems to be an alternative worth considering.     

Environmental monitoring of complex hydrocarbon mixtures in water and soil samples after solid phase microextraction using PVC/MWCNTs nanocomposite fiber

A novel nanocomposite based on incorporation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was prepared. Proposed nanocomposite was coated on stainless steel wire by deep coating. Composition of nanocomposite was optimized based on results of morphological studies using scanning electron microscopy. The best composition (83% MWCNTs:17% PVC) was applied as a solid phase microextraction fiber. Complex mixture of aromatic (BTEX) and aliphatic hydrocarbons (C₅–C₃₄) were selected as model analytes, and performance of proposed fiber in extraction of the studied compounds from water and soil samples was evaluated. Analytical merits of the method for water samples (LODs = 0.10–1.10 ng L⁻¹, r² = 0.9940–0.9994) and for soil samples (LODs = 0.10–0.77 ng kg⁻¹, r² = 0.9946–0.9994) showed excellent characteristics of it in ultra trace determination of petroleum type environmental pollutants. Finally, the method was used for determination of target analytes in river water, industrial effluent and soil samples.     

气质联用分析加硫酸化污泥中的有机酸

分别采用两种前处理方法分离富集加硫酸化污泥中的有机酸.方法一,利用阴离子交换树脂分离富集有机酸,在不洗脱的情况下直接和乙醇进行酯化反应,然后进行气质联用分析;方法二,利用活性炭纤维吸附型固相微萃取(ACF-SPME)的方法,顶空萃取分离后进行气质联用分析.两种方法的分析结果都未检测到酸化污泥中存在短链的有机酸,只检测到个别长链的和带苯环结构的有机酸.     

水中乙醛、丙烯醛和丙烯腈3种测定方法的对比

对比研究了大体积直接进样填充柱气相色谱法、顶空-气相色谱法和吹扫捕集-气相色谱法等3种测定水中乙醛、丙烯醛和丙烯腈的方法.结果表明,大体积直接进样法设备简单,但手动进样耗力费时,且灵敏度低,精密度差,直接水样分析易影响色谱柱和检测器的使用寿命;顶空法稳定性好,线性范围宽,相关性和精密度好,适合较高浓度水样的分析;吹扫捕集法操作简便,峰形好,检出限低,回收率高,适合低浓度水样的分析.顶空法和吹扫捕集法自动化程度高,均适用于大批量样品分析.     

水中乙醛和丙烯醛分析方法的对比

对测定水中乙醛和丙烯醛的3种方法——2,4-二硝基苯肼衍生化法、顶空气相色谱法和吹扫捕集一气相色谱质谱法进行概述和总结,并对各方法的试验条件、方法原理、测定影响因素以及效能验证等分析、比对,突出表现各自的优势和特点。用3种方法同时测定实际水样,结果无显著差异,精密度、准确度满足监测要求。     

全自动石墨消解-原子荧光法测定土壤总汞

采用全自动石墨消解-原子荧光光度法对土壤总汞进行测定,确定最佳消解时间为1 h,消解液最佳用量为8.0 m L。方法在总汞质量浓度为0.2~2.0μg/L范围内具有良好的线性,相关系数为0.999 9,当取样量为0.500 0 g时,检出限为0.002 mg/kg;测定不同标准土壤样品总汞的结果均在保证值范围内,精密度为4.0%~7.0%,加标回收率为95.0%~108.5%;对甘肃省实际土壤及沉积物样品测定进一步验证了方法的适用性。该法适合大批量样品分析,对于提高工作效率有重要意义。     

重铬酸钾─三氯化钛法测定水中溶解氧

介绍了三氯化钛（ＴｉＣｌ３）与氧反应，以钨酸钠（Ｎａ２ＷＯ４）作指示剂，用重铬酸钾溶液滴定过剩三氯化钛来测定水中溶解氧的方法。本法与碘量法比较，结果表明方法准确、快速，适合于水样中溶解氧的测定     

电导和直流安培双检测器离子色谱法测定清洁水样中的碘化物

选用配备了2种不同检测器(电导检测器和直流安培检测器)的离子色谱仪对稀释后过0.22μm滤膜的水样进行分析。配备有直流安培检测器的离子色谱仪测定水中碘化物的方法在0.100~20.0μg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r)=0.9999,方法检出限为0.030μg/L,测定下限为0.120μg/L,样品加标回收率为95.0%~104%,相对标准偏差为1.06%~1.64%;配备有电导检测器的离子色谱仪测定水中碘化物的方法在20.0~2.00×105μg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r)=0.9995,方法检出限为2.00μg/L,测定下限为8.00μg/L,样品加标回收率为99.0%~110%,相对标准偏差为0.71%~3.12%。离子色谱-直流安培检测器法测定水中碘化物的方法准确度高、灵敏度高、精密度好,检出限相对较低,适用于测定ρ(碘化物)≤20.0μg/L的清洁水样;离子色谱-电导检测器法主要适用于测定ρ(碘化物)≥20.0μg/L的水样。