A sensitive method for rapid determination of 256 semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in water by solid-phase extraction and GC-MS/MS.

Abstract

A trace analytical method based on solid-phase extraction gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-GC-MS/MS) was developed for the rapid detection of 256 semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), including 25 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 70 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 123 pesticides, 20 phthalate esters (PAEs), 4 organophosphate esters (OPEs), 9 synthetic musks (SMs), and 5 UV filters (UVs) in water. Notably, this method provided a decent linearity of calibration standards (R² > 0.999), excellent method limits of quantification (MLOQs) (0.12-11.41 ng/L), satisfactory matrix spiking recovery rates (60.4 %-126 %), and high precision (intra-day relative standard deviations (RSDs): 1.0 %-10.0 %, inter-day RSDs: 3.0 %-15.0 %, and inter-week RSDs: 3.4 %-15.7 %), making it suitable for trace-level studies. Statistical analysis revealed that SVOCs with higher volatility exhibited enhanced recovery rates. Validation of the methodology involved analyzing SVOCs in real spring water and river water samples. Twenty-seven SVOCs were detected in spring water and 58 in river water, with an average concentration of 631.73 and 16,095 ng/L, respectively. Among the detected SVOCs, PAEs constituted the predominant proportion. This study underscored the presence of SVOCs contamination specifically within the spring water, although SVOCs concentrations in river water were significantly greater than those found in spring water. In summary, this sensitive method based on SPE-GC-MS/MS was successfully developed and validated for the rapid analysis of a diverse array of 256 SVOCs at trace levels in water, including not only the traditional highly valued PAHs, PCBs, pesticides, and PAEs, but also the emerging OPEs, UVs, and SMs.