HPLC-ICPMS/MS shows a significant advantage over HPLC-ICPMS for the determination of perchlorate in ground, tap, and river water

Simultaneous Determination of Chlorinated and Brominated Acetic Acids in Various Environmental Water Matrixes by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Inductively Coupled Plasma Tandem Mass Spectrometry without Sample Preparation

“…As a proof of concept, we previously showed that artificially high concentrations of carbonate, which is abundant in hard water matrixes, lead to disturbance in an artificially elevated chlorine baseline. 56 The bicarbonate ion, however, elutes close to the void time on reversed-phase columns and is therefore unlikely to interfere with the chromatographically well-retained HAAs, which is supported by the obtained recovery levels in the various matrixes ( Tables 1 and 2 ).…”

“…In particular, the signal of high ionization potential elements, particularly chlorine, can be influenced by high carbon load in the plasma. 56 However, this problem is far less significant when ICPMS/MS is employed as a chromatographic detector due to the relatively small injection volumes relative to the mobile phase flow rate (in contrast with total element determination by ICPMS) and the use of a chromatographic column for separation. As a proof of concept, we previously showed that artificially high concentrations of carbonate, which is abundant in hard water matrixes, lead to disturbance in an artificially elevated chlorine baseline.…”

“…This improvement in the detection of chlorine-containing species was shown in our previous work involving perchlorate determination in water by HPLC–ICPMS/MS, where we also performed a systematic comparison between ICPMS/MS and ICPMS for chlorine speciation, including a detailed discussion about approaches to fully utilize the benefits of ICPMS/MS detection for chlorine. 56 …”

“…Sample collection was generally performed as described in our previous work. 56 Briefly, about 200 mL of tap water (pH = 7.9, water hardness 268 mg L –1 CaCO 3 , conductivity 554 μS cm –1 ) was collected in 300 mL Corning polypropylene bottles (Corning Inc., New York, U.S.A.) on August 20, 2019 within the place of residence of the authors in the city of Graz. Ground water [total organic carbon (TOC), 1.2 mg L –1 , pH = 7.1, water hardness 109 mg L –1 CaCO 3 , conductivity 432 μS cm –1 ] was collected by the Austrian agency for health and food safety (AGES) on July 31, 2018 from a well in Leutschach, Styria, Austria using sterile 500 mL polypropylene bottles.…”

Elution with 1,2-Hexanediol Enables Coupling of ICPMS with Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography under Standard Conditions

“…A high concentration of carbon generally suppresses the ICPMS signal, particularly for elements with high ionization energy such as the halogens. 37 However, a few elements, notably arsenic, selenium, and phosphorous, are known to show an increase in the signal at moderate carbon concentrations through the so-called “carbon enhancement effect”, 38 which has been previously investigated. 39 The outcome of organic media on detection via ICPMS is however not straightforward since the final signal response is governed not only by carbon concentration but also by the impact of the presence of an organic solvent on physical properties such as viscosity and surface tension, which affect the nebulization process.…”