Sample Preparation for Mass Spectrometry Applications

An investigation of the utility of QuEChERS for extracting acid, base, neutral and amphiphilic species from example environmental and clinical matrices

“…1 Example complex mixtures include environmental and clinical samples and these have traditionally used multistep preparations with a range of procedures and equipment, resulting in time and resource consuming methods. 1 With greater focus on links between environmental and public health, and increased regulation for pollution and waste management, the selection of environmental matrices, target chemistries and their (trace) amounts for analysis 3,4,5 make the analytical challenge more difficult to address without appropriate sample preparation solutions. For example, the introduction of the Water Framework Directive 3 and Circular Economy legislation (waste and landfill 6 ) has increased the types of matrices requiring molecular (pollutant) characterization to include organisms, wastewater, sludges, and receiving sediments.…”

“…Advances in the analytical workflow have largely concerned instrumentation accuracy and sensitivity 1 ; however, there remains a need to develop sample preparation technology to meet the demands of “blue‐sky” research and regulated industry 2 . Ideally sample preparation strategies will repeatedly provide extracts containing high amounts of the target analyte(s) for measurement without interference, while using low amounts of resource and time to do so 1 . However, a compromise is often encountered during development with only some of these desirable characteristics achieved, with these depending on whether a targeted preparation or a “screen” of the sample for unknown materials (i.e.…”

“…However, a compromise is often encountered during development with only some of these desirable characteristics achieved, with these depending on whether a targeted preparation or a “screen” of the sample for unknown materials (i.e. biomarker studies) is required 1 . Example complex mixtures include environmental and clinical samples and these have traditionally used multistep preparations with a range of procedures and equipment, resulting in time and resource consuming methods 1 …”

“…When tested in‐house, standard methods have also exhibited poor repeatability for pharmaceuticals (data not shown) further highlighting the need for a simple, rapid, and reliable sample preparation with minimal matrix effects on the measured signal and high recovery. Similar to environmental samples, clinical matrices are complex with target molecules (such as pharmaceuticals) often present in trace amounts 1,2 . Again, a compromise is often encountered between a more targeted multistep preparation to ensure highly accurate and sensitive measurements, or a quick method to remove an impurity class (e.g.…”

“…Again, a compromise is often encountered between a more targeted multistep preparation to ensure highly accurate and sensitive measurements, or a quick method to remove an impurity class (e.g. protein precipitation) that relies on instrumentation sensitivity, often resulting in increased matrix interference and instrument down‐time due to fouling 1,13 . Therefore, for qualitative screening of clinical matrices (e.g.…”