Rapid and Sensitive Targeted TOF Screening for Pesticides in Environmental Waters

In response to water quality requirements and to ensure protection of the aquatic ecosystem, analysts require a complete picture of the components present in the water under investigation. A TOF screening approach is ideally suited to this type of analysis; however, confidence in the correct identification of contaminant compounds is vital.

The use of narrow mass extraction windows when analyzing data can reduce the possibility of peak misidentification and minimize the risk of errors. In addition, many key compounds of interest are likely to be present at trace levels at the same time as other naturally occurring compounds at very high concentrations, such as humic and fulvic acids – formed from plant material decomposition.

This means that the TOF instrumentation must be sufficiently sensitive and accurate to ensure that hazardous materials are correctly detected and identified, while at the same time maintaining exact mass accuracy for components at very low concentrations.

This application note describes the multi-residue broad-scope pesticide screening of environmental waters using Waters® Oasis® HLB Cartridges for SPE cleanup and pre-concentration, followed by analysis using ACQUITY UPLC System, coupled with Xevo® G2 QTof. Data were processed with POSI±IVE™ TOF Screening Software. The system offers a rapid and reliable screening approach, with reduced user intervention and streamlining of the screening workflow, providing valuable time saving benefits.

Download the application note.