Detection and Quantification of EDC/PPCPs in Source Waters Containing Dissolved and Colloidal Organic Matter

Understanding the fate and transport behavior of trace organic compounds, including endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (EDC/PPCPs) in watersheds requires the capability to detect and quantify accurately the presence of these compounds in complex aqueous matrices. State-of-the-art analysis involves solid phase extraction prior to liquid or gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry detection [i.e., SPE-LC/GC-MSMS]. The target EDC/PPCPs are low to intermediate molar mass organic compounds that are potentially present in impacted waters where non-target dissolved and colloidal organics are naturally-occurring. These dissolved and colloidal organics will not only affect the watershed fate and transport behavior of the target compounds, but will also influence SPE-LC/GC-MSMS analyses in ways that strongly affect the quality of resulting data. This project involves a systematic study to address and resolve these issues.

The objectives of this work are (i) to assess the influence of dissolved and colloidal organic matter (DOM and COM) on standard practices of EDC/PPCP extraction from water and subsequent analysis (detection and quantification) using liquid and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS and GC-MSMS); and (ii) to determine the effects of various watershed DOM/COM sources and constituent fractions on EDC/PPCP detection and quantification.