Development of a multi-residue method for the determination of organic micropollutants in water, sediment and mussels using gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

This study describes the development of a multiresidue method based on gas chromatography–electron ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (GC–EI-MS/MS) for the detection of sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), five phthalate esters (PEs), seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), six polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), six alkylphenols (APs), three organochlorined pesticides and their isomers or degradation products (OCPs) and bisphenol A in seawater, river water, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, sediments and mussels. Solid phase extraction (SPE) was used for the extraction of target analytes in aqueous samples, and ultrasound assisted extraction for solid samples. GC–EI-MS/MS acquisition conditions in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) using two transitions per compound were optimized. In this way, quantification and unequivocal identification of organic micropollutants were performed in compliance with the Decision 2002/657/EC. Good linearity responses with coefficients of determination higher than 0.99 were obtained. Methodological detection limits (MDLs) in seawater ranged from 0.1 to 6 ng L−1; in river water from 0.1 to 4.8 ng L−1; in WWTP effluents from 1 to 75 ng L−1; in sediments from 1 to 150 ng g−1 and in mussels from 1 to 125 ng g−1. MDLs and recovery yields were compared with other published methods and similarities or even improvements were achieved. The optimized method was applied to analyze five samples from each matrix collected in coastal areas, showing its potential use for marine pollution monitoring.