Picogram per liter level determination of hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers in water by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) have obtained increasing attention; however, few analytical methods are available for sensitive identification of these compounds in water. In this paper, we developed a highly sensitive method for simultaneous determination of nine OH-PBDEs in water by using hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced cartridge extraction, silica cartridge purification, and the combination of derivatization with liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The effective sample pretreatment process and greatly increased instrumental sensitivity by derivatization allow for the quantification of nine OH-PBDEs at a method detection limit of 0.04-3.5 pg/L with 1-L wastewater treatment plant effluent or river water. This method was applied to wastewater effluent and river water samples collected in Beijing, China, where two OH-tetraPBDEs were detected at concentrations ranging from 0.63 to 1.0 pg/L (5-OH-BDE-47) and from 0.92 to 1.3 pg/L (6-OH-BDE-47).