1. Simultaneous determination of 11 illicit drugs and metabolites in wastewater by UPLC-MS/MS
- Author
-
Wei Liu, Yan Shi, Ruxin Luo, Ping Xiang, Roujia Wang, Xin Wang, Baohua Shen, Shuai Yuan, and Zhiguo Yu
- Subjects
China ,Environmental Engineering ,Wastewater ,010501 environmental sciences ,Mass spectrometry ,Tandem mass spectrometry ,01 natural sciences ,Tandem Mass Spectrometry ,medicine ,Solid phase extraction ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Water Science and Technology ,Detection limit ,Chromatography ,Illicit Drugs ,Chemistry ,Solid Phase Extraction ,010401 analytical chemistry ,Extraction (chemistry) ,Codeine ,0104 chemical sciences ,Sewage treatment ,Water Pollutants, Chemical ,Chromatography, Liquid ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Assessing collective drug consumption based on the concentrations of illicit drugs and their metabolites in wastewater is a new technology. Currently, this technology is receiving attention in China, and methods for multiple illicit drug detection in wastewater are urgently needed. In our study, a method with a short runtime (7 min), a small solid-phase extraction (SPE) loading volume (50 mL) and high sensitivity (lower limits of quantitation (LLOQs) ranged from 0.2 to 5 ng/L) was developed for the simultaneous determination of amphetamines, ketamine, opiates, cocaine and their metabolites in wastewater. Samples were enriched by SPE on a mixed-mode sorbent (Oasis MCX) and analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.1 to 2 ng/L, and the LLOQs varied between 0.2 and 5 ng/L. Moreover, the method developed was applied to real wastewater samples collected from 15 different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In the results, the most abundant compounds were morphine (1.8–46.6 ng/L) and codeine (3.7–24.9 ng/L), which were detected in 13 WWTPs. After successful optimization of the UPLC-MS/MS conditions and sample loading pH, the method developed is able to meet the needs of common illicit drug monitoring and high-throughput analysis requirements.
- Published
- 2020