Ultra performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure photoionization-tandem mass spectrometry for high-sensitivity and high-throughput analysis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 16 priority pollutants polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.

In this work, we demonstrate the utility of ultra performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure photoionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-APPI-MS/MS) for high-sensitivity and high-throughput analysis of United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) 16 priority pollutants polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Analyses were performed on a Waters Acquity-TQD equipped with Syagen's PhotoMate APPI source. All 16 PAHs were analyzed on column in approximately 3.5 min with excellent chromatographic separation for all PAH isomers and with low picogram detection limits on column for all analytes using chlorobenzene as a dopant. Dynamic linear ranges were evaluated and found to cover at least 3-4 orders of magnitude. In comparison with the existing U.S. EPA methods, this approach improves instrument sample throughput by at least 10-fold.