There
are many thousands of chemicals in use for a wide range of
purposes, and highly efficient analytical methods are required to
monitor them for protection of the environment. In order to cope with
this difficult task we developed a novel, comprehensive method for
484 substances in water samples. In this method target chemicals were
extracted by tandem SPE and then determined by LC-QTOF-MS-SWATH.
Targets were unambiguously identified using retention times, accurate
masses of a precursor and two product ions, their ion ratios, and
accurate MS/MS spectrum. Quantitation was achieved by the internal
standard method using a precursor ion. Results of recovery tests at
two concentrations (50 and 500 ng L–1) showed average
recoveries of 87.5% and 87.0% (RSD, 9.1% and 9.4%), respectively.
Limits of detection of one-half of the targets were below 1.0 ng L–1. The method was applied to the influent and effluent
of a sewage treatment plant, and around 100 chemicals were detected.
Results of examination on matrix effects using their extracts spiked
with 209 pesticides showed that the ratios of detected amounts between
the extracts and the standard solution were 89.8% (influent) and 91.7%
(effluent), respectively. In addition, investigation on the stability
of calibration curves by injecting the same standards for 1 year showed
that their quantitative results did not change; average accuracy was
103.3% (RSD, 10.0%), indicating that the calibration curves can be
used for an extended period of time without calibration, and quantitative
retrospective analysis can be done after creating calibration curves
for new targets.