Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric analysis of surface and waste water with atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation - I: instrumentation

Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), i.e. LC-MS/MS, is a technique for the analysis of medium polarity to ionic compounds. This and the following paper highlight the potential and limitations of atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) combined with MS/MS in the analysis of water. Part I describes the APCI interface and the scan modes of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. It gives a general introduction to the instrumentation, from a practical point of view. Part II gives more detailed information, in which the instrumentation is optimised for and used in the analysis of surface water and waste water. Attention is paid to the use of methanol versus acetonitrile as organic modifier in combination with APCI, the application of the RF-only daughter scan mode, and the quantitation of known compounds and the identification of unknown compounds found in surface and waste water. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.