Target-, Suspected- and Non-Target-Screening with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry – Possibilities and Limits for Water Analysis

Abstract

The coupling of liquid and gas chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry has created new possibilities for the detection and identification of micropollutants in ground-, surface and drinking water. A new concept of screening has been established in the water analytical chemistry in the last years: target-, suspected- und non-target-screening. The screening technology offers new possibilities for the detection of new micropollutants, metabolites and transformation products in water, even if the new technology could not come up to all expectations. An intensified optimization and harmonization of the methods for detection and evaluation and the extension of existing mass spectra database will improve the comparability of the results.