Analysis of trace contaminants by LC-MS/MS for the Clean Water Technology Laboratory

达尔豪西大学水资源研究中心的研究人员积极从事饮用水和废水研究。 为了支持他们不断发展的研究计划，该团队正在申请资助液相色谱串联质谱仪（LC-MS/MS）。 这一重要的研究工具将用于支持7名教师，并将在未来5年内为50多名研究生的培训和学生论文做出贡献。 具体而言，该仪器将用于四个不同研究领域的高级水质分析：（1）药品和个人护理产品。 该团队一直在积极发表这一领域的研究成果，但目前的技术限制了对一小部分潜在化合物的分析。(2)含氮有机物。 我们的研究团队有兴趣开发氨基酸作为饮用水生物过滤的补充剂，并了解加拿大不受管制的有害含氮消毒副产物（N-DBPs）的形成。(3)藻类毒素和味道和气味化合物。 气候变化和人口增长导致地表沃茨藻类大量繁殖，这可能导致有害藻类毒素的产生，例如2014年伊利湖的情况。 LC-MS/MS将能够检测这些藻类毒素，并提供扩展的研究计划，以满足行业合作伙伴的需求。(4)工业废物管理。 该研究团队支持了多个石油和天然气以及工业废物稳定化项目。LC-MS/MS将能够在更复杂的基质中研究多环芳烃和相关中间体。 总之，LC-MS/MS的结合将通过提供一种新的灵敏分析工具来补充和加强水研究小组，这将确保研究小组保持在学术和工业研究活动的最前沿。

Researchers in the Centre for Water Resources Studies at Dalhousie University are active in drinking water and wastewater research. To support their growing research program, the team is requesting funding for a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). This critical research tool would be used to support 7 faculty members and would contribute to training and student theses for over 50 graduate students over the next 5 years. Specifically, this instrument would be used for advanced water quality analysis in four different research areas: (1) Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products. The team has been active in publishing in this area but current technology limits analysis to a small fraction of potential compounds. (2) Nitrogen-Containing Organic Matter. Our research team is interested in developing the use of amino acids as a supplement for drinking water biofiltration and also understanding the formation of harmful nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs), which are unregulated in Canada. (3) Algal Toxins and Taste & Odour Compounds. Climate change and population growth are leading to increased algal blooms in surface waters, which can lead to the production of harmful algal toxins, such as those experienced in Lake Erie in 2014. LC-MS/MS would enable the detection of these algal toxins and provide an expanded research program to meet industry partner needs. (4) Industrial Waste Management. The research team has supported several oil & gas and industrial waste stabilization projects. An LC-MS/MS would enable research on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and associated intermediates in more complex matrices. In summary, the incorporation of LC-MS/MS would complement and enhance the Water Studies group by providing a new sensitive analytical tool, which would ensure that the research team remains at the forefront of academic and industrial research activities.