New developments in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for the determination of micropollutants

Abstract

The combination of liquid chromatography (LC) with mass spectrometry (MS) in the environmental field has appeared as a valuable tool for the determination of micropollutants. Several groups of compounds have been considered as particularly relevant (e.g., pharmaceuticals, hormones and other endocrine-disrupting, personal care products and their metabolites, flame retardants, surfactants, and plasticizers, among others) since the same ones are continuously being released in the environment mainly as a result of the manufacturing processes, the disposal of unused or expired products, and the excreta.