Food Safety Applications NotebookEnvironmental Contaminants - Environmental Contaminants

Significance of topic

Modern food safety and environmental monitoring demand fast, reliable methods for detecting trace contaminants— from inorganic ions and biogenic amines in foods and beverages to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mycotoxins, and pesticides in environmental and biological matrices. Advanced extraction and separation technologies reduce turnaround times, solvent use, and labor while improving sensitivity and reproducibility.

Aims and overview

This collection of application studies demonstrates integrated workflows combining accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), automated solid-phase extraction (SPE), and liquid or ion chromatography (LC/IC) with various detectors—UV, conductivity, amperometry, mass spectrometry—to quantify analytes such as arsenicals, biogenic amines, mycotoxins, perchlorate, phenols, PCBs, dioxins, PBDEs, PAHs, organotins, and pesticides in diverse sample types (fish, beverages, vegetables, dairy, soils, tissues).

Methodology and instrumentation

• Automated sample preparation: ASE 200/300 for rapid extraction under elevated T/P; SPE automation with OnGuard cartridges and online trapping.
• Separation: UltiMate 3000 UHPLC+ and Dionex IC systems (ICS-3000/5000) with IonPac and Acclaim columns for reversed-phase, ion-exchange, HILIC, mixed-mode, and bioseparations.
• Detection: suppressed conductivity, integrated pulsed amperometry (IPAD), UV/Vis, fluorescence, MS (single quadrupole and HRMS), and electrochemical for broad analyte coverage.
• Data handling: Chromeleon 7 CDS for single-point control of multi-detector workflows.

Main results and discussion

• ASE reduced extraction times from hours to minutes with solvent consumption cut by >80%, achieving recoveries >90% and RSDs <8% for arsenicals, PCBs, PAHs, dioxins, PBDEs, zearalenone, pesticides, and perchlorate.
• Ion-chromatographic methods quantified biogenic amines in beverages and foods at µg/L levels using CS18 columns with suppressed conductivity and IPAD, avoiding derivatization; recoveries 86–104%, LODs 3.5–400 µg/L.
• Perchlorate in vegetation and waters was extracted by ASE (80 °C) and analyzed by IC with preconcentration on Cryptand columns; MDLs <2 µg/kg in plants.
• Phenols in drinking and mineral waters were determined at 0.5–2 µg/L by online SPE on IonPac NG1 and separation on Acclaim PA, with MDLs comparable to GC methods.
• Nitrite/nitrate in milk were measured by in-line protein precipitation, online HRP cleanup, and IC on AS20 columns; MDLs 0.002–0.005 mg/L, >1000 injections per cartridge.

Benefits and practical applications

• Dramatically shortened sample preparation and higher throughput relieve analytical bottlenecks.
• Automated extraction and cleanup minimize manual handling and potential contamination.
• Versatile column chemistries and detectors allow multi-class contaminant analysis in a single platform.
• RFIC and eluent generators ensure stable, reproducible separations without manual eluent prep.

Future trends and potential applications

• Wider adoption of online multidimensional chromatography (2-D LC/IC) and real-time process analytics.
• Integration with tandem MS or high-resolution MS for non-targeted screening of emerging contaminants.
• Miniaturization of extraction and separation workflows for field-deployable analysis.
• Expanded use of machine learning in CDS software for automated method optimization and data interpretation.

Conclusion

Combined ASE, automated SPE, and advanced LC/IC platforms deliver robust, high-throughput workflows for quantifying a broad range of contaminants in complex matrices. These integrated solutions meet stringent regulatory requirements while saving time, reducing solvent use, and improving reproducibility.

References

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