Combination of ultrahigh‑performance liquid chromatography and high resolution mass spectometry

• Subject Area: Water Research
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 467367967

The equipment applied for is a combination of an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) instrument for substance separation with a high-resolution mass spectrometer (coupling of a quadrupole system with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, QTOF-MS, hereinafter referred to as HR-MS) of the latest technical design. The instrument will be used for the structural elucidation of unknown organic trace compounds in environmental samples and other matrices.The research of the applicant institution includes in particular the occurrence, properties and behavior of predominantly anthropogenic chemicals entering the water cycle as well as the tracking of biotic and abiotic transformation processes in technical and natural systems. The availability of a HR-MS is essential for the characterization of degradation pathways and for the identification of products whose environmental relevance also needs to be elucidated. Furthermore, the instrument is needed for the identification of anthropogenic trace pollutants in all stages of the global water cycle, whereby in particular the “Non-Target Screening” is to be used as a methodological approach. Various current and planned research activities require the reliable identification of metabolites and transformation products for a large number of environmental chemicals. The high-resolution LC-MS system is also suitable for the precise quantification of organic trace substances, which is of considerable importance for the applicants too. The planned acquisition will further increase the already existing high-quality and multifaceted research and significantly increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of all participating institutions of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences in particular within the education of young scientists. There is currently no HR-MS available at the entire faculty.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Hochauflösendes Flugzeitmassenspektrometer mit UHPLC
• Instrumentation Group: 1700 Massenspektrometer
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dresden
• Leader: Professor Dr. Stefan Stolte