Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Volume. 42, Issue 7, 854(2025)

Identification of unknown pollutants in drinking water based on solid-phase extraction and supramolecular solvent extraction

QIAN Zixin1, CHEN Yuhang2,3, FENG Chao2,3, LIN Yuanjie2,3, XU Qian2,3, LIANG Ziwei2,3, WANG Xinyu2,3, LU Dasheng2,3、*, XIAO Ping2,3, and ZHOU Zhijun1
Author Affiliations
  • 1School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
  • 2Division of Chemical Toxicity and Safety Assessment, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shanghai Academy of Preventive Medicine), Shanghai 200336, China
  • 3State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shanghai Academy of Preventive Medicine), Shanghai 200336, China
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    With the progression of industrialization, an increasing number of emerging contaminants are entering aquatic environments, posing significant threats to the safety of drinking water. Therefore, establishing a system for identifying unknown hazardous factors and implementing safety warning mechanisms for drinking water is of paramount importance. Among these efforts, non-target screening plays a critical role, but its effectiveness is largely constrained by the scope of coverage of sample pre-treatment methods.ObjectiveTo integrate modern chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques with advanced data mining methods to develop a non-discriminatory sample pre-treatment method for comprehensive enrichment of unknown contaminants in drinking water, laying a technical foundation for the discovery and identification of unknown organic hazardous factors in drinking water.MethodsA non-discriminatory pre-treatment method based on supramolecular and solid-phase extraction was developed. The final target compounds including 333 pesticides, 194 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and 59 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were used for optimizing the pre-treatment method, confirming its coverage. The impacts of different eluents on the absolute recovery rates of target compounds were compared to select the conditions with the highest recovery for sample pre-treatment. The effects of different supramolecular solvents and salt concentrations on target compound recovery were also evaluated to determine the most suitable solvent and salt concentration.ResultsThe solid-phase extraction elution solvents, supramolecular extraction solvents, and salt concentrations were optimized based on the target compound recovery rates. The optimal recovery conditions were achieved using 2 mL methanol, 2 mL methanol (containing 1% formic acid), 2 mL ethyl acetate, 2 mL dichloromethane, hexanediol supramolecular solvent, and 426 mg salt. The detection method developed based on these conditions showed a good linear relationship for all target compounds in the range of 0.1-100.0 ng·mL−1, with R2 > 0.99. The method's limit of detection ranged from 0.01 ng−1 to 0.95 ng−1, and 95% of target compounds were recovered in the range of 20%-120%, with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 30%, indicating good precision.ConclusionThe combined pre-treatment method of solid-phase extraction and supramolecular solvent extraction can effectively enrich contaminants in drinking water across low, medium, and high polarities, enabling broad-spectrum enrichment of diverse trace contaminants in drinking water. It provides technical support for broad-spectrum, high-throughput screening and identification of organic pollutants in drinking water, and also serves as a reference for establishing urban drinking water public safety warning systems.

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    QIAN Zixin, CHEN Yuhang, FENG Chao, LIN Yuanjie, XU Qian, LIANG Ziwei, WANG Xinyu, LU Dasheng, XIAO Ping, ZHOU Zhijun. Identification of unknown pollutants in drinking water based on solid-phase extraction and supramolecular solvent extraction[J]. Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, 2025, 42(7): 854

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    Paper Information

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    Received: Sep. 22, 2024

    Accepted: Aug. 25, 2025

    Published Online: Aug. 25, 2025

    The Author Email: LU Dasheng (ludasheng@scdc.sh.cn)

    DOI:10.11836/jeom24475

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