Environmental Analysis with Mass Spectrometry
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are harmful substances that do not break down easily and can accumulate in food, water, and ecosystems posing a serious concern for the environment and significant threat to human health and wildlife.
Due to their global reach and potential to cause serious health problems, POPs require international collaboration to reduce and eliminate them. As new contaminants continue to emerge, ongoing monitoring is crucial.
Bruker provides solutions for the comprehensive detection of POPs across a range of environmental applications.
Environmental Applications
Bruker’s environmental workflows combine the selectivity, sensitivity and accuracy of mass spectrometry with world class software to provide fast and reliable analysis of applications including water sample screening, PFAS testing and dioxin identification.
Routine Screening and Definitive Identification of PFAS
PFAS are a group of more than 4,700 industrial chemicals used in everyday products. Often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their extreme persistence in the environment, some PFAS can take over 1,000 years to degrade and cause significant damage by releasing dangerous toxins.
PFAS can easily migrate into water, air, soil and food and are associated with potential adverse health effects including liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, and cancer.
Quickly screen and quantitate targeted PFAS compounds with sensitive, robust triple quadrupoles or unleash the spectacular capabilities of trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) with HRMS and MS/MS for non-targeted analysis to generate high-quality 4-dimensional datasets that confidently identify and fully characterize the global array of PFAS compounds.
Water Analysis
It is essential that the water used throughout industry, in the manufacturing process and in the final product itself, is free from contamination. The EU Water Framework Directive and the US Safe Drinking Water Act stipulate that sources of water must be monitored for organic contaminants such as pesticides, chemical run-off and toxins from wastewater.
Bruker’s water safety portfolio covers triple quadrupoles for regulated targeted analysis and high-resolution mass spectrometers alongside intuitive software to offer cost-effective and high-performance solutions.
Dioxin Identification
Dioxins are a group of highly toxic chemicals that are known to cause a variety of health issues. If left to build up in the body over time, they can cause major health problems including reproductive, hormonal, immune system, skin, and neurological damage. They are classified as known human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The Bruker quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer provides high resolution, high value data for broad screening workflows. The TargetScreener workflow with Bruker’s GC-APCI II source can clearly and quickly identify and quantitate dioxins from food, water, soil, and air samples.
With the transitition to a timsTOF instrument that enables trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS), background noise is reduced and sensitivity is increased, enhancing the analysis of dioxins.
We are now developing and applying global untargeted characterization approaches in biological and environmental samples, specifically focusing on emerging halogenated POPs and also on metabolomics and lipidomics, utilizing Bruker’s state-of-the-art mass spectrometry detection techniques.
Fast and Reliable Workflows for Environmental Testing
Bruker workflows use rapid mass spectrometry instrumentation in combination with expert software to detect and monitor POPs, including per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) and dioxins, at speed and with a high degree of accuracy.
Workflows can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of both regulatory and research environmental testing laboratories.
Read more about Bruker’s solutions for comprehensive environmental analysis using mass spectrometry:
Rapid Sample Screening with Chromatography-free Workflows
Bruker provides a rapid chromatography-free workflow with the EVOQ DART-TQ+. The integrated direct analysis in real time (DART) ion source removes the need for liquid or gas chromatography and provides a quick pass/fail result, streamlining routine environmental analysis.
Benefits of chromatography-free solutions include:
- High sensitivity
- Minimal sample preparation
- Sample screening in under 30 seconds
- Reduced instrument clean-down and maintenance
- Low cost of ownership
- Greater sustainability.
Targeted Analysis for Confident Results
Government regulatory bodies, such as the European Environment Agency and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), enforce strict guidelines on specific known POPs. Bruker’s workflows allow for the efficient detection and quantitation of target contaminants.
Bruker’s targeted workflows for POPs detection
TargetScreener workflows
- QTOF with TargetScreener 3D: Bruker’s TargetScreener can be combined with QTOF technology to simultaneously detect and quantify contaminants. The highly curated TargetScreener database includes more than 3000 entries for robust screening.
- timsTOF Pro 2 with TargetScreener 4D: Bruker’s TargetScreener 4D is its latest addition to the trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) range. TargetScreener 4D adds an exciting new dimension to routine analyses in applications such as environmental contaminant screening, by enabling high resolution ion mobility and collisional cross section measurements in addition to retention time, molecular weight and fragment ions and their masses.
MRM-Quant with Triple Quads
- Triple Quad instruments are engineered for small molecule targeted screening and quantitation with exceptional speed and ultra-high sensitivity with more MRM transitions per run and better sensitivity with more compounds or more datapoints for each chromatographic peak.
High Sensitivity for Untargeted Analysis
New potential contaminants are constantly emerging and must be monitored continuously. Bruker’s untargeted workflows can identify novel, emergent POPs, providing an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the possible exposure to contaminants.
Bruker’s untargeted workflows for environmental analysis
- timsTOF Pro 2 with UHPLC: The timsTOF Pro 2 combines the precision of mass spectrometry with world-class software and can analyze thousands of compounds in a single run.
- TargetScreener with UHPLC QTOF MS: The workflow combines ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) with quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS), using the Bruker impact II VIP or compact instruments, to apply research-grade technology to every analytical task.
Mass Spectrometry Instruments
Mass spectrometry is widely used in detecting, identifying, and quantifying organic compounds in the environment due to its specificity and sensitivity. Bruker’s mass spectrometry solutions include:
EVOQ DART-TQ+ | Chromatography-free Workflows for Environmental Analysis
Bruker’s robust EVOQ-DART TQ+ has a low cost of ownership and accelerates the analysis of environmental samples in routine and research laboratories.
The direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) chromatography-free analysis delivers improved selectivity and sensitivity of samples and also brings new green credentials through removing the traditional reliance on solvent use in chromatography.
Triple Quads | Targeted Workflows for POPs Detection
Bruker’s range of reliable triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) systems are highly sensitive and specific, enabling the comprehensive analysis of environmental samples.
Both the EVOQ LC-TQ and the EVOQ GC-TQ can detect compounds that are only present in small amounts which is essential for the detection of known and emergent POPs.
impact II VIP | Simultaneously Detect and Quantify Contaminants
Providing exceptional sensitivity for targeted quantitation and routine testing: The new impact II VIP QTOF was designed for ultimate performance and provides the highest sensitivity due to the unique dual VIP-HESI ion source.
The improved source design, based on a new Vacuum Insulated Probe (VIP) and a Heated ElectroSpray Ionisation (HESI), also offers improved ionization efficiency and reduced fragmentation, increasing sensitivity relative to conventional ion sources.
timsTOF Pro 2 | High-resolution MS Solution for Environmental Analysis
Bruker’s trapped ion mobility spectrometry-time of flight (TIMS-TOF) technology offers a versatile solution for the specific needs of environmental analysis where robust, highly sensitive and sustainable workflows are required.
The Bruker timsTOF Pro 2 brings the analytical power of the high-resolution mass spectrometry solution together with the added dimension of trapped ion mobility separation to simplify complex sample analyses.
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