Liquid Phase Chromatographic Methods Applied to Determine Emerging Contaminants in Environmental Samples

Emerging contaminants are a heterogeneous group of chemicals that include daily personal care
products and pharmaceuticals (PPCPs), flame retardants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)
and nanoparticles (NPs) present in the environment which are unregulated. In this review, we present
the methods of analysis conducted by INCD-ECOIND regarding some classes of emerging
contaminants (neonicotinoid pesticides, beta-blocker drugs) which are not regulated by the
legislation, in different types of environmental samples (wastewater, surface water). The present
review presents the selective solid phase extraction (SPE) methods used for isolation of the targeted
compounds from aqueous matrices and also the main instrumental parameters of the separation
and detection process. After extraction, the compounds were subjected to liquid phase
chromatographic separation with mass spectrometric detection (UHPLC-MS/MS). Finally, the
methods were applied in the determination of compounds from different categories of water,
carrying out studies on the efficiency of elimination of compounds in several municipal wastewater
treatment plants (WWTPs). In addition, the impact of the treatment plants on some receiving
surface water used to obtain drinking water was studied.