New applications of mass spectrometry to the identification and quantification of emerging pollutants and their transformation products

Abstract

This PhD dissertation describes several screening strategies for the detection and identification of emerging pollutants in environmental samples. Valuable information about the presence and concentrations of different families of pharmaceuticals, such as antimycotics and cardiovascular, are presented. In addition, the behaviour of the studied pollutants under different tertiary treatments, as well as, the study of the formation of transformation products, are assessed along this thesis. The main point in common in all these studies is the evaluation of the large amount of possibilities offered by the accurate mass spectrometry, derived from the use of TOF instruments, in the identification and inspection of new pollutants.