The potential of gas chromatography with microwave-induced plasma atomic emission detection (GC-MIP-AED) as a complementary analytical technique in environmental screening analysis of aqueous samples

With GC-MIP-AED as a complementary analytical technique to GC-MS, the reliable identification of many organic pollutants in water samples of the Nitra river has been made possible due to the additional information on the elemental composition of organic pollutants it provides. Some compounds, which have been identified by GC-MS in the scan mode after a MS-library search, can be confirmed by their element responses. Even where the identification of substances cannot be confirmed by their empirical formulas calculated by GC-MIP-AED due to insufficient peak intensities, integration problems or chromatographic interferences, it can be facilitated by the presence of one or more heteroatoms. Quantitative data of selected organic pollutants from GC-MIP-AED screening analysis after compound independent calibration can be obtained more easily than, and in good agreement with, quantitative results provided by target analysis (e.g. GC-MS in the SIM-mode). New self-developed macros are helpful tools for acquiring information on the elemental composition and concentration of organic pollutants analyzed by GC-MIP-AED.