Wayeal IC-MS System Accurately Identifies Perchlorates in the Environment!

Wayeal IC-MS system accurately identifies perchlorates in the environment!

Perchlorates, commonly found in rocket fuels and industrial pollutants, primarily threaten human health by disrupting thyroid function. They competitively inhibit iodine uptake, impairing thyroid hormone synthesis, with particularly severe risks for pregnant women, fetuses, and children—potentially leading to intellectual or growth impairments. Environmentally, their high solubility and persistence make them a major groundwater contaminant, especially near military or industrial sites. Although not classified as carcinogenic, strict monitoring of perchlorate levels in drinking water and food (e.g., vegetables, dairy) is critical due to widespread exposure risks. Thus, accurate environmental detection of perchlorates is vital for safeguarding public health.

This method utilizes the Wayeal IC-6600 ion chromatograph coupled with the TQ-9200 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (IC-MS/MS) for the determination of perchlorate in environmental samples.

Keywords: ion chromatograph, triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, perchlorate.

1. Experiment Methods

1.1 Instrument Configuration

Table 1 Configuration List of IC-MS

1.2 Experiment Material

Perchlorate Standard Solution: 1000mg/L

Composite Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) Cartridge

Deionized Water

Acetonitrile Solution: LC-MS Grade, ≥99.9%

Mass Spectrometry Parameters for Compounds

Table 2 Mass Spectrometry Parameters for Compounds

Noted: Those with * are quantitative ions.

2. Results and Discussion

2.1 Standard Curves

Take the perchlorate standard solution and use intermediate concentration working solutions to prepare the standard curve step by step. The linear range of perchlorate is 20–5000 ng/L, with an R² greater than 0.999, indicating a good linear relationship.

Fig 1 Perchlorate Standard Curve

2.2 Limit of Detection and Limit of Quantification

In this method, the 20ng/L perchlorate standard solution was used as the lower limit of the standard curve, with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 150.685. Based on this, the limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) for perchlorate were calculated to be 1.33ng/L and 0.40ng/L, respectively.

2.3 Sample Test

The water and soil samples were processed and analyzed accordingly. Among the four water samples analyzed, the running water sample showed relatively higher perchlorate content, while no perchlorate was detected in either of the two mineral water samples. For the soil samples, Soil 1 showed higher perchlorate levels. The detailed experimental results are presented below.

The chromatogram of the perchlorate sample is shown below:

3. Conclusion

This method utilizes the Wanye Technology ion chromatography-mass spectrometry (IC-MS) system for the determination of perchlorate in environmental samples. The analytical data demonstrate that the method achieves linear correlation coefficients greater than 0.999, with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 1.33 ng/L and limit of detection (LOD) of 0.40ng/L. These performance characteristics confirm that the Wanye Technology IC-MS system meets the requirements for trace-level perchlorate analysis in environmental matrices.