Determination of atrazine in water at low- and sub-parts-per-trillion levels by using solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry

Abstract

A capillary column gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS) method was developed determine atrazine in water at low- and sub-parts-per-trillon (ppt) levels. The method fills a need when the detection limits of routine GC, GC/MS, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are inadequate for studies to evaluate transport and fate of herbicides in deep ground water systems. Atrazine and the added internal standard [ 13 C 3 ]atrazine were extracted from water samples by solid-phase extraction using a C 18 bonded silica cartbridge