Methods for the analysis of micro-pollutants

The occurrence of different organic micro-pollutants, especially emerging micro-pollutants, even at very low concentrations, in the natural environment has raised significant concerns about their negative effect on aquatic ecosystems and human health. Micro-pollutants may present in the natural environment in a complex form and at varying concentrations. Hence, advanced and highly sensitive analytical instruments are required for the accurate and precise qualitative and quantitative identification of micro-pollutants. Analytical approaches used for the identification of micro-pollutants consist of different procedures, such as sample treatment or preparation, separation, and detection by instruments. Several high-end advanced analytical instruments such as triple quadrupole liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, triple quadrupole gas chromatography-mass spectrometry), nuclear magnetic resonance, etc. are used for the efficient analysis of micro-pollutants depending on the type of analytes. In this regard, the analytical techniques and their limitations involved in the analysis of different micro-pollutants are discussed in this chapter.