Non-Target analytics

Since 2014, LANUV has been using LC-HRMS (liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry) systems for this analytical task.

Chromatography separates the various substances in a sample before they are transferred to the mass spectrometer. The time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) enables the precise determination of the mass of molecules with high accuracy (third decimal place). This is essential for the identification of unknown compounds. The resulting measurements can be analysed in three different ways:

Target - only known compounds in a sample are analysed. It is a targeted approach where you know exactly what you are looking for. Target analysis is used for analyses according to the Oberflächengewässerverordnung (OGewV). Approximately 500 organic micropollutants are currently analysed using target analysis.

Suspect - a list of suspect compounds is compiled from previous knowledge, databases or literature searches. These suspects are then specifically searched for in the sample without the need for standards for quantitative determination. Qualitative data on the occurrence of the substances are obtained. The LANUV suspect database currently contains approximately 3.500 substances. The results of this analysis can be found under water body profiles.

Non-Target  - there is no pre-selection of known compounds. Instead, many thousands of features (signals from unknown substances) are obtained from the analysis of a sample. Relevant features need to be identified. More information and results of this analysis can be found in the Non-Target-News.

Overall, Non-Target-Analysis provides a comprehensive and flexible method for analysing complex samples, especially when it comes to discovering unforeseen or new substances.