Analytics

Analytical sciences in environmental research are an important tool for process-oriented studies to measure residual trace concentrations of organic contaminants in different environmental compartments like wastewater, ambient water, sewage sludge, soil and manure using validated methods. The constant development of specific and sensitive analytical methods is therefore of high priority in the department of Environmental Chemistry. The challenge lies in the combination of low concentrations which demand low limits of detection and quantification, and diverse and complex matrices.

The following modern analytical techniques are mainly used:

• (on-line)-solid-phase extraction (SPE) for aqueous samples
• pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) for solid samples
• Liquid chromatography with UV, DAD, FLD, Tandem-Quadropol-MS, Iontrap-MS, high resolution MS (Orbitrap) detection
• Gas chromatography with Quadropol-MS, Iontrap-MS
  

Projects

• Mining of high-resolution mass spectrometry data to monitor organic pollutant dynamics in aquatic systems [...]
  
• Target- and Non-target Screening of Organic Pollutants at the International Monitoring Station of the River Rhine at Basel [...]

Closed Projects

• Development of an on-line-LC-MS-MS-Method for Glyphosates [...]
• Occurrence and fate of the artificial sweetener sucralose in Swiss waste, surface and ground waters [...]
• Development of an on-line SPE-LC-MS/MS-method for the determination of pharmaceuticals in the environment [...]
• KoMet - Combined modeling and measurement approach for the identification of relevant transformation products in water resources [...]
• Development of Passive Sampling for Water Quality Assessment and for Simulating the Bioconcentration in Aquatic Organism Under Pulsed Exposure Conditions [...]