A rapid screening method for the detection of benzodiazepine drugs in environmental samples by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Abstract

Benzodiazepines drugs (BDZs) are considered as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and have often been found in aquatic environments due to the possible ecotocicity of these compounds, it is necessary to evaluate their presence and distribution in the aquatic environment. The present work introduces a MALDI-TOF-MS methodology for the quick and qualitative detection of BDZs in water and sediment samples. The extraction of BDZs from water was done by the "quick easy cheap effective rugged and safe method (QuEChERS), and solid-liquid extraction was used for the sediment samples. The cleanup procedures employed homemade stage tips prepared with five layers of EmporeTM SPE disks 2215 - C18 (octadecyl) 47 mm (3M, London, On) inside 200 μL EppendorfTM tips. QuEChERS and solid-liquid extraction were effective, and peaks with adequate signal-to-noise ratio were obtained for alprazolam (ALP) and diazepam (DIAZ) in spiked samples. The method was not sensitive to clonazepam (CLO). Limits of detection (LODs) for DIAZ and ALP in river water were 2.5 and 5.0 μg/L, respectively. In sediment samples, LODs achieved were 40 ng/g for both drugs.