Advances of mass spectrometry in characterization of disinfection byproducts in drinking water

Drinking water disinfection can effectively inhibit the spread of waterborne diseases, while disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are inevitably formed during this process. Although over 700 DBPs have been identified, they only account for about 30% of total organic halogen in chlorinated water and are not clearly responsible for bladder cancer risk. Thus, identification of the unknown DBPs with toxic relevance is important for drinking water safety. Mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for detecting unknown DBPs. This review summarized the mass spectrometry methods developed in the past 5 years for characterizing DBPs, including full scan, selected ion monitoring, product ion scan and multiple reaction monitoring in low resolution mass spectrometry, full scan combined with product ion scan or data/information dependent acquisition scan in high resolution mass spectrometry, and full scan in ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. Based on current progresses, challenges, and shortcomings, we discussed the future research direction in this area.

Automated summary

Drinking water disinfection can effectively inhibit the spread of waterborne diseases. However, disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are formed and the identification of toxic unknown DBPs is crucial for drinking water safety. Mass spectrometry methods have been developed to detect unknown DBPs and this review summarizes the methods used in the past 5 years, including various scanning techniques for different types of mass spectrometry. Future research directions are also discussed.