Rapid and sensitive determination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid in water samples by ion-pair reversed-phase liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

A new method is presented for the quantitative determination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) from aqueous samples without an enrichment step. It consist of the formation of the Fe(III) complexes of EDTA and DTPA, liquid-chromatography with a volatile ion-pairing agent and determination by electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Limits of quantification (LOQ) of 1.0 and 0.6 μg L−1 for EDTA and DTPA were obtained, allowing the direct injection of most aqueous environmental samples without any preceeding enrichment. With a more recent mass spectrometer, the LOQ could be further decreased by almost one order of magnitude. Parallel analysis of real samples by a standardized method employing enrichment, derivatization and GC–MS analysis yielded comparable results. The method was applied to the determination of both complexing agents in several wastewater, surface water and drinking water samples, showing that EDTA is an omnipresent contaminant in partially closed water cycles.