Determination of 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid in Wastewater by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass-Spectrometric Detection

Mongjoo Jang, Chemistry, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia (mongjoo0813@gmail.com)
Vladislav D. Chernyshov, Chemistry, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Andrey V. Pirogov, Chemistry, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Vladimir V. Rozhanets, Analytical Toxicology, National Research Centre On Drug Abuse, Moscow, Russia
Oleg A. Shpigun, Chemistry, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

Analysis of biomarkers in wastewater is increasingly seen as an important tool for valuation of health, nutrition and use of various substances by humans. Some biomarkers are used for population estimates, since the actual values of population size in cities can differ significantly from official counts, which inevitably leads to errors in assessing the impact of various factors to people calculated per capita. 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) is the main metabolite of serotonin, which is excreted by urine and can be used as a biomarker for population estimates.

The determination of this metabolite is more preferred than the detection of serotonin itself in terms of correctness of the results. Unfortunately, the specific level of 5-HIAA in wastewater is not provided in literature. There are numerous methods for the determination of 5-HIAA in urine by HPLC-MS/MS. However, there are only two works in the literature devoted to the determination of this compound in wastewater with detection limits up to 1 μg/L. Considering such low and varied concentration of 5-HIAA in wastewater, it is vital to develop a reliable and highly sensitive procedure for the determination of 5-HIAA.

A technique of extraction and subsequent quantitative determination of 5-HIAA in wastewater by high-performance liquid chromatography in combination with tandem mass spectrometric detection was developed. Poroshell Hilic column was used as a stationary phase which has an alternative selectivity compared to traditional C18 columns. Developed procedure is characterized by low detection limits (0.2 μg/L) and good selectivity. The conditions for liquid-liquid extraction of 5-HIAA from wastewater were selected. This technique provides reliable assessment of the concentration of 5-HIAA in wastewater of Moscow region.

The work was carried out with financial support of the RFBR grant 16-03-00257.

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Short Biography of Presenting Author

Jang Mongjoo – postgraduate student, division of analytical chemistry, department of chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (mongjoo0813@gmail.com);