Sample Handling and Trace Analysis of Pollutants

Sample Handling and Trace Analysis of Pollutants: Innovations to Determine Organic Contaminants, Second Edition reviews the latest technologies and challenges in trace analysis of environmental pollutants, from selecting the right approach and tips for performing the analytic procedures, to measuring and reporting the results. Written by internationally renowned experts in environmental analysis from 5 continents and edited by the leaders in this field, this completely updated and revised volume presents the latest techniques that have developed significantly over the past 10 years, such as high-resolution mass spectrometry, biosensors, and imaging techniques. Important tools for problem-solving in the determination of environmental pollutants are discussed in detail. The book also covers emerging pollutants in the environment, such as nanomaterials, microplastics, metabolites and/or transformation products and antimicrobial resistances.  The book is divided into four sections. The first describes field sampling techniques and sample preparation in environmental matrices: air, water, soil, sediment and biota. Unique to this book are its coverage of air as well as the focus on passive samplers. The second section covers the determination of these environmental contaminants based on analytical techniques, such as the use of gas chromatography and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, immunoassays, and biosensors as well as advanced analytical methods such as imaging techniques. These chapters are focused on highly used techniques not covered in the previous edition. Validation and quality assurance are described in the third section, together with the interpretation of environmental data using advanced chemometric techniques. The newest contribution to this part is the addition of a chapter on the management and availability of already published information, which is a topic of increasing concern due to new policies of the European Union. The final section reports specific application areas, like microplastics, nanomaterials, antibacterial resistance, degradation products and/or metabolites.  Techniques discussed range from chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, to emerging areas such as nanotechnology, immunoassays and biosensors Covers the characteristics, advantages, limitations, and potential of each technique and the current strategies in each method's development and validation Outlines practical solutions to challenging problems in the analysis of pollutants in environmental matrices, including how to combine techniques for improved efficacy