Routine determination of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and difluoroacetic acid (DFA) in surface and drinking water by direct injection using UPLC-MS/MS

Most chromatographers have experienced problems retaining and separating polar compounds using conventional reversed-phase chromatography.  These difficult-to-analyze compounds either pass through the column unretained or, if retained at all, co-elute at the beginning of the chromatogram.  Waters AtlantisTM columns are designed for these types of challenging separations and are available in two chemistries: dC18 and HILIC silica.  AtlantisTM dC18 columns are a fully LC/MS compatible line of difunctionally bonded C18 columns that exhibit superior retention of polar compounds under reversed-phase conditions.  AtlantisTM HILIC silica columns are designed for high throughput LC/MS applications where the high organic mobile phase conditions used in hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) are desired.  The use of HILIC mobile phases yields improved LC/ESI-MS response, direct compatibility with SPE solvents and complementary selectivity as compared to reversed-phase HPLC.  New Atlantis™ Intelligent Speed (IS) columns are powerful tools for the LC/MS scientist who is looking for faster methods and increased sample throughput.