Acesulfame as a Biomarker

Summer is here and swimming pools are filled with people. Each bather has a different microbiome on the inside and outside. These microbes create a public health hazard that is treated by adding strong antimicrobials to disinfect the water.

At ASMS 2017, Professor Xingfang-Fang Li of the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) described her lab’s work characterizing disinfection by-products, with a particular focus on trihaloacetic acids.1 Her lab used a range of MS techniques for qualitative and quantitative analysis of pool water.

This caught my attention, since my personal health maintenance program involves daily 1000-yard swims in community pools. I’m exposed to a variety of disinfectants, including ozone and a few commercial chlorine oxidants. The water itself may also contain bromine and iodine in many forms. Disinfection chemistry is complex, with many possible analytes, including isomers. These need to be studied for toxicity and possible remediation.

In pool water, the artificial sweetener acesulfame (2,2-diketo-6-methyl-oxathiazin-4-one, base peak m/z 162.9939, negative ion mode) has a typical concentration range of 30–7110 ng/L.

Background level in tap water is usually less than 15 ng/L. In one example, a pool was estimated to have 30 L of urine in a 420,000-L pool.

Professor Li reported that acesulfame is not biodegradable and is resistant to attack by common disinfectants. Thus, she proposes it as a marker for urine contamination in pool and hot-tub water.

References

  1. Li, X. “Non-targeted Screening and Targeted Analysis of Chemicals in Water”; SCIEX Users Meeting, ASMS 2017, June 4–8, Indianapolis, IN.
  2. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cen-09511-scicon001

Robert L. Stevenson, Ph.D., is Editor Emeritus, American Laboratory/Labcompare; e-mail: [email protected].

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