Our research focuses on:

  • High Resolution Mass Spectrometric target, suspect and non-target screening workflows for the identification of knowns and unknowns in environmental and food samples

  • Hyphenated techniques, liquid chromatography hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS):

    • Study of electrospray ionization of wide broad polarity molecules. Ion suppression studies.
    • Optimization strategies of mobile phases and API (ESI and APCI) parameters for multi-analyte determinations, using multivariate chemometric techniques
    • Methodology for internal standards selection
    • Ultra performance liquid chromatographic separations for mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS)
    • Hydrophilic liquid chromatographic separations for mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS)
    • Determination of micropollutants and food contaminants (endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals and veterinary drug residues, pesticides, additives)

  • Application of multivariate pattern recognition techniques on large data sets for classification, feature selection, prediction, data reduction and modelling

  • Environmental chemistry of emerging micropollutants and their (bio)transformation products (phenolic EDCs, PFOS, PFOA and other PFCs, pharmaceuticals and PCPs, illicit drugs, benzotriazoles, benzothiazoles, benzosulfonamides, siloxanes, polar pesticides, artificial sweeteners) through a holistic approach, including monitoring, fate in the environment and ecotoxicology

  • Food and feed contaminants: determination and dietary exposure studies of environmental contaminants (metals, pesticides), endocrine disrupting compounds, veterinary drug residues, toxins, migration contaminants from food contact materials and additives.

  • Derivatization reagents for sensitivity and selectivity enhancement of chromatographic determinations

  • New, fast and efficient, sample preparation methods (microwave assisted and ultrasonic-assisted extraction, matrix dispersive and advanced SPE)

  • Speciation analysis: development of methods for the determination of chromium, tin, arsenic, mercury and germanium species in environmental and food samples

  • Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry: permanent modifiers for multi-element determinations, internal standardization for multi-element ETAAS, atomization mechanisms