Work

Non-Target Profiling of the Wastewater Metabolome Using a Suite of HRMS Tools: A Study Across Diverse Treatment Plants

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Wastewater analysis has emerged as a powerful tool for wastewater-based epidemiology, environmental surveillance, and monitoring of emerging contaminants. While most studies rely on targeted approaches focusing on predefined compound lists, untargeted metabolomics offers potential to capture a broader and less biased chemical snapshot. However, the complexity of wastewater matrices and the chemical diversity of small molecules pose analytical challenges. In this study, we apply a multi-platform, untargeted metabolomics workflow to profile the influent wastewater metabolome of five wastewater treatment plants in Spain, differing in geographic context, population size, and industrial activity. Twenty-four-hour composite samples were collected in three seasons and analyzed using gas chromatography, reversed-phase liquid chromatography, and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, all coupled to mass spectrometry. A total of 828 unique compounds were annotated across platforms, with minimal overlap, highlighting the complementarity of analytical approaches and extraction strategies. Multivariate analyses revealed reproducible site-associated chemical patterns consistent across seasons and platforms. Dominant contributors included lipids, organic acids, organic oxygen compounds, organoheterocyclic compounds, and benzenoids, reflecting differences in population and human activity. This work demonstrates the feasibility of a multi-platform untargeted workflow for generating complementary and reproducible comparative profiles of wastewater influent. The resulting public dataset is intended as a methodological and exploratory comparative resource, and broader spatial and longitudinal validation is required before generalization or use for source attribution.

Source: Environments

DOI: 10.3390/environments13090474

Authors: Ester Sánchez-Jiménez, Joaquin Abian, Antoni Ginebreda, Damià Barceló, Montserrat Carrascal

Institutions: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, University of Almería

Language: English

Topic: Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Studies

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,172