Objective To establish a fully automatic headspace solid-phase microextraction arrow combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HS-SPME arrow-GC-MS/MS) for simultaneous determination of geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, β-ionone, and 2, 4, 6-trichloroanisole in water.

Methods Water samples were enriched by fully automatic solid-phase microextraction, separated by HP-5MS columns, and analyzed in the multiple reaction monitoring mode of GC-MS/MS, with the external standard method for quantification.

Results Thecontent of the four substances ranged from 1 to 200 ng/L, and thecorrelation coefficient (R²) of the 4 substances in the range of 1-200 ng/L was greater than 0.997. The detection limit of the method was 0.41-0.85 ng/L. The spike recovery rates at three concentrations (5, 50, and 150 ng/L) were 88.9%-108%, 80.0%-98.4%, and 69.4%-81.5%, respectively, and the relative standard deviations were 5.6%-10.5%, 6.9%-12.1%, and 1.5%-4.2%, respectively. Determination of the four substances in source water, finished water, and terminal water by this method showed that, geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol were detected with values ranging from < 0.49 to 7.4 ng/L and < 0.41 to 4.7 ng/L, respectively; β-ionone was only detected in source water with values ranging from < 0.85 to 4.5 ng/L; and 2, 4, 6-trichloroanisole was not detected.

Conclusion The method has the characteristics of less pollution, simple operation procedure, high sensitivity, and good precision. Therefore, it is suitable for rapid determination of the 4 odor substances in source water and drinking water.