Objective:

To explore the limitations of non-target screening (NTS) methods in detecting a diverse range of highly polar contaminants, including persistent and mobile substances, in water systems.

Key Findings:

• No single chromatographic method can effectively capture the full diversity of polar and semi-polar contaminants.
• Combining at least two complementary methods significantly improves compound detection, regardless of the specific platforms used.
• Detection rates for highly polar analytes decrease as polarity increases, influenced by poor chromatographic retention and decreased ionization efficiency.

Interpretation:

The findings emphasize the necessity of using multiple methods to enhance detection capabilities for polar contaminants, particularly in non-target screening workflows, which can lead to better environmental monitoring.

Limitations:

• The study was limited to 123 selected analytes, which may not represent the broader chemical space typically interrogated in NTS, potentially skewing results.
• Feature detection remains a challenge, with potential for false positives and negatives across different chromatographic methods, complicating data interpretation.

Conclusion:

Laboratories should adopt a multi-method approach tailored to their specific research questions, such as combining RP-LC with HILIC or SFC, to improve detection of polar contaminants.