Extraction of Humic Substances from Fresh Waters on Solid-Phase Cartridges and Their Study by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry

Humic substances (HS) have been extracted from fresh waters on macroporous adsorbents of different types, Amberlite XAD-8 resin and Bond Elute PPL solid-phase cartridge. Comparative analysis of the extracted samples by ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry demonstrated selectivity of the selected adsorbents to the components of the molecular assembly of HS: the XAD-8 resin has affinity to the higher oxidized aromatic compounds and PPL has affinity to substances of stronger aliphatic character and nitrogen-containing compounds. Because of this fact, a comparison of the molecular composition of HS isolated from various sources must be performed taking into account selective adsorption; therefore, it is necessary to compare the products extracted by the same adsorbent for correct interpretation.