Simultaneous determination of endocrine disrupting phenolic compounds and steroids in water by solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A solid-phase extraction (SPE)-gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) analytical method for the simultaneous separation and determination of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from water samples is described in detail. Important and contrasting EDCs including estrone, 17beta-estradiol, 17beta-ethynylestradiol, 16beta-hydroxyestrone, 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol A and 4-tert-octylphenol were selected as the target compounds. The SPE technique, followed by the derivatisation with bis (trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide was used for the extraction recoveries of target compounds from water samples. A number of parameters that may affect the recovery of EDCs, such as the type of SPE cartridges, eluents, as well as water properties including pH value, and concentration of salts and humic substances were investigated. It is shown that the Oasis cartridges produced the best recoveries of target EDCs while ethyl acetate was efficient in eluting EDCs from SPE cartridges. The recovery of some EDCs was enhanced by the addition of salt, but reduced by the increase in pH value and humic acid concentration. The optimised method was further verified by performing spiking experiments in natural river water and seawater matrices, with good recovery and reproducibility for all the selected compounds. The established method was successfully applied to environmental water samples from East and West Sussex, UK, for the determination of the target EDCs.     

Application of on-line solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to the determination of endocrine disruptors in water samples

We have applied a method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE), on-line coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry through an on-column interface, to determine a group of endocrine-disrupting compounds in water samples. We have optimised the parameters affecting the SPE process and transfer step and used the method to analyse river, coastal and tap waters. In the full-scan acquisition mode, all the compounds were determined by preconcentrating only 15 ml of water sample. Di-n-butyl phthalate, benzylbutyl phthalate, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate at concentrations between 0.02 and 0.5 microg l(-1) were determined in some real samples.     

Comparison of several solid-phase extraction sorbents for continuous determination of amines in water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A semiautomatic method has been proposed for the determination of different types of amines in water samples including anilines, chloroanilines, N-nitrosamines and aliphatic amines. The analytes were retained on a solid-phase extraction sorbent column and after elution, 1 μL of the extract was analysed by gas chromatography coupled with electron impact ionization mass spectrometry. A systematic overview is given of the advantages and disadvantages of several sorbents (LiChrolut EN, Oasis HLB, RP-C₁₈, graphitized carbon black, fullerenes and nanotubes) in the retention of amine compounds and based on sensitivity, selectivity and reliability. The retention efficiency for the studied amines was higher (ca. 100%) with LiChrolut EN and Oasis HLB than it was with RP-C₁₈ and fullerenes (53 and 62%, respectively, on average). Detection limits of 0.5-16 ng L⁻¹ for the 27 amines studied were obtained when using a sorbent column containing 75 mg of LiChrolut EN for 100 mL of sample, the RSD being lower than 6.5%. The method was applied with good accuracy and precision in the determination of amines in various types of water including river, pond, tap, well, drinking, swimming pool and waste.     

Optimized determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in sheep serum by solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

We describe a solid-phase extraction (SPE) method, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), for the simultaneous determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sheep serum samples. The denaturation of serum proteins by formic acid, water-1-propanol and water-2-propanol were compared and optimized. Seven different solid-phase sorbents were tested and it was found that Strata-X cartridge (200 mg, 6 mL) gave the best recoveries (92-106%, SD < 6%, n = 3) for all the target analytes. The different extraction solvents (iso-hexane and dichloromethane), either alone or in combination, were used to extract these persistent organic compounds from spiked serum samples by SPE. Removal of co-extracted biogenic materials was achieved using adsorption chromatography with acid modified silica and activated silica. Iso-hexane was found to be the most appropriate solvent for clean-up providing good recoveries and clear chromatographic separation; its use is preferable to that of DCM because it is less environmentally toxic. The limits of detection (LOD) of the proposed method were 47-105 pg g⁻¹ and 16-24 pg g⁻¹ for the different PBDEs and PCBs studied, respectively. The developed method was linear over the range from 0.05 to 30 ng g⁻¹, for all PBDEs except PBDE 183 (0.10-30 ng g⁻¹), and from 0.02 to 30 ng g⁻¹ for all tested PCB congeners. The established method was successfully applied to sheep serum samples from Scotland, UK, for the determination of the target PBDEs and PCBs.     

液液萃取-气相色谱-质谱法同时测定水中46种半挥发性有机物

半挥发性有机物主要包括多环芳烃类(PAHs)、邻苯二甲酸酯类(PAEs)、有机氯农药类(OCPs)和硝基苯类(NBs)等化合物,这些物质多具有致癌、致畸、致突变作用,以及内分泌干扰效应.因此,快速准确测定水中半挥发性有机物非常重要,目前国内尚无水中半挥发性有机物的检测标准.该研究从氮吹温度、水样pH值和萃取时间3个方面...     

Determination of alkyl, chloro and mononitrophenols in water by sample-acetylation and automatic on-line solid phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Summary On-line solid phase extraction-gas chromatographymass spectrometry has been used for trace analysis of phenols in water samples at the low ng L⁻¹ level. Phenols have been derivatized by in-sample acetylation prior to an automatic SPE-GC-MS procedure. The method was validated with 26 alkyl, chloro and mononitrophenols including 4-nonylphenol and 17-ethinylestradiol. Target analysis was performed by time-scheduled, selected ion monitoring. The on-line SPE-GC approach resulted in low sample volume (typically 10 mL), good reproducibility, sensitivity and considerable saving of reagents, material and manual work.     

固相萃取-气相色谱-质谱联用同时测定河水和海水中87种农药

采用固相萃取-气相色谱-质谱联用技术,建立了河水和海水中87种农药(24种有机磷、15种有机氯、12种唑类、9种拟除虫菊酯类、5种氨基甲酸酯类、7种酰胺类及15种其他新型农药)的多残留同时分析方法。优化了影响分离效果和灵敏度的仪器参数,考察了固相萃取柱柱型及水样体积、pH、盐度的影响,采用NH2柱优化了净化效果,内标法和替代物法用于数据的质量控制。结果表明: 在最佳条件下,各目标农药的方法检出限为0.1～6.6 ng/L;以实际河水和海水为基底,在5 ng/L和20 ng/L的加标水平下,绝大多数目标农药的回收率为60%～120%,相对标准偏差(n=4)为0.01%～9.7%。该法灵敏、准确,已成功地应用于福建九龙江河口区表层水样中多种类农药的复合污染监测,检出包括5种有机磷类、3种酰胺类、4种唑类、3种氨基甲酸酯类、2种拟除虫菊酯类等农药20种。     

Combined solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry used for determination of chloropropanols in water

A sensitive and rapid derivatization method for the simultaneous determination of 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol (1,3-DCP) and 3-chloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) in water samples has been developed. The aim was to research the optimal conditions of the derivatization process for two selected reagents. A central composite design was used to determine the influence of derivatization time, derivatization temperature and reagent volume. A global desirability function was applied for multi-response optimization. The analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. During the optimization of the extraction procedure, four different types of solid-phase extraction (SPE) columns were tested. It was demonstrated that the Oasis HLB cartridge produced the best recoveries of the target analytes. The pH value and the salinity were investigated using a Doehlert design. The best results for the SPE of both analytes were obtained with 1.5 g of NaCl and pH 6. The proposed method provides high sensitivity, good linearity (R(2)≥0.999) and repeatability (relative standard deviations % between 2.9 and 3.4%). Limits of detection and quantification were in the range of 1.4-11.2 ng/mL and 4.8-34.5 ng/mL, respectively. Recoveries obtained for water samples were ca. 100% for 1,3-DCP and 3-MCPD. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of different samples including commercially bottled water, an influent and effluent sewage.     

Solid-phase extraction versus solid-phase microextraction for the determination of chlorinated paraffins in water using gas chromatography-negative chemical ionisation mass spectrometry

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) were evaluated for the analysis of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in water samples using gas chromatography coupled to negative chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (GC-NCI-MS). For SPE optimisation, four commercially available SPE cartridges were tested and several SPE parameters, such as the elution solvent, elution volume and breakthrough volume were studied. The best results were obtained with Varian Bond Elut-C18. In order to achieve a high selectivity in the determination of SCCPs, GC-NCI-MS was used. Quality parameters of the optimised SPE and SPME procedures were determined, and the best results were obtained for the SPE/GC-NCI-MS method with LODs of 5 and 20 ng l(-1) for tap and river water, respectively. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of SCCPs in river water samples at concentrations below the microg l(-1) level.     

Determination of residues of 446 pesticides in fruits and vegetables by three-cartridge solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A method was developed for determination of residues of 446 pesticides in fruits and vegetables through the use of cleanup by a 3-cartridge solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Fruit and vegetable samples (20 g) were extracted with 40 mL acetonitrile, salted out, and centrifuged. Half of the supernatant was passed into an Envi-18 cartridge, eluted with acetonitrile, and cleaned up with Envi-Carb and aminopropyl Sep-Pak cartridges in series after concentration of the eluates. Pesticides were eluted with acetonitrile-toluene (3 + 1, v/v), and eluates were concentrated to 0.5 mL and then added into internal standards after solvent exchange with 2 mL hexane and used for determination of 383 pesticides by GC/MS. The other half of the supernatant was concentrated to 1 mL and cleaned up with Envi-Carb and aminopropyl Sep-Pak cartridges in series. Pesticides were eluted with acetonitrile-toluene (3 + 1, v/v), and the eluates were concentrated to 0.5 mL, dried with nitrogen gas, diluted to 1.0 mL with acetonitrile-water (3 + 2, v/v), and used for determination of 63 pesticides by LC/MS/MS. The limit of detection for the method was 0.2-600 ng/g depending on the individual pesticide. In the method, fortification recovery tests at high, medium, and low levels were conducted on 6 varieties of fruits and vegetables, i.e., apples, oranges, grapes, cabbage, tomatoes, and celery, with average recoveries falling within the range of 55.0-133.8% for 446 pesticides, among which average recoveries between 60.0-120.0% accounted for 99% of the results. The relative standard deviation was between 2.1-39.1%, of which a relative standard deviation of 2.1-25.0% made up 96% of the results. Experiments proved that the method was applicable for determination of residues of 446 pesticides in fruit and vegetables.     

Monitoring of estrogens, pesticides and bisphenol A in natural waters and drinking water treatment plants by solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A multi-residue analytical method has been developed for the determination of various classes of selected endocrine disruptors. This method allows the simultaneous extraction and quantification of different estrogens (estradiol, estrone, estriol, estradiol-17-glucuronide, estradiol diacetate, estrone-3-sulfate, ethynyl estradiol and diethylstilbestrol), pesticides (atrazine, simazine, desethylatrazine, isoproturon and diuron), and bisphenol A in natural waters. In the method developed, 500 ml of water are preconcentrated on LiChrolut RP-18 cartridges. Further analysis is carried out by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) using atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) in the positive ion mode for determination of pesticides and electrospray in the negative ionisation mode for determination of estrogens and bisphenol A. Recoveries for most compounds were between 90 and 119%, except for bisphenol A (81%) and diethylstilbestrol (70%), with relative standard deviations below 20%. Limits of detection ranged between 2 and 15 ng/l. The method was used to study the occurrence of the selected pollutants in surface and groundwater used for abstraction of drinking water in a waterworks and to evaluate the removal efficiency of the different water treatments applied. Water samples from the river, the aquifer, and after each treatment stage (sand filtration, ozonation, activated carbon filtration and post-chlorination) were taken monthly from February to August of 2002. The presence in river water of atrazine, simazine, diuron and bisphenol A were relatively frequent at concentrations usually below 0.1 microg/l. Lower levels, below 0.02 microg/l, were usual for isoproturon. Estrone-3-sulfate and estrone were detected occasionally in the river. Most of the compounds were completely removed during the water treatment, especially after activated carbon filtration.     

Multi-residue determination of pesticides in water using multi-walled carbon nanotubes solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A reliable multi-residue method which was based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as adsorbent was developed for determination and quantitation of 12 pesticides (carbofuran, iprobenfos, parathion-methyl, prometryn, fenitrothion, parathion-ethyl, isocarbofos, phenthoate, methidathion, endrin, ethion, methoxychlor) in surface water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Parameters that might influence the extraction efficiency such as the eluent volume, the sample flow rate and the sample loading volume were optimized. The experimental results showed the excellent linearity of 12 pesticides (R(2)>0.99) over the range of 0.04-4 microg L(-1), and the precisions (RSD) were 3.1-15.1% under the optimal conditions. The detection limits of proposed method could reach 0.01-0.03 microg L(-1) based on the ratio of chromatographic signal to base line noise (S/N=3). Good recoveries achieved with spiked water samples were in the range of 82.0-103.7%. The results indicated that MWCNTs have good adsorbability to the 12 pesticides tested in this study. With less cost, less analytical time and less solvent-consuming, the developed multi-residue method could be used to determine multi-class pesticides in water simultaneously.     

Electrically assisted solid-phase microextraction combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for determination of parathion in water

A novel method for electrically assisted microextraction coupled to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was evaluated for determination of trace levels of parathion in water. A pencil lead electrode was used in a di-electrode system to extract parathion onto the electrode surface with a reductive potential applied. The optimum extraction conditions were found to be a potential of −600 mV for 60 s in pH 2 phosphate buffer solution. The parathion was desorbed statically for 1 min and dynamically for 3 min in the commercial SPME-HPLC desorption chamber, then analyzed with LC-APCI-MS/MS. The detection limit (LOD) for parathion in water was found to be 0.3 ng/mL. The proposed technique was demonstrated to be fast, sensitive and not require a solvent sample pretreatment.     

Determination of primary aromatic amines in water food simulant using solid-phase analytical derivatization followed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

Solid phase analytical derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride has been introduced as sample preparation for the determination of primary aromatic amines in water by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Water was used as a food simulant for testing migration from laminated flexible food packaging materials. The method was evaluated for 8 primary aromatic amines in 200 ml water samples, which resulted in detection limits in the 0.1-0.4 microg/l range, relative standard deviations in the 4-17% range and acceptable linearity (R2 = 0.997-1.000). Detectable levels of 2,4-diaminotoluene, 2,6-diaminotoluene and 4,4'-methylenedianiline were found in water food simulant from some of the investigated food packaging materials.     

Full automatic determination of chlorophenols in water using solid-phase microextraction/on-fiber derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A fully automated combination of solid-phase microextraction and on-fiber derivatization coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed to determine 17 chlorophenols in aqueous samples. Optimal parameters for the automated process, such as fiber coating (polyacrylate), derivatization reagent (N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide), extraction time (60 min), derivatization time (5 min), incubation temperature (35°C), sample pH (3), and ionic strength (300 g L(-1) of NaCl), as well as desorption time (5 min) and desorption temperature (270°C) were established. The whole procedure took only 90 min and was performed automatically. The shortcomings of silylation derivatives, like incompleteness and instability, were overcome by using solid-phase microextraction on-fiber silylation in this study. The results from both pure water and river water samples showed that the method had a good linearity (r(2) = 0.9993-1.0000), ranging from 0.01 to 100 μg L(-1). The related standard deviations were between 3.6 and 10.0%. The limits of detections and qualifications ranged from 0.03 to 3.11 ng L(-1) and 0.09 to 10.4 ng L(-1) for the CPs, respectively. The proposed method is superior to traditional solid phase extraction procedure.     

Simple and automatic determination of aldehydes and acetone in water by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

We describe a simple and automatic method to determine nine aldehydes and acetone simultaneously in water. This method is based on derivatization with 2,2,2-trifluoroethylhydrazine (TFEH) and consecutive headspace-solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Acetone-d(6) was used as the internal standard. Aldehydes and acetone in water reacted for 30 min at 40°C with TFEH in a headspace vial and the formed TFEH derivatives were simultaneously vaporized and adsorbed on polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene. Under the established condition, the method detection limit was 0.1-0.5 μg/L in 4 mL water and the relative standard deviation was less than 13% at concentrations of 0.25 and 0.05 mg/L. This method was applied to determine aldehydes and acetone in 5 mineral water and 114 surface water samples. All mineral water samples had detectable levels of methanal (24.0-61.8 μg/L), ethanal (57.7-110.9 μg/L), propanal (11.5-11.7 μg/L), butanal, pentanal (3.3-3.4 μg/L) and nonanal (0.3-0.4 μg/L). Methanal and ethanal were also detected in concentration range of 2.7-117.2 and 1.2-11.9 μg/L, respectively, in surface water of 114 monitoring sites in Korea.     

用于气相色谱和气相色谱-质谱测定植物样品中含氯有机污染物残留的样品前处理方法

根据植物样品中的主要干扰物质,建立了用于气相色谱(GC)和气相色谱-质谱联用(GC-MS)测定植物样品中含氯有机污染物残留的样品前处理方法,有效提高了对植物样品中有机氯农药及多氯联苯检测的灵敏度。采用均质提取法对样品进行提取,考察了凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)和固相萃取(SPE)对提取液的净化效果。结果发现,采用GC测定目标物时,提取液需经GPC和SPE两次净化;而采用GC-MS测定目标物时,仅用SPE一次净化即可。该方法快速、经济、灵敏,适合多种植物样品中有机污染物残留分析的样品前处理要求。     

Multiresidue determination of pesticides in juice by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A multiresidue method based on solid-phase extraction was developed for the simultaneous determination of 50 pesticides in commercial juices. The extraction procedure was carried out in C₁₈ columns preconditioned with acetonitrile and water. The subsequent elution of pesticides was performed with a mixture of hexane-ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) prior to the determination by gas chromatography with electron impact mass spectrometric detection in the selected ion monitoring mode (GC-MS-SIM), using one target and two qualifier ions. Standards were prepared spiking blank juice samples to counteract the observed matrix effect. Average recoveries for all the pesticides studied were higher than 91% with relative standard deviations lower than 9% in the concentration range of 0.02-0.1 μg/mL and the detection limits achieved ranged from 0.1 to 4.6 μg/L. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of these compounds in commercial juices and diazinon, ethion and procymidone were the pesticides encountered, although the levels found were very low.     

A review of oxyhalide disinfection by-products determination in water by ion chromatography and ion chromatography-mass spectrometry

This paper is a review of ion chromatographic (IC) separations of inorganic oxyhalide disinfection by-products (DBPs) in water and beverages. The review outlines the chemical mechanisms of formation, regulation of maximum allowable levels, chromatographic column selection and speciation. In addition, this review highlights the application of IC coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) for trace and elemental composition analysis of oxyhalides, along with the analytical considerations associated to enable sensitive analysis. Furthermore, a review of literature concerning IC determination of inorganic oxyhalide DBPs in environmental matrices, including water, published since 2005 is presented, with a focus on MS detection, and a discussion on the relative performance of the methods. Finally some prospective areas for future research, including fast, selective, multi-analyte analysis, for this application are highlighted and discussed.