Fit-for-Purpose Assessment of QuEChERS LC-MS/MS Methods for Environmental Monitoring of Organotin Compounds in the Bottom Sediments of the Odra River Estuary

Organotin compounds (OTCs) are among the most hazardous substances found in the marine environment and can be determined by either the ISO 23161 method based on extraction with non-polar organic solvents and gas chromatography analysis or by the recently developed QuEChERS method coupled to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). To date, the QuEChERS LC/MS and ISO 23161 methods have not been compared in terms of their fit-for-purpose and reliability in the determination of OTCs in bottom sediments. In the case of ISO 23161, due to a large number of interferences gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was not suitable for the determination of OTCs contrary to more selective determination by gas chromatography with an atomic emission detector. Moreover, it has been found that the derivatization of OTCs to volatile compounds, which required prior gas chromatography determination, was strongly affected by the sediments’ matrices. As a result, a large amount of reagent was needed for the complete derivatization of the compounds. Contrary to ISO 23161, the QuEChERS LC-MS/MS method did not require the derivatization of OTC and is less prone to interferences. Highly volatile and toxic solvents were not used in the QuEChERS LC-MS/MS method. This makes the method more environmentally friendly according to the principles of green analytical chemistry. QuEChERS LC-MS/MS is suitable for fast and reliable environmental monitoring of OTCs in bottom sediments from the Odra River estuary. However, determination of di- and monobutyltin by the QuEChERS LC-MS/MS method was not possible due to the constraints of the chromatographic system. Hence, further development of this method is needed for monitoring di- and monobutyltin in bottom sediments.

Preparation, preservation and application of pure isotope-enriched phenyltin species

A method combining liquid/liquid extraction and chromatographic fractionation has been developed for the preparation of pure monophenyltin (MPhT), diphenyltin (DPhT), and triphenyltin (TPhT), synthesized from isotope-enriched Sn metal using phenylation of SnI(4) in diethylether (DEE) followed by quenching with HBr and water. After two successive extractions of the aqueous HBr phase with DEE, >99% of both DPhT and TPhT was recovered in the combined DEE phase and 94% of the MPhT remained in the aqueous phase. The MPhT in the aqueous phase was extracted into dichloromethane. The organic phases were vaporized and the PhTs were redissolved in MeOH/water/acetic acid/sodium acetate (59/30/6/8, v/v/v/w), which was also used as storing solution. Aliquots of the two solutions containing either DPhT and TPhT or MPhT were injected into a silica-based C(18) column for isolating and purifying single species. The yields of pure MPhT, DPhT, and TPhT, each synthesized from isotope-enriched (118)Sn metal, (122)Sn metal, and (124)Sn metal, were better than 99%. After chromatographic separation, the single phenyltin compounds were mixed to prepare a spike for multiple-isotope species-specific isotope dilution (MI-SSID). MI-SSID was successfully used to determine phenyltin compounds in the certified reference material, mussel tissue BCR CRM-477. At -20 degrees C, all of the fractionated phenyltin species were stable in the storage solution for at least 197 days. When these standards were stored at 4 degrees C or 22 degrees C, 4-6% of the DPhT and TPhT degraded within 27 days. The degradation of DPhT and TPhT increased with the ionic strength and acidity of the storage solution.

Speciation of butyl- and phenyltin compounds in sediments using pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatographic method with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is proposed for the speciation of butyl- (monobutyltin, dibutyltin, tributyltin) and phenyl- (monophenyltin, diphenyltin, triphenyltin) tin compounds in sediments. After evaluation of different additives in the mobile phase, the use of 0.075% (w/v) of tropolone and 0.1% (v/v) of triethylamine in a mobile phase of methanol-acetic acid-water (72.5:6:21.5) allowed the best chromatographic separation of the six compounds. Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) with a methanolic mixture of 0.5 M acetic acid and 0.2% (w/v) of tropolone was suitable for the quantitative extraction of butyl- and phenyltin compounds with recovery values ranging from 72 to 102%. This analytical approach was compared to conventional solvent extraction methods making use of acids and/or organic solvent of medium polarity. The main advantages of PLE over conventional solvent extraction are: (i) the possibility to extract quantitatively DPhT and MPhT from sediments, which could not be done by a solvent extraction approach; (ii) to preserve the structural integrity of the organotin compounds; (iii) to reduce the extraction time from several hours in case of solvent extraction techniques to just 30 min. For spiked sediments, limits of detection ranged from 0.7 to 2 ng/g of tin according to the compound. The relative standard deviations were found to be between 8 and 15%. The developed analytical procedure was validated using a reference material and was applied to various environmental samples.

Determination of butyltin and phenyltin species by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and fluorimetric detection

Chromatographic separation of monobutyltin (MBT), monophenyltin (MPhT), dibutyltin (DBT), diphenyltin (DPhT), tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPhT) was studied using end-capped reversed-phases (RP) and methanol-acetic acid-water or acetronitrile-acetic acid-water mixtures as mobile phases. Several RP columns were evaluated, and the effect of acetic acid, oxalic acid, triethylamine, and organic modifier on peak shape and retention was examined. A method based on gradient elution RPLC and fluorimetric detection is proposed for the determination of DBT, DPhT, TBT and TPhT. The sensitivity of the method makes it suitable for environmental analysis.

Liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection of triorganotin compounds in marine biological materials

Several extraction methods have been evaluated for marine biological materials with regard to tributyltin and triphenyltin determination by liquid chromatography with post-column fluorimetric detection using fisetin as a fluorogenic reagent. Extraction with ethyl acetate in a hydrochloric acid medium has been shown to be the most appropriate extraction method and it has been successfully applied to fish (sea bass) reference material from the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES-11) and to a candidate reference material.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection for chromatography and capillary electrophoresis

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is now a well established detection technique for liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. A review of the literature with particular regard to ICP-MS as a chromatographic and capillary electrophoretic detector is presented. The various modes of chromatography and capillary electrophoresis are discussed and practical descriptions for hyphenating the techniques with the ICP mass spectrometer are given. Sample introduction systems and data acquisition methods are reviewed along with the numerous applications of ICP-MS as a chromatographic detector. In addition, alternative plasma sources, such as the atmospheric and reduced pressure helium microwave-induced plasmas for chromatographic detection are described.