Determination of alkylphenol polyethoxylates, bisphenol-A, 17α-ethynylestradiol and 17β-estradiol and its metabolites in sewage samples by SPE and LC/MS/MS

Abstract

Recently, many chemicals released into the environment have been shown to mimic endogenous hormones such as estradiol. It has been demonstrated that these compounds cause several adverse effects on wildlife and humans, such as the feminization of animal species, development of physical abnormalities and birth defects, and reproductive failure. In an effort to model the behaviour of some endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and to establish the level of contamination in sewage samples, a quantitative method for the simultaneous determination of nonylphenol, octylphenol and corresponding ethoxylates (1–12), 17α-ethynylestradiol, bisphenol-A, and 17β-estradiol and two of its metabolites have been developed. Identification and quantification were achieved by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI–MS/MS). Satisfactory detection limits (between 0.5–6 ng L−1 in the dissolved phase and 1.4–12.7 ng g−1 in the particulate phase) and analyte recoveries (between 60% and 108%) were achieved for target compounds. The optimised method was applied to the determination of EDCs in liquid sewage samples collected from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain). Concentrations of EDCs ranged from <10 ng L−1 to nearly 1200 ng L−1 in the dissolved phase, and from 0.005 μg g−1 to 2.8 μg g−1 in the suspended particulate matter.