Comparison of High Performance Liquid Chromatography Methods with Different Detectors for Determination of Steroid Hormones in Aqueous Matrices

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with Fluorescence Detection for Quantification of Steroids in Clinical, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Samples: A Review

Steroids are compounds widely available in nature and synthesized for therapeutic and medical purposes. Although several analytical techniques are available for the quantification of steroids, their analysis is challenging due to their low levels and complex matrices of the samples. The efficiency and quick separation of the HPLC combined with the sensitivity, selectivity, simplicity, and cost-efficiency of fluorescence, make HPLC coupled to fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) an ideal tool for routine measurement and detection of steroids. In this review, we covered HPLC-FLD methods reported in the literature for the steroids quantification in clinical, pharmaceutical, and environmental applications, focusing on the various approaches of fluorescent derivatization. The aspects related to analytical methodology including sample preparation, derivatization reagents, and chromatographic conditions will be discussed.

Determination of steroidal oestrogens in tap water samples using solid-phase extraction on a molecularly imprinted polymer sorbent and quantification with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

An analytical method was established and validated for the analysis of steroidal oestrogens in tap water samples. Gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) were used for the identification/quantification of selected compounds and the analytical performance of these techniques was evaluated. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) stationary phase that was highly selective for oestrogens were used for the extraction of 100-mL aliquots of water samples. The recoveries of analytes with the described methods ranged from 92 to 114 %, while the repeatability in terms of relative standard deviations (RSDs) was in the range from 2.1 to 15.2 % (n = 5). It was concluded that SPE with MIP that was highly selective for oestrogens in combination with GC-HRMS detection is more preferable for the analysis of oestrogens in tap water samples. The typical oestrogen, 17β-estradiol (17β-E2), was detected above the method limit of quantification (m-LOQ) in 5 of 14 analysed tap water samples at concentrations from 0.09 to 0.15 ng L(-1). Despite that 17α-ethynylestradiol (17α-EE2) was not quantified in this study above m-LOQ, the presence of this chemical was qualitatively confirmed in some of the analysed samples.

Fast determination of 24 steroid hormones in river water using magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The easiness-to-handle of the magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction (Mag-dSPE) procedure was developed for preconcentration of 24 steroid hormones in river water. Ethylenediamine-functionalized magnetic carbon nanotubes (EDA@Mag-CNTs) were synthesised by a simple one-pot reaction and were used as sorbent in Mag-dSPE procedure. The properties of the EDA@Mag-CNTs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). An ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method for determination of 24 steroid hormones in river water at nanograms per liter had been developed with pretreatment of the samples by Mag-dSPE. The obtained results demonstrated the higher extraction capacity of EDA@Mag-CNT Mag-dSPE with recoveries between 82.1 and 113%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for the steroid hormone were between 0.020 and 1.00 ng/L. The developed method had been successfully applied to 60 river water samples, and it was confirmed that EDA@Mag-CNT Mag-dSPE was a highly effective extraction method for the steroid hormone analyses.