Analytical methods for the endocrine disruptor compounds determination in environmental water samples

The potential risk of exposure to different xenobiotics, which can modulate the endocrine system and represent a treat for the wellness of an increasing number of people, has recently drawn the attention of international environmental and health agencies. Several agents, characterized by structural diversity, may interfer with the normal endocrine functions that regulate cell growth, homeostasis and development. Substances such as pesticides, herbicides, plasticizers, metals, etc. having endocrine activity (EDCs) are used in agriculture and industry and are also used as drugs for humans and animals. A difficulty in the analytical determination of these substances is the complexity of the matrix in which they are present. In fact, the samples most frequently analyzed consist of groundwater and surface water, including influent and effluent of wastewater treatment plants and drinking water. In this review, several sample pretreatment protocols, assays and different instrumental techniques recently used in the EDCs determination have been considered. This review concludes with a paragraph in which the most recent hyphenated-instrument techniques are treated, highlighting their sensitivity and selectivity for the analyses of environmental water samples.

Mass fluxes and spatial trends of xenobiotics in the waters of the city of Halle, Germany

The behaviour and the effects of xenobiotics including pharmaceuticals and fragrances in the environment are widely unknown. In order to improve our knowledge, field investigations and modelling approaches for the entire area of the city of Halle/Saale, Germany, were performed. The distribution of the concentration values and mass fluxes are exemplified using indicators such as Bisphenol A, t-Nonylphenol, Carbamacepine, Galaxolide, Tonalide, Gadolinium and isotopes. Concentrations at a magnitude of ng/L to microg/L were found ubiquitously in the ground and surface waters. Using the concentration values, the impact of the city concerning the indicators was not always evident. Only the assessment of the mass fluxes shows significant urban impacts along the city passage. The calculation of the mass fluxes shows increasing values for all investigated xenobiotics during the city passage; only Bisphenol A stagnates. A balance model of water and indicator mass fluxes was built up for the entire city area.

Simultaneous determination of alkylphenols and bisphenol A in river water by stir bar sorptive extraction with in situ acetylation and thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of seven alkylphenols and bisphenol A by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) with in situ derivatization-thermal desorption (TD)-gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) is described. SBSE was performed with in situ acetylation and without derivatization for comparison. For 4-tert-butylphenol and bisphenol A, in situ acetylation improved the responses in SBSE-TD-GC-MS. The method detection limits ranged from 0.1 to 3.2 ng/l. The recoveries of the analytes from a river water sample spiked with standards at 10 and 100 ng/l were 85.3-105.9% (R.S.D., 3.0-11.0%) and 88.3-105.8% (R.S.D., 1.6-8.3%), respectively.

Derivatisation and gas chromatography-chemical ionisation mass spectrometry of selected synthetic and natural endocrine disruptive chemicals

Methods for ultra trace detection of endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDCs) are needed because of their low levels of impact. Twenty-one EDCs were selected, including 17beta-estradiol, 17alpha-ethinylestradiol, 17beta-testosterone and bisphenol A. Derivatisation with eight different fluorine containing compounds was examined. All EDCs could be derivatised automatedly (autosampler) with heptafluorobutyric acid (HFB) anhydride and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) anhydride, respectively. The detection of these HFB and TFA derivatives in different chemical ionisation modes was studied. Fourteen different reagent gases, including methane, ammonia, acetone and water, were tested with the HFB and TFA derivatives in the negative chemical ionisation mode. Furthermore both types of derivatives were measured in positive chemical ionisation mode. Methane or water provide a good detection of all 21 TFA derivatives and create mass spectra with few fragmentation and characteristic mass peaks. This could serve as a basis for tandem or multiple mass spectrometric measurements.

Determination of trace amounts of bisphenol A in urine by negative-ion chemical-ionization-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

We improved an analytical method for determining trace amounts of bisphenol A (BPA) in urine. BPA was subjected to enzymolysis and then to solid phase extraction with a C18 cartridge. The extract was eluted with methanol, and the eluate was concentrated under a nitrogen stream, and then pentafluorobenzylized in an alkali solution. The obtained pentafluorobenzylized compound was purifed using a florisil cartridge, followed by a determination using NCI-GC/MS. This method exhibited an excellent selectivity and reproducibility with a determination limit of 0.1 ng/ml.

Quantitative measurement of 17 beta-estradiol and estriol in river water by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay

A sensitive method for detecting 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3) in river water has been developed, based on the time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay by using a fluorescent europium chelate label, 4,4'-bis(1",1",1",2",2",3",3"-heptafluoro-4",6"-hexanedion-6"-yl)- chlorosulfo-o-terphenyl (BHHCT)-Eu3+. In the E2 assay, microtiter plates were coated with the E2-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate. The anti-17 beta-estradiol antibody, the biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG antibody and the BHHCT-Eu3+ labeled streptavidin (SA)-BSA conjugate were used. In the E3 assay, the goat anti-rabbit IgG antibody was coated on a microtiter plate. The anti-estriol antibody and the BHHCT-Eu3+ labeled E3-BSA conjugate were used. The detection limits for E2 and E3 were 2.3 pg/ml and 4.3 pg/ml, respectively, and the analytical recoveries were 95-120%. Quantitative measurement of estrogens in river water was carried out for Kanda River (Tokyo, Japan) by using the method. The E2 and E3 levels were 32 pg/ml and 5.5 pg/ml, respectively. The detection limits of the present method are in the same orders of magnitude as those of ELISA for E2, and are 1-2 orders of magnitude better for E3.

Gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography of natural steroids

This review article underlines the importance of gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and their hyphenated techniques using mass spectrometry (MS) for the determination of natural steroids, especially in human biological fluids. Steroids are divided into eight categories based on their structures and functions, and recent references using the above methodologies for the analysis of these steroids are cited. GC and GC-MS are commonly used for the determination of volatile steroids. Although HPLC is a widely used analytical method for the determination of steroids including the conjugated type in biological fluids, LC-MS is considered to be the most promising one for this purpose because of its sensitivity, specificity and versatility.

Determination of estrogens in river water by gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical-ionization mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of estrogens (17alpha-estradiol, 17beta-estradiol, estrone, ethynyl estradiol, and estriol) as pentafluorobenzyl-trimethylsilyl (PFB-TMS) derivatives by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with negative-ion chemical-ionization (NICI) is described. The NICI of all the derivatives produced an intense [M-PFB]- ion as the base peak. The reagent gas (methane) flow-rate and the ion source temperature were determined to be 2.0 ml/min and 240 degrees C, respectively, for the optimized NICI-selected ion monitoring (SIM) conditions. The sensitivities of the PFB-TMS derivatives in the NICI mode were 8.0-130 times higher than those of the PFB-TMS derivatives in electron ionization (EI) mode, and 12-25 times higher than those of all the TMS derivatives in the EI mode. This method was applied to the analysis of estrogens in river water using a solid-phase extraction as the sample preparation. The recoveries of the target chemicals from a river-water sample spiked with standards at 2 ng/l level were 85.8-126.5% (RSD, 6.2-13.0%). The methodical detection limits ranged from 0.10 to 0.28 ng/l.

Sensitive determination of bisphenol A in environmental water by gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection after cyanomethylation

A new technique is proposed for the determination of bisphenol A in environmental water. The sample preparation consists of a single-step extraction of bisphenol A from a water sample with methylene chloride and the cyanomethyl derivatization of bisphenol A. 2,2'-Biphenol is used as an internal standard. Bisphenol A and biphenol can be quantitatively converted to their corresponding cyanomethyl ethers, which are then measured by gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection. Peak shape and quantification of bisphenol A are excellent, with linear calibration curves over a range of 0.1-100 ng/ml. The detection limit is 0.1 ng/ml in water samples. The average recovery and RSD at a concentration of 5 ng/ml are 89.3 and 4.5%, respectively. The procedure is applicable to the quantification of bisphenol A in tap water, raw water and stream water.

Current awareness

In order to keep subscribers up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, John Wiley & Sons are providing a current awareness service in each issue of the journal. The bibliography contains newly published material in the field of mass spectrometry. Each bibliography is divided into 11 sections: 1 Books, Reviews & Symposia; 2 Instrumental Techniques & Methods; 3 Gas Phase Ion Chemistry; 4 Biology/Biochemistry: Amino Acids, Peptides & Proteins; Carbohydrates; Lipids; Nucleic Acids; 5 Pharmacology/Toxicology; 6 Natural Products; 7 Analysis of Organic Compounds; 8 Analysis of Inorganics/Organometallics; 9 Surface Analysis; 10 Environmental Analysis; 11 Elemental Analysis. Within each section, articles are listed in alphabetical order with respect to author (6 Weeks journals - Search completed at 7th. June 2000)