Herlinde Noppe, Katia De Wasch, Sofie Poelmans, Nathalie Van Hoof, Tim Verslycke, Colin Janssen, Hubert De Brabander, Development and validation of an analytical method to detect estrogens in water, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 382:91-98, 2005
An analytical procedure enabling routineanalysis of four environmental estrogens at concentrationsbelow 1 ng/L in estuarine water samples has been developed and validated. The method includes extraction of water samples using solid-phase extraction discs and detection by gas chromatography (GC) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) inelectron-impact (EI) mode. The targeted estrogens included 17α- and 17ß -estradiol (αE2, ßE2), estrone (E1), and 17α -ethinylestradiol (EE2), all known environmentalendocrine disruptors. Method performance characteristics, for example trueness, recovery, calibration, precision, accuracy, limit of quantification (LOQ), and the stability of the compounds are presented for each of the selected estrogens. Application of the procedure to water samples from the Scheldtestuary (Belgium – The Netherlands), a polluted estuary with reported incidences of environmental endocrine disruption, revealed that E1 was detected mostfrequently at concentrations up to 7 ng/L. αE2 was detected once only and concentrations of ßE2 and EE2 were below the LOQ. |
