A Reliable and Cost-Effective Method for Determination of Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in Coastal Waters, Suspended Particulate Matter, and Sediments by Ultrafast Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Photodiode Array and Fluorescence Detectors

Analytical methods for determining 14 endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in coastal waters, suspended particles, and sediment samples were successfully performed by ultrafast liquid chromatography with photodiode array and fluorescence detections (UFLC-PDA-FLD). Solid phase extraction (SPE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (USE) were used for sample preparation. Two chromatographic methods have been developed. An isocratic separation method was used to separate bisphenol A (BPA) and steroids and another gradient elution method to separate phthalates and alkylphenols. The detection by fluorescence was used for alkylphenols, BPA, and steroids and photodiode array (PDA) for phthalates. Limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.41 (4-tert-octylphenol (4tOP)) to 63 ng L^-1 (dibutylphthalate (DBP)), 0.41 (4tOP) to 63.2 ng g^-1 dried weight (dw) coastal waters, and solid samples (suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediment samples), respectively. Recoveries ranged from 52 (diethylphthalate (DEP)) to 116% (DBP) for water, from 54 (DEP) to 108% (estrone (E1)) for SPM, and from 62 (4-n-nonylphenol (4nNP)) to 117% (4-n-octylphenol (4nOP)) for sediment samples. Finally, with the minimization of reagents and energy, the proposed methods were applied to samples collected from Todos os Santos Bay (BTS), Bahia, Northeastern Brazil.

Keywords:
alkylphenols; steroid hormones; phthalates; bisphenol A; plasticizers