Certification of butyltins and phenyltins in marine sediment certified reference material by species-specific isotope-dilution mass spectrometric analysis using synthesized 118Sn-enriched organotin compounds

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A new marine sediment certified reference material, NMIJ CRM 7306-a, for butyltin and phenyltin analysis has been prepared and certified by the National Metrological Institute of Japan at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (NMIJ/AIST). Candidate sediment material was collected at a bay near industrial activity in Japan. After air-drying, sieving, and mixing the material was sterilized with γ-ray irradiation. The material was re-mixed and packaged into 250 glass bottles (15 g each) and these were stored in a freezer at −30 °C. Certification was performed by use of three different types of species-specific isotope-dilution mass spectrometry (SSID–MS)—SSID–GC–ICP–MS, SSID–GC–MS, and SSID–LC–ICP–MS, with 118Sn-enriched organotin compounds synthesized from 118Sn-enriched metal used as a spike. The 118Sn-enriched mono-butyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT), and tributyltin (TBT) were synthesized as a mixture whereas the 118Sn-enriched di-phenyltin (DPhT) and triphenyltin (TPhT) were synthesized individually. Four different extraction methods, mechanical shaking, ultrasonic, microwave-assisted, and pressurized liquid extraction, were adopted to avoid possible analytical bias caused by non-quantitative extraction and degradation or inter-conversion of analytes in sample preparations. Tropolone was used as chelating agent in all the extraction methods. Certified values are given for TBT 44±3 μg kg−1 as Sn, DBT 51 ± 2 μg kg−1 as Sn, MBT 67 ± 3 μg kg−1 as Sn, TPhT 6.9 ± 1.2 μg kg−1 as Sn, and DPhT 3.4 ± 1.2 μg kg−1 as Sn. These levels are lower than in other sediment CRMs currently available for analysis of organotin compounds.