Determination of phthalate esters in Baiyangdian lake by solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography

Abstract

A simple method based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) was developed for the determination of trace amounts of phthalate esters (PAEs) in environment water samples. In this method, polydimethylsilane (PDMS) fiber was chosen to enrich the PAEs. The PAEs were extracted for 60 min using the PDMS fiber under stirring with a magnetic stir bar, after that the fiber was introduced into the GC injector port and the extract was desorbed at 250 degrees C for 4 min. Under the optimized conditions, 13 PAEs can be extracted completely and separated well. The limits of detection (LOD) were from 0.02 to 0. 83 microg/L (S/N = 3). The water samples collected from Baiyangdian lake were successfully analyzed using the proposed method, phthalic acid, bis-isobutyl ester (DIBP), phthalic acid, bis-butyl ester (DBP) and phthalic acid, bis-2-ethylhexyl ester (DEHP) were detected in all the samples. The spiked (2.5 microg/L and 5.0 microg/L) recoveries were in the range of 75.3-111.0% and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were between 2.1% and 8.0% (n=3). The results showed that this would be a valuable method for PAEs analysis in environmental water samples.