Determination of Phthalic Acid Esters in Seawater and Sediment by Solid-phase Microextraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Abstract Phthalic acid esters (PAEs), as the most important plasticizers, are widely used in the production of plastic products. The accurate analysis of PAEs in seawater and sediment would be of great significance in studying the transformation of PAEs and their ecological effects in marine environment. In this study, the method of gas chromatography-mass spectrum detector coupled with solid-phase microextraction was established to analyze the concentration of PAEs in seawater and sediment, and the experimental conditions, such as extraction time and extraction temperature, were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the precision of this method was less than 10.0%, and the limits of detection were 0.04–0.32 ng L −1 and 0.12–1.6 μg kg −1 . Except dimethyl phthalate, the recovery of PAEs in seawater and sediment ranged from 68.0% to 114.0% and 76.4% to 105.0%, respectively. Moreover, the concentrations of PAEs measured by the method were 0.270–1.39 μg L −1 and 0.79–34.8 μg kg −1 in seawater and sediment samples of Changjiang River Estuary and its adjacent area, respectively. In conclusion, the analytical method is easy to operate and reduces the extraction volume of seawater. Thus, this method meets the requirements of the analysis of PAEs in coastal seawater and sediment.