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Title: A RAPID METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF TRACE LEVELS OF ALKYLPHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN FISH TISSUE USING PRESSURIZED FLUID EXTRACTION, SOLID PHASE CLEAN-UP AND HPLC FLUORESCENCE DETECTION

Author
item DATTA, SEEMA - EPA FUNDED VISITING SCIEN
item Rice, Clifford
item LOYO, JORGE - UNIV MD

Submitted to: Analytical Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/2/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The surfactants, nonylphenols (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE), are widely used in the manufacturing of plastics, textiles, pesticides, pulp, and paper. Recent reports have suggested that these compounds may have estrogenic activity and may pose a risk to wildlife. The level of NP and NPE contamination in waste water and sludges from sewage treatment plants is relatively easy to access, however, determining the levels in biota is lengthy and tedious. A more rapid and simpler method for NP and NPE analysis using solid phase extraction was investigated. This procedure can be used for routine analysis and monitoring of NP and NPE in fish tissue.

Technical Abstract: A simple automated extraction method for the determination of alkylphenolic compounds in fish tissue is reported. Pressurized fluid extraction is used to extract ground fish tissue and the resulting extract is cleaned up on aminopropyl silica (APS) extraction cartridges. With no further sample preparation, nonylphenol (NP) and its ethoxylates, up to NP5EO are quantified using normal phase (APS Hypersil) HPLC with fluorescence detection. The major advantage of this technique is elimination of the conventional gel-permeation clean up step, a lengthy procedure designed to remove fish lipids. Spiked recoveries with lake trout averaged 85% for the 6 nonylphenol and ethoxylates that were investigated. Representative fish from clean sites and contaminated sites were analyzed for NP and NP ethoxylates.