Occurrence of estrogens - steroid sex hormones - in the riverine water in Poland

Steroidowe hormony płciowe, takie jak estron (E1), estradiol (E2) i etinylestradiol (EE2) są związkami, których obecność została w ostatnich latach stwierdzona w wodach naturalnych wielu krajów Europy. W środowisku wodnym pojawiają się one na bardzo niskim poziomie stężeń, ale na tyle dostatecznym, aby negatywnie wpływać na prawidłowe funkcjonowanie układu wydzielania wewnętrznego organizmów narażonych na ich obecność, powodując poważne zakłócenia procesów rozrodczych i rozwoju organizmów. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki wstępnej oceny obecności estrogenów w wybranych wodach rzecznych w Polsce. Jako metodę jakościowo-ilościowego oznaczenia estrogenów wykorzystano chromatografię gazową ze spektrometrią mas (GC-MS). We wszystkich badanych próbkach wód rzecznych stwierdzono obecność oznaczanych estrogenów, tj. estronu, estradiolu oraz etinylestradiolu.Steroid sex hormones such as estrone (E1), estradiol (E2) and ethinylestradiol (EE2) belong to the compound group that has recently been determined in natural waters of many European countries. Normally, the concentrations of these compounds are very low in an aquatic environment but still sufficient to exert a harmful effect on the endocrine system functions in organisms exposed to estrogens. This results in a serious disorder of reproductive and developmental processes. The present paper includes data that enable the initial risk of estrogen contamination to be assessed for selected rivers of Poland. For the quantitative determination of these estrogens, use was made of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis method. Estrone, estradiol and ethinylestradiol were present in all of the water samples examined

Determination of phthalic monoesters in aqueous and urine samples by solid-phase microextraction-diazomethane on-fibre derivatization-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

10 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables.-- Printed version published Jan 2003.A solvent-free analytical methodology for the determination of phthalic monoesters (MPs) with diazomethane on-fibre derivatization using solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME–DOFD–GC–MS) was developed. Among the different SPME fibres evaluated, the polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB) proved to be the most suitable for the determination of four MPs. diazomethane on-fibre derivatization (DOFD) procedure was improved, avoiding diethyl ether as solvent. Equilibrium conditions were reached (15 min) and K9MP values were calculated. Under optimum MP extraction conditions (e. g. direct immersion, 4 mL of sample, 258C extraction temperature, stirring at 1100 rpm, 20 min extraction time, 10 min derivatization reaction, and pH = 1.5), trace level concentrations of MPs (0.3–8.6 ng/mL) were detected, allowing the simultaneous determination of phthalic diesters (DPs). The overall SPME–GC–MS precision was improved by using deuterated internal standards. The developed analytical methodology was applied different environmental water matrices and human urine samples at MP concentrations ranging from 0.1–538 ng/mL. The developed analytical procedure is robust analyses with the same fibre), rapid (40 min), and of low cost, improving the conventional analysis methods in terms of analysis time, background levels, and cost.Financial support was provided by the Fifth Framework Program of European Union (EVK1-CT-1999-00042) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (REN 2000-1770-CE).Peer reviewe