Analysis of benzalkonium chloride in the effluent from European hospitals by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column ion-pairing and fluorescence detection.
A highly reproducible and specific method for the analysis of the quaternary ammonium compound, benzalkonium chloride, in effluents from European hospitals is presented. Benzalkonium chloride was extracted with end-capped RP-18 solid-phase cartridges and was selectively eluted. The resulting solution was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After elution from the analytical column of the HPLC system, 9,10-dimethoxyanthracene-2-sulfonate was added continuously as a fluorescence marker, forming a hydrophobic ion-pair with benzalkonium chloride. The ion-pair was analyzed by fluorescence detection. The method was applied to highly complex effluent samples from different sized European hospitals. The measured concentrations were between 0.05 and 6.03 mg/l. The amounts emitted per bed and year were 4.5-362 g and did not correlate with the size of the hospital. The total amounts were 2.6-909 kg/year.
Kümmerer
K
K
Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology, Freiburg, Germany.
Eitel
A
A
Braun
U
U
Hubner
P
P
Daschner
F
F
Mascart
G
G
Milandri
M
M
Reinthaler
F
F
Verhoef
J
J
D000873:Anthracenes; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004202:Disinfectants; D005060:Europe; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006761:Hospitals; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents
D000873:Anthracenes; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds; D004202:Disinfectants; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012722:Sewage; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; C048943:9,10-dimethoxyanthracene-2-sulfonate