title: Determination of nonylphenol ethoxylates and octylphenol ethoxylates in environmental samples using 13C-labeled surrogate compounds.
abstract: Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEOs) have been widely used as nonionic surfactants in a variety of industrial and commercial products. Typical compounds are nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) and octylphenol polyethoxylates (OPEOs), which serve as precursors to nonylphenol (NP) and octylphenol (OP), respectively. NP and 4-t-OP are known to have endocrine disrupting effects on fish (medaka, Oryzias latipes), so it is important to know the concentrations of APEOs in the environment. Because the analytical characteristics of these compounds depend on the length of the ethoxy chain, it is necessary to use appropriate compounds as internal standards or surrogates. We synthesized two 13C-labeled surrogate compounds and used these compounds as internal standards to determine NPEOs and OPEOs by high-performance liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectrometry. Method detection limits were 0.015 microg/L for NP (2)EO to 0.037 microg/L for NP(12)EO, and 0.011 microg/L for OP(3,6)EO to 0.024 microg/L for OP (4)EO. NPEO concentrations in water from a sewage treatment plant were less than 0.05-0.52 microg/L for final effluent and 1.2-15 microg/L for influent. OPEO concentrations were less than 0.05-0.15 microg/L for the final effluent and less than 0.05-1.1 microg/L for influent.
authors.affiliation: Sumika Chemical Analysis Service, Ltd., Chiba, Japan. yasuko.yoshida@scas.co.jp
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Azusa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Hideharu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Kikuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hori
mesh_terms: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005026:Ethylene Glycols / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D005026:Ethylene Glycols; D010636:Phenols; C021754:terics