title: Analytical procedures for the determination of surfactants in environmental samples.
abstract: Because of their specific physical and chemical properties (amphiphilicity, solubility in polar and nonpolar liquids, ability to form micelles, adsorption at phase boundaries, low toxicity) surfactants (surface-active compounds) are widely applied in industry and in the household. As their applications are on a very large scale, it has become necessary to acquire a more detailed understanding of their environmental fate. In the methodologies for analysing environmental samples, the isolation and/or preconcentration of analytes constitutes an important step. The usual techniques are liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid-phase extraction (SPE - also used for extract clean-up contains following analytes isolated by another technique) or accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). For the analysis of samples/extracts, depending on whether information is required - the total concentration or the levels of particular surface-active compounds in environmental samples - spectrophotometry, tensammetry or electrophoresis, and chromatography may be used. Nowadays, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is usually coupled with a universal mass spectrometry detector (MS) (or tandem mass spectrometry detector MS-MS), what allows for detection, identification and quantification the various compounds in a particular group of surfactants in suitably prepared solvent extracts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Faculty, Gdansk University of Technology (GUT), 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland. ewaolkow@wp.pl
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Olkowska
authors.forename: Zaneta
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Polkowska
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Namieśnik
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D059625:Liquid-Liquid Extraction / Q000379:methods*; D008823:Micelles; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction / Q000379:methods*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008823:Micelles; D012987:Soil; D012997:Solvents; D013501:Surface-Active Agents