title: Multiresidue determination of UV filters in water samples by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis.
abstract: UV filters, contained in sunscreens and other cosmetic products, as well as in some plastics and industrial products, are nowadays considered contaminants of emerging concern because their widespread and increasing use has lead to their presence in the environment. Furthermore, some UV filters are suspected to have endocrine disruption activity. In the present work, we developed an analytical method based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of UV filters in tap and lake waters. Sixteen UV filters were extracted from water samples by solid-phase extraction employing graphitized carbon black as adsorbent material. Handling 200 mL of water sample, satisfactory recoveries were obtained for almost all the analytes. The limits of detection and quantification of the method were comparable to those reported in other works, and ranged between 0.7-3.5 and 1.9-11.8 ng/L, respectively; however in our case the number of investigated compounds was larger. The major encountered problem in method development was to identify the background contamination sources and reduce their contribution. UV filters were not detected in tap water samples, whereas the analyses conducted on samples collected from three different lakes showed that the swimming areas are most subject to UV filter contamination.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Laura
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Capriotti
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cavaliere
authors.forename: Susy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piovesana
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samperi
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stampachiacchiere
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laganà
keywords: Emerging contaminants; Lake waters; Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry; Solid-phase extraction; UV filters