Determination of methylmercury and butyltin compounds in marine biota and sediments using microwave-assisted acid extraction, solid-phase microextraction, and gas chromatography with microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectrometric detection.

A method is described for the determination of methylmercury and butyltin compounds in marine sediment and tissue using microwave-assisted acid extraction or digestion and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) followed by analysis using gas chromatography with microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectrometric detection (GC-MIP-AES). Using the SPME-GC-MIP-AES method, enrichment factors for methylmercury and butyltin compounds of 50-100 were achieved, as compared to the typical hexane extraction, and measurements in marine tissue and sediment matrixes were possible at 1-2 microg/kg (methylmercury) and 10-100 ng/kg (butyltins). The SPME-GC-MIP-AES method was validated using several marine sediment and tissue matrix certified reference materials (CRMs) with certified values for methylmercury and butyltin compounds. The SPME-GC-MIP-AES method was used to measure methylmercury in four marine tissue CRMs ranging from oyster tissue at 13.0 +/- 1.0 microg/kg to fish tissue at 397 +/- 13 microg/kg (as Hg dry mass). Results from the SPME-GC-MIP-AES method were used in conjunction with results from other techniques to assign certified values for methylmercury in oyster, mussel, and fish tissue CRMs. Mono-, di-, and tributyltin were measured in three sediment CRMs at concentration levels of (0.08 +/- 0.03)-(0.35 +/- 0.05) mg/kg (as Sn dry mass).