Analysis of triorganotin compounds in water samples by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was evaluated for the analysis of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) in water samples. Separation was performed in isocratic mode on an Atlantis HILIC silica (2.1 mm x 150 mm, 5 microm) column with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.1% aqueous HCOOH (86:14, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Under optimum conditions, limits of detection for TBT and TPT were 10 and 20 pg injected onto the column, respectively. The extraction of triorganotin compounds from seawater samples was carried out using a polymer-based solid phase extraction cartridge of mixed modes with reversed-phase and weak anion exchange. Tributyltin-d(27) chloride and triphenyltin-d(15) chloride were used as internal standards. The relative standard deviations for the analysis were less than 4%. Using the proposed method, it was possible to analyze concentrations of TPT and TBT in seawater at ppt levels. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.