Determination of phthalate esters in soil samples by microwave assisted extraction and high performance liquid chromatography.

A method was developed for the determination of phthalate esters (dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate and di-(2-ethylhextyl) phthalate) in soil samples. The method was based on microwave-assisted extraction of soil using acetonitrile as extractant. Phthalate esters in the extract were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with variable wavelength detector. Microwave-assisted extraction operational parameters, such as the solvent type, extraction temperature and time, were studied and optimized. Under the resultant conditions, recoveries of phthalate esters from spiked soil samples were in the range from 84 to 115% for two different spiking levels (0.1 and 0.5 microg g(-1)), and relative standard deviations of the recoveries were below 8%. The limits of detection ranged from 1.24 to 3.15 microg L(-1). The method did not require clean-up or preconcentration steps. The obtained results showed that microwave-assisted extraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography was a fast and simple method for the determination of phthalate esters in soil samples.