Accelerated Solvent Extraction of Nonylphenolic Estrogen Compounds from Sediments

To simultaneously extract and determine p-nonylphenol (NP), p-nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), and p-nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO) from sediment samples, the accelerated solvent extraction parameters were optimized in terms of temperature, pressure, cycle and solvents. The phenolic compounds extracted were those of silyl derivatized with bis- (trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) in acetone or acetone-dichloromethane mixture (acetone 60%). The best conditions for extraction were as follows: 120°, 1200 psi, two cycles, and dichloromethane. The average extraction recovery of spiked analytes ranged from 89.3% to 95.7% with a low RSD (mean relative standard deviation) of 2.3%–13.4%. Method detection limits of NP, NP1EO and NP2EO were 10, 30 and 35 ng/g dw, respectively.