Determination of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants in Surface Water by Solid Phase Extraction Coupled with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), with increasing production and consumption, are almost ubiquitous in environmental compartments. In this study, an analytical method via solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with gas chromatographymass spectrometry (SPE-GC-MS) was developed for the determination of 8 typical OPFRs. The target compounds in water samples were pre-concentrated by Poly-Sery PSD SPE cartridge, and then eluted by 4 mL of ethyl acetate. The OPFRs were qualified and quantified by GC-MS via selective ion scan monitoring method (SIM). Good linearity could be observed in the range of 2-200 ng L-1 of OPFRs, with correlation coefficients varying from 0.9937 to 0.9995. The limits of detection and limits of quantification were 0.006-0.850 ng L-1 and 0.015-2.000 ng L-1, respectively. Spiked recoveries for samples of pure water and river water ranged from 70.3% to 114.3%, with the standard deviations less than 15%, except for TEHP. The satisfied recovery of TEHP was achieved when the spiked concentration was less than 50 ng L-1. The results indicated that the established SPE-GC-MS analytical method was sensitive and accurate enough for determination of OPFRs in samples from surface water. Thus the method was applied to analyze OPFRs in samples collected in Meiliang Bay of Taihu Lake, and it was found that the total concentrations of OPFRs were 1000-2700 ng L-1.