A new molecularly imprinted polymer for the on-column solid-phase extraction of diethylstilbestrol from aqueous samples

The estrogenic compound diethylstilbestrol (DES) is widely studied because of its potential endocrine disruption effects. The prohibition of the use of diethylstilbestrol as a growth promoter has not been enough to ensure the total disappearance of this compound from environmental matrices. Due to the low levels of DES present in the environment, preconcentration and clean up methods are necessary for its analysis. This paper describes the synthesis and use of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as sorbent for on-column solid-phase extraction of DES from aqueous samples. The selectivity of the DES-MIP was evaluated towards several selected estrogens such as hexestrol (HEX), estrone (E1), estriol (E3), estradiol (E2) and ethynylestradiol (EE2). HPLC-DAD was used to quantify all analytes at 230-nm wavelength. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of DES in spiked river and tap water samples, with recoveries of 72% and 83% respectively.