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Simultaneous determination of mono‐, di‐ and tributyltin in environmental samples using isotope dilution gas chromatography mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Centineo Giuseppe,
RodríguezGonzález Pablo,
González Elisa Blanco,
García Alonso J. Ignacio,
SanzMedel Alfredo
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 1076-5174
DOI - 10.1002/jms.609
Subject(s) - tributyltin , chemistry , isotope dilution , mass spectrometry , gas chromatography , chromatography , isotope , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , tin , analytical chemistry (journal) , analyte , polyatomic ion , dilution , detection limit , environmental chemistry , ion , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
Abstract The development of a rapid, precise and accurate speciation method for the simultaneous determination of mono‐, di‐ and tributyltin in environmental samples is described. The method is based on using isotope dilution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with electron ionization, a widely used technique in routine testing laboratories. A mixed spike containing 119 Sn‐enriched monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT) and tributyltin (TBT) was used for the isotope dilution of the samples. Five molecular ions were monitored for each analyte, corresponding to the 116 Sn, 117 Sn, 118 Sn, 119 Sn and 120 Sn isotopes. The detection at masses corresponding to 116 Sn and 117 Sn were used to correct for m + 1 and m + 2 contributions of 13 C from the organic groups attached to the tin atom on the 118 Sn, 119 Sn and 120 Sn masses with simple mathematical equations and the concentrations of the butyltin compounds were calculated based on the corrected 118 Sn/ 119 Sn and 120 Sn/ 119 Sn isotope ratios. The 119 Sn‐enriched multispecies spike was applied with satisfactory results to the simultaneous determination of MBT, DBT and TBT in three certified reference materials: two sediments, PACS‐2 and BCR 646, and the mussel tissue CRM 477. The method was compared with a previously published GC/inductively coupled plasma MS isotope dilution procedure, developed in our laboratory, by injecting the same samples into both instruments. Comparable analytical results in terms of precision and accuracy are demonstrated for both atomic and molecular mass spectrometric detectors. Thus, reliable quantitative organotin speciation analysis can be achieved using the more widespread and inexpensive GC/MS instrument. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.