Keywords: PPCPs, EDCs, environmental analysis, FMOC, derivatization

Abstract

In this study, a simple precolumn derivatization method using 9-fluorenylmethoxy-carbonyl chloride (FMOC-Cl) was introduced to enable the simultaneous determination of 13 selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) using HPLC coupled with diode array detector. The selected compounds included both derivatizable (bisphenol A, methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, benzylparaben, atenolol and metoprolol) and non-derivatizable (dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, phenazone and N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) compounds. The derivatization was performed in a water-acetonitrile mixture (1:1 (v/v)) at room temperature with pH 10 borate buffer as the catalyst. After derivatization, hydrochloric acid was added to the mixture to stabilize the FMOC derivatives. Following derivatization, the separation of the selected compounds was largely improved, and stable FMOC derivatives also enabled the analysis to be performed using automated procedures. The results also showed that all the derivatizable compounds exhibited good linearity and high correlation coefficients (0.9995 to 0.9998).