CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF NONIONIC ALIPHATIC SURFACTANTS OF THE ALCOHOL POLYETHOXYLATE TYPE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

The chromatographic procedures available for the determination of alco hol polyethoxylates (AE) in environmental samples are reviewed. The pr oposed methods are classified according to their routine or confirmato ry (i.e., structurally oriented) potential application. The routine an alysis of AE is shown to depend crucially on the formation of derivati ves amenable to UV-absorption or fluorescence detection in normal- or reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), or to vo latile compounds suited for gas chromatography (GC) coupled to FID. Th e confirmatory methods are those requiring the mass spectrometric dete ction operating in the selected ion monitoring mode. Only HPLC-MS is c urrently capable of analysing unaltered AE. HPLC and GC separations ar e described together with the extraction/enrichment procedures used fo r the isolation of these compounds from aqueous and solid environmenta l matrices.