THE QUANTITATIVE-DETERMINATION OF TINALKYLATES IN SEDIMENTS

A procedure has been developed for the determination of dibutyltin and tributyltin cations in sediments at the ng/g level. The extraction us ing butylacetate/methanol has been given the best recovery. Sufficient separation has been obtained with a cation exchange column and a acet onitrile/water/acetic acid buffer solvent system for the determination of the species using thermospray MS and selected ion monitoring. Dete ction limits of 1.3 ng/g for DBT and 1.7 ng/g for TBT have been obtain ed. The procedure is robust and the sensitivity is stable over a long time.