Comparison of twelve selected extraction methods for the determination of butyl- and phenyltin compounds in mussel samples

Several analytical methods have been developed in the last 20 years for the determination of organotin compounds in mussel tissue. These methods encom pass a huge variety of different extraction methods of poorly known efficie ncy. The quantitative evaluation of the extraction efficiency of these meth ods has been hindered by the lack of mussel reference materials and the pre sence of other potential sources of errors such as derivatisation and purif ication steps. The extraction efficiencies of 12 selected methods for the a nalysis of butyl- and phenyltin compounds in mussel samples have been compa red. The comparison was carried out by analysing a mussel tissue reference material (CRM 477) with certified and indicative values for butyltins and p henyltins, respectively, recently made available by the European Commission 's Standards, Measurements and Testing Programme. Derivatisation, clean-up and analysis were rigorously the same in all the methods considered. The hi gh homogeneity of the samples and the identical experimental conditions all owed comparison of the extraction efficiencies. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.