Extraction and isolation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and their intermediate metabolites from various marine organisms

A method has been developed for the determination of Linear alkylbenzene su lfonates and its degradation intermediates (sulfophenylcarboxylic acids) fr om different marine organisms, which includes the stages of extraction and analysis by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The extracti on stage (Soxhlet and solid-phase extractions) was optimised by the selecti on of the appropriate solvent, minicolumns and different clean-up stages. R ecoveries varied in the range from 80 to 104%, with a standard deviation be tween 1 and 9%. Detection limits were 15 ng g(-1) wet mass for undecylbezen e sulfonate and 30 ng g(-1) wet mass for sulfophenylundecanoic acid using H PLC-fluorescence detection. The complete analytical method was successfully applied to different marine organisms from the Bay of Cadiz (SW Spain). (C ) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.