Simultaneous determination of butyltin and phenyltin species in sediments using ultrasound-assisted leaching

A fast and simple procedure is presented for the simultaneous leaching of b utyl (mono, di and tributyl) and phenyl organotin species from sediment sam ples. Leached compounds are further ethylated with sodium tetraethylborate in aqueous medium, and analyzed by gas chromatography. After testing the st ability of triphenyltin under different extraction conditions, ultrasound-a ssisted leaching at room temperature in the presence of acetic acid was bee n proposed as an extraction procedure compatible with the simultaneous dete rmination of phenyl- and butyltin compounds in sediments. Recoveries betwee n 70 and 90% were obtained for phenyl species in spiked samples prepared in the laboratory. Results for butyltin species were validated by use of the reference material PACS-2. Quantification limits, using GC-MIP-AES as measu rement technique, were approximately 5-10 ng g(-1). Precision in the consec utive analysis of three sediment samples varied between 3 and 10%.