Methoden der spurenanalytischen Bestimmung von Estrogenen im Abwasser

by Zorn, Eva-Christina

Trace analytical environmental investigations are usually done by solid phase extraction (SPE) and GC/MS. The aim of the present thesis was the development of alternative methods for the trace analysis of estrogens in the environment. Estrone (E1), Estradiol (E2) and Estriol (E3) as well as the synthetic estrogen Ethynylestradiol (EE2) were chosen for this investigation. These estrogens enter the environment mainly via sewage treatment plants. Therefore the method development was launched on purified waste water. Solid phase extraction (SPE), liquid liquid extraction (LLE) and the relatively new solid phase micro extraction (SPME) were used for sample preparation. The analytical determination of the extracted analytes was done by HPLC/UV and HPLC/ELCD or GC/FID and GC/MS. Adsorptive enrichment of estrogens on different carbon electrodes and cathodic stripping of EE2 on mercury were tested as possible screening methods. The established methods were optimized using spiked samples. After comparing their quantitation limits, selectivity and precision, they were applied to real sewage water samples for showing qualification.