Determination of surfactants in environmental samples. Part 1. Anionic compounds

Abstract

Compounds from the group of cationic surfactants are widely applied in household, industrial, cleaning, disinfectant, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products as their specific properties (antimicrobial, emulsifying, anticorrosion, softening). After use, cationic surfactants are disposed to wastewater-treatment plants and finally with effluent water to surface waters due to their incomplete degradation. Moreover, they can freely circulate in different environmental compartments including living organisms. It becomes indispensable to recognize in more detail behavior, fate and biological effects of cationic surfactants. This analytical problem can be solved with use sensitive and reliable analytical techniques at sample preparation step and final determination step. In recent years, during isolation analytes from environmental samples mainly were used liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) - liquid matrices or solid-liquid extraction (SLE) - solid matrices. This technique involves application of toxic solvents (chloroform), is time-consuming and interferences are co-extracted. Nowadays, in scientific centers are carried out research to replace this traditional technique. So far, the following techniques were applied: solid-phase extraction (SPE) or it modification (HF-LPME) - liquid samples; accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) - solid samples. During the determination of total content of cationic surface active agents in environmental samples were used a traditional spectrophotometry technique and potentiometric titration technique. But those techniques are susceptible of interferences on analysis results (anionic and non-ionic compounds). The chromatographic technique (liquid chromatography) applied at the final determination step gives possibility to determine individual cationic surfactants in solvent extracts of environmental samples. The LC systems coupled with mass spectrometers are most powerful tools during such analysis.