Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) include a wide range of compounds that have the potential to interfere with the body’s endocrine system. Drinking water supplies need to be tested for the presence of EDCs because of their effect on hormones. The solid-phase extraction (SPE) method described in this Application Brief provides provides a quick and simple means of concentrating the components using controlled flow rates and volumes that will consistently produce good recoveries.

Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors that have been used to deliberately adulterate beverages and sports drinks in Taiwan. Phthalates and other plasticizers are ubiquitous contaminants particularly in fatty foodstuffs. Contamination arises from numerous sources such as the environment and food packaging. Cross-contamination with phthalates can easily arise during trace analysis in the laboratory and there are significant advantages in minimizing sample handling through online automated analysis. A method using online Thermo Scientific TurboFlow chromatography is presented.

We developed a simple method for the simultaneous determination of trace levels of compounds from a diverse group of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and personal care products using SPE and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We determined which selected substances are present in significant quantities in the water resources around the Montreal region.

The Thermo Scientific HPLC system is applied for the analysis of endocrine disruptors. The separation is performed on a Thermo Scientific Hypersil GOLD HPLC column, with UV detection at 220 nm.

The Thermo Scientific Dionex UltiMate 3000 RSLC system is applied for the analysis of endocrine disruptors. The separation is performed on a Thermo Scientific Accucore XL C8 4 µm HPLC column, with UV detection at 220 nm. Compared to a conventional 5 μm fully porous column using the same experimental conditions, the Accucore XL C8 4 μm HPLC column provides improved efficiency, sensitivity and resolution for the analysis of these compounds.