Sensitive, simultaneous determination of organomercury, -lead, and -tin compounds with headspace solid phase microextraction capillary gas chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The use of the solid phase microextraction (SPME) technique for the simultaneous determination of organomercury, -tin, and -lead is described. The organometallic compounds were in situ derivatized with sodium tetraethylborate, sorbed on a poly(dimethylsiloxane)-coated fused silica fiber, and desorbed in the splitless injection port of the GC. The different organometallic compounds were simultaneously determined by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICPMS) coupled to the GC using a transfer line developed in-house. The detection limits obtained with CGC-ICPMS for monobutyl-, dibutyl-, and tributyltin are between 0.34 and 2.1 ng/L as Sn. Analysis of a PACS-1 reference material confirmed the reliability of the combination of SPME as extraction technique with CGC-ICPMS for the analysis of organotin compounds.