Methods of analysis of polar aromatic sulfonates from aquatic environments

Methods for the analysis of aromatic sulfonates, such as linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) and (amino- and hydroxy-substituted) benzene and naphthalene sulfonates, from aqueous media are reviewed. All analytical steps including the extraction from water, clean-up from co-extracted substances, chromatographic separation and detection, and methods of identification of these compound classes are described and discussed. The techniques employed are solid-phase extraction, various modes of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary electrophoresis, gas chromatography (GC), GC-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, continuous flow- and flow injection-mass spectrometry, and spectroscopic methods. A remarkable gap becomes obvious between novel analytical methods developed with standard mixtures and those methods readily employable for environmental analysis. Finally, suggestions for future analytical developments are given.