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Determination of 25 Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants in Soils by Accelerated Solvent Extraction–Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography
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Scientists developed a faster, more reliable lab method to detect 25 different flame retardant chemicals (called organophosphate esters) in soil, chemicals used in furniture, electronics, and plastics that have been linked to nerve damage and developmental problems. This isn't a health study itself, but better detection tools like this one help researchers track how these chemicals build up in the environment, which is a key step toward understanding and reducing our exposure to them through soil, dust, and food.
Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are commonly used flame retardants and plasticizers, which can easily be released into the soil environment and have potential hazards such as neurotoxicity and developmental toxicity. Establishing an efficient and sensitive detection method plays a crucial role in soil pollution assessment. Currently, there have been numerous studies on the detection of OPEs in soil using ultrasonic extraction and solid-phase extraction, while relatively few studies have focused on the analysis of multiple OPEs in soil by accelerated solvent extraction combined with d-SPE clean-up and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The d-SPE purification method eliminates the need for column passage, shortens sample preparation time, and avoids the risk of background contamination from OPEs that may be introduced by SPE. This study developed a liquid chromatography–tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of 25 OPEs in soil, and systematically optimized the pretreatment and instrumental analysis conditions. Accelerated solvent extraction was used for pretreatment, and dichloromethane–methanol (1:1, V/V) was determined as the optimal extraction solvent. A mixed adsorbent of N-propyl ethylenediamine (PSA) and C18 was selected for dispersive purification, effectively removing matrix interference and improving recovery rates. The mass spectrometry parameters such as collision energy and declustering voltage were optimized, significantly enhancing ion response intensity and detection sensitivity. The method showed good linearity within the concentration range of 1–100 ng/mL, with correlation coefficients all greater than 0.994. The spiked recovery rates ranged from 70.6% to 111% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.2–11.8%. The precision and accuracy met the requirements for environmental sample analysis. The method was applied to the detection of actual soil samples, and the results were stable and reliable. This method is simple to operate, highly sensitive, and widely applicable, providing reliable technical support for the pollution monitoring, source tracing, and ecological risk assessment of OPEs in soil.
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