Determination of residues of UV filters in natural waters by solid-phase extraction coupled to liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

This study describes a procedure for the enrichment, separation and quantification of four major UV filters in natural waters. Solid-phase extraction combined with liquid chromatography and photodiode array detection (LC–UV-DAD), and gas chromatography with mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) were employed for the analyses. LC of the four compounds with surfactant-modified hydro-organic eluents gave satisfactory resolution of overlapping peaks. In GC, a significant improvement of the detection limits was attained, but only three compounds could be detected. The method was validated for, and applied to, various water samples prone to UV filter accumulation due to recreational activities. Recoveries from real samples were 86–99% with LOQs as low as 0.5 ng/l depending on the sample volume and the analytical procedure.