Abstract
A simple and practical method was developed for quantitative analysis of tributyltin (TBT) in fish and shellfish by gas chromatography. Samples were homogenized in centrifugal tubes with a mixture of hydrochloric acid and methanol, to which hexane was added to extract TBT by shaking, followed by centrifugal separation in the form of tributyltin chloride (TBTC). The extract was charged onto a silica gel column which had been pretreated with hydrochloric acid. TBTC was eluted with hexane, concentrated in a rotary evaporator, and determined by gas chromatography on a Thermon Hg column.
The mean recovery from yellowtail fish of bis(tributyltin)oxide (TBTO)added at the level of 0.2μg/g was 84.8% (n=4), and those from scorpionfish after addition of 0.08 and 0.4μg/g were 79.0 and 89.4% (n=4), respectively. The detection limit of TBTO was 0.02μg/g in samples. The concentration of TBTO in cultured yellowtails ranged between 0.02 and 0.9μg/g, and that in natural fishes ranged between 0 and 0.64μg/g, as determined by this method.
