Use of polyoxyethylene-6-lauryl ether and microwave-assisted extraction for the determination of chlorophenols in marine sediments

Microwave-assisted micellar extraction was optimised and applied to the extraction, prior to analysis by liquid chromatography with diode array spectrophotometric detection, of chlorophenols in marine sediment samples. This study was carried out using a non-ionic surfactant polyoxyethylene-6-lauryl ether as extractant. Parameters studied included surfactant concentration, pH of the solution, extraction time and power. Once the method was optimised, it was applied to different spiked marine sediments from coasts of the Canary Islands (Spain). The results obtained indicate that irradiation of 500 W for 2 min achieved the best extraction efficiency (100% recovery) and standard deviation values <10%. Detection limits were obtained in the range 1.2–12.7 (mu)g g^-1 for the chlorophenols studied. The proposed method provides a simple, fast and organic solvent-free procedure to analyse for chlorophenols in marine sediment samples.