Abstract: A method for the simultaneous determination of 6 phthalic scid esters (PAEs) aquaculture in water by solid phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography detection was developed. The SPE conditions were optimized using orthogonal array design as follows: n-hexane-acetone (30:1, V/V) as elution solvent at a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min, elution volume 6 mL, and sample loading rate 6.0 mL/min. Enriched samples were determined using a capillary gas chromatograph with flame ionization detector. The ldetection limits of 6 PAEs were in the range of 1.4－3.6μg/L. The method displayed a good linearity over the range of 1 to 80 mg/L, with a correlation coefficient of larger than 0.995. The recoveries of the 6 PAEs across low, medium high spike levels were 72%－117% and the relative standard deviations all lower than 10%. The PAEs in 12 samples from typical aquatic breeding areas in Guangdong province were detected by the established method. All samples were found to be polluted by total PAEs concentration in the range of 4.2－171.5 μg/L. Moreover, the contaminations of PAEs were closely associated with geographic areas.

Key words: phthalic acid esters, aquaculture water, solid phase extraction