Abstract
Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are exogenous substances that alter some function of the endocrine system and have adverse health effects on intact organisms, their off spring or (sub)populations. EDCs mimic or block the action of natural hormones, and hence biological functions in living organisms, thus leading to impaired reproduction, growth and development. The article focuses on the development of analytical method based on solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry for detection of steroid hormones ethinylestradiol and norgestrel in water samples. In this work, studies were carried out on model water samples spiked with a mixture of ethinylestradiol and norgestrel. The following parameters of headspace solid-phase microextraction were optimized as a result of experiments: extraction temperature 80°C, extraction time 20 min, NaCl additive – 1.5 g, fiber coating – 65 µm PDMS/DVB.