Determination of Tin Species in Waters

This review presents a critical analysis of studies published in recent years on methods and analytical procedures for the determination of tin species in aquatic environments. The characteristics of determining inorganic and organotin species using various modern analytical methods are discussed. The determination of tin species in aquatic systems is complicated by the complexity of the sample matrix, particularly seawater, and by the low concentrations of the analyte, requiring the use of highly sensitive and selective analytical techniques combined with analyte preconcentration and separation procedures. The need to determine trace concentrations of tin is associated with the fact that the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of tin ranges from 0.010 to 10.0 μg/L. Spectrometric methods predominate in the determination of inorganic tin and enable low limits of detection to be achieved; however, the possible presence of organotin compounds in samples complicates the analysis. In the analysis of waters with complex sample matrices, hyphenated methods that combine various approaches for separating tin species with subsequent spectrometric determination play an important role. The combination of chromatographic separation with ICP–AES/MS techniques appears to be the most effective approach, enabling the detection of tin compounds at the nanogram per liter level. However, the optimal analytical conditions are generally specific to a particular tin species and require the development of new analytical schemes for the comprehensive assessment of water contamination. Preliminary extraction-based separation of tin species followed by ICP determination of the analytes is also an effective approach.