Sexual hormones monitoring in surface waters and wastewaters from Northern Italy by thin film microextraction coupled with HPLC-MS/MS.

The occurrence of sex steroid hormones, viz. oestrogens and progestins, in aquatic ecosystems is of global concern due to their role as endocrine disrupting chemicals, even at low concentration (μg L or less). Thus, it is essential to monitor these organic pollutants to get a realistic picture of their presence and to control their contamination levels in environmental water bodies.