Can 1H-NMR spectroscopy be used to watch estrogen degrade in real time? The degradation of estrogenic substances is widely studied for water quality and the effects these substances may have on humans and wildlife. In this work, two forms of estrogen, 17b-estradiol (E2) and a-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) were analyzed using 1H-NMR. The goal was to determine if 1H-NMR spectroscopy could be used to monitor and calculate the rate of degrading estrogen. In previous research, the ideal 1H-NMR solvent was chosen, so that at least one 1H-NMR peak for both E2 and EE2 did not overlap. There was evidence of E2 in an older EE2 NMR sample, which suggested that EE2 was degrading to form E2 in the NMR solvent. The sample of EE2 in DMSO degraded more quickly, so this was the ideal solvent for a study on the rate of degradation. An initial degradation study gave data that was unclear. It is believed that because the solid EE2 degraded prior to the experiment, this skewed the results. In this work, the procedure was repeated with a different method for calculations and new EE2 sample (free of degradation products). Key NMR peaks will be integrated to get E2:EE2 ratios at different time points. Then, this data will be used to determine the rate of estrogen degradation in DMSO.
