Microwave-assisted extraction followed by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection (MAE-HSSPME-GC-MS/MS) for determination of polybrominated compounds in aquaculture samples

This paper describes the first validated method for the extraction, purification and determination of trace levels of a number of pollutants of growing concern, including polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), in aquaculture feeds and products. The new procedure comprises microwave-assisted extraction (MAE; optimized, using a central composite experimental design, to 15 min at 85 °C in 14 mL of 1:1 hexane/dichloromethane), and concentration by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HSSPME), and separation/quantification by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection (GC-MS/MS). The method was validated on the reference materials IAEA-406 and WMF-01. Limits of detection for fourteen of the fifteen analytes considered range from 10 to 600 pg g⁻¹, and limits of quantification from 50 pg g⁻¹ to 1.9 ng g⁻¹. Linear ranges, accuracies and precisions are reported.