Evaluation of a microwave-assisted extraction technique for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in sediments.

A microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in marine sediment samples has been investigated. The analytes were extracted under different treatment conditions, such as temperature, time and extraction solvent. They were quantified by an isotope-dilution method, and the observed concentrations and recovery yields obtained under different conditions were compared. The results of a comparison between this MAE and other extraction techniques, such as pressurized fluid extraction, saponification, sonication, and Soxhlet extraction, are also given in this report. The techniques gave comparable results with the values obtained by other extraction techniques and the certified values in the samples. However, the observed concentration values of mono- and dichlorinated biphenyls varied depending on the extraction temperature.     

Pressurized liquid extraction and microwave-assisted extraction in the determination of organochlorine pesticides in fish muscle samples

This paper describes a comparative study of 2 extraction methods, pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), for the determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in fish muscle samples. In both cases, samples were extracted with hexane-acetone (50 + 50), and the extracts were purified by solid-phase extraction using a carbon cartridge as the adsorbent. Pesticides were eluted with hexane-ethyl acetate (80 + 20) and determined by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection. Both methods demonstrated good linearity over the range studied (0.005-0.100 microg/mL). Detection limits ranged from 0.029 to 0.295 mg/kg for PLE and from 0.003 to 0.054 mg/kg for MAE. For most of the pesticides, analytical recoveries with both methods were between 80 and 120%, and the relative standard deviations were < 10%. The proposed methods were shown to be powerful techniques for the extraction of OCPs from fish muscle samples. Although good recovery rates were obtained with both extraction methods, MAE provided advantages with regard to sample handling, cost, analysis time, and solvent consumption. Acceptable validation parameters were obtained although MAE was shown to be more sensitive than PLE.     

Microwave-assisted extraction of OCPs, PCBs and PAHs concentrated by semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs)

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) has been evaluated as an alternative to dialysis for extraction of some water-borne hydrophobic contaminants sampled by semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Seven organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), 11 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were accumulated in SPMDs at nanogram levels and extracted with three 3-min irradiation cycles with 33 mL of a solvent mixture hexane–water (10:1,v/v) in each cycle. The developed MAE method gave for all analytes investigated statistically comparable extraction yields with those found by dialysis carried out with a total volume of 250 mL hexane for 48 h at room temperature. The recoveries of all the targeted contaminants were in the range of 65–105% with variation coefficients not exceeding 19%. The applicability of the MAE extraction was tested in field SPMDs samples deployed for 15 days in a sewage-treatment process. Our results show that MAE provides a remarkable reduction of time and solvent volume when used as an extraction method in the analysis of SPMDs.     

Evaluation of Soxhlet extraction, accelerated solvent extraction and microwave-assisted extraction for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in soil and fish samples

Three commonly applied extraction techniques for persistent organic chemicals, Soxhlet extraction (SE), accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), were applied on soil and fish samples in order to evaluate their performances. For both PCBs and PBDEs, the two more recent developed techniques (ASE and MAE) were in general capable of producing comparable extraction results as the classical SE, and even higher extraction recoveries were obtained for some PCB congeners with large octanol-water partitioning coefficients (K_ow). This relatively uniform extraction results from ASE and MAE indicated that elevated temperature and pressure are favorable to the efficient extraction of PCBs from the solid matrices. For PBDEs, difference between the results from MAE and ASE (or SE) suggests that the MAE extraction condition needs to be carefully optimized according to the characteristics of the matrix and analyte to avoid degradation of higher brominated BDE congeners and improve the extraction yields.     

Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides from soils: a comparison between Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and accelerated solvent extraction techniques

The methods of simultaneous extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from soils using Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) were established, and the extraction efficiencies using the three methods were systemically compared from procedural blank, limits of detection and quantification, method recovery and reproducibility, method chromatogram and other factors. In addition, soils with different total organic carbon contents were used to test the extraction efficiencies of the three methods. The results showed that the values obtained in this study were comparable with the values reported by other studies. In some respects such as method recovery and reproducibility, there were no significant differences among the three methods for the extraction of PAHs and OCPs. In some respects such as procedural blank and limits of detection and quantification, there were significant differences among the three methods. Overall, ASE had the best extraction efficiency compared to MAE and Soxhlet extraction, and the extraction efficiencies of MAE and Soxhlet extraction were comparable to each other depending on the property such as TOC content of the studied soil. Considering other factors such as solvent consumption and extraction time, ASE and MAE are preferable to Soxhlet extraction.     

An efficient and fast microwave-assisted extraction method developed for the simultaneous determination of 18 organochlorine pesticides in sediment

An efficient and fast microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method followed by gas chromatographic separation with mass spectrometric detection (GC–MS) was developed for the extraction of 18 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from sediment. Parameters affecting the MAE procedure such as the type and volume of the extraction solvent, irradiation power, temperature and irradiation time were successfully optimised. Under the optimal conditions, extraction efficiencies in the range of 73.4–119% were obtained with THF–HEX (9:1, v/v) for all OCPs studied. The method was linear over the range of 2.9–5000 ng g^?1 with determination coefficients (r²) higher than 0.992 for all analytes. The limits of detection, LODs (S/N = 3), obtained varied from 1.0 to 2.2 ng g^?1 and limits of quantification, LOQs (S/N = 10) were between 2.9 and 6.8 ng g^?1. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of real sediment samples and acceptable recoveries from 70.1 to 124% with RSDs ≤14.8% were obtained. 10 OCPs were determined below their LOQ and 8 OCPs in the range of 124–2830 ng g^?1. The MAE method was compared with Soxhlet, shake flask and ultrasonic solvent extraction techniques. Thus, the MAE–GC–MS method could efficiently be used for selective extraction and quantification of the target analytes from the complex sediment matrices.     

Application of QuEChERS method for extraction of selected persistent organic pollutants in fish tissue and analysis by gas chromatography mass spectrometry

The QuEChERS method developed for 22 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 7-polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish tissue involves a simple and efficient freezing technique for removal of lipids. The equipment developed consists of disposable syringes and a freezing block constructed from simple materials found in most laboratories. The freezing block keeps the temperature in the extract at -20.5°C up to 10 min after being exposed to room temperature. After the freezing step 69% of the lipids in tilapia and 61% in salmon are removed. Further reduction of co-extractives up to 96% in tilapia and 87% in salmon can be made by treatment with CaCl(2) and primary secondary amino sorbent (PSA) which removes the fatty acids. Spiking experiments in tilapia at 5 and 50 ng/g and extracted with acetonitrile show recovery range from 70 to 115% for all compounds. In salmon the recoveries are in the range 43-118% for the OCPs and 26-65% for the PCBs. Analysis of a standard reference material shows acceptable results for most of the pesticides but low results for the PCBs. The estimated LOQs were in the range 1-5 ng/g for tilapia and 2-10 ng/g for salmon. The method has been applied to analyse fish samples from Lake Koka in Ethiopia. It was investigated if addition of a less polar water miscible solvent than acetonitrile could increase the recovery of OCPs and PCBs. The results show that a mixture of 75% acetonitrile and 25% tetrahydrofurane (ACN/THF 75/25) clearly enhances the recoveries for most OCPs (47-101%) and PCBs (42-79%) from salmon. The recovery of aldrin increases significantly from 55% to over 80%. The method using ACN/THF 75/25 is applicable to the extraction of OCPs and PCBs from fish tissue having a lipid content of up to about 11% (salmon) with recoveries ≥70% for most of the OCPs and ≥42% for the PCBs.     

母乳中多种含卤持久性有机污染物的联合检测方法

建立了母乳中多种含卤持久性有机污染物(POPs)的联合检测方法,目标化合物主要包括六溴环十二烷(HBCDs)、多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)、多氯联苯(PCBs)和有机氯农药(OCPs)等.样品的前处理采用液液萃取、凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)净化和固相萃取(SPE)等技术,目标化合物经气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)、液相色谱-三重四极杆串联质谱联用仪(LC-MS/MS)和气相色谱-三重四极杆串联质谱联用仪(GC-MS/MS)等进行检测.样品通过GPC除去脂肪,然后经SPE柱进一步净化并进行多组分分离,极大程度地减小了生物样品中复杂基质的干扰,适合样品量相对较小的人体样本中多种超痕量POPs的分析.应用灵敏度高、选择性更好的GC-MS/MS对样品中的PCBs和OCPs等进行分析,进一步降低基质的干扰.方法经过小牛血清加标实验验证,稳定可靠.POPs的加标回收率分别为88.7％～98.8％(PBDEs), 88.5％～92.5％(HBCDs), 67.9％～82.3％(PCBs)和81.7％～116.1％(OCPs),方法检出限分别为0.13～1.8 pg/mL(PBDEs), 0.31～1.2 pg/mL(HBCDs), 0.22～1.4 pg/mL(PCBs)和0.20～1.5 pg/mL(OCPs).采用本方法对潍坊地区20例母乳样品进行分析,结果显示,潍坊市母乳中HBCDs, PBDEs, PCBs、HCHs和DDTs的中值浓度分别为2.86, 7.76, 8.84、140和503 ng/g 脂重,此浓度水平与国内其它地区人群相当.     

Multiresidue-matrix solid-phase dispersion method for determining 16 organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in fish

Summary An effective, multiresidue-matrix, solid-phase dispersion — extraction (MSPD) and GC-MS method for the determination of 16 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), as well as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the level chlorination in fish is described. The method uses an octadecylsilyl-derivatized silica and Florisil-based MSPD co-column for direct, on-line clean-up. Recoveries calculated from five different fortification levels are >85% in all cases for OCPs, except for heptachlor and 4,4-DDT where recoveries of 78% and 81% are ob-tained, and >95% for PCBs. Detection limits determined for the OCPs vary from 19.6–91.1 ng g^–1, and from 71.4–111.2 ng g^–1 for the two to five chlorine-containing PCBs. The method has been applied to the analysis of fish grown in Er-Jen river (Taiwan) and method may serve as a screening protocol for the determination of OCPs and PCBs in fish.     

Characterization of certified reference material for quantification of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in fish

Fish certified reference material (CRM), NMIJ CRM 7404-a, for the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) was developed by the National Metrology Institute of Japan, part of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. Fish samples (Japanese seabass) used for the preparation of the CRM were collected from Tokyo Bay, and the edible part was freeze-dried, pulverized, sieved, homogenized, and sterilized by γ-irradiation. This sample is in the form of a powder comprising approximately 10 g stored in a brown glass bottle. The certification was carried out using multiple analytical methods such as pressurized liquid extraction, Soxhlet extraction, saponification, and homogenization to ensure the reliability of analytical results; the certified values of target PCBs (PCB 28, PCB 70, PCB 105, PCB 153, and PCB 170) and OCPs (trans-nonachlor, dieldrin, p,p′-DDE, p,p′-DDT, and p,p′-DDD) were 1.05–14.0 μg kg⁻¹ and 1.57–18.0 μg kg⁻¹ for PCBs and OCPs, respectively. This is the first fish powder CRM in which PCBs and OCPs were determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry.     

Application of water as a solvent in microwave-assisted extraction for analysis of PCBs and CBzs in fly ash

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorobenzenes (CBzs) are two classes of dioxin precursors formed in municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs); they produce negative health effects similar to those of dioxins. Reducing the analytical time required for determining the concentrations of these compounds in MSWIs is important for quickly evaluating their importance and assessing associated health risks. In the present study, water is used as a safe and environmentally friendly solvent in microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for PCB and CBz analyses. MAE is compared with traditional Soxhlet extraction (SE) to determine the extraction efficiencies. The evaluation of extraction efficiencies shows that MAE has a high extraction efficiency compared with that of SE when water content is lower than 60%. Furthermore, the extraction time and organic solvent consumption are reduced with MAE compared with SE.     

Methods for selective determination of persistent organochlorine pesticide residues in water and sediments by capillary gas chromatography and electron-capture detection

Different extraction methods were evaluated for the determination of fifteen organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water and sediments. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was evaluated for the pesticides analyses in water while Soxhlet extraction (SE) and microwave assisted extraction (MAE) methods were compared in sediment. Of all the extracting solvents used, dichloromethane gave the best results. Percentage recoveries ranged from 71.03 +/- 8.15 (dieldrin) to 101.25 +/- 2.17% [a-benzenehexachloride (alpha-BHC)] in water with LLE. In sediments the percentage recoveries with Soxhlet extraction method varied between 88.22 +/- 7.85 (endrin) and 109.63 +/- 5.10% (beta-BHC) and ranged from 74.11 +/- 9.82 (2,4 DDT) to 97.50 +/- 4.56% (alpha-BHC) with MAE. The limits of detection for the OCPs ranged from 5.5 to 20.6 ng/l and between 0.6 and 2.1 ng/g. respectively. The LLE and the SE methods were applied to water and sediments samples, respectively, from marine and freshwater sources in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa that receive runoffs from agricultural lands and effluents from industries. The levels of OCPs ranged from 5.5 (2,4-DDD) to 450 +/- 0.10 ng/l (beta-BHC) in water samples and from 0.6 (aldrin and 2,4-DDD) to 184 +/- 0.12 ng/g (beta-BHC) in sediments for triplicate analyses. Some endocrine disrupting OCPs such as DDT, DDE, heptachlor, endosulphan and the chlordanes were detected.     

Trace-level analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls,organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human plasma or serum by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A method to determine 8 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 23 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was described using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) of a small amount of plasma or serum sample and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS). The appropriate selection of the extraction solvent and dispersing solvent contributes to a high extraction yield and a clean extract. To verify the developed method, the interference, linearity of the calibration curve, detection limit, precision and accuracy were evaluated. The calibration curves were linear by 2–3 orders of magnitude with correlation coefficients above 0.997 in all cases. The LODs of PCBs, OCPs and PAHs were measured in the ranges of 0.0006–0.0029, 0.001–0.029 and 0.0002–0.012 ng/mL. The intraday precision achieved by this method was 2.19–10.3% (PCBs), 1.65–14.3% (OCPs) and 0.91–12.8% (PAHs), and the intraday accuracy 1.56–7.37% (PCBs), 2.34–19.6% (OCPs) and 1.49–15.7% (PAHs). The advantage of this method is that the analysis of PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs can be performed in a single chromatographic run, and the low detection limit enables monitoring of target substances in low exposure general public samples, and the analysis procedure is relatively simple and fast.     

Ultrasonication followed by single-drop microextraction combined with GC/MS for rapid determination of organochlorine pesticides from fish

A novel, rapid and simple sample pretreatment technique termed ultrasonication followed by single-drop micro-extraction (U-SDME) has been developed and combined with GC/MS for the determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in fish. In the present work, the lengthy procedures generally used in the conventional methods like, Soxhlet extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, pressurized liquid extraction and microwave assisted solvent extraction for extraction of OCPs from fish tissues are minimized by the use of two simple extraction procedures. Firstly, OCPs from fish were extracted in organic solvent with ultrasonication and then subsequently preconcentrated by single-drop micro-extraction (SDME). Extraction parameters of ultrasonication and SDME were optimized in spiked sample solution in order to obtain efficient extraction of OCPs from fish tissues. The calibration curves for OCPs were found to be linear between 10-1000 ng/g with correlation of estimations in the range 0.990-0.994. The recoveries obtained in blank fish tissues were ranged from 82.1 to 95.3%. The LOD and RSD for determination of OCPs in fish were 0.5 ng/g and 9.4-10.0%, respectively. The proposed method was applied for the determination of bioconcentration factor in fish after exposure to different concentrations of OCPs in cultured water. The present method avoids the co-extraction of lipids, long extraction steps (>12 h) and large amount of organic solvent for the separation of OCPs. The main advantages of the present method are rapid, selective, sensitive and low cost for the determination of OCPs in fish.     

Pressurized liquid extraction in determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in fish samples

Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) is a relatively new technique applicable for the extraction of persistent organic pollutants from various matrices. The main advantages of this method are short time and low consumption of extraction solvent. The effects of various operational parameters (i.e. temperature of extraction, number of static cycles and extraction solvent mixtures) on the PLE efficiency were investigated in this study. Fish muscle tissue containing 3.2% (w/w) lipids and native polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and other related compounds was used for testing. Purification of crude extracts was carried out by gel permeation chromatography employing Bio-Beads S-X3. Identification and quantitation of target indicator PCBs and OCPs was performed by high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) with two parallel electron-capture detectors (ECDs). Results obtained by the optimized PLE procedure were compared with conventional Soxhlet extraction (the same extraction solvent mixtures hexane–dichloromethane (1:1 v/v) and hexane–acetone (4:1 v/v) were used). The recoveries obtained by PLE operated at 90–120 °C were either comparable to “classic” Soxhlet extraction (for higher-chlorinated PCB congeners and DDT group) or even better (for lower chlorinated analytes). The highest recoveries were obtained for three static 5 min extraction cycles.     

Development of microwave assisted extraction for the simultaneous determination of isoflavonoids and saponins in radix astragali by high performance liquid chromatography

A microwave assisted extraction (MAE) procedure was first developed for the simultaneous determination of isoflavonoids and astragalosides in Radix Astragali (RA). MAE showed the highest extraction efficiency when compared to Soxhlet, reflux, and ultrasonic extraction. It was found that flavonoid glycoside malonates were converted into their related glycosides during the prolonged conventional extraction, thus affecting the reproducibility. However, the conversion was inhibited when using MAE. After being optimized in terms of solvents, microwave power, and irradiation time, MAE was used for the simultaneous determination of isoflavonoids and astragalosides in RA with HPLC-UV-evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). Our results indicated that extraction by MAE was more effective than by other conventional techniques. Moreover, the MAE method followed by HPLC-UV-ELSD determination was a simple, rapid, and reliable method for the quality assessment of RA.     

Application of polyphenylmethylsiloxane coated fiber for solid-phase microextraction combined with microwave-assisted extraction for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in Chinese teas

Polyphenylmethylsiloxane (PPMS) as a novel coating for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) combined with microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) has been applied to determine the concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in Chinese teas. The characteristics of PPMS fiber, the extraction modes of SPME, the extraction time, temperature, and salt effects were investigated. Microwave irradiation time and power were also studied. Compared with commercial polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber and homemade sol-gel polymethylsiloxane (PMS) fiber, the novel porous sol-gel PPMS fiber exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity for OCPs compounds, higher thermal stability (to 350 degrees C) and long service life (more than 150 times). The recoveries of MAE is compared with that of ultrasonic extraction (USE), MAE-SPME-gas chromatography (GC)/electron-capture detection (ECD) methods showed better results for Chinese teas. Linear ranges of OCPs in the blank green tea was 0.1-10(3) ng/l. Detection limits of this method are below 0.081 ng/l. Recoveries of this method are between 39.05 and 94.35%. The repeatability of the technique was less than 16% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.). The tested pesticides in three Chinese teas were at the ng/g level.     

Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion Combined with GC–MS/MS for the Determination of Organochlorine Pesticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Marketed Seafood

An analysis method based on matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was developed and applied for the analysis for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the marketed seafood such as fish, shrimp and shellfish. The parameters of the method including the type and amount of the absorbent, as well as the type and volume of the elution solution were optimized. The recoveries were between 70 and 120% with RSDs less than 20%, and the LODs and LOQs were 0.011–0.046 and 0.037–0.153 ng g^?1 under optimized conditions. The results showed that most of the OCPs and PCBs were detectable in the marketed samples with the average concentration range of 0.722–14.206 and 0.034–1.184 ng g^?1, respectively. Among the 21 OCPs detected, DDTs had a relatively higher concentration level. And in the PCBs, the concentration of PCB28 was over 45% of the total PCBs determined in all the samples. The developed method was simple, fast and effective, and could successfully be applied for trace amount of OCPs and PCBs determination in seafood matrixes.     

Comparison of techniques for the extraction of the anti-cancer drug camptothecin from Nothapodytes foetida

Extraction methods using stirring extraction, Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic extraction and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) were evaluated for the percentage extraction of camptothecin (CPT) and 9-methoxycamptothecin (9-Me-CPT) from Nothapodytes foetida. The extracts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Methanol (90%, v/v) extracted high percentage extraction of CPT and 9-Me-CPT compared to ethanol (90%, v/v). The results shows that the percentage extraction of CPT and 9-Me-CPT from N. foetida by MAE was more efficient in short time followed by Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic and stirring extraction methods. Maximum percentage extraction of CPT (2.67%, w/w) was obtained by MAE technique. MAE has need of 3 min, whereas ultrasonic extraction, Soxhlet extraction and stirring extraction techniques require 30, 120 and 30 min, respectively to leach higher percentage extraction of CPT and 9-Me-CPT. The times taken by the microwave extraction process was 40 times less than the Soxhlet extraction for percentage extraction of alkaloids. The present results show that the extraction efficiency and considerable saving of time by MAE was more competent than the other extraction techniques.     

Sediment certified reference materials for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides from the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ)

Two marine sediment certified reference materials, NMIJ CRM 7304-a and 7305-a, have been issued by the National Metrology Institute of Japan in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (NMIJ/AIST) for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). The raw materials of the CRMs were collected from a bay near industrial activity in Japan. Characterization of these CRMs was conducted by NMIJ, where the sediments were analyzed using multiple analytical methods such as pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), saponification, Soxhlet extraction, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and ultrasonic extraction; the target compounds were determined by one of the primary methods of measurements, isotope dilution–mass spectrometry (ID-MS). Certified values have been provided for 14 PCB congeners (PCB numbers 3, 15, 28, 31, 70, 101, 105, 138, 153, 170, 180, 194, 206, 209) and 4 OCPs (γ-HCH, 4,4′-DDT, 4,4′-DDE, 4,4′-DDD) in both CRMs. NMIJ CRM 7304-a has concentrations of the contaminants that are a factor of 2–15 greater than in CRM 7305-a. Both CRMs have information values for PCB homolog concentrations determined by collaborative analysis using a Japanese official method for determination of PCBs. The total PCB concentrations in the CRMs are approximately 920 and 86 μg kg⁻¹ dry mass respectively. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.