Cigarette filter as sorbent for on-line coupling of solid-phase extraction to high-performance liquid chromatography for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water

An on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) protocol using the cigarette filter as sorbent coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for simultaneous determination of trace naphthalene (NAPH), phenanthrene (PHEN), anthracene (ANT), fluoranthene (FLU), benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF), benzo(k)fluoranthene (BkF), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), and benzo(ghi)perylene (BghiP) in water samples. To on-line interface solid-phase extraction to HPLC, a preconcentration column packed with the cigarette filter was used to replace a conventional sample loop on the injector valve of the HPLC for on-line solid-phase extraction. The sample solution was loaded and the analytes were then preconcentrated onto the preconcentration column. The collected analytes were subsequently eluted with a mobile phase of methanol-water (95:5). HPLC with a photodiode array detector was used for their separation and detection. The detection limits (S/N = 3) for preconcentrating 42 mL of sample solution ranged from 0.9 to 58.6 ng L(-1) at a sample throughput of 2 samples h(-1). The enhancement factors were in the range of 409-1710. The developed method was applied to the determination of trace NAPH, PHEN, ANT, FLU, BbF, BkF, BaP and BghiP in local river water samples. The recoveries of PAHs spiked in real water samples ranged from 87 to 115%. The precisions for nine replicate measurements of a standard mixture (NAPH: 4.0 microg L(-1), PHEN: 0.40 microg L(-1), ANT: 0.40 microg L(-1), FLU: 2.0 microg L(-1), BbF: 1.6 microg L(-1), BkF: 2.0 microg L(-1), BaP: 2.0 microg L(-1), BghiP: 1.7 microg L(-1)) were in the range of 1.2-5.1%.     

Triphenylamine-functionalized magnetic microparticles as a new adsorbent coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for the analysis of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous samples

Triphenylamine (TPA)-functionalized magnetic microspheres (Fe(3)O(4)/SiO(2)/TPA) were prepared and applied as solid phase extraction (SPE) adsorbents for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental samples in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) conditions affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized, including elution solvent, standing time, amount of sorbent, and salt concentration. Due to the strong π-π conjugate effect between the benzene rings of TPA and PAHs, high extraction efficiency was achieved with spiked recoveries of 80.21-108.33% and relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 10%. Good linearities (R(2) > 0.997) for all calibration curves were obtained with low limits of detection (LOD) of 0.25, 0.5, 0.5, 3.75, 0.2 and 0.04 ng L(-1) for anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene, respectively. The achieved results indicate the applicability of Fe(3)O(4)/SiO(2)/TPA as MSPE adsorbents.     

高效液相色谱法测定黄浦江表层沉积物中的痕量多环芳烃

建立了高效液相色谱-二极管阵列检测器(PDA)测定上海市黄浦江表层沉积物中16种多环芳烃(PAHs)的方法。在保留时间定性分析的基础上,利用PDA获取的紫外扫描光谱图对目标组分进行了准确的定性,并通过异构体紫外光谱图中特征峰的差异有效地识别了样品中的4种异构体,即苯并［b］荧蒽、 苯并［k］荧蒽、 苯并［a］芘和苯并［e］芘。通过检测波长的优化,减少了干扰物的影响,提高了检测灵敏度;针对分离度较差的两种目标组分(苯并［b］荧蒽和苯并［k］荧蒽)的定量进行了分析讨论。该方法对16种PAHs的检出限(以干基计)介于1.1～18.3 ng/g之间,具有较高的方法灵敏度。黄浦江表层沉积物测定结果表明,除二氢苊外的15种PAHs都被检出,含量为10.1～253.0 ng/g。     

Use of cotton as a sorbent for on-line precolumn enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in waters prior to liquid chromatography determination

Using cotton as a solid-phase extraction sorbent of the precolumn, an on-line coupled precolumn preconcentration-liquid chromatography system with fluorescence detection was developed for the determination of PAHs in aqueous samples. Four PAHs including fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene were preconcentrated by a precolumn packed with 30 mg of absorbent cotton and then separated by C₁₈ analytical column. When 100 ml of sample was enriched, the proposed procedure provided detection limits in the range of 0.5-57 ng l⁻¹. Several water samples spiked with PAHs were analyzed with recoveries in the range of 92-119% at spiking level of 100 ng l⁻¹ for fluorene, phenanthrene and fluoranthene, and 10 ng l⁻¹ for benzo[k]fluoranthene, respectively.     

Supercritical fluid extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from liver samples and determination by HPLC-FL

An extraction/clean-up procedure by SFE was developed for isolating PAHs from liver samples for subsequent HPLC-FL determination of ten PAHs in the enriched extract. Recoveries (90-115%) and RSD % (< or =7.7) were satisfactory. When applied to 11 samples of bird of prey (Tyto alba) protected species and classified of special interest, from the Galicia (Northwest to Spain), benzo[ghi]perylene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene were undetectable; chrysene and benzo[a]pyrene are only detected in one sample; benzo[a]anthracene and benzo[k]fluoranthene are only quantified in one sample and benzo[b]fluoranthene in two samples. The other PAHs, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene are present in almost all the samples.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes as adsorbents of solid-phase extraction for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental waters coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used as a novel kind of solid-phase extraction adsorbents in this work as well as an analytical method based on MWCNTs solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was established for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which belong to typical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) owing to their carcinogenicity and endocrine disrupting activity. Several conditions that probably affected the extraction efficiency including the eluent volume, sample flow rate, sample pH and the sample volume were optimized in detail. The characteristic data of analytical performance were determined to investigate the sensitivity and precision of the method, and the method was applied to the determination of PAHs in environmental water samples such as river water sample, tap water sample and wastewater sample from the constructed wetland effluent. The experimental results indicated that there were excellent linear relationship between peak area and the concentration of PAHs over the range of 0.04-100 microg L(-1), and the precisions (RSD) were 1.7-4.8% under the optimal conditions. The detection limits of proposed method for the studied PAHs were 0.005-0.058 microg L(-1) (S/N=3). The recoveries of PAHs spiked in environmental water samples ranged from 78.7 to 118.1%. It was concluded that MWCNTs packed cartridge coupled with HPLC was an excellent alternative for the routine analysis of PAHs at trace level.     

磁性微孔聚合物富集/表面增强拉曼光谱法测定水与土壤中多环芳烃

建立了磁性聚亚苯基共轭微孔聚合物富集/表面增强拉曼光谱法测定水样和土壤中4种多环芳烃的分析方法。待测物经磁性聚亚苯基共轭微孔聚合物吸附萃取,甲醇洗脱后进行SERS检测。结果表明,蒽、芘、荧蒽和苯[α]芘在0.1~10μg/L范围内与其SERS特征峰峰强呈良好的线性关系,检出限为0.03μg/L,回收率为71.6%~115.8%,相对标准偏差不大于13.7%。该分析方法灵敏度高,能够满足实际水样和土壤中4种多环芳烃同时检测的要求。     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes/cryogel composite, a new sorbent for determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

A new cost-effective sorbent, multiwalled carbon nanotubes/poly (vinyl alcohol) cryogel composite (MWCNTs/PVA), was prepared under frozen conditions for the extraction and preconcentration of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water samples. This was followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The proposed method provided a high enrichment factor with an extremely high extraction efficiency (89–98%) of three spiked levels of three standard PAHs with relative standard deviations of less than 8%. The low detection limits of the method were 5, 8 and 5 ng L^{− 1} for benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene, respectively. This method was successfully applied for the determination of the three PAHs in real water samples where they were found in the range of 7 to 22 ng L^{− 1}. The major advantages of MWCNTs/PVA over the commercial C₁₈ is that it can be operated at a higher loading flow rate without sorbent clogging and requires a shorter time for completion without any loss of extraction efficiency.     

Optimization of the matrix solid-phase dispersion sample preparation procedure for analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils: comparison with microwave-assisted extraction

A fast and simple preparation procedure based on the matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) technique is proposed for the first time for the isolation of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from soil samples. Naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[e]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene, and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene were considered in the study. Extraction and clean-up of samples were carried out in a single step. The main parameters that affect extraction yield, such as dispersant, type and amount of additives, clean-up co-sorbent and extractive solvent were evaluated and optimized. The addition of an alkali solution in MSPD was required to provide quantitative recoveries. Analytical determinations were carried out by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. Quantification limits (between 0.01 and 0.6 ng g(-1) dry mass) were well below the regulatory limits for all the compounds considered. The extraction yields for the different compounds obtained by MSPD were compared with the yields obtained by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). To test the accuracy of the MSPD technique, the optimized methodology was applied to the analysis of standard reference material BCR-524 (contaminated industrial soil), with excellent results.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total fats in human milk

A sensitive and reliable analytical method was developed for the simultaneous extraction of PAHs and total fats and their determination in the human milk. The method involved a liquid-liquid extraction of PAHs and fats, followed by the gravimetric determination of the latter. PAHs were separated from lipids by size exclusion chromatography eluting with methylene chloride and analysed by gaschromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The recovery of analytes was in the range of 42-101% and agreed well with their boiling temperatures (R2=0.779). Precision of the method was found between 7.6 and 19%. Quantification and detection limits for individual PAHs ranged from 0.011 to 0.032 and from 0.006 to 0.022 microg/Kg milk (wet weight), respectively. Quantification limit for the total fat determination was 0.26 g/Kg milk (wet weight). This procedure, applied to milk samples of ten healthy, non-smoking, Italian primiparae, living in rural or low-traffic zones, allowed for the identification and quantitative determination of naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and benzo(k)fluoranthene in the mean concentration range 0.114-6.95 microg/Kg milk (wet weight). The most volatile compounds, which were not investigated elsewhere, were found at much higher concentrations than those observed for the others. No relation was found between PAH and total fat concentrations.     

New approach for screening polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples

For the first time, solid-phase extraction (SPE) has been combined to room-temperature phosphorimetry (RTP) to determine the 16 polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons related as major pollutants by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These include naphthalene, anthracene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, fluoranthene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, pyrene, chrysene, phenanthrene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene. The pre-concentration factor obtained by SPE, combined with the sensitivity of RTP, resulted in calibration curves with linear dynamic ranges at the parts-per-billion level (ng ml(-1)). The limits of detection were estimated at the parts-per-trillion level (pg ml(-1)). Several pollutants usually encountered in water samples were tested for interference. These included polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds. As a result of the appropriate combination of excitation wavelength (330 nm) and phosphorescence enhancers (0.1 M TlNO(3) and 0.05 M sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS), no interference was observed. The results demonstrate the potential of SPE-RTP for screening polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental waters.     

Headspace single drop microextraction combined with HPLC for the determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental samples

A new method by combining headspace single drop microextraction (HS-SDME) with HPLC fluorescence detection for the determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental samples was developed. Aqueous solution of saturated beta-cyclodextrin was used as extraction solvent and five PAHs were employed as target analytes. The factors affecting the extraction efficiency were studied in detail and the optimal extraction conditions were established. Beta-cyclodextrin was found to play two important roles, one is the improvement of extraction efficiency of target analytes and the other is the enhancement of their fluorescence intensities in HPLC fluorescence detection. The detection limits for the target analytes were found to be in the range of 0.004-0.247ng/ml and the relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) of 5.1-7.1% were obtained. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of trace PAHs in environmental samples with satisfactory results.     

On-site solid phase extraction and coupled-column high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of six polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of fluoranthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene in water is presented. The analytical procedure consists of on-site solid-phase extraction of the analytes on a selective sample column using a new device, transport and integration of the loaded sample column into a HPLC-system and coupled-column HPLC-analysis. The method allows reliable quantification of the PAHs at the low ng/l-level in particle-free as well as in particle-containing surface water.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. J. F. K. Huber on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

中空结构的双金属有机骨架材料作为固相微萃取纤维涂层用于多环芳烃的高灵敏检测

环境样品中多环芳烃(PAHs)含量较低且样品基质复杂,直接利用仪器进行含量测定比较困难,因此在仪器分析之前需要对环境样品进行必要的前处理。大多数前处理技术的萃取效率取决于萃取材料的特性。目前,金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)作为一种由金属离子与有机配体自组装而成的多孔材料,已经被用作固相微萃取(SPME)的涂层材料应用于PAHs的萃取,但是这些MOFs涂层材料由于目标物较难达到其深层的吸附位点,使得萃取过程往往需要较长的平衡时间;此外,大多数MOFs由单金属离子配位构成,能够提供的开放金属活性位点种类比较单一,较难获得最佳的萃取性能。这些问题在一定程度上限制了MOFs材料在SPME领域的应用。该研究制备了一种中空结构的双金属有机骨架材料(H-BiMOF),并将其作为SPME的涂层材料,用于萃取环境样品中痕量的PAHs。由于中空的结构和双金属的组成,H-BiMOF涂层材料拥有比表面积利用率高、传质距离短等优点,可以使萃取过程快速地达到平衡。同时,双金属的引入提供了种类丰富的金属活性位点,提高了对PAHs这类富电子云目标物的萃取效率。与气相色谱-串联质谱(GC-MS/MS)相结合,建立了一种用于环境水样中PAHs分析的新方法。所建立的分析方法具有检出限低(0.01~0.08 ng/L)、线性范围宽(0.03~500.0 ng/L)、重复性良好(相对标准偏差≤9.8%, n=5)等优点,并成功地用于实际湖水样品中7种PAHs的检测。实验结果表明,所建立的分析方法适用于环境样品中PAHs的分析与监测。     

Porous metal membranes for solid-phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) is one of the most important techniques for sample preparation, purification, concentration and cleanup. Membranes made from synthetic organic polymers, cellulose, or glass fibers are used for sample pretreatment. In this work, we report that a porous metal membrane, the metal filter in HPLC, was used as a novel kind of solid-phase extraction adsorbent material. To evaluate the performance of the porous metal membrane for the SPE, naphthalene, fluorene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, perylene and benzo(a)pyrene were selected as analytes. Several parameters that affected the extraction efficiency such as the extraction time, the concentration of NaCl, the extraction temperature and the agitation speed were optimized. The experimental result indicates that the porous metal membrane possesses high adsorption ability to the tested polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Under the optimum conditions, the detection limits of the developed method were in the range of 0.03-0.082 μg L(-1) (S/N = 5), and excellent linear correlations between peak area and concentration of PAHs were found over the range of 0.1-60 μg L(-1). The precisions (RSD) for five replicate extractions of the PAHs from sample solutions were in the range of 2.6-5.0%. The recoveries of the PAHs from tap water and river water samples spiked with 9 PAHs (20 μg L(-1) of each individual PAH) ranged from 83.0% to 112.5%. The porous metal membrane is durable, simple, inexpensive, reproducible and has a high adsorption ability for use in SPE of PAHs.     

Solid-phase extraction of sugar cane soot extract for analysis by gas chromatography with flame ionisation and mass spectrometric detection

The incomplete combustion of biomass is one of the most important sources of emissions of organic compounds into the atmosphere, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which show genotoxic activity. Since environmental samples generally contain interferents and trace amounts of PAHs of interest, concentration and clean-up procedures are usually required prior to the final chromatographic analysis. This paper discusses the performance of Sep-Pak cartridges (silica gel and RP18) on clean-up of sugar cane soot extract. The best results were obtained with a silica Sep-Pak cartridge. The recoveries ranged from 79% (benzo[b]fluoranthene) to 113% (benzo[e]pyrene).     

Sample preparation of sewage sludge and soil samples for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons based on one-pot microwave-assisted saponification and extraction

A microwave-assisted sample preparation (MASP) procedure was developed for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sewage sludge and soil samples. The procedure involved the simultaneous microwave-assisted extraction of PAHs with n-hexane and the hydrolysis of samples with methanolic potassium hydroxide. Because of the complex nature of the samples, the extracts were submitted to further cleaning with silica and Florisil solid-phase extraction cartridges connected in series. Naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[e]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, were considered in the study. Quantification limits obtained for all of these compounds (between 0.4 and 14.8 μg kg⁻¹ dry mass) were well below of the limits recommended in the USA and EU. Overall recovery values ranged from 60 to 100%, with most losses being due to evaporation in the solvent exchange stages of the procedure, although excellent extraction recoveries were obtained. Validation of the accuracy was carried out with BCR-088 (sewage sludge) and BCR-524 (contaminated industrial soil) reference materials.     

Preparation and evaluation of a molecularly imprinted sol-gel material for on-line solid-phase extraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of trace pentachlorophenol in water samples

A highly selective imprinted amino-functionalized silica gel sorbent was prepared by combining a surface molecular imprinting technique with a sol-gel process for on-line solid-phase extraction-HPLC determination of trace pentachlorophenol (PCP) in water samples. The PCP-imprinted amino-functionalized silica sorbent was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, nitrogen adsorption and the static adsorption experiments. The imprinted functionalized silica gel sorbent exhibited high selectivity and offered a fast kinetics for the adsorption and desorption of PCP. The prepared sorbent was shown to be promising for on-line solid-phase extraction for HPLC determination of trace levels of PCP in environmental samples. With a sample loading flow rate of 5 ml min(-1) for 2 min, an enhancement factor of 670 and a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 6 ng l(-1) were achieved at a sample throughput of five samples h(-1). The precision (RSD) for nine replicate on-line sorbent extractions of 10 microgl(-1) PCP was 3.8%. The sorbent also offered good linearity (r = 0.9997) for on-line solid-phase extraction of trace levels of PCP. The method was applied to the determination of PCP in local lake water, river water and wastewater samples.     

Fluorescence optosensor using an artificial neural network for screening of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

This paper presents an optosensor for screening of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: anthracene (ANT), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), fluoranthene (FLT), and benzo[b]fluoranthene (Bbf) using a photomultiplier device with an artificial neural network as transducer. The optosensor is based on the on-line immobilization on a non-ionic resin (Amberlite XAD-4) solid support in a continuous flow. The determination was performed in 15 mM H₂PO₄⁻/HPO₄²⁻ buffer solution at pH 7 and 25% of 1,4-dioxane. Feed forward neural networks (multiplayer perceptron) have been trained to quantify the considered Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in mixtures under optimal conditions. The optosensor proposed was also applied satisfactorily to the determination of the considered PAHs in water samples in presence of the other 12 EPA–PAHs.     

Quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in human hair by HPLC with fluorescence detection: a biological monitoring method to evaluate the exposure to PAHs

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection was developed for the quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in human hair. Fifteen kinds of PAHs classified as priority pollutants by the US EPA were quantified with four perdeuterated PAHs as internal standards. After 50 mg hair samples were washed with n-hexane to remove external contamination of PAHs, the samples were digested in 2.5 M sodium hydroxide. The digests were extracted with n-hexane and then analyzed by HPLC. Eleven kinds of PAHs were identified in hair samples of 20 subjects, and 10 kinds of PAHs were eventually quantified using the internal standards. For anthracene, chrysene and benzo[k]fluoranthene, significant differences were observed between smokers and non-smokers. Although benzo[b]fluoranthene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[ghi]perylene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene were observed in the particulates of indoor and outdoor air, they were not detected in all hair samples. The analysis of PAHs in human hair should be useful as a new biomarker to evaluate the exposure to PAHs.