Isolation and Characterization of Sulfur-Containing Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (Thia-Arenes) from Complex Environmental Mixtures

Abstract

A multi-dimensional chromatographic method was developed and applied to the separation of thia-arenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) derived from coal tar. A thia-arene-rich fraction, prepared using a combination of alumina chromatography and palladium chloride/silica gel chromatography, was further separated using normal phase HPLC to isolate fractions containing thia-arenes with molecular masses ranging from 184 amu to 284 amu. These fractions were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; approximately one-half of the thia-arenes in a coal tar extract were retained and separated by the palladium chloride-silica gel step. This methodology has been successfully applied to coal tar, air particulate material, sediments and biological samples.