Determination of fatty acids in soil samples by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry coupled with headspace solid‐phase microextraction using a homemade sol–gel fiber†

Through the use of a homemade sol–gel‐derived fiber, a headspace solid‐phase microextraction technique coupled to gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of fatty acids with long, even‐numbered carbon chains (C₁₂–C₂₄) in soil samples. The experimental parameters such as reaction time, temperature, and ionic strength that might affect derivatization, extraction, and desorption were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the linearity of the method ranged from 0.1 to 100 mg/L with a correlation coefficient >0.997. The limit of detection values based on a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3:1 were determined with the concentration from 0.39 to 39.4 μg/L. The recoveries of the method for the soil samples were from 91.15 to 108.1%. This developed method using a homemade fiber showed a higher sensitivity than that using a commercial polydimethylsiloxane fiber and was also for the analysis of real soil samples from the Paomaling geological park of China.