Coupling of SPME and GC-AED for the Determination of Organometallic Compounds

 The solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique coupled with gas chromatography and atomic emission detection was successfully applied for the determination of selected organometallic species of Pb, As and Hg in aqueous samples. To obtain a high extraction yield, the SPME conditions were optimised for each element by fibre selection and varying the exposure time, stirring rate, pH range and desorption time. All the organometallic compounds tested were extracted from the aqueous phase using SPME. The preconcentration factors attained ranged between 40 and 150, depending on the compound. Detection limits in the pg/L and ng/L ranges were achieved. Received January 18, 2000. Revision April 11, 2000.