Determination of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Chlorinated Pesticides in Environmental Biological Samples Using Focused Microwave-assisted Extraction

Abstract

Organochlorine compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides have been analysed in environmental biological samples using focused microwave-assisted extraction (FMW). The analytical procedure is presented and the results for two Standard Reference Materials, a cod liver oil and a freeze-dried mussel tissue, are reported. The average recoveries for the sum of the PCBs are between 93% and 106%, and for the sum of the chlorinated pesticides are between 109 to 115% for all the certified compounds analysed. The developped analytical procedure is highly reproducible with an average standard deviation of 8% for the sum of the PCBs and 9.7% for the sum of the chlorinated pesticides in the two matrices.