Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in particulate matter collected with low volume samplers

• Published in: Talanta (Oxford) Vol. 72; no. 4; pp. 1357 - 1361
• Main Authors: Bruno, Paolo, Caselli, Maurizio, de Gennaro, Gianluigi, Tutino, Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.06.2007; Oxford Elsevier
• Subjects: Analytical chemistry; Chemistry; Chromatographic methods and physical methods associated with chromatography; Exact sciences and technology; Gas chromatographic methods; Inert ion sources; MAE; PAHs; Particulate matter; PM 2.5; PTV; Spectrometric and optical methods; MAE; PAHs; PTV; Particulate matter; PM 2.5; Inert ion sources; Microwave; Metal ion; Standard; Organic ion; Sample preparation; Membrane; Standard deviation; Human; Anthracene; Hydrocarbon; Ion source; Polycyclic aromatic compound; Carbon; Heavy metal; Vaporization; Gas chromatography; Suspended particle; Pyrene; Dust; Sensitivity; Sampler; Reference material; Mass spectrometry; Fluoranthene
• ISSN: 0039-9140; 1873-3573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2007.01.043

The determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contained in samples of particulate matter (PM), collected with low volume pumps, were carried out with an high sensitivity method that comes from several revisions of a previous method. The present work describes how, by using programmable temperature vaporization (PTV) and a mass selective detector with inert ionic source for the GC–MS analysis and the modifications of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), the sensitivity of the method can be increased. The PAHs chosen for testing the method are: benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (Ip) and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (DbA). They, in fact, belong to that group of substances that are the most harmful for human health for their carcinogenicity. PAHs recoveries for spiked standard solutions at different concentrations were between 95 and 100% with relative standard deviation ranging from 1 to 3%. The revised method was validated using a 1649a urban dust standard reference material (SRM). The results obtained were in good agreement with certified values. The high sensitivity of the method allows to carry out analyses using only a half of the sampled filter (usually 47 mm diameter membranes). In this way, the other half can be used for the characterization of the other components of PM (heavy metals, organic carbon, ions, etc). The last step has been constituted by application of the optimized method on real samples collected in two cities located in Southern Italy (Bari and Taranto).