Solid-Phase Microextraction of PAHs from Aqueous Samples Using Fibers Coated with HPLC Chemically Bonded Silica Stationary Phases

Abstract

In this study, porous layer solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was investigated for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water. The porous layer coatings were prepared using silica particles (5 μm diameter) bonded with phenyl, C8, and monomeric and polymeric C18 stationary phases for use in HPLC. It was found that several factors affected the selectivity for extraction of PAHs, including functional group in the bonded phase, alkyl chain length of the bonded phase, and phase type (monomeric or polymeric). The distribution coefficients of PAHs in the porous layer increased with an increasing number of carbon atoms, and greater selectivity toward solute molecular size and shape were obtained using a polymeric C18 porous layer. The effect of solution ionic strength on extraction was also investigated. A phenyl bonded phase porous layer fiber was used to extract PCB congeners from Arochlor 1254, and headspace SPME was applied to the analysis of contaminated soil samples.