Interferences in the Determination of 2,4,5,2′,5′-Pentachlorobiphenyl (CB 101) in Environmental and Technical Samples

Abstract

Abstract The gas chromatographic analysis of 2,4,5,2′, 5′-pentachlorobiphenyl (CB 101) in environmental and technical samples may be biased by the presence of 2,3,6,2′, 3′-pentachlorobiphenyl (CB 84) and 2,3,5,2′, 4′-pentachlorobiphenyl (CB 90). These chlorobiphenyls both co-elute with CB 101 on a 95% dimethyl/5% phenyl polysiloxane (SE-54) column, which is often used for the analysis of chlorobiphenyls. This study describes how the chlorobiphenyls 84 and 90 can be properly identified and quantified by multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC). It is shown that the concentration of CB 101 may be overestimated up to 35%, when analyzed on a SE-54 column.