Efficient screening method for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in airborne particles. Application in real samples of Santiago-Chile metropolitan urban area

摘要

A rapid analytical approach for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in real samples of particulate matter (PM10 filters) was investigated, based on the use of water under sub critical conditions, and the subsequent determination by GC-MS (SIM). The method avoids the use of large volumes of organic solvents as dichloromethane, toluene or other unhealthy liquid organic mixtures which are normally used in time-consuming conventional sample preparation methods. By using leaching times < 1 h, the method allows determination of PAHs in the range of ng/m~3 (detection limits between 0.05 and 0.2 ng/m~3 for 1458 m~3 of sampled air) with a precision expressed as RSD between 5.6/100 and 11.2/100.