Analysis of n-alkanes at sub microgram per liter level after direct solid phase microextraction from aqueous samples

Anal Sci. 2002 Nov;18(11):1221-5. doi: 10.2116/analsci.18.1221.

Abstract

This work describes the application of the previously presented solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber in direct mode for sampling of C10-C20 n-alkanes from aqueous solution. The fiber has simple composition and is constructed from activated charcoal:PVC suspension in tetrahydrofuran. When the composition of the fiber was optimized that the optimum composition was 90:10 (activated charcoal:PVC) for direct mode, whereas it was 75:25 for sampling from the headspace of aqueous samples. This fiber is completely stable in contact with water. The extraction efficiency is improved in the presence of 0.1 M NaCl. The value is between 17.8-38.5% for the first extraction, which better than the efficiency of similar commercial fibers. After seven extractions, all analytes are removed from the aqueous samples nearly 100%. Single fiber repeatability and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility are good and both are less than 13% for all studied alkanes. Finally, direct mode SPME was used in the determination of n-alkanes in the range of sub microg L(-1) without any additional preconcentration procedure. Gas chromatography along with flame ionization detection were used for separation and detection of the studied analytes.

MeSH terms

  • Alkanes / analysis*
  • Charcoal
  • Kinetics
  • Microchemistry / instrumentation
  • Microchemistry / methods*
  • Polyvinyl Chloride
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Temperature
  • Time Factors
  • Water / chemistry*
  • Water Pollutants / analysis*

Substances

  • Alkanes
  • Water Pollutants
  • Water
  • Charcoal
  • Polyvinyl Chloride