Performance of solid phase microextraction fibers for analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in airborne particulate

In this work the solid phase microextraction (SPME) procedure was investigate for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric aerosol, as an environmental friendly alternative to the common approaches, reducing the laboratory generated waste and time for sample preparation.Two SPME fibers with different polarity were investigated: a semi-polar polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB 65 μm) and a polar in polyacrylate (PA 85 μm). The extracted PM samples were analysed by Gas Chromatography with MS detection (GC/MS). The obtained results were compared in terms of the extraction yield of ten PAHs of environmental interest and selectivity towards C17 - C32 n-alkanes, as the most abundant interferences in ambient PM samples from urban sites. In comparison with the PDMS/DVB fiber, the Polyacrylate fiber selectively decreases the extraction yield for n-alkanes, so reducing strong interference from unresolved complex mixture of hydrocarbons, keeping still constant the general yield of PAHs. Therefore, PA seems a good candidate for purification processes of PM complex mixtures.