Solid-phase microextraction method for the quantitative analysis of styrene in water

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Water Quality Analysis

Background:

• Styrene is a common industrial chemical and potential contaminant in drinking water.
• Accurate and sensitive methods are crucial for monitoring styrene levels in water.
• Existing methods may require improvement in terms of efficiency and sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method for styrene determination in drinking water.
• To assess the performance characteristics of the developed HS-SPME method.
• To compare the novel HS-SPME method with a conventional headspace gas chromatography (GC) technique.

Main Methods:

• Development of a manual HS-SPME procedure using a polyacrylate-coated fiber.
• Qualitative analysis performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
• Quantitative analysis focused on linearity, relative standard deviation, and detection limit.

Main Results:

• The HS-SPME method demonstrated excellent linearity (r = 0.9999) over the 1.00–100.00 µg/L range.
• A low relative standard deviation of 1.9% was achieved, indicating high precision.
• A sensitive detection limit of 0.30 µg/L was established for styrene in drinking water.

Conclusions:

• The developed HS-SPME method is highly effective and sensitive for quantifying styrene in drinking water.
• This method offers a reliable and efficient alternative to traditional headspace GC techniques.
• The findings support the utility of HS-SPME for routine water quality monitoring.