Fast-GC/HRMS to quantify the EU priority PAH.

Area of Science:

• Food Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Accurate analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in food is essential for public health.
• Existing methods often focus on US EPA 16 PAH, not the SCF 15 PAH and JECFA's relevant benzo[c]fluorene (BcL).
• A sensitive method is needed for the 15 SCF-PAH and BcL in food matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensitive and rapid analytical method for 15 SCF-PAH and BcL in food.
• To shorten the analysis time compared to previously established methods.
• To validate the method's performance, including repeatability, LOD, LOQ, linearity, and recovery.

Main Methods:

• Development of a Fast Gas Chromatography/High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (Fast-GC/HRMS) method.
• Utilized a TR-50ms column (10 m x 0.1 mm x 0.1 µm) for separation.
• Analyzed spiked PAH concentrations in a tea matrix.

Main Results:

• Achieved a significantly reduced runtime of 25 minutes, compared to 72 minutes for a previous method.
• Demonstrated good repeatability (0.1–11%) for spiked PAH concentrations.
• Determined low limits of detection (LOD: 0.01–0.02 µg/kg) and quantification (LOQ: 0.03–0.06 µg/kg).
• Exhibited excellent linearity (R² > 0.99) and average recoveries (75–117%) across the tested concentration range.

Conclusions:

• The developed Fast-GC/HRMS method is sensitive, rapid, and suitable for analyzing 15 SCF-PAH and BcL in food.
• This method offers improved efficiency for food safety monitoring and risk assessment.
• The technique provides reliable quantification with good accuracy and precision.