Determination of polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in milk cream by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

An analytical method for polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in milk cream has been optimized. The six PBDEs targeted were chosen on criteria of toxicity and occurrence in environmental matrices. Three methods of extraction were tested and compared in terms of lipid recovery yields and repeatability. The sample preparation process includes two steps: extraction by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and purification by solid phase extraction (SPE). The preferred method of extraction used a hexane/methylene chloride/methanol (5 : 2 : 1, v/v) solvent mixture. Three extraction cycles were carried out per sample at a temperature of 80 degrees C and a pressure of 1500 psi. The method was validated on milk cream samples spiked with the specified PBDEs. Recoveries for the whole sample preparation process (extraction and cleanup) for cream samples spiked at 10 and 100 ng g(-1) were greater than 80% (ranging from 81 to 106%) at both concentrations for BDE-99, -100, -153 and 154. Recoveries were lower (ranging from 65 to 75%) for BDE-28 and BDE-47. PBDEs were quantified by GC/MS detection with selected ion monitoring (SIM) using three ions formed by electron capture. The method was successfully tested on real samples.