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Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Paired with Total Vaporization Solid-Phase Microextraction as a Forensic Tool
Published on: May 25, 2021
Quantitative Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons at Part Per Billion Levels in Fish Oil by Headspace
Shilpi Chopra1, Lauren Ridley2, Wyatt R Murphy2
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Academic Industry Partnership, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ, USA.
Abstract:
Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) at part per billion levels in fish oil samples collected from menhaden fish. The method was initially developed using fish oil from capsules spiked with a standard PAH mixture. The final HS-SPME-GC-MS method presented a linear range from 3 to 1,500 ng/g, with precision for most analytes <10% relative standard deviation. The limits of detection varied from 1 to 7 ng/g depending on the analyte. Real sample analysis was done on menhaden fish oil extracted from fish collected off the coasts of New Jersey and Louisiana. Naphthalene, fluorene, fluoranthene, pyrene, anthracene were detected at low levels of 70-180 ng/g in the real samples. The concentrations of PAHs detected in the real samples were well below established levels of concern for PAHs in finfish.
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