Evaluation of disposable cartridges for trace enrichment from aqueous solutions

Selected aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalate esters, and food, drug and cosmetic (FD&C) dyes are isolated from aqueous solutions with Chrom-Prep PRP-1 and Sep-Pak C18 cartridges. The Chrom-Prep cartridges demonstrate greater adsorption capacity for model aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalate esters than Sep-Pak C18 cartridges; however, the latter exhibits greater capacity for the FD&C dyes, which have breakthrough volumes that are a function of pH. Both cartridge types show a small amount of analyte leakage during the trace enrichment step, which is measured by monitoring the cartridge effluents for the presence of 14C-labeled solute. Two PRP-1 cartridges connected in tandem reduce the amount of activity in the effluent by approximately one half.