Development of a Solid-Phase Extraction Procedure for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Application to Surface...

Monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water environment is a crucial task due to their widespread occurrence and potential ecological risks. However, detailed studies on analytical method development for these contaminants are still limited in emerging and developing countries. In this research, we investigated analytical procedures for determining 17 PAHs in surface water samples, which comprise solid-phase extraction (SPE) with endcapped C18 sorbent, extract cleanup, and quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Recoveries of PAHs through different extraction conditions and cleanup techniques (i.e., column chromatography, SPE, and gel permeation chromatography) were evaluated. Water extraction with C18 cartridges can provide sufficient recovery, repeatability, and acceptable matrix background for GC-MS analysis without further extract cleanup steps. The proposed method was validated for recovery (50%-130%), repeatability (RSD < 20%), detection limits (0.10-10 ng/L), and matrix effect factors (within ±15%). The validated method was applied to analyze PAHs in surface water samples collected from Hanoi urban areas, Vietnam. Concentrations of total PAHs in real samples ranged from 29 to 290 (median 77) ng/L, which were dominated by naphthalene (57% ± 12%) and phenanthrene (19% ± 7%).