Solid-phase extraction on C18 in the trace determination of selected polychlorinated biphenyls in milk

The utility of solid-phase extraction with octadecylsilica for determining fifteen polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners from milk samples was examined. Recoveries higher than 80% and relative standard deviations better than 10% were obtained for PCBs from different kinds of milk (whole, skimmed, 2%, powdered, breast and evaporated). A comparison with other procedures was made. The described method provides better detection limits than those attainable with the liquid-liquid extractions currently used as standard methods, when capillary gas-liquid chromatography is used for the final determination. A study of the separation was also performed using six different fused-silica capillary columns and an electron-capture detector.