DETERMINATION OF 1,3-DINITROPYRENE, 1,6-DINITROPYRENE, AND 1,8-DINITROPYRENE AND 1-NITROPYRENE IN URBAN AIR BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY USING CHEMILUMINESCENCE DETECTION

A sensitive determination method of 1,3-dinitropyrene (1,3-DNP), 1,6-DNP, 1,8-DNP, and 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) in airborne particulates has been developed. After adding 2-fluoro-7-nitrofluorene as an internal standard, these compounds were extracted with benzene-ethanol, cleaned, and reduced chemically to their corresponding amino derivatives. They were separated on a reversed-phase column with an acetonitrile-imidazole buffer and chemilumigenically detected using bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)oxalate and hydrogen peroxide as postcolumn reagents. Their concentrations in urban air showed two peaks, in the morning and evening, and were higher in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. Mean concentrations were as follows: 1,3-DNP, 2.19 +/- 0.81 fmol/m(3); 1,6-DNP, 4.03 +/- 1.52 fmol/m(3); 1,8-DNP, 3.63 +/- 1.40 fmol/m(3); 1-NP, 0.70 +/- 0.28 pmol/m(3). The mutagenic contribution of each DNP at the above level in air might be comparable to that of 1-NP or more.