ENRICHMENT OF NITROPHENOLS FROM WATER BY MEANS OF SOLID-PHASE MICROEXTRACTION

The fundamental suitability of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has been investigated for the enrichment of partially well water-soluble and differently substituted polar nitrophenols. Two commercially available fibers coated with 100 mu m polydimethylsiloxane or 85 mu m polyacrylate, respectively, were compared with regard to the efficiency of the enrichment of these compounds. For all the compounds investigated, polyacrylate fiber showed a better affinity when the exposure time was longer in comparison with polydimethylsiloxane fiber. The 'salting-out' and the enrichment at low pH-values increased the sensitivity of the process significantly.